Watch for it Wednesday #60

My tip for today is Dual Purpose Layouts. My daughter is doing several different projects for church and each one needs to be at least 10 hours of work. I thought that by making this cute chart for her to keep track of her time would make it more fun, then when she's completed her goal of taking care of a garden for 10 hours we simply slide this into a sheet protector and put it in her scrapbook. There's room for a picture too.

These dual purpose layouts would be great for job charts, school projects, birthday banners or any party type messages.

This CottageCutz Potting Soil & Stuff die is super cute and I love how it looks on my chart layout as well as the Rick-rack Edger. You'll always have the perfect color of Rick-rack with this edger on hand. I love my CottageCutz dies!

What is your favorite way to use your CottageCutz dies???

We'd love to hear from you!
We'll see you back here tomorrow for Karen's wonderful project.

All around the EDGES

My card today shows the Scallop Five Edger and the Flower 3, Layered dies.

A fun thing to do is to match your patterned paper to the wrapping paper you are using for your gift. I picked up this pretty spring wrapping paper the other day at the store and wanted my card to match. I was able to find this patterned paper that went pretty well with my wrap and went from there for the flower.
For the edger I cut out 4 pieces, punched out the holes and attached to the sides of my inside panel.
This allows you to border just about any size piece you want.

Join me back here tomorrow for my Watch for it Wednesday post on dual purpose layouts.

Easter Blessings

Today I am showcasing the Cottage Cutz Daisy (because it is just so awesome I can't seem to make a layout without it any more!!) and another one of the fabulous new edgers - The Scallop Three Edger.

In my last post, I showed how to turn these new 7" inch edgers into full length, 12" long borders. For this layout, the 7" length was all I needed to add some interest to the edge of my photograph.

I also used the Cottage Cutz Daisy to create a perfectly coordinated flower accent and used a button for my flower center for some added dimension and texture.


When I first saw these edgers, I had no idea how incredibly versatile and useful they would end up being in my scrapbooking! I am definitely going to have to add some more of these to my ever-growing wish list!!

Thanks for stopping by today!! Come by tomorrow for another fabulous Kreation by Kay!!!

Mom Loves Yellow Roses

In celebration of all Moms I created this card with Cottage Cutz 2x2 Flower Die. I also used the stem off the Half Daisy Die to add a vine. In the closeup shot, To add a bit of contrast to the edge of the card I used the scraps from the die cut as a stencil and inked a random floral border. It creates a wispy pattern. I used the piercing tool to put holes, and sewed beads on part of the frame for texture, after the beads were added I ran thread back through the beads to create a loopy thread vine that mirrors the lace of the white frame.

We'd like to thank Judy for sending in this cute Mother's Day Card she made with CottageCutz dies. She used the Scallop Three Edger, the seed packet to hold the gift card and the garden glove.

We love to see what our customers are making with their CottageCutz dies, feel free to email them in and you might just be featured on the CottageBLOG.

Beautiful job Judy! And Happy Mother's Day everyone!

My Professional Flower Girls :)

My dh and I are both the oldest in our families and were the first ones to get married. By the time the younger siblings started getting married, we had already had my oldest dd. She was a flower girl in her first wedding when she was not quite 2 years old and is about to be in her 5th wedding in June. The June wedding will be my younger daughter's 2nd.

These photos were taken during the rehearsal for my brother's wedding. I loved these pale yellow dresses so I wanted to be sure to emphasize that by using the solid buttercream colored cardstock as my base. But I also wanted the pictures to pop a little bit so I added the patterned paper beneath the photos.

And did you notice the floral borders on either side of the blue patterned paper??! Yep - those are the 12" Daisy borders I created during my Watch for it Wednesday post this week. I also cut out some of the borders in yellow so I could use the centers in my coral flowers. If you missed this technique, be sure to go back to this week's Wednesday post and check it out!!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope everyone has a great Mother's Day Weekend!!

Don't Forget...

Mother's Day is Sunday.

I really enjoy making cards for my family, although I am not very good. With all the fabulous CottageCutz dies, even I can make something I am proud to send out. The NEW CottageCutz Garden dies are perfect to use on Mother's Day cards.


These are the CottageCutz dies I am showcasing today.



For my first card, I went with a more traditional look. The inside of the card says, "Happy Mother's Day. I used the CottageCutz Seed Packet as a window. You could get even more creative with this idea and add panes and curtains. I created a table using misc. parts of other dies. For the Doily, I used the CottageCutz Build a Basket. I added the CottageCutz Mini Vase and CottageCutz Daisy for the finishing touch.


My second card I went for a more humorous approach. I thought the CottageCutz Grasshopper was adorable and came up with a cute saying for the card centered around him. "Jumped by to say (outside of card)...Happy Mother's Day"(inside of card). I added a CottageCutz Daisy for a girly touch.


I hope everyone gets a little creative time today.
Karen

Watch for it Wednesday #59 - Scrappin' on the Edge

Have you had an opportunity to try out any of the new Cottage Cutz Edgers yet?? There are so many different designs that there is definitely something for everyone!! But don't be fooled - these edgers are not just for cards and other smaller projects. For my tip today, I am going to show you how to take any of the new Cottage Cutz 7" Edgers and create a full 12" border.

First, choose your cardstock color and edger that you plan on using. For this demonstration, I have chosen to use the Cottage Cutz Daisy Edger, but you can use which ever you want. I trimmed my cardstock down to about 1" which gave me enough to fully cover the edger die.



Now, you are ready to start cutting. Line up the top of your piece of 12" cardstock with the top of the Edger and place it onto your die-cutting machine.


When are are ready to place your cutting mat down, be sure that the end of the cutting mat does NOT go all the way to the end of the edger die. This placement will prevent the very end of the edger die from cutting the design into the cardstock.

After your first roll through your die-cutting machine, you should have a cut piece that looks something like this picture. You can see that the end of the design just stops because by not having the cutting on top of the end of the edger die, you did not cut the end of the die.

Peel away the scrap paper from either side of the cut portion of your cardstock to reveal the design.

Here is a close up of what the middle of your cardstock piece should look like at this point:

Now, you want to carefully place the cut portion of the cardstock paper directly on top of the design parts of the edger die so that you have lined up the the die cut portion right on top of the actual die.

Lay these two pieces onto your die-cutting machine.

This time, when you are placing your cutting mat onto the die, you want to make sure not to cover the end where you have already cut the design out of the cardstock.

Once you have your cutting placed correctly, roll it all through your cutting machine. You will now end up with a complete 12" long piece of Daisy edge to use on your project.

Depending upon how you place your cardstock the second time through or the length of paper you are cutting, you may need to do to a little trimming to the second end to finish it off, but not necessarily.

I hope this tutorial will inspire to get out your edgers and start playing! And if you have been holding off getting them because you think they are just for cards, think again!! Now you have the skills to make any edge length you need!!

Come back on Friday and see the layout that I used this Daisy border!!

Hats off to all the Mother's

I can hardly believe it's May already and Mother's Day is this Sunday! These Garden release dies are perfect for Mother's Day cards.

I will have to admit this Butterfly edger wasn't my first pick, but I really like how it turned out on this card. Butterflies are so popular in paper crafting right now and I love how it went with my Butterfly paper. I decided it's a keeper! I simply inked the edges with a darker shade of pink ink before adhering to my card.

For my hat I cut out the straw looking one from the Hats Die and applied some flowers on it from the Easter Egg stand die and then used the flower and leaf piece for my corner.


Here's a tip for seeing what edgers you have at a glance. I simply cut the bottom off my packaging and lined them all up and punched a hole at the top with my Big Bite and put them through a ring.
If you have a fun tip you would like to share using CottageCutz dies we'd love to hear from you in the comments section. We might even feature it on the blog!

On the Edge of my Garden

These are the dies I used on my card: Scallop Three Edger and the Pot of Pansies from the Garden release.

For my edger I cut out two strips of purple and two from the golden yellow. I punched out the holes in the purple, but left the pieces in on the yellow and layered the purple on top to get the two colors. I love how the pieces pop out really easy if you want them out and yet they stay in if you want them there. The best of both worlds if you ask me.


For the pot of pansies I made one cut from white cardstock and used my Copics to color in the pieces. I'm still learning on the shading with my Copics and even tried my hand at the blender pen to get the lighter portions on the actual pansies.

I'll have another card ready to show you in the morning with another edger die and the hats from the Garden release.

Monday Giveaway Winner

the winner is....


SixftPixy/Coleen Browning! Enjoy your new Edger!


Just email your choice of any in stock Cottage Cutz Edger die to scrappingcottage@cox.net along with your name and address as well as your blog name.

CONGRATULATIONS! Now that was easy wasn't it??

Keep checking back for more fabulous ideas and giveaways.
Karen

Quick Gift of Thanks

What a nice way to say Thanks to a Friend or Co-worker with a simple handmade card and matching gift. I used the Half Daisy die to make a border on the thank you card as well as the matching Post-it note pad. You will also notice I made a full daisy with the same die. Just pluck a petal from each side of the half daisy and attach under another half daisy, add the center and . . . there it is. . . a full flower. This die really gives you TWO flower in one.

Additional Note: The mini pens can be found at Staples in a box of 12 bright colors, and sometimes on a card of 4 or 6 in the Target $1.00 department.

Matching Embossed Background

The thing that is great about a DIE CUT that differs from a machine blade cut is not always noticeable by everyone. As a die compresses the cardstock it rounds the edges. The machine drags a blade (kicking and screaming) along the cardstock and pulls at the edge of the paper pulp. This causes an uneven edge. Creating an embossed look is much harder with a machine cut.

Dies will ALWAYS give you a perfect rounded detailed edge. that is why dies are the only way to go on small items. In this case I cut the Three tulips that are in the Bunny in Log Die several times in the same color as my background., and applied them. This gives the look of an embossed cardstock. . . . . Wow and it matches the die on the card perfectly. Will you ever be able to find a folder to match the primary card design? This is also a great way to add flourishes and swirls to a design to add texture without changing the overall look of the item. Remember same color on same color.

Oops . . . Did I get a little on you?

As you can see I am a little behind in my seasons or . . . am I a LOT ahead?, but I can't seem to let the chicks go. I used the Egg Carton with Chicks die to make this Easter card. I did not sway to much from the basic die layout, but I decided to give one of the chicks a cool dip in the coloring. The egg dipper was made from copper wire wrapped around a medium size magic maker at one end and a pen at the other. I have used the egg dipper before and find it is a cute embellishment. Adds a different texture. I embossed the background with random strip folders. The bowl of egg coloring is the base of the Lemonade Pitcher.

Look how my Garden grows :)

I have the hardest time each month deciding which of the fabulous new Cottage Cutz I want to order!! And I know I am not alone in my dilemma!! These Seed Packet Shapes from the April Garden Release are sooooooo cute and naturally I wanted them all, but I decided to go with some I thought could work "double-duty". You know me...I am all about getting the most from my dies.

I chose to get this Sweet Pea Seeds Shape because I thought I could incorporate it onto pages of my little Sweet Peas. I knew I definitely wanted the Seed Packet Frame to go along with it because it is perfectly designed to coordinate with the different Seed Packet Shapes available in this release.


I cut the stems out of the same green cardstock I was already using in the layout, but I lightly stamped over it with my Cat's Eye Chalk ink to give it more of a mottled look. I also used my Copic Markers to color in the different Sweet Pea flowers and petals. This is another shape that went together surprisingly easily considering all of the detail that you see. The stems are just two pieces, and then the leaves at the bottom just sit right on top of the stems. Once you have the two stems glued together, it is easy to place each of the Sweet Pea flowers right where you want them.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope everyone has a fun and crafty weekend!! Tell us how you are going to be spending National Scrapbook Day tomorrow!!

LadyBugs Welcome

With Spring here and Summer fast approaching, I wanted to make some creations for my garden.

These are the CottageCutz dies I am showcasing today.


LadyBugs Welcome Garden Sign

Close-Up


I purchased the wooden sign from Hobby Lobby, it was painted red. I painted it black and then sanded it to let some of the red paint show through. I used mod podged to adhere my CottageCutz die cuts and letters onto the wooden sign. After they had dried completely, I went back over them with a couple more coats of mod podge to keep the die cuts secure and protected.


With the NEW CottageCutz Garden release coming next month, look for more garden projects ideas in future posts.
Karen

Watch for it Wednesday #58

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Today I wanted to show you an easy project for turning this....

into something fun and usable.

These are the CottageCutz dies I am showcasing today.


I really like using clothes pins to create simple projects. I am going to show you how to make some refrigerator magnets. The CottageCutz dies are the perfect size for attaching to the top of the clothes pins to customize the magnets. With all the choices in CottageCutz dies you could make magnets for every season and holiday. This would also be a great project to do this summer with your children or grandchildren.


The first thing I did was paint my clothes pins. While the paint was drying I picked my CottageCutz dies, cut and assembled them. I recommend cutting your dies with layers for sturdiness. I cut one layer out of chipboard and then my top layer out of colored cardstock. Once my paint was dry, I attach some magnets to the backside. I like to use magnet tape, you can cut it to size and it has one side with adhesive. I then attached my assembled die cuts to the front. My magnets are now ready for my refrigerator, to hold my son's treasured art projects or my daily lists.

I hope you get some creative time today.
Karen

On the "Edge" with CottageCutz

I'm so excited to show you the new CottageCutz Edger dies. I had a fun package from the Scrapping Cottage waiting for me when I arrived home from work yesterday. I now have my hands on all 9 of the edger dies and look forward to showing you each of them as well as different ways of using them in my upcoming posts.

Today we're sticking with the basics. I chose to feature the Flower Edger first. I was so impressed with how well this cut out. The sides just fell off the actual flower piece and the flower centers stay put in case you want to layer (I'll show you that too). I punched out the flower centers for my card below and they popped out really easy.

These Edgers are 7" long which makes them great for cards or you can simply cut two of them for layouts.
In my fun package I also received dies from the new Garden release. These new flowers are going to be a must have as well. I also used the Flower 2, Layered on my card. I cut the pieces out and then wadded the flowers up before layering. There are so many things to do with these flower dies which I'll be showing you along with the Edger dies.

This Saturday I'll show you more edger dies so stay tuned!

Monday Giveaway

Good Morning Everyone!

So what do you think about those NEW CottageCutz Edgers? What are your favorite Edgers? How do you plan to use the Edgers? Which CottageCutz Edgers do you just have to have?

Leave a comment telling us what you think about the NEW CottageCutz Edgers and you are entered into the giveaway. That's it. Easy! You have until Friday to post a comment. The winner will be announced next Monday.

Good luck Everyone!
Karen

Froggy Get-Well Card

OK, I know I normally make layouts for my blog posts and leave the card making to Kay, but as soon as I saw this Cottage Cutz Frog Shape, I had so many funny ideas for cards, I just couldn't wait to get my hands on it so I could start making some!!

This is my first froggy card and I wanted to make a Get Well card. I thought the Kermit the Frog saying was so funny to put onto a get well card! On the inside of the card, I have written get well soon and of course there is plenty of room to add a hand written note. I used some bright papers from American Crafts because after all, this card is supposed to make someone feel better and what better way to lift a friend's spirits than starting off with some fun colors and patterns!

This frog shape is really easy to put together! The frog is all one piece!! But because of the great details that have been incorporated into this die, you would never know it is all one piece! Even the Frog spots are embossed into his body so all you have to do is dab a little color down into the spots and voila! I cut the frog out of green cardstock and then used my Copic markers to add a little extra shading on his legs for some definition but you could also use chalk or ink and get the same effect. Then, I placed pop dots under my frog to lift him off the card just a bit for a little added interest. Kind of makes him look ready to hop right off the card, don't you think :)

Not that I am hoping any of my friends get sick, but I really can't wait to send this card to someone!!

I think this card would also work well for someone experiencing morning sickness (lots of "green" time there!) as well as a friend just having a hard day. For something totally different, you could also make a "Going Green" Earth Day card using this same frog.

I would love to hear some other ideas for this funny little frog!!

Be sure to check in this weekend for a special announcement!!! Have a great day!!