Retirement Tree!

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the

things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off

the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade

winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.— Mark Twain

I have a dear friend at work who is retiring today!! Yippee!!

Although we will miss him we are so very glad for him!

I was asked to "decorate" the envelope for his card.....
this is what I came up with! :O)
I used the QuicKutz 2x2 sign, as well as, many other
fun dies. Be sure to check out the awesome QuicKutz
shape sale going on right now at the Scrapping Cottage.

Most 2x2 dies are $2.95 and most 4x4 dies are $4.95!!

Home Sweet Home

I think these new Home shapes from the June Quickutz release are so fun and practical!! I have used one of the new Rev Houses and the Rev mailbox from the June release plus lots of other Quickutz dies on this layout. These house dies are so versatile that you can use any combination of colors and paper you want. I even added a little doodling to my Rev house die cut to give it a whimsical look to go with the My Little Shoebox papers. I also used the Quickutz metal sheets to make my Rev Mailbox. I just love that whole line of adhesive sheets that Quickutz makes now!! Other Quickutz dies I used include Supermarket 4x8 Alpha, Cookie Cutter Nesting Labels, 12" Scalloped Border, and the 2x2 Photo corner.

July Cottage Cutz Dies

Run don't walk to check out the latest Cottage Cutz dies being released for July!!! They are absolutely adorable!! Lots of fun Hawaiian and other tropical shapes. I want them all!! :) We are also offering special pricing on these fabulous new dies until June 26th which is even more reason to pre-order yours today. We anticipate these will begin shipping mid-July.

Watch for it Wednesday #15

This week I am going to show you how to distress paper, tags,

die cuts, etc with ink! I am using patterned paper for my example

but this technique works wonderfully with cardstock, as well!

You will need your patterned paper or cardstock item, some Tim

Holtz Distressing Ink, a water spray bottle, and an iron! After you

have gathered your items, the first step is to crumple up your paper

into a ball. Really, REALLY crumple it....don't hold back! :O) Now

you can uncrumple your item and and rub the Distressing Ink all

over it! You can use one or more colors of the ink...it is designed to

flow across the paper, when sprayed with the water, but will keep

it's tonal value! It is the most awesome ink ever!

Now hold your paper item in the palm of your hand and spray it
four or five times with water. The final step is to lightly iron your
paper with a warm iron. This helps smooth out the wrinkles and
dries the water on your paper. You did it! Now you can go add
your amazing design to your layout or card!

The Scrapping Cottage has a great selection of Tim Holtz

Distressing Ink, all of which can be used for projects like this!

This incredible store also carries the QuicKutz 4 x4 Pirate Costume

and the 2x2 sword if you would like to create a little pirate of your own!

Cottage Cutz Window and Flower Pot

Who would have ever thought paper curtains could be so fun. When I saw this CottageCutz Window and Flower Pot die I immediately knew I wanted my curtains out of a bright and cheery patterned paper.

I thought this would make a good Get Well card and brighten someone's day.

First I cut the die out of white cardstock and the orange patterned paper and inked the edges.

Then I took my Copic markers and colored the flower and the pot and backed this all with a piece of light blue cardstock for the window. I used some tiny lines of Stickles on the window to make it look real. I added the brads after I assembled the card and didn't want the back of the brads showing through my card so I cut off the brad tabs and then used glue dots to secure them to my card.

So when you're adding those fun new Quickutz to your cart don't forget to add a few CottageCutz dies too - they're so fun to work with.

Here is a picture of what this die looks like.

June Quickutz in the House!!!

And the June Quickutz release is definitely all about the house and home! Soooooo many cute dies to choose from this month! Whether you want to make projects about the house itself or perhaps some whimsical pages about the goings on inside the house - this release is for you.

But while you are shopping around for these fun new June release dies, be sure to add the Summer of Fun of dies into your cart as well. These have been wildly popular and are sure to sell out sooner rather than later so don't get caught without them!

You definitely don't want to forget to add the FREE club die for all orders totally over $50! There are always a limited number of these dies and they go fast so don't delay your ordering too long!


Be sure to make a comment at the end of this post to qualify for our monthly die giveaway!!! Just tell us which die (or dies - I know sometimes it is just impossible to pick one favorite) is your favorite from this current June release and you will be entered into our random drawing for a free die of your choice from the new June Quickutz Release (alphabets are excluded). I can't wait to see what everyone's favorites are this time around!!

Happy scrapping!

Has summer arrived at your house yet? It is in full swing at mine. :) Both of my girls are home for their summer vacation from school and college. Today's card is a quick and easy one (the best kind in summer when things are hectic). :) It uses a Sizzlits set and a Dr. Seuss quote that I did on my computer (and printed on patterned paper). I love this quote for this time of year. Why not surprise someone today with a cute "just because" summer themed card? :) The Sizzlits sets are great for this as you get four different dies in their sets. Be sure to

check out all the great Sizzlits at Scrapping Cottage. Hope

your summer days are good and fun!!!! :)

Cute as Which Button?

I created this whimsical little layout because my

daughter loves buttons. I never want her to forget

how much she treasured these little round

jewels as a young girl!

I used the adorable QuicKutz cherry to enhance

the layout! Sometimes a little goes a long way!

Part Time Pop Star

If you haven't picked up the Quickutz Cookie Cutter Nesting Stars yet, you are missing out! These star dies are such a nice chunky star shape and include 5 different sizes of stars. You can cut solid stars with these dies or layer them together to get star outlines. In my layout above, I used various sizes of the stars to accent my daughter dressed up like Hannah Montana, part time Pop Star. These dies would also look fantastic on 4th of July pages, Star Students, Super Sports Star, etc.

For my title, I wanted the look of Spotlight, but I needed much smaller letters. So I used the QK Merry Alpha from the 2007 Holiday Gift Set and added stickles to the letters for the effect I wanted. It is hard to see from the picture, but the stars are cut from glitter cardstock and are nice and glittery on the page.

Watch For It Wednesdays #14

For this weeks Watch For It Wednesdays Post, I’m going to share a tip on RECYCLING WHILE SCRAPBOOKING. Whilst most of us are trying to watch our wallets and stick to a strict budget, we don’t want to or should have to put away our craft projects just because we are a bit short on $$$$$ to buy that perfect embellishment.
When I did this layout of my son wearing his Favourite ‘Party’ outfit, I knew that he was never going to wear it again and Because I don’t want hundreds of my children’s old “Favourites” lying around the house long after the kids have outgrown them, I decided to make a true size colour photocopy of part of the outfit and use it in my layout. I then cut off the tags, labels, ribbons and buttons and attached them to the layout to give it a more textured 3 dimensional look. There you have it!!!! The perfect embellishments that also have a sentimental meaning and cost you nothing. Just imagine how many more CottageCutz & Quickutz dies you could buy from THE SCRAPPING COTTAGE if you don’t have to spend all your well deserved craft money on little embellishments that can be very costly.

Purse-nally flirty

( I wish this card would have photographed as bright and vibrant as it is in person.)

For this card I used the new Quickutz Scalloped Oval Cookie Cutter dies and one of the purses from the Spring Gift Set "flirt". The stamp is from Stampendous and is one of my favorites.

I shaded around both scallops and the purse with my ink and a dauber and placed a little pearl on the purse.

Pretty Maids

The new Champagne and Glasses Rev die from the May QK release is so fun!! For this layout, I wanted to try cutting the shapes out from patterned papers. I think it gives the Champagne bottle a fun and whimsical look. I used silver vellum for the champagne glasses and I made pink champagne to go inside :). I used my Chalk ink to lightly add a bit of detail onto the top of the champagne bottle to give it a little more of a wrapped look. For this layout, I also used the QK Nesting Scalloped Ovals from this release and the QK Cookie Cutter Nutmeg Alphabet (on sale right now for only $59.99!!!) for the title. I love Nutmeg!! It is one of my favorite CC fonts. The little hearts above the pictures are from the Rev Love Birds Die. If you haven't checked out these new releases, don't wait too long!

WEDDING CARD

This week I decided to make a Wedding Card using the QUICKUTZ MAY RELEASE REVOLUTION WEDDING CAKE die REV-0201-S. I chose this gorgeous cake die because it reminded me so much of my own wedding cake and I wanted to decorate it very simular – although mine did not have mice on top. Mine had a gorgeous cluster of roses.
I topped the cake with the mice from the QUICKUTZ EXCLUSIVE PRINCESS CARRIAGE DIE and used the bodies from the QUICKUTZ 2x2 BRIDE & GROOM DIE KS-0454. I inked the cake with TIM HOLTZ DISTRESS INKS and then made little flowers to decorate the cake using the little flower from the QUICKUTZ SWIMSUIT & HAT DIE KS-0569 and the tiny little leaves are from the QUICKUTZ TOPIARY DIE. In the centres of the flowers I have added little KAISERCRAFT RHINESTONES, which are so easy to attach because they are self adhesive and ready to stick.

It's A Wonderful Life!

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful,

we must carry it with us, or we find it not.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I made this fun little book as a gift for my children. I want them

to know how precious they are and how much they are loved!

I LOVE ink!! I was excited to use many different colors of

Tim Holtz Distress Ink to highlight the edges and create an

overall "Distressed" look for this book. The Scrapping Cottage

has an incredible collection of this famous ink! It is my

favorite ink of all time...I think I have one of each color! :O)

I delicately sprinkled a few QuicKutz dies throughout, as well.

See if you can spot them! Almost all of the die I used are

on sale at The Scrapping Cottage for $2.95!! Yes, $2.95!!


That is the best deal on the planet!!

QuicKutz Oval Clip, Tab Die Set, Tags (1 retired but available and

one that is $2.95!), daisies and many more to suit your fancy!

Life is Wonderful!

Have a beautiful day!

Easy Card Recipe

Easy Card Recipe:

One Sizzix Die
6 Patterned Papers
Small Alphabet Stamps
Ink Pad
Dash Of Pearls :)

Cut, adhere and mail to that special person! :)

Watch For It Wednesdays # 13

Today's tip is a simple one and many of you may have been doing this one for a long time but I've just started doing it. :) Do you love to add some depth to your scrapbook pages, cards, etc. ???? I've been using chipboard for quite a while but it involved buying it already in shapes and either raw or already covered by the manufacturers with pretty papers, etc. With the raw
chipboard, I would sometimes cover it with a patterned paper but it was always a chore to get
the paper cut so that it fit perfectly. The bottom line was that I had a lot of chipboard but seldom used it.
I was working on a card when the lightbulb went off (yes, my lightbulb is slow sometimes). :) I had a package of chipboard in assorted colors (white, black and raw) and took
one of the black pieces (pictured above) out. I ran it throught my Sizzix Big Shot with the Sizzix Stamp Frame die and I had a beautifully cut out chipboard shape. I was excited because I knew that I could now cut another one from patterned paper and glue it on top of the black piece. The
end result is a piece of patterned paper chipboard that looks like it was "store bought." :) Also
by using the black chipboard, the edges were colored and pretty with absolutely no effort
on my part as shown below with my amateur photography. :)

I used my glue pen to glue the patterned paper to the chipboard. Several companies are making sheets of chipboard in raw, white or black. (My package of assorted pieces was by Grafix.) You can bet I'll be using my Sizzix a lot more with chipboard now. I love making my

own chipboard embellishments with it. The picture below is the finished result.

The card below is my sample with this chipboard. I wish you could see it in person because it adds so much to the card. Also, if you didn't know better, you would think it was a store bought

chipboard embellishment. :) The Sizzix Originals, Bigz and Bigz XL dies cut chipboard like "buttah." :) If you haven't tried this fun tip, then what are you waiting for???? :) I can't wait to

get some larger pieces of black chipboard to cut some of the Bigz shaped scrolls, etc. :)

Let's Do Lunch with the CottageCutz Ice Cream Parlor Set

When was the last time you had lunch with a friend? This is one of my favorite things to do. It seems like our lives are so busy these days that we overlook a lot of those important relationships in our lives. So, set a goal to call a favorite friend or family member and spend the afternoon getting caught up over lunch. Who wouldn't love to get this fun cheery card in the mail inviting you to lunch?

I used the CottageCutz Ice Cream Parlor Set die. Each chair punches out in its entirety with a few pieces you need to put together for your table. I've shown below what the actual die looks like. This die is great to use those Quickutz Adhesive backed sheets with. I just ran my die through my Revolution with adhesive backed white cardstock and then took my metallic silver marker and colored in the legs of the table then peeled them off and stuck them on the card. For the chair seats and the red background on the table I just cut some red pieces and glued them over the white ones on the chairs and tucked the red table under the white one.

Then I lightly chalked the edge of the table and took my red and green Stickles and made a cherry on the table to match my background paper. "Let's do Lunch" was cut from the Quickutz Banana Split 4x8 Alphabet.

If you haven't tried these CottageCutz dies yet now is a great time. These dies are custom made especially for The Scrapping Cottage and are high quality dies made in the U.S.

Sizzix Circus Collection

Have you checked out the Sizzix circus collection? :) I love them all but especially the lion. Not
only is he GRRRRREAT for your zoo or circus photos, etc. but also for making some FUN cards.
My first card example used some patterned papers and a computer typed sentiment. I also used KaiserCraft pearls for his eyes (they are the perfect size). Fast and easy which is always a winner with me. :)
My second card example only used cardstock. I typed the "no lion" on the computer and printed it out on white cardstock (also the sentiment below it). The lion is two different shades of red cardstock. There is also just a touch of black cardstock to balance things out on the bottom sentiment. I did some pen work with a black pen and added KaiserCraft black pearls for the eyes (these pearls are GRRRRREAT eyes for the lion). :) I added a Dymo label tape "Happy Birthday" sentiment on the bottom.....again FAST and EASY card. :)

Be sure to check out all the GRRRRRRREAT products at Scrapping Cottage.......they're awesome, no lion! :)

Summer of Fun is back!!!

I am so excited that Quickutz is doing the Summer of Fun promotion again this year! And what a great start! This String Bean Border Alphabet is just too fun!! This border would be perfect on school layouts as well as lots of other child-themed projects. But the "fun" doesn't stop there! What a cute little alphabet you get, too! And how can you resist a QK alpha for only $19.99!! Don't miss out! These will go fast!