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!

GARDEN EXPLORATION

For today’s post I did a Garden Layout using some of my favourite photos of my daughter Cheyenne when she was a baby. I spread the layout over 2 pages so that it did not look all crammed into one page. She was a real ‘outside’ girl and just loved the garden and all the messy dirt that went with it. A short time in the garden would solve any tears or grumpy days she had.




For this layout I have used the following dies & products:-
QUICKUTZ CHEMISTRY ALPHABET 4x8-CHEMISTR-MU
QUICKUTZ LIMITED EDITION EXOTIC ISLAND ALPHABET
TIM HOLTZ DISTRESS INKS


QUICKUTZ BUTTERFLY REV-0088. I used vellum as the solid back piece of the butterfly to give it a smooth transparent look.
KAISERCRAFT RHINESTONES
KAISERCRAFT PAPER FLOWERS


QUICKUTZ TREE BORDER CC-BDR-021
QUICKUTZ PINWHEEL QC-0010-S to make the leaves for the backs of the flowers on the trees and kept them in place with some silver brads. The flowers I used are the smallest size of the Kaisercraft flowers.


COTTAGECUTZ WHEELBARROW OF FLOWERS SC-CC4X4-030
QUICKUTZ CLOUDS BORDER CC-BDR-032


COTTAGECUTZ WATER FOUNTAIN SC-CC-4X4-029
QUICKUTZ SNAIL KS-0103
SIZZIX ORIGINALS FENCE

A Dream Come True!

For those of you who saw my post last Friday, this is part 2!

For those you of you who may have missed last Friday's post,

there is wonderful story in the making so please go check

last Friday's blog to get up to speed! :O)

Creating this book and this entire experience, with all of its smiles

and tears, has been such an incredible blessing for my family

and I. You have been a part of the story with your well wishes

and your thoughtful comments....I have loved sharing this with you.

So tomorrow is the big day! We will present the family with

their dream vacation tomorrow and we hope it exceeds

every dream that they have ever had about Disneyland!!

I was so excited to use another adorable CottageCutz die to

help make this book extra special! The Cup of Java, available ONLY at the

Scrapping Cottage, is the most adorable die and it looks expecially

cute with Mickey's touch. This die is one of a kind and can be used

in so many different ways for so many different things! They sell out

really fast so pick yours up today!

Thanks to everyone for your encouragement and your prayers

for this beautiful family....I wish we could all be flies on the wall

to see the delight and joy that this magical trip will bring to them!

We have a WINNER!

We received nine very cute card entries for our Card Sketch Contest. It was tough to choose just one. But after discussing this with the blog team we decided that our winner is................................................



Carrie Buss! Congratulations!

You can email the Scrapping Cottage with your choice of a 4x8 Quickutz Alphabet!

Thanks to all those that participated, we hope you will join us for our next contest coming soon.

Monogram notecard

The Scalloped Nesting Squares from the May Quickutz release are must haves for your die collection. They are great for journaling spots or for layering with other shapes. The scalloped edge is such a simple way to add more interest to your paper crafting projects.

Watch for it Wednesdays!! #12

I have been using my Silhouette A LOT lately. Isn't funny how you go for awhile not using one of your tools and then all of a sudden *BAM* you can't scrap without it!

One of the greatest advantages of the Quickutz Silhouette is its ability to cut any True Type Font you have loaded onto your computer. There are virtually 1000's of fonts available for free all over the internet. All you have to do is Google "Free Fonts" and you'll find tons of sites to get fun new fonts for your Silhouette. However, if you don't know how to download these fonts into your Fonts Folder, you will not be able to access them from your Silhouette software.

My tip for today is to show you how to create a shortcut on your Desktop for your Fonts Folder to make this downloading process much simpler!

In order to first locate your Fonts Folder, take the following steps:

Go to your Start Menu
Then click on the Control Panel (You must be in Classic View!!)
Now you'll see your Fonts Folder

Now that you have located your fonts folder, you'll want to create a shortcut on your desktop. Simply RIGHT CLICK on the Fonts Folder Icon and select "Create Shortcut".

Place the new shortcut onto your Desktop.

Now you can easily drag and drop new fonts into your new Fonts folder shortcut. Just make sure when you are downloading fonts, that you open all files until you get the True Type version. This is the one you want to drag and drop into your Fonts Folder. Then your computer will do the rest!!

Last Day... Introductory Pricing on New June Cottage Cutz shapes ends Midnight Tonight!

(Midnight Pacific Time)

The first shipment is almost sold out!!!

For those "RARE" Dads

I just can't help it - something about me has to come up with a catchy saying for cards and this one was no exception.

I was excited to get this Quickutz Spring Gift set "enjoy" because I loved this barbeque.
This is perfect for a Father's Day card or a manly birthday card.

I also used my Black Soot Distress ink to give it that charcoal flavor. Now I just need a diecut steak to throw on the barby and we'd be set.

REMINDER*** Card Sketch Contest entries are due tomorrow by midnight!

Sizzix June Release/Butterfly & Flowers Set #3

One of the new June Sizzix releases is a Sizzlits set called Butterfly & Flowers Set #3

The set has three different designs. There is a butterfly and two different flowers. This

is such a versitile set. It can create many different types of mood for scrapbook pages and/or

cards. I made a card from each of the dies so you could see each unique shape. On two of

the cards I accented the dies with new KaiserCraft Pearls that Scrapping Cottage is now

carrying. Be sure to check out all the great products at Scrapping Cottage. Happy Memorial

Day!!!!!! :)

Happy Memorial Day

Let us never forget the sacrifices that have been made for our freedom.