Watch for it Wednesday #5!

Distressing Paper with Die Cut Shapes!

Here is another way to use your awesome die cuts!

I hope you have as much fun with it as I did!

First you will need to choose some patterned paper. (this works best with dark or bright colors!) You will also need to cut out some of your favorite die cuts! This technique works well with CottageCutz, QuicKutz, Sizzix, or just about die cut. Finally, you will need some sandpaper and a great imagination!

After you have cut out the die cuts you will be using, arrange them in the way that you would like them to appear on your patterned paper.

Place your patterned paper, face up, over the shapes. Gently sand over the shapes, one at a time focusing on the edges, until they emerge on your patterned paper. Keep sanding until you get a look that you are happy with. Try sanding the edges of your paper to complete the "distressed" look!

This fun technique is a fantastic way to design your own patterned paper to complement your die cuts! It can be used for cards, layouts, tags....the possibilities are endless!

Go have fun with this and let us know what you think!

CottageCutz Chicks

These cute CottageCutz chicks are perfect for Easter cards and projects. In the first example I cut my chick from Doodlebug's velvet paper to make him fuzzy. In this card I cut them out of Bazzill and chalked them, then put some Stickles on them to accent the wings.

Be sure to check out all the great CottageCutz shapes in the store.

I had the pleasure of "playing" with the CottageCutz Bird and Birdhouse Shape die for today's

post. Birds and bird related things have long been a favorite theme of mine to craft with. These

three cards are a little sampling of the fun and cute things you can create with this die. Be sure

to check out all the great CottageCutz dies at Scrapping Cottage.

Make A Wish

**CLICK ON IMAGES FOR CLEARER DETAILED PICTURES**
Aren’t these QUICKUTZ ANIME BIRDS just gorgeous!!! I must admit that when I first saw them I did not think very much off them, but they have grown on me and are now one of my very favorites from the QUICKUTZ MARCH RELEASE.
When I cut the card, I had the QUICKUTZ ANIME BIRDS in mind, so with a corner rounder punch, I rounded all the corners of my card to match the shapes of the birds & added little round silver brads to match the spotted paper that I used.
I used the QUICKUTZ BIRTHDAY Shortkutz Phrase Die for my title, which I punched out twice so that I could Matt my title to make it ‘stand out’ a little more, and then finished off by inking the title & birds with TIM HOLTZ Distress Inks.

Clock layout

I have had an amazing last few days and the reason being that my parcel from THE SCRAPPING COTTAGE with my Quickutz March Release dies, and I have to say that up to now, this has been my absolute Favorite Quickutz release. And to make things better, just spend $50 or more on Quickutz and get the 2"x2" Speech Bubble Heart Club Die FREE (while stocks last).I just have to say that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, the March release!!!! Oh, Did I mention that I L-O-V-E IT :-)
I have been working on a few projects and have posted one now, and will post the others during the week as I finish them. So check back to see what else can be done with these amazing dies, as their uses are endless.

This week I tried something different and turned my layout into a working clock. I used a recessed 12”x12” scrapbooking picture frame that I had bought a while back and never used because I could never decide which layout to put into it.
I started by cutting a small hole in the back board of the frame for where I wanted the clock mechanism to go through. I then glued my background paper onto the back board, cut a little hole in the paper, making sure to match it up with the hole in the board. I then carried on creating my layout as normal. Once finished I glued the mechanism in place at the back of the board, put the hands onto the clock & put it into the fame. FINISHED – A unique personalized clock that can either stand on a counter top or hung on the wall. This is going to look great in my craft room. Eventually, I will be able to see the time while I am working.
For my clock layout I used:-
QUICKUTZ CLOUDS 12” Cookie Cutter border die,
QUICKUTZ FLOWERS 12”Cookie Cutter border die,
QUICKUTZ GRASS 12” border die,
QUICKUTZ RAINBOW & CLOUD Cookie Cutter die,
QUICKUTZ ANIME MONKEY 4x4 die,
QUICKUTZ MUSHROOMS 4x4 die,
QUICKUTZ TREE 4x4 die
QUICKUTZ SUN 2x2 die,
QUICKUTZ HOUSE 2x2 die,
QUICKUTZ CHANDELIER 4x8 alphabet,
TIM HOLTZ DISTRESS INKS

Remember that you can click on the item and a link will take you directly to that item at THE SCRAPPING COTTAGE STORE.

Rainbow Spring Layout

I love this new Rainbow Cookie Cutter Border die from the March Quickutz release! To me, there are two things that mark the beginning of Spring - seeing the flowers and trees begin to bloom and being able to start wearing new Spring clothes. I snapped these pictures of my daughter in one of her new outfits while she was waiting for her ride to school. I only used 4 of the 6 bands from the Rainbow Die because I wanted to simulate the rainbows found in the patterned paper I was using. Instead of making the rainbow level, I tilted it on its side and covered up the uneven ends with the clouds. This is a great technique to get a completely different look from this fun die!

ALL BOY CARD

This is a card I made using the GO KREATE RED TED 4"x4" die, QUICKUTZ LIZARD, QUICKUTZ FROG & the QUICKUTZ HONEY BEE ALPHABET. For something different I replaced the letter 'O' in the word boy with the QUICKUTZ SOCCER BALL. I adhered everything to my card using DOUBLE SIDED ADHESIVE SHEETS, which work great for turning your die cuts into stickers and solves a lot of messy glue problems.

Watch for it Wednesday #4

Have you ever thought that you would like to try something different on your cards or scrapbook pages? Well, why not try inking with items that you find around your home to give your projects a fabulous unique look.
I inked a piece of paper to use on the front of my card by inking the textured side of a kitchen dish sponge to give my paper a grid appearance.

This is the technique I used:-


1. Cut out your piece of paper that you want to ink to the size that you need it.
2. With an ink pad (you could also use paint) ink the textured side of a kitchen sponge cloth so that it has a really good coating of ink.
3. Place the kitchen sponge (inked face down) onto the paper that you want to ink and firmly push the sponge down, so that the ink transfers over to the paper, being careful not to let the sponge move so that the ink is not smudged on the paper underneath.


4. Carefully remove the sponge and you are now left with your inked piece of paper. Remember to let your paper dry. Time will differ depending on what you use to ink or paint with. I like to use TIM HOLTZ DISTRESS INK because it dries pretty much straight away.
5. Once the inked paper is dry, decorate or place it onto your project as needed.


To finish making my card, I also used some 3D adhesive foam squares, wire mesh, the COTTAGE CUTZ WEATHERVANE ROOSTER and the GO KREATE ‘SKIPTON’ COMPACT ALPHABET. Both of these dies are available for sale at THE SCRAPPING COTTAGE.

Happy Easter Treat

Quick and Simple Easter Treat!
I needed a quick little treat to drop off to a neighbor today, but because I'm feeling under the weather I didn't want to spend a lot of time. I grabbed a clear cello bag and put some Easter Rolo's (of course you can use whatever treat you want) in it and stapled the top. I cut a piece of patterened cardstock just slightly wider than the bag and folded in half and added my diecut (QK Revolution Rabbit) and Happy Easter stamp from Stampendous. Put some pen detailing around the rabbit with some chalk and secured him to the topper.
Some other ideas you could add (if you're not sick) would be some Easter basket grass inside the bag or layer your topper to bring more colors in to match your treats.

Hero Arts Clear Stamps

Scrapping Cottage carries Hero Arts rubber stamps. The three quick and easy cards above were done with a clear set called Tree, Birds and Messages. The bottom card also has some Sizzix

Sizzlits on it. The set is called Butterfly and Flowers. I brayered the background for the top two

cards using glossy cardstock and a rainbow ink pad. The stamping was done with a black ink pad. The birds on the bottom card were colored using Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. I love the Hero Arts clear stamp sets. You get several images to "play" with which makes them a great

value. :) Be sure to check out all the great stamps and Sizzix products at Scrapping Cottage.

Ya gotta love Hello Kitty - she's so cute!

I am totally a Quickutz fan but when I saw these Hello Kitty Sizzix dies I couldn't resist - she is so dang cute!

I used the Happy Birthday embossing folder for the background and detailed the die with a soft pink ink and a fine black pen for the detailing. I used Black Diamond Stickles on the whiskers and Fruit Punch on the bow.

Watch for more Stickles coming soon in the store.

ALTERED MINI CRATE

This week I focused on using the QUICKUTZ GRASS border die & the INKING of the die cuts before putting them onto my projects. I’m so glad I did the inking because the difference is amazing and it’s easy to do. You can make a flat 2D die cut look like a




3D work of art in no time at all. If you haven’t tried inking yet, you are missing out, and I’m sure that once you try it you will not regret it.
I started this week by altering a mini wooden crate that has been floating around my house for a while now. I thought I would get creative and turn it into something useful.
I started by inking the wooden Crate and all my die cuts. I used TIM HOLTZ DISTRESSED INK, but you can also use TSUKINEKO, MEMENTO INK. There is a great variety of both these inks in stock at THE SCRAPPING COTTAGE.
I glued the QUICKUTZ GRASS BORDER to the outside of the crate and then placed the die cuts onto the crate as I wanted them. When I used the QUICKUTZ FLOWERS die, I replaced the flowers with buttons. The other dies I used were the SIZZIX ORIGINALS ROOSTER, QUICKUTZ MUSHROOMS, QUICKUTZ PUMPKIN and the mice & vine are from the exclusive PRINCESS CARRIAGE die.
The pictures show the Crate before and after, and then also a close up of the front and side.

And the FREE die goes to.......

Drum roll please....................


The winner of the Pick Your Favorite Die contest from the March Quickutz Release is........


annb!!!!! :)


Congratulations!!!

You can contact Scrapping Cottage to select your free die from the Quickutz March release!

LAYOUT

This 12"x12" layout was done focusing on the inking of the die cuts. I have added some close up pictures to get a better view of them (Remember you can click on the pictures to get a better close up view).
The Dies I have used for this layout are:-

QUICKUTZ GRASS BORDER,
QUICKUTZ HONEY BEE ALPHABET,
QUICKUTZ MONOGRAM SET 'C',
QUICKUTZ MUSHROOMS,
QUICKUTZ BUTTERFLY,
QUICKUTZ BEE,
COTTAGE CUTZ GIRAFFE,
COTTAGE CUTZ BEE,
SIZZIX FENCE,
SIZZIX PIG #2
TIM HOLTZ DISTRESSED INKS,
KAISER RHINESTONES,

Most of these dies are in stock at THE SCRAPPING COTTAGE. ALSO
Make sure you have a look at the fantastic COTTAGE CUTZ April release DIES. They are now available to pre-order at THE SCRAPPING COTTAGE- You don't want to miss out on these gorgeous newly released dies.

Happy Easter!

Easter is a wonderful time of the year!

It is a time of joyous celebration! QuicKutz can help you create fun, delightful decorations to adorn your walls and tables at Easter time and all throughout the year! Look for the myriad of QuicKutz I used to create this bright, cheerful display, at the Scrapping Cottage, your Die-Cutting Super Store!

Easter Egg KS-0414, Chick KS-0411, Jelly Beans RS-0077, Chick and Egg REV-0185, Dragonfly KS-0615, Daisy REV-0033

Little Birdie Hi card

These Anime Birds are perfect for adding a touch of whimsy to your paper crafting projects! I created this card using lots of Quickutz! The scalloped circle is made from the Quickutz Nesting Flowers. Then the bird is the smaller bird from the Rev-sized Anime Birds. The heart speech bubble is the Free Club this month just for purchasing $50 in Quickutz. Who doesn't love free?! I used Quickutz Lemonade Cookie Cutter for the sentiment and then added some stickles for a little bit of sparkle. I also used Black Diamond stickles to create the eye on the bird.

Watch For It Wednesdays! #3

Have you ever tried chalking your diecuts? If not, you are missing out on a FUN and EASY way to add depth and life to your diecuts. :) Look at my photo of the new Sizzix Easter Basket die to

see "before chalking" and "after chalking." All you do is take a Q-tip and rub it on the chalk and

then rub it on your diecut. You can add as much or as little color as you want. I did a card for you to see it finished and put together. The card is also a Sizzix die. It is the Sizzix Bigz XL

Scalloped Card.

A Star is Born Baby Card

For this baby card I used the new Quickutz Nesting Stars.

You get 5 different sizes of stars - I used the 2 smallest on this card and then used my ink pads to shade around the edges.

The ideas are endless when it comes to using stars - watch

for more cards in the coming days with these versatile dies.

Hello Card

For this Hello card I used the new Quickutz flower border #031 and inked the centers of the flowers and used Stickles on the leaves. For the sentiment I used the Maggie font which is on sale right now for the unbelievable price of $49.95 for the complete set. I also used the new double-sided adhesive chipboard sheets from Quickutz to make my title stand out. I put the 2x2 dies on my Revolution and then cut small pieces of the chipboard and placed them over the letters I wanted to cut.

I cut out the chipboard twice for each letter and then again in purple.

I used Hero Arts gemstones around the "O" for a sun with yellow Stickles for the rays.

Happy Birthday Panda Card

I guess Ruth Ellen and I were thinking alike, we

both love the new Quickutz Panda Revolution die.

On my card I ran my light pink cardstock through the Cuttlebug do get the embossed flower background. I chalked the panda and added a bow. The Happy Birthday stamp is from
Hero Arts and the nesting flowers from Quickutz.

Be sure to vote for your favorite die from this

new release for your chance to win a die of your choice.

Need a Hug?

I think this little Panda Bear is so cute!!! Doesn't he look like he is ready to give you a big bear hug?! Using a black pen, I added a simple smile which I felt was the finishing touch to this otherwise adorable shape. This card was created using some Sassafras Lass papers, Making Memories Tiny Alphas, and the new Rev sized Anime Panda Die.

March Quickutz Release and Contest!!!!

The March Quickutz release is here! This is such a fun and whimsical release! The Scrapping Cottage Design Team has some great and innovative projects in store for you. We have had so much fun playing with these new dies so keep checking the Blog everyday and all day because when it is release time, you just never know when a new design is going to be posted!

Not only do we have a new Quickutz release today, but we are also having our Favorite Die contest again! Just like last month, all you need to do is leave a comment in this thread telling us which new die is your favorite and you will be entered in a drawing to win your choice of one of the new dies from the March Quickutz Release (alphabet is excluded). You have until Friday, March 27th to post your comment so get busy studying this release and tell us which die is your favorite!

Autumn Leaves Clear Stamps

Scrapping Cottage has

some beautiful stamps in case you have not checked them out. :) I'm

sharing two cards I made with Autumn Leaves clear stamps. These cards used the set called Mindy's Zoo. The first card I stamped the images with black ink and then colored them using

Prismacolor Pencils and Gamsol. On the second card, I stamped the images on

patterned papers and cut out to creat the "jungle scene." :) Be sure to check out

all the fabulous rubber stamps at Scrapping Cottage.

FORMAL INVITATION

Sorry, this is not a great photo, but no matter how many times I took it, I could not capture the true elegant look of this invitation. Remember that you can click on an image to enlarge it and It will give you a much more detailed & clearer image :-)

Keeping with the 'Formal' theme I used for my last layout, I have once again used the Quickutz Damask 12" border die and split it long ways through the centre to make the left side border for this invitation card. I cut the Quickutz Revolution Chandelier from textured cardstock and added Kaiser Pearls to give it a more formal & fancy look. The light shades are cut from Vellum paper and I inked around the edges with Tim Holtz Distress Ink. The Chandelier is attached to the card with adhesive foam dots to give it a 3D look and raise it off the Card.
I tore a piece of vellum paper and added the Invited title using the LIMITED EDITION SOPHISTICATE Alphabet set, and then attached it to the card using little silver brads. This invitation card would be great for a Black Tie event, Formal evening dinner, graduation, prize giving etc....

There is a limited quantity of this SOPHISTICATE ALPHABET set in stock at THE SCRAPPING COTTAGE. This limited edition gift set is GREAT VALUE for only $75 (The value of this gift set is worth over $175). Be sure to check out the item description to see all the BONUS exclusive QuicKutz products that are packaged with this alphabet set in a cloth-covered keepsake box. I Just wanted to let you know because I LOVE mine & I'm sure you would too :-)

Layouts using the DAMASK border

I have been working on 2 separate 12”x12” scrapbook layouts this week and for both of them I have focused on using the Quickutz DAMASK 12” border die, Kaiser Pearls, Kaiser Rhinestones & Two sided adhesive sheets. The Scrapping Cottage will be stocking these Kaiser products soon, so there is no need for you to miss out on this fantastic range of amazing products.
For both layouts I have also used the Two-sided adhesive sheets to adhere the borders & Titles to the pages. It’s so easy to use and a lot less messy and time consuming then trying to glue all around the back of fine and fiddly die cuts. You peel off the one side of the two-sided adhesive, place your card or paper face up onto the sticky side of the adhesive, cut out your die cut and there you have it!!! It turns your die cuts into stickers. When you’re ready to use your die cut, peel the paper off the back and stick to your layout or project. These and other great adhesive backed materials are in stock at The Scrapping Cottage.
The Damask border die is one of my ‘Just have to have' dies but did not know where I would use it. I’m sure we all have some of those ‘Just have to have’ dies that we have a quick look at when we get them and have most probably never even taken them out of the packaging. Yes, I am guilty of this, but don’t tell my husband. I still need to get him to understand that buying the die is equally as exciting as using it. I get very excited when I see the postman coming as its like Chrismas for me when I get my packages from The Scrapping Cottage.

The first is a quick & easy Layout for those of us that don’t have a lot of spare time on our hands. It’s also great if you have a whole album to do and want to continue the same theme throughout and don’t want to spend years doing it.
I used the Quickutz Damask border die and then also used sections of this same border die on the right side of the page to give it a different look.
I have also used Two-sided adhesive sheets to stick the border die cuts & the ‘Blossom Grand Alphabet' Title to the page. I printed on Vellum sheets for the centre of the small frame & added Kaiser pearls for that little bit of extra detail as you can see in the close up picture.

For the 2nd layout I have used the Quickutz Damask border die, Aquarius 4x8 alphabet for the ‘Just Hatched’ Title, Rollerskate 4x8 alphabet for the date, Sizzix Bigz Decorative Accent w/flower, Quickutz Cosmopolitan alphabet for the name and the ‘J’ is from the Quickutz Monogram Set. Kaiser Pearls, buttons & press studs were used on the flowers, and Kaiser Rhinestones to decorate the initials of the name (as seen in close up photo).
Bosskut Dinosaur & Sizzix eggs were inked with Tim Holtz Distressed inks.
Don’t forget that you can click on the items in the post and a link will take you directly to that item in the The Scrapping Cottage store.