Happy Mother's Day!

Card and Tags

For my post this week I wanted to do something different to my usual layouts, so I decided to make a card and some tags.
For the “We Have Moved” announcement card I have used the adorable COTTAGE CUTZ HOUSE die. I loved making this little house so much that I cut it out in 4 different colours and am planning on making a row of houses to use as a border for a scrapbook layout.
When making this card I also used the GO KREATE ‘NORTON’ ALPHABET, QUICKUTZ TREES BORDER CC-BDR-018, QUICKUTZ ROCKS KS-0439, QUICKUTZ SIGN RS-0265, QUICKUTZ EXCLUSIVE PRINCESS CARRIAGE C-0118-D-REV and some TIM HOLTZ DISTRESS INKS.







Earlier in the year I altered a mini wooden crate giving it a ‘Farm’ theme – very similar to the theme that I have used for these tags. I was very happy with the way the crate turned out, so I have made 3 matching tags to be used in a layout when I have found the perfect photos to compliment them.

To make these tags I inked with TIM HOLTZ DISTRESS INKS and used the following dies:-
QUICKUTZ GRASS BORDER,
QUICKUTZ MUSHROOMS,
QUICKUTZ PUMPKIN,
QUICKUTZ FLOWERS,
SIZZIX ORIGINALS ROOSTER,
SIZZIX ORIGINALS FENCE,
QUICKUTZ EXCLUSIVE PRINCESS CARRIAGE.

I also needed a big Chunky Tag die, which I don’t have, So my friend was kind enough to lend me her large SIZZIX SUPER SCALLOP TAG die – Thanks Julie :-)
I think I need to find one of these large Tag dies for myself or a very simular alternative because the size is fantastic.

Everyday.......an Adventure!

"When you arise in the morning,

think of what a precious

privilege it is to be alive-

to breathe, to think,

to enjoy, to love."

Marcus Aurelius

Life is wonderful adventure!

QuicKutz and CottageCutz dies help us to express our

artistic imaginations as we live the adventure! They are

wonderful alone or all mixed up together! This layout

is a cluster of many QuicKutz that tell a story of a day in

the life of my two youngest children. I love the versatility of

the dies because no matter how you use them, your projects

will always be unique and sensational!

I chose a variety of fun shapes, most of which can be purchased at

The Scrapping Cottage for more than 40% off!!!!

There are several hearts (KS-0789 and RS-0010),

a fun swirl (0582), a delightful star (RS-0154), and some fantastic flowers (KS-0531-this one is more than 50% off!) (RS-0349) (RS-0015)!!

The sky is the limit! Treat yourself to a bundle of QuicKutz!

You can add to your collection as you save a lot of money!!

Watch For It Wednesdays #9

I get asked a lot of questions about my scrapbooking but the question I get asked the most is “How do I ink my die cuts and what do I use”? There are many different ways and products to ink with so not everyone will have the same equipment & style. The best way is to keep practising with different techniques until you find a style that works for you. There is no one set way of inking, and that is what makes this such a fun and exciting technique.
I am going to go through step by step the way that I do my inking so that you can see how I do it and hopefully get an idea of how to start inking your die cuts until you can build your own technique & style.
The above picture shows the Banner before and after it has been inked.


For this demonstration I have used:- The Quickutz Banner Border die for the die cut, Tim Holtz Distress Ink ‘Vintage Photo’ (medium brown), Tim Holtz Distress Ink ‘Walnut Stain’ (dark brown), Sponge cloth, Pencil and a Piece of scrap paper to work on when inking.


STEP 1- Cut a piece of Kitchen sponge cloth into a rectangle shape about 2”x4”. Cut 1 for each colour ink you will be using – This will keep your colours separate & stop your ink pads turning into a horrible mud colour.


STEP 2:- With a lead pencil, very lightly draw an outline where the banner looks like it’s going to fold back on itself. This will help you see where you need to add some shadow to give your banner a 3D look.


Step 3:- Fold your piece of Sponge Cloth in half and hold it with the open end towards the palm of your hand. Place your fingers on top and your thumb underneath. You are now ready to ink.



Step 4:- Using your lighter coloured ink first,(if you are using more than 1 shade of colour) ink the underneath front section of your sponge. The size of your die cut will determine the amount of ink needed. Because I am doing a long die cut, I have inked the entire length of the bottom of the sponge.



STEP 5:- Always start inking from the edge of your die cut working towards the centre so that the darker areas are on the edges and to avaid having solid lines in the middle of your die cuts where there shouldn't be any lines - It just give your inking a much smoother more flowing look. Press your sponge down firmly on the very edge of the of your die cut or just over onto the scrap paper you are working on and ‘flick’ the sponge upwards towards you (now pick the sponge up off the floor and try it again, but this time keep a hold onto the sponge and don’t let go :-) :-) :-) - sorry I couldn’t resist :-). This will help your ink gradually change from dark to light as it get closer to the middle of your die cut.



STEP 6:- Keep repeating step 5 until you have gone all the way around your die cut. You may need to do the same area a few times to get a look that you are happy with. Don’t forget to ink the area where you drew your pencil line for the Banners Shaded areas. For this area place your inked sponged along the pencil line as if that was the edge of your die cut and flick your sponge forwards towards where you would like your shadow to be.


STEP 7:- If you are using a second ink, this is where you would start the inking process again from the beginning using the darker shade of ink. You will now ink over the top of your other inking but this time you will ink very lightly still doing the flicking motion and not ink as much of the die cut area as you did with the lighter ink. This would be more of an outlined shadow area so you would stay more to the edges of your die cut.
Remember when you are inking with more than 1 Shade of a colour, always start with the lighter Shade first and then the darkest Shade last. Gradually add your colours because you can always add a darker colour on top of the lighter colours, but it gets very difficult when you are trying to do it the other way around.


Step 8:- Finally, to ink the edge of the die cut pick it up and with your sponge, holding it the opposite way as before, this time with your thumb on top and fingers underneath, put the inked section of the sponge onto the side of the die cut and do the flicking motion away from you. Continue until you have gone around the entire edge of the die cut. You are now FINISHED and ready to use your die cut in a project.



This may sound complicated, but trust me IT’S NOT. Each time you try it, it will easier & easier. I believe that the best way to learn is by your mistakes so don’t be scared to experiment with different products, sponges & techniques. You will soon find out whether it’s your style or not. So go and experiment. You may be surprised at what you turn out with. Don’t worry if you make a mistake or 2 because they can always be covered up by some die cuts or pretty flowers etc. :-)

Feelin' Groovy

Today I chose to highlight the CottageCutz Groovy Car. What a fun die to work with, doesn't it remind you of the Partridge Family TV show? I know some of you are too young to remember that far back.

Back in high school I had a friend who drove an old red beetle bug that didn't need a key to start it, she used a screw driver! Anyway, I added the flowers from an EK Success flower punch that I thought went great with this die and a few Hero Arts mini stamps for my background. For my windows I used Quickutz Vellum Adhesive sheets (which are on sale right now for $2.95!) and a gray marker. When using these vellum sheets make sure you know which side is vellum and which side is the tear off strip.

I cut a piece of the vellum and placed it vellum side to the diecut, ran it through my Revolution and then colored it with a gray marker, peeled it off and placed it on my Groovy car.

Natasha also used the Groovy Car in her post last Saturday. She even used distress ink to make it look great on the road in her cute layout .

Dry embossing is one of my favorite things to include on a card. Sizzix has made it SO much easier than in the past. Remember when we had to drag out the light box and do all the work by
hand with our brass stencils and stylus?? I loved the look but would rarely bother to do it. The
embossing folders have changed that though. Now dry embossing is super fast and easy. :) This wedding card uses the new Medallions, Frame & Damask Textured Impressions Folders.
You get four different designs with this set. I used the largest one on this card. It looks elegant
when done on white cardstock and is perfect for wedding cards. The card also has some Sizzix
Sizzlit Butterflies too. (Remember I have "butterfly fever.") :) If you haven't tried the new Sizzix textured impressions folders, I highly recommend them! :)

BEEP BEEP

Getting a 1 year old to sit and pose ‘Happily’ for photographs is almost impossible, so when Jacob happily sat and posed for me, I quickly took as many photo’s as I could until he decided that he’d had enough. It’s amazing how many photographs you can take in 2 minutes if they just sit still and co-operate:-) I managed to take some gorgeous photos of Jacob playing with his truck and could not wait to use them in a layout, So for this weeks project I decided to do a double page 12”x 12” layout with a boyish theme to it. I am happy with the way it turned out and just L-O-V-E the QUICKUTZ UNIVERSITY ALPHABET that I used as the size is Perfect for large titles.




For this layout I used the following Dies and products:-
COTTAGE CUTZ -LIMITED EDITION- GROOVEY CAR SC-CC4x4-025
QUICKUTZ UNIVERSITY COOKIE CUTTER GRAND ALPHABET
QUICKUTZ CLOUDS CC-BDR-032
QUICKUTZ TREE REV-0182-D
QUICKUTZ FILM STRIP CC-SHAPE-1-033
QUICKUTZ TRACTOR REV-0112-S (ON SALE AT THE MOMENT FOR $9.95 - WHAT A BARGAIN :-)
QUICKUTZ CEMENT MIXER REV-0111-S (ALSO ON SALE AT THE MOMENT FOR $9.95 - ANOTHER GREAT BARGAIN :-)
QUICKUTZ AIRPLANE REV-0109-S
QUICKUTZ ROADS REV-0053
QUICKUTZ SUN RS-0934 (ANOTHER GREAT DIE ON SALE FOR ONLY $3.95 :-)
QUICKUTZ FLOWERS KS-0535 (I LOVE THIS DIE AND IT IS ON SALE FOR AN AMAZING $2.95 - WOW:-)
SIZZIX PICKET FENCE 38-0213
TIM HOLTZ DISTRESS INKS

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE SCRAPPING COTTAGE FOR MORE AMAZING ITEMS ON SALE- DONT DELAY BECASUE YOU DONT WONT TO MISS OUT.

NSD Quickutz Gift Sets!!!!

It is Spring Gift Set time and Quickutz has released FOUR gifts sets!!! Each set includes a unique font plus coordinating shapes. Plus, the metal dies included in these gift sets are actually colored for even more fun! DO NOT DELAY!!! Quickutz has run out of these sets so if you were thinking of getting them, act fast!

Happy Shopping!!

Friday Fun - Quickutz Contact Card Projects

Here are a couple of projects I made using the new Quickutz Rounded Contact Card. This die makes a card that is the same shape as a standard rolodex card. Just think of all the cute rolodex cards you could make with it! How about your own birthday reminder rolodex?? Or an email address rolodex?? There are so many fun things you could do with it. This die would also be great used as a journaling block on a layout, too. Be sure to check it out along with all the other Back to Basics dies from the April Release!

Snow Angels 101

This week I have been playing with the new Instant Photo Cookie Cutter Die from the April Quickutz release. This is such a fun die and really much more versatile than it seems at first. You will need the the 12" platform and 12" cutting mat to cut this die, though, because it is a little longer than 4". I wouldn't want you to get it home and then be disappointed you couldn't use your new Instant Photo Die right away - although this is a great excuse to get the 12" platform if you haven't already!!

I tried to do something a little different than just use it as an instant photo replica (although it is REALLY cute like that!) By turning it on its side and using colored cardstock instead of white, you get an entirely different look. I also used Diesel Classic and Lemonade skinni mini.

Watch For It Wednesdays #8

Sizzix has some very nice embossing folders. They come in packages of two large OR one large
and three smaller folders. I recently got the Spring Flowers and Paisley Set.
I opened the package and was heading to the garbage can when the "lightbulb" went off. :)
It seemed a shame to throw away such a large heavy weight piece of plastic. I cut a piece from
the plastic and ran it thru my Big Shot with the Sizzix Bigz Scalloped Square die.

What to do with the pretty scalloped plastic square now????? The "lightbulb" went off again
(wow, two times in one day). :) I put the scalloped square in the Sizzix Textured Impression
Paisley folder and ran it thru my Big Shot.


The clear embossed plastic was pretty but I still wanted more! :) So the "lightbulb" went off
a third time (amazing I know). :) I colored the back of the plastic with a new color of alcohol ink called Citrus. Now I had a pretty embossed colored embellishment for a card. :)

I cut another Scalloped Square from white cardstock to put behind the plastic piece (so it would

show up better). Cut another scalloped square from some paisley print paper, added a flower,

sticker and some brads for a quick and easy card. The best part though was my "fancy"

embellishment was FREE (so to speak). :) Now I'll have to get all the Sizzix Textured Impressions just to get the plastic wrapper. (Wink, wink!!!!!) :)

It's a Girl Giraffe Card

Have you noticed this past year that giraffes and other zoo type animals have become so popular for baby items? I just love this CottageCutz Giraffe, he is so cute! (I know I say this about all the CottageCutz dies I work with, but it's true) For this card I used some cute baby girl paper that had giraffes on it and copied the colors into my diecut giraffe. I shaded him with some chalk and used some Kaiser pearls for his.....what do they call those things??? LOL!

I used some mounting tape to pop him off the card and then used the smallest Quickutz nesting flower die for the "it's a girl".

If your a Quickutz fan and you haven't tried some of these CottageCutz dies you are missing out.

Check them out and order a few before they're gone because they go quickly!

Butterfly "Art" Card

Do you ever go thru "phases"? :) Right now I am in a "butterfly phase." I can' t get enough of
butterfly dies, stamps, etc.!!!! I guess you could say I have started a butterfly collection. :) Today's card is a fast and easy one (the best kind, right?). It uses the
Sizzlits Butterfly and Flower #2 Hello Kitty set. The quote in the center is a rub-on by Autumn
Leaves. For a fun look to your dies, add text from an old book (the butterfly centers and center
of the card). All right, who else is going to collect butterflies with me? (Wink, wink.) :)

Birthday Card

I have been playing around with some of the COTTAGE CUTZ April release dies which I L-O-V-E and I have made this Birthday card using the
COTTAGE CUTZ CUPCAKE TIER 4x4 die and the GO KREATE ‘BOO, FOR YOU’ 4x4 die. I’ve also used the QUICKUTZ APRON KS-0559, QUICKUTZ CHEF’S HAT RS-0242 and the QUICKUTZ HAPPY BIRTHDAY REV-0157-S die for the title which I cut twice in black & green so that I could mount it and make it stand out a little. The little tongs are from the QUICKUTZ CHEF'S COSTUME revolution die. I have also inked my die cuts with TIM HOLTZ DISTRESS INKS and sprinkled some KAISERCRAFT RHINESTONES on top of the cupcakes to make them sparkle.

And the winner is...............

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

The winner of this month's free die is.........................

Rebecca!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats to you and thanks for everyone who entered this month! Don't forget to enter next month!

Rebecca, you may contact Scrapping Cottage to choose your free die (excluding the alpha). Enjoy your shopping!!

LAST CHANCE!!!!

Don't miss out!! You have until midnight tonight to make a comment on this thread telling us which is your favorite die from the new April Quickutz Release for your chance to win a free die of your choice (excluding the alpha)!

WELCOME

I have had a lot of fun this week using some of the new QUICKUTZ APRIL RELEASE DIES and they are just great. My favourite die from this latest release is the QUICKUTZ 12” BANNER BORDER DIE CC-BDR-033. I fell in love with it when I first saw it, and now that I have used it I know that I made the right choice choosing this die. It looks terrific on 12” x12”page layouts and even more fantastic if you add just a little inking or shading to it. The photo at the bottom of this post shows what a difference just a little inking can do to a die cut. I used the TIM HOLTZ ‘walnut stain’ DISTRESS INK to make the banner look more 3 dimensional.
This layout would look great as the front page of a baby album, so I have not overcrowded it and instead used fewer die cuts to make the photo stand out more. As the saying goes “sometimes Less is more”, and that is what I have tried to achieve with my layout this week.
The titles are made with the GO KREATE ‘NORTON’ alphabet. This is a Fabulous alphabet because it looks great and you are actually getting 2 uni case alphabets (1 larger alphabet like the one I used for my title, and a second smaller uni case alphabet like the letters that I used to write the name Jacob. (The ‘J’ is from the Quickutz Monogram Alphabet set which I double mounted) The larger size of the Norton alphabet has also got the Punctuation and Numbers.
In this layout I have also used the new release QUICKUTZ CLIPBOARD REV-0195-S, the QUICKUTZ NOTEBOOK SHEET REV-0194-S which fits perfectly onto the the clipboard, the COTTAGE CUTZ WHEELBARROW OF FLOWERS, except I replaced the flowers with the GO-KREATE ‘BOO ON HIS BUM’ DIE . And finally I have used the QUICKUTZ RAINBOW & CLOUD.

So Happy!

Brackets, Brackets everywhere!!

The QuicKutz new Back to the Basics release is filled with brackets, banners, arrows and lots of fun!!

I have always loved to use brackets in my layouts! They are stylish, unique and innovative! In this layout, I used some border brackets very similar to the new release QuicKutz bracket ( I confess, I cheated.....I don't have the new BIG QuicKutz bracket yet so I have to love the idea of it until it arrives!! But when I get it.....I am going to go crazy!! LOL) :O)

New Quickutz nesting labels!

I am in love with the new Nesting Labels from the April Quickutz release!! Both sets are in the cookie cutter format and are so versatile! They would make a great addition to your collection no matter what type of paper crafting you enjoy.

Today, I am featuring the longer rectangular set of nesting labels. This set comes with three different sizes of labels. Not only are you able to cut out solid labels in these three different sizes, the dies are also designed so that you are able to cut out label borders as well. So in reality, you get six different cuts from this set!!

In my first project, I created a layout using SEI papers and the middle sized nesting label to create my title block. You can see what a great size this one is for creating titles.
For my second project, I have created a card using the largest nesting label and the middle sized label together.

Keep checking the blog regularly for even more new projects using the fabulous dies from this latest Quickutz release. Plus, don't forget to leave a comment here telling us which is your favorite die from this release for your chance to win a FREE DIE of your choice (excluding the alpha) from the April release. Happy Scrapping!!