AccuCut Craft Blog

Great basic album

Posted by Jen Cramer

Sometimes the most simple album shape is the best because it offers the most versatility. AccuCut's Album 8 1/2" x 4 1/4" is one I always reach for -- and this jumbo die is a bargain at just $50. 

You can use it to make an album either vertically or horizontally, and hold the pages together with either ribbon or metal rings. Check out this Arrow Album by Traci Armbrust.

And one more album she made: Enjoy Life's Moments. Love that paisley shape too.

Personally, I like to make notepads using this album die. I made the one below for CHA... in addition to the album die, it uses our new Creative Cafe Butterfly #8 die (it has three butterfly sizes!) and our original Border-Interlocking #1, which makes a rick rack shape. To cut the covers, I layer both sides of chipboard with pattern paper and then cut out two covers. I use copy paper for the inside pages -- grid paper would also be neat. I'll have to try that next time.

You can see more ideas using this album die here.

One of my favorite cards

Posted by Jen Cramer

Today I thought I would share with you one of my favorite AccuCut card dies - the Tag Card. Below is a pic of two sets of the die-cut shapes.

It's a two-die set. The outside tag card shape (green die cut) is on a wood die, and the inset tag (orange shape) that fits on both the inside and outside of the card is a Clear Cuts(TM) die. Clear Cuts dies are made out of clear acrylic so you can see through the die to see what you are cutting. 

I love this die because it makes a great A2-size card and it can also be used for albums. Here's a link to not one but 10 project ideas using this card die!

This Happy Birthday Tag Card made by Vicki Chrisman is a classic use of the die. Just adding some stamped flower images and a happy birthday saying are sure to brighten someone's day!

And this Live Your Dream Album was made by Marah Johnson using the same die:

 

Marah used the wood tag card die to cut the album cover -- she cut the cover out of AccuCut's Clear Plastic Sheets. Then she used the same die to cut an inside pages out of paper. She also used the Clear Cuts tag die to cut layering shapes for the covers. It's all held together with a pretty ribbon for the binding.

This die would be a great basic for a scrapbook store's die cutting center or any designer's work room. Make sure you check out all 10 projects that were made with the Tag Card.

Tuesdays with Tammy: Sell More Maya Road Products

Posted by Tammy Miller

One of the best parts of my job is sharing with customers the idea of how to use your AccuCut machine and dies to help sell more product in your store. Not only do you want to cut scrapbooking shapes out of cardstock and chipboard to sell, you can use our machine to cut cardstock in just the right shape to layer over tins and chipboard books.

In our new 2008 Craft Catalog we just announced our new line of Maya Road dies to coordinate with 18 Maya Road products. (Retailers buy the dies from AccuCut and buy the Maya Road "bare" products from Maya Road.)

Some of my favorite new dies in our Maya Road line coordinate with their tins and coordinating chipboard books. For example, the Maya Road Coffee Tin die cuts three shapes, the top of the tin (which also fits the inside of the lid), the front panel (with a notch for the latch), and the back panel. The Maya Road tins are great because the handles are removable and you can put them back on after you layer the top with paper.

Here is a finished project using the tin decorated with die-cut shapes:

And the Maya Road Coffee Break Chipboard Book die can be used to cut the pages for the book that fits inside the tin:

Here are what the shapes on that die and the "bare" chipboard book look like (below). Cut two of the top shape to wrap around the outside of the book and then the rectangle piece fits on the spine. The bottom two shapes are nice because you can cut more pages faster, plus you can have a continuous pattern across the inside of the "spread". You get all of that on just one die!

If you buy any of the Maya Road dies, here are ways to use them in your store:

1. Offer classes on Maya Road projects. Teaching a class with a bare Maya Road Tin could be time-intensive, but with the die to match the tin you can quickly cut the kits for the class, giving the instructor and the student more time to be creative. The great part about classes for tins is that students will need to buy more product to decorate the tins. Plus, it's a great way to show customers what the purpose is for these dies and they'll want to make more.
2. Pre-cut paper and sell kits to decorate the tins. Display the pre-cut package and a sample of what it creates near the tins so your customers can just grab and go. Make kits for upcoming holidays (Easter is around the corner!) or for events such as "back to school" (teacher gifts).
3. Let your customers’ creativity shine -- and sell more tins! -- by having a contest. We all love to show what we have created. Get your customers involved in your store and inspire them to make something by offering the chance to win a store gift certificate or other prize. Plus, everyone loves a friendly competition where they can see everyone else's ideas. Whether it is for Mother's Day or celebrating the upcoming seasons, adding ribbon, stickers and rub-ons to Maya Road tins can be fun and satisfying to any artistic individual.

I know you can be very successful with these dies. Good luck!

UP CLOSE: Convertibles albums and cards

Posted by Jen Cramer

One of my favorite products to show customers is the Convertibles Card & Album System. The system consists of four sizes of inserts that fit into uniquely designed card and album dies that have a "hole" in them to hold interchangeable inserts. Scrapbook stores like them because it's an economical way to give their customers a variety of card and album shapes.

Our most popular insert size is Series 1 and there are multiple coordinating dies to create both albums and cards. (The other sizes -- Series 2, 3 and 4 -- currently only fit in card dies.) If you're interested in the system, I would start with Series 1. So, let's see how it works.

Here you can see our Album 6" x 6" Convertibles Cover die (A1023CJ). It has a hole in the middle of the die that fits a Series 1 insert. There are no die blades in this "hole" area, so if I do not put an insert in, then it will cut a solid page. You can see that I used this die to cut out the back cover for an album that I want to make. I can also cut out inside pages.

Now I want to make the cover page, so I need to choose an insert. We currently have 24 Series 1 inserts to choose from, and one of my favorites is this one -- Square-Scalloped (CV119). It makes a 3" x 3" scalloped "frame" for your album cover. Insert dies range from $20 to $40 each, based on how much steel rule is in the die and the complexity of the shape. This particular insert is $40.

You simply place the insert die inside the hole of the album die. When I put the die on the tray I visualize that I am looking at the "inside" of the album or card, and I put my paper on the die so that the "correct" side is facing down on the die. In this example, I placed the striped side of the paper on the foam and then rolled the die through the machine (not shown). I get an album cover with a scalloped square hole in it -- perfect for a photo or other embellishment to show through.

I can cut a variety of inside pages if I want and then I can put them together in an album.

Before we move on to cards, here is a quick example of that same Square-Scalloped insert in our Album 6 1/2" x 8" Convertibles Cover die (it also appeared in the 2/21 post). See the project page here.

Now on to cards.... Series 1 inserts also fit into a variety of Convertibles card dies. Here is our basic A7 Card-Convertibles #2 die (NC597CJ) that has two holes to fit Series 4 inserts. But with a $10 Convertibles Insert-Adapter (CV403) I can also use my Series 1 inserts with this card die. For this card we could use the same Square-Scalloped insert if we wanted, but let's go ahead and use a 3" Circle (CV109).

Once again, I visualize that I am looking at the inside of my card. I want to cut a circle frame in the front of the card so I put the adapter in the left side and then add the circle insert die. (In case you are wondering why there is also an insert hole on the right side of the card die, we also have dies to cut gift card and photo holders for the inside of cards.)

I placed the patterned side of my paper down on the die (not shown) and rolled it through the GrandeMARK machine. Now I have a perfectly placed circle in the top center of my A7 card. (I'll save the circle die cut to use on another project.) I just love the versatility of our Convertibles dies and how quickly I can make multiples of a unique card shape. They are such a time-saver.

Here are a couple cards made using the same A7 card die and a variety of inserts.

Hugs and Kisses card using Square #2 (CV106) insert:

Hoppy Easter card using two Series 4 inserts, which are also good basics: one to cut the frame in the front of the card and one to cut slits to hold a 3.5" x 5" photo.

The Album 6" x 6" Convertibles Cover that I showed at the beginning of the post was very popular at CHA and I highly suggested to store owners to buy that die along with the coordinating Album 6" x 6" Round Tabs & Page 3-die set (A1036J) and 3-5 Series 1 inserts to get started. Shown below, the tabs and page set includes one die with a non-tabbed page and a spacer. The spacer can be used between pages or it can also be used as a "spine" on the front and back. Then there are two tabbed pages on separate dies. The die with the tab at the top is used for both the top and bottom tab (just flip the cut page over to get the third tab).

I hope that helped to explain how our Convertibles Card & Album System works. If you want more information, go to the Convertibles category on our site and click on the "download" link underneath the card image to see the Convertibles section from our 2008 Craft Catalog. There are new charts to help you see what the inserts look like in each card/album die -- that's a big improvement we added this year based on your feedback. You can always call our Customer Service department (800-288-1670) for more information too!

From butterflies to birds

Posted by Jen Cramer

Yesterday I talked about the awesome new butterfly dies, but, I tell you what.... the new Birds #1 die was just as popular with customers at CHA. You get three cute birds and two wings on one die, and it comes in small, long cut and jumbo sizes. Personally, I love the small size for bags and boxes and the long cut size has lots of versatility.

Here's a link to all of our projects using the Birds #1 die in various sizes. And here are two boxes using the small version of the die. The first is a small box that is only 2 3/8" square -- how cute is that? The tiniest bird make a perfect accent. See the Birdy Gift Box die and materials list.

And here's another box using the small Birds #1 die (see Thanks Gable Box). Like the previous project, the bird and wing were both cut out of paper layered onto chipboard. This gives the die cut depth and adds interest to the project. In the project below, the wing is actually a lighter shade than the bird itself, which also adds interest.

By the way, that is one of our most popular boxes -- the Box-Gable in crease jumbo size. If you are using a GrandeMARK machine, always make sure to get the "crease" die for your bags, boxes, cards, etc. -- the crease die has "score" blades to create nice fold lines.

NEXT WEEK: We'll show you how our Convertibles Card and Album System works and our new heavyweight black chipboard.

Butterflies are everywhere

Posted by Jen Cramer

As part of the new Creative Cafe dies to coordinate with the Creative Cafe line from Creative Imaginations, Danelle Johnson designed three butterfly dies that have a total of SIX butterflies on them. The best part is that they all layer perfectly on top of each other.

Here you can see two of the dies -- Butterfly #8 and Butterfly #9 -- using the Creative Cafe Spirit line.

Here are two more Creative Cafe projects using the three butterfly dies:

We also made some projects with other lines. You can see at least 10 butterfly projects here, including these. This one was a very popular Convertibles album at CHA. Love that scalloped insert that makes the hole in the middle of the album.

And Butterfly #8, which has three layering butterflies, is such a versatile die for making embellishments for anything... pages, cards and a mini butterfly bag like this one.

I hope you love the butterflies as much as we do! I saw lots of new papers at CHA that used butterflies on them so I think they are definitely going to be a must have going into spring and summer.

Tuesdays with Tammy: Take care of your machine.

Posted by Tammy Miller

I had such a wonderful time at CHA – the creativity, the people, the excitement – all of it. It's fun to talk to people about the GrandeMARK machine and how it can cut shapes to make beautiful projects but, more importantly, it can be a money maker for a store.

I think more and more store owners understand the concept of “Smart Business, Easy Money”. I heard over and over that the stores' die cutting centers are so busy. When they are inspired by classes and projects on display, customers want to get their hands on the machine and make something for themselves. (That means they're buying product!) In addition to buying lots of new dies, many stores even purchased additional GrandeMARK machines to keep up with demand.

Having busy die cutting centers mean they need to be maintained. Store employees and customers need a few minutes of training on how to use the machine properly. Be sure to explain the importance of the die being placed completely flat in the tray. The die should also always touch one side of the tray. Moving the die around in the tray, or not cutting in the exact center of the tray every time, will extend the life of the tray. I know that's a challenge in a center with many people using the machine, but if you see someone cutting multiple cards or shapes, it's definitely worth a friendly reminder.

A few more tips.... Keep the tray free and clear of paper scraps. Do not shim under the die. Replace your tray and plastic as needed. You'll find that if you maintain your machine then customers will want to use it more often... and will keep coming back to your store to use the machine.

At CHA, one store owner mentioned to me that she keeps her plastic behind the counter, letting the customers use the GrandeMARK after they have “checked out” the plastic and have been trained on the machine. This has been successful in her store and may be something to consider in yours too.

Before I go, I have to leave you with some creative inspiration. I think I had our new Ribbon 11 1/2" die on almost every show order -- everyone loved that unique scalloped edge! Here are two examples that we showed in our booth. The shape is 11 1/2" square so it is perfect for layering on a 12" x 12" page as a background.

And here is it cut out of patterned paper on chipboard and used as a wall hanging. You can see this entire project with all dies listed here.

See you next Tuesday!

Creative Cafe: Mobile at CHA

Posted by Jen Cramer

Check out this video from CHA that Kristi Sikora-Blankenship shot at the Hampton Art and AccuCut booths. She cracks me up! Plus you get to see lots of projects using Creative Cafe dies.

CHA: Last day!

Posted by Jen Cramer

One more day to go here at CHA... the week has just blown by! I promised a photo of the Tim Holtz GrungeBoard bracelets that attendees brought to our booth to cut. Here it is:

We cut the edges with our Border-Scallops-Decorative die on both sides of the GrungeBoard. I HAVE to get over there today to pick up one for myself! ; )

Here is one more picture of a fun display we had at the show. It is a hanging display with tons of tags showing lots of die cuts. This one has accents and hardware and the other display showed off our flowers. It was really helpful when trying to decide what to buy!

Well, I better get ready for the show. I'll post again on Friday if I don't get to it tomorrow, since we're traveling back to COLD Nebraska. And I was just getting used to 70 degrees!

CHA: Day 3

Posted by Jen Cramer

I added a few more pictures to the CHA photo album and I'll add more tonight. I'll also try to take a picture today of Tim Holtz's GrungeBoard bracelet that he's sending people over to die-cut a fancy edge on. Everyone wants one and they can only cut it at AccuCut! I'm going to have to snag one for myself today.