AccuCut Craft Blog

Countdown to 2009

Posted by Tara Smithberg

A new year is right around the corner! And what a great year 2008 was with so many wonderful projects, new dies and creative inspiration! With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to look back on a few of my favorite projects from 2008.

The Boot Album: This fun album created by Traci Armbrust makes any cowgirl want to kick up her heels. Read the full blog post.

Christmas Photo Explosion Box: What a cool use of clear plastic sheets. I love the variety of shapes and patterns that Traci Armbrust used to create this one. Read the full blog post.

  

An Awesome Owl: I love the new owl die we came out with this year. He looks great on cards, scrapbook pages and more. Here's a great card designed by Jen Cramer.

Wish Us Love Page: These Creative Cafe "wish" and "love" dies are so versatile. They look great on this page created by Jen Cramer. I also love the bracket block page background.

The Cupcake Card: And last but not least, who can resist this sweet cupcake card created by Traci Armbrust that looks good enough to eat? Read the full blog post.

 

Happy New Year, everyone! We're looking forward to bringing you lots of great dies, projects ideas, techniques and much more in 2009. 

Happy holiday wishes

Merry Christmas, everyone! We'll be back next week with more great ideas!

Drumroll, please... We have brand new cutting mats!

Posted by Tara Smithberg

We couldn't wait for CHA to bring you our brand new cutting mats! These mats last 10 times longer than the current plastic used with GrandeMARK die cutting machines. Plus, they make a more defined crease when cutting cards, bags and boxes.

 

After more than nine years of using the cutting plastic, our designer Traci Armbrust is very excited to use these new mats.

"They are perfect for cutting bags and boxes--you get a much more defined crease. After using them now for a while, they are very durable and make rolling the dies through the machine so much smoother and easier."

Here are a few photos of them in action.  

 

You can see here how defined the crease is after cutting this box shape out of cardstock, making folding a breeze.  

  

Different sizes are available to work with all dies, from mini to giant. To buy online, visit our website.

Dreaming of a white Christmas

Posted by Tara Smithberg

Snowy weather has been hitting all over the country the past few days, which means, if you've been hoping for a white Christmas, your dream is very likely to come true! This scrapbook page created by Traci Armbrust sums up the feeling you get from enjoying a cup of hot chocolate after being out in the cold.

I love how Traci used the pastel colors from the photograph to inspire the colors of the page background and embellishments. She used the jumbo Scallop Mat shape in white to really make the photo pop. I love the scalloped edge. This shape can be cut to any size and used with any photo. It also can be used to cut covers and pages for a small album.

Traci created a flurry of snowflake embellishments by layering various shapes, including the small and large Snowflakes #4, the mini Snowflakes #2, mini Dingbats and Coasters #1 in pastel colors. She secured each one with a colorful brad. To complete the page, she added a happy saying with rub-ons.

 

Projects that will set your heart aflutter

Posted by Tara Smithberg

It's hard to believe Christmas is one week from today! And as I was walking through the store the other day, I noticed that there was already Valentine's Day candy on display!

It got me thinking that now is the perfect time to start planning ahead for Valentine's Day projects. I thought I'd share a few with you to get your creative juices flowing.

Traci Armbrust created this adorable bag using the super jumbo Bag #10 die. This is a great bag that could be customized for any occasion, by the way. She created a cute interlocking heart embellishment using the small Hearts #2 die and accented with ribbon. 

The swirly border and flowers tie the whole project together. The border was made using the Ribbon Border die and the sweet flowers were cut from the mini Buttons #2 die.

What a great way to package up a small Valentine's gift!

 

Here's a project that is easy to fall in love with. Traci made this cute Valentine's Day card with the Ribbon Card two-die set. She made cupid the focus with the small Cupid #2 die and layered him on top of the lovely Vintage shape.

 

I hope these projects get you excited for a happy 2009!

One well-rounded snowman

Posted by Tara Smithberg

It is officially winter here in Nebraska! The snow has been falling all day, and it's put me in the mood to bring you a snowman you don't even have to brave the cold weather to make. Most importantly, he won't melt.  

Using the Snowman #1 die, Traci Armbrust created this adorable 3-D snowman. Standing tall at 9 1/4", he would look perfect as a centerpiece or as a party decoration.

This die includes five separate pieces: the snowman body, two arms, a hat and a base. You can easily customize the snowman's look by creating personalized accessories and using different colors for the hat and arms.

Here, Traci added a scarf and gave him a "Happy Holidays" sign to hold using the Nameplates #4 die. She added a sweet flower on his hat for a punch of color using the mini Buttons #2 die.

For extra pizzazz, you can make glittery trees as a background using the large and jumbo Tree #6 dies. These trees stand up on their own so it is easy to move them around. You could create a whole snowman family scene!

This would be a great project to make with kids--and retailers, this project would make a wonderful kit or class.

Cook up some fun with an apron pocket card

Posted by Tara Smithberg

Now is the time to start digging out all of your favorite holiday recipes! And while you're deciding what delicious dishes to make this season, I thought this project might be a great one to use as a holiday party favor or an extra special item to attach to a wrapped gift.

Designer Traci Armbrust created this fun pocket card with the A7 Apron Invitation die. I love how she attached buttons to make it look authentic. You could cut this out of festive holiday paper and include a few of your favorite holiday recipes in the pocket. So simple and easy. It's a great size too--5" wide x 7" tall. Traci added a ribbon and one of the ribbon slides from the 3/8" mini Ribbon Slides die.

For a final touch, she added a "kiss the cook"rub-on for personality. For a holiday apron, you could personalize each one with the recipient's name or a special message.

Retailers, this project would make a great class all year round or would be perfect for a recipe swap party favor.

Have a great weekend, everyone and happy cooking! 

What to get the person who has everything...

Posted by Tara Smithberg

It never fails. Every year there is always one person on my Christmas list that has me stumped. What do you get the person who has everything? Or the person you don't know very well? Or someone who is extremely picky? Thank goodness for the old stand by--the gift card.

Gift cards can seem impersonal, but not when you package them up in a handmade, custom gift card holder! You'll let that special someone know that their gift wasn't just a last-minute buy or an afterthought.

Check out these great Christmas gift card holders Jen Cramer made using gift card dies. These could not be any easier.

Here, Jen used the A2 Gift Card die. Simply cut the gift card holder and mat for the inside of the card with festive paper. Use rub-ons to add a personalized message and insert a gift card. How easy is that?

Here's what the inside looks like.  

This cute polka dot card was made with the Gift Card Holder die. This one is slightly smaller than the card above.

 

 

From holidays to birthdays to anniversaries, these gift holder dies can be used all year round. Retailers, these dies would be great to package up in kits using a variety of themed paper and coordinating embellishments or simply cut and sell individually for a quick purchase at checkout.

Now you can cross one more gift off your shopping list!

Did someone say chocolate?

Posted by Tara Smithberg

In need of a small holiday gift or party favor? You can never go wrong with chocolate wrapped up in a festive package. Here are a few easy Christmas gift ideas from designer Kellie Fortin at JustRite Stampers.

These adorable little gift bags were made using the Bag-Treat Wrap die. This die is so versatile--no wonder it's featured in several projects on their project gallery!

Here, Kellie added fun messages using JustRite Christmas stamps. AccuCut has many holiday shapes that would work well for stamping and embellishing these gift bags as well, including snowflakes, Christmas trees and stockings.

 

 

The possibilities are endless with this die. You can customize the colors, patterns, embellishments and candy to tie into any holiday or party theme. Retailers, this is a great die to incorporate into classes and quick kits.

For more fun bag and box ideas, visit our website. Stay tuned for more ideas this week. I'm off to find some chocolate!

This recipe book is ready for its close-up

Posted by Tara Smithberg

Congratulations are in order for designer Cheryl Mezzetti!

Her recipe book is featured on the cover of the Winter 2009 issue of Scrapbooking & Beyond magazine. This work of art would make a wonderful holiday gift for any baker or chef in the family.

    

Not only do we love this album because it is absolutely adorable, but also because it incorporates many AccuCut dies! Cheryl used the Bare Elements Sierra Ring Book die to cut out the paper house shapes to layer on top of the companion Bare Elements Ring Book. What a time saver. No more having to cut out each page by hand.

The scalloped frame on the front of the house is from the Frames die. Outlining the edges of shapes by hand with a pen is a popular trend these days, and it really makes the objects you want to stand out pop.

To help protect the album and add dimension, Cheryl cut a house shape out of clear plastic and layered a few shapes on top.

The whimsical smoke from the chimney was made using the small Flourishes #2 die, and the heart inside the frame was made with the Hearts die.

Here is an inside page. Doesn't this make you want to start baking Christmas cookies? Yum!

 

Cheryl used the Ribbon Border above the cookies and the Scallops Small #1 Border on the bottom of the page. 

As you can see, using Bare Elements dies that match up perfectly with their coordinating papercrafting products, can save you hours of cutting and measuring.

Again, congratulations, Cheryl! We'll be back next week!

Cheryl used the Ribbon Border above the cookies and the Scallops Small #1 Border on the bottom of the page. 

As you can see, using Bare Elements dies that match up perfectly with their coordinating papercrafting products, can save you hours of cutting and measuring.

Again, congratulations, Cheryl! We'll be back next week!