AccuCut Craft Blog

Take a bite out of this cute card idea

Posted by Tara Smithberg

So many ideas, so little time! Tammy Miller, our Craft Customer Service guru, has been sending me so many amazing creations from our customers.

And finally, it's about time I start sharing them with you so you can see all of the cool things our AccuCut customers are up to. Today's blog post features a really cool invitation by Silverbox Creative Studio in Lederach, Pa. In honor of a fun summer-themed party, they created a simple, elegant card with a "shark bite" out of the top using our Pinnovation stationery dies. What a fun idea!

I also had to share the cool card they use to hand out to clients. They made this using our 5" Frames Pinnovation die. This is what Susan at Silverbox Creative Studio had to say about the unique shape and other AccuCut dies.

"We love this shape and actually use it to help shape our Silverbox look/identity. Thanks again for a wonderful product! It means the world to a graphic designer/photographer. The possibilities are endless!"

Thanks so much to Susan for sharing her designs and great experiences with us!

If you'd like to be featured on our blog, please send me an email at tara.smithberg@accucut.com.

About Silverbox Creative Studio:

Silverbox Creative Studio is a graphic design and photography studio that creates custom invitations, announcements, and greetings. We strive to provide you with a unique and beautiful design that reflects your personality. After all, your vision is our inspiration.

Welcome Fall...

Posted by Tara Smithberg

It's official! Fall is here!

Here in Nebraska, there is a bit of a chill in the air in the mornings and the leaves are already starting to turn colors. This is my favorite time of year, and in honor of the new season, here is a beautiful project by Traci Armbrust using the new Leaves Album from Cheryl Mezzetti. I just love these leaf shapes because each one is just a little different. The best thing about them is that you can use them for hundreds of other projects--not just albums. Traci strung the leaf shapes together with ribbon and jute, giving the banner a rustic feel.

I love how the placement of the leaf shapes makes them appear like they are actually falling.

Here is a close-up shot of the focal point of the banner. To make the fall-inspired flower, Traci used the Flowers #6 die and topped it with a brad. The letter "a" and brackets were created using the 2" Roman Lowercase Set and the mini Brackets die.

 

I love the big leaves mixed in with the smaller leaves, adding even more interest. And one more photo... here it is actually hung up on a mantle decorated for fall. It really puts you in the mood for cozying up by the fireplace with a blanket, cup of hot apple cider and a good book.

  

I hope this inspires you to think of new ways to use your dies and to think of all the possibilities, not just the uses your dies are originally intended for. For more home decor ideas, visit our website.

Circles Galore!

Posted by Tara Smithberg

Throughout the past year, we had several requests for a 6" circle die. So, lo and behold, we introduced a new circle size this summer--Circle-6". I'm amazed at the hundreds of things you can do with such a basic shape. Here is a super adorable baby album made by Traci Armbrust that was using a variety of circle sizes.

She cut the pages out of black chipboard with the 6" Circle die and connected them with pastel brads. I love how the pastel embellishments and black and white photos pop against the black background. The photos were perfectly cut by using the Clear Cuts™ Layering Die Circles.

Clear Cuts dies are so great for when you really need to see what and where you are cutting.

She used Buttons #2 and Buttons #4 on the cover and decorated the inside pages with more circles using the 1 1/4" Circles and the Circles Pattern Blocks dies.

To see this project in more detail, click on the photo below.

To finish it off, Traci attached ribbon to both ends so that you can tie the album closed. You could also use ribbons to hang it like a banner. So cute. I hope this inspires you to create extraordinary projects with basic shapes.

For more album ideas, visit our website.

Techniques with Traci: Don't forget the cupcake box!

Posted by Traci Armbrust

We can all agree that cupcakes used as favors and gifts are as popular as ever. There are so many ways to make them, decorate them and of course my favorite... display them!  I wanted to give you a cupcake box idea for each of the four seasons. Let's start with fall.

So I cut the box from our famous Cupcake Box die. I also used Borders #1, Spider #2, and Ribbon Slides. Now, you are probably thinking where is the ribbon slide. Well, that's actually the tag with one end of the ribbon slide cut off using scissors. It's easy to find alternate uses for different shapes. The papers are from BasicGrey's new Eerie line, the jewel eyes are Doodlebug and the rub-ons are from Scenic Route. Check out the inside and see how the box die includes an insert to hold your cupcake in place.

Let's move on to those winter cupcakes and the breathtaking boxes you can make for party favors, office gifts or a fun teacher's present.

To make this box, I started with our clear plastic 12" x 12" sheets. I used Borders #2 to create the snowy white border along the bottom of the box and the tree from the mini Fall & Winter die to make the cute little trees along each side. I made a cute topper shape using the Snowflake #9 die. For adhering the box together, I suggest our Red Liner Double-Stick Adhesive Tape. It makes it really easy to assemble and you can be sure your box will stay assembled! Also, to complete the look, I cut the cupcake holder out of clear plastic too, so the cupcake seems to be "floating" inside the box. 

Now, let's try a sweet Valentine's Day cupcake box for that special someone.

I went with a vintage approach instead of the typical reds, pinks and purples. It took everything I had not to use Hearts #1 because, as a lot of people know around here, it's one of my favorite dies. Anyway, I closed off the top opening of the box with a piece of paper, so the cupcake inside is really a surprise.  This is probably a good time to mention that this cupcake box does have an alternate lid just in case you do not want the top cut out. The vintage paper and the pearl brad are from TPC Studio™ (aka, the Paper Company). The little flowers are from Prima®.

For our final cupcake box... I give you Spring/Summer!

This box I did some time ago but the concept was from one of our customers. Cupcake box by day, bug box by night. This would make an adorable party favor for a child's birthday or a summer picnic. I used the Grass Border die to create grass around the sides of the box. The little bugs were created with the Insects die, and I added a cute message using Tags #4. The materials are from Bazzill Basics Paper and Creative Cafe. The screen is an actual mesh screen but you could use Magic Mesh sheets.

And there you have it--four seasons, one box. I wanted to give you as many ideas as I could in a single blog posting. The cupcake box is fabulous and is a must have. So go make some cupcakes, or if you are like me, go buy some. Remember, gifts you can eat are the best!

For more bag and box ideas, visit our website. Have a great weekend, everyone!

A zeal for seals

Posted by Tara Smithberg

We have Pinnovation seals in all shapes and sizes--from circles to squares to rectangles. But have you seen our latest seal? It's the 2" Frame Seals die. I love this unique shape. And you can cut 12 seals at one time!

Check out some of these favor boxes that show off the fabulous seal shape. This one here uses Box #18 simply tied with a ribbon. The fancy seal definitely gives this box its personality.

Here's another sweet and simple box using Box #28. With Pinnovation seals, it's so easy to customize items to make events, like weddings and baby showers extra special.

For more Pinnovation dies and to see more beautiful boxes, visit our website.

So hard to say goodbye to summer...

Posted by Tara Smithberg

Now that September has arrived, kids are going back to school, the days are getting shorter and leaves are beginning to change color, I'm having a hard time letting summer go! It always seems to go by so fast.

With that in mind, Traci Armbrust just created this sunny scrapbook page using the new Pail & Shovel Album by Cheryl Mezzetti.

Instead of using it as an album, she turned the pail and shovel shape into a fun design element for this beach-themed page. She used a ribbon to create a handle and embellished with sparkly glitter beads and a binder clip.

This album also comes with an awesome wave border that she used to give the left side of this page a funky fun edge. Surf's up!

A sassy sun shape made using the Sun #9 die completes the look. Traci used the 2" Shout Alphabet to make the word "sun."

And there you have it--a sunny page to remind you of warmer days throughout the colder months. For more scrapbook page ideas and layouts, visit our website.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Techniques with Traci: It's time to break out the spider!

By Traci Armbrust

Here in Nebraska there is a chill in the air and it's starting to feel a little like Fall. So what's my favorite Fall holiday? Halloween, of course! I figure if all the retail stores can start putting out candy and costumes, I can start paper crafting with my favorite Halloween die, Spider #4.

Here is a new project I made last week using the new Creative Cafe Album-Mix and Match #3, Spider #4, Borders #1, Frames #2, Nameplates #13, Roman 2" Lowercase Alphabet, Halloween #2 Mini, Bare Elements Geri Tag and Tabs.

 

I took the tag page (these pages are 10 1/2" tall) from the mix and match album and backed my decorative papers with our black chipboard. I made the last tag shape a pocket so I could either place photos of Halloween friends, random pics of your own little ghosts and goblins or thin candy bars, pixie sticks or licorice. I created this to be more of a home decor type piece but it could easily be made into an album after it is displayed for one Halloween. I used Pink Paislee™ papers, Ranger Ink, Tim Holtz Distress Ink, American Crafts and May Arts Ribbon, Daisy D's Buttons and eye of newt. No, not really... just seeing if you were paying attention.

Here's another project I made with that cute spider.

I used Box-Convertibles #1 and didn't use a Convertibles insert with it. Instead I placed the scalloped square from Coasters #2 on the lid. It fits perfect!  Then I cut my Spider #4 from black chipboard and attached some gem eyes. By the way, I'm a sucker for the gems, but I have a couple more examples of how to make this spider unique.

Check out this Halloween banner made from Vintage shapes with the spiders hanging down at different lengths. I used wiggle eyes on these.

I love this Bag-Treat Wrap!  In this project the spider is used as a ribbon slide. The ribbon comes up through his eyes and ties into a knot or bow. And Vicki Chrisman made this adorable accordian flower with Accordian Fold #3 and of course the spider in the center.

 

I want to leave you with one more spider project. This spidy was cut from felt, which really makes him look like a fuzzy, hairy, little spider. The tag is created with Tags #3, which is a 10" long tag. It has great space if you want to create an album or place it on a 12" x 12" scrapbook page or even use it as a door hanger. The word Halloween is the Tower 2 1/2" Upper and Lowercase alphabet. This alphabet packs a real punch, because what other 2 1/2" alphabet are you going to get on a 10" tag?  

If you don't have this spider in you die collection, you need it!  If you do, I hope I've given you lots of new ideas to bring him to life this Halloween season.