AccuCut Craft Blog

Tuesdays with Tammy: Back to the basics

Posted by Tammy Miller

Where do we start? That is a question a store owner often asks me when I take their first order at a trade show. There are just so many dies to choose from and it's easy to get overwhelmed. Well, we start with the basics. An alphabet, bags and boxes, holiday shapes, note cards, albums, and tags are basic shapes for all stores. Today, let's focus on tags.

Scrapbook stores have been using tag dies for years. The obvious use for a tag to me is to put is on the side of a gift bag. I just love this Polka Dot Purse by the way.

That cute little "butterfly" tag is actually just one of four tags on Tags #4. It's one of our best-selling mini tag dies.

Then began the evolution of the tag die cut for us scrapbookers. We started putting them on scrapbook pages as creative accents or even behind letters. (See Zoo Love page)

You can also use tags to make a simple card like this one for Father’s Day:

But what's popular in today’s scrapbooking stores is being able to make your own albums -- the more creative the better. Here is a Tag Baby Album shown mixed with another hot crafting trend -- clear albums.

 

The album was made with our giant Tag-Accordion die, which means you need to have a GrandeMARK machine to use the die. We get so many oohs and aahs over this shape when we show the die and the projects. The die even has creases between the individual tags so it's easy to fold. The combined tag shape itself is 12" wide x 5" high so you can get two out of a standard 12" x 12" sheet of cardstock or plastic (we sell the plastic too!).

I have to show you one more project using the same die. Marah Johnson, licensed artist with Creative Imaginations, made this beautiful standing album to showcase some photos of her girls. This would be a great class.

Well, back to the basics was fun for me today, let me know what you think and we will chat next week.

Before I go, make sure you check back daily on our blog next week.... I may have heard something about daily giveaways for National Scrapbooking Day. It pays to read the AccuCut Craft Blog!

Projects for Mom... and a Challenge for a free gift!

Posted by Jen Cramer

Mother's Day is quickly approaching so I thought we'd take a look at a few "mom" projects today. And I thought we'd throw in our first challenge, but you'll have to wait until the end of the post to read about it. Coincidentally, both projects that we'll see -- a card and an album -- use AccuCut's Stencil Alphabet. 

I actually made this card a year or so ago for my own mom. I think that was when I started to fall in love with My Mind's Eye paper, but that's another story. : ) Now back to the card...

Sometimes when I need to design a card and I can't think of where to start, the easiest thing to do is to grab a letter die and make a cool monogram. Here I used the 2" Uppercase Stencil Alphabet to cut the M out of chipboard (after I adhered my paper). Then I just put another piece of coordinating paper behind the stencil so it would show through. (See Plaid Mom Card)

This also happens to be one of my all-time-favorite cards, the Buckle Card, that's 5 3/16" square folded. A $55 card die with crease... you can't beat that. I also like it because I can dress it up for weddings or I can make it fun and playful for a kid's birthday card.

The second "mom" project that uses the Stencil Alphabet (but this time it's the 2 1/2" size) is this Mom Album. The stencil letters let you see right through to the paper on the album cover.

Traci used the 5" x 10" album to cut the pages and even the clear plastic sheet that rested on top of the chipboard cover. The rub-ons were added to the front of the clear cover before she assembled everything.

So, do you want to know what the challenge is and what you can win?

E-mail a photo of a Mother's Day project you made to blog@accucut.com by Monday, May 12. Here are the details:

• You must use at least one AccuCut die (steel-rule).
• The project should preferably have the word "mom" or "mother" on it but that doesn't have to be made with a die. Use a rub-on, stamp, sticker, anything!
• In your e-mail, use subject line "Mom" and include a photo of the project (less than 150k please!) and the item numbers of the die(s) used.
• Be creative! We'll choose our favorite project and post the winner on Wednesday, May 14.
• The winner will receive a $50 AccuCut gift certificate!

Store owners: Print off this post and put it by your AccuCut machine. Your customers will love the chance to enter themselves too.

Spotted on the web: Owl Mini Book

Posted by Jen Cramer

I try to take a few minutes each day to check out some of my favorite blogs done by well-known scrapbooking artists and also some of our customers that do a great job promoting their AccuCut die cutting centers. It's a great way to keep in touch with where the industry is going and what is happening in local stores. The best part is when I run across creative projects made with AccuCut dies.

I saw this Owl Mini Book project done by Vanessa Hudson on the Scrap Etc. blog the other day and I just had to share it with our readers. (PS: I like reading this blog because Monique always includes a ton of pictures of new products they are bringing into the store!)

I can see four different dies she used in this project. I just love how she used the Owl die (large size 3 1/2"w x 4 1/2"h) to cut the shape out of felt, and the flowers for the wings are such a cute idea. (I just checked and there are about 10 of these in stock right now but that could change fast.)

And then I see Nameplates #3 (the bigger shape)...

And the Border-Scallops-Small #2 that is just over 12" wide...

And the basis of the album is made using our popular Cards-Filing die, which is a bargain at just $55...

Thanks, Vanessa, for the inspiration and I'll be on the lookout for more projects out there that show off AccuCut dies!

Tuesday's with Tammy: Know when to hold 'em

Posted by Tammy Miller

The AccuCut GrandeMARK machine and dies have been a source of income for store owners in a unique way for many years. More and more I have been impressed with the creative ways they have used our system to make money. Nothing has proven that to me further than the smart business ideas that were posted on or around March 11th.  If you haven’t read all of them you should take some time and do so. I'm sure you can find some ideas for your store if you have one!

The concept we call "Know when to hold ‘em" is one of my favorites and is one that I suggest all the time to store owners. You can also find this suggestion on page 6 of the 2008 Craft Catalog... if you don’t already have one, you can request the catalog online. Basically, the thought is to keep a few strategic dies in the back room or office (not in your die cutting center) and use them to create pre-cut shapes, kits and themed packages. You could keep the die in the back indefinitely or add the die to your die cutting center when it pays for itself.

So how do you decide which dies to do this with? Album dies, oversized shapes and frames are a good place to start. Let's look at a couple examples.

This is our Mat-Circles-11" die with an example of it used on a scrapbook page (see Sweet Giggly Funny page). It would be a good die to keep back and use to cut out chipboard or any plain color of cardstock and then sell that in your store.

Here's another idea... AccuCut sells four different metal tins that each have a coordinating die. For example, here is a Color My World album using our Large Hinged Candy Tin and the Rectangle Accordion Album die that goes with it.

These are the three shapes you get on the die (with a mini pic of how they fit together):

You could sell the tins and then use the die to cut blank albums in a variety of colors. The accordion album shape is 11 1/4"w x 3 1/4"h so you can get three albums out of just one piece of paper. I would bet that you could charge at least $1.00 for a blank album die cut ($3.00 out of that one piece of paper), so you do the math figuring out the profit you will make. Before long you will pay for that die.

Best of luck, and keep posting your comments. I have heard from many store owners they love to read all of the ideas being shared on our blog.

Let's give away a couple album kits!

Posted by Jen Cramer

Did you know that AccuCut sells metal tins and that we have dies that make albums to fit in those tins? At CHA we just came out with a new Rectangle Tin. There are 12 in a package and they are 4 7/8"w x 5 1/2"l x 3/8"h -- it's a perfect size to fit a mini album or card.

Traci Armbrust designed this A Friend is Forever Album Tin (shown below) for a make and take at CHA and it was a huge hit. We have two extra pre-cut album kits that we can give away on our blog! Just post an answer to What is your favorite thing to make using AccuCut dies? by noon Sunday and we'll announce two randomly chosen winners on Monday. For example, do you like to make albums or cards, chipboard shapes or flowers? Whatever it is, you name it!

Now let's share a little more about that great project kit we're giving away! Here's the front of the tin:

And here's the accordion album that fits inside. I just love the layered butterflies!

The album shape was made with our new Album-Rectangle Tin (A1029CJ). It's a three-die set that includes a tabbed card, a folded card without a tab and two layering shapes for the tin cover and album. You can connect as many cards as you want to determine how long the album is. It makes it so easy to put a class together.

So, go ahead and post your reply to get entered in our drawing to win a free kit! (Dies not included.) Good luck!

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.

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!