AccuCut Craft Blog

Sneak Peek of New AccuCut Dies!

By: Traci Armbrust

Hi everyone, I know it's been a while since my last blog but I've been super busy getting ready for our next die release. When are you releasing your next line of (fabulous, I can hardly wait, give them to me now) dies, you ask? May 19th at the 2013 National Stationery Show in New York City. There will be plenty of beautiful stationery related dies, but there will also be albums, note cards and trendy craft related dies too. Want a sneak peek of one or two of my favorites?  

Everyone loves interactive cards. Combine the popular step card with the even more popular A2 size and you get this beautiful A2 Card-Step designed by Angela Beavers, owner of Creative Chaos

I embellished this A2 Card-Step with the Sew Cute, and Bows die. I cut the card from just plain white 12" x 12" cardstock then covered it with paper from the For the Record 2 6"x 6" Echo Park Paper Pad. I also used on the scissors and the top and bottom of the dress form, Metallic Rub sent to me by my friends at Splash of Color.

One of our most popular Pinnovation shapes is the A7 Cards Mats-Frame. We constantly have customers saying, "We want to mat that or have a mat that is that shape." Well ask no more; we listened, and we came out with both. 

The great thing about this last shape is that it is an actual 5" x 7" so you can use it as a mat or it can be the actual invitation. Just print and place in your A7 envelope and it's ready to go.

Want a new album to add to your collection? Check out this one, Album-Sewing Machine. With so much crossover of fabric and crafting, this album is a fun way to display all of your photos. Whether it is sewing with grandma or a trip to the farm with the family, this unique album is a way to collect and treasure them all. Use the Sew Cute die to accent with this album

So one more little peek at one of my favorites. We call it Bag-Sleeve. They come in three different sizes- the two largest are an A7 and an A2 size, which means it can be a bag for a thin treat or a sleeve for an invitation or card.  I love cutting them from vellum one minute then a thick kraft cardstock the next. The possibilities are endless. 

Twenty-seven New dies, and I showed you four of them. Stay tuned for one more sneak peek before we're off to New York!

 

Mixing up my Media!

By: Traci Armbrust

So I posted this on our facebook page about a week ago, but one of my designing goals this year is to step outside the box, then die cut it, distress it, ink it and hang it on the wall. I received a care package from Splash of Color and couldn't wait to get my fingers(actually a brush and sponge) into all the pigments and modeling cream.  

I created a Valentines Door Hanging using five dies and multiple products. I first cut a 11 1/2" Heart from our White Chipboard. I then took Bird #10 and AccuCut plastic to create my own template for the Modeling Cream. 

I used the modeling cream, and by the way it was super fun. There are quite a few videos out there demonstrating this technique if you want to check them out. Here is a link to one I found by Marah Johnson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phYnZeKFpqI

I decorated the heart with Inka Gold Metallic Rub by Viva and twinkling H2O's by Luminarte. Using the Antique Collection from Bazzill Basics Paper, I brush on multiple colors of Twinkling H2Os across the entire paper. Let dry. I then cut out multiple sizes of Flowers #6 and use the end of my paint brush to curl the ends of the flowers. I used wood buttons brads from Basic Grey and rubbed the inka onto those and assembled the flowers by layering them ontop of each other. The flourish you see wrapped in the flowers is Border-Flourish and I used left over paper from the flowers and rubbed a green Inka Gold Metallic Rub over them.

I cut out sayings from the Cotswald Manor Collection paper from Splash of Color. I finished it off by spraying the entire thing with Radiant Rain Shimmering Mist by Luminarte. Tied some tulle and attached it to the top of the heart.

I just love how AccuCut dies are a blank canvas for all those wonderful products that are out there. Now all I have left to do is hang this beautiful piece of art on the door.

 

More New Dies!

By: Traci Armbrust

So I already showcased the Jar, Jar Accessories, A7 Cards-Jar (Pinnovation) and Bows but there is so much more...

I love this 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" #2 (2-Die Set). It is the perfect size to use with all those fabulous 6" x 6" paper pads that are out there, plus it was created to coordinate with our Album 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" #1 (2-Die Set).

If you like that die you're going to love the Album 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" Convertibles Cover. 

As you can see there are two Convertibles covers to choose from, a straight edge and a scalloped edge. This die uses the Series 1 Inserts. Also these coordinate with the 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" Album #1 and #2.

Another great album die that we introduced this month, designed by Misty Christensen is the Album-Gate.

Try to imagine this die not just being used for Spring or Summer, but being cut from black chipboard and transformed into a spooky Halloween gate. What about creating a snow-covered gate with a wreath hanging on it for Christmas time. Oh the possibilities!

This next die is a must have. The Album-Camera is perfect for literally any event and it's just a blank canvas waiting for your special memories.

I had to show the image of this die because look at all the goodies you get with it. What a great value.

If you have any of the Album Builder dies designed by Cheryl Mezzetti, or even if you don't yet, the Album Builder-Base #2 is a die set for you. Use it with an Album Builder Shape dies or just by itself. It also coordinates with Album Builder-Base #1.

Let's Play Ball! What can I say about this adorable Album-Mitt designed by Cheryl Mezzetti. This is the perfect album to store all those all-star moments that our children experience on the field. Softball, baseball this mitt is for you.

I love all the extras that come with this die to use on cards or scrapbook pages or in other albums.

AccuCut has a couple styles of gable boxes, but we created a taller thinner version to round out our gable box offering. Box-Gable #2 comes in three perfect sizes for favors, treats or small gifts.

 

Anytime we create Pinnovation dies, it's a little celebration, because Pinnovation dies allow you to print first then cut using free downloadable templates on our website. Box #30 and the new Cupcake Wrap-Crown are definitely two great reasons to do a little happy dance.

Perfect for birthdays, showers, placecards or just striking presentations, this cupcake wrap is a sweet deal!

Print on these, or don't, the choice is yours.

 

Keeping with the crown theme... Crowns are hot, hot, hot, so we decided to create a die with multiple styles of crowns/tiaras. These were created to be the perfect size for cards, albums and of course, in mixed medium projects.

 

Cut the crowns from chipboard to add dimension.

 

I adore these Mini Cards-Diaper & Onesie. These are perfect for gift tags, or sweet accents on cards, albums or scrapbook pages. These dies are basically shrunk down versions of larger A7 dies, A7 Cards-Baby Onesie (Pinnovation) and Diaper #2.

So many awesome dies, but I'm not done yet! How about an A7 Card-Corset and A7 Card-Corset Mats(Pinnovation) die for all those fun bachlorette party invites and personal bridal showers.

The Boarding Pass Pocket is the perfect match for our Boarding Pass (Pinnovation) die. They make great destination wedding Save the Dates or incredible invitations. 

I even created a lil' mini album. I cut about 5 pages fromt the boarding pass and sewed and stapled the perforation to keep it from ripping apart when tons of people look through the travel photos.

Two more exciting dies designed for us by Vicki Chrisman are the Frame-Portrait and the A7 Cards-Portrait (Pinnovation). These dies together make a power-house combination that are perfect for invitations, albums, mixed media and even table numbers.

Another great addition to our Convertibles series is the A7 Card-Convertibles #4. It has a fancy edge and the front of the card fits a Series 1 insert and the back of the card fits a Series 1 (with adapter) and Series 4. 

Convertible insert Square #2

Convertible insert Frame

I hope you enjoyed our little tour of new dies. Please visit out YouTube channel to see videos on each of the new dies. Also don't forget to check us out on Pinterest and Facebook. NEW DIES ROCK!

Why our customers love AccuCut!

By: Traci Armbrust

While at CHA 2013 in Anaheim, I asked some of our customers why they love AccuCut, and this is what they had to say.

Here is Teri Dickason from Scarlet Empress.

 

I wanted to share a beautiful Valentines banner Teri created using the following AccuCut dies Album-Heart and Album-Love Letters.

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I also spoke to Angela Beavers from Creative Chaos and here is what she said about AccuCut and how it works for her and her business.

 

Here is some beautiful cards from Angela. Love the Pumpkin #6 die used in the framed project behind the cards.

Why do you love AccuCut? We'd love to hear from you! We want to thank all of our loyal customers, plus our new ones! Thank you for including us in your creative journey.

Sneak Peek of New January 2013 Dies!

By: Traci Armbrust

Hi everyone, it's that time again to introduce a brand new batch of dies that are sure to inspire you to create the perfect projects.  AccuCut leaves for Anaheim soon, where we will be introducing 21 new dies at the 2013 CHA show.  If you will not be attending the CHA show, these dies will be available for purchase on our website on January 22nd.

So let's kick off our sneak peek by introducing, Bows (VC106LC), designed for us by Vicki Chrisman.

Check out the video featuring this die and how to assemble it.

 

We could hardly wait to introduce these three dies,  we are thrilled about them and were inspired by a growing trend in mason jars.  

Jar (J1023J) is simply one jar measuring 4 5/8" x 7" but we also offer that same size jar in the Pinnovation format. 

 A7 Cards-Jar (NC151SJ) allows you the awesome possibilities of printing to creating invitations, save the dates, and so much more. 

As an add on to these trendy dies, the Jar-Accessories (J1039XLC) are perfect.

 

I hope you are as excited about these as we are, and look forward to more sneak peeks on the blog, Facebook page and Pinterest. Yeeeeeeah new dies! 

Spice up your Christmas Lights this season

By:Traci Armbrust

I know many of you are putting your Christmas decorations up.  For our family it is a tradition to do this on the day after Thanksgiving, so I wanted to show you this cool idea to "spruce" up those plain christmas lights. Whether it is for your tree, wreaths or swag lights, this technique is sure to get oohs and ahhs from all.

These flowers are perfect to add a little spunk to plain christmas lights. In the sample above we took Flowers #24 and cut the pointed petal flower on the die from clear plastic and red cardstock. We then peeled the protective layer of film off both sides of the plastic and sprayed with spray adhesive. Then you sprinkle on fine transparent glitter on each side. Place the red and glittered flower on top of each other and punch a 1/4" to 3/8" hole in the center of the flowers. The size of hole you choose depends on the size of the light bulb. Then slide the two flowers onto the bulb all the way down until you hit the bottom of the light. Slightly bend up the plastic flower petals for dimension.

We created this look with a flower, but think of the possibilities. You could use snowflakes or mini pinwheels, or even butterflies. For a fun twist on Halloween lights, try a spiderweb. Oh, I could just keep going and going because anymore, you can put lights up for almost every holiday.  

I hope you enjoyed this quick, yet great way to customize your holiday lights. Have fun!!

 

Don't you just LOVE New AccuCut Dies?

By: Traci Armbrust

Are you ready for the Holidays?  We've introduced six new dies! Four, of which are just in time for Halloween and Christmas and two that are so darn cute, you won't believe we didn't come out with them sooner.

How about a little spooky Haunted House Album created by Cheryl Mezzetti. There is so much value in this die it's hard to know what spooktacular project you're going to create first.

I created this album using the Album Builder-Base die and the Chillingsworth Manor paper line from echo park paper co.

Using all the extra shapes on the Haunted House die, I created this 3-D card using our A7 Card-Step and the Lost and Found Halloween line of paper from My Mind's Eye.

How about a a fun favor box for this Halloween season? We've got the perfect coffin box for all sizes of snacks and goodies. 

Here is a close up of the top of the Giant Coffin Box, I used Flowers #6 , Flourishes #4 and the spider from the new Album Builder-Haunted House above.

 

Oooh, I can't wait till Christmas! Some of the best gift are the gifts we create ourselves. Why not create a keepsake album or journal using the new Album Builder-Gingerbread House. This die was also created by Cheryl Mezzetti and is part of the Album Builder series of dies.

I created this album using The Album Builder-Base and the beautiful Christmas Cottage line of papers from Theresa Collins.

Here is a little mini album I created using just the house and a few of the accent pieces from the die.  I used the paper line Festive by Authentique.

This little bird is a great accent, it was hard for me not to put this little cutie on every page.

 

 

To round out our Christmas offering, our new A7 Cards-Ornament (Pinnovation) die is perfect for Christmas cards, or a unique Christmas party invitation. I also love the idea of making this shape into a mini album.

That adorable little flower on top is Flower-Holiday and has three different sizes on the die. I used the smallest size which is 2" and cut it from Bazzill Bling paper.

 

We did introduce a couple of dies that are not holiday oriented but have been requested frequently from customers.

Woman-Pregnant #2 is just as cute as can be and available in two sizes.

I used the Indigo Bleu line by Pink Paislee and the following dies, Flowers #5, Flowers #21, Flowers #23, Word-Baby, and Frames #2.

This card is created using Canvas Corp. Paper and the A2 Cards-Scalloped (Pinnovation) die. This is a must have!

 

Last but not least is A7 Cards-House (Pinnovation) die. This die is simple but yet so useful.  Think of the adorable house warming, Christmas or Halloween party invites, not to mention fun change of address cards.

I also used A7 Cards (Pinnovation) for the background mat for this project.

I hope you are as excited about our new dies as I am. I believe these dies have so much value to them. There are just so many things that you can cut and create with these dies. Have fun and don't forget to post your projects and comments on our facebook page.

 

Clearance Home Decor becomes AccuCut Art!

By: Traci Armbrust

It all began with a bargain buy from our Graphic Designer Mandy. We liked it, but since we were hanging it up in our new Omaha offices, we wanted it to say "AccuCut."

So here is my spin on making it say "AccuCut!"

I cut out two of each of the different sized butterflies, Butterfly #8 and Butterfly #9 and adhered them together with E6000 adhesive.  I did this just in the centers so that I could bend them and manipulate them for dimension. Then I tied black cording around the centers of each butterfly and adhered them onto the canvas with the E6000 adhesive.

These fun dimensional flowers are created using two of the smallest flower on the Flower #29 die. I adhered the two flowers together in the middle again using E6000 adhesive then punched a small hole through the middle and placed brads through. They are adhered to the canvas again using the E6000.

 I cut a Bird #10 and my favorite flourishes of all time, Flourishes #3. Adheres those to the canvas using the E6000 adhesive again but didn't adhere the ends of the flourishes or the birds wings down.  It gives some really fun dimension when you pull them up and toward you away from the canvas.

Lasr I cut out two of the second to largest flowers on Flower #29 and used Flourishes #4 to create this last scene on the canvas. Once again I used a brad throught the middle and adhered just the ends of the flourishes so that they could be pulled back to add more dimension. 

Repurposing is all the rage and I can definately see why. Have you ever repurposed something or found something ordinary and added you extrodinary touch to it? Thanks for letting me share my AccuCut Art with you.

A whole lot of SMASHING going on!

By:Traci Armbrust

I really love the concept behind the smash style of album or scrapbooking. It is so free and creative. As you can see from these two entries from the GrandeMARK Challenge 2012, they can be created using just about anything, but especially our dies. 

This smash style album created by Carol Murphy is in her own words "A way to house quotes,drawings and random fun paintings. Her "smash" album has over 50 pages of scrapbook papers and watercolor paper and has two mini books inside with tons more pages.

The Theme Album is incorporated on the cover and sprinkled throughout the album as pages. Don't you love the Photo Corners? I think they add the perfect touch to the black chipboard cover.

Check out the beautiful Tag-Accordion #1

 

Carol used the Tag w/Window Pocket on the left side and on the right side she used one of the die shapes in the Theme Album as a folded interactive card

 This album created by Tammy Beaver is also a smash style album using Album 5" x 8" a little more traditional but has lots of fun suprises inside.

 

She used A9 Cards-Frame which is actually a Pinnovation die but can be used to cut any materials.

 

No "smash" album is complete without some fun interactive pieces like this Envelope-Gift Tag #2

I Hope Carol and Tammy's albums have inspired you to go and use your AccuCut dies to create your own "smash" style albums. I know whatever you do it's going to be a "SMASH!' Sorry, you know I had to say it!

New dies are the best and only hours left to enter the GrandeMARK Challenge!

By: Traci Armbrust

Did you know that we released 22 new dies? I love them all but here are a few of my favorites.

The A7 Step Card is a great way to showcase photos or create a unique and interactive experience for the lucky recipient of this special card.

Check out this fun Album-Envelopes die designed by Cheryl Mezzetti it's a four die set with tons of possibilities.

I used the BasicGrey line, Whats up, which coordinates beautifully with our Hot Air Balloons die. Use this die to create fun pockets inside of your album or use just one envelope to create a fun accent in other albums or on scrapbook pages.

I love the simplicity of A7 Pocket Card #5. Use decorative scrapbook papers to add a little spice to it or cut from simple papers to create an elegant invitation. Add Flower #6 to add a little dimension to any card, album, or scrapbook page.

Check out all of our new dies at www.accucutcraft.com.

If you haven't done so already, you only have hours left to enter your beautiful projects into the GrandeMARK Challenge for 2012. It is super easy!

Cllick here to begin the easy steps to possibly winning a $500 shopping spree to AccuCut!  Good Luck!