AccuCut Craft Blog

Our Fresh Start to 2012 Includes My Top 5 Trend List

By Christina Kudym

   A new year brings with it many things, but a fresh start seems to be what I hear and see commented on the most.  What will you do with your fresh start?  Do you want to create and design wondrous things that no one has seen before?  Create THE hottest “must-have” item, or maybe start using different and new media in your creations?  Maybe you want to create some additional revenue with your creative talents for the first time or maybe, just maybe you want to do all of the above.  All I have to say, regardless of your answer, is “GO FOR IT!” 

    In this post I’d like to touch a little on what was popular in 2011 and a few things I think will be big hits, possibly trends in 2012.  To start I’d like to recap our 10 most popular items in 2011.  These are listed in order of popularity.      

 2011 Top 10 Popular

1. Pinnovation
2. Circles
3. Envelopes
4. Anything A7
5. Flowers
6. Cupcakes
7. Boxes
8. Frames
9. Albums
10. Squares

    I am not surprised that our Pinnovation dies came in at number one; these dies are seriously a must-have.  We’ve seen your requests for these unique dies to be made in different sizes and shapes and believe me when I say, “We are listening”.  Were you surprised by anything on this list?  Was there anything you thought should have made the “Top 10”? If so leave me a comment and let me know, I would love to hear from you.

    Now onto the top five Trends for 2012, or at least things that I think are fantastic and should be the top 5 trends.  Hey, it’s my post and I can dream all I want.  Make sure to let me know if you think I'm way out in left field or right on target.     

Drum roll please...

1. Felt, Felt and more FELT – I love this media and really can’t get enough of it.  Many people use felt, but I think it will be used even more than before and in new and fun ways.  FYI the GrandeMARK multi-craft cutting machine cuts felt and all other fabrics.  Did I mention I think this machine is crazy awesome!
2. Hats! – You think Mustaches are adorable (we obviously do, which is why we have a mustache die) just wait until you see hats hit the scene.  Adorn picture in your albums or just use them as accent pieces.  Place a bowler atop Dad’s head perhaps?  Maybe use a fedora and a sunhat on shower or wedding invitations.  LOVE! 
3. I’m a little… - You fill in the rest. Hint: It's a song and an adorable shape.
4. Copper - The color itself and the media I think will be a big hit this year.  Coincidentally I’m wearing a copper hued sweater today.  Just saying.

And last but certainly not least…

1. Recycled Media – This isn’t your mama’s recycling bin.  I’m talking about anything that can be re-used.  Flatware, plates, denim, old scrapbook pages, cards & invitations, plates, playing cards.  Heck, find old textbooks from college, tear the pages out, put cardstock in and bind it with your favorite binding system to make an awesome college scrapbook. 

    Don’t get me wrong, I’m not an advocate of destroying books; but really, what were you going to do with them anyway?  You could leave some pages inside that are highlighted to kingdom come as a reminder of those infamous “all-nighters” if you want.  Now that’s the kind of recycled media I’m talking about! 

    Just imagine the fun projects you can create and classes you can teach with the five things I’ve mentioned; the possibilities are endless.  Also imagine the profits you will make from your project classes especially the one using recycled materials as your media.  I’ve imagined both, which is why I picked these as the “Top Five”. 

    So, after seeing my picks, what do you think should be or will be the Top Trend in 2012 in the creative world?   

Chipboard "You are..." Wall Decor

By: Guest Blogger, Angela Kelley

I am so happy to be here again to share another project I made using my Accucut GrandeMARK Die Cutting Machine. This is a great project that can be altered for almost any occasion, or style of home decor, just change up the colors and sentiments for a completely different look!!  For this project I used the Album Builder-Base (2 die set) for the top and bottom pieces, and the 5 1/4" Square Scallop SQ701J for the center pieces.

After cutting my chipboard and patterned paper to match, I adhered all the pieces together and inked all the edges. Then I layed my pieces out flat in the order I wanted them. I marked and punched the holes in each piece so I could tie the wall hanging together with ribbon.

Now the fun part, embellishing! I added spots to place photos, a pocket with a couple of pull out tags to add more photos and/or journaling. I die cut letters for my title and used stamps for my other embellishments, then finished it all off with a few paper flowers!

This is a fun project that is fairly quick and easy to put together, it makes a great class, and can be customized for many different occasions. Wouldn't it be wonderful for a child or new baby with their name on top! Or think about the holidays coming up, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. I have also made these to celebrate the Seasons too, Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter!  I hope that this will inspire you to make a wall hanging of your own!! If you would like to see more of my work, you can visit me on my blog Artistic Detours. So what do you think?

 All stamps and papers used are from The Angel Company.

Have a great day!

 

Back to School! 12" x 12" Double Page Layout

By: Guest Blogger, Vickie Kipp

Every year when I start seeing "Back to School" sales, I think about scrapbooking my children's school photos. My oldest child started school in 1983 and my youngest child graduated in 2005. Twenty two years of beautiful, smiling faces wearing the latest fashions and hairstyles. One day, I will have all of those photos scrapbooked but probably not anytime soon!

The paper I used for this layout is from DCWV Grade School Stack. The paper is cardstock weight and so easy to work with. I wanted paper that matched the pink and purple in my daughter's shirt, this paper is perfect . I used cardstock to match the pink, lavender, red, green, yellow, blue and orange in the pattern paper.

The title font is Accucut's Apricot 2" lower case alphabet cut from AccuCut chipboard and covered with cardstock. I also used the dies Star-Nested #1 (the center star from the die), Buttons #2-Mini (the star button), Borders #4, Border-Notebook and Nameplate #3.

 

 

This is such a simple layout design but with lots of possibilities. I wanted plenty of room to journal and space for a 5"x7" photo with three small photos. You can easily scraplift this layout using the following photos with cutting sizes.

left side layout

 

right side layout
 

left side

 

right side

 
I cut the stars, star buttons, banner and nameplate embellishments from AccuCut chipboard and covered them with cardstock. I added Stickles glitter glue to the letters spelling school. The stars are on pop dots and tied with red, green and yellow Baker's twine. Instead of using brads to attach the nameplate, I added lavender rhinestones to match my daughter's shirt. I machine stitched the pattern paper to the background cardstock and the mat for the 5"x7" photo.

I hope this layout design will help you get a few of those school photos scrapbooked! Have fun with it and happy scrapping!

Birdhouse Mini Album by Angela Kelley

By: Angela Kelley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good Morning, I am so excited to be here sharing another fun project with you! Today, I am featuring a mini album I taught recently as a class, using my Accucut GrandeMARK, Album Builder-Birdhouse, and Album Builder Base dies. I have to tell you, I think that the Album Builder Birdhouse die may be my new favorite, I have found so many ways to use this die. Not only can you create fun albums, but there are all kinds of possibilities for embellishments for scrapbooking and card making as well. Not to mention home decor!! Love it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For this album I chose paper from My Minds Eye's Stella And Rose Collection, I just love the colors and different patterns of this line. This beautiful photo mat on page one, was created using the new A-2 Card Mats die. So wonderful with three different shape choices to work with in one die!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really enjoy the option of being able to choose different sized pages, with or without a decorative edge from the Album Builder-Base. I like to mix it up because I think it gives my project a playful feel, and it's just fun to turn the page and see what is coming next!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love that I can cut my chipboard and paper with the same die, saves me and those taking my classes so much time!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you Accucut Craft and Traci for inviting me to share my project with you today. I hope you enjoyed my birdhouse mini album, and that it might inspire you to make one of your own!! If you would like to see more of my work, please visit me at my blog, Artistic Detours. Have a great day!! :)

Premade Scrapbook Pages using my GrandeMARK

By:Vickie Kipp

Hi, this is Vickie Kipp and I am happy to be guest blogging again! Today, I am going to share one of my premade scrapbook layouts that I sell.

I have been making and selling premade scrapbook pages since 2003. I make multiples of each layout design using different paper and handmade embellishments. One reason I decided to purchase a GrandeMARK was so I could save time cutting multiples and I also love cutting chipboard titles. I keep the cost of my premade layouts down by making my own embellishments from chipboard, craft metal, and clear plastic sheets. I also love using paper, fabric and felt to make embellishments.

The other reason I wanted a GrandeMARK was for my own scrapbooking. Currently, I am working on heritage scrapbooks for my family. I am making six books and there will be 30 pages in each book so it is really nice using my AccuCut Dies to make multiples of each page including all of the embellishments.

Using the Stamp-11 1/2" die, cut two pieces of cardstock to match your background paper. Overlap the stamp shapes adhering with temporary adhesive and position them on your background paper at an angle. There are two ways to cut the stamp shapes to use on the double layout.

In the first example I angled the two 11 1/2" Stamps overlapping them about 3 inches and drew a line from side to side creating the bottom edge of the stamps and layout. In the first two photos I don't show the background paper, I used my cutting mat grids to draw straight across. Using scissors I cut across the bottom line first (A) and will use the two pieces (C and D) I cut off for the top of the page. Then I cut on the center line removing the two pieces of overlapped paper (B) that is cut off and put those pieces in my scraps to use at a later date.

 
 
 
 

In the second example, I overlapped and temporarily adhered the two stamp shapes to the background paper, checking to make sure the center lines and design of the Stamp meet. Then I just flipped the paper over and used the edge of the backround paper to cut the stamps to fit the background paper. This is much easier but there is more room for error. Make sure you cut across horizontally first so you can use those long pieces for the top of the layout.

Ink along the edge of the stamp design.

 
 
 
Using my new adorable Apricot lowercase alphabet, I cut the title from AccuCut White chipboard. I also cut five Photo Turn from white chipboard. This was my first time using the white chipboard and I love it.

The next two photos show the supplies I used to alter the chipboard. You can read about how I altered the chipboard on my blog here.

 
 
These photos are upclose views of the altered chipboard letters and photo turns. I didn't have black brads to attach the photo turns to the layout so I stuck purple brads into a piece of cardboard to hold them with the heads up and spray painted them black. See how nicely my black spray painted brads look! The handstitching was done with 6 strand embroidery floss.

 
 
When my customers recieve the layout it looks like the following photo  
And this is my completed page with photos and my little journaling tags tucked along the edge of the stamp shape. And yes, that is my adorable son.

 

"Life is Sweet" Cupcake Mini Album

By: Angela Kelley

Thank you so much Accucut Craft and Traci, for inviting me to be a guest blogger (WOW!), and to share a fun project with you today! My name is Angela Kelley, and I absolutely love, love, love paper crafting!  I am completely addicted to paper, stamps, ribbon, buttons...ok,  I love it all! Oh and the tools, I love my tools! I teach paper crafting and stamping classes monthly here, in Northern California where I live. My GrandeMark Machine not only saves me time, but helps me make really unique fun projects for my classes.

 
The project I would like to share with you today is this fun mini album that I made using Cupcake (NC624 CJ) 2 die set. This die is normally used to make a cupcake card (adorable!), but with some chip board and a small modification to the "wrapper" I created this sweet mini album.

 
Here is what I did. I cut five cupcakes from a thin or light weight chipboard. You could even used a double layer of card stock for your pages. When using chipboard I ink around the edges with a walnut ink before applying my patterned paper, you could use any ink or even paint. Personally I just like the walnut ink with a dauber on the top, makes this step quick. This step is completely optional, I like to do this because I think it just looks a little more polished when finished.

 
I cut the cupcake wrapper from thin chipboard (a cereal box works great for this!) and ink the edges. I also inked around the opening about 1 inch down on the inside.  Cut and adhere the patterned paper of your choice to the outside of the wrapper.Score across the front of the "wrapper" (chipboard and paper) 1/4 from the original score line on the bottom.  Next I cut two pieces of Kraft card stock  1 1/4" x  2 1/4" and scored them both at 3/8" along the 2 1/4" side.

 
 
Now you are going to glue one piece ot the Kraft card stock along the 3/8 " side, to each flap of the wrapper. I prefer liquid glue for this step just because it seems to make a stronger bond. Something that dries fairly quickly is a good thing too. Now instead of an envelope for a card, you have a pocket for a mini album!

 
 
Now the fun part decorating your pages!! I like to mix and match my papers and add interactive pages with pockets, and flaps to open. This not only adds more options for photos and journaling, but it is fun and adds an element of surprise. Just remember that this album needs to be kept "thin" so it will fit into the "wrapper" nicely. Also, I always use the same "wrapper" paper on the front cover of the album as I have used for the wrapper pocket that the album slides into. Mostly because the album does not slide all the way into the pocket, and the top edge of the wrapper paper on the front cover is visible outside of the pocket.

 

 
 
I hope I have been able to inspire you in some way, maybe you will make a cupcake album of your own or maybe you will look at your dies a little differently. How many different ways can you use your fabulous dies?! The possibilities are endless!!

If you would like to see more of my creations, please come and visit my blog Artistic Detours

Have a wonderful day!!

 

Happy National Yo-Yo Day!

By: Vickie Kipp

National Yo-Yo Day was named in honor of Donald F. Duncan, the American businessman who began manufacturing the "Duncan Yo-Yo" toy in the early 1900's contributing to the popularity of a toy that had been around for hundreds of years. I don't have a Yo-Yo but we can celebrate with a Yo-Yo flower!

Making fabric Yo-Yo's is one of the first sewing projects I remember. My grandmother taught me how to trace around a Mason jar lid; cut out the circle, then hand gather the fabric into the Yo-Yo shape. It took me all summer to make a doll blanket.

A few years ago I came across a really fun tool for making Yo-Yo's much quicker than the way I learned to make them. The tool is manufactured by Clover and is call the Quick Yo-Yo Maker. The directions with the Quick Yo-Yo maker have you place a piece of fabric over the disc into the plate then cut the extra fabric off to fit. But guess what makes the Quick Yo-Yo Maker even quicker to use, Accucut circle dies.

The circle from the Santa #5 die works with the small Yo-Yo Maker. The circle from the Coaster #1 die works with the large Yo-Yo Maker. There may be other circle dies that work with the Quick Yo-Yo Makers but these are the dies I have. Even if you don't have the Clover tool, you can still use the die cut circles and handstitch the Yo-Yo's.

By cutting the circles with the GrandeMARK, it makes it much easier to make Yo-Yo's on the go. No need to carry my fabric scissors or big pieces of fabric. Just cut the circles ahead of time and they are ready to stitch whenever I have a few minutes. Follow the package directions for stitching as shown in the following photos.

I made a pink tulle flower and added the green Yo-Yo and a button to the center. I cut five pieces of pink tulle using the Coarsters #1 die. Fold the circles in half and lightly press. I used a running stitch along the folded edge overlapping each circle almost 1/2 inch. Pull the gathering stitches together and tie a knot to secure the stitches.

You now have a five petal tulle flower.

Stitch the Yo-Yo and a button in the center of the tulle flower and you have a cut fluffy flower ready for adding to a hair clip or project.

Altered Rolodex

By: Vickie Kipp

I would like to thank Accucut Craft and Traci for asking me to be this week's guest blogger. I am so honored and excited! My name is Vickie Kipp and I spend most of my time in my scrapbook room crafting and scrapbooking. My blog is Scrapbooking for Others, and I do alot of that!

This week I will be showing the Altered Rolodex that I entered in the Accucut GrandeMARK Challenge. This Rolodex isn't for phone numbers and addresses; it is for anniversary, birthday and special dates. There are twelve tabbed dividers, one for each month.

 
 
For this project I used the business card size Rolodex Card-Small die, Flowers #5-Mini die, and Nameplates #3 die. The tab is the center cut out from the Nameplate #3 die.

 

 
 
I like to use Matte Perfect Paper Adhesive (PPA) to adhere the paper to the AccuCut acid free chipboard. PPA is a sealer as well as an adhesive.  Let it dry for 24 hours. The divider cards can also be made without chipboard if you would like a thinner divider card like what comes with the Rolodex. Just adhere two pieces of cardstock or heavy pattern paper with PPA. If the cards curl a little while drying, just wait about 24 hours until completely dry and lay something heavy on them to flatten. Once the cards were dry, I had fun decorating each card with ribbon bows, velvet ribbon and chipboard flowers. I even added a little paper and ribbon to the Rolodex base.

 

 

 

 
I have made altered Rolodexes for baby shower gifts also. I labeled the tabs with the months just like the anniversary/birthday divider cards. Then the new mom rearranges the cards starting with the baby’s birth month in front.  A quick way to jot down special notes and dates about the baby’s first year.  

 

 

I hope you enjoy making these as much as I do!