and the winner is....

Cindy B. of Montana said...

Love those cards, awesome designs!

August 28, 2009 8:14 PM

CONGRATULATIONS CINDY! You are the lucky winner of the grand prize! E-mail us at customerservice@quickutz.com with your information and we'll get that out to you.

Once again, thanks to all the designers for your fabulous work, American Crafts for your generous giveaways, and YOU . . . all you die-hard QK and AC fans with your wonderful comments!

You all made it a really great week!

the grand finale!

Wow. I am simply amazed at how fast this week has gone! We've seen such great stuff using products from American Crafts and from QuicKutz from some really talented ladies. We've heard wonderful things from all of you and can't help but get caught up in all the excitement!

I kind of feel like this is the big blast of fireworks at the end of the big show . . . lots to share today! Life is good. ;)

Let's see what Erin has to show us. I LOOOOOOVE this scooter! How stinkin' cute is this card???


I just have to quote Erin's "supply list." She said, "LOVE the scooter. Embellished with sparkly brads by AC. Rubons, chipboard, luscious glitter paper all by them too. " That about sums it all up perfectly, doesn't it?

And here's another page by Erin. Look at that cute embossed frame! Thank you so much for sharing your talent with us this week Erin! You are absolutely incredible! We've loved having you "around." :)



Supplies used:
American Crafts: Blue Skies line patterned paper; white jumbo brads, copper mini brads
Quickutz: Rings Embossing Folder, Silhouette to cut title

Here's one last card from Jen Gallacher. Love all that color! So cute! Jen, your talent shines just as much as you do! Thank you so much for playing with us this week. We've enjoyed all your wonderful creations!


Supplies:
Cardstock, pattern paper, stamp, brads: American Crafts
Printable, die cut, embossing folder: Quickutz
Stamping ink: Micheal’s, Inque Boutique
Twine: craft supply

Instructions:

1. Fold a sheet of green cardstock in half.
2. Emboss a yellow rectangle of cardstock with the Polka Dot (patterned) embossing folder.
3. Machine stitch to the card.
4. Add a square of space pattern paper to the card and machine stitch in place.
5. Cut a strip of orange cardstock and mount on the bottom of the card.
6. Cut a strip of red cardstock and mount on the orange strip.
7. Use black stamping ink to stamp “to you from me” on the orange strip.
8. Cut a star die cut from yellow cardstock and mount on card with a red brad.
9. Add two red brads to the upper right corner of the card.
10. Print out the “Me” printable on cardstock and trim (leaving a thin white edge around the letter). Idea to note: You can also use this in the true Print & Cut style by adding registration marks in the Robo Master software, printing the image, and then running it through the Silhouette. You can look here for more information on Print & Cut.
    
11. Mount letter on the card.
12. Wrap twine around the letter several times and tie into a bow.
    

And now for Miss Nichol. We've all come to know and love Nichol . . . especially me! She has a true talent for all things good and wonderful with Silhouette (among other things ;) ). I can't believe how lucky we are to have her on our design team. Thanks for all your wonderful ideas Nichol--both here and on your own blog! You are amazing!

Soooo, because Nichol is on the design team, she's a little privi to some pre-release stuff. Ready for a sneak peek of the September 10 Silhouette release? This is how the image comes. It's just a simple card base.

But once again, Nichol mixed up her images, added some dots from another image and created this darling card! LOVE it!


Supplies:
American Crafts: Craft Fair Faye Needleworth Patterned Paper, Primaries 12x12 AC Cardstock
Aqua Mini Jewel Brads, Accents Book Three MiniMarks Rub-ons, Kate Sidekicks MiniMarks Rub-ons

Silhouette: border_dot_1484, card_birthday_2111 (available Sept. 10)

How's about another one? Again, this image will be out on September 10. This is the card base:


And here's what she did with it! What a quick, original way to create your Christmas cards! Again, she added a little flourish-ee thing from another image to cut from the front. And check out that embossing! Awesome!



Supplies:
American Crafts: Summer 12x12 AC Cardstock, Cranberry Large Brads, Thank You Dots Wood Mounted Stamp, Zing! Clear Embossing Powder

Silhouette: deck_halls_49, home_decor_74, christmas_card_2117 (available Sept. 10)

Quickutz: Epic Six, Polka Dots Embossing Folder

Other Supplies: Silk Ribbon


We also want to give a shout out to American Crafts! You guys have been so amazing to work with and we love all the generous donations you've contributed to this incredible week! We all just love you guys!

So let's pick a couple winners!
For the AC goodies:

scrapping4twins said...

Love Nichole's layout! Those are such fun designs especially the circle word ones!

August 27, 2009 10:02 AM

For the QK goodies:

Shanon AKA BayouCropper said...

I love this idea!! I LOVE QUICKUTZ!! And come ooonnnnnnnn... help a QK addict out here, and PICK ME!!! Prrreeettttyyy pleeeaassse!! I am not afraid to beg!! LOL ;)

August 27, 2009 7:14 PM

Shanon, I promise you did not get picked because you begged. lol It really was the luck of the draw. :)

Congratulations! E-mail us your address at customerservice@quickutz.com and we'll get those out to you!

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for.

The big mama.

The big kahuna.

The grand daddy of giveaways.

Take a look at this!

Everything you need to get started using your own Silhouette!

Machine? Check.

Vinyl and transfer paper? Check.

2 $25 downloard cards? Check.

A gorgeous assortment of yummy colors in American Crafts cardstock? Check!

We'll draw a winner on Monday morning. Make sure you check out the AC blog . . . I think they've got something pretty cool today too!

So sad this week has come to an end . . . it's been just fab! Thanks for hangin' with me this week!

[this contest is now closed.]

and the party ain't stoppin'!

my buddies.

my pals.

my kum-by-yahs.

We all appear to be cut from the same *ehem* chocolate cake?

You guys just totally make me laugh! I got such a kick out of the comments yesterday. Here were a few of my favorites:

• wowza, another great giveaway with a bonus diet ruiner. I'm off to the grocery store now..... hmmm, which chocolate treat shall I get from the bakery?
• Great ideas!!! And if I win can you throw in the chocolate cake? ;)
• Great projects & giveaways! I'll have a balanced diet today - chocolate in both hands! :-)
• How can anyone not be inspired by chocolate cake??? Love it!
• Love those giveaways and I tell hubby all the time that diet dr pepper cancels out sweets lol
• I am so in love with those cards. How cool are they? I need to play some tonight. Is it okay to send the kids to bed early to play with my scrap toys? ...The answer to that is "Heck ya!"
• now that I no longer work for QK I think I qualify ;) ...Ahhhh, Laura! Miss you already! :)
  
• Quickuts and American Crafts. Sort of like cookies and milk.
• Choc. cake has been ordered...from Magelby's! ...This is THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH! If you live in Utah and you've never had it, don't walk . . . RUN to get some! It is di-vine!

I can see we are all kindred spirits. :) Make sure you check out the rest of the kindred spirits over there on the American Crafts blog too!

So what do we have going on today? Well, there's a new release of Silhouette images by QuicKutz today. Yahoo! It's a sort of "Essentials" release. There's these photo mats, which are not only great for pages, but great for a photo frame (note: as in Christmas gifts). Really cool to decorate up. Here's a few examples:

There are photo word corners:

Photo word frames:

And my favorite, word circles!

Just a whole bunch of essential items to make your page. It's like the basic white tee. :)

So, wanna see a couple projects using those photo frames? Here's one from Nichol Magouirk.

As you can see, you don't have to include a photo in every square. Use them for embellishments, journaling, whatever. One other really great tip? Nichol removed the large photo square on the right page and replaced it with the inside cut line of the "THIS WAY" word frame (out today) so it would all cut as one piece. How cool is that? It's that whole mixing and matching your shapes again. LOVE it!

Supplies:
American Crafts Supplies: Neutrals 12x12 AC Cardstock, Primaries 12x12 AC Cardstock, Neutrals JFK Remarks Stickers, Purkey White MiniMarks Rub-ons, Clear Stamps Thanks Large, Thank You Dots Wood Mounted Stamp, 3x3 Sentiment Grid Wood Mounted Stamp, Zing! Rouge Embossing Powder, Zing! Clear Embossing Powder, Zing! Silver Embossing Powder

Silhouette Supplies: photomat_2060, photomat_2069, heart_1439, frame_2087

Now here's a little ol' one from moi. It's simple, basic--just like that white tee. But that's just me these days....except I'm more of a black tee. ;)

I used two different photo mats, just like Nichol did, to make a two-page spread. These photos mats give you perfect placement of your photos every time, not to mention it gives you a whole different look than just putting them on top of the cardstock.

One other idea to note. I used an AC rub-on star and dotted circle on that accent in the upper left corner. I didn't have a circle punch that big--I know, *gasp*--but wait, it gets better. I measured the rub-on and created a circle slightly larger in the Robo Master software and cut it using my Silhouette. Now that makes up for not having an assortment of circle punches, right? One can cut a bizillion sizes of circles without all the bulk of a punch. Sounds good to me. :)

Here's what I did to cut my page:

• Open the rectangle photomat in the Robo Master software.
• With the image selected, right click, choose Position Settings, click Hold Aspect Ratio, and change the Width/Height to 8.5 x 11. Changing one will automatically change the other when you choose Hold Aspect Ratio.
• Now, when I did mine, I aligned the top and right edges with the top of the RM "page" so that it looked something like this:

I also adjusted it 1/2" down on my cutting mat. It's just what worked for me.

• Since I was making an 8 1/2 x 11" page, I Ungrouped the mat and removed the outer cut line.
• Now, if you notice in the list of shapes to get, this mat does not come with circles. This again is mixing and matching your shapes. I grabbed that set of circles from one of the mats that did have them, got rid of the excess circles, and aligned them into what I was cutting. I didn't remember, however, to do this until after I'd cut the squares, but it was before I'd removed the cardsock from the mat. So I put the circles where I needed to, removed all the other squares, and cut it again. I was a dingbat though and centered them rather than align them with the right edge of the large photo square. So on my page, you'll notice they are a smidgen to the left. It'll probably bug me 'til kingdom come.
  

Here's some really great tips on using these babies.

• Try cutting a piece of paper first before using your cardstock.
  
• If you are creating an 8 1/2 x 11 page, trim a 12x12 piece of cardstock to 9x12 and run that through the Silhouette. This will give you some "fudging" room to play with--making sure things are centered and such. You'll just trim it up to size after the cut.
• You can remove any square, resize it, rotate it, whatever. Makes the photo mat totally customizable to your needs.
• Replace any square with an edge like a scallop...or the word phrase like Nichol did.
• Bring your photos into the software so you can arrange on the spot!
  

• Right click on any square to get the dimension and know what size your photo needs to be. Idea to note: After arranging my photos to print, I scaled up my printing document to 102% to enlarge them just a bit so that the photo would extend just slightly outside the frame area...no white lines or blank space. I also cut them up leaving that excess white area so I'd have something to adhere to the back with. Just a thought. ;)
• And I recently posted on my blog on customizing these photo mats so you could use them as a double, layered photo mat. You can read about that here.
• Use the square photo mats in an 8x8 album! You can also use them as an accent photo mat on any larger sized scrapbook page.
  

And here's just and AWESOME tip in general . . . I LOOOOVE American Crafts cardstock! I use it to cut my Silhouette shapes whenever possible. I always use it to test-cut my shapes too. It is THE best stuff ev-er! And I know Nichol totally agrees! We are diehard AC Cardstock fans!

Since Halloween is just around the corner, let's take a look at a page from Jen Gallacher!

Love it! Love the diamond background and the 360 shape. I love seeing all these shapes come to life! And with the AC product? Wow!

Supplies:
Cardstock, pattern paper, letter stickers, buttons, jewel brads, stamps: American Crafts
Die Cuts and embossing folder: Quickutz
Twine: Craft supply
Stamping ink: Inque Boutique, Michael’s
Corner Rounder Punch: Fiskars
1.5” Circle punch: Fiskars
Gray photo corner: Heidi Swapp
Font: Century Gothic (MS Word)

Instructions:

1. Cut the distressed diamond background from black cardstock and mount several dark orange diamond behind the background.
2. Mount on lighter orange cardstock and machine stitch to black cardstock.
3. Cut bats from gray cardstock and mount on diamond background.
4. Add letter stickers for title.
5. Use black stamping ink to stamp “thanks again” on a tan piece of cardstock and mount beneath title.Add a photo to the layout with a gray photo corner.
6. Use the circle embossing template to emboss teal cardstock and machine stitch to layout.
7. Add two jewel brads to two of the circle centers.
8. Cut the 360 degree shape from black cardstock and mount on teal square.
9. Slip a 1.5” circle punch of light orange behind the title.
10. Cut a star die cut from purple and mount behind 360 degree shape as well.
11. Create a text box in Microsoft Word and fill with black ink and white text.
12. Print and add to teal square.
13. Add a strip of black dot pattern paper beneath the title rectangle.
14. Add a strip of orange cardstock and punch a hole in each end.
15. Thread craft colored twine through the holes several times and tie a large purple button in lace with a bow.
16. Add two other purple buttons to the layout.
17. Use a corner rounder punch to round the corners of the skull pattern paper and machine stitch to the layout.
    

Wow, this has been a rather long post! Maybe we'd best get to the winners of yesterday's goodies!

For the AC package, the winner is:

Anne said...

The dinomite page is awesome! I love all that you do here! And your giveaways are spectacular... I am loving this week!

And the winner of the QK package is:

Stefanie said...

More fun ideas! Thanks for sharing! :)

Congratulations! E-mail us at customerservice@quickutz.com with your address and we'll get that out to you!

Now for today's goodies! Can you believe we're on Thursday already???

Ready for Christmas? How 'bout a little jolly package like this from AC?

How 'bout these babies from QK. Did you notice something familiar? You Silhouette fans should notice the flower patterns...there are images that match them. Now you can emboss with them. Sooooo coool!

Just leave us a comment and you'll be entered to win! I'll draw the names tomorrow morning!

[this contest is closed]

visions of chocolate cake...

...dancing in my head. Oh me oh my! Did you see the luscious and gooey chocolate cake that Linda Barber made with her AC/QK stash on the Amercian Crafts blog yesterday?! Now that truly is a visual delight! I mean, c'mon, seriously, there is nothing better than chocolate AND scrapbooking...well, maybe a Diet Dr. Pepper--it's gotta be diet to offset the 72.9 grams of fat and 956 calories--per square inch--you're eating in the chocolate cake, right? That makes it alllll okay. Now that's my idea of a balanced diet.

So are you all enjoying the lovely goodness on both blogs as much as I am? Wow!

Ready to see some more?

Are you suuuurrreee.....?

Well, what am I waiting for then??? How's about this little number from Jen Gallacher? Pardon the obvious pun, but it is dyn-o-mite, wouldn't ya say! FABulous!

Supplies:

• Cardstock, pattern paper, buttons, red brad: American Crafts
• Die Cuts: Quickutz
• Red photo corners: Heidi Swapp
• Circle punches: EK Success
• Twine: Craft Supply
• Stamping ink: Michael’s
  

Left Page Instructions:

1. Cut a large wavy background die cut from dark brown cardstock and mount on tan cardstock.
2. Mount on green cardstock and add a strip of dinosaur pattern paper to the bottom of the layout.
3. Machine stitch in place.
4. Rub edges of a strip of yellow cardstock with brown stamping ink and mount in center of the layout.
5. Add a strip of tan cardstock rubbed with brown stamping ink to the center of the yellow strip.
6. Double mount a light tan and a dark brown button and tie with craft colored twine.
7. Add to the strip.
8. Use the text tool to cut “DINO” from orange cardstock and “mite” from red cardstock and mount on strip.
9. Add a red brad for the dot in the “I.”
10. Mount two photos on brown cardstock and mount on wavy background.
11. Add two large red photo corners to the top of the layout.
12. Print journaling on orange cardstock and punch out with 2” and 1 3/8” circle punches.
13. Mount on a 2 ¼” and 1.5” circles punched from brown cardstock and mount on layout.
14. Cut a stegosaurus die cut from green cardstock and mount on layout.
15. Cut two different sizes of star die cuts from yellow cardstock.
16. Rub edges with brown stamping ink and mount on layout (using a pop dot for the smaller star).
17. Add a small punched circle in black for the dinosaur’s eye.
    

Right Page Instructions:

1. Mount tan cardstock on green cardstock.
2. Mount two photos at the bottom of the layout.
3. Machine stitch the dinosaur pattern paper to the top of the layout.
4. Rub the edges of a strip of yellow cardstock with brown stamping ink and mount in the center of the layout.
5. Mount a tan and smaller orange strip (both rubbed with brown stamping ink) to the yellow strip.
6. Double mount a tan and brown button with twine to the strip.
7. Cut the tree die cuts from brown and green cardstock.
8. Add some yellow cardstock behind the open tree branches.
9. Print journaling on brown cardstock and cut into strips before mounting on layout.
10. Add two small red corners to the bottom of the photos.
    

How about this adorable card from Erin Lincoln! I LOVE how she cut the word 'Mom' from her label--using the negative space. And adding the bit of AC Flair for the center of the "O"? Perfect.

Supplies Used:
American Crafts: Blue Skies paper and Flair; Glitter Cardstock, Craft Fair chipboard buttons, Flowers

QK: Cookie Cutter Label, 2008 Christmas Gift Set Alphabet

And since I'm on a mental sugar overload already this morning because of thinking about that chocolate cake for way too long, let's share another card from Jen. I LOVE this card! Again with all the little details. Lovely.

Supplies Used:

• Cardstock, pattern paper, button, "Thinking of You" stamp, ribbon: American Crafts
• Die Cuts: Quickutz
• Embossing folders: Quickutz
• 2” Circle punch: McGill
• Photo corners: Canson
• Border punch: Fiskars
• Twine: Craft Supply
• Stamping ink: Inque Boutique, Michaels
  

Instructions:

1. Fold a sheet of green cardstock in half.
2. Use the open circle embossing folder to emboss a sheet of dark brown cardstock.
3. Machine stitch a border of dotted pattern paper to the bottom of the card.
4. Ungroup the scallop border die cut and cut the pattern from tan cardstock.
5. Rub edges with brown stamping ink and mount beneath pattern paper.
6. Use black stamping ink to stamp “thinking of you” on a strip of teal cardstock.
7. Rub edges with brown stamping ink and mount on punched border strip of tan cardstock.
8. Tie two lengths of red gingham ribbon to the stamped border and mount on card.
9. Cut a “run, jump, skip, play” circle die cut from both green and orange cardstock.
10. Cut the green circle in half and mount on orange die cut.
11. Rub edges with brown stamping ink and mount on card.
12. Punch a 2” circle from teal cardstock and emboss with polka dot (patterned) embossing folder.
13. Cut circle in half and rub edges with brown stamping ink before mount on die cut circle.
14. Mount teal fleece flower on die cut circle.
15. Mount button tied with twine to circle.
16. Add two tan photo corners to the upper corners of the card.

And now the winner of the American Crafts goodies:

Candice said...

More amazing projects!! I just love those birds!!

August 25, 2009 5:25 PM

And the winner of the QuicKutz goodies:

PamSpradlin said...

I am off to scraplift these cards. They are just so cute!

August 25, 2009 8:31 AM

Congratulations! E-mail us with your address at customerservice@quickutz.com and we'll get those out to you!


Wanna see what's up for grabs today?

Should I just tease ya some?

I'm in a weird mood this morning, so this could go on forever.

Oh, alright. I guess it's not very professional of me to keep ya waiting. ;)

Here's a little somethin'-somethin' from American Crafts:

And a little somethin'-somethin' from QK.

Just leave a comment with your name and you'll be eligible to win one of these very fine packages! I'll draw a winner in the morning!

Have a chocolate-filled day...and don't forget to make it a balanced diet with a diet soda. ;)

[this contest is now closed]

round two!

And we're off to another day of fabulous gifts and prizes! The "gifts" being page and card shares, of course. ;) I'm feeling a little like Bob Barker here.

So let's see who won the American Crafts goodies yesterday:
Kendahl.. C'mon down! You're the next winner on the "Prize Is Yours!"

Kendahl, Stepmom Extraordinaire said...

I never think to do something completely backwards [e.g. laying down the insides of a cut that usually get thrown away] but it always makes such amazing designs! Need to try this.

August 24, 2009 9:23 AM

And for our next contestant, the winner of the QK goodies:
Marilyn, C'mon Down! You're the next winner on the "Prize Is Yours!"

Marilyn said...

I am so glad AC is doing this with QuicKutz, I didn't even know you had a blog! I am so excited. I have a Silhouette, and I am loving all the ideas!

August 24, 2009 10:21 PM

Oooooh, that was fun! Congratulations! Just e-mail use your address to customerservice@quickutz.com and we'll be getting that out to you!

Now let's see what fabulous creations our super-talented ladies have for us today!

Here's one from always-amazing Erin Lincoln!


Just a visual delight! Not to mention it totally goes with the whole 'game' them we've got going today. And no, I didn't plan that. ;) I LOVE Erin's style! Erin has a way of putting tons of detail on a page without making it overhwhelming. And how cute is that little Hank of hers?!

Supplies used:
American Crafts: Junior Line for Cardstock, Rubons, Flair, Cardstock Stickers
QK: Diamond Plate background, Fun and Games title, Arrow (all three Silhouette cuts)
Bubble: Talk font downloaded from www.dafont.com

Now how 'bout another one from Jen Gallacher. Here's a card that just knocks my socks off! (Okay, so I'm not wearing any, but if I did have them on, they would be off now.)

Sooooo many cute little details on such a little card! Now that's a card that packs a lot of punch! Wanna know how to make your own? Okay, here's Jen's instructions:

1. Cut a file folder die cut from teal cardstock and rub edges with brown stamping ink.
2. Use an embossing folder to emboss ¾’s of the card with circles.
3. Use Versamark ink to stamp the scallop border on the bottom of the file folder.
4. Emboss with clear embossing ink.
5. Use a circle punch to punch the holes from each scallop.
6. Mount the floral pattern paper above the scallop stamped edge.
7. Mount a strip of the word pattern paper above the flower pattern paper.
8. Ungroup the scallop die cut and remove the inner circles.
9. Cut the scallop die cut border from cream cardstock.
10. Rub edges with brown stamping ink and mount above word pattern paper.
11. Wrap ribbon around floral pattern paper and knot.
12. Use Versamark ink to stamp the grid pattern on green cardstock.
13. Use black ink to stamp the “a little Birdie told me” stamp on the stamped image.
14. Cut a frame from tan cardstock and use the frame portion on the stamped grid (trimming excess edges).
15. Mount frame on card with pop dots.
16. Cut a bird die cut from dark brown, orange dot pattern paper and yellow cardstock and reassemble.
17. Mount bird on frame and add an orange button tied with twine to the wing.
18. Use black stamping ink to stamp “love you” on a strip of tan cardstock.
19. Attach to file folder with paper clips and mount folder on folded sheet of dark brown cardstock.

And here's her supply list:

• Cardstock: American Crafts
• Stamps: American Crafts
• Embossing powder: American Crafts
• Pattern paper: American Crafts
• Ribbon: American Crafts
• Button: American Crafts
• Die Cuts: Quickutz
• Embossing folder: Quickutz
• Stamping ink: Versamark, Micheal’s, Inque Boutique
• Paper Clips: Office Supply
• Paper punch: Gemline Punches

And because I'm feeling saucy, or maybe because I'm all Bob Barker-ish totday, let's share another card from Nichol Magouirk!

Soooo stinkin' cute! I have to admit, when I first saw those cute little birds, I assumed they were actual die cuts, but they are really Print & Cuts! And I love the way Nichol blinged them up! After all, all us 'birds' feel prettier with a little bling, right?

If you haven't had a chance to use any Print & Cuts, you can read more about it here. I LOOOOVE this feature!

Here's a list of Nichol's supplies.
American Crafts Supplies:Pastels 12x12 AC Cardstock, Clear Stamp Sentiments Large, Zing! Rouge Embossing Powder, Clear Mini Jewel Brads

Silhouette designs: love_birds_C20090727161807_2581,flower_multi_square_1220

Other:

String, Stickles Giitter Glue, Pop Dots, Notch Tool

And now one of my (me--being Bob Barker) show-room girls will show you what you could win for tomorrow!

How's about this little number from American Crafts:


Or these from QK:

I'll be picking the two winners tomorrow morning!

Don't forget to check out the American Crafts blog to see what they are sharing AND giving away! Love those guys...have I mentioned that before? ;)

[this contest is now closed.]

QuicKutz & American Crafts: It doesn't get much better than this!

American Crafts is an industry leader in all things good and glorious in the wonderful world of scrapbooking. Their whimsical, yet fresh & clean style is what sets them apart from so many others. Not to mention those people down there (and I can say that because they seriously are just down the road from me) are some of the neatest people I've ever worked with! And I've worked with them a-plenty during my QVC days with Creating Keepsakes, so I know what I'm talkin' about. :)

We have got a great week in store for you! We are teaming up with American Crafts to bring you an incredible week of ideas and visual delight combining both QK and AC products. I have seen some of these wonderful creations from some uber-talented ladies and all I can say is WOW! You are in for a treat!

So let's start with something from none other than Miss Nichol Magouirk. She never ceases to amaze me with her talent and this card is no exception.



Look closely at this card. Here's what she did to create it:

Open the image card_heart_0917.


Ungroup the image and delete the heart. Open flower_1882 and place it in the center of the card where the heart used to be. Ungroup the flower and remove the outer image, leaving all the center pieces to create the flower-looking window.

So this:

Will look like this:

Now you can cut your card with a completely different look! That's always my philosophy...think outside the box. What else can I do with an image? It totally expands your choices with your images!

Here's a complete list of what Nichol used on this card:
American Crafts Supplies: Primaries 12x12 AC Cardstock, Earthtones 12x12 AC Cardstock, Dandelion Large Brads, Zing! Clear Embossing Powder, Zing! Mustard Embossing Powder, Clear Stamp Sentiments

Silhouette Supplies: scallop_border_SM_1238, flower_1882, card_heart_0917

Now, how 'bout a page from the ever-adorable and incredibly talented, Jen Gallacher. I love all the little details of this page!

Here's a list of supplies and instructions from Jen:

• Cardstock, patterned paper, felt heart, button, ribbon & stamp: American Crafts
• Die cuts: QuicKutz
• Stamping ink: Stampin' Up!
• Twine: Craft Supply
• Corner rounder: Fiskars
• Fonts: Vintage Typewriter & 2Peas Tasklists
  

Instructions:

1. Ungroup a scallop edge and eliminate center holes and cut from cream cardstock.
2. Rub edges with brown stamping ink and mount at the top of a sheet of brown cardstock.
3. Mount pink pattern paper below.
4. Add a strip of striped pattern paper to the layout.
5. Cut a number border die cut from white cardstock and mount on pink pattern paper.
6. Machine stitch several times across border.
7. Cut the squiggly circle die cut from white cardstock and mount on a circle die cut from tan cardstock.
8. Mount on the layout.
9. Use the text tool to cut a large brown “&” and mount on circle.
10. Cut the “now what?” title from green cardstock and mount on circle.
11. Mount a felt heart by the title and add a pink button tied with twine to the title circle.
12. Use brown stamping ink to stamp the flowers over and over along the bottom of a sheet of cream cardstock.
13. Machine stitch cardstock in place.
14. Mount a black and white photo on the layout.
15. Cut a scallop border from white cardstock, slightly bend and distress and add to the right side of the layout.
16. Print journaling on dark pink cardstock and round the bottom left corner of the rectangle with a corner rounder punch.
17. Wrap the ribbon around the journaling block and tie into a knot.
18. Mount the journaling block on the layout.

What would a big ol' blog week like this be without some giveaways!!!
How about this little set of goodies from American Crafts?


And these little goodies from QuicKutz?
You know the drill, just leave us a comment with your name and you'll be entered in the drawing!

Also, be sure to check out the American Crafts' blog to see all their wonderful creations! I know I've been anxiously awaiting to see what they'll do!

I'll be sharing a few things on my blog this week as well, so you might want to pop by over there too. The more, the merrier, I always say. :)

[this contest is now closed.]

impromptu party

Hey friends...welcome to the new QuicKutz blog! Today I wanted to share a quick and simple party idea. At the last minute I decided to throw a "school girl" party for my Krissy who will be starting Kindergarten later this week (boo hoo, sob, sob...). I am not sure I am ready to let go, but she sure is excited!!

I used my Silhouette to cut out her name from some patterned cardstock.  I also used the polygon tool to create the triangles for the flag pennant banner and for the decorative picks on the cupcakes...has anyone else noticed that EVERY post I have done on the QK blog includes food...?  Just proves that paper-crafting is truly a part of my everyday life...oh, and how much I love food! (Link here for a tutorial on the polygon tool.)

Okay, back to business...I used some tiny little glue dots to attach my triangle flags to some string to create my banner.  Next I used some glue dots to attach my smaller triangles to some toothpicks...and whalla...a party!  She was thrilled and it cost me pennies!

When our party was over we used the decorations to fancy-up her bedroom door...she's still feeling pretty special!

I love that at the very last  minute I can throw a fun party together.  Just proves that with the right tools you really can create anything...thank you QuicKutz!!  Now, here's to all those school kids out there! Go get 'em!