Thoughts for Mom

Hi everyone!

This is Julie from the QuicKutz Design Team and today I’m sharing a sneak-peak of the present I’m giving to my Mom for Mother’s Day. Like many of you, my Mom holds a very dear spot in my heart. I think I realized just how dear she is to me when I became a mother myself 17 years ago. My Mom is a four-time cancer survivor—yes, you read that right! During it all, she was and continues to be the best Mom to my two sisters and myself. This is for you, Mom!

I decided I wanted to give her a mini book that was full of sentiments from my heart. You won’t find any pictures in this, just my thoughts for her, but pictures would work well in the album too.

First, I gathered up my supplies. I pulled the colors I wanted with embellishments that matched, in addition to the QuicKutz dies I thought I might use. (I tend to gather way more than I need!)

I happened to have a bird-shaped chipboard album on hand, so this is the base of my book. You could also use the Holiday Gift Set Mini Albums (HGS-09-IND) or the Composition Notebooks (CC-SHAPE-085-4) from the newest release. I covered the album with adhesive fabric and trimmed around the edges. I then scruffed up the edges of the fabric to give it some texture and to show off the fabric.

I also ran the cardstock pages through the Epic tool using the Flowers Embossing Folder (EF-A2-007). I rubbed an inkpad across the raised flowers to show the texture.

Now, it was time to make the embellishments! I knew I wanted to make felt flowers, which are all the rage right now. I chose to make my journaling blocks out of felt, too. When cutting the felt, I found it best to take the outer foam off of the 4x4 die before running it through the Epic tool.

I cut the Flowers (REV-0016) out of two different colors of felt so that I could layer them.

I then embellished the flowers with buttons and floss. I love the random stitched look of the floss.



As I mentioned, I wanted to journal from my heart. I knew these words would mean the most to my Mom. I used the Scallop Rectangle Journaling Block (REV-0228D). I cut this shape from felt just like I cut the flowers, and then I cut the lined block from paper and layered them.

Assembling the pages was easy. I found liquid glue worked best for gluing the felt.




I used the Holiday Alphabet (4x8-HOLIDAY-M) for the front and back cover—such a beautiful, feminine font. Other great QuicKutz alphabets for a mom would be Sugar Sweet, Cosmopolitan, Magnolia, Stardust or Nutmeg.


I love you Mom!

(Now, I need to think about something manly for Father's Day…)

[Note from QK: Special thanks to Julie for her contribution to this blog. Here’s hoping your Mom loves her gift, and that she enjoys great health in years to come!]

National Scrapbooking Day

Happy National Scrapbooking Day to our friends in cyberspace!

Are you scrapping away today?

Are you hitting up the sales at your local scrapbook store?

Are you cropping into the night while eating Hot Tamales, Snickers, and Diet Coke? (Oh you're not? I guess you know what we'll be doing tonight!)

QuicKutz wants to reward you, our favorite crafters, with a sweepstakes to win some of our new large-format dies. To enter to win, simply leave a comment telling us what you plan to do on National Scrapbooking Day. (And if it's just running errands and chasing kids, that's okay, too.)

Have fun today!

Mother's Day Mini Album

Hello Quickutz friends, it’s Shaunte Wadley again.

Mother’s Day is quickly approaching, and I thought I would share an inexpensive project with you. This project would be perfect as a gift for the special women in your life, or as a gift for yourself on Mother’s Day.

I started with a mirrored compact that I found at the dollar store.


I used an awl to chip out the make-up, and actually with this compact, the makeup portion came completely out in a metal tin. I then washed and dried the compact. (And realized I would have never made it as a hand model.)


Next I gathered my supplies:

Nested Circles CC-SHAPE-14-024
Nested Flowers CC-SHAPE-088-5
Small Flowers RS-0005
Tab RS-0517
12x12 cardstock
Felt
Ribbon
Brads
Button

Cut a strip of your cardstock measuring 2.25" X 12".

Then, using your paper trimmer as a guide, measure every two inches along your 12” strip, and score the paper. I like to run my bone folder right down the gutter of my paper trimmer where the blade would normally run. This gives me an accurate measurement, and a clean score line.


You should end up with a strip containing six equal squares.


Cut the strip in half, in the middle.

Next, you will want your nested circle die. Choose the die that is almost the exact size of your project. Be very careful to position the circle die so it DOES NOT CUT THE SIDES of the folded strip. (The top and bottom of the strip will be cut.) Roll it through your die-cutting tool. Repeat with the other half of the folded strip.

Whoa, who needs a manicure? :-)


You will end up with two sections of (now rounded) paper.


Adhere the sections back together, over-lapping one full circle as shown.


Using a strong adhesive, glue the end of the section into the compact, making sure to line it up so the compact will close. I used E-6000 glue. It smells good. I love me some glue fumes!


Next, I gathered my photos. I had already sized my photos to a 2" x 2” square, though this is not necessary.

Choose a photo that will fit within the nested circle die that is one or two steps smaller than the die you used to cut the cardstock strips.

I found it helpful to use the sticky mat to hold my photos into position when I ran them through the die-cutting tool.

Adhere the photos to the circles. You could also choose to add journaling or decorate as you wish if you don’t have a whole bunch of rug-rats to squeeze into the album like I do!

Before you adhere the top photo, cut a tab from cardstock, and attach it to the top circle of the cardstock strip. This will make it easier for the recipient to pull the album out of the compact.


Go crazy and decorate your album up however you wish. You can use stars, flowers, butterflies--whatever! I chose a small flower. I am sure my boys don’t appreciate that, but it is for MY purse!

When you are finished decorating, tuck everything into the album, and make sure it still fits inside the compact!

Now we are going to decorate the top of the compact, and cover up the distracting brand name.
Grab your felt piece, and the middle sized nested flower die. You will need to cut two of the middle sized flowers, and one of the smaller size.

Take a section of ribbon, and loop it to create a “leaf”. Attach it to the bottom flower. I used a brad to make sure it held well.

Using your strong glue, adhere the bottom flower to the top of the compact. Then using hot glue (the other adhesive tended to soak into the felt) adhere the second flower to the top of the flower already on the compact. Slightly off-set the flowers.

Adhere the smaller flower, and your button.


You are finished! A cute mini-album that will hold up in any purse!


Now if I were giving this as a gift, I would probably include a card with a sentiment along the lines of “I couldn’t “make-up” a better mother/grandmother/mother-in-law than YOU!” to match the compact/make-up theme.

Happy Mother’s Day!

It Pays to Buy QuicKutz

Karen Downs here.

I purchased a Relax Spring Gift Set in 2009 and was awarded the Grand Sweepstakes Prize—airfare for me and my husband to Hawaii, plus a 5-day stay at a hotel on the island of Ohau. We’d been looking forward to this trip for nearly a year when we finally took our trip in March.

First of all, we want to send out a HUGE thank you to QuicKutz and to our trip coordinator, Andrea. The word for the week was FANTASTIC! This trip was the perfect vacation for me and my husband, as we haven’t had a vacation just the two of us in at least 15 years. We discovered how much fun it was to just take care of ourselves and to spend time together. We saw the entire island and made time for stuff such as snorkeling, hiking, shopping, and much more. We saw sea turtles and humpback whales, as well as many different kinds of fish and sea creatures. The weather was perfect, too!

I am so excited to print my pictures from the trip and start preserving our memories using the gift set that won me this vacation in the first place. What a perfect die set to go along with our tropical vacation.

Thanks again, QuicKutz!

Karen Downs

[Note from QK]: Our Spring Gift Set 2010 will also give you chances to win great prizes—stay tuned for its release soon!

Mother's Day Flower Pot

We hope you’re enjoying the newest release from QuicKutz! Did you know our large format dies were created for use in a variety of craft projects, not just on scrapbook layouts? The large-format flower nesting dies, in particular, look great when used in conjunction with craft paper, fabric, felt, or any other unique media.

QuicKutz design team member Leisa Baptiste Rice created this fabulous flower pot design using a variety of large-format nesting shapes. She shows just what these dies can really do!

Supplies:

English Rose Grand Alphabet CC-ENGLROSE-GC
Nesting Flowers (large) CC-SHAPE-0874
Nesting Flowers (small) CC-SHAPE-088
Nesting Circles CC-CIRCLES-01
Nesting Tags CC-SHAPES-6-023
Flourish REV-0024
Leaves REV-0064
White glue (wet)
Scissors
Paper trimmer
Tweezers
1 Clay pot (size of your choice)
Flower foam
Shredded paper (grass)
Ribbon (to tie around the pot)
Beaded chain
1 silver eyelet
3 sheets of coordinating cardstock, colored or printed (flower)
2 sheets of green cardstock (stem, leaves and bottom of the flower)
1 sheet of yellow cardstock (center of flower)
1 sheet of black cardstock (letters to personalize tag)

Cutting Directions:

1. Using the coordinating colored cardstock, cut out the large nesting flowers (CC-SHAPE-0874). Cut three of each shape in the three different colors of paper. Don’t cut the very smallest flower. You will end up with three large, three medium and three small flowers in different colors.

2. Using the one sheet of the green cardstock, cut out four to eight sets of the leaves (REV-0064). Then cut out three of the smallest nesting flowers (CC-SHAPE-088).

3. Using a paper trimmer, cut the remaining green sheet of cardstock into three 3x8 pieces.

4. Fill your sink with water and soak all of your pieces for five minutes. Remove and squeeze the water out of each shape. Lay each shape flat to dry (takes approximately two hours).

5. Using the yellow sheet of cardstock, cut out three of the flourish shapes (REV-0024). Set aside.

6. Using a piece of the colored coordinating cardstock, cut out one of the medium nesting tags (CC-SHAPES-6-023).

Putting it all together:

1. Tightly tie the ribbon around the top of the clay pot.

2. Fill the clay pot 3/4 full with flower foam. Using a pencil, create three holes to hold the flowers. DO NOT make the holes too large, or your flowers will droop!

3. Take all three flower shapes and curl the edges with a pencil. Place a small drop of wet glue in the center of each flower. Pinch the center of each flower from the opposite side of the glue and hold for a few minutes—this will make your flower look a little more dimensional. When completing the smallest flower, add your flourish to the center (with a pair of tweezers) so that it stands out. Once all of the flowers are pinched and dried, glue them to each other so that the pieces are opposites in color. Set aside to dry.

4. Take the three 3 x 8 pieces and roll each around one pencil, gluing with each roll. This technique will form a long tube. Allow to dry.

5. Take the three smallest nesting flowers (CC-SHAPE-088) and cut a hole in the center using any size of the nesting circles (CC-CIRCLES-01). Curl the edges up and down with a pencil. Set aside.

6. Pick up the stalks and cut down into one end (approx 1/2-1 inch) four times. This will fold out like a plus sign. Glue to the back of each constructed flower. Slide the smallest nesting flowers (CC-SHAPE-088) flower down the stalk and glue so that it covers up the edges you glued to the back of the constructed flower.

7. Embellish the stalk by adding leaves.

8. Place each completed flower in the holes in the pot at varying heights.

9. Finish by adding the shredded paper (grass) and a personalized tag.

So cute, right? Have fun and be creative!

QK note: Special thanks to Leisa for her endless creativity!

Bookmark

Hello readers!

This is Pam, a member of the QuicKutz Design Team. My children recently had a month-long reading theme in their school. This assignment got me to thinking. April is supposed to bring showers, and what better thing to do on a rainy day that curl up with a good book and read, or maybe do a little crafting! I decided to combine my two favorite activities, reading and crafting, and develop a cute little bookmark.

First, I gathered up my supplies:

Zigzag Edges (CC-BDR-065)
Flower (RS-0008)
Epic tool
Felt, solid and patterned
Ribbon
Buttons
Sewing machine
Needle
Embroidery floss

I started by using my Epic tool to cut the patterned felt with the new Zigzag Edges die (CC-BDR-065) and the solid felt Flower die (RS-0008). I must admit, it was my first experience cutting felt with my dies. While the dies cut great on the patterned felt, I had to trim the edges of the solid felt flowers.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE these new border dies?! I think the zigzag is my fave! After cutting out my shapes, I laid the zigzag-edged patterned felt onto the black felt and cut my desired bookmark size.

I then pulled out my sewing machine, and while I don't claim to be very good at sewing, I added a simple outline of color to the edge of the bookmark.

I then adhered the flowers with embroidery floss, using the buttons as centers. Next I went back to the sewing machine and sewed the ribbon onto the top. Voila! A cute little bookmark was born.

My daughter saw this on my scrapbook desk after arriving home from school today. She promptly placed her order for a leopard printed bookmark. I guess that's next on my agenda!

I hope April brings you a lot of sunshine and Spring flowers, but if rain heads your way, just grab your craft supplies and play a little!

Explosion Box Tutorial

Do you remember the Spring into Crafting contest? Our winner, Mellissa, created an imaginative Easter box that won her $100 in QuicKutz products. Many of you asked for step-by-step instructions for this project, and Mellissa kindly obliged. Read below for all of the information you will need to complete your very own "explosion box."

Take it away, Mellissa!

Supplies
Basic scrapbook supplies
Scor-pal or scoring tool
Ruler (optional)
Two 12" x 12" pieces of cardstock
Two or three 12" x 12" pieces of patterned paper
Embellishments
Ribbon
QuicKutz cutting dies (see below for a complete list of dies used)


For this box I used the new American Crafts LETTERBOX line patterned paper.

Step 1-Cut one of your 12"x12" cardstock pieces down to 6.75" x 6.75." Using your scor-pal or scoring tool, score at 1.25" on all four sides. Using your other 12" x 12" cardstock, score at 4" and 8." Turn paper and score again at 4" and 8." Using your ruler and scoring tool, score each outside corner in half diagonally. Fold each score line for a crisp crease.

Step 2-Cut a slit in each corner of the smaller piece of cardstock to make a 'tab'. Fold those tabs in and glue. Strong glue is recommended for this step. This is your box lid.

Step 3-Cut your patterned paper. You will need 17 pieces cut at 3.75" x 3.75", one piece cut at 4"x4" (for the lid), and four pieces cut at 1" x 3.75" (lid sides). Out of the 17 pieces, cut eight of them in half diagonally. These will be your corner pieces.

Step 4- Arrange your patterned paper pieces as desired on both sides of the 12" x 12" cardstock and glue them down. NOTE-I used my ‘busiest’ paper in the corners so I do not have to add embellishments there. Adding ‘popped’ up embellishments in the corners will interfere in closing the box.

Embellish as desired

NOTE: When adding embellishments to the outside of the box, keep in mind that the lid will come down approx 1 ¼” from the top.

Step 5-Making the fan flower-Using pages from an old book, cut three pieces to 4"x4". Use a border punch or your favorite edge scissors on two sides of each piece if desired. Fold each piece as you would a fan. Fold each fan in half and glue together. Glue each fan together to make a circle. Adhere to a paper doily.

QuicKutz dies that I used

2x2s
Butterfly -KS-0919
Butterfly-QC-0007-D
Flower-KS-0923
Tulip-KS-0915
Grass-RS-0024
Grass-RS-0928
Leaves-KS-0917
Daisy-KS-0538

6x6
Epic Promo die-EPIC-PROMO-1

Nesting Dies
Nesting flowers-CC-FLOWERS-01

Cookie Cutters
Flowers-CC-SHAPE-6-017

4x8 Font
Rollerskate SkinniMini Alphabet

Border Dies
Vine-CC-BDR-010 (cut into pieces)
Branch-CC-BDR-023 (I used the birds from this)

To complete the project, fold up the outside box piece, and hold together with the lid.

Voila!