Don't ya just love whimsy?

I made this little whimsical bag with the XL Tuck and Close Bag from Creative Cuts and More. It was a blast to make, I stamped a fairy (About Art Accents) on watercolor paper and colored it with Prismacolor pencils and blended it with goo gone then stamped a few butterflies on acetate, colored them with Bic Mark Its and glued them on after adding lots of ribbon. I finished it off with a few squirts of shimmer spray. A perfect bag for a lovely gift for a whimsical friend.

Looking for Guest Designers

Creative Cuts & More Guest Design Team Call

Creative Cuts & More (CC&M) is a leader in the die cutting industry offering dies cut in cardstock and a variety of other materials like chipboard, acetate, felt, velvet paper, and more. We are searching for paper crafters who enjoy working with die cuts (shapes, cards, 3-D bags & boxes, etc.) to design projects for us as guests to our design team. If you can rock a die cut and take a great photo, please apply!

Our plan is to choose at least TWELVE guests to post projects during their assigned month. During this month, guest designers would:

* Create 5 projects for CC&M from the materials provided. Two projects will have an assigned theme for our blog hop and then one project for each of the other three weeks during the month. Any extra materials sentare yours to keep.

* Photograph your projects. Post photographs and product recipes to your blog, to Splitcoaststampers, and any other galleries of your choice.

* Submit same photo and product recipes directly to CC&M and grant CC&M permission to use them in CC&M’s blog, Web site, gallery, etc.

Once the projects have been submitted, you will receive a gift certificate for $25 in free cardstock and die cuts of your choice from the CC&M Web site. You will also be eligible for a 25% discount on any purchases you make at that time.

To apply, show us your very best work with die cuts (2-5 projects). Send specific links to gallery pages, blog posts, or attach them in the e-mail. Also, we’ll need your answers to the following:

* Name:

* E-mail Address:

* Blog Address:

* Phone Number:

* Mailing Address:

* Current & Past Design Teams: (No experience required… we’d like to meet some new designers!)

* Other papercrafting experience (Publications, Teaching at LSS, etc.):

* What would make you a great choice as a guest designer?

* If you have a preference, what themes or time of year would work best for you? (Is there a season or a theme that you’re passionate about? Have lots of wedding stamps? Keen on pets? Taking an extended vacation in October?)

Please e-mail us at customerservice@creativecutsandmore.com and put “Guest Design Team Call” in the subject line. Submissions close on June 30^th, and notifications will go out shortly thereafter.

Guest Designer Chris Dickinson's Star Centerpiece

Our fabulous guest designer, Chris Dickinson made this fabulous center piece for her daughter's graduation. All you need is five of the A6 Oval Cutout Accordion Insert & A6 Card Set from Creative Cuts and More. As always, there is every color in the rainbow to choose from.

Stamp Sets used were from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps: Dream Silhuoettes, In His Time, All in a Row (retired SU) and a jumbo wheel by SU too.

Father's Day Box Idea

Our wonderful guest designer, Dawn has created this fun Father's cake box using our Creative Cuts and More "Cupcake Box".

Dawn wanted to make a box to hold a tie, the typical Father's Day gift. Dawn made some diamonds for the sides and paper pierced around them and just added some ribbon along the top of the box. She also used the insert on the bottom of the box so the tie would sit higher. This box would also work great for a pair of dress socks.

Thanks Dawn for inspiring us!

Fun with window cards!

I think next to 3-D die cut boxes my favorite CC&M product is window cards, I love the surprise peeking through a window. (This card is known as the 5-1/4" Square Scallop Card Heart Window Vertical.) On this card I printed a daffodil digital stamp on vellum and embossed it speedy quick then colored it with my trusty Bic Mark-it markers (sharpies or copics would work too) then sewed it behind the window opening.

It may seem tricky to machine stitch around a heart shape but here is a crafty trick: Start at the bottom point of the heart and sew up to where it starts to curve then instead of using the foot pedal on your machine use the turning wheel on the right hand side of your sewing machine to go one stitch at a time until you get over the "humps" then use the pedal as you stitch down the other strait side. I'm no seamstress but I love the look I get when I stitch on a card.

Here is another tip: If you don't have the right color "bling" for your card you can alter clear rhinestones just color them with your solvent based markers such as Bic Mark its, Copics or sharpies. I use a small glue dot to stick the rhinestone down then color right over it with the marker, works like a charm!

Fun Teacher Gift

Design Team member Diane Koerner created this adorable teacher's gift.

The French Fry Box was cut from Bazzill Criss Cross Buttercream Cardstock. She filled it with magnets and put a strip of magnet inside the box.

She colored the pencil magnets with Prismacolor pencils. Markers were used to color the flowers, apple etc. The flowers were decorated with Stickles Glitter Glue in Yellow.

Stamp Credits: the pencil and flower are from Stamps by Judith – The saying an apple lasts is by Stampassions.

Hula Girl

When I saw the little dress box my mind went to Hula Girl , I think I need a vacation!!! I really like how she turned out though. I had the die cut in Almond Creme smooth cardstock to give her a little bit of tan. The skirt was made using a table skirt we had used for a Hawaiian Birthday Party. The lei was made using a small paper punch and punching little circles out of silk flowers then stringing them on a needle and thread. A kaiser rhinestone for a belly button ring and a little bikini top and she's done!

Designed by Jennifer Johnson Creative Cuts and More Designer.
Die Cut used: Dress Box
Rhinestones: I used Kaiser but these would work perfectly: Hyacinth Rhinestones
Prima flower
Michaels flowers

Blog Candy Winner

Thank you, everyone, for participating in our Blog Hop and helping us to debut all those great new dies!

We had Random.org select a random integer for us and it came up with #12. So here's the comment from our lucky winner:

Nice work from "The Diva Dozen" this was lots of fun going from one blog to the next. I saw lots of great ideas. I especially loved Pam's Baby Shoes and Diaper Card.

Debbie H.

So, Debbie H., please contact us with your mailing address and cardstock choices for your very special castle album! Congratulations!

Blog Hop = New Dies & Blog Candy!

Welcome to our Blog Hop! Today, we're featuring mini-albums and baby-themed items. Albums, you ask? Yes! We've got brand new album dies! (We've also got some blog candy during the hop, so be sure to read all the way down to find out how to win!) Let's get the new die run-down:

• 4"x4" Album Set
• 6"x6" Album Set
• 8"x8" Album Set
• Castle Mini-Album Set
• Mix & Match Album Set
• 11.5" Scalloped Circle
  

But before you hop, check out some of these delightful samples...

These first two projects use the Baby Shoe die (one in pink smooth and the other in pearlescent swirlette). Created by Kat Salmon, one of our newest design team members.



Another gorgeous submission by Kat is this jaw-dropping baby shower cake made with the Cake Slice Box Set. She really dressed up the presentation with the adorable cake plate, curled ribbons, and toys!


Next up is a fun recipe book made from the brand new 6"x6" mini album dies. It was created by talented CC&M customer Tricia Marshall.


And see these magnificent food die cuts? These will be available soon at Creative Cuts & More!


And this adorable ABC Book was created by Kat Salmon using chipboard cut from the 8"x8" Album Set dies. She also used the Straight Frame in Blackberry Swirl Smooth. She did such a gorgeous job! The Hungry Animal is a line of fabric for children -- and she cut out each of the fabric animals and added them to the book. What a labor of love!


During the hop, one of our Design Team members will direct you back here for the chance to win one of our new Creative Imaginations Bare Elements castle albums AND 8 pages custom cut for you from your choice of cardstock. Leave a comment on this post with the secret phrase hidden somewhere in the hop. Entries will be accepted through 11:59PM Mountain Time on Thursday, May 14th and the winner will be posted the following day.

Our hop today starts with Angie and she'll direct you to the next blog, and they'll direct you to the next blog, and so on. If for some reason a link is broken, don't panic. Just return here to the list and complete your journey.

Hoppin' Team Members:
Angie Pearl
Carla Mayfield
Kim Ross
Jennifer Johnson
Lindsay Weirich
Eva Dobilas - Our Guest
Pam Smerker

Happy Hopping!

Check out this challenge!

Want some wedding favor ideas or have some wedding creations to share. Creative Cuts and More is sponsoring Cuttlebug Challenge this week. So hop on over, check out all of the amazing samples the Cuttlebug Challenge design team has put together and enter the challenge.

Happy National Scrapbooking Day!

Happy National Scrapbooking Day everyone!!!

We have a great new addition to the Creative Cuts and More design team, Jennifer Johnson. Jennifer is known for her fabulous scrapbook layouts, so we are very excited to have her join the team.

Jennifer made this great layout using Creative Cuts and More's 11 1/2" Scalloped Die Cut. Creative Cuts and More carries a wide variety of shapes that make a wonderful addition to any layout.

Double Mate mini mini album

This tiny little album isn't usually the size that I work on, but boy, was it a fun new adventure! This little album fits inside a candy/Altoid tin and is an accordion album. I had Terry cut it out of DoubleMates Cardstock in Icy Indigo. (It even sounds snowy, doesn't it?) The album came with two covers and I got the layers that go on each fold of the accordion too. The Snowflake? Well it was Snowflake #04 small out of Pearlescent Swirlette. It is just gorgeous!!

This is what it looks like when I opened it up. I used one of the layers and stamped on it and journaled on it. The accordion album is on the right. The Stamps are from Stampendous, out of their Jumbo Tree set. I stamped the swirl using White ink on the right and blue in on the panel on the right. The snowflake is Snowflake #01 in pearlescent swirlette.

I used the Circle Scallop Frame to highlight the single photo on the layout. The snowflakes (Snowflake #01 petite) and frame both were cut from Pearlescent swirlette. The title is done with white rub-ons from Autumn Leaves I did carefully measure and cut the photos, frames and snowflakes so that they would more easily fold into the candy tin and lay flatter when folded.

On the other side of the accordion album, I also placed only one photo. I again carefully cut the photo and the snowflakes, then stamped them. The dark blue cardstock on this layout is the layers that came with the album. I turned them to a landscape orientation instead of using each layer vertically on each fold. I love the DoubleMates cardstock because it is one color on one side and a complementary color on the other. No need for covering the album or changing the color of the cardstock!! It was a little tricky to get the layers just right on this layout. I wanted to cut the snowflakes at the fold so the album would lay better when folded...but it was tricky, tricky. Then I adhered all the pieces together.

This is the back cover of the candy tin. I used Snowflake #01 petite cut from the DoubleMates cardstock. Here you can see that both sides are a lovely color and go together so well. If you are covering mini albums or want tags or other embellishments made, this is a great way to have an embellishment that you could use either side of. Also, this cardstock would work great in an acrylic album because both sides are colored and you wouldn't have to worry about covering up the white backside of a piece of paper!

Got Hockey?

Did you know that Creative Cuts and More carries fabulous shapes? In our family hockey is our all time favorite sport, so I was so excited to get some die cut hockey sticks and pucks. Creative Cuts and More's die cut shapes work great for cards and 3D projects, but they are also fantastic for scrapbook pages.
Check out all of the fabulous die cut shapes and see what amazing projects you can create. As always please leave a comment and share any of your Creative Cuts and More creations.

~Pam

Die Cuts: Heart, Hockey Stick and Puck set, Scallop Square Window Card
Stamp: Studio G

Sweet Felt Star

Design Team member Carla Mayfield is no stranger to cards for boys... she's the mother of three boys! Here's her story of the cute felt star that she received and the card she created:


"Terry, the owner of Creative Cuts and More, sometimes send me random cuts from her extensive collection. I love going through these and thinking up a project for them. Today I wanted to work with this sweet felt star, and I really love how it turned out.

I started with a base of Bashful Blue, then I added a Quick Strip down the side. These were from SU! a year or two ago. For 2009, I am either going to use or get rid of some paper. I used to be a horrible hoarder!! I can tell you that all hoarding does for you is leave you with lots of outdated paper. Join me in using all your new and best stuff in 2009!!

Then I sprayed these two with some Caspian Sea Shimmer Mist. I made this by adding one jar of Radiant Pearls to four ounces of hair spray. It works like a charm!

I then put the sticker on BB card stock and cut the circle. The way I got it in there perfectly is by positioning the die exactly where I wanted it and taping it down. I cut the scalloped circle from Barely Banana and stuck it on the felt star.

Then I grabbed the metal stars with my tweezers and heated then dipped them one at a time into my retired SU! Light Blue embossing powder. I love to use ep this way, and that is why I have 40 or so colors. These stars look beautiful IRL!!

Do you ever get a card three quarters of the way finished and then decide you want the ribbon in an inaccessable place? That's what happened here, so I just took my SU! slit punch and punched a tiny nip out of the top of the card. Now the ribbon loops all the way from the inside to the outside of the card."

Dawn's "Berry Best"

We have a gorgeous sample to share today, created by Dawn Lusk. She's something of a stamping celebrity as a member of the SplitCoastStampers Dirty Dozen DT. We're delighted that she gave us permission to share this with you.


The base of her creation is the Slash Folder with Tag #05, cut from Bazzill Smoothies cardstocks. See the darker blue portion? She embossed it with a Cuttlebug embossing folder before assembly. The little dots mimic blueberries. Creative genius, wouldn't you say?

The colors, sentiment and images all work so well together! Thank you, Dawn!

Candy Box Creations

We've got more guest designer goodies to share with you today... this time from Kitty Franken who does her crafting in the Netherlands. She decorated two Candy Boxes for us, and they're both very cute!


Her boy-themed candy box was cut from clear acetate and decorated with stickers and ribbons. She used similar stickers and ribbons for her girl-themed box, but that one was cut from solid cardstock.


It's so much fun to imagine all the possibilities with this versatile box shape. It'd make a wonderful party favor for candy-linked holidays like Easter, Halloween, and Christmas. Don't forget how pretty it would look all dressed up for a wedding favor or a little goody for baby shower guests.

Stay tuned for more terrific ideas!

Scrapping with Chipboard Die Cuts

Isn't this a gorgeous layout? It's the work of our April 2009 guest designer Irene Tan from Malaysia. She was kind enough to include instructions on how she created it!

1) Use a pattern paper as the base for this page. Distress it suing the scissors distressing technique and ink it with distress ink. Mat it onto a card stock.

2) Add a strip of pattern paper on the left of the page. Ink it's edges with distress ink first before attaching it to the page.

3) Use a clock masking template and some distress ink to mask the clock image on the upper left of the page. Later, sprinkle some water on it to get the water distressing effect.

4) Distress the edges of the photograph using the scissors distressing technique and use a sanding block to distress it's borders. Add it to the page.

5) Use another mask and some acrylic paint to mask on the upper left corner of the photograph.

6) Cut out another small strip of patterned paper and create ruffles with it. Place it vertically on the lower left of the photograph. Hand stitch a vertical line on the left of the page.

7) Treat some die-cut chipboard hardware (Photo Holder #01 and Photo Holder #02) and frames (Circle Scallop Frame and Nameplate #01) from Creative Cuts & More with the "Creating your Faux Metal Pieces" technique. Add the photo holders with some brads on the upper left and right of the photograph. Add the handle vertically with brads over the paper ruffles.

8) Print quote on vellum & attach it to the lower right of the photograph. Paste the Circle Scallop Frame over it and dress it up with some liquid pearls.


9) Add the negatives of some Prima felt flourishes on the bottom of the photograph. Ink it with distress ink and dress it up with Stickles. (Tip: try to recycle some of the negatives from your felt embellishment)

10) Add the "My Mom" title to the Nameplate and attach it to the page with brads.

11) Add some flowers randomly on the page and dress it up with some Stickles and liquid pearls.

Sources:
Die Cuts: Chipboard shapes from Creative Cuts and More (Circle Scallop Frame, Nameplate #01, Photo Holder #01, and Photo Holder #02)
Patterned Paper: Little Yellow Bicycle
Inks: Ranger Distress Ink
Others: Ranger Liquid Pearls, Ranger Stickles, Tim Holtz idea-ology Mask, Making Memories Acrylic Paint, vellum, brads, Helmar glue, Glue Dots and other adhesives.

This is a Mother's Day gift that she created for her mom. We're sure her mom will love it!

Happy Easter!

Want to add a bit of elegant detail to your next card? Try Paper piercing! You don't need any special tools to do this, a push pin and a mouse pad will work just fine. To pierce the boarder on this card I printed a digital border stamp on plain paper and taped it to my card and poked holes every 1/8" or so. Then I poked a freehand design around the window.

I used the Circle Window A2 Card from Creative Cuts and More for the base. I used Digital stamps from Lindsay's Stamp Stuff and the vintage clip art is from Vintage Image Craft. I hope you have a lovely Easter spending time with friends and family, I know I will!

Apron Thank You Card

Here is a super easy card for those of you who love to give out Starbucks gift cards. The apron die cut has a flap that folds up creating a pocket, just big enough for a gift card and a small note if you like. Double Mates card stock was used here, which comes in a variety of colors. Each color has a dark and light side, great for cards where you see both sides of the card stock at once. This card would also make a great Father's Day gift. Just change up the colors and add a "home improvement store" gift card inside.

Thanks for looking!
Pam

Recipe:
CC&M "Apron Card": card stock color "Emerald Isle" Double Mates
Eyelets: Eye-Lets Etc.
Ribbon: unknown
Oval & Circle Punches: Stampin' UP!
Chipboard Letters: "Thickers" by American Crafts

Tip: Double Mates card stock works great for window cards too.

Make a Spring Star Book!

Hello Folks! Today I want to share with you how easy it is to make a lovely spring decoration for your home using little more than some die-cut cards, stamps, cardstock, silk flowers and your sewing machine. If you ever wanted to make a star book before but were intimidated by the cutting and measuring, now is your chance because it is easy.

You will need 5 window card kits (green and blue parts) from Creative Cuts and More (Why not get 10 and make one for a friend too, you get a discount when you buy 10!), 5-8 1/2" x 5 1/2" sheets if cardstock (the red sheets), stamps small enough to fit inside the window card opening(About Art Accents), Killer Red tacky tape and stuff to embellish and hang your creation. I used ribbon yarn so I could add a lot of texture at a low price!

First center the window part of the card over the cut cardstock and stamp an image in the window (I embossed it with white EP) then place the back part of the card behind it making a sandwich with the center piece. Add a small piece of killer red tape to the middle edge of each layer of the sandwich and stitch around as shown. Avoid putting tape where the stitching will be. Make 5 of these signatures (Fancy word meaning a group of pages in a book).

Attach each signature together at the outer sides with killer red tacky tape. Punch holes on the inside layer fold and tie long ribbon yarn to hang it with. Use hot glue to add flowers and buttons to your creation.

Add more ribbon if you like.