Lori's a Real Witch Today! - with Echo Park Paper

Hello and welcome to one more project for Echo Park Paper month here at Cutters Creek!  I've been feeling a little witchy lately, and I LOVE the Echo Park Apothecary Collection, so I thought I'd sneak in a Halloween decor project that is super easy.

Ta-da!  Are you impressed?!  The bottom circle for the hat brim is 7.5", but you can make this any size you'd like.  The top of the hat is just a cone rolled from an arc of cardstock.  If you don't have a compass (arc? compass?  what's with the geometry today?), which I don't, you can make your own with a pen or pencil with string tied to it (I used ribbon).  I did not measure; I just guessed and eyeballed it.  Hold the end of the string on the corner of the paper, stretch it taut, and use the pencil to draw a curve (arc) on the cardstock from one side to the next.  Once the cardstock is cut, line one straight edge with Scor Tape.  Roll it into a cone and press the Scor Tape to seal.

The fancy design on the hat brim is actually a leftover negative piece from a previous Cricut cut.  (You can see it on this project.)  After adhering the design to the cardstock base, you'll want to adhere the cone.  The easiest way to do this is with the iBond cordless hot glue gun.  I used a black glue stick from the Solid Color set, figuring it would blend in with the dark purple cardstock and black sheer ribbon I was using.  After adhering the cone, I added a 3/4" strip of the orange diamond paper as a hat band then glued down the sheer black ribbon, rolling it as I moved around the hat.

I used another 3/4" strip of the same paper to add a ribbon to the side of the hat.  On top of that I layered a cobweb cut from the cobweb pattern paper and a rolled ribbon flower using sheer black ribbon and a 2" Gluber, then embellished with some clear sparkly adhesive gems.  I added a couple more cobwebs cut from the paper as well.  I used Black Diamond Stickles to outline all of the cobwebs, and added some more sparkly gems to the other two webs.  I created the spider by tying pieces of black hemp cord, then unsticking enough of the Scor Tape to stick the end of the hemp cord down into the top of the cone and readhering the Scor Tape.

 Finally, I cut a label from the "Labels" sheet, curled the ends slightly, and adhered it to the front of the hat.  Other than drying time for the Stickles, this project took very little time -  I just played and enjoyed myself!  I'm already thinking of what I can make for Christmas next...

Chris' Echo Park Halloween

I started with an image I’ve had for a while and the idea that I wanted to practice brayering some more (is that even a verb?). The image is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black, cut using Spellbinders Nestabilities’ Small Deckled Rectangles, and then colored with Copics (YR07, YR18, YR68, YR14, G94, C5, and Y06). Next I embossed the image using clear embossing powder, my Inkessentials Embossing Pen, and my heat tool. Once that was cooled, I inked my brayer with Wild Honey Distress Ink and rolled from the bottom right diagonally across the image. Inked my brayer again this time with some Spiced Marmalade and lightly went over the corner and partially into the image. I then turned the image around and did the same thing starting with Stormy Sky Distress Ink followed by Black Soot. I then spritzed some water into the air and waved the image card through the mist. I love how this helps blend the inks. I wiped off excess ink using a paper towel and set aside.

My card base is all built using Echo Park Papers from the Apothecary Emporium Collect ion Kit. I cut a one inch strip of Wicked Potions and a 3.25 block of Full Moon and attached them using my ATG gun. I cut 2 flourish brackets from Spellbinders Shapeabilities Parisian Accents from Wicked Potions and 2 graduated sizes of the Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Twenty-Three from the backside of Full Moon. All edges were inked with Wild Honey and Black Soot Distress Inks. I layered these on the front of the card and used pop-ups on the two top layers. It still needed something…so out came my I-Rocks and added a few gems around the brackets and the corners of the second label layer. Still not quite happy with the results, I added a Happy Halloween ribbon swatch to cover the seam of the two papers and then wrapped some fibers from my stash along the top. Finally I inked the inside and used a frame and letters from the Apothecary Kit to finish the card.

Now to get started on the rest of my Halloween cards—it’s a big celebration in our house because it is my DH’s birthday and we always tease him that the holiday started when he was born!

Mandie's BOO Sign and a Blog Hop Winner!!!

I just wanted to say a big "THANK YOU" to all of you who hopped our Echo Park Paper Blog Hop over the weekend from ALL of us designers! We hope that we inspired you to play with your paper too. Remember, Kim has lots of beautiful Echo Park Paper for sale in the Cutters Creek online store. You can click HERE to buy some of your favorites!


This "BOO" sign is one that I created last Halloween with the Echo Park Happy Halloween line. I bought the wood letters at JoAnne Fabrics and painted them black. Then I Mod Podged the letters with some of my favorite sheets of the patterned paper. I really wish the D'Stress tool was out then, it would have been handy for sanding the edges! Then I used my Cricut and the Happy Hauntings cartridge to cut a variety of shapes, as well as the stickers from the collection kit to decorate the letters. Then I added the ribbon to hang it and promptly hung it by my front door. I'm looking forward to pulling this out of the box again this year!

You could easily create a beautiful sign for your home with any of the great Echo Park Paper Collection Kits that are available in the Cutters Creek store! I'm thinking that I want to use either the Season's Greetings or Holly Jolly Kit to create something special for Christmas...

Now, I bet you are wondering WHO our Grand Prize winner is....

I used random.org to select our winner from all of the eligible blog comments on all 8 blogs and it chose....


And lucky commenter #16 was....


Congrats Mommakatx6!!!! I will be emailing you for your information shortly for your information. And thanks again to all of you that hopped!!!

Mandie's Brew Crew Layout

Today I have a layout that I created using my FAVORITE Echo Park Paper Collection - Happy Days! I am in love with the vintage flavor that these papers have.


I started with a Kraft Cardstock base and used 5" x 5" squares of the Happy Days paper for my background. Then I simply mounted all of my photos (2 - 4" x 5", 1 = 4" x 6") to a couple of cardstock strips and lined them up on my paper. (Note - the only change I would have made would have been to not line this up right in the middle, I had to cut my daughters face in the photo). I used my Pink ATG to adhere every thing. Then I cut the title "Brew Crew" from the Nifty Fifties Cricut Cartridge and ran the letters through my Xyron 150 to add the adhesive. It's a quick and easy way to add your adhesive and there's no mess! I used the stickers in the Happy Days kit to spell out my other words and then added a few embellishments from my stash with Glue Dots. Finally I added my journaling with the Inkssentials White Pen. I'm really happy with how this layout turned out, but Echo Park's gorgeous papers make it easy to create works of art!

Cutters Creek Echo Park Blog Hop!

Hello and Welcome to the Cutters Creek Design Team Blog Hop! Today's hop features one of our favorite paper companies, Echo Park Paper! Each member of the Cutters Creek Design Team has created special projects using some of our favorite collections from Echo Park! When you are done checking out Chris' beautiful project here you will hop on over to Mandie's Blog and there you will find the link to the next blog in the chain!

Do one Layout, Get 1 (almost) Free by Chris

Looking at the Echo Park paper and knowing I needed to do a new baby LO, I chose two sheets, one from the Country Drive collection kit and one from the Victoria Gardens collection kit. I wanted a split background so I cut both sheets four inches from the top. I flipped one sheet and lined the two up again. Now using my Scor Tape and cream seam tape I glued the two pieces back together. Flipping the paper over, I repeated the process using a piece of red ribbon. Now, to decorate.



I used SCAL (Sure Cuts A Lot software) to create a looped mat using some borders and corners shared online. The inside of the mat is approximately 5x7 inches and fits my photo perfectly. Before adhering the photo with Scor Tape, I raided my mom’s sewing stash and glued the lace trim along the bottom. Finally, I took a Tim Holtz Memo Pin and an Adage Ticket and pushed it into the top left corner, spray glued the back of the mat and adhered the mat to the background.

I used my printer to print the text on cream CS and used the Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Ten set to cut both out. Both got inked with Spun Sugar Distress Ink. I saw this button trim on a card online and decided to “lift it” for this LO. So I trimmed off the top of the smaller label and carefully marked where it would line up with the larger background one. I then glued down some buttons with Glossy Accents, punched the holes with my Tim Holtz Craft Pick and used embroidery floss to sew the buttons on. After gluing this down, I put some pop up dots under the smaller label and lined it up to the buttons and the end of the larger label. To finish off the journaling box I added three pearls to the top loops.




For the bottom of the picture I again cut another Labels Ten and added three small homemade roses, but you certainly could use the Cutters Creek Brand Flowers and color them any color you wish. To finish the page I again took my Glossy Accents and made some dewdrops on the handmade roses and the printed roses in the corner.

Now, of course I have a blank canvas on the other side—well, not so blank any more. Here’s the LO for that side. The EP paper is the background and the Title is a sticker from Victoria Gardens. Everything else is from my stash and I used Spellbinders Nestabilities Ovals and Scalloped Ovals for the title. I must admit I am an avid scanner of page sketches and PageMaps these days. It helps me pull everything together so quickly.

Make sure you are a follower of our blog and leave a quick comment before you hop on over to Mandie's Blog to qualify to win one of the Echo Park Collection Kits! If you also sign up for the Cutters Creek Newsletter (in the sidebar at the top) you can leave a second comment here for an extra entry into the drawing!

Here's the Hop Line-Up:

Cutters Creek Blog (Chris)
Mandie's Blog
Lori's Blog
Deanna's Blog
Mindy's Blog
Laura's Blog
Melissa's Blog
Kim's Blog

Mandie's Cool Cat Card

Today I have a quick and easy card that I made using one of the papers from the Echo Park Papers Happy Days Collection!


I love these beautiful papers! The vintage 50's style of these papers is one of my favorites so I grabbed my Nifty Fifty's Cricut Cartridge and cut this awesome "Cool Cat" shape. The background paper is a mirror finish paper that I have been hoarding for quite some time!


I think this is a great any occasion card and I'm planning on creating a few more to put together as a gift set for some one special!

Come back tomorrow to check out the FABULOUS Blog Hop! All of our designers have made some great projects using Echo Park Papers! Rumor has it there may be prizes involved...

Echo Park Joy Fold Card Tutorial

Hi, it’s Mindy and it’s my turn to host Tutorial Tuesday. As you know we are featuring Echo Park products this month. I have made a Joy Fold Card using the Echo Park Country Drive Collection.

It’s hard to tell from the picture, but this card has a very unique fold . Here is a picture of what the card looks like when it is open.

The little car on the front opens up to give you lots of room to write a message to your recipient.

To make this card, you will need to gather your supplies. You will need a piece of cardstock 4 1/4 x 8 1/2, a piece of cardstock 3 x 8, 3 pieces of patterned paper 2 3/4 x 4, a piece of patterned paper 4 x 5 1/4, a scor pal and adhesive.

You need to score your larger piece of cardstock at 5 1/2 inches and your smaller piece at 4 inches. Then you can cover the cardstock in the paper of your choice. I matted my paper to give it an extra layer. You only decorate the outside of your smaller card and leave the inside blank for a message.

These are my cardstock pieces after I had them decorated. Then you put adhesive on the back side of the smaller card and stick it in the middle of the larger card.

If you are confused by any of my steps, there is an excellent tutorial on split coast stampers with a video. The main thing I changed from this tutorial is the way I kept the card closed. I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to use the new craft velcro I got.

I love this stuff! I cut one of the ovals in half since I only needed a small amount. I stuck it to the inside of the flap while it was still attached. I pulled off the backing and pushed the card together. This is much easier than trying to make sure you have the pieces lined up perfectly.

That’s it a really simple way to make an interesting card. Here is a picture of the finished card again.

I have a couple of friends who have been sick and when I saw this yellow VW bug the sticker on the sticker elements that came with this pack, I knew it would be perfect. I've had the sentiment "caught a bug..." for a while and I knew they would go great together. I added a strip of ribbon and this was it. I really just wanted this card to be clean and simple.