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.

Echo Park Country Drive

We are featuring Echo Park this month at Cutters Creek and it’s my turn to post a project. I have used one of the new collections Country Drive. This pack is full of bright fun colors and great patterns like birds and butterflies. I used the 12 x 12 kit which comes with some great sticker elements.

Here is the card I made with the paper and the included elements.

I used the butterfly pattern for the base of my card. The large butterfly in the center was cut with my cricut. The pink pattern used for the butterfly is actually the reverse side of the butterfly paper. I love when both sides are really cute. I used the new Sophie cartridge which is a circle exclusive, but there are several cartridges with butterflies that would work just as well. I added 2 of the sticker borders that came with the paper pack across the center of the card and then I pop dotted the butterfly oval up off the card with some clear foam tape. I finished the card with some flower stickers in the corners. These were also part of the element sheet included in the pack. I put some green adhesive pearls in the center of the flowers.

I made this card an easel card. It folds flat to be a normal 5x7 card, but when you open it up the strip across the bottom holds the front in place. This border strip is popped up once again and decorated with more flower stickers and pearls. I then added the sentiment which is also a sticker from the element pack.

I hope you have enjoyed my echo park project and that I have encouraged you to take a look at the 12 x 12 packs. The paper is adorable and the included elements work great with cards as well as scrapbook pages.

Life is Amazing Card - Deanna M

I have for you today an elegant looking but very quick card I made using the new Victoria Gardens Echo Park paper and stickers from the 12 x 12 kit. These papers are beautiful and also come in a 6 x 6 Pad. To make my card I started with a white card base 4 1/4" X 5 1/2". I then cut a mat from this gorgeous pink and white patterned paper that was in my kit. I added a pink ribbon and bow from my stash. Using the Elegant Edges Cricut cartridge to cut the scalloped rectangle. I cut the base layer and shadow layer at 3 3/4".  (Kim at Cutter's Creek can special order this cartridge for you, just ask).  I just loved this framed sentiment and designed my card around it. The scalloped mats are cut from more patterned paper from the  Victoria Gardens Echo Park kit. I adhered the scalloped rectangle mat together and attached it to my card using foam tape. Last I added the framed sentiment and some pearls in each of the scallops. I am so pleased how this turned out. In case you can't read it, the sentiment says, When you stop and look around, this life is pretty amazing. If you haven't had a chance, be sure to stop by Cutters Creek and check out all the Echo Park paper available. Rumor has it that some of the Christmas pads have just arrived and their are a few remaining, so grab yours quick. Be sure to come back and visit again for more great project ideas.

Tutorial Tuesday: Echo Park Paper Bead by Laura C.

This "yummy" LO was done using the Echo Park "Happy Days" 12x12 paper collection. The paper, stickers, and journal box are from this collection. The candy jar is from the sticker sheet, and I added Glossy Accents and a bit of twine to dress it up. The twine at the top is held tightly in place with none

other than Scor Tape. The bottom of the page is a layer of paper beads....remember those? They are one of the "new" trends to use on your cards and LO's!! Here is a close up of the beads and the candy jar....and it shows the title I added:

And if you aren't familiar with how to make these "sweet" little paper beads.....here is a super quick video on how it's done:



Thanks for stopping by today....try out this fun technique for yourself! And make sure you stop by my blog, www.scrapaddict4life.blogspot.com for yummy blog candy this week!!

Available at Cutters Creek:
Echo Park 12x12 (Happy Days)
Glossy Accents
Scor Tape

Graphic 45 To The Rescue with Chris

Did you ever forget a birthday of a dear friend? I did and needed something quick, easy, and nice, so I turned to my Graphic 45 The Magic of Oz Collection. My pad is 8x8. I fussy cut the scarecrow with the sign “Wanted a Brain”, aptly named for this project, don’t you think?

I used a cardstock base of 4.25 x 5.5 and layered a 3-7/8 x 5-1/8 inch black rectangle from my stash and a 3.75 x 5 inch green one from the Oz pad. I used my gold leaf pen to edge the green rectangle and then used ScorTape to adhere it to the card.

I wrote the sentiment on my computer and printed out on cream cardstock. The clip that is holding it was originally baby blue. I sanded it first and then, used Lettuce, Latte, and Cloudy Blue Alcohol Inks to change the color. I then edged the sentiment card with Vintage Photo Distress Ink, slipped it into the clip and used Glossy Accents to attach it. The scarecrow is popped up. I used the ASI Kool TaK Clear squares where they would show and regular pops towards the middle that you couldn’t see. Now all I need to do is write a note and the card will be in the mail.



Remembering 9/11...........................

The Cutters Creek Design Team sends our many thanks to our American Heroes and those in our Armed Services, Fire Fighters, & Police Officers.  We also send our heartfelt prayers to all those who lost their loved ones  on 9/11/01.  We will never forget...............................

Happy Days Layout with Echo Park from Lori

I am absolutely LOVING this Happy Days collection from Echo Park!  The bright cheery colors make it great for so many projects.  I don't know about you, but I still have about a ton and a half of photos from my kids' younger days hanging around.  I thought these pictures from my now-5th-graders 3rd birthday were a perfect match for these papers.

Totally loving this!  Here are a few ways I added some dimension with these fun papers:

 Using a black distress ink pad, I edged all of my papers (I used a black marker around the shield shape).  Then, I popped up some of the pieces using some dimensional foam adhesive.

Finally, I added a few dimensional embellishments, like these bottle caps I smashed using the No More Shims mat.  I simply added some of the sticker elements from the collection mounted on cardstock in the centers.

Items available at Cutters Creek:

• Echo Park Happy Days Collection
• No More Shims mat from Scor-Pal
• Kool Tak 3-D Foam on a roll - Clear
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink, Black Soot
• Scotch ATG

To see some add-ons I made for this layout, you can visit my blog.  Thanks for checking us out today!  Don;t forget to check back all month for projects featuring Echo Park Paper products.

Echo Park Happy Days LO by Laura C

Ok....I gotta say....I think I am in LOVE!! With this new
EP "Happy Days" paper collection!! It's so fun with so
many options!! And just to show you that it doesn't have
to be for "nostalgic" pics (but those look awesome too!)
This LO used the collection pack...the words are all from
the journal and word strip sheets, the record, music notes,
title letters, and black diamond strip are all from the sticker
sheet. A few buttons with twine finish the page off. A super
simple and super cute way to show off a fave pic (like this
one of my son in the "Sundae Relay" at youth theater camp!

Make sure to check out this awesome Echo Park Paper
at Cutters Creek!!

Available at Cutters Creek:
Echo Park "Happy Days" 12x12 collection pack
Glue Glider Adhesive

Patchwork Kitty-By Deanna M

So for Tutorial Tuesday I wanted to give you an idea on how to use some of those scraps building up in your scrap bin. If you are like me, you hate to recycle a piece of paper that you just might be able to use on another project. Here is what I have for you.

To make my patchwork kitty, I started with a 4" X 6" piece of regular bond, printer paper and ran it through my Xyron. You could also use a large adhesive label but I didn't have any so had to improvise and it worked beautifully. I then cut 2" X 2" squares from some of my scrap paper. My paper for this project is from several Echo Park Paper Pads.

 I then randomly picked up my squares and attached them to my paper using the adhesive applied by the Xyron. Here is how it looked.

I then selected my image which was the Kitty from Create-a-Critter. I cut the base layer out of black card stock (another scrap) and then the top layer from my patchwork paper I made. I grabbed a scrap of pink for the bow and the kitty's nose. My card base is  4 1/4" X 5 1/2" white card stock. The yellow and purple paper are from the Echo Park Summer Days Paper Pad. I used my white gel pen to add some faux stitching around the outside of the card as well as to "stitch" all the seams and along the outside of the kitty. I added some black nail head embellishments from my stash for her eyes and a silver rhinestone from the new Want2 Scrap embellishments, to the kitty's bow. I used some Memento Tuxedo Black Ink to stamp my Hello. I attached my kitty to my card front with an Action Wobble I hope I have inspired you to trying something new with those scraps. Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to come visit us again as we will be featuring projects using the Echo Park Paper Pads all month.

Chris' Quick Pick Me Up Card

I just had to. I couldn’t wait. Kim’s package arrived in the late afternoon and I had that Echo Park Paper opened and ideas buzzing through my head in less than five minutes. I already had an image from a coloring page colored with my Copic Markers that matched wonderfully. I fussy cut around it.

Hat: Y21, Y23, Y26, YR15
Skin: E00, E21, E50
Wood bin: E34, E57, E59, E0000, E33
Dirt: E11, E13, E21
Hair: Y23, Y26, Y28
Chicks: Y02, Y06, Y00, YR68
Straw: Y17, Y15, Y19
Shirt: G17, G19, G20
Jeans: B26, B28, B24, B32

I fussy cut two strips of the birds on a line from a piece of paper from the Echo Park Paper Country Drive collection called "Sundress" - of course! Then, using the other side of the same paper, I cut the third largest square from Spellbinders Nestabilities Lacey Squares. Of course I got a lot my toys in my package that I had to play with, so I tried the No More Shims Embossing Mat and yes, it is all it is cracked up to be. What a great deep embossing I got! The sentiment is another of Paulette’s, printed out small enough to be cut by the one-inch square of the Spellbinders Nestabilities Small Squares. I edged this sentiment with Copic color YR15.


To assemble the card, I folded a piece of cardstock to 4.25x5.5 and glued my bird strips along the long edges with my ATG (Advanced Tape Glider). I used the ASI Kool Tak Stix 2 Clear Foam Pads (Yup, another item in my package) behind both the girl and the sentiment. The girl is raised one layer and I raised the sentiment two layers by doubling the pads on the back. And Voila a finished card!

Wedding Card & Hurricane Irene

Hurricane Irene has been rough on a lot of us on the East Coast. When you lose electricity, you lose so many things that you take for granted each day that are just "there". Running water was the one thing that was the hardest for us. We could not clean, give animals fresh water, flush, cook, and so much more. You also find out that you have to communicate with people the old fashion way, actually talk face to face. I think our world of internet and smart phones has made it so we no longer have to interact with people the old fashion way. I for one, loved running into strangers and chit chatting as we all were searching for water and ice. So I am one to have any excuse to craft and Irene gave me that chance. I made this wedding card for our neighbors. They are getting married next week. Since I had so much time on my hands, I really put a lot into this card, including time. I am more of a scrapbooker, so as my card morphed before my very eyes, I was so pleased I spent the time I did on it. Here is the front of the card:

I used an Ecstasy Craft kit for the wedding image and put that together with foam squares. I then hunted through my massive paper stash and found a piece of pearlized 12x12 paper and some American Crafts glitter cardstock in ocean. I cut down the white paper to a 5x7 card base. I then took one of my punches and created a lacy edge down the front of the card. I then took my butterfly punch and punched a butterfly and glittered it and added KaiserCraft pearls in denim for his little body. I mounted my Ecstasy Crafts image on the glitter cardstock and also cut a strip and adhered it to the inside edge of my card. I then attached my butterfly with foam squares under the wings to make it look like it was in flight and then added some more denim pearls on the bottom front of the card.

Here is the interior:

On the interior I took a piece of the leftover pearlized paper and stamped a sentiment and found a scrolly heart stamp and stamped that below the sentiment and added tiny denim pearls to each end of the scroll and in the four corners of the sentiment and mounted that on glitter cardstock. I also took one of my bonus images in my Ecstasy Crafts kit and mounted it on glitter card stock and adhered it to the interior as well. 

All in all, I am pretty pleased with my finished card and took so much time as I know the bride will save all her cards she receives.

All of these items can be purchased at Cutters Creek!