Author: birch press

  • Under the Sea | by Rosemary Dennis

    Under the Sea | by Rosemary Dennis

    Hello! Hope your September is off to a great start. Today I’m sharing a card that was inspired by a seahorse exhibit that used to be at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium located in Tacoma, Washington where I live. I used the new Block Print Proud Seahorse die set, as well as two other sets from the current release.

    The exhibit had several tanks with different species of seahorses with the final and biggest tank exhibiting one of the largest species. It was so fun to watch them swimming around in the water or clinging to strands of kelp. I started by die cutting all the pieces for my seahorse and the fish that would be inside my “aquarium”. I used just a few colors of distress oxide ink to color the seahorse and fish. I did alot of mixing and matching to create colors.

    Once I had all the pieces inked up and they were dry I assembled my seahorse and fish. The Sea Kelp and Mini Fish die set is fast becoming one of my most used set from the release. It is so versatile! I thought I needed a little bit bigger fish for my scene so I used the Block Prink Ocean Fish because it was just the right size. Then it was time to play around with the layout. Once I had that figured out I took a photo so I could recreate it.

    Now it was time to create my background. I inked up the bottom with Antique Linen distress oxide ink for my “sand” and Tumbled Glass and Mermaid Lagoon distress oxide inks for the water. I also used the Light Ray Stencil set to create the filter sunlight look. Now it was time to put together my scene.

    Using the photo as my guide I adhered everything in place using liquid adhesive. When I was done with adhereing everything to my background I added the panel to a white cardstock base using strong double sided adhesive. Small dot of Nuvo jewel drops in black were added to the fish and seahorse for the eyes. The sentiment is from the older Rainbow Days Lingo stamp set. I stamped it on white cardstock with black ink, die cut it with a label die and then inked it up with ink left on my blending brush.

    I hope you enjoyed today’s card. I had so much fun creating it! I also wanted to let you know that Birch Press Design is sponsoring the Die Cut Divas challenge this month. You can find all the details on the challenge and how to win here. Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

  • Passion Flower Note Card | by Toni M Maddox

    Passion Flower Note Card | by Toni M Maddox

    Hello, friends! I felt liked I needed a little change of pace from nautical cards so worked up this simple floral notecard.

    I sponged the Memory Box Kraft Woodgrain Paper with Catherine Pooler Macchiato ink.

    Next, I cut out the Block Print Passion Fruit Flower and Abundant Branch from Memory Box Powder Blue, Summer Squash and Lavender Bloom cardstocks, sponging CP inks for shading.

    I cut an aperture for the Vintage Everyday Greetings sentiment using the outline die then stamped the sentiment using CP Macchiato.

    Once all the elements were in place, I spattered the card front here and there for added interest.

    Feel free to visit my blog, Frankie Helps Craft, for a full list of supplies used and to check out my other creations.

    I hope you enjoyed today’s card and have a great rest of your week!

    Supplies

    57597 Block Print Passion Fruit Flower

    57575 Abundant Branch

    8168 Vintage Everyday Greetings clear stamp and die set

    SH44006 Leaf Sprout Paper Pack

    SH44011 Powder Blue Paper Pack

    SH44018 Summer Squash Paper Pack

    SH44013 Lavender Bloom Paper Pack

    SH44003 Kraft Woodgrain Paper Pack

  • Here for You | by Rosemary Dennis

    Here for You | by Rosemary Dennis

    Happy end of August everyone! Rosemary here on the blog today with a card inspired by one of my favorite movies: Finding Nemo! Let’s take a look at what I created.

    One of my favorite scenes in Finding Nemo is at the end of the movie when Dorie is asking if the crabs have seen Marlin and they ignore her so she grabs one and sticks it up above the waves to where a group of seagulls are sitting on a buoy. When I saw the new Block Print Dancing Crabs die set I immediately knew I wanted to recreate that scene. I used the new Waterfront Pilings dies, Block Print Happy Seaqull and Corner Waves dies to complete the card.

    I started by inking up my panel with Tumbled Glass distress oxide ink. I used Tumbled Glass and Broken China on a piece of white cardstock that I die cut the corner waves from so there would be some contrast between the “waves” and the ocean/sky. The main panel was die cut to fit a card front and the sentiment from an Open Studio stamp set was stamped in black ink.

    The I die cut the rest of the pieces that I needed to complete the card. I die cut the seagull from white, gray and yellow cardstock. A little bit of gray ink was added to the seagull’s tummy and then everything was adhered together with liquid adhesive and set aside to dry. It is hard to tell, but I did use two different red cardstocks for my little crab. There are two crabs in the set and I used the smallest one for my card. The pilings were die cut from kraft cardstock and then some brown ink was blended on to darken the bases. The tops were left un-inked. The bands around the pilings were die cut from gray cardstock and also got a little bit of inking.

    The fin is from the new Block Print Majestic Whale. I die cut it from gray cardstock and then blended on blue in to change the color. Now it was time to assemble the card. I used liquid adhesive to attach everything. It was a bit tricky getting the “waves and the pilings adhered as I wanted them to be. I attached the bottom “wave” and then placed the pilings behind it, tilting the smaller piling. Then I added the second wave, tucking the fin into that one and working it behind the smaller piling. The final two waves were added behind the pilings and then the pilings were fully glued in place. I finished by attaching the seagull and the little crab.

    I absolutely love how this card turned out! I was a little tricky, but so worth the effort. Let me know what you think and if it reminds you of Finding Nemo! Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

  • Masculine Nautical Scene | by Christina Rannow

    Masculine Nautical Scene | by Christina Rannow

    Hi friends! Christina here to share a masculine nautical-inspired card featuring the most delightful pelican from the new Block Print Pelican die set. He makes the perfect focal point for this little coastal scene I created using the Corner Waves and the Waterfront Pilings. To really play up the nautical theme of this design, I framed up the scene with a porthole window that was a breeze to make with just a couple of nesting circle dies. Let’s dive into the details of this card!

    I started by die-cutting all the elements for my scene from colored cardstock. I chose ivory, slate gray, and orange for the pelican, and two shades of brown and matte silver for the waterfront pilings. I chose leaf green for the tiny fish from the Sea Kelp and Mini Fish die set and classic blue for the water. I assembled the diecuts and arranged them in a scene on the center of a light blue cardstock panel. 

    To create the porthole frame, I first die-cut a large circle from the center of a kraft woodgrain cardstock panel to be the porthole window. I attached this over the scene with foam tape. Then, I die-cut a circle frame from matte gold cardstock using two nesting circle dies. The smaller, inside circle is the same size as the porthole window, so it would match up perfectly. I attached this to the woodgrain panel and added a few matte gold pearls to complete the porthole look. 

    Finally, I heat embossed a sentiment with cream embossing powder on a slate gray sentiment strip and added a shiny black pearl to the pelican’s eye.

    Thank you so much for reading about this masculine nautical-inspired card I created using new dies from the latest release. See you soon!

  • Underwater Hugs | by Toni M Maddox

    Underwater Hugs | by Toni M Maddox

    Hello, everyone! This underwater scene was so fun to create. I love seahorses. And that jellyfish–look at it!

    My first step was to sponge the blue card base with Catherine Pooler inks and one layer of the two-part Light Ray Stencil. I spattered this with water and set aside.

    Next I fussy cut the sand layer using a piece of scrap kraft cardstock and sponged it with CP Sand Castle ink.

    I cut a few of the Block Print Sea Kelp & Mini Fish from a shimmery green and silver cardstock. I sponged the Sea Kelp with CP ink for a bit of shading.

    I diecut the Block Print Proud Seahorse, Block Print Floating Jellyfish, and Block Print Dancing Crabs from a few Memory Box cardstocks with shimmery cardstock scraps for highlights.

    I sponged the cardstocks, including the Sugar Script Big Hugs sentiment, with CP inks. I assembled the final scene, tucking the creatures in among the greenery. So cute!

    Do visit my blog, Frankie Helps Craft, for a full list of ingredients and to check out my other projects.

    I hope you enjoyed today’s card and have a great rest of your week!

    Supplies

    57616 Block Print Proud Seahorse

    57626 Block Print Dancing Crabs

    57629 Block Print Floating Jellyfish

    57628 Sea Kelp and Mini Fish

    57138 Big Hugs Sugar Script

    42049 Light Ray Stencil Set

    SH44013 Lavender Bloom Paper Pack

    SH44016 Raspberry Sorbet Paper Pack

    SH44017 Orange Peel Paper Pack

    SH44019 Golden Wheat Paper Pack

  • Block Print Elegant Koi | by Crystal Komara

    Block Print Elegant Koi | by Crystal Komara

    Hello friends and Birch Press Design fans! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and found a little time to craft. This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here with you today and I was so excited to finally be able to use some of the amazing new ocean themed block print designs that BPD has to offer right now! Let’s take a look at my first card using the Block Print Elegant Koi.

    This is an A2 sized card made from a base of 110 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I pulled a pre-made background from my “scraps” pile to use as the water in the card. This background was actually made with Lindy’s “Butter the Toast” Blue Magical shaker. Then using the Block Print Elegant Koi dies, I cut the fish layers from white, peach and darker orange. The whiskers and eyes of each fish were cut from black cardstock.

    I created two koi fish ad adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive for addd dimension. I then used a pre-made “Happy Birthday” white foil tab from Memory Company (a sister company to Birch Press Design) to add a quick sentiment.

    I really love how this card came out and I hope you do too. I think koi fish are so elegant to look at, so I’m happy I was able to use these new dies to create an equally elegant card.

    Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

  • Koi Pond | by Christina Rannow

    Koi Pond | by Christina Rannow

    Hi friends! Christina here to share this vibrant pond scene featuring the gorgeous new Block Print Elegant Koi die set. I paired this elegant fish with the Block Print Koi Duo and created a fun bokeh-inspired background using just a few circle stencils. This card is perfect for any occasion and would surely brighten anyone’s day. Keep scrolling to find out how this card design came together!

    I started by creating the bokeh-inspired background. This is such a simple technique, and it creates a really versatile background that can be used for many different card designs. Plus, it can easily be customized to coordinate with the color palette of your card design. All you need are circle stencils in different sizes, two to three inks of the same color but different shades, and a white pigment ink! Here’s how I did it:

    First, I trimmed a white cardstock panel to 4 x 5 ¼ inches. Then, using multiple circle stencils in different sizes and a trio of teal ink colors, I stenciled circles across the panel, overlapping some of them. I started with the lightest color and the biggest circle and then added smaller circles in darker colors, slightly overlapping some as I continued to stencil the entire panel. The inks I used are reactive with water like Distress Inks, so my next step was to splatter the panel with plain water for some texture and interest. Lastly, I used white pigment ink and two smaller circle stencils to add the final bokeh effect. 

    With the background completed, I got to work on the focal point of my card – the koi fish. First I die-cut all the pieces from white cardstock. Then I inked the pieces using two shades of orange and two shades of yellow ink. Before assembling the fish, I wanted to give them some added texture and interest too. I splattered all of the pieces with coordinating Mica Stains to give them some sparkle. Then I splattered the smaller koi with white spatter and the large koi with black spatter. Finally, I assembled the diecuts and attached them to my background with glue. 

    The last couple of steps were to add a sentiment and some embellishments. I die-cut the Big Hello Sugar Script from white cardstock and inked just the shadow portion with the darkest ink color that I had used for the background. I attached the sentiment and chose light blue crystal droplets as the finishing touch. 

    Thank you so much for reading about my vibrant koi pond card design featuring the new Block Print Koi dies with a bokeh-inspired background technique. See you again soon!

  • Elegant Koi | by Rosemary Dennis

    Elegant Koi | by Rosemary Dennis

    Hello everyone! Rosemary here on the blog today sharing a card I made using the gorgeous new Elegant Koi die, as well as the new Honeycomb Cut Out die and the older Floral Cross layering die set. Let’s have a look at what I made.

    When I first saw the Elegant Koi die set (and the Koi Duo die set) I almost immediately thought of Kubota Garden located in the Rainier Beach neighborhood of Seattle. The garden is spectacular and has several ponds with numerous koi slowly swimming about. It is fun and relaxing to watch them swim by.

    I started by die cutting my koi from cardstock. I die cut the main body of the koi from orange cardstock from the Memory Box Sunrise cardstock pack. The rest of the koi was die cut from off white and gray. I then added some ink to the gray and off white pieces to give them more depth. I used what distress oxide ink was left on my blending brush to add the color.

    I set the piece aside to dry. Because I wanted my elegant koi to have an elegant pond to be swimming around in I decided to use the Honeycomb Cut Out die to create some tiles for the bottom of my pond. I used Memory Box glossy black cardstock for the tiles. I also die cut a template with the Honeycomb die so that I could layout and adhered my tile background perfectly.

    Once I had the background created I added some light inking using distress oxide inks in Tumbled Glass and Salty Ocean to the panel. I kept the color mainly at the edges, but did add some in the center of the panel. Once done with the ink blending I made sure to wipe off the ink that got on my black tiles.

    To provide even more of a look of an elegant pond I used the leafy stems and flowers from the Floral Cross layering die set to create some waterlily type flowers. Light inking was used on these pieces as well. Now it was time to complete the pond. I adhered everything using liquid adhesive.

    My sentiment is from the Crystal Lingo stamp set which is unfortunately no longer available. I did ink up the sentiment strip with the same inks used for the background so it blended in a bit more. I finished with small drop of Nuve Jewel drops in Limoncello.

    I hope you enjoyed today’s card. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

  • Ocean Zine Art | Sandhya Iyer

    Ocean Zine Art | Sandhya Iyer

    Hello again, crafty friends! Sandhya here with another ocean-themed zine page featuring the stunning new dies from Birch Press Design’s latest release. This time, I’m spotlighting the elegant Block Print Proud Seahorse paired with the graceful Sea Kelp and Mini Fish dies.

    For this zine page, I wanted to create an underwater scene that feels both magical and empowering—something that invites you to pause and take in all the details.

    To start, I worked on a tag and created a textured background using layers of ink blending and splatter with Distress Oxides in aqua, teal, and sea green. I used a stencil to lift away some ink for wave-like motion.

    The seahorse is cut from watercolor cardstock—inked with Distress Oxide inks. I love how the bold lines of the die really stand out against the soft ocean tones. I nestled the seahorse into a cluster leafy die cuts from the Sea Kelp and Mini Fish set.

    I then added my “wild at heart” sentiment and a generous splattering of white paint. I also added some flatback gems for added glam.

    I then created a pocket by sewing some vellum over pattern paper and adhered it to my zine page. This was perfect to insert my little tag.

    This zine page is one of my favorite ways to celebrate the ocean theme—it’s small, detailed, and full of heart. I hope this inspires you to experiment with mixed media and dive deep into your stash of dies!

    Thanks for stopping by! I’ll be back soon with more ocean-inspired creations.

    Crafting with joy,
    Sandhya

    Supplies:

    57616 Block Print Proud Seahorse
    57628 Sea Kelp and Mini Fish
  • Origami Asian Cranes | by Toni M Maddox

    Origami Asian Cranes | by Toni M Maddox

    Hi, everyone! Today’s card has an Asian flavor with its papers and cranes.

    I chose an origami paper from my stash that reminded me of lily pads and lotus pods. It’s a rather busy pattern so I cut an arch from vellum and layered that on top to soften the area behind the birds.

    Next, I cut Corner Waves in two neutral colors to represent sand and two from shimmery blue for water.

    With the background set, it was time to work on the Block Print Seaside Crane and Block Print Standing Crane.

    I used a shimmery orange for the flashy bits of the herons and a glittery gold cardstock for the legs and beaks to pull in the gold from the origami paper.

    I pulled one of my favorite Vintage Everyday Greetings sentiment stamps out and embossed it in Ranger Princess Gold on vellum. I accidentally overheated it just enough to create a sandy texture. A good oops!

    Feel free to visit my blog, Frankie Helps Craft, to see the full list of supplies used as well as check out my other projects.

    I hope you enjoyed today’s card and have a great rest of your week!

    Supplies

    57612 Block Print Seaside Crane

    57615 Block Print Standing Crane

    57607 Corner Waves

    CL8168 Vintage Everyday Greetings