Author: birch press

  • Wishing You All The Happiness | By Eloise Blue

    Wishing You All The Happiness | By Eloise Blue

       

    Hi everyone, Eloise here and today I have a card to share with you all, using the Mandala Stencil Set. I used an embossing trick to get differences between all the layers of the stencil. I also pulled in the Big Wishing Sugar Script Die as well as Wishing You The Best stamp set for my sentiments today.

    To begin my card today, I started off with a piece of watercolour cardstock and adhered it down to a board. I then used the D Stencil first and ink blended over some Squeezed Lemonade and Mustard Seed ink. I cleaned off the stencil with water and a paper towel and lined it back up. I then pressed my Versamark Ink Pad over the stencil and clear heat embossed over the entire inked panel. This locked in the colour, so I could proceed to a darker colour that necessarily either wouldn’t blend well or since it’s darker so it would cover the yellow right up if I didn’t clear emboss over it.

    Now that my yellow layer was complete, I used the C Stencil and used Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn Distress Inks and repeated the same process. For the B Stencil, I used Cracked Pistachio and Peacock Feathers. Now that all the layers were complete, I pulled in the A Stencil and used Pumice Stone to create those little dots and again, repeated the same process.

    Now that all my background was complete, I thought it looked a little plain. So I decided to pull in some Dried Marigold and Abandoned Coral Distress Inks over the entire background. Just to give another pop of colour. Now, because I didn’t use an anti-static bag in between clear heat embossing, there was a lot of white ‘specks’ around from where the embossing stuck. Overall, when you look at close up photos, it honestly looks quite terrible; but in real life I don’t think it looks too bad.

    Lastly, it was time for my sentiment. I cut the Big Wishing Sugar Script Die from grey and white cardstock, layered then up and adhered them into the centre of my card. For the additional sentiment, I used the Wishing You The Best stamp set and white heat embossed the ‘You All The Happiness’ onto a thin black strip.

    That finished off my card for today, I hope you enjoyed. The video is linked down below.

    Thanks so much for stopping by today and I’ll catch you all next time.

    Supplies

  • Missing You | by Jennifer Svare

    Missing You | by Jennifer Svare

    Hello!  Today I got to make two very fun cards that I’ve been excited to make for a long time.  I’m so glad I waited, because the new Sparkler Butterfly is the perfect touch for the focal point.

    The cards use the Honeybee layering set, along with paper from the gorgeous St. Tropez and Wild & Free 6×6 paper pads.  Each is unique, and so much fun to make!  It’s almost like putting a puzzle together, except you get to choose where the pieces go.  I sincerely hope you try this because you will be hooked!

    When die cutting the patterned paper for the little hexagon inlays, it was so much fun to see what pieces came through.  I love cards that have the depth of really looking into the details.  There are so many fun things to look at.  (I love the crab peeking out of the hexagon above).

    Layering dies give limitless look and feel to cards because of the color combination, layering, and inlaying options.  Using the same color for all of the butterfly layers really put the focus on texture.

    The thought behind the “miss you” card is very sentimental… the “Miss You” from the Love and Miss You clear stamp set is the inside sentiment, and it fits perfectly with the hexagons’ message of fun flip flops, flowers, words, and a beachy feel of days in the past.  The grayish blue adds to the nostalgic feel of the paper and balances the sadness of “missing you” with the happiness of the fond memories.

    I glued only the center of the butterfly so the wings would sit off the base.  A few jewels were added to the butterfly.

    Many of these layering dies would work for this general idea and any of  the Prima paper pads offer incredible, small details that are perfectly sized for the hexagons. The thank you card uses the beautiful Wild & Free paper pad, and the Big Thanks Sugar Script.

    I cut the thanks out of ivory cardstock, and dusted it with a shimmer pen and a coat of glossy accents.  The depth is incredible and I really love how this turned out.

    Here’s a video of me making the thank you card, and I’ll share some tips I learned along the way!

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  • Starry Night Gift Box | by Olga

    Starry Night Gift Box | by Olga

    Hello paper crafters, I hope you are having a great weekend! Today I’ll be creating a matching gift box for a sketchbook that has Starry Night printed on its cover. To decorate the box I’ll be using Waves layering set as it reminds me so much of Starry Night.

    The box itself is a “back to basics” thing – it’s a super easy project made with just a paper trimmer and a scoring board.
    By the way, I have also added some stamping to a sketchbook itself to personalize it. Watch the video below for a step by step guide!

    Thank you for stopping by today! I hope you enjoyed the project. See you again soon!

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  • For You | By Eloise Blue

    For You | By Eloise Blue

      

    Hi friends, Eloise here and today I’ll be using the Grace Layer Set to create my main focal background along with the Big You Sugar Script Dies and Sending Love stamp set to create a simple For You card.

    To begin my card today, I started off with die cutting my background. I cut the Layer A from Mint Cardstock, Layer B from Blue/Aqua Cardstock and Layer C from Yellow. Then I repeated the same steps for just the middle of the die, but in reverse, so Layer A was cut from Yellow. Now that all my layers were cut, I removed all the inner pieces and glued the layers together with liquid glue. I set acrylic blocks on top of them to ensure they stuck together well.

    Now that all my pieces were adhered together, I used the Mandala Circle Base and cut it from some white cardstock. Then using the larger circle piece, that looks like a donut; I adhered my yellow top layer on it, since I wanted to pop it up later and have the white behind it. While I had my die cutting machine out, I also cut the ‘You‘ sentiment from light and darker pink cardstock. I then adhered them together and my card was ready to complete.

    I adhered my main focal panel flat onto my card base with more liquid glue, then added foam tape onto the back of the next circle and inlayed that in . Then lastly I added the smallest circle in the middle of the popped up circle. For my sentiment, I added foam tape onto the back of the ‘You‘ sentiment and then adhered it into the centre of my popped up circle.

    To finish off my card, I used the Sending Love stamp set and white heat embossed the ‘For’ word onto a thin strip of black cardstock. I popped that up on more foam tape and adhered it into place. So that finished up my card for today I hope you enjoyed and got inspired.

    Linked down below is the video for you to watch, if you would like too.

    Thanks so much for stopping by and I’ll catch you all next time.

    Supplies

  • Wishing You | by Tracey McNeely

    Wishing You | by Tracey McNeely


    Welcome to another Birch Press Design inspiration post. I hope that you have had the opportunity to play with some of the stamps from the newest release. Today I have a quick tutorial for you using the new Sparkler Butterfly Layered craft dies. These beautiful butterflies have four different layers that can be used together to create some awesome dimension or on their own with their distinct individual characteristics. Today I used the Sparkler Butterfly Layer A and the Sparkler Butterfly Layer C to create a pretty card that could be used for a bridal shower, a wedding, a birthday or even as an encouragement card.

    I began by sponging some Distress Oxide inks on to three panels of Bristol Smooth cardstock with a foam blending tool. I divided each panel in two and I sponged colours that complimented each other on the top and bottom.

    Next I sprinkled some clean water over the panels and then picked up some of the colour with a paper towel. Then I cut the tops with Layer A and the bottoms with Layer C.

    Next I prepared my sentiment using the Wishing You the Best clear stamp set. The phrase ‘you all the happiness’ was stamped directly on the card base and the word wishing was stamped and die cut with the Wishing You the Best craft dies.

    The butterflies were layered together and adhered in the middle allowed the wings to be free to bend slightly up for added dimension.


    These dies along with this technique made for a really beautiful quick and easy card with lots of interest and also easy for mailing as the butterflies can lay flat.

    I hope you were inspired today to go and make something beautiful. Have a lovely day and see you back here on Wednesday for another creative post by the design team.

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  • Let Your Dreams Set Sail | By Laurie Schmidlin

    Let Your Dreams Set Sail | By Laurie Schmidlin

     

    Happy Friday!  Today I have a card to share with you featuring the Let Your Dreams Set Sail stamp set.

     

     

    With warmer temperatures finally here, I was inspired to create a nautical scene with rich summer colors.

     

     

    For the background, I die cut the Waves Plate A die out of white cardstock.  I lightly sponged some teal ink to the middle of the waves layer.

     

     

    I sponged the card base with yellow and teal inks, creating a sunny water scene.  Before adhering the waves die cut layer onto the card base, I sprayed some adhesive onto the bottom third of the die cut and sprinkled on some glitter.

     

     

    After stamping the images from the Let Your Dreams Set Sail stamp set, I die cut them with the coordinating die set.

     

     

    Thanks so much for joining me here today!  I hope you all can find some time to get crafty this weekend!

     

     

     

     

     

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  • Watermelon Gift Tag | by Jennifer Svare

    Watermelon Gift Tag | by Jennifer Svare

    Hello!  I’m so happy to be here today, and I’ve made a cheerful watermelon gift tag for today’s project.

    I used the layers A, B, and C… but then added a staggered Layer A for some extra backing.  The seeds are made from saving cutouts from black, sparkly paper.  

    Check out the video below for more information on how I made this tag!

     

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  • Peacock Inspired Grace Panelsby Jeanne Jachna

    Peacock Inspired Grace Panels
    by Jeanne Jachna

    Jeanne here today with three cards made with the Grace Layered Die set.  I love the mandala inspired designs that have me thinking of India – exotic and beautiful.

    I made three cards in rich royal colors with a hint of gold.  I was thinking of peacock colors  – blues, greens and yellows.
    These dies are gorgeous, but where they really get interesting is in their versatility.  If you look close you’ll see there are two circles inside the panel that are removable.

    So you can switch out the ring with a different color..

    Or the ring and the center circle.  But it doesn’t have to stop there.   The center ring can be switched out for the other circular shapes in the new release like Bali, Kaleidoscope, Adi, Prem or Viva.  You can also use the center circles without the panel background.  There’s lots of choices!

    Today I just stuck with my three color choices and mixed up the rings and center circles to create these three cards.

    The three die cut word sentiments in white are the new Big Sugar Script and they have outline dies.  They’re bold enough to stand up to the intricate background dies.   The stamped sentiments are from Just Because and Wishing You The Best clear stamp sets.

    Imagine all the possibilities the flexibility of this release provides!  Each card is unique and one of a kind with your choice of dies and colors!

    Finished Size 4.25 x 5.5″

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  • Congratulations Blog Blitz Winners

    Prem Layer SetThanks so much for joining us during our recent blog blitz!  We enjoyed sharing projects made with the latest release with you.  Most of all we appreciate your kind comments!

    Congratulations to the winners who were selected randomly from the comments left on the blog!

    Date Post Prize Winner
    May 1, 2018 Jeanne’s Post Kessa Arch Layer A BeverlyBL
    May 2, 2018 Tracey’s Post Viva Layer B stampnk
    May 3, 2018 Laurie’s Post Dazzler Layer A Heidi H
    May 4, 2018 Eloise’s Post Sparkler Butterfly Layer A shartl
    May 5, 2018 Olga’s Post Prem Layer A June
    May 6, 2018 Jennifer’s Post Bali Layer A Lynn Cyert

     

    Winners have been contacted using email associated with your comments – please check your inbox!  You have happy mail!

  • Shine | by Tracey McNeely

    Shine | by Tracey McNeely


    Happy Friday and welcome back for another inspiration post. Today I am using the fabulous new Waves Plate to create a masculine birthday card. Design team member Jeanne touched on this a few weeks ago, but it is always a bit more challenging to create cards that are suitable for the men in our lives. The Waves Plate craft dies and the new Let Your Light Shine clear stamp set are just perfect for creating cards with a more masculine feel but at the same time equally as perfect for a woman.

    I took a bit different spin with the dies today by creating a smooshed backdrop for the Waves Plate Die A from Distress Oxide inks. The beauty of the  plate dies is that they are wonderful stacked together providing so much dimension, but they each have their own character and can be used on their own like I did here today. I have a short video for you demonstrating how I smooshing my background and put my card together. I hope you enjoy…

    I combined stamps and die cuts from the Let Your Light Shine clear stamp set and the Wishing You The Best clear stamp sets for my card. I did a little bit of stamp surgery by cutting (yes I said cutting) a couple of the sentiments in Wishing You The Best apart being careful to cut between the letters. The original sentiments can still be stamped out quite easily because the two sides of the cut fit right back together.

    Here is a more detailed look at the lighthouse. I coloured it just the way I remember the lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia, Canada. Built on the rocks, all white with a red lookout at the top.

    Here is another look at the card

    I hope you enjoyed today’s post and are considering all the possibilities with the Waves Plate Dies and new nautical clear stamp sets.

    Thanks to everyone who joined us for our first Instagram Hop!  We had lots of fun and hope to do another one soon!  Congratulations to the winners  @ggnursecreations and @grammylovesherboys!

     

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