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Author: birch press
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Snowflake Glitz | by Tracey McNeely
Good morning, Tracey here for some Birch Press inspiration. Birch Press Design is sponsoring The 25 days of Christmas Tags event on my personal blog once again this year.
The Glitz Snowflake die set it’s a gorgeous set that requires minimal effort to create gorgeous tags, embellishments and even Christmas ornaments.You can create gorgeous unique snowflakes with only a couple different colours of card stock. When you change the order of how you adhere Layers A, B and C together you get a completely different result. For my examples today I have chosen two colours of card stock and piece one glitter paper. For the first two snowflakes I have cut Layer B from the glitter paper.
For the next two snowflakes I cut Layer C from the glitter paper. See how the snowflakes are completely different once again.
To finish the tags off I tied a piece of silver cord to the top of the Snowflake so that it could become a gift tag, a package embellishment or an ornament to put on the Christmas tree. Packaged together they would make a lovely hostess gift for the holidays. Head over to the In My Creative Opinion blog to see the post for day 7 of the 25 days of Christmas Tags event and your chance to win a prize from Birch Press.
Thanks for joining me today and come back again next Tuesday for more creative inspiration.
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Alcohol Ink Bird | By Jeanne Jachna
Maybe Jennifer McGuire made you do it too? She’s inspired lots of people to get out their alcohol inks and start blending! You can see her original tutorial here. I too hadn’t given much thought to my alcohol inks lately. It’s really addictive once you start playing. All you need is some glossy or YUPO paper and alcohol inks. You can use any brand of alcohol inks – maybe you have some marker refill’s handy.
I wet my YUPO paper with alcohol ink before adding the drops of color to give me more play time and to soften the colors. Alcohol ink dries very quickly! The backgrounds are bold and beautiful, but a few things you might want to keep in mind… work in a well ventilated area. The smell from the rubbing alcohol is quite strong. You’ll also want to be careful to not get the ink on your clothing – it will stain. I worked on a glass craft mat. This made clean up really easy. The ink left on the mat is easy to remove with a cotton ball and rubbing alcohol.
For this clean graphic design I die cut the morning bird from watercolor paper and used the negative cut. I saved the actual bird die cut for a second project. The added thickness of the watercolor paper adds rich texture and an expensive heavy weight feel to the card. You can die cut the cover of your card panel and adhere the blended backdrop to the inside cover of your card so it shows through the open die cut window.
The sentiment from the Just Because Clear Stamp Set was stamped with Versafine Onyx Black Ink. I used a stamping tool to double stamp the sentiment. The watercolor paper is uneven and I wanted to be sure it was stamped clearly. I added a few gold sequins from the Not So Heavy Metal mix for some sparkle and shine. There’s lots of new sequins in the store! You can find them here!
You”ll love the beautiful backgrounds you can make with alcohol inks!
Supplies
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Caramel Apple a Day | by Jennifer Svare
Happy Harvest! These caramel apples were inspired by my visit to a nearby home boutique. I was reminded that it is “caramel apple season,” and I could not resist making these using the Apple a Day die set!
The Maxwell Layer A die is so versatile, and was used to create the base of the card.
There are three varieties here: Green apple with chocolate over caramel, classic red caramel apple, and a fun zombie caramel apple.
Because there are three sizes of dies in the set, there are a lot of different variations that could be made. I used the mid-sized apple which fit perfectly inside the frame. Embossing added some texture to the frame, as well.
The video below shows how I made each design ~ they are simple to make in a large batch, so everyone on the list can receive one! (The cards themselves are so fast; it’s the drying time that takes the most time.)
I hope you enjoy the video, and also caramel apple season! Have a great day!
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Apple for the Teacher | by Tracey McNeely
Have you had a chance to check out the brand new An Apple A Day craft dies over at Birch Press Design? This fun set of three dies is perfect for creating for school themed projects. Today I am going to share with you a fun project creating a card for the hard working teacher in your life.
I created a video for you to see how I created my apples. I love how there are so many techniques and colouring mediums you can use along with dies and stamps from Birch Press Design!
I used the An Apple A Day dies to cut the apples, leaves and stems from my Distress Inked panels…
Adhered the apples together and attached to the card with adhesive and foam tape.
I added my ‘thanks’ from the Calligraphy Pop Thanks and sentiment from the Just Because clear stamps. Once the card was assembled I added Glossy Accents to the smallest apple. I applied it much slower than the speeded up video and I used a straight pin to pop any bubbles that formed. I let the Glossy Accents dry for about 2 hours before I took the final photos.
A closer look at the texture on the apples…
The completed card…
I hope that I inspired you to make something fun with the new Apple A Day craft dies. Used together or alone they are fabulous. We will see you again next Tuesday for more crafty inspiration!
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Hooray | By Laurie Schmidlin
Hi there! It’s Tuesday again, and that means we are sharing something creative with you here on the blog!
I’m sharing two of my favorite things with you – stitched die cuts and ink blending! The new Party Balloon Dies is a wonderful set that is full of endless possibilities, and that stitching detail along the edge is the perfect detail!
I started by die cutting three different balloon sizes out of white cardstock.
I then applied ink to each balloon, making sure to blend darker color at the tops. I also sponged ink onto a piece of watercolor paper for the background. I used Distress Inks as they are very reactive to water, but other water based inks will work as well.
To create texture, I sprinkled on clear water to each layer, let it sit for a few seconds, and then gently dried it with a paper towel. After each layer had dried, I splattered on some I coordinating watercolor paint. I wanted just a bit more depth on the background layer so after the turquoise paint was dry I splattered on a bit of white paint.
I was on such a roll with adding texture that I just had to add some more! :-). I applied some clear glaze to the tops of the balloons and then sprinkled with a fine prisma glitter.
For the sentiment, I used a couple of stamps from the Hooray for Everything stamp set. The Hooray is die cut using the coordinating Hooray for Everything Die Set.
Thanks so much for joining me here today!
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Halloween Cat | By Jeanne Jachna
Halloween is creeping up fast! It’s time to start making some cards to send to your favorite boys and ghouls! This one looks fussy but it’s really easy!
I cut the Avalon Frame from black and white card stock (layer a black, layer b white, layer c black) adhered them together and mounted on grey card stock. This pattern is my favorite at Birch Press Design!
The Happy Halloween sentiment is a wood mount stamp from the store. I love the vintage script that is elegant and eerie at the same time!
I framed the cat silhouette with a die cut circle of bright yellow card stock (like a moon). I added a second slightly larger circle of black card stock to keep the background from closing in. To color the cat’s eyes I added some green card stock behind the die cut eye openings.
Told you! Lots of drama and so simple to assemble!Thanks so much for all the nice comments we received during the Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop! I’m happy to announce the winner from the event…
Arianna Barbara! She receives a $20 gift certificate for the store. Congratulations!Have a great day!
Finished Size 4.25 x 5.5″
Supplies:
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Little Birdie | By Jennifer Svare
Hello! This card was made using so many wonderful new things from Birchpress Design – so much fun to make! I started off using the Wild + Free 6 x 6 paper collection by Prima Marketing, and chose a top layer for the card. The background was made using two of the Avalon layering dies (Layers A and B), along with a cork paper backing for an extra unique look. I love how natural it all looks, along with the little bird.
The little bird from “A Little Birdie” stamp set was painted using Peerless paints, and then matted against a musical note selection from the same paper pad. I love the rose gold “Sugar tape” that went along the vellum edges!
The flowers beside the bird are one of my favorite components of this card. They are a group of three small flowers from the “Time to Celebrate” stamp set. They were stamped using rose gold embossing powder, painted using peerless paints, and then crackle accents was applied over top. As they dried, the crackles went along the petals for an extra unique and dimensional look. There is another closeup in the video.
The inside of the note card has a sentiment… one cute little musical note, or “chirp” from the bird (also from the same stamp set). What does it mean? Anything! This little chirp could be a Happy Birthday, Hello, or anything one would like to say.
Here’s the video, and I hope you have a wonderful day!
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Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop & A Prize
By Jeanne Jachna
If you love to craft and you’re a coffee fan then you are in the right place! Birch Press Design is a Super Sponsor for the Fall Coffee Lover’s Blog Hop! It’s a way to celebrate two of your favorite things.. crafting and coffee!
You can get all the details here on Amy Tsuruta’s blog Coffee Loving Cardmakers where you can get all the details on how to link up your own card! Amy has lots of fabulous prizes to give away including a $20 gift certificate to the Birch Press Design Store! To sweeten the deal we’re giving away a second $20 gift certificate here on our blog! I couldn’t pass up on all the fun so I made a card of my own with some wonderful craft supplies from the shop!
I started with a background of lace using the Fiori Cover Plate Layer A. I wanted to add a bit of color but not have it take over the design. I didn’t want the blue gold rimmed coffee cup to disappear into a blue background.
I inked up the top portion of the die cut with Tumbled Glass Distress ink. Next I splattered it with water, and then some Broken China. For the finishing touch I added a splash of white ink.
I added some Watercolor Wildflowers to keep the card feminine and to add some fall color at the same time. The triple stamp flowers are stunning and look lovely in any color combination!
We’ve added lots of die cut words to the store including this Calligraphy Pop Thank You. The “Morning Cup” is from Poppystamps (our sister company). I thought a fun swirl of rhinestones would make for some amazing steam coming off that cup!
Want a chance to win a $20 gift certificate to the store? Just leave me a comment! Let me know what’s your favorite way to start the day! One random comment selected through Random Number Generator will be selected as the winner. You have until 12 am US EST on September 25 to leave a comment and I’ll post the winner on September 26!Finished Size 4.25 x 5.5″
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Crafty Hugs | by Tracey McNeely
It’s time for another crafty Tuesday features here at Birch Press. It’s Tracey here and I have a fun card project to share with you today. When I start a craft project I find it easier to pull all my materials together and do as much of my stamping and die cutting as I can to make the process smoother–less interruptions. Fall has begun in my part of the world, but after a rainy cold summer I am not quite ready to give it up and I wanted to make another pretty summer time card.
For my prep work I prepared a white top folding card base and then I cut with vellum the Tilter Layer A craft die. Next I stamped, embossed with my chosen sentiments from the new Just Because Clear Stamp Set on white card stock. After embossing I die cut using the co-ordinating Just Because die set. I got out the Close to the Heart clear stamp set and the Close to the Heart craft dies. The rest of the materials I gathered were some watercolour paper and Distress Oxide Inks. I have a video for you today to show you my process.
A few more photos of today’s project.
Here you can see some of the dimension I created with foam tape.
