Birch Press Design

Author: birch press

  • Stretching Your Stamps | by Tracey McNeely

    Stretching Your Stamps | by Tracey McNeely


    Welcome back for another Tuesday inspiration post. Today I am going to share with you how you can stretch your stamps to create beautiful customized patterned paper to use in your paper crafting.

    Creating customized patterned paper with your stamps is so easy following a few simple guidelines. We are using the beautiful Birch Press Design Time to Celebrate clear stamp set for today’s example. When you create a custom pattern paper you will soon see that every time your design will be slightly different. I started off by cutting a white Bristol Smooth cardstock panel to 4 1/4″ x 5″. I chose to use Bristol because I will be colouring the images on my custom patterned paper using watercolor markers but this techniqie would work with any watercolors, like the Watercolor Packs at Birch Press Design. The images are going to be stamped with VersaFine Onyx black ink and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder. Before we get started you want to rub your anti static tools over the panel so that the embossing powder only sticks where you want it to.

    When I stamp custom patterned paper I like to use my MISTI so that I can double stamp images where necessary to make sure I am getting a good impression. There are many methods to stamp your images but this is the method that I use and find that works for me. I like to begin in the top left of my panel and stamp the initial image(s) off the panel to give my design a random appearance. I start from the top left of the panel and move down the panel left to right towards the bottom right of the panel. VersaFine ink dries slowly but you do need to move quickly so that the ink is still wet enough for the embossing powder to stick to it. I have prepared a short video for you to see the process.

    Once I have stamped the panel I poured the clear embossing powder over the images and heat set them. The embossed lines of the images create a ‘well’ for my watercolor so that it does not spread where I don’t want it to or create a muddied look.

    After the flowers were coloured I went back in and heat embossed a few branches for a bit of contrast and fill in a few spaces to help finish out the randomness of the pattern. The panel was set aside to dry.

    I white embossed a sentiment also from Time to Celebrate clear stamp set on black cardstock. Once trimmed it was added to the bottom right of the panel. A strip of glitter tape was added just above the sentiment. Finally the panel was adhered to a 4 1/4″ x 5″ white top folding card base.

    Another angle…

    Thank you for stopping in today and I hope that I have inspired you to make your own patterned paper using your stamp sets from Birch Press Design. See you again next Tuesday for another installment of Tuesday inspiration.

  • Celebrate | By Laurie Schmidlin

    Celebrate | By Laurie Schmidlin

     

    Happy Tuesday!  Today I’m sharing how I like to add sentiments to intricate or busy backgrounds.

    By clustering images around the sentiment, it helps to draw the eye making the sentiment stand out more.  Here, I embossed the flowers and sprig from the Time to Celebrate stamp set onto colored cardstock and die cut them out using the coordinating Time to Celebrate die set.

    To create my card, I gathered the supplies I would be needing.   I usually do all of my stamping and die cutting in advance, making it much easier to assemble my card.

    Another trick that helps smaller sentiments to stand out is to add contrasting strips of cardstock.  Here, I adhered some Gold Scallop Foil Tape to a piece of white cardstock.  That little bit of gold can really add a lot to a card!  Also, by embossing the sentiment (I used one of the sentiments from the new Time to Celebrate stamp set) on a darker strip of cardstock, it creates contrast and draws the eye immediately.

    The Fiori Plate C is still one of my all time favorite backgorunds.  The pattern is absolutely lovely and the stitching adds so much detail.   With the clustered flowers and contrasting sentiment strips, I’ve created a focal image that not only draws the eye but also compliments the detailed background.

    Thanks so much for joining me here today!

  • Time to Celebrate Birthday By Jeanne Jachna

    Time to Celebrate Birthday
    By Jeanne Jachna


    I hope you’re having a great day!  Today I’m sharing a card made with the Birch Press Design Time To Celebrate clear stamp set!   I love florals and this set is absolutely gorgeous!  The set has line drawn flowers for you to color as well as solid florals that you can ink with no coloring required.  Of course there are matching dies that make this set even easier to work with and adds so much versatility with the different designs you can create.

    Here’s how I made this beautiful card… I cut a panel of white card stock slightly smaller than the size of my A2 card base (4.25 x 5.5″)  I planned on stamping my sentiment on a strip of paper that would span the width of the card and have flowers peeking out from underneath.

    I stamped the floral images around a strip of paper that represents where my stamped sentiment will be.

    Next I added Spun Sugar Distress Ink along the edges of the cover panel blending as close to the flowers as possible without coloring them.  Then I stamped the splatter image from the stamp set in darker shade of pink ink randomly around the stamped images.  The shape of the splatter stamp makes it easy to get around the flowers.

    Now for the coloring.  We’ve done all that work getting the background right I sure don’t want to mess up when I select the colors for my flowers.   A simple way to “test” the colors is to lay a clear piece of plastic over your design and colored on the plastic to see what colors you like best.  Since Copics are alcohol markers I wipe the plastic with rubbing alcohol so the plastic sheet is ready to use next time.   If you use water base markers you can use a baby wipe to clean the plastic.

    It’s never too late to revise your design.  I thought the flowers peeking out under the strip looked a little “flat” so I stamped and die cut a few and adhered them with adhesive foam tape.  I left the smaller flowers “as is” on the card panel base.

    I added a few berry sprigs as accents and some shiny sequins for some sparkle.  I used a corner rounder on the bottom corners of the card to give it a more interesting shape.

    I love the florals in this set and I hope you do too!

  • Happy Birthday to You | By Angel Rivera

    Happy Birthday to You | By Angel Rivera

    Hi all!  I’m here with a funky, retro sort-of card for you today.  There was no real rhyme or reason here, believe it or not. Yes, I went out of my comfort zone. I literally chose three of the images from the new A Little Birdie stamp set and randomly stamped them with a hybrid ink.  I knew I was going to watercolor them, so after inking, I heat set it with my heat gun.  Nothing fancy, just go over the stamped images with your heat gun for maybe 20-30 seconds.  That’s it.  I then used my Zig Clean Color markers (any watercolor markers will work) and colored in only the edges of the images where I wanted the color to be darker.  Just a little swipe, not colored perfectly AT ALL.  Next, I spritzed some water onto my (waterproof) work surface and used a paintbrush to blend the ink.  I watercolored one color at a time, meaning I watercolored all of the red parts.  Cleaned my brush, then watercolored all of the orange parts.  Cleaned my brush, and so on, until I was done.  Again, I was going for a funky feel for this card, so the watercoloring is, well, sloppy.  😀  Pure fun and I love it!  I used a light gray marker to sort of color in the background as well using the same technique as the birds.  Once dried, I cut it with a rectangle die.  The sentiment is from the Time to Celebrate stamp set.  I stamped it onto black card stock, then embossed it with white embossing powder.  Keeping with the funky-feel, I hand cut (gasp!) the sentiment.  I layered the two pieces with foam adhesive.  I hope I’ve inspired you to step out of your comfort zone and just have FUN!

    Thanks for stopping by!  And a shout out to my mom – today is her birthday!  Love you!

  • Peony Blooms Birthday | by Tracey McNeely

    Peony Blooms Birthday | by Tracey McNeely


    Time for some more Tuesday inspiration using Birch Press Design’s craft dies and stamps.

    Today I am showing you another way to add colour using the Birch Press Design Stackable layer craft dies. I am using Peony Blooms Layer A, Peony Blooms Layer B and Peony Blooms Layer C along with Ranger Distress Oxide inks. I have put together a video tutorial for you.

    After I sponged my three panels with Distress Oxide inks I spritzed water on them so the Oxides could work their magic. These are the three panels I sponged cut out with the Peony Blooms Stackable Layer dies. In order from left to right Layer A, B and C.

    Once adhered together I prepared the cad base. Once again using Distess Oxide ink to sponge the background and spritzed it with water and lifted the excess with paper towel.  All layers were adhered together with Elmer’s Craft Bond Spray Adhesive (see previous tutorial done by designer, Laurie Schmidlin). I sponged some more Distress Oxide ink on to my base panel and also spritzed it with some clean water.

    The die cut layers were adhered to the front of the card base. I added my sentiment stamped and die cut from the Make a Statement Make a Statement clear stamps and Make a Statement craft dies.

    These close up photos really show how much depth and dimension can be achieved with these dies and just a few gradient changes in colour.

    Perfect for a summer birthday.

    With the Stackable craft dies the possibilities are endless. I hope I inspired you today to make something beautiful.

  • Note of Thanks | by Jeanne Jachna

    Note of Thanks | by Jeanne Jachna


    Thanks for stopping by!  Every Tuesday we feature items from the craft section of the store!  Today I made a shaker card inspired by a beautiful Summer day!

    I started by cutting the Fiori Plate layer C from pink card stock, and layer B from white card stock. I adhered the two layers together and placed a large acrylic block over them to keep pressure over them as the glue dried.    The cover plates are sized perfectly for an A2 card (4.25 x 5.5″) Next to make the shaker…

    I placed two ovals from the Memory Box Open Studio Stitched Oval Layers inside each other and cut them in my die cut machine to create a frame.  Using the larger oval die I cut a piece of acetate and adhered on the reverse of the frame.  Next I added adhesive foam tape to the reverse side of the frame.  I usually leave  an opening in the adhesive foam tape at the top of the frame.  After I attach it to the card base I add sequins.  Then I add a piece of adhesive foam tape to seal off the opening so my sequins don’t escape.

    I added iridescent pink and clear sequins to the inside of the shaker.  I love that you can still sett he beautiful stitching of the Fiori Plate layers inside the shaker window!

    I stamped the floral and dragonfly images from the Dragonfly Greetings stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored them with Copic alcohol markers..  I purposely left the brush strokes on the butterfly wings to add contrast and interest.

    The Dragonfly Greetings is a beautiful stamp set with floral images, dragonflies, and simple sentiments.  The coordinating die cuts make it easy to get a clean detailed cut with one pass through your die cut machine.

    I hope you find time to make something beautiful today!

  • Patriotic Peonies | By Jeanne Jachna

    Patriotic Peonies | By Jeanne Jachna


    It’s Independence Day here in the USA!  Most of us have been lucky to enjoy a long weekend .. maybe you’re having a cookout and going to see some fireworks later in the evening! I thought I’d  give the Peony Bloom Layer Dies a Patriotic makeover!

    I started with a color block base of ombre blues.  I selected three different shades of blue, trimmed panels in different widths, taped them together on their reverse and then trimmed the panel to fit my A2 (4.25 x 5.5″) card base.

    Next I cut the Peony Bloom dies in three shades of red using the darkest for Layer A.  The bright red makes me think of summer geraniums!

    The “thank you” sentiment is from the new Make A Statement Clear Stamp set.  Matching dies make it easy to cut out each of the sentiments making them so versatile!

    A special thank you to all of you who left  a comment on Angel’s post last Tuesday!  Birch Press Design was the sponsor of the Summer Coffee Lover’s Blog Hop and offered up  winners choice of any one cover plate die from the store on the June 27 post.  Random Number Generator selected a winner for us…  Kris!   Congratulations Kris!  Thanks for your lovely comments!

    Have a fabulous 4th of July!

  • You’re the Greatest | Angel Rivera

    You’re the Greatest | Angel Rivera

    Hi all!  Angel here with a cup o’ Joe for you this morning!  Birch Press is one of the Coffee Lover’s Blog Hop Sponsors!  And if you don’t know what that is Please go check out Amy Tsuruta’s Blog Hop HERE (she’s the hostess of this fab blog hop!).  We will also be giving away a prize here on the Birch Press Blog – scroll down for more info!

    My card looks like I slaved over it but that’s how Birch Press Design dies work – effortless beauty!  I am in love with this Fiori Plate Layer C!  I cut it out of some primitive white card stock then layered it with foam adhesive over a kraft card base.  I cut out this super fun coffee cup from the Morning Cup Poppy Stamps die.  I did cut it out twice so I could layer the larger, middle part of the cup, just for dimension.

    The sentiment is from the Dragonfly Greetings stamp set.  And yes, I think coffee is the greatest.  🙂

    We will be giving away one of our Cover Plate Dies (winner gets to choose which one!)!!!!!  All you have to do is comment on this post by 2 July.  The winner will be posted on 4 July.

    Thank you for stopping by!

  • Peony Blooms Thank You | by Tracey McNeely

    Peony Blooms Thank You | by Tracey McNeely


    Have you had a chance to use the new Peony Blooms Stackable Dies yet? Watercolouring has become my new favourite colouring medium to use in crafting. Today I am going to use Peerless Watercolors in dilute washes for the layers of my peonies to create a monochromatic flower with lots of dimension.

    To begin I cut one each of the Peony Blooms Stackable dies–Layer A, Layer B and Layer C using 140 lb cold press watercolour paper.

    I started by cutting small pieces of the watercolor films from the Peerless Watercolor book that I was going to use for the flower and foliage. I colours I used were Royal Scarlet, Royal Crimson, Carnation Pink, Light Green and Brilliant Yellow. Put each piece of cut film into a different tray of a watercolour palette. Add a small bit of water to each of the trays to dissolve the colour from the film and tint the water, then remove the film from the trays with a pair of tweezers. ETA: Carnation Pink was added to the palette after photographing.

    Starting with Layer C I applied a generous amount of water to the die cut flower and then I painted the flower with the full strength of my dilute Royal Scarlet wash. I set it aside to dry.

    Next I did the same with Layer B using the Royal Crimson dilute. After the first layer of colour dried a bit I went back and added some darker highlights to the edges of the flower in the same colour but directly from the film in the book. I set that layer aside to dry.

    For Layer A I painted the Carnation Pink dilute directly to the dry die cut and then set it aside to dry.

    For the leaves I painted Layer C in Brilliant Yellow and added Light Green to the centre. For the leaves in Layer B I mixed some of the Brilliant Yellow and Light Green together in last available palette in my tray to make a yellow/green then I painted the Layer B leaves with it. I added more water to the custom yellow/green dilute to lighten the colour a bit more and painted the last leaves from Layer A.

    Once all papers were dry I assembled the Peony and leaves onto a white card base, isn’t the dimension achieved from the monochromtic watercolouring amazing? Finally the thank you sentiment from Dragonfly Greeting clear stamp set was die cut using the die from the Dragonfly Greetings die set and adhered to the card.


    I hope you enjoyed today’s tutorial on watercolouring in a monochromatic colour scheme and see how well it works with the lovely detailed dies from Birch Press Design. See you again next Tuesday for more Design Team inspiration.

  • Sentiments Frames | By Laurie Schmidlin

    Sentiments Frames | By Laurie Schmidlin


    Happy Tuesday!  Today I’m sharing a quick and easy way to create a sentiment frame.  This simple technique can be used on almost any card!


    First, I have to say that the new Peony Bloom layering die set is one of the prettiest that I have seen!  As soon as I saw it I was smitten!  While playing around with it I started thinking about different ways to add sentiments.  I didn’t want to cover up any of the flowers so I came up with the idea of stamping around the edges.


    The Dragonfly Greetings stamp set is full of sentiments that are perfect for this technique!  I chose to use the Thank You sentiment.  I started by lightly penciling in lines 1/4″ from the edges on all four sides.  I then stamped the sentiment repeatedly, using the pencil marks as a guideline to stamp.  Don’t worry if your sentiment goes off of the page at the corners as this will be covered up with the layering dies.


    One tip that can save you some time and frustration is to make sure your ink is completely dry before going on to the next step.  Trust me.  Ha!


    After the ink was dry, I erased all of the pencil marks using a high quality eraser.


    After assembling the three Peony Bloom layers (I used all three on my card), I adhered it to the white sentiment stamped layer.  For embellishment, I added some decorative jewels to the center of the flowers.


    I hope you get a chance to try this out!

    Thanks for stopping by!

     

     

     

     

     

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