Author: birch press

  • Valentine Hugs | By April Antonio

    Valentine Hugs | By April Antonio

    Happy Saturday! With January almost over, and Valentine’s Day cards lining the grocery store aisles, I thought I would be a great time to create a Valentine themed card.

    I started with the new Banner Heart Layer set. It has three layers – A,B,C to it, with each layer slightly more open than the last. I used the following cardstocks for each layer:

    Layer A – Red foil from the Rainbow Reflections Mirror Pad

    Layer B – Silver foil from the Vintage Pastel Mirror Pad

    Layer C – Glitter Red from the Festive Glitter Pad

    Once I had each layer cut, I glued them together using liquid glue, and added foam dots to the very back.

    Next, I cut my background piece using the Pinpoint Contour plate die. I also cut a few eucalyptus pieces using the stem from the Eucalyptus Stem & Berries. I cut it from white cardstock and the red foil I used for the heart.

    I then grabbed the Hugs Honey Script die and cut the word from white cardstock three times, and glued those layers together. I then cut the shadow from black cardstock.

    Assembly

    I glued my background Pinpoint Contour sheet to an A2 card base. I then arranged the eucalyptus leaves in the lower right corner of the card and glued the bottom halves down with liquid glue.

    I then placed the layered heart on top of the leaves — recall I had this popped up with foam dots. To that I added the layered hugs die cut which I also popped up with foam tape.

    The embellishments are from the Fairy Drops and Christmas Fairy Crystals set.

    That is it! A clean and very simple card to pull together. The ‘hugs’ sentiment could easily be replaced with ‘love’, ‘thanks’, or some other sentiment to fit the card need.

    I hope you have a great rest of your day!

    Supplies

    57510 Banner Heart Layer Set

    57300 Hugs Honey Script

    57496 Eucalyptus Stem and Berries Contour Layers

    GP1006 Festive Glitter Pad

    FP1002 Vintage Pastel Mirror Pad 6×6 pack

    FP1003 Rainbow Reflections Mirror Pad 6×6 pack

    Supplies

    DRP101 Fairy Drops

    CRY102 Christmas Fairy Crystals

  • Love and Hugs | by Crystal Komara

    Love and Hugs | by Crystal Komara

    Hello friends! This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here with you today sharing some inspiration for Valentine’s Day which will be coming up soon in February.

    Details:

    The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Flora Player Layer A, I die cut the first layer from white cardstock . As you can see from the image below, I had to do a fair amount of “poking” to get all the little pieces out! I adhered this piece directly onto my card base.

    Next I die cut Layer A of the Kinsley Heart Layering Plate from white cardstock. I adhered this over a sheet of red cardstock. Then I fussy cut the little hearts out.

    I adhered the small hearts down the center of the card, only using four of the five I had cut out. Then, using the Big Lingo Type Hugs, I die cut the shadow background from black cardstock and the thin outline layer from white cardstock.

    I adhered the two layers together with a fine tip liquid adhesive. Then I stamped the sentiment “love and” in red ink on white cardstock. This sentiment is from the Lingo Thanks Sentiment stamp set. I adhered the sentiment to the card with 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

    I wish you all love and hugs! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

    Supplies

    57402 Kinsley Heart Plate Layer Set

    SP1001 Berry Red 6×6 pack

    57227 Big Lingo Type Hugs

    57437 Flora Plate Layer Set

    8143 Lingo Thanks clear stamp set and die set

  • Hugs | By Rosemary Dennis

    Hugs | By Rosemary Dennis

    Hello everyone! Rosemary here with my first post as a member of the Birch Press Design team. I’m so excited to be a part of this talented team. My style tends to lean towards clean and simple, but I like to mix it up and create in other styles as well. Today’s project is a clean and simple Valentine.

    For my card I used the sweet Banner Heart layering die set. I die cut layers A and C from pink glitter paper from the Delicate Pastel Glitter pad and layer B from the Glitzy Glitter pad from Memory Box. I saved all the fall out pieces and will be sharing the cards that I made with them in another post. I adhered all the layers with liquid adhesive and set the heart aside to dry. I took a piece of off white paper from the Vintage Pastel Mirror pad by Memory Box and die cut it with the Pinpoint Contour Plate.

    I adhered the Pinpoint Contour panel to a cardstock base using a strong tape adhesive. The Pinpoint Contour panel covers the entire card front and a little tip I have to making sure it goes on straight is to use something like a MISTI tool (I use a scoring board) to help with alignment. Simply place your card base in to one corner of your MISTI or scoring board so that it is securely up against two sides of the tool. Then take your Pinpoint Contour panel and carefully place it on top using the corner to help you keep things aligned. Once your panel is secured add the banner heart using liquid adhesive. Now it was time to decide on a sentiment. I decided to go with the Hugs Sugar Script hot foil plate and die set. I just love foiling. I used a scrap of the off white mirror cardstock and dark pink foil for the sentiment. I just love how well the foiling worked with the mirror cardstock. Definitely will be doing that in the future.

    I die cut the foiled sentiment and then adhered it to the card front. I used a combination of liquid adhesive and foam adhesive. The liquid adhesive was placed behind the part of the sentiment that rests on the heart and the foam adhesive on the other half. I decided to add a few dark pink Fairy Jewels as a little finishing touch.

    I hope you enjoyed my project today and that you are inspired to make a clean and simple Valentine for someone you love!

    Supplies

    57511 Pinpoint Contour Plate

    BPF513 Hugs Sugar Script Hot Foil Plate and Die Set

    FP1002 Vintage Pastel Mirror Pad 6×6 pack

    GP1007 Glitzy Glitter Pad

    GP1001 Delicate Pastel Glitter Pad

    57510 Banner Heart Layer Set

  • Make a Wish | By Allison Frazier

    Make a Wish | By Allison Frazier

    Hello, Birch Press friends! January is always a great time to take stock of what cards you have in your stash. I always seem to have a shortage of birthday cards, so now is a great time to start building up that stash. My card today features the “Make a Wish Sugar Script” die set.

    The inspiration for this card started with a panel of watercolor paper that I had inked up with some shimmer powders. I wasn’t happy with how it was turning out, and I almost threw it away. But, as I was picking it up, I saw that some of the color had gotten onto the back of the panel. And that is what became the background for this card. That is what I call a happy accident! I used the new Pinpoint Contour Plate to give it a little bit more texture and adhered it to an A2 card base.

    For the main focal point of the card, I cut the detail words out of a champagne pearl card stock. I cut the shadow pieces out of the same watercolor paper that I had used for the background. I stacked the shadow pieces three times and the detail pieces two times in order to create dimension. I stamped the sub-sentiment on the same watercolor paper and heat embossed it with a platinum color embossing powder. The sentiment comes from the Happy Lingo stamp set.

    To add more visual interest and movement, I die cut some small dragonflies and a butterfly using the same combination of papers that were already on the card – plain watercolor paper for the base layer of the wings, shimmer powder background remnants for the top layer of the wings, and champagne pearl card stock for the bodies. I glued these together only at the centers, so that the wings could pop up and create dimension.

    To finish the card, I added some Fairy Jewels and Fairy Crystals in complementary colors.

    Thank you so much for joining us today. I hope this card inspires you and brings a smile to your face! 

    Wishing you a crafty day,
    Allison


    Supplies


    57434 Make a Wish Sugar Script
    57511 Pinpoint Contour Plate
    57487 Simple Dragonfly Contour Layers
    57490 Simple Butterfly Contour Layers
    cl8156 Happy Lingo clear stamp set
    fp1002 Vintage Pastel Mirror Pad 6×6 pack

    Supplies


    cry101 Autumn Fairy Crystals
    jwl002 Pastel Jewels
  • Banner Heart Hugs | by Colleen Balija

    Banner Heart Hugs | by Colleen Balija

    Hi friends,

    I’m back today to share a fun and endearing card for someone who may need a hug during Valentine’s Day (or any day). This card is cheerful but comforting!

    I started by creating a card base of white and gold using Flora Plate Layering dies. The bottom layer is a gold card base. Then I added a gold layer over it that is slightly smaller and was embossed using the new Pinpoint Contour Plate die. This cover plate is perfect to add texture and interest! I added a mirrored white card panel over the gold. I used my handy Deckled Paper Trimmer to cut the layers, adding a bit more detail to the card base. I am all about the details! I set the background aside and worked on the Banner Heart.

    I chose the colors for my heart using a color mood board. I love to use color mood boards because the colors are coordinated for you, so all you have to do is put them together! Here is the mood board that I used for my heart.

    Feel free to use this if you feel so inspired to do so! Anyway, getting back to my card, I found Memory Box glitter paper and a few other pieces of colored cardstock in shades of pink, red, and green, similar to the color mood board. I die cut all 3 layers of the Banner Heart using those colors and adhered the layers together, going from darkest to lightest in color. Hint: I used a variety of color card panels to add detailed interest to the heart, such as an alcohol base card panel, a gelli plate card panel, and a glitter card panel. Can you see the detail in the photo below? It makes a big difference!

    Once my heart was finished, I staged it over my background that I had made earlier, and decided it needed something more! That’s where the flowers and Hugs sentiment come in to play!

    I had foiled the Hugs Sugar Script sentiment awhile back (I like to do mass foiling so that it’s ready when I need it), so I grabbed that foiled sentiment and placed it over the heart. Then I die cut Wispy Blooms Contour Layers using the same card panels from my heart and tucked those behind the heart and sentiment.

    I tucked everything to the left of the sentiment because I wanted the heart to clearly show up on the card. The Hugs sentiment was propped up using foam tape.

    What I love about this card is that the only source of color comes from the heart and flowers. Everything else is neutral, which helps the focal point pop even more! And I love all the tiny details in this card that come together beautifully!

    Thanks for stopping by today!

    Supplies

    57506 Wispy Blooms Contour Layers

    BPF513 Hugs Sugar Script Hot Foil Plate and Die Set

    57511 Pinpoint Contour Plate

    57437 Flora Plate Layer Set

    57510 Banner Heart Layer Set

    GP1003 Twinkling Jewel Glitter Pad

  • Sending Love | By Natasha Vacca

    Hello Birch Press friends, it is Natasha here today and I am excited to share a fun card idea with you today using the Banner Heart Layering die set! So let’s get started!

    I started by choosing a colorful background from my stash for today’s card! I love to use pre-made backgrounds! It is a fun and easy way to create, as well as saving you time! The background inspired my color choices today!

    Next I started by die cutting each layer of the Banner Heart Layering die set. I used a combination of red, pink, and white card stock for the 3 layers. The pink and red card stock are from the Berry Red Memory Box paper pad collection. I die cut layer C 1 time, layer B 2 times, and layer A 1 time.

    After each layer was die cut, I added a bit of ink using a finger dauber to layer C and B. I love to add ink to color card stock. I feel it adds a bit of dimension and texture. Once these were complete, I adhered Layer C and B together using liquid glue. Next I chose an embossing powder from my stash. I embossed Layer A for each heart. On one heart the top layer has a pink card stock and the other has a white card stock. Using a different color card stock changes up the embossing powder effect!

    Once Layer A was heat embossed, I adhered Layer A to the top of each heart using liquid glue. Next I trimmed the background panel to 4 inches by 5.5 inches. I used the extra 1/4 inch strip and adhered this to the left side of the card panel. It added a bit more interest and texture.

    To complete my card I chose the You Are Loved Noted Script Hot Foil Plate and die set. I used my hot foil machine and followed the instructions for my machine. Once the sentiment was complete, I die cut 2 more shadow layers and adhered them behind my foiled sentiment for added dimension.

    I completed the card by adhering the card panel to an A2 card base, adhered the hearts using liquid and foam adhesive and completed my card with my sentiment.

    I had a lot of fun creating today’s card and I hope this inspires you to share a handmade Valentine with a family member or a dear friend!

    I will be back soon!


    Supplies


    sp1001 Berry Red 6×6 pack
    57510 Banner Heart Layer Set
    bpf509 You Are Loved Noted Script Hot Foil Plate and Die Set
  • How to Add Texture to White Space on Your Card | by Colleen Balija

    How to Add Texture to White Space on Your Card | by Colleen Balija

    Hi friends! Today I want to talk about how to add texture to white space! I find it difficult to not fill my entire card up with design elements and color! But, when I make a card like this one today, I’m so glad that I allowed the white space to shine through! I forget how pretty a card with a white background can be!

    Adding texture to white space is easy to do with a die cut! Die cuts add texture without adding color. For my card, I die cut the Pinpoint Contour Plate onto an 80 lb 5.5×4.25 white card panel. Then I trimmed the panel down and adhered it over a 5.5×4.25 white card base so that the white card base peeked out behind the die cut card panel. Already we’ve got texture and dimension!

    Next, I added my focal point to the white space using Banner Hearts layering dies. I die cut all 3 layers and then ink blended each layer in soft shades of pink, golden yellow, and green. I kept the colors soft so they blended with the white background. I also die cut Plate C in white and set the inside pieces aside for later.

    I wanted to add some design elements around the heart to frame it. So, I die cut Prime Peony Duo Contour Layers, Eucalyptus Stem and Berries (just the leaves), and Simply butterfly Contour die and ink blended each layer using the same colors as the Banner Heart. I decided to place everything in the lower left corner of the card panel so that the white space would surround my focal point. I adhered the flowers first and then the heart next. I added the white pieces from Panel C in the heart so that the heart was a solid piece (I didn’t want the background card panel peeking through and competing with the heart). You can see the details in the photo below.

    The final step was to add the sentiment and a few gold sequins. My sentiment is the Sending Hugs hot foil plate and die cut. I foiled it in gold and die cut it 3 times so that it would pop off the page a bit for dimension. The flowers are popped up on foam tape as well to add dimension.

    Let’s take one final look at the card below and see how the white space works for it. This card has a lot of white space in it, but the texture from the Pinpoint die plate adds interest and texture without adding color. The colors in my focal point are soft enough that they don’t steal the show from that beautiful white space. And the positioning of the design elements allowed the white space to surround the focal point nicely. What do you think?

    I hope that you will play around with using white space to your advantage in your cards! The key thing is to know when to stop and allow enough of the white space to shine through! One thing that helps me is to pause a few times in the process to look at the card’s progress, and even take photos of it!

    Supplies

    57511 Pinpoint Contour Plate

    BPF509 You Are Loved Noted Script Hot Foil Plate and Die Set

    57510 Banner Heart Layer Set

    57504 Prime Peony Duo Contour Layers

    57490 Simple Butterfly Contour Layers

    57496 Eucalyptus Stem and Berries Contour Layers

  • Foil and More Foil | by Toni M Maddox

    Foil and More Foil | by Toni M Maddox

    Hello, Birch Press fans! Toni here with you today sharing a (hot) foil project that could be used for about any occasion: G/Valentines, friendship, encouragement, or just to say hello.

    This is my favorite type of card to make for my stash because I can just grab it and go, so to speak. I’m not sure I’ll be able to send this one away though!

    I started the card by hot foiling the Birch Press Design String Art Frame Hot Foil Plate with one of the new Spellbinders satin pastels hot foils. These are translucent so very subtle, especially on the foiled cardstock front.

    In this case I used the salmon color which coordinated perfectly with the Memory Box Vintage Pastel Mirror cardstock used for the Birch Press Design Morning Rose and Triple Buds.

    I cut out the Birch Press Design Fuddled Leaf from Memory Box Rainbow Reflections Rainbow Mirror cardstock. The Birch Press Design Sugar Script Big Hugs is cut from the pastel pad in a pearly color.

    I love the soft combination of colors, don’t you?

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

    Supplies

    57493 Morning Rose and Triple Buds Contour Layers

    57500 Fuddled Leaf Branches Contour Layers

    bpf510 String Art Frame Hot Foil Plate and Die Set

    57138 Big Hugs Sugar Script

    fp1002 Vintage Pastel Mirror Pad 6×6 pack

    fp1003 Rainbow Reflections Mirror Pad 6×6 pack

  • Star Flower Thanks | by April Antonio

    Star Flower Thanks | by April Antonio

    Happy Friday Birch Press friends, and Happy New Year!

    It’s a new year so I figures it’s time to try some new things. Anyone struggle with a certain color? Have a complicated relationship with it? Well, that’s me and the color purple..no not the movie at all, the actual color. Me and purple just never seem to connect —- so, I decided to try it for today’s project.

    I grabbed the new Pinpoint Contour cover plate which I am personally in love with, and cut it out three times: twice from heavy weight cardstock, and once from the creamy purple found in the Rainbow Reflections Mirror Pad. (Flashes of Prince are dancing in my head!).

    As a lot of us in this post-holiday season, I have a lot of thank you cards to send to friends and family, so I thought I could make two cards today from one cover sheet. I took the coversheet I cut from the purple cardstock and chose a point about 3/4 down the sheet and cut right along one of the pinpoint perforations — which helped it cut very easily.

    I then lined these two halves up on top of my white cover sheets to exactly the spot where I had cut it. You’ll notice on one panel I have the purple at the top, and the other it’s on the bottom.

    Next, I saved some time by cutting the all of my flowers using the Star Flowers die from white cardstock, and assembled the flowers, making sure to leave the center (or the stamen) piece untouched for later.

    I also need a title and I really like using the chunky, Thanks Honey Script word and shadow die set. I cut this from white cardstock a few times, and then once from the creamy purple and once from the shiny, metallic purple that is in the same mirror pad.

    For my assembly, I placed the ‘thanks’ along the seam where the white and purple met, and arranged my flowers around this section. Lastly, I can’t resist some level of bling, so I used the Autumn Fairy Crystals to add centers to each flower.

    Thank you for joining me today! I hope you enjoyed this exercise in color exploration with me and that you are encouraged to carve some time from your weekend to get crafty!

    Supplies

    57511 Pinpoint Contour Plate

    FP1003 Rainbow Reflections Mirror Pad 6×6 pack

    57302 Thanks Honey Script

    57505 Star Flowers Contour Layers

    Supplies

    CRY101 Autumn Fairy Crystals

  • Rainbow Adornment Dove | By Allison Frazier

    Rainbow Adornment Dove | By Allison Frazier

    Hello, Birch Press friends! Today, I am showing how you can stretch the use out of your products that are typically only thought of as winter or holiday products. My card features the beautiful Adornment Dove die set.

    I love the cutouts in the wing of the detail layer in the Adornment Dove set, and I thought it would be fun to color them instead of discard them. I could have die cut all different colors of paper, but it’s much easier (and less wasteful) to color with markers. I die cut the layer out of white card stock and left the cutouts intact. To make sure they didn’t come loose, I just taped them in place on the back with scotch tape. I then colored each cutout piece with a different color Copic marker. This does look messy, as the colors bleed onto the white border between each cutout, but that’s okay because it will get covered by a clean detailed layer.

    When I was finished coloring the separate cutouts, I glued that layer onto a solid background layer that I had die cut from white card stock. I then glued a clean white detailed layer over the colored layer. For the solid wing and tail feather cutouts, I colored these white pieces by blending some pink, yellow, and light blue markers. After glueing those pieces in place, I added a final detail layer that I die cut from a Champaign colored mirror card stock.

    For my card base, I took a dark teal panel of card stock, embossed it with Layer A of the now-retired Fiori Plate Layer Set, and then splattered it with a light gold paint. I mounted that onto the same color A2 card base. For the sentiment, I cut the Handwritten Thanks Outline die out of the same teal card stock and the detail Thanks die out of the Champaign card stock that I used for the dove. I adhered the sentiment and the dove to the card base. Notice how I purposefully did not glue all of the layers of the tail feathers together. This creates some really great dimension. To finish the card, I added a small jewel as an eye.

    I think this card design can be used all year round, don’t you? Thank you so much for joining us today. I hope this card inspires you and brings a smile to your face! 


    Supplies


    57479 Adornment Dove
    57420 Handwritten Thanks and Outline
    fp1002 Vintage Pastel Mirror Pad 6×6 pack

    Supplies


    jwl005 Christmas Fairy Jewels