Author: birch press

  • Grateful Leaf Frame! | By Desiree Kuemmerle

    Grateful Leaf Frame! | By Desiree Kuemmerle

    Hello Everyone and Welcome Back!

    For today’s project I will be using the Grateful Frame Stamp Set! I thought this was perfect for no line coloring… so grab your favorite coloring medium, mine will be colored pencils, and let’s get started

    For no line coloring you want to make sure you stamp your images with a very light ink. Once my image was stamps, I chose my colors I will be using by swatching them out on a piece of card stock, the same I am using for our project.

    Now the fun begins, we get to color our image. When using colored pencils, I like to start with a light layer of my lightest color and then come in with my mid tone and then add my dark layer to add my shadows. Over all of those layers I add one final layer of the lightest color to blend them all together.

    For the frame I used two dark colors so my sentiment would stand out, but instead of stamping the image in black ink I used a charcoal grey to keep it subtle.

    I trimmed my panel down to approximately 5 ½ inches x 5 ½ inches and used a black card stock to mat my image and placed it on to a 6 inch x 5 ½ inch side folding card base.

    Added some Vintage Drops by NuVo in Chocolate Chip around my image for an embellishment.

    As always, I hope you enjoyed today’s project… and if you want to see more details just click on the video below and see how these projects come together step by step!

    Make sure you stay tuned for more wonderful projects coming soon! Have a great day and always remember… Be Creative!


    Supplies


    CL8147 Grateful Leaf Frames clear stamp set
  • Weathered Regal Peacockby Jennifer Svare

    Weathered Regal Peacock
    by Jennifer Svare

    Hello! Thanks for stopping by today! For this project, I brought the distress paints out and experimented with the weathered metal look.

    I started off by using black chalkboard paper, since there is a slight matte finish to it. I also tried adding a clear layer of gesso over top of plain black card stock, and that works as well. I simply daubed on random splotches of the blue and green and used my heat gun to get it almost dry. Before completely dry, I wiped some of the paint off, exposing the black underneath. A layer of Antiqued Bronze was added over top, and again let it almost dry (a few areas of wet remained still) and then daubed it off with a rag. Tim Holtz has a great tutorial on making a patina finish, and I just followed his steps. Here are how each layer looked before I put it together:

    I wanted more color on this layer, so went back in and applied a second coat of the blue and green.

    After I layered them all together, I went in with a very small amount of Black Soot Distress Stain on my rag, just to add some extra black into the lines. There is very little but it adds a nice effect. It looked great before and wasn’t a needed step.

    I went around the edge of the white watercolor paper with random strokes of Peeled Paint, Broken China, and Antique Bronze. I wanted it to look like rustic brush strokes.

    A thin strip was cut from leftovers for the peacock to be resting on, and also added a sentiment embossed in gold. Notice how the feathers on the body of the peacock are slightly lifted for even more dimension.

    I can see this technique applied to so many of these layering sets and even just the peacock body alone would be stunning on a card. It’s easy and so much fun! What do you think? I’d love to see your comments below.

    Have a great day, and we’ll see you again soon!


    Supplies


    56099 Regal Peacock Layer Set
  • The Little Things by Jeanne Jachna

    The Little Things
    by Jeanne Jachna

    We hope you’ve enjoyed seeing projects made with the new release! The blog blitz is coming to a close but there is still time to enter to win some of the new designs. You have until midnight US EST Tomorrow, August 26 to comment on the posts you’d like to enter. And don’t forget to check out our INSTAGRAM page. We’re giving away a prize, and one for your friend on each of the blog blitz posts.

    Today I’m sharing a card made with the Only Fish In The Sea stamp set. I inked the large stamp with Momento Tuxedo Black ink and colored the entire panel with Copic Markers.

    I had fun coloring the fish in yellow, orange, and red. The background is colored with B24 and 26. I wanted to add some depth and dimension and thought the two colors would help create that effect.

    Normally I would have colored and colored to remove the uneven coloring around the fish, but I think in this case it creates a sense of movement. The set has a handful of sentiments perfect for stamping in the center of all the fishies!

    When the panel was complete I covered it with Wink of Stella clear for some sparkle and shine. The results were very subtle so I added some Glossy Accents to just SOME of the fish. I love the texture and shine!

    This is a really fun playful set and the stamp is BIG! My finished card size is 5 1/2″ Square. I can’t wait to explore using it more with different techniques!

    Supplies

    CL8146 Only Fish in the Sea clear stamp set

  • Lumina Thanks and Giveaway! by Jeanne Jachna

    Lumina Thanks and Giveaway!
    by Jeanne Jachna

    I hope you’re having a great day! This month we’re sharing projects made with the new release, and we have lots of giveaways too!

    Today I’m sharing a sparkly card made with the Lumina Layer A die! That’s the giveaway for today too!

    This effect is as easy as one two three! First I cut the Lumina A die from a panel of white card stock that I attached a piece of packing tape to. The tape prevents the die from cutting all the way through. I used the cut lines as a guide to color in the panel with Copic Markers.

    Next I applied an even coat of Deco Foil Transfer Gel. This gel is unique because it dries completely clear.

    Lastly I layered a completely cut Lumina A die and adhered it to the wet panel before sprinkling it with ultra fine crystal glitter.

    After the assembled panel was dry. I shook it off and added another Lumina A die cut over the first one. This isn’t necessary, but it adds a little depth to the design.

    A Lingo Type Thanks sentiment completes the card. I cut it from black and white card stock, and then assembled the pieces. This left me with TWO completed Thanks word sentiments. One for today’s project, one for another day.

    Now for the part you’ve been waiting for.

    GIVEAWAY ALERT!! We are celebrating the new release at Birch Press Design, and are giving away the Lumina Layer A die that I used on today’s card! For your chance to win leave a comment for me on today’s post. I love to read your comments.

    2) For a second chance to win one for YOU and a FRIEND, follow us on Instagram @birchpressdesign Like the Instagram post for this card and TAG YOUR FRIENDS. One tag per comment please–the more friends you tag, the more chances you have to win. Both you are your friend must follow @birchpressdesign to be eligible to win. One comment will be selected and you and your friend will both receive this stamp set.

    You must comment by midnight EST August 23. Winners will be announced August 26.

    Good luck and thanks for joining us!

    Finished Size 4.25 x 5.5″

    Supplies

    57247 Lumina Layer A
    57228 Big Lingo Type Thanks
    CL8143 Lingo Thanks
  • DIY Custom Colored Card Stock AND GIVEAWAY | Ashlea Cornell

    DIY Custom Colored Card Stock AND GIVEAWAY | Ashlea Cornell

    Hello again everyone! Ashlea here and I’m thrilled to be back with some tips using one of the newest die sets available from Birch Press. The Epiphany Layer set reminded me so much of the holidays, specifically a wreath, so I wanted to bring in festive colors that would help remind others of that as well! To do this, I customized my colors for each layer by creating my own colored card stock. I used Catherine Pooler inks for this and used a “pad to paper” technique that I’ve used here before, but it’s so useful that I thought it warranted another mentioned.

    To create the wreath part of the image, I used Lime Rickey on white card stock for Layer A, Grass Skirt on white card stock for Layer B, and finally Spruce on white card stock for layer C. I love the dimension these colors give to my “wreath” and that they work so well to get the point of the wreath across.

    For the center of the wreath I thought I’d bring in the reds to complete my holiday palette. I used Samba for Layer A, Polished for Layer B, and Peppermint Scrub for Layer C. Again the choice to darken the tones on the descending layers gives a great deal of shadow and depth to the collections of die cuts.

    As you can see from the die in the photo above, there is even one more piece to the die that I have omitted for this card but saved for another time. I love these types of cover dies that can be used together or separately to create so many looks and types of designs for cards.

    I hope that you’ve enjoyed learning a bit about how I created this look using the new Epiphany Layer set!

    GIVEAWAY ALERT!! We are celebrating the new release at Birch Press Design, and are giving away the Epiphany Layer A die that I used on today’s card! For your chance to win leave a comment for me on today’s post. I love to read your comments.

    2) For a second chance to win one for YOU and a FRIEND, follow us on Instagram @birchpressdesign Like the Instagram post for this card and TAG YOUR FRIENDS. One tag per comment please–the more friends you tag, the more chances you have to win. Both you are your friend must follow @birchpressdesign to be eligible to win. One comment will be selected and you and your friend will both receive this stamp set.

    You must comment by midnight EST August 23. Winners will be announced August 26.

  • No One Like You – GIVEAWAY! by Tracey McNeely

    No One Like You – GIVEAWAY! by Tracey McNeely

    Hi there I hope you have had a chance to check out the new release products at Birch Press Design. I am really excited today to introduce two of the new stamp sets! For my card today I used the new No One Like You stamp set for my background design and the Ocean Fantasty stamp set for my focal image!

    I began by white embossing the fun school of fish from the No One Like You stamp set on to a panel of Bristol Smooth cardstock. I made sure that I rubbed my anti-static powder bag all over the panel so that I wouldn’t get any stray embossing powder melting where I didn’t want it. This step is so important when you are ink blending a background, especially a dark background, because those stray embossed bits will pop right out. I blended Salty Ocean, Mermaid Lagoon, Blueprint Sketch, Chipped Sapphire and Black Soot Distress Oxide ink.

    I trimmed the panel down to fit on my card base leaving a 1/8″ white border around it. I stamped and fussy cut the turtle from the Ocean Fantasty stamp set and coloured it with Copic markers. It was then adhered to the centre of the school of fish with foam tape.

    I finished off the card with the perfect sentiment from No One Like You which was white embossed on black cardstock, trimmed down and added with some more foam tape.

    The turtle fit perfectly over the the space right in the centre of the school of fish. It appears that all the little fishies are swimming to the turtle!

    GIVEAWAY ALERT!! We are celebrating the new release at Birch Press Design, and are giving away the No One Like You stamp set that I used on today’s card! For your chance to win leave a comment for me on today’s post. I love to read your comments.

    2) For a second chance to win one for YOU and a FRIEND, follow us on Instagram @birchpressdesign Like the Instagram post for this card and TAG YOUR FRIENDS. One tag per comment please–the more friends you tag, the more chances you have to win. Both you are your friend must follow @birchpressdesign to be eligible to win. One comment will be selected and you and your friend will both receive this stamp set.

    You must comment by midnight EST August 23. Winners will be announced August 26.

    Thank you so much for stopping in today and I hope you were inspired to check our the new stamp sets. Don’t forget to enter the contest,
    GOOD LUCK!

    Supplies

    CL8145 No One Like You clear stamp set
    CL8148 Ocean Fantasy clear stamp set
  • A Single Lumina – GIVEAWAY! | By Desiree Kuemmerle

    A Single Lumina – GIVEAWAY! | By Desiree Kuemmerle

    Hello Everyone and Welcome Back!

    For today we have a couple of projects to show. The first we will work with all 3 layers of the Lumina Layering Die Set and the second will once use Layer A! Stay Tuned for the Giveaway Details! LOL

    For our first card and as always let’s start by choosing our cardstock colors and getting them ready for die cutting.

    Once they are die-cut we can then start to glue then together. I like to use a liquid adhesive; I feel it gives a better bond to this type of intricate images.

    I cut a piece of vellum to 4 ¾ inch x 5 ½ inch and scored at the ½ inch mark on the long edge. I adhered my layered panel onto the vellum and then attached a card panel that measured 4 ¼ inch x 5 ½ inch. This panel helped to hide the vellum strip I had on the inside of my card.

    I continued to cover up the back side of the vellum so we would no longer see the glue marks by cutting another bottom layer of the set. Also cut out a semi-circle using the inside die-cut as a template.

    I added the HUGS sentiment to the outside towards the bottom with another sentiment on the inside as well being hidden behind the panel we attached on the other side.

    For our next, let’s just use one of the layering dies from the set! The layer I chose was Layer A… I wanted to create a lot of color for this die cut, so I grabbed a piece of white card stock and used my oxide inks to create a blend of colors to resemble a sunset.

    Once this panel was dry, I die-cut my layer.

    I adhered my die-cut to my standard A2 size card base and then used black card stock for the backing of the smaller semi-circle. This helped to make the belnded colors to pop off the page.

    Added some double-sided foam squares for a little bit of dimention!

    For an added touch I used my Nuvo Black Gloss Drops in the die openings!

    And our cards are completed and ready for any occasion!

    GIVEAWAY ALERT!!
    Yup here are the details!

    We are all celebrating this recent and new release at Birch Press Design, and are giving away this Lumina Layer A die! Here is how you can get your chance to win! It’s simple just comment on this blog post and wait patiently until August 26 when the winner will be announced!
    Now of course there is a second chance for you and even your friend to win!

    Just follow Birch Press Design on Instagram @birchpressdesign make sure you like this Instagram post and make sure you tag your firend!. Only one comment will be selected and you and your friend will both receive this die.

    You must comment by 12 midnight US standard eastern time August 23. FINGERS CROSSED!

    As always, I hope you enjoyed today’s project… and if you want to see more details just click on the video below and see how these projects come together step by step!

    Make sure you stay tuned for more wonderful projects coming soon! Have a great day and always remember… Be Creative!


    Supplies


    56097 Lumina Layer Set
    58143 Lingo Thanks die set
    CL8143 Lingo Thanks
  • Pearlized Lotus Surprise + Giveaway Info!by Jennifer Svare

    Pearlized Lotus Surprise + Giveaway Info!
    by Jennifer Svare

    Hello! I’m back with some more Lotus Flower fun to share! Today, I’ve made a bunch of cards using different techniques using mostly Layer A from the set. For these first two cards, I did use inner die cuts from Layer B as well.

    This die set has sparked so much creativity, and I have really enjoyed using supplies I haven’t used in a long time. The cards above have a Pearlized Paint stripe in the background. I used the Finetec Mica Pearlescent Watercolor set. The textured background is the Handmade Ivory Pebble paper also available here at Birch Press. When the light hits them, they glow with beautiful colors, as in the photo below.

    I made this card *slightly* larger than standard size A2 so I could fit in a white border along the base with room around the die, but still fits in the A2 envelope.

    I had very limited amounts of the pebbled paper in my stash, so for my next card, I painted a pearlescent ivory background, and embossed a pattern to create texture.

    I tried some more layouts using only Layer A from the set, below. I am amazed at how many looks can be created using only ONE die!

    For my first card using only Layer A from the Lotus Flower set, I die cut it from masking paper. I then painted the interior of the flower with the golden pearlescent paint. It is such a subtle elegance! All of these cards can be seen in action in the video.

    The other cards were made using inlay techniques, mixed with different pearlescent areas of focus. The first card is strictly a petal inlay, with no borders. The middle card used leftover embossed paper with layer A to outline the negative space of the petals. The third card is simply the outline, but it has been painted with the pearlescent paints so when the light hits it, it is so gorgeous!

    I’m using Layer A for most of the cards shown above, because I wanted to share ideas for the die that one lucky winner is going to WIN! Here are the details:

    GIVEAWAY ALERT!! We are celebrating the new release at Birch Press Design, and are giving away this LOTUS LAYER A die! Want a chance to win? Here’s what you need to do to enter:
    1) To enter the blog giveaway, just comment on this post. Which card do you like best? Can’t wait to read your comments!

    2) For a second chance to win one for YOU and YOUR FRIEND, follow us on Instagram @birchpressdesign Like this Instagram post and TAG A FRIEND. 1 tag per comment, more tags the more chances you have to win. One comment will be selected and you and your friend will both receive this die. 

    You must comment by midnight USEST August 23. Winners will be announced August 26. GOOD LUCK!

    Thanks for stopping by today! See these cards in action below:


    Supplies


    57258 Lotus Flower Layer A
    57259 Lotus Flower Layer B
  • Back to School | by Tracey McNeely

    Back to School | by Tracey McNeely

    It’s that time of the year again when the kids are heading back to school and we start to make cards for teachers and for kids to wish them well for the school year. In my case I needed a card for my daughter who is entering her pro-year of university so that she can be a teacher.

    To make my card I used only two products, the Lingo Alphabet and the An Apple a Day craft die sets. The Lingo Alphabet is such a useful set to have because you can spell out anything that you want to put on your card or project. The smallest apple from ‘An Apple a Day‘ was die cut in red, brown and green to be adhered underneath my sentiment. Here are the supplies I used:

    To make my customized sentiment I cut the Lingo Alphabet three times with black cardstock so that I had all the letters I needed to make my ‘Back to School’ sentiment for the front of my card.

    In order to make sure all my letters were lined up and centred on the front panel of my card I used a small T-square to find the centre of my 5 1/4″ x 4″ card panel and then I drew a light pencil vertically down the centre.
    I glued the letters down the the card panel using the T-square once again. I made sure I had the same amount of space between the letters and both the right and left side of the panel. A little bit of math makes the end result look perfectly balanced.

    Once I had all the letters glued down to the panel I die cut the smallest of the three apple dies from the An Apple a Day craft die set three times. Once in red for the apple, once in brown for the stem and once in green for the tiny leaf. The three pieces were adhered to the card panel directly underneath the sentiment.

    The panel was adhered to a black 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″ card base. The black and white with a pop of red makes for a very striking card.

    A closer look at the tiny apple. You could add some glossy accents to the apple if you wanted to add some texture and dimension to your card like I did in this previous post HERE.

    Thank you for stopping in today and I hope that you are inspired to create some of your own sentiments using the Lingo Alphabet craft dies. Make sure you come by Monday as the Creative Team will be introducing the brand new release which is available now at Birch Press Design.

    Thanks for stopping in today and have a wonderful weekend!

    Supplies

    57231 Lingo Alphabet
    57080 An Apple A Day
  • Tropical Lotus Encouragementby Jennifer Svare

    Tropical Lotus Encouragement
    by Jennifer Svare

    Hello! Super exciting release available now at Birchpress Design! I’m so excited to share a project made with the Lotus Flower layers ~ this die set is so incredible with so many options!

    For today’s project, I die cut all three layers using three shades of pink. The top dark pink layer was dusted with gold metallic watercolor, also available at Birchpress. I love how the gold adds such an earthy, rustic-yet-elegant look when the colors combine. This would look good over so many colors!

    For the inside of the flower, I used smooth watercolor cardstock, and painted a background using red and white to make the shade of pink that matched the layers. I let the watercolors dry in between, and added swirls of Pearlescent Watercolor, along with some splashes of gold. The paint was blended well to create a matte look rather than speckles. I just love how this turned out!

    For the background, I die cut Layer A out of a light creme shell paper and inlaid just the large background pieces from the die cut. The subtle texture and shine added just the look I was after. A larger circle die was used to cut a circle slightly larger than the die for a bolder border. This was also dusted with the gold watercolor.

    I tried many colors and combinations for the card base, but chose a shell color for the base, and a sage green for the backdrop of the focal image. The colors add to a tropical feel. To add some subtle interest, I painted a border around the edge with gold, making sure to not make it look too perfect. A few splatters of the gold added just what it needed. The lotus fit perfectly in the space.

    The Big Shine Sugarscript was perfect for the sentiment because it really matches what I view as a theme for a lotus flower. Lotus flowers bloom from long stalks that grow from down below water surface. Many of the areas that lotuses are found are marshy, often murky waters. Such an incredibly gorgeous bloom from muddy muck. Incredible reminder that we can shine in any circumstance, and a great sentiment for an encouraging card!

    I hope you have a wonderful day, and thank you for stopping by!


    Supplies


    57166 Big Shine Sugar Script
    56100 Lotus Flower Layer Set