Author: birch press

  • Using Die Cuts as a Stencil Guide for Negatives with Ashlea Cornell

    Using Die Cuts as a Stencil Guide for Negatives with Ashlea Cornell

    Hello there, everyone! It’s Ashlea back with you today with this fun card using the Amour Arch layer set in a way you may have not thought of before. But before we get into that, let’s just address this sentiment. I love a good pun and this one was just a sitting duck while I was putting this card together. A “boo”, of course, is a loved one or a significant other and putting that together with “rainbow” to create the new word “rainboo” is definitely one of my proudest moments of the day. For this I used the Lingo Alphabet dies which made creating my own sentiment a breeze.

    Moving right along, let’s get into the images. I started by cutting out each layer from the same piece of card stock. Because they’re curved it made it easier to fit them all onto one. I took the hearts that each layer cut out and put them into their own little piles of layer A hearts, layer B hearts, and layer C hearts just to be sure to not mix them up. This will become important in just a moment.

    I started to pull the image together by choosing my Copic colors. I chose R29, YR16, Y08, YG08, B29, V17 and V06 for my ROYGBIV rainbow. Obviously, there are only 3 layers here, so I improvised and created ombre hearts by blending red, orange and yellow onto the layer A hears, green and blue on layer B, and my two purple colors on layer C hearts. This ensured all colors of the rainbow were used and represented. TO assemble these hearts onto my card front, I used the arch cut out of the Amour Arch layer A and placed it over a 4″ x 5 1/4″ near the bottom. I made sure that it was evenly centered on the lower half of my card front, and then used the openings as a guide and stencil for where to adhere my layer A hearts. I placed a very small bit of glue into each open heart and then placed a heart into each opening. Once I removed my arch stencil, I was left with an arch of beautifully colored rainbow. hearts

    I then used glue to adhere layer B hearts so that the bottom of the heart matched up with the bottom of layer A hearts and repeated this method with layer C hearts. To create a bit more of a true rainbow, I colored six of the smaller hearts that each layer cuts in rainbow colors and adhered them between each heart, approximately where they are positioned on the die.

    Finally, I created my sentiment which I explained earlier in the post, and arched it a bit over the hearts. I hope that I’ve inspired you to create outside of the box with your layering dies! Thank you so much for stopping by today, I’ll see you again very soon!

  • Best Wishes To You | By Eloise Blue

    Best Wishes To You | By Eloise Blue

    Hello friends, Eloise here and today I’m continuing on with the Summer theme and using the Let Your Dreams Sail Stamp Set once again.

    I started off with die cutting the anchor’s from the background. I used the die from the Let Your Dreams Set Sail Die Set and cut six from some white cardstock. I then stamped an additional anchor and sailboat onto some white cardstock, coloured them in with Copic Markers and cut them out.

    (Copic Markers Used: Y13, Y15, Y18, YR15 / W00, W0, W1, 0 / BG11, BG23, BG45, BG49 / C1, C3, C5, C7 / E50, E53, E55, E57)

    I took a piece of blue cardstock, cut it down to 4″ wide by 5 1/2″ tall and ink blended some Salty Ocean Distress Oxide Ink onto the bottom of it. I flicked on some water and dried it off with a heat tool.

    I then added foam tape onto the back of the anchor panel and adhered it into place. I did the same for the anchor and sailboat image as well.

    For the sentiment I used the Best Friend Stamp Set, stamped out the ‘Best’ sentiment and cut it out. I then white heat embossed the ‘Wishes To You’ onto a thin strip of black and adhered it onto the card as well. To finish up I tied a hemp cord bow around a couple of the anchors and that finished up my card for today.

    Thanks so much for stopping by today and I’ll see you next time!


    Supplies


  • You Make My Life Brighter | By Eloise Blue

    You Make My Life Brighter | By Eloise Blue

    Hello friends, Eloise here and today I have a card using the Let Your Dreams Sail and Let Your Light Shine Stamp Sets. I used the dies to create a front layer and stamped my images to create a one layer scene on the inside.

    I started off with stamping out my images using a stamping tool. I stamped them onto a white piece and also the blue piece as well. When I was stamping them on the white piece I made sure to create a couple masks to create a one layer effect.

    Once all my images were stamped I coloured them in with Copic Markers.

    (Copic Markers Used: R14, R24, R27, R89 / C00, C0, C1 / 0 / B91, B93, B95, B97 / E50, E53, E55, E57 / E42, E43, E44, E47 / Y00, Y02, Y04 / B0000, B000)

    I then went ahead and cut the images from the blue piece and added foam tape to the negative pieces that were left over. I then adhered them around the coloured images on my white piece.

    For my sentiment, I white heat embossed the ‘You Make My Life’ onto a thin black strip and then stamped the ‘Brighter’ word onto white and cut it out. I layered them up and added foam tape onto the back and adhered them down into place.

    Thanks so much for stopping by today and the video is linked down below if you’d like to watch.

    https://youtu.be/tKD0xAGj-os

    See you next time!


    Supplies


  • Waves Thanksby Jeanne Jachna

    Waves Thanks
    by Jeanne Jachna

    Thanks for stopping by! I hope you are having a great day! Today I’m sharing an easy way to add color to die cut backgrounds.

    All you need is some markers and some packing tape. I started by cutting the Waves Layer A die from white card stock. I applied packing tape to the back of the card stock before running it through my die cut machine. The packing tape prevents the die from cutting all the way through so you’re left with a clean white outline of the die.

    I used five shades of blue to color the waves. You don’t have to be clean and stay in the lines. When you’re done coloring this panel will be topped with a second panel cut from white card stock.

    I left some of the die cut pieces in place to add more interest. The Big Sugar Script sentiment is cut from gold glitter paper and white card stock. The solid background die helps keep the sentiment from fighting with the busy background pattern.

    This technique will work with any of your background dies! I hope you give it a try. It’s a great way to add color and use your stacking dies in a different way.

    Supplies

  • Rainbow Butterfly | by Tracey McNeely

    Rainbow Butterfly | by Tracey McNeely

    Hi there and welcome back for another week of inspiration at Birch Press Design. I just haven’t been able to stop creating with the new Big Lingo stamps and dies. The way the letters can inlay into the die cut is just so much fun!

    I have also been enjoying creating rainbows these days too. It must be that its spring and summer is just around the corner. Although I haven’t been seeing much sunshine where I am, making rainbow cards just brightens the day don’t you think? For today’s rainbow I used the Sparkler Butterfly die set to make a pretty rainbow butterfly. This four layer die set is on sale right now in the Birch Press Design shop, so if you don’t already have it you should take a look.

    I cut one of each layer in rainbow order–pink, orange, green and blue.

    Once cut I used liquid adhesive to glue the layers together to make one gorgeous dimensional butterfly that will be the focal point of my card.

    My sentiment was cut from the Big Lingo Type Hugs sentiment set of two dies. One cuts the shadow and the other cuts an outline sentiment and cuts the inside pieces that you can use separately or inlay into the outline, which is what I have done for today’s card.

    I coloured each of the letters with a Copic marker to match my cardstock making sure I did the letters in the same order as the butterfly cuts. You could use the die and cut your letters from coloured cardstock as well. Once the letters were die cut I used liquid adhesive once again to attach the outline to the shadow and then to inlay letters that were coloured making sure to press the die snugly together.

    I used the Lingo Thanks clear stamp set for the words I used to support the die cut hugs. I adhered the die cut word to the card base first and then I stamped the supporting sentiments above and below.


    The butterfly was adhered to the top of the white top folding card base with foam tape for some extra dimension. I added a few sparkling clear sequins to the butterfly and the centres were filled with silver Stickles for a little extra shine.

    The card was very easy to put together using these beautiful dies and this arrangement could be done again in different colour schemes!

    Thank you so much for stopping in today and I hope I have inspired you to make something pretty today.

    Supplies

  • Quick & Easy Alcohol Ink Rainbow Card | Ashlea Cornell

    Quick & Easy Alcohol Ink Rainbow Card | Ashlea Cornell

    Hello all! Ashlea here, and I’m back again playing with more alcohol inks because I just can’t get enough lately. This time I’m creating a very simple card featuring rainbow alcohol ink art. Before we get into the basics, check out this video from my YouTube channel:

    To begin, I chose my alcohol ink colors: Cranberry, Sweet Orange, Sunshine Yellow, Lettuce, and Purple Twilight. I thought these best represented rainbow colors and would work well next to each other. My favorite AI technique is a drop of ink, a drop of blending solution, and small puffs onto the solution with my air puffer (camera lens cleaner).

    For the sentiment, I used the Big Lingo Type Wow in black and white to contrast the colors of the inks. Before I adhered the die cuts, I trimmed the card front down to 4″ x 5 1/4″ and adhered it with foam tape to an A2 sized card base. I then adhered the middle “wow” so that I could evenly space the top and bottom words.

    To finish it off, I used the sentiment “You Mean The World To Me” from the Thanks Lingo stamp set and adhered that to the center die cut.

    I hope that you’ve enjoyed learning a little about how I created this quick and simple alcohol ink card today! Thank you so much for stopping by. I’ll see you very soon!

  • Layering Dies with Minimal Card Stock for a Focal Point | By Desiree Kuemmerle

    Layering Dies with Minimal Card Stock for a Focal Point | By Desiree Kuemmerle

    Hello Everyone!

    I am here today die cutting all day! Sometimes when see pull out our layering dies sets we see all colors – rainbows, blends and so one, but what if we just used minimal card stocks to create our cards! I set up my production line and started creating. Let see what this would look like!

    I started by creating my layered bases. I cut pieces of white card stock into 4 1/8 in x 5 3/8 in rectangles and also kraft card stock into 4 in x 5 1/4 in rectangles and layered these two pieces together. This will be our base for the focal point, simple and basic.

    Next, I started pulling out my layering dies and die cut away using only a thick white card stock. Using a 110- or 120-pound card stock I feel give a better result. This is also a great way to dig into those bigger scraps that we just cannot seem to throw away.

    Once all my images were die cut I then group them together while weeding out the bits and pieces.

    Let’s get to gluing all these layers together. Now you could use double sided adhesive to save time, but again I find all of this relaxing and I can sit in front of the TV and still be creative!

    After all my focal points were dry, I grabbed my layered bases and started placing my focal points in place, making sure I had room for my sentiment but also not just placing them in the center of our card.

    For my sentiments I used the Big Script ‘friend’ and ‘shine’ die sets. I was die cutting any way right?, LOL… I also cut a piece of vellum for the background to my sentiments. This kept the simple but elegant look of our cards!

    Set my sentiments in place and we now have six cards ready for any occasion that just pops up!

    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


  • Thanks Friend | by Tracey McNeely

    Thanks Friend | by Tracey McNeely

    Hi there it’s Tracey back again today and I have a fun rainbow card and video to create with you today. Don’t these summer colours just make you feel so happy inside?

    To create this card I used the fabulous Lingo Thanks clear stamp set and the Big Lingo Type Thanks dies along with some bright summer cardstock in the colours of the rainbow.

    To create my popped up Rainbow thanks sentiment I used the
    Big Lingo Type Thanks die and used all the cuts that these two dies make–the shadow, the outline and all the letters.

    Each of the individual letters were coloured with Copic markers that would best match the cardstock that I will be using for my sentiment strips. Once they were coloured I assembled the die cut and inlay the letters into the outline. Five chosen sentiment were white embossed on to coloured cardstock and then cut into strips with a paper trimmer.

    The strips were adhered to my card front with a slight space in between.

    To watch the full process of how I constructed my card, watch the YouTube video below.

    The large thanks sentiment was popped up with foam tape for some extra dimension and placed on an angle. By something as simple as embossing on cardstock, colouring die cuts and adding foam tape there are always new things you do with your Birch Press Design stamps and dies.

    Thank you so much for stopping in today and I hope that you feel inspired to try a rainbow card of your own using Birch Press Design products!

    Supplies

  • Simple Alcohol Ink Mother’s Day Card | by Ashlea Cornell

    Simple Alcohol Ink Mother’s Day Card | by Ashlea Cornell

    Well, hello there everyone! It’s Ashlea, and I’m back today with a very quick and simple DIY Mother’s Day card using Alcohol Inks and, of course, some Birch Press Designs stamps and dies! Check out my video below showing how I created this eye catching Mother’s Day card.

    My technique for Alcohol Ink art is a simple one; a drop of ink, a drop of blending solution right over that, and then blow some air with my air puffer while rotating my Alcohol Ink card stock. It’s great for a nice feathery look with lots of movement. I then add some blending solution splatters which helps to add texture and some more movement to the piece, but be sure to have a designated paint brush for these splatters! The blending solution will cause the bristles to become rough and course.

    One of my favorite die sets from Birch Press isn’t a layered one at all. It’s the Alpha Lingo letter dies, and I love them because they’re legible and small enough to create whatever sentiment/word without worrying it won’t fit. I chose to cut mine from a gold metallic card stock and add the same cuts from white card stock just off center behind them to create a shadow. This shadow technique draws the eye a bit more and makes it easier to read. To really drive this home, I added a small strip of vellum underneath the die cut word. Finally, I added the sentiment “So Glad We’re Friends” underneath the word and adhered it all to an A2 sized card base.

    I hope you’ve enjoyed learning a bit about how I created this card! Be sure to check out the video for the entire supply list as well as more tips for alcohol ink art! Thank you for stopping by and I’ll see you again soon!

  • Mother’s Day Weekend Sale

    Mother’s Day Weekend Sale

    On Mother’s Day we celebrate all the special women in our lives especially Mom! And crafty Mom’s are the best! Treat yourself or someone special in your life with 20% off your entire purchase this weekend (May 10-12) with sale code CRAFT20