Author: birch press

  • Aurora Thanks by Jeanne Jachna

    Aurora Thanks
    by Jeanne Jachna

    Thanks for stopping by!  I’m so glad you made time for a visit!  I’m playing with Glossy Accents today to show you how to add some glossy shine and dimension to your die cutting projects.  Here’s what my finished project looks like..
    I started by cutting the Aurora B die from a panel of card stock.  I didn’t want it to cut all the way through.  I wanted to create an outline of the die on the card panel that I could color.  I added some clear packing tape to the back of my card stock panel before cutting the die on the front of the panel.  The packing tape helps keep the die together so no pieces fall out.

    Next I colored up the design with Copic markers.  You DONT want to use a water based marker because the liquid Glossy Accents  will activate the color and it will bleed into the medium,  Copic markers are alcohol so they will not blend into the Glossy Accents.   When everything is colored to your liking cut a second Aurora Layer B die from white card stock and adhere it over the die cut on your panel.   The die cut will cover all the places you went “out of the lines”. Fill in the die cut openings with Glossy Accents.  I used a needle to move it around and get into all the corners.  It’s also convenient for breaking any bubbles you might see.  This is a time consuming technique but the shine is worth it.  TIP:  Use a die cut with large openings to make this process easier.  I chose the Aurora die for this reason.I only applied glossy accents to the outer rings and the center circle.   When the glossy accents is dry add a die cut Aurora Layer A die cut to the design. 

    I used Copic markers to color a piece of scrap paper before cutting the Big Sugar Script Thanks.  I love the ombre look!

    The dry glossy accents reminds me of candy!  This was a fun technique that I will use again.  I hope you’ll give it a try!

    Finished Size 4.25 x 5.5″

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  • Perfect Pearl Techniques with Jennifer McGuire

    Perfect Pearl Techniques with Jennifer McGuire

    We’ve got some exciting news to share!  Jennifer McGuire has created several beautiful cards for her blog using Birch Press Design products.  She is sharing a technique for adding shimmery Perfect Pearls powder to your creations.   You can see her entire post here.

    The Sugar Script dies come in two sizes – the smaller version is a script word die.  The “big” version includes a larger word die cut AND a background die. All of Jennifer’s projects include the Big version of the sugar script die.

    The Radiant Ornament is a new layered die set available in the store.  These dies are stackable for lots of color combinations.

    Jennifer used sentiments from the new Joy and Peace clear stamp set to pair with the Big Sugar Script die sentiments.

    We’re big fans of Jennifer McGuire and know you will be too!  We hope you’ll head on over to Jennifer’s blog to see more including an instructional video sharing this technique.  We know you’ll be glad you did! Click here to jump to Jennifer McGuire’s Blog!

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  • A Metro Just Because | By Desiree Kuemmerle

    A Metro Just Because | By Desiree Kuemmerle

    Hello Everyone!

    Making a complex looking card is now easier than ever with the Metro Triangle Collage Die and you will not even break a sweat or waste your day!  LOL

    So let’s give it a try!  I first gathered a piece of black card stock from my stash and trimmed it to 4 1/4 in x 5 1/2 in to cover my card base and made my die cut.  Removing those tiny pieces was a snap with this die but a pokey tool helped at times.  I set my panel aside and started my background panel to sit behind the die cut.  I pulled my distress oxides (candied apple, carved pumpkin, squeezed lemonade and twisted citron) and my mini blending tools and started blending at the bottom right of my panel. I did not need to cover the entire background, just focus on the area showing through my die cut. I also trimmed this to the same size as my black card stock.

    I set this aside so it could dry and I went back to my original panel so I could add the acetate panel and LOTS of double sided foam tape, yup we are going to make a shaker card!  I filled the cavity in with some iridescent sequins just to add a little bit of shimmer and shine.  I did not fill this like I normally would, just wanted a hint of them shaking around in there.

    Once filled I removed the release paper from the foam tape and adhered my blended background, you want to make sure your blended area is sitting in the same corner as your opening. Now ask me how I know to do this, LOL…  I used my tape runner to adhere my shaker panel to my standard A2 size top folding card base.

    Now let’s work on our sentiment…  The sentiment I used for the front of my card comes from the ‘Just Because” Clear Stamp Set and it is Just Because.  I think it is always just the right thing to say to someone…  I prepped my card stock with my anti-static tool and stamped this using my vesamark ink and heat set with white embossing powder. I think black makes everything pop…

    I also stamped a sentiment on the inside of my card from the same stamp set.  I chose ‘you are so special to me’…  I think it is the perfect pick me up who is having a trying day.

    For some final accents I pulled out my NuVo drops in similar colors as my Oxides I used for my blended panel! You have now made a shaker card with a bit of pop!

    If you want to see more details just click on the video below and see our project come together step by step! https://youtu.be/-wS_UjhpQgw

    I hope you enjoyed today’s project…  Make sure you stay tuned for more wonderful projects coming soon!  Have a great day and always remember… Be Creative!

     

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  • Haunted House Tag | by Olga

    Haunted House Tag | by Olga

    I love houses! House dies are my favorite ones – all of them, big and small, old and new. One of the things that makes them so fun to play with is that they are totally adjustable for any season and occasion. Just by using different colors, textures, sentiments and additional little details you can make the same die work for Christmas, wedding or Halloween.

    Today I have used Home Sweet Home die set to create a Ghostbusters inspired Halloween mini card. I have also attached a loop at the top so that it can be hanged onto a gift bag.

    This tag is also a perfect size to place a gift card inside.

    Watch the video tutorial here or on YouTube for step by step instructions!

    Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed the project. Have a wonderful weekend!

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  • Radiant Joy | by Tracey McNeely

    Radiant Joy | by Tracey McNeely

    Hi there are welcome back to another inspiration post at Birch Press Design. I hope you enjoyed the Blog Blitz last week where you were able to have a closer look at the new holiday release! Today I have a quick video tutorial for you to share how I made this pretty ornament card using the newly released Radiant Ornament Layer A, Radiant Ornament Layer B and Radiant Ornament Layer C.
    I used non traditional Christmas colours for my ornament mainly because these colours look so good together but also because it is still summer and I am not quite ready to break out the reds and greens just yet.
    I started off by cutting one of each of the layers in pink, green and blue, then I cut the ornament hook in silver sparkle paper and the Big Joy Sugar Script in white and backgrounds in grey and vellum (more on that later).
    In the following video I will show you how I put my ornament together and hung it on the card base!

    I cut the cloud shape for the Big Joy Sugar Script sentiment in both grey and vellum in the beginning because I wasn’t sure which I was going to use for the final card. In the end the vellum made the overall design a bit brighter so that is the one I chose for the final cut.
    The addition of the tiny foam pieces behind the ornament gave the card some added dimension and makes the details of the die stand out more.
    Thank you for joining me and I hope that you enjoyed today’s post showing you how you can quickly and easily create a clean and simple card using any of the mandala dies. Have a fabulous weekend.

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  • Issa Snowflake | By Alicia Havranek

    Issa Snowflake | By Alicia Havranek

    Hello!  Who has already started on their Christmas cards?  These dies from Birch Press Designs sure puts me in the mood to get a head start.

    For the card today I used the Issa Snowflake layering die (layering A only) and the Big Peace Sugar Script Die.

    My first steps were to take some watercolor paper and do a little ink smooshing with Distress Oxide Ink in Mermaid Lagoon.  I dried between the three layers of ink to create different variations in color.

    Once I got a look I was pleased with I added some white splatter with the Distress Oxide Picket Fence re-inker.

    While that dried I gathered some silver glitter card stock to use for the snowflake die.  What I love about this die is that it is so versatile.  This die is a set of 3, but I only used one die, Layer A.  Look at what you get with one die cut!

    You can create 3 different looks!  I can only imagine how beautiful this die would look with the other two layers.

    I die cut out the two inner pieces of the snowflake a few times.  I wanted enough to fill my card panel which measured 5 1/4″ x 4.”

    I then glued all the snowflake pieces to my card panel once the white splatter was dry.  I die cut out the Peace Script Die out of some light blue and white card stock.  I then added some foam tape for dimension and attached my sentiment.  I added fun foam to the back of my panel and adhered it to my card base.

    I love these layering dies so much.  One layer can create such a beautiful card. Hope you enjoyed today’s card!

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  • Holiday Release Blog Blitz Winners

    Thanks so much for joining us for our Holiday Release Blog Blitz!  We really enjoyed showing you projects made with the new dies, and can’t thank you enough for your positive comments!   We hope you’re inspired to make some beautiful things of your own!

    Congratulations to the winners selected at random from the comments left on each post!   All winners have been contacted via email so Check your Inbox!!

    Date Post  Prize Winner
    8/23/2018 Jeanne’s Post 57185 Prism Triangle Collage Melissa
    8/24/2018 Eloise’s Post 57189 Metro Triangle Collage Lori
    8/25/2018 Janette’s Post 57126 Kaleidoscope Layer A Andre M.
    8/26/2018 Jennifer’s Post 57170 Radiant Ornament Layer A Yvette White
    8/27/2018 Tracey’s Post 57182 Splash Layer A Dana M
    8/28/2018 Alicia’s Post 57187 Aurora Layer B Mary Holshouser
  • Blog Blitz Day 5 | By Alicia Havranek

    Blog Blitz Day 5 | By Alicia Havranek

    Welcome to the final day of the blog blitz!  I am honored to be part of the Birch Press Design team and excited to bring you my very first post using some of their amazing products.   For today’s card I used the beautiful Aurora Layering Dies featuring Big Friends Sugar Script Die and Best Friend stamp set.

    To create this card, I first chose some coordinating colors to use with the Aurora Layering Die.  I then die cut each layer and adhered the layers together with wet adhesive.  While those dried I used the same card stock to die cut out the friend die.  I chose to use black card stock for part of my sentiment so it popped and stood out among the softer colored card stock.  This part of the sentiment came from the Best Friend stamp set.  I used white embossing powder to heat emboss my sentiment, trimmed it, and then added some foam tape to give my sentiment strip some dimension.

    Before adhering everything down to my card base, I took some white card stock and cut it down to 5 1/4″ x 4″ to create my card panel.  Even though my card base is white, adding a white panel gives it a clean and professional look.  I then adhered all my layers and sentiments to my card panel.  I purposely had the Aurora Layering Die hang off the edge of my panel.  Before adhering my panel to my card base, I took a deep breath and trimmed the pieces of the Aurora die that were hanging off the panel. I added some foam tape to the back of my panel and adhered it to my card base which measures A2 size (5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″) to complete the card.

    I hope you found some inspiration today!  Here are the details on the Blog Blitz and how you can win Layer B of the Aurora Layering Dies by commenting on this blog post.

    The blog blitz runs from August 23-28. We’ll be giving away a prize on every blog blitz post during this time. To enter to win you need to leave a comment on ONLY the posts that you wish to enter. To enter ALL the posts during the blog blitz you need to leave a comment on EACH ONE. One person will be chosen at random from each of the posts during the blog blitz. Only one prize per person per blog blitz. We use random number generator to select winners from comments. You have until midnight US EST August 31 to leave a comment on each and every post that you want to enter. Winners will announced on this blog on September 3. Good Luck!

     

     

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  • Blog Blitz Day 4 | by Tracey McNeely

    Blog Blitz Day 4 | by Tracey McNeely

    Welcome back to another day of the Birch Press Design Holiday Release Blog Blitz! Today I am introducing the new Splash mandala layer dies.
    I will be using Splash Layer ASplash Layer BSplash Layer C, the Triangle Fade craft die and the new Best Friend clear stamp set for my card.
    If you remember back last week when I creted a stencil using the new Triangle Fade craft die HERE. I kept my stencil and used it again for my card today. This time I sponged Spun Sugar Distress Ink over the stencil for a pretty background for my mandala.
    The last time I used the stencil I had used Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide ink, because Distress Oxide doesn’t completely dry without heat setting, when I sponged the pink over the stencil it actually blended the inks together creating a beautiful pinky/blue colour. I love it when happy accident’s like this  happen!
    The Splash layers were cut with pink, aqua and light aqua cardstock and then adhered together to create a beautiful mandala. The mandala was adhered to the centre of the card over top of the soft stenciling. The hints of stenciled design through the opening of the mandala are such a lovely design element.
    The sentiment “You Are Simply the Best” is from the Best Friend clear stamp set. There are so many mix and match possibilities with this set.
    Now onto the giveaway details. The prize today is the Splash Layer A that was used on my project today. It’s beautiful die with lovely lines and can be used to cut, stencil or emboss with. The Blog Blitz is running from August 23rd to August 28th, so make sure you leave a here on this post and also be sure to check out all the other Blog Blitz posts, there is a different prize every day. Comment by August 28th then and winners will be announced on September 3rd. Good luck!
    Thank you so much for stopping in today and don’t forget to pop back in tomorrow for another Blog Blitz post. Have a wonderful day!

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  • Blog Blitz Day 3 | by Jennifer Svare

    Blog Blitz Day 3 | by Jennifer Svare

    Hello!  So glad you are joining the Blog Blitz today!  The prize that will be chosen randomly from comments left on today’s post is the very versatile Radiant Ornament Layer A.

    The layers from the ornament set are full of stunning detail with endless possibilities; however, this Christmas card uses only the negative space from the die’s Layer A.

    Any of the layers would work to create a negative space, but the Layer A also comes with the silver ornament cap which was cut from silver cardstock.  I love the embossed pattern it creates along with the cut.

    The different die sets can work together in unique ways. The snowflake design inside the ornament comes from the center cuts layered from the Issa Snowflake Layer A and Layer C.  So many ways to use these dies.

    Inside is the Merry Christmas die cut from the gorgeous Sugar Script words.  I love the simplicity and versatility of these gorgeous fonts.  There’s still plenty of room below to write a personal message.

    Check out the video below for a quick tutorial of how I made this card, and don’t forget to leave a comment for your chance to win The Radiant Ornament Layer A!

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