Birch Press Design

Category: Allison Frazier

  • 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
  • Make Your Patterned Paper Shine

    Make Your Patterned Paper Shine

    Hello, Birch Press friends! This card has been in my head for awhile now, and I finally made it. I love plaid for the holidays, so I really wanted to incorporate some of this beautiful paper from the Christmas Jolly paper pad.

    I started by choosing which paper from the Christmas Jolly pad to use. I knew that I wanted to angle the paper on my card base, so I found a pattern that worked perfectly for that. I made sure to carefully trim it at the top so that it was even with the angled lines in the design. I then adhered it to a white A2 card base and added a thin strip of glossy black card stock to divide it from the white space.

    Next, I die cut the layers for the Meridian Ornament. I used white card stock for Layer C, black glossy card stock for Layer B, and Gold for Layer A. I also traced the shape of the ornament onto a piece of red card stock, fussy cut that out, and adhered it to the back of the ornament so that it showed through the cutouts in the white layer. I love how the gold layer enhances and pulls your eye to the thin, shiny lines of gold foil in the plaid paper.

    For the ornament topper, I used the die from Set A of the Radiant Ornament Layer Set. For the sentiment, I used the “joy” from the Find Joy and Outline set. The words are connected in this die set, but I simply cut them apart and made the “j” into a lower case j. I used a tiny round die from my stash for the “tittle” (dot) over the j. Don’t be afraid to alter your die cuts to fit your designs!

    To finish my card, I added some flat gold discs to the centers of the red floral design in the ornament and then added black gems on top of those. I also added some gold thread through the ornament topper.

    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


    57470 Meridian Ornament Layer Set
    57452 Find Joy and Outline
    sp1001 Berry Red 6×6 pack
    fp1002 Vintage Pastel Mirror Pad 6×6 pack
    SH44004 Black Glossy Paper

    Supplies


    pp1019 Christmas Jolly 6×6 pack
    jwl004 Autumn Fairy Jewels
  • You Are Loved | By Allison Frazier

    You Are Loved | By Allison Frazier

    Hello, Birch Press friends! Have you seen the new products that were recently added to the online shop? I am featuring two of them today – the “Banner Heart” Layer Set and the “You Are Loved Noted Script” Hot Foil Plate/Die.

    This new layering heart set is just gorgeous. And, of course, it will look different every time you change up the colors. My color choices were based on the background that I created. Have you ever tried alcohol ink marbling? It’s really easy and a lot of fun. And the best part is that you never really know what you’re going to end up with. All you do is put some water in a shallow dish, add a few drops of alcohol ink, and then dip your paper in. Once you pull the paper back out, you’ll be amazed, and you’ll also be torn as to which side to use!

    For layers A and C of my Banner Heart, I chose some regular colored card stock. For layer B, I chose a beautiful aqua pearl card stock – it has a matte sheen. I also cut layer C from white card stock and kept the entire piece intact by taping the back side of it. By keeping the negative and positive pieces together, it creates a solid back which you can then adhere all of the other layers on top of.

    For the sentiment, I used Skybright hot foil, which is a pale aqua color. I love how there is a matching die for this hot foil plate. After adhering the heart and the sentiment to my card panel, I finished up by adding some jewels. The Winter Fantasy Fairy Gemstones were the perfect colors for my design.

    Thank you so much for joining us today. I hope this card inspires you and bring a smile to your face! Be sure to check out the other new products in the online store.

    Wishing you a crafty day,
    Allison


    Supplies


    57510 Banner Heart Layer Set
    BPF509 You Are Loved Noted Script Hot Foil Plate and Die Set
    sp1008 Twilight Purple 6×6 pack
    sp1006 Stormy Blue 6×6 pack
    fp1002 Vintage Pastel Mirror Pad 6×6 pack

    Supplies


    gem102 Winter Fantasy Fairy Gemstones
    jwl001 Clear Jewels
  • All Is Bright

    All Is Bright

    Hello, Birch Press friends! I have a pair of cards to share with you today featuring the gorgeous Crochet Snowflake Layer Set. One of the great things about using a layering die set is that you can easily and quickly make more than one card in one sitting!

    I started by cutting two card stock panels to 4″x5.25″ – one in navy blue and one in lime green. I lined up the Crochet Snowflake Layer C die in the middle of each panel to cut out the snowflake. I adhered each of the resulting panels (with the cutout in the middle) onto a white A2 card base. I then adhered the green snowflake onto the navy card panel and the navy snowflake onto the green panel, lining up each snowflake into the exact position as the cutouts in the panels. In order to enhance the look of dimension on my cards, I only glued the very center of each snowflake onto the card panel. This way, the edges of the snowflakes pop up from the background.

    For Layer B, I made a white glitter snowflake for my green card and a white foil snowflake for my navy card. I adhered only the center of these snowflakes right on top of the center of the Layer C snowflakes.

    For Layer A (the top snowflake), I used a navy glitter card stock for my navy card and a lime green mirror card stock for my green card. Again, I only adhered the center of each of these snowflakes on top of the Layer B snowflakes.

    The Layer C snowflake die creates some fun cutout designs in the card panel. You won’t see these on the actual snowflake – you’ll only see them if you end up using the panel that you cut the snowflake from. I added a mix of jewels and gemstones to the round cutouts of the design, again choosing colors that would complement my cards. I finished the cards with a heat embossed sentiment from the retired stamp set called “Joy and Peace.”

    Thank you so much for joining us today. I hope these cards inspire you and bring a smile to your face!

    Wishing you a crafty day,
    Allison


    Supplies


    57474 Crochet Snowflake Layer Set
    gp1006 Festive Glitter Pad
    fp1003 Rainbow Reflections Mirror Pad 6×6 pack
    sp1003 Lush Green 6×6 pack
    sp1006 Stormy Blue 6×6 pack

    Supplies


    cry102 Christmas Fairy Crystals
    gem102 Winter Fantasy Fairy Gemstones
    jwl003 Bright Jewels

  • Be Merry Wreath

    Be Merry Wreath

    Hello, Birch Press friends. Happy November! The holidays are getting closer and closer, and there is no better time to start making those holiday cards. Of course, I love making them all year round. The most recent release is full of holiday fun. But I wanted to show you how to use some non-holiday products and turn them into a festive card.

    I started my card by dry embossing Layer C of the Flora Plate die set onto the front of a Kraft A2 card base. This is one of my favorite ways to create unexpected texture for a background. I then looked through my collection of Contour Layers die sets for the perfect leaf to create a wreath with. There are many floral sets with great options, but I chose the leaf from the Tiny Tuft Flowers set.

    I chose four different colors of green card stock and die cut a bunch of leaves. I then began arranging them in a circle to get an idea of placement and size. I originally was going to use a word die for a sentiment, but I decided to use the round “be merry” stamp for the center of the wreath. I heat embossed it onto Kraft card stock with red embossing powder and cut it out with the matching circle die. I adhered it to the card panel, and this gave me the center point to build my wreath around.

    There are three sets of leaves that are attached to branches, and I started by glueing the full elements down to form the wreath shape. As my wreath got more full, I would snip individual leaves off to fill in as needed.

    For the berries, I used the Eucalyptus Stem and Berries die set, which is now retired. Again, these berries come attached to a branch (I believe there are seven berries on the branch), but I cut them into smaller bunches or even single berries as needed. When I was finished, I splattered the entire card with some white acrylic paint, making sure to cover the stamped sentiment with some washi tape first.

    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


    57501 Tiny Tuft Flowers and Leaves Contour Layers
    8162 Contempo Christmas Greetings clear stamp and die set
    57437 Flora Plate Layer Set
    sp1001 Berry Red 6×6 pack
    sp1003 Lush Green 6×6 pack
  • Just a Note

    Just a Note

    Hello, Birch Press friends! Today I have just a note for you. But this is not just your average note – this one is hot foiled! I love all of the new hot foil plates, and when you pair them with rainbow foil, you can create some instant and simple magic.

    I started my card with an A2 sized panel of smooth white card stock. I hot foiled it using the String Art Frame plate and rainbow foil. So easy and so amazing! When you turn the panel around in the light, it catches all of the different colors of the rainbow. While I had my hot foil machine on, I also hot foiled the “just a note” sentiment using Aura hot foil. This hot foil color is also magical because it looks gold from straight on, but when it catches the light, it brings out the colors that are around it. I love that this sentiment has a matching die. I cut out a couple extra layers of white card stock with the die, so that I could stack the sentiment for dimension.

    There is a center circle in the String Art Frame design where you can place the focal point of your card. This allows for so many different design options. I chose to use the interior circle of the Epiphany Plate Layer Set, and I cut each of the three layers out of white card stock. I also cut a plain circle out of white card stock that I placed behind the layers.

    I cut the hot foiled panel down to 4″x5.25″ and adhered it to a purple A2 card base. To ground my central element, I cut a larger circle out of purple glitter card stock and then mounted the Epiphany layers and the sentiment on top of that.

    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


    bpf503 Sugar Script Sentiments 1 Hot Foil Plate and Die Sets
    bpf510 String Art Frame Hot Foil Plate and Die Set
    56098 Epiphany Plate Layer Set

    Supplies


    gp1002 Graceful Garden Glitter Pad
  • Masculine Snowflake

    Masculine Snowflake

    Hello again, Birch Press friends! Allison here, and today I’m sharing a masculine holiday card. It seems like many of us often struggle when it comes to making masculine cards. My solution is usually to find a good plaid, or to pick some darker colors and go with a clean and simple design. In this case, I did both!

    I started with the gorgeous new Adornment Snowflake die. I cut the shadow/solid layer from gold foil card stock. I cut the detailed layer from a grayish-blue color (twice to give it a bit of dimension), and then I offset it when I adhered it to the gold layer so that it gave my snowflake twelve points instead of six. There are so many ways that you could adorn this snowflake, but I chose to keep it simple for this card.

    This plaid paper is so gorgeous – it has very thin gold foil stripes in the design. I cut the panel down so that I could leave a little margin of my Kraft card base showing, and then I glued the snowflake to the center. I only glued the center of the snowflake – that way, the points can lift up for dimension. I gold heat embossed the sentiment onto navy card stock and cut it out with the matching die.

    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


    57483 Adornment Snowflake
    8162 Contempo Christmas Greetings clear stamp and die set
    sp1006 Stormy Blue 6×6 pack

    Supplies


    pp1018 Woodsy Plaid 6×6 pack
    fp1001 Polished Foil Pad pack
  • Jolly Santa

    Jolly Santa

    Hello, Birch Press Friends! Allison here, and I’m sharing a fun card with you today featuring a couple new products from the most recent release. Isn’t that little Santa the cutest?

    The first thing I did was create the wreath with the new Holly Wreath Plate Layer set. I used mint and aqua colored card stock for Layers B and C and white card stock for Layer A. I then cut a panel of the mint color to just under 4.25″x5.5″, so that there would be a small white border when mounted to an A2 card base.

    I took a plain circle die and cut a circle in the mint card panel where I would be placing my wreath. I then temporarily positioned this panel on my white card base and cut the same circle from the front of the card base so that the holes would line up, and you can see straight through the wreath into the inside of the card. I popped the panel up on foam tape and adhered it to the card base, and then I glued the wreath over the circle opening.

    Next, I prepared my Santa using the Santa Face die set. I cut everything from a piece of white card stock and then I ink blended color onto his face, nose and hat with Distress Inks. I used a black glaze gel pen for his eyes. I assembled him with liquid glue and then positioned him in the center of the wreath, glueing him to the INSIDE of the card. That way, when you open the card, the Santa is part of the inside design, as well. The sentiment that I chose for the inside comes from a retired Birch Press Design stamp set called Joy and Peace.

    For the main sentiment, I chose the Jolly Sugar Script die. I cut both the shadow and word from white card stock, and then I ink blended the word with the same Distress Ink that I used for Santa’s hat (Worn Lipstick). I glued the sentiment onto the bottom of the wreath – it kind of looks like a bow! I finished the card by adding some jewels to the wreath where the berries would go.

    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


    57451 Santa Face
    57450 Holly Wreath Plate Layer Set
    57301 Jolly Honey Script
    sp1004 Fresh Aqua 6×6 pack

    Supplies


    jwl002 Pastel Jewels
  • Glitter Herbarium

    Glitter Herbarium

    Hello, Birch Press Friends! I am happy to back with you today sharing another new product. I can’t stop making holiday cards, and the new Herbarium Layer Plates make it so easy to create stunning cards.

    I used several shades of teal card stock for this card. Instead of using all of the layer plates, I used just the A Layer. I cut the A Layer out of both a regular piece of card stock and a piece of glitter card stock. I offset the glitter piece behind the regular piece and adhered them together with liquid glue. I then glued those to an A2 card base made from another color of teal card stock.

    I took the glitter holly leaf shapes that were leftover from die cutting and placed them back into their spots, but I popped the tip of them up on foam dots to create some dimension. I covered the berry-shaped holes with some red Fairy Crystals.

    I used the Big Joy Sugar Script die for the sentiment, cutting the shadow from the teal glitter card stock and the main word from white card stock. To bring in some more white, I added some white dots all over the design with a white paint pen.

    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


    57458 Herbarium Plate Layer Set
    57164 Big Joy Sugar Script
    GP1006 Festive Glitter Pad
    sp1004 Fresh Aqua 6×6 pack

    Supplies


    cry102 Christmas Fairy Crystals
  • Rainbow Gilded Grace

    Rainbow Gilded Grace

    Hello, Birch Press Friends! I am thrilled to be back with you today sharing a few of Birch Press Design’s new products. Are you ready for some sparkle and shine?

    I started with the gorgeous Gilded Grace Hot Foil Plate set. There are actually two plates in this set, along with a die that cuts the bigger circle. I foiled both plates onto smooth white card stock with gold foil using my hot foil machine. The results, even before coloring, are just gorgeous! But, there are matching stencil sets that help you color the design. There is one set of stencils for the “outside” design (what you see in blue and green on my card) and another set of stencils for the “inside” design (what you see in yellow and pink on my card). These stencils line up with the two different hot plates that come in the set. I used both for my card.

    I started by planning which colors would go where. I wanted a rainbow design, so working my way out, I determined that green and blue would be the “outside” colors. So, I used that stencil set to color the main panel. I did have to be a little careful towards the bottom when I was working on the two different colors, but it was fairly easy to keep them separate by using small blending brushes. I used three different shades of each color, as there are three layering stencils in each set.

    Before coloring the “inside” colors on the panel that I foiled the big circle on, I used a circle die to cut out the inner circle (where you see pink on my card). This made it easier to keep the pinks and yellows separate while ink blending. When I was finished ink blending the yellow piece, I also cut that out with a circle die. I was then able to give dimension to both of these circles by stacking additional circle dies behind them before glueing them onto the main panel. I just love the results of adding that dimension!

    I used some pink paper from the Vintage Pastel Mirror Pad to gold heat emboss the sentiment, which comes from the Rainbow Days Lingo Notes stamp set. I then cut it out with a small circle die and glued it to the center of the pink blended design. I finished the card by adding some fairy jewels in matching colors to tiny circles in the foiled design.

    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


    BPF512 Gilded Grace Hot Foil Plate and Die Set
    42035 Gilded Grace Outside Stencil Set
    42036 Gilded Grace Inside Stencil Set
    fp1002 Vintage Pastel Mirror Pad 6×6 pack
    cl8159 Rainbow Days Lingo Notes clear stamp set

    Supplies


    JWL005 Christmas Fairy Jewels
    JWL004 Autumn Fairy Jewels