Category: Christmas

  • Jingle Bell Poinsettia | by Rosemary Dennis

    Jingle Bell Poinsettia | by Rosemary Dennis

    Hello, friends! Rosemary here on the blog today sharing a Christmas card I created using the new Splendid Poinsettia Contour Layers die set. I love poinsettias both real and paper crafted varieties! One of my favorite varieties of poinsettia is the one my local nursery calls “Jingle Bell”. The bright red leaves of this variety are splashed with white. Sometimes you get lots of white on the leaves and sometimes a little less. In case you are wondering why I am referring to them as leaves it is because that is in fact what they are… leaves or the more correct term bracts. The actual flowers on the poinsettia are very tiny and yellow. For my yellow “flowers” I used yellow Fairy Jewels.

    I die cut all the pieces from smooth bristol cardstock and then ink blended the red leaves with Lumberjack Plaid and Aged Mahogany distress oxides and the green leaves with Pine Needles distress oxide. I went with a heavier hand when applying the Pine Needles to the bottom layer of the leaf and a lighter hand for the top to get the variation I wanted.

    I let the red pieces dry for a little bit and then I placed them in my splatter box and splattered them with white gouache that I watered down a little bit. I think I should have used white acrylic paint because my white splatters turned a little pink, but that is okay as it still provides the look I was going for.

    Once everything was dry I adhered all the pieces together using liquid adhesive. I did not glue the pieces together completely, but only at the base of each leaf so I could get a bit of extra dimension. Liquid adhesive was used to adhere all the layers together, as well. When the adhesive was set I used my fingers to give all the leaves a slight curve for even more dimension. Now it was time to create a background. I looked through my layering dies as I had thought I would use one for my background, but then I saw the Pinpoint Snowflake die set and thought that using the die portion that embosses the pinpoint snowflake would be perfect.

    I die cut a piece of white cardstock with a Memory Box rectangle die and then placed the pinpoint snowflake on the left handside and ran it through my die cutting machine. I was going to stop there, but decided to add the snowflake in other areas. Before doing that I did stop to stamp the sentiment from the Glad Tiding stamp set on the white panel with black ink. I then added the additional embossing. I adhered the poinsettia to the panel, added the three fairy jewels and adhered the panel to my white card base with double sided tape.

    I hope you enjoyed today’s card and learned a little something about poinsettias. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

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  • Smooshed Ornament | by Toni M Maddox

    Smooshed Ornament | by Toni M Maddox

    Hello, Birch Press fans! Toni here with you today with a holiday card featuring the Revello Ornament Layering Dies. I’m a huge fan of Birch Press ornament dies and was thrilled to work with this one.

    This set is the 3 layering dies only. If you want a solid base for the ornament you can pair it with the Ornament Basics die set like I did or fussy cut one for yourself. Ornament hangers are also included or you can find a fancy scored one in the Radiant Ornament set.

    The ink-smooshed panel was made using Distress Oxide Picked Raspberry, Mustard Seed, Cracked Pistaschio, and Peacock Feathers. I used two of the three layers (A and C) so that more of my smooshed panel would show.

    I used a glitter cardstock from my stash for the bottom layer of the ornament as well as for the Merry Christmas letters. I then adhered the lot onto Epiphany Layer A mounted on the card base.

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

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  • Warmest Wishes | By Natasha Vacca

    Warmest Wishes | By Natasha Vacca

    Hello Crafty Friends, I am excited to be back up on the blog today to share a vintage feel holiday card with you! For today’s card I am using 2 of the latest dies: Jolly Holly Contour Layers and Revello Ornament. Let’s get started!

    I started by die cutting the Revello Ornament using white card stock. I die cut each layer (A, B, and C), then adhered them together with liquid glue. Next I die cut the Jolly Holly Contour Layers using the Memory Box paper pads: Lush Green and Berry Red.

    Once the leaves and the berries were die cut, I added distress oxide inks to each layer. I used several colors for each, then added water droplets to the leaves and picked up some color using a paper towel. Once all the layers were dry, I adhered them together with liquid glue and set them aside to dry. I also die cut the bow and ornament topper from the Christmas Ornament Pop Up Easel die set. I heat embossed the bow using a weathered gold embossing powder.

    Next I started to work on my background using a piece of Wood Grain Paper in the color Cream. I used distress oxides to create a vintage inspired background. Once I was done inking the background I used my deckle trimmer to cut down the panel. I then distressed the edges using my distress tool and distress ink.

    I completed the card by adhering the wood grain panel onto an A2 card base. I then adhered the leaves, berries, ornament, bow and topper using a combination of liquid glue and foam tape. I also added a piece of gold twine for the ornament. I completed the card using a sentiment from the Glad Tidings stamp set.

    I had a lot of fun creating today’s card and I hope you enjoyed it! I’ll be back soon!


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  • Merry Christmas | By Sandhya Iyer

    Merry Christmas | By Sandhya Iyer

    Hello, my dear friends! Welcome back to another card post from me, Sandhya. For today’s card, I used the Aurora Snowflake Layering die set and the Merry Christmas Sugar Script die. I used some shimmery sprays to add to the magical appeal of my holiday card.

    I started by die-cutting all three layers of the Aurora Snowflake dies out of watercolor paper. Next, I picked out Bachelor Button Blue and Galactic Teal Starburst sprays from. Lindy’s Gang. I placed the Snowflake Layer B and a larger piece of watercolor cardstock on my craft mat and sprayed away. The trick to getting interesting layers is to alternate colors and dry the layers between spraying.

    I then trimmed the watercolor piece into a card panel measuring 3.75″x5″. Next, I die-cut the Merry Christmas work out of the remaining inked panel. For the outline, I used watercolor cardstock.

    Next, I adhered the 3 snowflake layers together and adhered it to the inked panel. I added the sentiment below that with some foam tape. I also added a few gems to the snowflake for more bling.

    Finally, I attached the completed panel to an A2 card base. I made the card base also with watercolor cardstock so it matches the white and texture on the sentiment outline. While it is hard to see the shimmer in the pictures, this card is a lot more shiny and attractive in real life.

    This brings us to the end of today’s post. Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope to be back soon with more new card ideas.

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  • Holiday Hugs | by Allison Frazier

    Holiday Hugs | by Allison Frazier

    Hello, Birch Press friends! Today, I am sharing this beautiful holiday card featuring the new Splendid Poinsettia Contour Layers Set. This set makes such a unique poinsettia, and I knew that I wanted to make a green one to make it even more unique.

    I started my card by embossing a light blue piece of card stock with the Gracious Floral 3D Embossing Folder. I then took a brayer and some blue ink and ran the brayer over the embossed, raised edges of the floral design. I took the same ink and blended around the edges of my panel. I finished the panel by inking up the corners in an even darker blue ink.

    There are two dies in the Splendid Poinsettia Contour Layers Set. I used one to cut some light green card stock, and the other one (which cuts the bottom pieces) to cut a darker shade of green card stock. I glued the lighter pieces on top of the darker pieces, and then I took a blending tool and inked up the edges with green ink. This just gives the edges a little bit of definition when layering. For the leaves, I only used the bottom pieces, and I ink blended those with a dark green ink. I glued the poinsettia layers onto my panel, right where the large flower is in the Gracious Floral design, making sure to only glue the center. I then tucked the leaves underneath. I also tucked some berries in the design – these come from Layer A of the Forest Canopy Layer Set.

    Before adding a sentiment, I splattered everything with some white acrylic paint. Once that was dry, I could add my sentiment and finish the card. I chose the new Holiday Hugs Vintage Sentiment. I cut the shadow from white card stock and the detail layer from red card stock. For a final touch, I scattered some clear Fairy Drops around the design.

    I hope this card puts a smile on your face and inspires you. Thank you so much for joining us today.


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  • Plaid Three Ways | by Toni M Maddox

    Plaid Three Ways | by Toni M Maddox

    Hello, Birch Press fans! Toni here with you today sharing a trio of holiday cards with the same basic layout but totally unique looks.

    The first card I made used a warm red-toned plaid from the Memory Box Christmas Plaid 6×6 pad. I cut that down to fit on a card base with a tiny margin around the edges then added the Glad Tidings sentiments on a rectangular diecut.

    I used Distress Oxide Mowed Rustic Wilderness, Lumberjack Plaid and Aged Mahogany to color up the Jolly Holly diecuts. Super easy, right?

    The next card was a surprise to me in that the Memory Box Christmas Plaid paper is double-sided and I had intended to use the other side when it occurred to me that the black and white checks would make a fabulous modern holiday card background.

    I cut out the Jolly Holly from black and silver and added the red berries, again sponged in Distress Oxide Lumberjack Plaid and Aged Mahogany. I drew a black line beneath the sentiment to add to the modern feel.

    My last card uses the reverse of the above black and white checks. Such a completely different look with the more traditional plaid and a swag using a few Oval Leaf Branches with the Jolly Holly diecuts.

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

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  • Christmas Ornament | by Rosemary

    Christmas Ornament | by Rosemary

    Hello everyone! Rosemary here on the blog today sharing a card that I had a lot of fun creating using some new and old Birch Press Design products. Take a look at what I created.

    I started off my card by creating my ornament. I used the new Revello Ornament Layer dies to cut my layers from Memory Box Glitzy Glitter cardstock in red and white cardstock. I used the layering ornament from the Christmas Ornament Pop Up Easel die set to die cut the backer from additional red glitter cardstock. I adhered all the pieces with liquid adhesive and then placed an acrylic block on top while it dried. I die cut the bow from green cardstock and the ornament top from white and adhered those with liquid adhesive, as well.

    The I set about creating my holly and berry cluster using the new Jolly Holly Contour Layers die set. As I die cut the two green cardstocks I used I wasn’t sure I would like how they looked layered together, but I really like the contrast that was created. I die cut the berries from red cardstock and the top layer from the same red glitter cardstock. I layered everything with liquid glue and set aside to dry.

    For the background panel I decided to die cut some white woodgrain cardstock with a Memory Box Rectangle Frames die. I wanted a little more texture in the panel so I used the Layer A from the Herbarium Plate layering set to emboss the panel. The look is very subtle, but I like how it turned out. I then inked up the edges of the panel with Old Paper distress ink. I tried to capture the additional texture that was added in the photo below. If you look at the top corner you can see the embossing.

    I needed a branch for my ornament to hang from so I used the leafy branch from the Hillside Branch and Bramble Contour Layers die set. I die cut the branch from kraft woodgrain cardstock and the leaves from the same light green cardstock I used for the holly and the berries from the red glitter cardstock. I layered up everything and then got to building up my card. I finished with a sentiment from the new Glad Tidings stamp set. I stamped the sentiment with black in on a piece of the white woodgrain cardstock that I flipped to the smooth side, die cut the piece and then inked the edges with Old Paper distress ink. I adhered the branch with liquid adhesive and then popped up the ornament and sentiment with foam tape.

    I hope my card inspires you to pull out your Birch Press Design Christmas/holiday products and create some cards! Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day.

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  • Poinsettia Blues | by Toni M Maddox

    Poinsettia Blues | by Toni M Maddox

    Hello, Birch Press fans! Toni here with you today with a glorious holiday card. Isn’t the Splendid Poinsettia die set absolutely stunning?!

    It was so easy to create this detailed bloom using Distress Oxide Salvaged Patina, Peacock Feathers and Uncharted Mariner with just a touch of Mustard Seed on the stamen. Gor-ge-ous!

    For the card base I added a layer of double-sided tape then carefully positioned the Herbarium Plate Layer A on top. I then burnished Doodlebug Design Lily White Glitter into the openings with my finger. It’s messy to apply but the tape secures the glitter really well.

    I glued down the poinsettia next (love it so much!), tucking in a few Oval Leaf Branches Contour Layer sprigs among the leaves.

    I added the rather retro Holiday Hugs sentiment, opting to use only the outline so some of the glitter would show throught. You can’t have too much glitter!

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

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  • Rustic Poinsettia | By Natasha Vacca

    Rustic Poinsettia | By Natasha Vacca

    Hello Crafty friends! I am excited to be back on the blog today sharing the beautiful new Splendid Poinsettia Contour Layer dies. I had so much fun creating a rustic inspired holiday card, so let’s get started!

    I started with the beautiful Poinsettia die and the Berry Red paper pack from Memory Box. I chose 2 shades of red and pink paper from this pack. I cut the Poinsettia using both colors of paper. I then die cut the leaves for the Poinsettia using the Lush Green paper pad from Memory box. Once all the parts were die cut, I wanted to add more dimension using inks.

    On my die cuts I used a combination of distress oxide inks, as well as dye inks. I ink blended the layers for the flower and leaves until I had the dimension and colors I was looking for. I added water droplets to each layer and picked up some color using a paper towel. I then added white splatter to each layer using a paintbrush and allowed them to dry.

    Once all the splatters were dry, I adhered the Poinsettia and leaf layers together using liquid glue and foam tape. Next I chose a background from my stash. I chose a colorful background from my gelli prints to use as a focal point behind my Poinsettia. I then trimmed about a 1 inch rectangle from the Cream Woodgrain Paper Pack. I distressed the edges using my paper trimmer and my distress tool. I then inked up the woodgrain paper using distress oxide inks.

    Next I adhered the gelli print panel to an A2 card base. I adhered the 1 inch strip of wood grain on the left side of the card panel. I then adhered the Poinsettia and leaves using liquid glue.

    I completed the card using the Find Joy and Outline sentiment. I had previously made the top layer using green paper and added texture using heat embossing. I die cut 2 more layers for added dimension. Once all the layers were adhered, I added this to my card front. I added a few gems from the Fairy Dewdrops in Christmas Fairy.

    I had so much fun creating today’s card and I hope you enjoyed it too! I will be back soon with more crafty inspiration!


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  • Blue Holly | by Allison Frazier

    Blue Holly | by Allison Frazier

    Hello, Birch Press friends! Today, I am sharing a holiday card using some non-traditional colors for the foliage. In my world, leaves are blue! This card features the Jolly Holly Contour Layers set, as well as the Forest Canopy Layer Set.

    I started by cutting the Forest Canopy Layer B from some light brown card stock. I snipped the two main branches away from the frame and then snipped all of the brown flowers off the branches.

    Using the Jolly Holly Contour set, I cut the bottom and top layers out of two shades of blue card stock. I adhered the layers together with liquid glue. I cut the berries and their shadows from the Forest Canopy Layer A and glued those together, as well.

    I cut a panel of Woodgrain card stock to fit an A2 card base and then I ink blended the edges with Stormy Sky and Faded Jeans Distress Ink. I glued the brown branches to the card panel, followed by the blue holly leaves. Some of the berry branches were still intact from when I cut the Forest Canopy Layer B, but I did cut a few more from the Layer A die with light brown card stock. I glued the berries to the panel and then I added in some of the brown leaves that I had initially snipped off at the beginning of the project. I splattered the panel with white paint.

    For my sentiment, I used the Find Joy and Outline die set. I cut the words from white card stock twice, glueing the two layers together. I then took Vintage Photo Distress Ink and inked up the edges of the letters. I cut the outline from vellum and popped the whole sentiment up on some thin foam tape.

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


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