Category: Contour Layers

  • Using Mood Boards for Inspiration | by Colleen Balija

    Using Mood Boards for Inspiration | by Colleen Balija

    Hi friends! I love to use mood boards for my card inspiration. Mood boards can provide a new and unique way to use color, texture, and design on your cards! Mood boards can be found easily, too, by googling them or by searching Instagram, which is how I found the one that I’m using for my card today!

    What inspired me with the mood board above are the colors of green, teal, yellow, and white, the texture from the vases and pillows, the flowers, and the beautiful throw rug with daisies on them! So, from this mood board I have color, texture, and a design layout for my card! Now, let’s apply all of this to the card, shall we? This is where your own imagination comes into play! How will you use the elements from the mood board?

    For my card, I decided to use Flora Layering Plates to imitate the throw rug in the mood board, using shades of dark green, teal, and yellow. The throw rug didn’t have teal in it, but I loved the teal in the vases, so I decided to incorporate it into the Flora layers. I also love how the Flora Plates have texture in them, another feature I noticed in the mood board!

    Next, I wanted to add an element to my card that was similar to the white vase in the mood board, so I die cut a rectangle and then ran it through my die cut machine with one of the Flora Plates layers to add texture. I adhered it over the Flora background.

    Now it was time to add flowers, but the flowers in the mood board were mainly white and I wanted mine to have color to help them pop a bit from the busy background, so I used the colors from the pillows in the mood board for my flowers.

    Using Wispy Blooms Contour layers die, I die cut both flowers in white and then ink blended them in shades of yellow and coral. I used a dark green for the stem. Then I hot foiled the “Just a Note” Sugar Script Sentiment over white cardstock. I adhered the flowers in the corner over the white rectangle and applied the sentiment over the flowers to create a cluster in the lower corner.

    I finished with Fairy Jewels over the flowers just within the center of the white rectangle to bring the eyes to the center of the card.

    Here is one more look at the mood board so you can see how I used the elements on my card! Next, I want to create a background similar to that piece of furniture! I’ll share that with you at another time!

    I hope that you were inspired today to search for mood boards (you can search “mood boards” or “color mood boards”) and use them on your cards to bring them from average to WOW!!!

     

    Supplies

     

     

    JWL005 Christmas Fairy Jewels

     

     

    57506 Wispy Blooms Contour Layers

     

     

    57503 Sylvan Berries and Leaves Contour Layers

     

     

    BPF503 Sugar Script Sentiments 1 Hot Foil Plate and Die Sets

     

     

    57437 Flora Plate Layer Set

     

  • Rainbow Hello | by Toni M Maddox

    Rainbow Hello | by Toni M Maddox

    Hello, Birch Press fans! Toni here with you today sharing a card that’s perfect for PRIDE month or any occasion really.

    I cut out a bunch of the Jovial Blooms & Leaves Contour Layers in Copic-friendly cardstock and colored them up with a bunch of bright colors. I thought about sponging but really wanted bright.

    I adhered those to the bottom of the card front which I had cut from the Pinpoint Radial Plate. The curves of that reminded me of a rainbow. I added a few clouds and sentiment from the Rainbow Days (with dies) set with the bold Sugar Script Big Hello on top.

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

    Supplies

    57502 Jovial Blooms and Leaves Contour Layers

    57384 Pinpoint Radial Plate

    57201 Big Hello Sugar Script

    8159 Rainbow Days Lingo Notes clear stamp and die set

  • Happy Birthday Butterfly | by Rosemary Dennis

    Happy Birthday Butterfly | by Rosemary Dennis

    Hello! Today I have a clean and simple mini slimline birthday card to share. I used the Star Flowers Contour Layers dies along with the Glimmer Butterfly layers dies and sentiments from two different stamp sets.

    For this card I decided to use the Memory Box white woodgrain cardstock. The only thing I didn’t use it for was the card base! I die cut the the A and C layers of the Glimmer Butterfly from the woodgrain cardstock. The middle (or B) layer was die cut from vellum. I then used to shades of coral ink to ink up the centers of the top and bottom layers. Darker coral on the bottom and light coral on the top. When I had the color to my liking I used liquid adhesive to adhere the butterfly only in the center.

    I then created the flowers. All the layers were die cut from the woodgrain cardstock and then I added the darker coral to the second layer. There is a flower center die, but I decided to not use it this time. I layered the flowers and then added a fairy gem to the center of each flower that had a peachy tint to it. To make sure that the gems stayed in place I added a drop of liquid adhesive to the center of each flower.

    A piece of the woodgrain cardstock was trimmed to fit the mini slimline cardbase and then adhered with double sided adhesive tape. The large flower was added to the center of the butterfly with a drop of liquid adhesive. Once everything was dry I adhered the elements to my card front using liquid adhesive. Now it was time to determine where to place the sentiment on the card front.

    The sentiment on the card front comes from the Contempo Greetings stamp set. I decided to keep it soft my stamping it in a light gray. I then die cut it with the label die from the matching die set. I played around a little with where to place the sentiment and finally settled on the top. I added thin foam squares to the back and then nestled it into the wings of the butterfly. I don’t generally create a sentiment for the inside of the card, but for this card I did.

    The reverse side of the woodgrain cardstock is smooth and perfect for stamping on. I trimmed down a piece to fit the inside of the card and then stamped the sentiment from the Kind Hearts stamp set using the light gray ink. This piece was then added with double sided adhesive.

    I hope you enjoyed today’s project. Have a wonderful day!

    Supplies

    D2

    57505 Star Flowers Contour Layers

    CL8160 Contempo Greetings clear stamp set

    CL8163 Kind Hearts clear stamp set

    57429 Glimmer Butterfly Layer Set

  • Father’s Day Card | by Allison Frazier

    Father’s Day Card | by Allison Frazier

    Hello, Birch Press friends! Today, I am sharing a Father’s Day card using the predictable plaid paper but adding in some unexpected floral elements. I admit that, when it comes to making masculine cards, I almost always reach for plaid paper. In my defense, I love plaid, too! Especially when it’s part of a plaid paper pad from Memory Box. I decided to add in some non-traditional elements to this card by adding florals and a heart. After all, men like flowers, too! My husband and his father are avid gardeners. Without him, my yard would be full of plastic plants because this girl does not have a green thumb!

    I started my card by picking out my plaid paper. This particular piece is from the Woodsy Plaid paper pad, which I don’t think is available anymore. But, Memory Box always has some great plaid pads every season, so there is plenty to choose from. I trimmed that plaid paper down to 4″ x 5.25″, and then I used one of the dies from the Banner Heart Layer Set to cut the heart out. Any of the layers would work, since you’re just cutting the outline of the heart out. I then popped this plaid panel up on foam tape and attached it to a white panel before adhering it to my dark gray card base.

    Next, I went through my stash of floral dies to find the perfect ones that would frame the heart opening. I chose the Sylvan Berries and Leaves Contour Layers set. I cut the berries out of two shades of purple card stock, and I cut the leaves/stems from two shades of green card stock. I assembled all of the pieces with liquid glue.

    For my sentiment, I cut the Love Honey Script from black glossy card stock. I cut two additional layers out of white card stock to layer behind the black one in order to give it more dimension and stability. I left enough room between the outline of the heart and the foam tape so that I could tuck the ends of the stems behind the opening. I added liquid glue in some strategic spots so that I could also have some of the leaves and berries loose and dimensional. I added small pieces of foam behind various spots of the “love” sentiment and glued the rest of it to the plaid panel. I stamped the “you, dad” subsentiment from my stash and added that to the panel, as well. The original stamp says “I love you, dad” – I just masked off the beginning of it when I stamped it.

    To finish the card, I added some clear fairy drops around the floral elements. I hope this card puts a smile on your face and inspires you to perhaps start adding florals to your masculine cards, too! Thank you so much for joining us today.

    Wishing you a crafty day,
    Allison


    Supplies


    57503 Sylvan Berries and Leaves Contour Layers
    57510 Banner Heart Layer Set
    57311 Love Honey Script
    sp1003 Lush Green 6×6 pack
    sp1008 Twilight Purple 6×6 pack
    sh44004 Black Glossy Paper

    Supplies


    cld101 Clear Fairy Drops
  • Tranquil Thank You | by Toni M Maddox

    Tranquil Thank You | by Toni M Maddox

    Hello, Birch Press fans! Toni here with you today sharing a rather tranquil thank you card. Such a calming, spa-like color palette, don’t you agree? I don’t use a lot of blues but, man, this combo is one I love.

    I started the card by cutting out the BPD Dazzle Mini Frame Layer A in a sturdy white cardstock and adhering it to a linen textured card front.

    I cut the Sylvan Berries & Leaves as well as the Jovial Blooms & Leaves Contour Layers out of Memory Box Stormy Blue 6×6 Paper and kraft cardstocks.

    For the sentiment, I used the Thank You Noted Script Hot Foil Plate & Die with Spellbinders White Glimmer Hot Foil. It’s very subtle, both in coloring and nestled amongst the leaves.

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

    Supplies

    57502 Jovial Blooms and Leaves Contour Layers

    57503 Sylvan Berries and Leaves Contour Layers

    57406 Dazzle Mini Frame Layer Set

    BPF511 Thank You Noted Script Hot Foil Plate and Die Set

    sp1006 Stormy Blue 6×6 pack

  • Thank You | by Rosemary Dennis

    Thank You | by Rosemary Dennis

    Happy Memorial Day to everyone here is the US! I hope you are having a relaxing day with your loved ones and remembering all those who gave their lives for our amazing country! Appropriately I am sharing a thank you card today. This one features the Sprouting Crocus Contour Layers dies, as well as the Thank You Noted Script hot foil plate and die set.

    I started out my card by deciding that I wanted to do a little simple watercoloring. I have several different watercolor mediums, but recently rediscovered some color burst powders that I had bought years ago. I decided to use them for the watercoloring. It is a simple process to create the panels that I used. Simply wet watercolor cardstock, tape on a small amount of the powder and then spread the color around with a wet paintbrush. Once you have the color depth you want, dry the cardstock and die cut.

    This photo shows the colors I used along with the panels after I had die cut all the part of the flowers. I assembled all the flowers using liquid adhesive and then moved onto foiling the sentiment. For this I used matte gold foil and white cardstock. I foiled several sentiments so I will have some for later use.

    Since I love using the layering dies for embossing my backgrounds I used the Cora Layer A die to emboss some watercolor cardstock. I just love the letterpress look you get from using the thicker watercolor cardstock for embossing. (Again, my sandwich is the die cutting platform, one cutting plat, the embossing mat, cardstock, the die cutting side down and a few shims.) After embossing the background I die cut the panel with a rectangle die. This will flatten the embossing a bit, but it still looks nice.

    Now it is time to arrange all my flowers. I used liquid adhesive to adhere the flowers first and then added the sentiment using a combination of thin foam squares and liquid adhesive where needed. I then added my panel to a white cardstock base using strong double sided adhesive strips.

    Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely, lovely day!

    Supplies

    D2

    BPF511 Thank You Noted Script Hot Foil Plate and Die Set

    57523 Sprouting Crocus Contour Layers

    56121 Cora Layer Set

  • Stretch Your Dies | by Allison Frazier

    Stretch Your Dies | by Allison Frazier

    Hello, Birch Press friends! Today, I am sharing a couple different methods that will enable you to stretch the use of your dies. You can use each method separately, or you can do what I did, and use them both on the same card. The best part is that it results in a bonus card! You can’t beat a 2 for 1 technique, right? All you need to get started is a background die. My cards feature the Flora Plate Layer Set.

    The first thing that I did was to use Plate C from the Flora Plate Layer set to emboss a piece of lavender card stock. It’s really easy to emboss your card stock with a die instead of cut it – you just need the rubber embossing mat and embossing plate for your die cutting machine. You place your card stock on top of the rubber mat and then place your die on top, cutting side down. It’s a really fun way of creating texture on your card stock.

    Embossing with a die is the first way I stretched the use of my Flora plate. The next method is just as easy. Simply cut a piece of white card stock using the die in the traditional way and then use it as a stencil! Specifically, I used it as a stencil to color the embossed panel that I created with the first method. I just put the white die cut panel on top of the lavender embossed panel and secured it with tape in a couple places so it wouldn’t move. It’s really easy to line up the die cut pattern with the embossed pattern, since they’re the exact same. I used two shades of purple to ink blend over my “stencil,” going from a lighter color in one corner to a darker color in the other corner. Once I was finished, I used a purple alcohol marker to color the center of each embossed flower on the panel. I also added a dot of white gel pen to enhance the dotted pattern around each flower

    To decorate the front of this card, I created three flowers using the Phlox Blooms and Leaves Contour Layers set and the same lavender card stock that I created my panel with. I inked up the edges of the flowers and the flower interiors with the same two colors of ink that I used to stencil the background. For my sentiment, I foiled the “You Are Loved” hot foil plate with purple foil. I added a clear fairy drop to the center of each flower.

    Instead of discarding the panel that I had used as a stencil, I used it to make a bonus card. I used my purple inks to smooth out the ink blending that I had already done when I used it as a stencil. I adhered the panel to a white card base and then hot foiled another sentiment. This time, I used the Hello Sugar Script hot foil plate and die, along with silver hot foil. Once I hot foiled the sentiment onto white card stock, I then took the foil remnant and hot foiled that using a solid hot foil plate. That is why the silver foil is on the outside, and the word itself is white. I added a sub-sentiment from my stash.

    To finish my bonus card, I added a clear fairy jewel to the center of each flower on the panel. Just to recap – the purple die cut panel on the top card in the image above was used to stencil the embossed panel on the card pictured behind it. I love how these turned out, and I hope they put a smile on your face. Thank you so much for joining us today!

    Wishing you a crafty day,
    Allison


    Supplies


    57437 Flora Plate Layer Set
    57507 Phlox Blooms and Leaves Contour Layers
    bpf509 You Are Loved Noted Script Hot Foil Plate and Die Set
    bpf501 Hello Sugar Script Hot Foil Plate and Die Set
    sp1007 Vibrant Violet 6×6 pack

    Supplies


    jwl001 Clear Jewels
  • Remember to Treasure | by Rosemary Dennis

    Remember to Treasure | by Rosemary Dennis

    Hello everyone! I have a soft pastel card to share today that I created with glitter papers from the Memory Box Delicate Pastel Glitter pad and many different Birch Press Design dies. Let’s get started!

    Birch Press Designs has so many wonderful layering dies and I just love going through them and finding ones that can also be used for embossing. As I was working on my idea for the card I flipped through my dies and came across the Arista layering set. I took one look at Layer B and knew immediately that I wanted to use it to emboss the background. I just love all the detail that is embossed into the background. (The embossing sandwich that works for me is my the diecutting platform, one cutting plate, a tan embossing mat, cardstock and die with the cutting side placed against the mat and a few cardstock shims.) I also knew that I wanted to use the Mixed Berry Contour Layers dies and the Simple Dragonfly Contour Layers. The Phlox Blooms and Leaves Contour Layers are so pretty and work wonderfully with the other dies.

    I die cut the flowers and leaves using white cardstock for the bases and then a sugary pink from the Delicate Pastel Glitter pad to the top layer. A pretty yellow from the pad was used for the flower centers. The glitter portion of the leaves were die cut from a light yellowy-green and layered on. I used yellow for the berry stems and a lighter pink for the berries. The above photo shows the general idea of the layout.

    The base of the dragonflies were die cut from white and the layers from glitter papers. Going to be honest and tell you that when I started to put the dragonflies I got confused as to what layers went where. I got a bit frustrated with myself, but eventually I got them put together correctly. I used pink glitter paper for the small dragonflies and the larger one is a pretty light peach color. I used a sentiment from the beautiful Kind Hearts stamp set. It was heat embossed on vellum using silver embossing powder so it was stand out against all that white.

    I cut the vellum into a strip and then wrapped part of it behind my panel and secured it with liquid adhesive. After that side had dried I secured the other side with liquid adhesive, as well. Then I started adding all the flowers, leaves and berry stems. The large flowers were popped up with thin foam squares. Everything else was adhered with liquid adhesive making it easy to tuck them into place. I finished with the dragonflies.

    If you have yet, I hope you will look through your Birch Press Design layering dies and find ones that can be used to emboss the background of your projects. I think you will just love the look! Thanks for stopping by!

    Supplies

    D2

    CL8163 Kind Hearts clear stamp set

    57507 Phlox Blooms and Leaves Contour Layers

    57418 Arista Layer Set

    57527 Mixed Berry Contour Layers

    57487 Simple Dragonfly Contour Layers

    GP1001 Delicate Pastel Glitter Pad

  • Kind Heart | by Toni M Maddox

    Kind Heart | by Toni M Maddox

    Hello, Birch Press fans! Toni here with you today sharing a simple thank you card using one of my favorite colors combos, aqua blue and kraft.

    I cut out the Wispy Blooms as well as the Sylvan Berries and Leaves Contour Layers in white and kraft.

    I then sponged the Wispy Blooms and the Simple Butterfly with just a touch of Distress Oxide Peacock Feathers (I think Salvaged Patina is a great substitute).

    I stamped the Kind Hearts sentiment in black then framed it with the greenery (blue-ery?).

    I added a few stems from the Sprouting Crocus Contour Layers in kraft to fill in a bit.

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

    Supplies

    57506 Wispy Blooms Contour Layers

    57503 Sylvan Berries and Leaves Contour Layers

    57523 Sprouting Crocus Contour Layers

    57490 Simple Butterfly Contour Layers

    CL8163 Kind Hearts clear stamp set

  • Colorful Floral Cluster | by Allison Frazier

    Colorful Floral Cluster | by Allison Frazier

    Hello, Birch Press friends! Today, I am sharing this card featuring a cluster of layered florals. There are so many amazing floral dies in the Birch Press collection, and I used a lot of them today! I love using a dark background – I think it provides a really dramatic pop.

    I started my card by creating the layered roses first. For each of the roses, I chose three different shades of card stock for the layers. I used the Dainty Rose and Leaves Contour Layers set to create the yellow and orange roses. I used the Morning Rose and Triple Buds Contour Layers set to create the large pink rose. I used this same set and two shades of pink card stock for the buds and one shade of green card stock for the stems.

    For the orange flowers, I used the Star Flowers Contour Layers set. I used two shades of orange card stock, as well as yellow for the center of the flowers. For all of the leaves, I used two die sets – the Jovial Blooms and Leaves Contour Layers and the Tiny Tuft Flowers and Leaves Contour Layers. Once I had all of my dies cut, I assembled the layers with liquid glue and then started arranging everything onto a dark brown A2 card base.

    Once I was happy with the arrangement, I started glueing elements down, starting with the leaves and any other elements that were going to go behind something else, such as the smaller orange flowers and the pink buds. Once I got to the top elements, I used a couple different thicknesses of foam tape to adhere the orange and yellow roses. I heat embossed my sentiment with gold embossing powder. This sentiment comes from the Lingo Thanks Stamp Set. Before adhering my sentiment to the card, I splattered the whole thing with white acrylic paint.

    For a final touch, I added some fairy jewels to the center of the large, pink rose. I love how it all turned out! 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


    57493 Morning Rose and Triple Buds Contour Layers
    57499 Dainty Rose and Leaves Contour Layers
    57502 Jovial Blooms and Leaves Contour Layers
    57505 Star Flowers Contour Layers
    57501 Tiny Tuft Flowers and Leaves Contour Layers
    cl8143 Lingo Thanks clear stamp set
    sp1001 Berry Red 6×6 pack
    sp1002 Sunny Orange 6×6 pack
    sp1003 Lush Green 6×6 pack

    Supplies


    jwl004 Autumn Fairy Jewels