Category: Contour Layers

  • 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
  • Jovial Birthday Wishes | by Rosemary Dennis

    Jovial Birthday Wishes | by Rosemary Dennis

    Wow, can you believe it is already the end of April? Where is the time going?! Today I’m sharing a card that was inspired by my other favorite crafting pursuit: cross-stitching. Before I started paper crafting I was an avid cross-stitcher, but I injured my shoulder and stitching became hard to do so I gave it up. Last summer I was inspired to start stitching, again, and discovered that it didn’t bother me as much as it had… yay! And that leads me to the card I’m sharing today. I had started stitching a chart using a warm orange floss and that got me to thinking about the colors I wanted to use for a card I would be making using the new Jovial Blooms and Leaves Contour Layers dies. I know it is spring, but I just love warm autumnal colors and that is where we are going, lol

    I started by die cutting all the flowers that I thought I would need for the card. Once I had everything die cut I put washi tape on the back of the panels to keep the pieces in place and did some simple ink blending using distress inks in Spiced Marmalade, Wild Honey and Ripe Persimmon. The flowers with three layers I used all three colors and for the flowers with only two layers I used Ripe Persimmon and Spiced Marmalade. I also splattered on some water to give the pieces a bit of a distressed look. Then I adhered all the layers together. I was so intent on getting my flowers put together that I completely forgot to add the stamens! Oops!

    Once I had the flowers assembled I did a little bit more splattering using some black paint. At this point I pulled out the Birthday Wishes Sugar Script die set and die cut the top layer from Memory Box Open Studio glossy black cardstock. That cardstock is amazing! I love how thick and substantial it is. I die cut the shadow layers, inked them up with Wild Honey distress ink, and then splattered on water and black paint. I cut additional words out of scrap cardstock and adhered them to the glossy black words for additional dimension.

    Once I had all my elements assembled and ready to go I die cut a piece of Memory Box Open Studio cream woodgrain for the background. I played around with the layout for quite sometime before finally settling on the layout you see.

    I finished off the card with lots of little warm yellow and orange Open Studio fairy jewels. I did something I don’t normally do and created the card base from woodgrain cardstock. This time I used Memory Box Open Studio kraft woodgrain cardstock and I really like how it looks.

    I hope you are inspired by my little trip to autumn. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day!

    Supplies

    D2

    57502 Jovial Blooms and Leaves Contour Layers

    57438 Birthday Wishes Sugar Script

    SH44002 Cream Woodgrain Paper

    SH44003 Kraft Woodgrain Paper

    SH44004 Black Glossy Paper

  • Prime Peony Hello | by Crystal Komara

    Prime Peony Hello | by Crystal Komara

    Hello readers! Now that spring is officially here (oh but wait, is it??) Oh well, I declare spring IS here! Let’s celebrate with all things floral. This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here with you today sharing this hello card made using the Prime Peony Duo Contour Layers.

    Card details:

    The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I cut a 5 1/4″ x 4″ piece of the same Neenah White cardstock and ran it through my Big Shot using the Blooming 3D embossing folder from Memory Box Co. (a sister company of Birch Press Design). I adhered this embossed background directly to the card base. Next, I die cut a large oval from white cardstock.

    To create all the peonies, I die cut the various layers of the Prime Peony from different colored pink cardstocks and then using the image provided, I was able to assemble them (with only limited curse words!) Trust me, I’m not proud of my less-than patience.

    After adhering all the peony pieces together I adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly, for the sentiment, I used the Big Hello Sugar Script die. I die cut just the top layer (not the shadow layer) from white cardstock. I cut this layer three times and them on top of each other before adding them to the card.

    I hope you have enjoyed this card! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

    Supplies

    57504 Prime Peony Duo Contour Layers

    SP1001 Berry Red 6×6 pack

    57143 Hello Sugar Script

  • Focal Point Buds | by Toni M Maddox

    Focal Point Buds | by Toni M Maddox

    Hello, Birch Press fans! Toni here with you today sharing a spring-theme card using the Delicate Floral Buds Contour Layers.

    I found a piece of my cardstock in my stash with a circle cut out of it (why did I cut it from the middle?!) and thought it would make a great focal background for the buds.

    I layered it on top of a scrap piece of aqua cardstock then added the Herbarium Plate Layer A in white on top of that.

    I cut the Delicate Floral Buds Contour Layers from white cardstock which I colored up with Copics R01 and R14. The leaves are cut from Lush Green 6×6 Cardstock.

    For the sentiment I used the Sugar Script Sentiments 1 Hot Foil Plate along with Therm O Web Gold Hot Foil and the Pinkfresh Studio Solid Hot Foil Plate. The latter allows you to use your hot foil leftovers, creating a solid version of the design.

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

    Supplies

    57492 Delicate Floral Buds Contour Layers

    BPF503 Sugar Script Sentiments 1 Hot Foil Plate and Die Sets

    57458 Herbarium Plate Layer Set

    SP1003 Lush Green 6×6 pack