Category: Contour Layers

  • Mixed Media with Dies and Pattern Paper | Natasha Vacca

    Mixed Media with Dies and Pattern Paper | Natasha Vacca

    Hello Crafty friends, it is Natasha here and I am excited to be back today! Today I am sharing a gorgeous new die in the Birch Press Collection – Wiegela Leaf Contour Layers! I paired this with a few other favorites for a fun mixed media style card! So let’s get started!

    I started with the Wiegela Leaf Contour Layers die set. I die cut 2 leaves using the new Greenery Solid Core Cardstock pack! I love these new pads! Once the leaf was die cut, I added Distress Oxide Inks to each layer of the leaf for added texture and color! I used: Pine Needles, Chipped Sapphire, Twisted Citron, & Ground Espresso. Once the inking was completed I added water droplets and picked up the color with a paper towel. Next I added Foundry Wax to sections of the leaf in the color Statue. I also darkened the edges of the leaves with a dye ink in brown. I then adhered these together with liquid glue and set them aside to dry.

    Next I die cut the butterflies using a leftover background I recently made using inks. I die cut 3 butterflies using Simple Butterfly Contour Layers. I added Foundry wax to the antennae as well for added texture. I also inked up the edges of the butterfly and adhered the layers together with liquid glue. I set these aside to work on my background.

    For the background I chose a few pieces of pattern paper from the Anemone Grove paper pad. I trimmed one panel to a bit smaller than an A2 card base. I then used my deckle trimmer on the edges for a worn look. I then tore a couple other pieces and adhered them to the left side of the panel. Next I applied White gesso to the panel in sections using a small paint brush and then a brayer. I apply the gesso in several directions for added texture. Next I added a few pieces of text washi tape on the panel. I then added ink blending to sections using Distress Oxide in Seedless Preserves.

    Next I added splatter to my pattern paper background. I used a combination of black, white, and gold splatters. Once the panel was dry I adhered the pattern paper background to my A2 top folding card base. I then adhered the leaves and butterflies to my card front. I chose a birthday sentiment from the new Greeting Tabs from Memory Box – I love these so much!!!!! I love the black with foil lettering, there are several to choose from!

    Thanks so much for stopping by today! I will be back soon with more crafty inspiration!


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  • You Are The Best | by Rosemary Dennis

    You Are The Best | by Rosemary Dennis

    Hello everyone! Rosemary here on the blog today with a bright and sunny card I made using the new Perky Bloom Contour Layers, Wiegela Leaf Contour Layers and Sugar Script Sentiments 2 products. I also used the Pinpoint Contour Plate and papers from the new Memory Box Sunrise and Greenery 6×6 cardstock pads.

    I don’t often use yellow cardstock as I don’t have alot of it and most of the shades I have don’t really coordinate. That is a thing of the past with the Sunrise cardstock pad! The yellows in the pad coordinate perfectly! I went through the pad and pulled out the ones I wanted to work with and die cut the various layers from each. The Perky Bloom die is one piece so after diecutting I did have a few extra pieces that I didn’t need for my flower. I just simply tucked those inside the packaging the die comes in for future use! I used a combination of liquid adhesive and thin foam squares when I put together my flower. The leaves were simply adhered together using liquid adhesive.

    I used a Memory Box arched die to cut the white panel. The arch is only on one side of the side so to create the second arch I simply flipped the arch to the other side and die cut that portion of the panel. I then laid the panel on the Pinpoint Contour plate and ran it through my die cutter. This panel was adhered to a panel of yellow cardstock that I die cut with a rectangle using foam tape for dimension. I like how the arched panel fits perfectly inside with just the ends showing the yellow peeking out!

    Now it was time to add the flower and leaves to the panel. I glued down the leaves and then added the flower I made sure to only add glue to the center of the flower so I could slip in the thin foam squares when I wanted to to provide dimension and lift to the flower petals. The last thing to do was foil the sentiment. I used matte gold foil and my hot foil machine. I foiled all the sentiments in the Sugar Script Sentiments 2 set as I wasn’t sure which one I wanted to use. I settled on “you are the best”. I used the die for the sentiment to cut additional layers from scrap cardstock and adhered them to the sentiment with liquid adhesive. The sentiment was then added to the card also using liquid adhesive. I had some yellow nuvo drops that I added to the tips of the stamen for a little more dimension.

    I hope you enjoyed today’s card. I had a lot of fun creating it! Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

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  • Easter Crocus | by Allison Frazier

    Easter Crocus | by Allison Frazier

    Hello, Birch Press friends! I am excited to be back on the blog today sharing the new Floral Cross Layer Set. This is a beautiful set of three layering dies, which also includes small florals. I decided to change things up by using a different floral set – the Sprouting Crocus Contour Layers.

    I started by die cutting all of the pieces from both die sets from white card stock. I also used the Pinpoint Contour Plate with a piece of white card stock for the background. I inked up the edges of this background with light blue Distress Ink. I then inked up the floral die cuts with Distress Inks. For the Cross, I inked up the middle layer with yellow ink and the outline layer with light blue ink.

    I started assembling the card by glueing the solid cross layer onto the card panel. I then glued the thin blue outline layer around the cross. It’s better to glue the solid piece first because the outline layer is very delicate. I then glued the other two layers of the cross on top.

    I cut a small piece of card stock with the lower portion of the Pinpoint Contour Plate and I fussy cut just above the pierced curve. After coloring this piece with green Distress Ink, I added it to the bottom of the card with foam tape. I then tucked the various Crocus flowers under this little grassy hill that I created.

    To finish the card, I added a sentiment from my stash and a small sprinkling of fairy drops. I hope this card brings a smile to your face! Thank you so much for joining us today.


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  • Pink Petal Egg | by Crystal Komara

    Pink Petal Egg | by Crystal Komara

    Hello friends and happy Fri-YAY! I hope you have fun things planned for the weekend ahead. This is DT member Crystal Komara here with you sharing some Easter inspiration using the beautiful Petal Egg Layering set. This is one of my go-to dies for many spring themed cards. For other Easter inspiration using this same layering die set, please check out these ideas here and here. If you’re looking for more Easter inspiration using alcohol inks too (like today’s card) then you’ll love this pair of cards in purple too!

    Card details:

    The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. On a 5 1/4″ x 4″ piece of Yupo polysynthetic paper, I created the background using magenta alcohol ink. Once that background dried, I adhered it directly to the card base. To create the egg, I die cut Layer A (the top layer) from white cardstock. I die cut Layer B (the middle layer) from a light pink cardstock. I die cut Layer C (the bottom layer) from a darker pink cardstock. I adhered all three layers together with a fine-tip liquid adhesive. Then I adhered the entire egg to the card using 3M foam adhesive.

    I stamped the sentiment “peace” in Versamark ink on dark pink cardstock. I heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder and then fussy cut the sentiment out. This sentiment is from the Glad Tidings stamp set. I also added butterflies surrounding the egg. The butterflies are from the Simple Butterflies Contour Layering dies. I die cut the butterflies from the same dark pink and white cardstock. The bodies/antenna of the butterflies was die cut from black cardstock.

    Easter falls really early this year on March 31st. I’ll be back later this month with more Easter inspiration to share! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

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  • Shimmery Birthday | by Allison Frazier

    Shimmery Birthday | by Allison Frazier

    Hello, Birch Press friends! I am excited to be back on the blog today. I have been busy lately making some backgrounds with shimmer powders and decided to use one today. What better way to show off a new hot foil plate, right? This happy birthday sentiment is from the new Sugar Script Sentiments 2 hot foil plate and die set. I have always been such a huge fan of the Sugar Script sentiments, and I love how they’re now available as hot foil plates!

    I started with one of the shimmery backgrounds that I made recently. This panel is the result of several colors of shimmer powders and lots of water spritzing! I cut the panel with the Pinpoint Contour Plate and then trimmed it down even more to be 4″ x 5.25″. I put some thin foam tape on the back of the panel and adhered it to an A2 card base.

    I used the Curved Leaf Branch die to cut some watercolor paper, and then I used some pink and yellow shimmer powders to lightly color the branch. I adhered this to the panel with liquid glue, making sure not to adhere the actual leaves down. I love the dimension this creates!

    I hot foiled the sentiment onto white card stock using pink satin hot foil, and I love how it came out! I love satin/matte hot foil, but don’t be fooled – it still has shimmer to it when the light hits it!

    To finish the card, I scattered some fairy crystals and drops around the branch. I hope this card brings a smile to your face! Thank you so much for joining us today.


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  • A Gift For You | Dilay Nacar

    A Gift For You | Dilay Nacar

    Hello crafty friends! Dee here, excited to share a vibrant floral card featuring the stunning Large Cosmos Contour Layers. I started by cutting two Forest Canopy Layer Dies, one in white and the other from a green ink-blended panel. After rotating the green, I blended parts of the white into it before adhering.

    Next, I cut the Large Cosmos Contour Layers and ink-blended the edges with a vibrant purple, centering with yellow and green. I attached it over the leafy panel using foam adhesive squares.

    To complete the look, I added a simple sentiment strip from my stash and mounted the finished piece onto a top-folding card base.

    Thanks for joining me today, friends! 


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  • Rose Bunch in Blue | by Crystal Komara

    Rose Bunch in Blue | by Crystal Komara

    Hello! Happy Friday friends! I hope you have great things planned for the weekend ahead. This is Design Team member Crystal Komara and I’m very excited to share today’s card with you in my favorite color – blue! This card uses lots of beautiful products from Birch Press Design including the Rose Bunch Contour Layering Dies, Mixed Berry Contour dies, Just a Note Noted Script Hot Foil plate and Rose Leaves Contour Layers! Continue reading to learn how I created this very detailed card:

    I’m not going to lie, putting the Rose Bunch Contour Layers together is the most cumbersome part of this card and it truly irritated me a little, but the end result – is SO worth it!

    Card details:

    The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I then adhered a 5 1/4″ x 4″ piece of bold blue cardstock directly to the card base. I then began cutting two sets of the Rose Bunch Contour Layers from three different colored blues cardstocks. (Please see the end of this post where I have pictures of how I die cut these pieces and assembled them). Once the flowers were assembled, I then assembled the leaves using a light green cardstock and a green glitter cardstock. (Again, there are additional photos at the end of this post. )

    I assembled the Mixed Berry Contour dies using gold glitter stems and two different colors of blue cardstock for the berries. This was just a lot of gluing of little tiny pieces!

    I adhered the leaves to the card first and then layered the roses on top. Once everything was situated where I wanted it, I peeled off the backing of the tape and pressed it all firmly into place. I splattered the entire card with a little gold paint. Lastly I heat embossed the sentiment using the Just a Note Noted Script hot foil plate. I used gold foil on white cardstock. I adhered the sentiment to the lower right side of the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

    Here are the closeup photos of how I die cut the roses and then assembled them:

    Step 1: Cut base from bold blue cardstock
    Step 2: Cut contour layers from another color blue
    Step 3: Begin to adhered the contour layers together
    Step 4: Assemble the Rose Leaf Contour Layers

    When it all comes together, this card is just simply beautiful and worth all the piece work of those contour layering dies! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

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  • Mixed Media Tag | by Rosemary Dennis

    Mixed Media Tag | by Rosemary Dennis

    Hello everyone! Rosemary here on the blog today. Hope everyone had a lovely Valentine’s day. I did as I got several things that I love! Today I’m sharing a tag that I created using several different techinques. I used the new Early Blossom Contour Layers dies, as well as the Simple Dragonfly Contour Layers dies and the layer A of the Herbarium layering die set. I had a lot of fun creating this tag!

    I started off by spraying my premade cream colored tag with the spray stains that you see in the photo: Speckled Egg, Antique Linen and Lost Shadow. I sprayed on each stain individually and then spritzed the tag with a little bit of water. I didn’t want too much movement of the colors. I did dry the tag a bit with my heat tool in between each layer of color. Once I had the background to my liking I set it aside to fully dry.

    As the tag dried I got to work on my flowers and dragonflies. I die cut them from white cardstock and used a grip mat to hold all the pieces in place while I blended on the inks in a color family that moves from the light pink to a more reddish color for the flowers and dragonflies. The leaves were inked in two shades of green. I used liquid glue to adhere all the pieces together. While they were drying I moved onto the next layer for the tag.

    I have a small jar of Solar Paste in the color Golden Hour and I thought it would look perfect with the background on the tag. I used the A plate from the Herbarium set to create a stencil and then added the embossing paste. I was right that the embossing paste would look nice with the background. I just love how it turned out. As the tag was drying I decided to custom color some chunky white twine I had using two of the spray stains. I used Speckled Egg and Antique Linen for the twine.

    Once the paste was dry I began adding all my elements to the tag. I must admit that I was a little worried that the pinks in the flowers wouldn’t play well with the background colors. But as I added the flowers to the tag I realized that the colors worked perfectly! I finished off the tag with the sentiment the Sugar Script Sentiments 1 set and the twine. I had previously hot foiled it on cream woodgrain cardstock and so it worked perfectly with the tag. The tag is large enough that in the future I can turn it into a card!

    I hope you enjoyed learning how I made my mixed media tag. Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

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  • Early Blossom | By Natasha Vacca

    Early Blossom | By Natasha Vacca

    Hello Crafty Friends! I hope you had a great weekend! I am excited to be up on the blog today sharing a new release from Birch Press Designs with you – the beautiful Early Blossom Contour Layers die set! I love florals and these dies make it so easy to create with! So let’s get started!

    I started by die cutting the florals using Hammermill white card stock. I then ink blended each of the layers using a combination of dye inks. Once all the inking was complete, I adhered each of the layers together using liquid glue.

    Next I started to work on the background tag for my floral die cuts. I started with a pre-made tag then added papers and collage paper to the tag. I used the Anemone Grove Paper pad, as well as collage paper from my stash. I ripped pieces of paper for a distress look, then adhered them with collage medium. I allowed this to dry, then inked up the background using Distress Oxide Inks. I used: Antique Linen, Pumice Stone, Peacocks Feathers, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, and Mustard Seed. I layered these on, as well as splattered with water droplets for added texture.

    Next I added Translucent Crackle Paint to sections of the tag, allowed this to dry, then applied Distress Crayons over the top of the crackle paint. I also added some paper glaze to sections for added texture. I then added splatters to the tag using black and gold. I then adhered all the layers together using liquid glue and foam tape. The wood grain paper paper in the center of the tag is from Memory Box and it is in the color cream. I applied ink and sponging to the paper for added texture.

    I chose a pre-made sentiment from my stash and adhered this to my tag as well. I darkened the edges of the tag using Distress Ink in Ground Espresso using a blending tool, as well as additional texture using a sea sponge. The tag was completed with twine for the top, as well as lace and a button.

    I had a lot of fun putting this together! I encourage you to use your pattern paper in new ways to add texture to your card bases and backgrounds too! Thanks so much for stopping by today! I will be back soon!


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  • Sending Love | By Natasha Vacca

    Sending Love | By Natasha Vacca

    Hello Birch Press friends, I am excited to be back up on the blog today sharing a fun and easy card using the Banner Heart Layering die set! So let’s get started!

    For today’s card I started with the Banner Heart Layering die set. I die cut layer A and C using white card stock. I then die cut layer B using the Festive Glitter paper pad. For the glitter layer I chose a dark blue shade from the paper pad. I then ink blended layer A and C using Distress Oxides. I used a combination of Distress Oxides: Saltwater Taffy, Picked Raspberry, Seedless Preserves, Shaded Lilac, and Villainous Potion. Once the layers were ink blended I set these aside to dry.

    Next on layer B, I wanted to add a bit more texture to the glitter paper pad. I used a combination of paper glaze, as well as embossing powder! I love the texture this provides. Once the other heart layers were completely dry, I added Gilded Foundry wax to sections of the heart. I then adhered all the heart layers together using liquid glue.

    Next I chose a gelli print from my background stash and dry embossed the background using the Ringadings embossing folder from Memory Box. I then applied white pigment ink to sections of the folder and ran it through one more time. I like this effect and the random texture this provides the dry embossed background. I allowed the ink to dry, then trimmed the panel using my paper trimmer for my card base.

    I completed my card by stamping a sentiment from the Contempo Greetings stamp and die set. I stamped the sentiment in purple, trimmed using the coordinating die, then applied foundry wax and ink on the edges as well. I then adhered the card panel, heart, and sentiment to my card base.

    Thank you so much for stopping by today! I will be back soon!


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