Birch Press Design

Category: Contour Layers

  • A Card and a Tag | by Rosemary Dennis

    A Card and a Tag | by Rosemary Dennis

    Hello friends! Hope everyone here in the United States had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends! Christmas will soon be upon us and I am here for it. I love Christmas! As my blog title indicates, I am sharing a card and a tag. Let’s have a look.

    You can just see the tag tucked down in the right corner of this photo. When I originally started my card I wasn’t going to make a tag, but decided to create one with the center pieces that were left over when I die cut the Tranquility Layer dies for my wreath.

    I wanted a wreath to layer the Forest Leaf and Berries Contour Layers die cuts on, but thought it would be fun to use something other than one of the stem and berry die sets. I settled on the Tranquility set because the center piece is separate from the outer more wreath like piece. My color scheme came from the patterned paper that I pulled from the Memory Box Jolly Christmas 6×6 pad. I die cut the plaid piece with a rectangle die and adhered it to the card front. The wreath was die cut from burgundy, dark green and gold metallic cardstocks and adhered together with liquid glue. I used the dark green and the burgundy to die cut the leaves and berries for the little swag I added to the wreath. Some distress collage medium was added to parts of the leaves and berries and then I added distress rock candy glitter. Everything was set aside to dry.

    Initially I hadn’t intended to use the center pieces that resulted when I die cut the Tranquility layers, but decided I couldn’t let them go to waste. I created my little tag using a small arched rectangle die and cut the same plaid paper. I also die cut a piece of the burgundy cardstock with the same die and then adhered it to the back of the patterned paper one with liquid glue. A whole was die cut in the top to add the ribbon and gold twine. I used the Holiday Hugs Vintage die set to die cut the sentiment from the patterned paper and gold metallic cardstock. They were adhered together and attached to the tag along with the center medallion. I finished with a red fairy jewel to the center of the medallion and the dark green ribbon/twine combo.

    For the card I die cut the Merry Christmas Vintage die set from the patterned paper and gold metallic cardstock and layered them together with liquid glue. All the other pieces were dry so it was time to layer everything on the card front. Everything was adhered in place with liquid glue. Because of where I placed the sentiment I did have to use some small foam squares on the back of the sentiment so everything would be the same height. Before adding the sentiment I did create a bow from the gold twine and adhered that with a dot a glue.

    I hope you enjoyed today’s projects and that I gave you some inspiration to use your Birch Press Design Layering dies in a new or different way. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

    Supplies

    57538 Merry Christmas Vintage Sentiment

    57540 Holiday Hugs Vintage Sentiment

    57514 Forest Leaf and Berries Contour Layers

    57412 Tranquility Layer Set

  • Holiday Hugs | by Colleen Balija

    Holiday Hugs | by Colleen Balija

    Hi friends,

    With the holidays upon us, I wanted to share a festive card using the new Holiday Hugs die and Adornment Wreath die! This layered wreath can be used all year long just by changing up the colors and foliage!!! I will also be using Memory Box RingaDings embossing folder, Jolly Holly Contour Die, and Memory Box paper. All supply links for this card will be listed at the bottom of my post!

    First step was to prep my dies, so I die cut the 2 layers of the Adornment Wreath onto white cardstock along with the Jolly Holly Contour die (leaves and berries). Then I ink blended the wreath in 2 shades of brown, the leaves in 2 shades of teal, and the berries in 2 shades of red. I use 2 shades of color to bring the designs to life! Then I adhered the layers together and splattered gold ink over all of it. The gold ink adds a classy touch of glimmer! Below is a close up of the finished wreath and foliage!

    Once my focal point was completed, it was time to focus on the background. Starting with a pre-colored piece of cardstock in shades of teal and green, I embossed over it with RingaDings embossing folder and applied gold ink over the raised edges. The gold in the background helps the gold on the focal point to pop! I love the distressed look of teh background! The picture below is a good visual of it!

    TIP: Although I die cut everything in white and then added color, you could easily do the opposite by applying color to a card panel and then die cutting 2nd!

    Last step was to adhere the focal point centered over the background, placing a few of the leaves onto foam tape for added dimension. I added Memory Box red sequins over the berries for added shine! The Holiday Hugs sentiment was die cut using Memory Box’s gold and red mirrored cardstock and then placed onto foam tape in the middle of the wreath!

    I’m so glad you joined me today! Below is the full supply list!

    Supplies

    57540 Holiday Hugs Vintage Sentiment

    57512 Jolly Holly Contour Layers

    57485 Adornment Wreath

    FP1002 Vintage Pastel Mirror Pad

    FP1003 Rainbow Reflections Mirror Pad

    EF1015 Ringadings 3D Embossing Folder

  • 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!

    Supplies

    57385 Pinpoint Snowflake

    57517 Splendid Poinsettia Contour Layers

    cl8164 Glad Tidings clear stamp set

  • 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!

    Supplies

    57464 Revello Ornament Layer Set

    57314 Ornament Basics

    56081 Radiant Ornament Layer Set

    57538 Merry Christmas Vintage Sentiment

    56098 Epiphany Plate Layer Set

  • Birthday Wishes | by Allison Frazier

    Birthday Wishes | by Allison Frazier

    Hello, Birch Press friends! Today, I am sharing a sweet birthday card featuring the new Oval Leaf Branches Contour Layers set. Maybe it’s because we got an early snow this past weekend, but I was in the mood for some spring colors!

    I started my card with the sentiment, since it was going to be my focal point. I used the Say It Big stamp set, stamped the sentiment with peach ink, and cut it out with the matching die. I put foam tape on the back of the sentiment and popped it up on a white panel. I had already glued this white panel onto an A2 sized yellow card base.

    I cut the leaves out of turquoise, yellow and peach card stock. I cut the bottom layers of the leaves from a darker shade of each color. I glued the lighter detail pieces onto these darker ones. I also cut some small leaves (the ones that don’t have a top layer) out of white, yellow and peach card stock.

    Although these leaves are connected to each other, I snipped them all apart so that I could arrange them and tuck them in under the sentiment. Because the sentiment is popped up on foam tape, there is room all the way around to tuck the leaves. Once I had glued all the leaves in place, I added a little butterfly on top of the sentiment. This butterfly comes from the Simple Butterfly Contour Layers set.

    I finished up the card by scattering some fairy jewels around the leaves. I hope this card puts a smile on your face and inspires you! Thank you so much for joining us today.


    Supplies


    57525 Oval Leaf Branches Contour Layers
    57490 Simple Butterfly Contour Layers
    sp1002 Sunny Orange 6×6 pack

    Supplies


    cb510 Say It Big clear stamp and die set

    Supplies


    jwl002 Pastel Jewels
    drp101 Fairy Drops
  • 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!


    Supplies


    57512 Jolly Holly Contour Layers
    57464 Revello Ornament Layer Set
    57455 Christmas Ornament Pop Up Easel
    CL8164 Glad Tidings clear stamp set

    Supplies


    sp1003 Lush Green
    sp1001 Berry Red
    SH44002 Cream Woodgrain Paper Pack
  • Fall Leaves | by Rosemary Dennis

    Fall Leaves | by Rosemary Dennis

    Hello! Rosemary here on the blog today. Hard to believe that there are just a fews days left in October. Where has this year gone?! Today I’m sharing a fall inspired sympathy card although that was not my original idea. Originally I had started working on something that would be a small mixed media decor piece. Unfortunately, I went a little overboard and did not like what I had created. Thankfully, I was able to used all of these pretty leaves I had created with mica sprays on today’s card.

    As indicated above I used lots of distress mica sprays to achieve the colors you see in the various leaves. I used the Forest Leaf and Berries Contour Layers and Oval Leaf Branches Contour Layers dies to cut the leaves. I used one of the dies from the Memory Box Curved Cap Pinpoint Layers die set to die cut the arch from kraft cardstock and then stamp it with the sentiment from the Kind Hearts stamp set using VersaFine CLAIR Acorn ink. I inked around the edges of the die cut panel with Aged Mahogany distress ink. I die cut another panel of kraft cardstock with a rectangle die from the Memory Box A2 Rectangle Frames die set and adhered it to an off white cardstock base with double sided adhesive.

    I layered the arched panel on to the card front using foam tape and then built up my swag with the various different leaves. When I originally laid out the pieces for the swag it included the two smaller leaves in the lower corner. However when I started to put everything together they didn’t quite fit and so I added them to the corner instead. I used liquid adhesive to secure all the pieces in place.

    I finished off the card with some autumn fairy jewels on each cluster of leaves. I think they added the perfect little something the card needed.

    I hope you enjoyed today’s card and it inspires you to create something for fall. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

    Supplies

    cl8163 Kind Hearts clear stamp set

    57514 Forest Leaf and Berries Contour Layers

    57525 Oval Leaf Branches Contour Layers

  • 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.


    Supplies


    57517 Splendid Poinsettia Contour Layers
    57540 Holiday Hugs Vintage Sentiment
    57534 Forest Canopy Layer Set
    sp1006 Stormy Blue 6×6 pack
    sp1003 Lush Green 6×6 pack
    sp1001 Berry Red 6×6 pack

    Supplies


    ef1026 Gracious Floral 3D Embossing Folder and Die
    drp101 Fairy Drops
  • Thanks Oval Leaves | by Crystal Komara

    Thanks Oval Leaves | by Crystal Komara

    Hello friends! This is DT member Crystal Komara here with you today with what just might be my new favorite card ever that I’ve designed for Birch Press Design. Now, I’ll admit, I was initially hesitant to use the contour dies, becuase oh-so-much die cutting, but I promise, the end result is always SOOooo worth the work!!

    Card details:

    The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I cu ta 5 1/4″ x 4″ piece of black cardstock and dry embossed it using the Blooming 3D Embossing Folder from Memory Box Co, a sister company of Birch Press Design. This is my go-to floral embossing folder, it’s so elegant.

    Then I just began die cutting lots and lots of the Oval Leaves contour dies in yellow, orange and gold cardstock. I mismatched up the layers, so that I layered yellow with orange and rust with gold. There was no method to this matching up madness.

    Lastly, I flicked some gold acrylic paint onto the entire image and I love how this effect came out! It added a bit of grunge, but also a bit of sparkle!

    I love this card so much that I want to try re-creating it in other color palettes too, so be sure to check back in regularly to see what myself and the rest of the Design Team are creating to inspire you!

    Supplies

    57525 Oval Leaf Branches Contour Layers

    57148 Thanks Sugar Script

    SP1002 Sunny Orange 6×6 pack

    GP1007 Glitzy Glitter Pad

  • 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!

    Supplies

    57517 Splendid Poinsettia Contour Layers

    57525 Oval Leaf Branches Contour Layers

    57540 Holiday Hugs Vintage Sentiment

    57458 Herbarium Plate Layer Set