Category: Craft Dies

  • Inlaid Holiday Cards | by Tracey McNeely

    Inlaid Holiday Cards | by Tracey McNeely


    It is always exciting when we find ways to stretch the use of our products. Birch Press Design craft dies make beautiful cards with just one die and if you add the other layers to it your results are even more fabulous! Now if you add the inlay technique to your design it kicks it up even another notch and your results are extraordinary.

    Today I am going to show you how you can use the fabulous Shimmer Snowflake Stackable frames to create two one layer cards by using the inverse die cuts to create the second card. All the pieces that are die cut are used up between the two cards.

    For my cards I chose to use the Shimmer Snowflake Stackable frame B. A good mid-range size of snowflake. I cut one from red cardstock and one from silver shimmer cardstock keeping both the positive and negative pieces together from the inlaid technique.

    I like to use spray adhesive when I am doing an inlaid die cut technique. I lightly spray the card base, then adhere the frame and then inlay the pieces from the alternate colour one card at time. It takes some time to inlay the pieces into the frame but the process is relaxing and the results are stunning! The amazing stitching detail from the die is accentuated even more with the shimmery paper and the inlaid pieces.

    The second card came together much quicker than the first. Both cards are the same but look so different.

    You could use this die is so many different colour combinations . You could even use the other layers if you wanted to add dimension.
    I hope I inspired you to give this technique a try. Hope to see you again next week here on the Birch Press Design blog.

  • Serene Holiday Cards By Laurie Schmidlin

    Serene Holiday Cards By Laurie Schmidlin

     

     

    Hi there!  It’s hard to believe that November is almost over!  I try my best to have all of my Holiday cards finished by the first week of December.  I like the idea of mass producing cards but usually end up with four or five designs to keep things interesting.  🙂

     

    Today, I’m sharing one of those card designs with you.  The great thing about this card is that it is easy to personalize them by just switching up the accent color!

     

     

    When I first saw the Simple Church die I thought of the couple of Christmas holidays that we spent in Europe with our extended family.  I wanted to create a card to send to send to them that embodied the peaceful holidays that we spent together.

     

     

    I started by die cutting three layers (two white and one metallic) using the Shimmer Snowflake Frame Layer die set.  I alternated between a metallic gold and metallic silver accent color.  This design would also work well with other colors, such as red or blue.

     

     

    I then die cut the church using mostly white cardstock with just a few metallic accents.  This die set comes wired together and can easily be separated if you wish.  I found it handy to keep them together, but that is just a personal preference.

     

     

    I purposefully did not add a sentiment to the outside of my card.  I just really liked the simplicity of the mostly white design and thought that the sentiment could easily be added to the inside.

     

     

    My favorite thing about this particular die set is the incredible details!  There are separate cut lines for the window outlines so that you can add an accent color if you wish.  I also really love the detail on the roof pieces!

     

     

    I’m so glad that you joined me here today!
    ~Laurie

     

     

    Supplies

     

     

  • Birthday BalloonsBy Jeanne Jachna

    Birthday Balloons
    By Jeanne Jachna


    Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you’re having a great day!  Today I’m sharing a birthday card made with the Party Balloon die set! This set includes six nested dies – detached and deburred on a magnetic sheet.   The balloons each have a beautiful stitched detail along the outer edges and come in a variety of sizes.

    Balloons always make me smile and they’re perfect for any celebration!  I cut mine in a rainbow of colors!  Did you notice that where they overlap the colors change?  This is an easy technique to try!  I started by cutting balloons in the three primary colors (red, yellow, and blue).  Where they overlap I will cut the dies in secondary colors.

    I layered a yellow balloon over a large red balloon.    Where they overlap I want the color to be orange so I  cut a second smaller balloon from orange.

    Lay the orange balloon over the yellow balloon.  Next place the die for the red balloon over the red balloon and secure the die with tape over the orange balloon.  Pick up the die and die cut the orange balloon.

    Adhere the orange die cut piece over the yellow balloon.

    I topped the balloons with a simple sentiment – the Calligraphy Pop Happy Birthday Die.  I cut the sentiment from green card stock so it would stand out from the colorful balloons.

    I die cut the bit of purple balloon the same way I did the orange.

    The finishing touch was a sprinkle of gold sequins in different shapes and sizes.  If you love sequins you need to check out all the new mixes in the store!  You can see them all here!

    All the bright colors and sparkly sequins are a party inside an envelope!

    Finished Size 4.25 x  5.5″

    Supplies

     

  • Gingham Trifold Card with Matching Envelope | by Jennifer Svare

    Gingham Trifold Card with Matching Envelope | by Jennifer Svare

     

     

    Hello!  This fun tri-fold card uses the Shimmer Snowflake Frame set’s multiple layers to create a snowflake overlay with the top layer. This card was very hard to photograph, so the video below is a must-see of this card in action!

    Because this is a tri-fold card, the inner message space will not be seen when the card is on display. The Latte gingham paper matched the Kraft, and made the perfect background for that message space.

    To bring everything together, I made a custom envelope with the gingham paper.  I love how there is a beautiful, creamy white on the backside so that envelopes can easily be made using the reverse!  Using the B layer of the set, I trimmed off all but the frame and one snowflake for the perfect envelope frame.

    Thank you for stopping by, and here is a video of this card that shows a fun variation!

  • Snowflake Glitz  | by Tracey McNeely

    Snowflake Glitz | by Tracey McNeely


    Good morning, Tracey here for some Birch Press inspiration. Birch Press Design is sponsoring The 25 days of Christmas Tags event on my personal blog once again this year.

    The Glitz Snowflake die set it’s a gorgeous set that requires minimal effort to create gorgeous tags, embellishments and even Christmas ornaments.You can create gorgeous unique snowflakes with only a couple different colours of card stock. When you change the order of how you adhere Layers A, B and C together you get a completely different result. For my examples today I have chosen two colours of card stock and piece one glitter paper. For the first two snowflakes I have cut Layer B from the glitter paper.


    For the next two snowflakes I cut Layer C from the glitter paper. See how the snowflakes are completely different once again.


    To finish the tags off I tied a piece of silver cord to the top of the Snowflake so that it could become a gift tag, a package embellishment or an ornament to put on the Christmas tree. Packaged together they would make a lovely hostess gift for the holidays. Head over to the In My Creative Opinion blog to see the post for day 7 of the 25 days of Christmas Tags event and your chance to win a prize from Birch Press.

    Thanks for joining me today and come back again next Tuesday for more creative inspiration.

  • Alcohol Ink Bird | By Jeanne Jachna

    Alcohol Ink Bird | By Jeanne Jachna


    Maybe Jennifer McGuire made you do it too?  She’s inspired lots of people to get out their alcohol inks and start blending!   You can see her original tutorial here. I too hadn’t given much thought to my alcohol inks lately.  It’s really addictive once you start playing.  All you need is some glossy or YUPO paper and alcohol inks. You can use any brand of alcohol inks – maybe you have some marker refill’s handy.

    I wet my YUPO paper with alcohol ink before adding the drops of color to give me more play time and to soften the colors.  Alcohol ink dries very quickly!  The backgrounds are bold and beautiful, but a few things you might want to keep in mind…  work in a well ventilated area.  The smell from the rubbing alcohol is quite strong.  You’ll also want to be careful to not get the ink on your clothing – it will stain.  I worked on a glass craft mat.  This made clean up really easy.  The ink left on the mat is easy to remove with a cotton ball and rubbing alcohol.

    For this clean graphic design I die cut the morning bird from watercolor paper and used the negative cut.  I saved the actual bird die cut for a second project.  The added thickness of the watercolor paper adds rich texture and an expensive heavy weight feel to the card.  You can die cut the cover of your card panel and adhere the blended backdrop to the inside cover of your card so it shows through the open die cut window.

    The sentiment from the Just Because Clear Stamp Set was stamped with Versafine Onyx Black Ink.  I used a stamping tool to double stamp the sentiment.  The watercolor paper is uneven and I wanted to be sure it was stamped clearly.   I added a few gold sequins from the Not So Heavy Metal mix for some sparkle and shine.  There’s lots of new sequins in the store!  You can find them here!


    You”ll love the beautiful backgrounds you can make with alcohol inks!

     

    Supplies

     

  • Caramel Apple a Day | by Jennifer Svare

    Caramel Apple a Day | by Jennifer Svare

    Happy Harvest! These caramel apples were inspired by my visit to a nearby home boutique. I was reminded that it is “caramel apple season,” and I could not resist making these using the Apple a Day die set!

    The Maxwell Layer A die is so versatile, and was used to create the base of the card.

    There are three varieties here: Green apple with chocolate over caramel, classic red caramel apple, and a fun zombie caramel apple.

    Because there are three sizes of dies in the set, there are a lot of different variations that could be made.  I used the mid-sized apple which fit perfectly inside the frame.  Embossing added some texture to the frame, as well.

    The video below shows how I made each design ~ they are simple to make in a large batch, so everyone on the list can receive one! (The cards themselves are so fast; it’s the drying time that takes the most time.)

    I hope you enjoy the video, and also caramel apple season!  Have a great day!

     

  • Apple for the Teacher | by Tracey McNeely

    Apple for the Teacher | by Tracey McNeely


    Have you had a chance to check out the brand new An Apple A Day craft dies over at Birch Press Design? This fun set of three dies is perfect for creating for school themed projects. Today I am going to share with you a fun project creating a card for the hard working teacher in your life.

    I created a video for you to see how I created my apples. I love how there are so many techniques and colouring mediums you can use along with dies and stamps from Birch Press Design!

    I used the An Apple A Day dies to cut the apples, leaves and stems from my Distress Inked panels…


    Adhered the apples together and attached to the card with adhesive and foam tape.

    I added my ‘thanks’ from the Calligraphy Pop Thanks and sentiment from the Just Because clear stamps. Once the card was assembled I added Glossy Accents to the smallest apple. I applied it much slower than the speeded up video and I used a straight pin to pop any bubbles that formed. I let the Glossy Accents dry for about 2  hours before I took the final photos.

    A closer look at the texture on the apples…

    The completed card…

    I hope that I inspired you to make something fun with the new Apple A Day craft dies. Used together or alone they are fabulous. We will see you again next Tuesday for more crafty inspiration!

  • Hooray | By Laurie Schmidlin

    Hooray | By Laurie Schmidlin

    Hi there!  It’s Tuesday again, and that means we are sharing something creative with you here on the blog!

    I’m sharing two of my favorite things with you – stitched die cuts and ink blending!  The new Party Balloon Dies is a wonderful set that is full of endless possibilities, and that stitching detail along the edge is the perfect detail!

     

    I started by die cutting three different balloon sizes out of white cardstock.

     

    I then applied ink to each balloon, making sure to blend darker color at the tops.  I also sponged ink onto a piece of watercolor paper for the background.  I used Distress Inks as they are very reactive to water, but other water based inks will work as well.

     

    To create texture, I sprinkled on clear water to each layer, let it sit for a few seconds, and then gently dried it with a paper towel.  After each layer had dried, I splattered on some I coordinating watercolor paint.  I wanted just a bit more depth on the background layer so after the turquoise paint was dry I splattered on a bit of white paint.

     

    I was on such a roll with adding texture that I just had to add some more!  :-). I applied some clear glaze to the tops of the balloons and then sprinkled with a fine prisma glitter.

     

    For the sentiment, I used a couple of stamps from the Hooray for Everything stamp set.  The Hooray is die cut using the coordinating Hooray for Everything Die Set.

    Thanks so much for joining me here today!

     

     

  • Halloween Cat | By Jeanne Jachna

    Halloween Cat | By Jeanne Jachna


    Halloween is creeping up fast!  It’s time to start making some cards to send to your favorite boys and ghouls!  This one looks fussy but it’s really easy!

    I cut the Avalon Frame from black and white card stock (layer a black, layer b white, layer c black) adhered them together and mounted on grey card stock.  This pattern is my favorite at Birch Press Design!

    The Happy Halloween sentiment is a wood mount stamp from the store.  I love the vintage script that is elegant and eerie at the same time!

    I framed the cat silhouette with a die cut circle of bright yellow card stock (like a moon).  I added a second slightly larger circle of black card stock to keep the background from closing in.  To color the cat’s eyes I added some green card stock behind the die cut eye openings.

    Told you!  Lots of drama and so simple to assemble!

    Thanks so much for all the nice comments we received during the Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop!  I’m happy to announce the winner from the event…
    Arianna Barbara!  She receives a  $20 gift certificate for the store.    Congratulations!

    Have a great day!

    Finished Size 4.25 x 5.5″
    Supplies: