Category: Craft Dies

Thanks for stopping by!  Every Tuesday we feature items from the craft section of the store!  Today I made a shaker card inspired by a beautiful Summer day!

I started by cutting the Fiori Plate layer C from pink card stock, and layer B from white card stock. I adhered the two layers together and placed a large acrylic block over them to keep pressure over them as the glue dried.    The cover plates are sized perfectly for an A2 card (4.25 x 5.5″) Next to make the shaker…

I placed two ovals from the Memory Box Open Studio Stitched Oval Layers inside each other and cut them in my die cut machine to create a frame.  Using the larger oval die I cut a piece of acetate and adhered on the reverse of the frame.  Next I added adhesive foam tape to the reverse side of the frame.  I usually leave  an opening in the adhesive foam tape at the top of the frame.  After I attach it to the card base I add sequins.  Then I add a piece of adhesive foam tape to seal off the opening so my sequins don’t escape.

I added iridescent pink and clear sequins to the inside of the shaker.  I love that you can still sett he beautiful stitching of the Fiori Plate layers inside the shaker window!

I stamped the floral and dragonfly images from the Dragonfly Greetings stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored them with Copic alcohol markers..  I purposely left the brush strokes on the butterfly wings to add contrast and interest.

The Dragonfly Greetings is a beautiful stamp set with floral images, dragonflies, and simple sentiments.  The coordinating die cuts make it easy to get a clean detailed cut with one pass through your die cut machine.

I hope you find time to make something beautiful today!

Have you had a chance to use the new Peony Blooms Stackable Dies yet? Watercolouring has become my new favourite colouring medium to use in crafting. Today I am going to use Peerless Watercolors in dilute washes for the layers of my peonies to create a monochromatic flower with lots of dimension.

To begin I cut one each of the Peony Blooms Stackable dies–Layer A, Layer B and Layer C using 140 lb cold press watercolour paper.

I started by cutting small pieces of the watercolor films from the Peerless Watercolor book that I was going to use for the flower and foliage. I colours I used were Royal Scarlet, Royal Crimson, Carnation Pink, Light Green and Brilliant Yellow. Put each piece of cut film into a different tray of a watercolour palette. Add a small bit of water to each of the trays to dissolve the colour from the film and tint the water, then remove the film from the trays with a pair of tweezers. ETA: Carnation Pink was added to the palette after photographing.

Starting with Layer C I applied a generous amount of water to the die cut flower and then I painted the flower with the full strength of my dilute Royal Scarlet wash. I set it aside to dry.

Next I did the same with Layer B using the Royal Crimson dilute. After the first layer of colour dried a bit I went back and added some darker highlights to the edges of the flower in the same colour but directly from the film in the book. I set that layer aside to dry.

For Layer A I painted the Carnation Pink dilute directly to the dry die cut and then set it aside to dry.

For the leaves I painted Layer C in Brilliant Yellow and added Light Green to the centre. For the leaves in Layer B I mixed some of the Brilliant Yellow and Light Green together in last available palette in my tray to make a yellow/green then I painted the Layer B leaves with it. I added more water to the custom yellow/green dilute to lighten the colour a bit more and painted the last leaves from Layer A.

Once all papers were dry I assembled the Peony and leaves onto a white card base, isn’t the dimension achieved from the monochromtic watercolouring amazing? Finally the thank you sentiment from Dragonfly Greeting clear stamp set was die cut using the die from the Dragonfly Greetings die set and adhered to the card.


I hope you enjoyed today’s tutorial on watercolouring in a monochromatic colour scheme and see how well it works with the lovely detailed dies from Birch Press Design. See you again next Tuesday for more Design Team inspiration.

I hope you’re having a great day!  Tuesdays are dedicated to the craft section of the Birch Press Design Store!  Have you had a chance to see the new Peony Bloom and Fiori Plate Layer Dies?  Today I’m sharing a card made with the Fiori set!

There are three stackable dies for each collection that you can use individually or together as a set.   It’s fun mixing paper colors for unique designs.  I love to add a layer of glitter paper for some sparkle and shine.

Today I wanted to share some of my favorite things to have on hand when working with these intricate dies.   First I would recommend a steel shim / adapter plate for your die cut machine.  You can find them where you purchased your machine under “accessories” .  Several die manufactures also carry them like Memory Box.

There’s lots of ways to add adhesive to the back of your designs – my favorite is a precision needle tip applicator that reduces glue mishaps.  A large acrylic stamping block provides just the right amount of weight to keep your design flat while each layer dries.

I always cut the final panel (in this case the orange) that’s attached to my white card stock base slightly smaller than the die cut background so it doesn’t peek out the edges.

The layered backgrounds are all so beautiful that you will want to keep your sentiment’s simple so those intricate background patterns steal the show.   This sentiment is from the Make A Statement Stamp Set.

If you visited during our giveaway last week I want to thank you for all your wonderful comments!  You make us all so happy!  There are three winners to announce – all selected with random number generator.  Congratulations!

June 1, 2017	Tracey’s Post	Amanda Dellamano
June 2, 2017	Angel’s Post	Sue LD
June 3, 2017	Laurie’s Post	Amy Cooley

All winners have been contacted by email!

Hi all!  Angel here with a card using some newly released goodies!  I love these new Peony Bloom layered dies!  And guess what!?  I’m giving away the Peony Bloom Layer B!!!  Be sure to leave a comment on this post and we’ll announce a winner in a few days! 

To start my card, I watercolored my background, keeping the color where the die (Peony Bloom layer A) would cut out the flower petals.

As you see here, the watercoloring lines up with the die.  I used the same watercoloring technique for the leaves, which you’ll see on the finished card.

I then used the die to cut out plain white card stock and also the watercolored paper.  I adhered the plain white die cut paper to a scrap piece of paper, then began the task of filling in the petals with the watercolored pieces.  Try it some time, it’s quite therapeutic.  🙂

I used the new Make a Statement stamp set and dies for the sentiment.  I used washi tape to adhere the dies to some scrap paper, then sponged ink onto the middle of the sentiments.  Once I cut out the word dies, I then used black ink to stamp the actual words onto what I had previously sponged.

I adhered the leaves to the back of the sentiments then layered them with foam adhesive onto the card.

Thanks for stopping by!  Don’t forget to comment for your chance to win a Peony Bloom Layer B die!

We are back again celebrating the May release with a Blog Blitz. Today I am using a few of the newly released products for a card.

The base layer of my card was created with the new Fiori Plate B which is part of another fabulous trio of stackable plates. These incredible plates can be used on their own or layered on top of one another. I started out by preparing an A2 sized card panel using watercolour paper and Distress Oxide inks.

I smooshed the two colours of ink on to a craft mat and then generously spritzed it with water. Then the watercolour panel was dropped onto the ink puddle and then lifted up. The panel was dried with a heat gun and then I dipped the panel back into the ink where I felt it needed a bit more colour and then dried once again. The key to layering the Distress Oxide inks without getting a muddied look is to dry the panel in between each layer. Once dry I die cut the panel using the Fiori Plate B.


Next a couple of dragonflies from the newly released Dragonfly Greetings clear stamp set were stamped and clear embossed using Versamark first, then Versafine inks and then die cut with the Dragonfly Greetings Die Set on watercolour paper. These were coloured with watercolour markers. The ‘sending a happy’ sentiment from Make a Statement clear stamp set was stamped and heat embossed in white on black cardstock. The  ‘hello’ sentiment from Make a Statement was stamped and die cut with the Make a Statement Die Set.

The Fiori panel was adhered with spray adhesive as described in teammate Laurie Schmidlin’s tutorial last week. The black sentiment was adhered directed to the panel and pieces of foam tape were added to the backs of the dragonfly bodies and the hello die cuts before being adhered to the panel.

Another look at the card.

Now would you like a chance to win the Fiori Plate B die? We use random number generator to select winners from comments. You have until midnight US EST June 4th to leave a comment, a winner will announced on this blog on June 6. Good Luck! The lucky winner from last week’s giveaway on Jeanne Jachna’s post is Teresa Doyle–congratulations!

Oh happy day!  We’re celebrating the new May release with a give away! We’ve added two new stamp sets with coordinating dies as well as two sets of stackable dies to the store!

Today I’m playing with the Peony Bloom Layer A die.  This is just one of the three Peony Bloom layer dies that are stackable.   You can use them individually like I did here today, or together for lots of added dimension!

I’m so happy that the leaves are separate from the flower so you can cut them from a different color card stock if you like.  For my design today I cut everything from white card stock.

Next I adhered the die cut to a panel covered in double sided tape.

I carefully added glitter to the sheet.  Just press the glitter into the sticky tape.  I used three shades of red for the flowers starting with light in the center and adding a slightly darker shade as I moved further away from the flower center.  You want to be careful along the edges so the red doesn’t spill into areas where you don’t want it. If some accidentally spills over you can use a pick or needle to scrape out the color.  This is a quick fix for small areas, I would start over for a large spill.  If you don’t want to work with colorful ink you can color the background panel with markers or distress ink, adhere the double sided tape, and then sprinkle on crystal glitter.

I adhered the leaves to a separate panel covered in double sided tape, glittered them  and then fussy cut them before adding them to my card.  Dave Brethauer, the creator of these beautiful designs made a video for this technique that you can watch here on You Tube.

The sentiment is from the new Make A Statement stamp set.  I used the coordinating die set to cleanly cut the “thanks” sentiment.
Now the part you’ve been waiting for ..  the prize!  Want a chance to win the Peony Bloom Layer A?   Just leave me a comment!

We use random number generator to select winners from comments. You have until midnight US EST May 30 to leave a comment, a winner will announced on this blog on June 1. Good Luck!
 

Hi there!  I’m excited to be back here sharing some more Birch Press Design craft projects with you!

One of my favorite things to do, is to sit down and spend some quality time creating handmade cards!  It is absolutely therapeutic for me!  There are times, though, that time is very short and I am in need of several cards (birthdays, thank you cards etc).  The end of the school year is inevitably one of those times for me.  Today, I thought that I would share with you how I mass produce cards as well as share a few time saving tips!

First, I like to start with a die or stamp that has lots of detail.  When only adding one layer to a card, I have found that I really like to use Cover Plates.  You get a lot of coverage with minimal amount of time and or work.  So when I saw the new Fiori Cover Plates I literally clapped my hands with joy!  Each one of them (there are three) are amazingly detailed!  For my one layer cards, I chose to use the one with the most open spaces so as to create more contrast between the die cut and the card base.

I always start my quick card making sessions by gathering all of my supplies.  Above you can see a few of the essential tools I used for my card set.  Spray adhesive (this will save a lot of time when adhering your die cut panel to your card base), the Fiori Plate C, and a piercing tool.  I have found the assembly line technique to be the easiest for me, so I cut all of my card bases, scored and folded them, and then set them aside.

Next, I die cut all of my card front panels.  After that, I lightly tap it against my trash bin which dislodges some of the negative die cut parts.  I then take my piercing tool and quickly poke the remaining bits so all of the negative die cut parts have been removed.  This really doesn’t take that long to do and can be done almost anywhere (watching a movie, a car trip, etc).  For this particular crafting session, I die cut seven panels using different colors.

Working one at a time, I will then spray the back side of the die cut panels and adhere it to a card base.  Make sure that if you are using spray adhesive (which I do recommend for large pieces of cardstock like the above cover plate) that you are in a well ventilated area.

I will then repeat the above step with the remaining die cut panels.  I like to leave my cards blank so that I can add the appropriate sentiment when the need arises.

To save even more time, I will stamp and die cut many different sentiments ahead of time so that when I need a card I can just choose the sentiment and adhere it to the inside.  I like to store all of the sentiments in a small baggie with my finished cards.

This is how I like to quickly mass produce sentiments.  I start by creating a die cut “template” of all the sentiments.  Here I have used the new Make a Statement Die Set.  I did not cut these dies apart (they come wired together) but ran them through my die machine while they were still connected.  I then put it in my stamp positioner.  To keep it from moving, I cut apart a sticky mat (this one is a Cricut mat that I cut into fourths) and just inserted into my positioner.  I then add the die cut sentiment.

I then placed the coordinating stamp (from the Make a Statement Clear Stamp Set) on top of the die cut.

Next, I closed the top of the positioner, securing the stamp to the top.  I then opened the lid again, inked my stamp while it was still attached to the lid, and then closed it again.

I’m left with a perfectly aligned stamped image.  I will stamp several of each sentiment so I did not remove the stamp from the lid.  I inserted another die cut thank you sentiment and then re stamped it.  That way I don’t have to line up the stamp each time.  By inserting the die cut into the “template” I created with the negative die cut paper ensures that each additional die cut will be placed in the same spot each time.  It is possible to stamp  dozens of sentiments in just a matter of minutes this way!

I hope you have found some of these time saving tips helpful!  Remember, you don’t have to spend a lot of time to create a beautiful and thoughtful card!

 

 

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