Category: Craft Dies

  • Mass Producing Snowy Tree Tags | By Tracey McNeely

    Mass Producing Snowy Tree Tags | By Tracey McNeely

    firstangle
    There is nothing is more beautiful than the look and dimension of layered stamping. The Birch Press Design Let It Snow layered snowy tree looks so real it is hard to believe that there isn’t actually snow on it. As beautiful as layered stamps are sometimes they are not the easiest to stamp. Today’s tutorial is to help you to achieve the perfect layered result easily time after time. Once you master the technique you are set to mass produce the trees for holiday tags or to put on to your holiday cards.
    cover
    The tree is three separate stamps, for today’s tutorial we are using two shades of green and a soft blue. We begin by stamping the first layer in the lightest shade of green.
    firstlayer
    Using the darkest shade of green we are going to add depth and dimension to the greenery on the tree. The following photo shows you where you will want to place the stamp for the second layer on the tree. You will notice there is an obvious notch at the bottom of the tree that the stamp fits right over.
    stampdepth
    See all the gorgeous dimension?
    secondlayer
    Now this is where the magic happens. For the third layer we are using the soft blue or a soft grey would be lovely too. There is a little swoosh that sits of top of that notch we were using when we stamped the second layer, that is where you line up the final stamp.
    stampsnow
    See how the layers have all come together.
    thirdlayer
    Once you have all your trees stamped, use the matching die to cut them all out. Doing the trees four at a time you can stamp them all out in virtually no time at all. Add a small hole it the top of the tree and add some twine and you are done.
    grouptags
    Thanks for joining us again this week! We hope to see you again next Tuesday for more crafting inspiration!
    _tracey-signature-copy

    Save

    Save

    Save

    Save


    Save

    Save

    Save

  • Christmas Ornaments | By Laurie Schmidlin

    Christmas Ornaments | By Laurie Schmidlin

    christmas-ornaments-detail-1-by-laurie-schmidlin

    Today I’m sharing a Christmas card that is both festive and easy to mass produce!  With just a few Birch Press Design Holiday Dies and matching stamp set, I created a card that is colorful, fun, and only took a handful of minutes to assemble!  During the busiest season of the year, it’s invaluable to have tools that do all the work, saving me a lot of precious time!

    christmas-ornaments-by-laurie-schmidlin

    I just love the fine detail the Bailey Ornament Trio has!  This is a large, one piece die that is perfect for creating a negative die cut.  A negative die cut is one that  utilizes the non-cut portion of the die rather than what the die cuts out.  As you can see from the photo above, the snowflakes on each ornament is connected to my card front.  To achieve this look, I started with a 3 3/4″ x 5″ piece of white cardstock.  I centered the die on my card and ran it through my die cutting machine.  I then discarded all of the pieces that the die cut out.

    christmas-ornaments-detail-3-by-laurie-schmidlin

    To achieve the pops of color, you could either hand cut some colored cardstock and adhere to the bottom of your card front or use some coordinating dies to save time!  Because I am mass producing this card, I chose to use the coordinating die to quickly and easily add the pops of color.  I die cut one of the smaller ornament dies from the Classic Ornament die set in three different colors.  I added just a little bit of adhesive to hold them in place.  I only needed a tiny bit of adhesive as the next layer keeps them firmly in place.  I did add some shiny silver cardstock behind the other cutouts, causing the tops of the ornaments and strings to stand out a little bit.

    christmas-ornaments-detail-2-by-laurie-schmidlin

    For embellishment, I added some greenery and a bow.  The pine sprigs are stamped using the Brushed Christmas Greetings stamp set and die cut using the coordinating Brushed Christmas Greetings die set.

    What about you?  Do you mass produce your Christmas cards or do you prefer to create unique individual cards?

    bpd_laurie-signature

    Thanks for joining me here today!  Remember to stop back by each Tuesday for more crafty inspiration!

    Save

    Save

  • Watercolor Wildflowers | by Jeanne Jachna

    Watercolor Wildflowers | by Jeanne Jachna

    wildflowers-four
    Thanks for stopping by!  I’m sharing a card today featuring the Birch Press Design Watercolor Wildflowers!  They’re three layer stamps – so they have lots of dimension.  Always start with the lightest color first and then add darker colors for each layer.  The leaves and stems are clean and simple and there are coordinating die cuts for all the images in the set.
    wildflowers-two
    I started by watercoloring a panel with Peerless Watercolors.  I splashed some white over the panel for a splotchy effect.  Next I adhered the Delfina Layer B die over the watercolor panel.   I knew I wanted to use the Delfina Layer die, but which one?  I didn’t want the flowers to compete with the bold blue watercolor background, but I didn’t want to cover it up either.   I had to find some balance.  The Layer B was perfect – enough white to create a base for the flowers, and enough opening to let the watercolor background show through.
    wildflowers-one
    I usually lay a sheet of clear transparency over the base of my card and play around with arranging the different die cuts.  When I’m happy with the arrangement I adhere them in placed.  You’ll notice some of the dies are adhered to the base (stems and one leaf), while others are adhered with adhesive foam tape (the flowers and leaves) adding dimension.
    wildflowers-threeThis photo gives a better view at how the dies are applied.
    wildflowers
    The finishing touch is a few clear sparkling sequins that look like water drops.  I love the contrast of the orange and blue!

    What will you make today?

    jeanne-signature

    Finished Size 4.25 x 5.5″

  • Merry Christmas | Angel Rivera

    Merry Christmas | Angel Rivera

    Hello!  Here is a Christmas card that uses the Delfina A craft die, along with the Brushed Christmas Greetings die and stamp set.  The only stamped images on this card are the leaves and berries.  The leaves were inked with two different green inks.  A darker green ink was used on the edges of the leaves to add a little dimension.  The berries in this set have three different stamps so that you may use varying shades of any color to create dimension for a more realistic look.  After stamping the berries, a bit of sparkle was added to them with a glitter pen.

    bpd8nov

    The ‘Merry Christmas’ was cut out with silver foil paper then adhered over the Delfina A craft die.

    img_7419

    Here is a close up of these gorgeous dies!  I love a classic red, green and silver Christmas card!

    img_7419-version-2

    _signature-angel-2

  • Christmas Greetings | By Tracey McNeely

    Christmas Greetings | By Tracey McNeely

    tracey_closeup
    A Christmas card today using the new Sevilla Stackables and Christmas Greetings stamp and die set from the Birch Press Design Store. The Stackable dies are amazing, there are so many colour combinations that you can put together just by changing colour of one of the layers. For today’s card Layer C was cut with pink cardstock and then Layers A and B were cut with white cardstock. Once the layers were all cut they were adhered to the white card base using liquid adhesive.
    tracey_fullfront

    The pine bows were stamped and die cut in two shades of green ink and then the berries were stamped in red ink. The open dies make die cutting the stamped images with an even white border around them easy. The pine boughs were adhered to the card base with double sided foam adhesive.
    tracey_pinebows
    To create the silver sentiment the wishes die was used to cut from silver cardstock. Warmest was embossed in silver on black cardstock and adhered just above ‘wishes’.
    tracey_sentiment

    Using just a few dies made this project come together easily.
    tracey_angle
    Thanks for joining us again this week! We hope to see you again next Tuesday for more crafting inspiration!
    _tracey-signature


    Save


    Save

    Save

    Save

    Save

    Save

  • Merry Christmas | by Laurie Schmidlin

    Merry Christmas | by Laurie Schmidlin

    merry-christmas-detail-4-by-laurie-schmidlin
    Nothing says Christmas quite like beautiful snowflakes and frosty trees!  Today I’m sharing a card that I created using a combination of stamps and dies from the Birch Press Design store.  I especially love how so many of the dies and stamps work so well together!

    merry-christmas-by-laurie-schmidlin
    I really love the look of white on white, but I was concerned that the gorgeous detail of the Chalet Snowflake Frame die would be lost.  My solution was to pop up the die cut snowflake frame giving the card depth and more importantly, allowing the beauty of the frame to stand out.  It’s the perfect frame for my stamped, snowy background.  Using three different colors of green ink, I stamped the trees from the Let it Snow stamp set.  I also stamped one of the snowflake images in a very pale blue, giving it some more color but not competing with the snowflake frame.

    merry-christmas-detail-1-by-laurie-schmidlin
    For the sentiment, I die cut the Merry Christmas Noted die and added it to the bottom of my card.  I wanted to add to the snowy feel, so I added a strip of fine glitter underneath the words.

    merry-christmas-detail-3-by-laurie-schmidlin
    Here is a photo showing how I sponged just the words in the sentiment layer.  I die cut an additional sentiment panel, identical to the one in my card.  To create the mask, I cut off all of the letters, leaving only the curvy part.  I then placed this over the layer I was going to sponge so that only the letters of the original die cut panel was showing.  I used two different aqua ink pads to create the ombre sponged look.  If you try this, make sure you save that mask that you have created so that it can be used again in the future!  I store mine in the same envelope as the die.

    merry-christmas-detail-2-by-laurie-schmidlin
    For embellishment, I added a die cut poinsettia flower to a white ribbon bow.  This was so easy to create!  I die cut the Mini Poinsettia die set out of dark pink cardstock and then glued the different layers together.  I just adore all of the detail that this flower has!

    Thanks so much for joining us here this week!  Make sure to stop back by next Tuesday for some more crafty inspiration!

    bpd_laurie-signature

  • Holiday Poinsettias | by Jeanne Jachna

    Holiday Poinsettias | by Jeanne Jachna

    holiday-poinsettias-one
    Every Tuesday we focus on items from the craft section of the store.  Today I’m showing this pretty Holiday Poinsettia card.  It’s fun and easy to make using the multi layered stamps and coordinated die sets.
    holiday-poinsettias-how-to
    Usually when I work with a new set I will stamp lots of flowers and leaves in different colors.  This gives me practice lining up the stamps, and I get to see what color combinations I like best.  These flowers are created by stamping three images on top of each other – so you’ll need three colors of ink in different shades to create them.  I start by stamping the base, then the outline and last the detailed stamp center.  The leaves are double stamped.
    picmonkey-collage
    When I have them all stamped and cut out I arrange them on a clear sheet of plastic that is the same size as an A2 card base (4.25 x 5.5″).
    holiday-poinsettia-stamping
    Arranging the images on a clear plastic sheet allows me to switch out patterns and colors for my card base without moving the images each time.  Sometimes I change my mind often!
    holiday-poinsettia-tutorial
    For this card I decided to arrange the flowers over the Delphina Layers A & B in colors that are complimentary to the poinsettias.  There are three different layers for each of the background styles available.  You can use one, two or all three of the layered background dies.
    holiday-poinsettias-two
    I added gold pearls to the centers of the poinsettias, and a sprinkle of gold sequins in the background.   I love adding some sparkle and shine for holiday designs.
    holiday-poinsettias-seven
    I stamped the sentiment from the “Let It Snow” stamp set on a panel of white card stock.  I like how the die cut flowers overlap the hard edges of the panel to soften it.
    holiday-poinsettias
    Since I have lots of flowers left over it will be easy for me to make more cards later.  I always store the stamps, dies and extra die cut images together in an envelope so everything is kept together.
    holiday-poinsettia-four
    I really love the multi stamped images and I think you will too!

    What will you make today?

    jeanne-signature

  • Watercolored Ornaments | Angel Rivera

    Watercolored Ornaments | Angel Rivera

    Hello everyone!  I created this colorful watercolored ornament card using the Bailey Ornament Trio dies from Birch Press Design.  To create, I simply took a piece of watercolor card stock and added the yellow, pink and blue inks one at a time, letting each color dry before adding the next.  For this card, I took my distress ink marker and scribbled on an acrylic block then spritzed it lightly with water.  I then placed the watercolor paper over the top of the block and moved it around a little to spread the ink.  I let it sit for a few minutes before removing the paper then looked to see if I needed to add more ink.  For areas that needed more ink, I would place the inked up block over that area and swish (technical term, ha!) it around again.  I keep repeating this process until I’m happy with the outcome.  You could change up the look by only using one ink color or even watercoloring the entire panel.  Once it was all completely dry, I die cut the ornaments then adhered the layer over my card base with foam adhesive to add dimension and really make the ornaments POP!

    bpd11oct

     

    img_7413

    Thank you for stopping by!  We will see you back here next week for crafty eye-candy!

    _signature-angel-2

    Thanks so much for joining us for Poppystamps and Birch Press Blog Hop!  We really enjoyed showing you how great the two lines work together!   Your comments made our day!  We’ve got two lucky winners to announce.  They’ll both receive a $25 gift certificate for Birch Press Design!

    From Marybeth’s blog..   Military Mom
    From the Birch Press Design Blog  Teresa Doyle

    We’ve reached out to both winners via email.  You can also contact us at poppychallenge@gmail.com.

  • Poppystamps & Birch Press Design Blog Hop

    Poppystamps & Birch Press Design Blog Hop

    Poppy+&+Birch+Press+Blog+Hop+Oct+4+copy
    What a great day for a visit! The Poppystamps  and Birch Press Design Teams have gotten together to have a blog hop featuring products you love from Poppystamps AND Birch Press Design!  You can always expect new and innovative die designs from Dave Brethauer (the creator of Memory Box, Poppystamps, and Birch Press Design).

    The layered background dies at Birch Press Design provide the ultimate in versatility.  Each design is available in  3 die layers that can be used separately or stacked in different color combinations to create  unique and attractive designs.

    There’s been lots going on at Birch Press Design including the addition of a design team.  They post on the Birch Press Blog every Tuesday using products from the craft category in the store.

    There’s been lots of new products added to the Birch Press Design Store including holiday dies, and multi layer stamp sets with coordinating dies.   We’ve also added colorful folded cards and matching envelopes and metallic watercolor paints!

    Here’s a little peek at some of the designs you’ll see along the hop.  I sure hope they  temp you to hop along with us today!

    PicMonkey Collage
    Hop along with us for your chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Birch Press Design!   We’re giving away Two!!   Commenters will be selected randomly from one of the blogs on the hop to win this prize.  You have until 12 am US EST October 9 to leave comments.   The winners will be posted October 11.

    We’re having a sale too!  Purchase a clear stamp set and get the coordinating dies at 20% off!

    Ready to get hopping?  Here’s a list of all the designers with projects to share today!

    Poppystamps Blog
    Angel Rivera
    Ilona Zbieg
    Irena Kowalczyk
    Jeanne Jachna
    Jinny Newlin
    LaurieSchmidlin
    Lezlye Lauterbach
    Marybeth Lopez
    Michele Henderson
    Olga Direktorenko
    Patty Tanuz
    Sue McRae
    Tracey Mc Neely
    Birch Press Design Blog  (You are here)

    Good luck and happy hopping!

  • Brushed Birthday | By Tracey McNeely

    Brushed Birthday | By Tracey McNeely

    tracey_brushed
    Another look at a new stamp and die set from the Birch Press Design store. There are so many stamps and dies that are perfect for holiday crafting but also for everyday crafting. The Brushed Birthday Greetings stamp set is one set that can be used all year round and perfect that there is a set of co-ordinating dies also available. The large rose image is a 2-step image that gives the bloom depth and dimension.
    tracey_fullcard
    To recreate this card the first thing you will need to do is orient yourself with the two layers and how to position the top detail layer correctly. Start by choosing two ink colors and stamp the base flower in the lighter of the two shades as seen in the image below.
    tracey_brushedbase
    The following image shows the five points you will want to line up to add the detail layer in the darker of the two inks. Once you line the stamp up you will get a perfect placement each time.
    tracey_brushedx
    tracey_sidebyside
    The layered leaves are easy to line up as the base images and the detail layer are basically the same shape. Line the detail layer up at the top of the stem where it meets the leaf. Next stamp and die cut the ‘Happy’ and ‘Birthday’ sentiments. All the dies are open window dies which makes die cutting easy as you just place the dies over the images. Secure the dies with some low tac tape and run it through your die cutting machine.

    The background panel was watercolored on watercolor paper with Distress Ink.  Adhere the sentiments to the panel and then stamp the ‘TO YOU’ directly onto the panel nestled into the sentiment. The flower is adhered with double sided adhesive foam tape. Add some adhesive to the backs of the leaves and tuck them in behind the flowers. The completed watercolor panel was adhered to the card base with more double sided adhesive foam tape for added dimension. Finish the scene off by adding a few carefully placed clear sequins.
    tracey_closeupangle
    It is easy to create a beautiful card with just this one stamp and die set.
    tracey_sideview
    Thanks for joining us again this week! We hope to see you again next Tuesday for more crafting inspiration!
    _tracey-signature

     

    Save

    Save

    Save

    Save

    Save


    Save

    Save

    Save

    Save

    Save

    Save