Category: Crystal Komara

  • Sending Warm Wishes | by Crystal Komara

    Sending Warm Wishes | by Crystal Komara

    Hello friends and happy Tuesday! I hope you are all having a wonderful day so far. This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here with you today sharing a “warm wishes” card and nothing says warm like the color yellow, right?

    The base of this A2 sized card is made from 100 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. First, I created an alcohol ink background from Butterscotch Ranger Adirondack alcohol ink on Yupo paper. Once that dried, I adhered the background directly to the card base.

    Using the new Honeycomb Plate, I die cut the honeycomb frame from white cardstock. I adhered the frame to the card using a very fine-tip liquid glue. Next, using the Perky Bloom Contour Layers die, I created the flower. I die cut all pieces of the Perky Bloom Contour Layers die from white cardstock to create a solid white flower (minus a black stamen) that would pop against that bold alcohol ink background. I adhered the layers of the flower together and adhered the flower to the lower right corner of the card.

    Using the Foliage Bunch dies, I die cut foliage from black cardstock. I adhered the foliage under the flower. Lastly, for a sentiment I added a foil tab from Memory Box, a sister company to Birch Press Design.

    I hope you like today’s card. Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

  • The Butterflies & The Bees | by Crystal Komara

    The Butterflies & The Bees | by Crystal Komara

    Hello friends and happy Tuesday! This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here with you today sharing a vibrant card made with some of the latest products from Birch Press Design – the Honeycomb Plate, the Block Print Buzzing Bumblebee and the previously released Butterfly Basics.

    The base of this A2 sized card is made from 110 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. I created an alcohol ink background using Butterscotch Ranger Adirondack alcohol ink on Yupo paper. Once that alcohol ink dried, I used the new Honeycomb Stencil and sponged Versamark ink over the alcohol ink. I then applied gold embossing powder and heated that with a heat tool being careful not to burn the synthetic Yupo paper.

    Using the Butterfly Basics, I die cut the first layer of the two butterflies from a piece of the alcohol ink background. I then die cut the second layer from white cardstock and adhered the two layers together with a fine tip liquid glue. Using the Block Print Buzzing Bumblebee, I die cut the bumblebee from yellow cardstock and then used a fine tip sharpie to “color” the black body. I die cut the wings from vellum cardstock.

    I adhered everything to the card and then splattered the entire image with an espresso (dark brown) ink.

    The “thank you” sentiment is a foil greeting from sister company Memory Box. You can find those sentiment strips here.

    I hope you have enjoyed this vibrant butterflies and bees card. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day.

  • Block Print Garden Heart | by Crystal Komara

    Block Print Garden Heart | by Crystal Komara

    Hello friends and happy Monday! I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful weekend. It has been incredibly rainy here in the Northeast where I live (Massachusetts). This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here with you today sharing my first card made using the new Block Print Garden Heart dies.

    The base of this card is made with 110 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.

    Let’s make this card:

    1. I cut a 5 1/4″ x 4″ piece of Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and used Layer A of the Viola Plate Layering set as a stencil. I stenciled directly over the steel die using Ranger Distress Oxide ink in the color Twisted Citron.
    2. I die cut the Block Print Garden Heart itself from white cardstock. I die cut the leaves of the heart from green cardstock .
    3. I die cut various pieces of the flower from three different colored pink cardstock.
    4. I die cut the center of the flowers from yellow cardstock.
    5. I adhered the flower pieces together using a fine-tip liquid glue.

    Once both flower hearts were assembled, I adhered them to the card front using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

    Lastly to create the sentiment, I die cut the Happy Birthday Vintage Sentiment from two different colored pink yardsticks. I adhered the two layers together with a fine-tip liquid glue. Then I adhered the sentiment to the card using 3M foam adhesive.

    I really love this beautiful new Block Print Garden Heart die set and can’t wait to create with it again! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

  • Purple Pumpkin | by Crystal Komara

    Purple Pumpkin | by Crystal Komara

    Hello friends!

    Supplies

    57481 Adornment Pumpkin

    57507 Phlox Blooms and Leaves Contour Layers

    57426 Eloquent Butterfly Layer Set

    57501 Tiny Tuft Flowers and Leaves Contour Layers

    SP1002 Sunny Orange 6×6 pack

    GP1006 Festive Glitter Pad

    SP1001 Berry Red 6×6 pack

    57525 Oval Leaf Branches Contour Layers

    SP1008 Twilight Purple 6×6 pack

  • Butterfly Pumpkin | by Crystal Komara

    Butterfly Pumpkin | by Crystal Komara

    Hello and welcome to November!

    Supplies

    57481 Adornment Pumpkin

    57507 Phlox Blooms and Leaves Contour Layers

    57426 Eloquent Butterfly Layer Set

    57501 Tiny Tuft Flowers and Leaves Contour Layers

    SP1002 Sunny Orange 6×6 pack

    GP1006 Festive Glitter Pad

    SP1001 Berry Red 6×6 pack

    57525 Oval Leaf Branches Contour Layers

    SP1008 Twilight Purple 6×6 pack

  • Forever Grateful | by Crystal Komara

    Forever Grateful | by Crystal Komara

    Hello crafty friends! This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here with you today sharing the first of a few fall themed pumpkin cards that I have made featuring the Adornment Pumpkin Set.

    The Adornment Pumpkin Layer Set is one of my go-to products for fall cards. I love the large size of the layering pumpkin. Plus, it comes together easily with only two dies – a solid inside layer and a thin outline layer. For this card, I combined it with a variety of other products from Birch Press Design to include:

    ~Phlox Blooms and Leaves Contour Layers

    ~Tiny Tuft Flowers and Leaves

    Card details:

    There is a lot to this card, so let’s break it down:

    1. To create the pumpkin, using the Adornment Pumpkin die, I die cut the large solid pumpkin from the 6″ x 6″ Gladiola paper pack from Memory Box Company. I die cut the outline layer from white cardstock. I adhered the two together with a fine tip liquid glue.
    2. Using the Phlox Blooms and Leaves contour layer set, I die cut a bunch of flowers from a mustard orange and rust colored cardstock. I also cut the inside of the flowers from chocolate brown cardstock and the center of of the flowers from gold glitter cardstock. For each flower, I layered the three colors togethers with a fine-tip liquid glue.
    3. Next I simply die cut a bunch of orange, yellow, mustard, gold and brown leaves from the Tiny Tufts Flowers and Leaves contour die and tucked them in and around the pumpkin.
    4. I splattered gold paint all over the card for some “distressing” or a “mixed media” look.
    5. Lastly, I stamped the sentiment “forever grateful” using the Brush Sentiment stamp set. I stamped the sentiment in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I used an oval punch to punch the sentiment out and adhered it to the card using foam adhesive for added dimension.

    I know at first glance that a lot of these intricate layered cards can seem intimating, but all it really entails is a LOT of die cutting. My little tip* – I don’t even count or measure as I’m die cutting, I just keep cutting until it seems like I have a lot. Any extra pieces can be used on the inside or saved for another card!

    Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

    Supplies

    57481 Adornment Pumpkin

    57507 Phlox Blooms and Leaves Contour Layers

    CL8158 Brush Sentiments clear stamp set

    57501 Tiny Tuft Flowers and Leaves Contour Layers

    SP1002 Sunny Orange 6×6 pack

    GP1006 Festive Glitter Pad

    Supplies

    PP1027 Gladiola Plaid 6×6 pack

  • Gilded Birthday | by Crystal Komara

    Gilded Birthday | by Crystal Komara

    Hello friends and welcome to October! Wow, how the seasons fly, but things sure are getting pretty with the fall foliage here in New England. This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here today sharing an elegant black and gold birthday card today using the Floral Balloon Layer Set.

    I love the large size of these balloons, they really make a statement. By layering the balloons with black, gold and white, it really makes the card seem more elevated and elegant.

    Card details:

    The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Pinpoint Contour Plate, I die cut the background from black cardstock. Next I die cut the balloons using the Floral Balloon Layer Set. I cut one white ballon and then added strips of gold and black cardstock. For the second balloon, I die cut Layer A (the top layer) from gold glitter cardstock, Layer B (the middle layer) from black cardstock and Layer C (the bottom layer) from white cardstock. I adhered all three layers together with a fine-tip liquid glue. I adhere the top gold balloon to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. The white balloon is adhered directly to the card base, without foam.

    For the sentiment, I heat foiled the “happy birthday” in gold foil on white cardstock. This sentiment is from the Sugar Script Sentiments 2 foil plate and coordinating die. I used the coordinating die to cut the sentiment out and adhered it to the card using 3M foam.

    Thanks for being here and spending time exploring all that Birch Press Design has to offer for your creative paper craft hobby! Have a wonderfully creative day!

    Supplies

    57433 Floral Balloon Layer Set

    57511 Pinpoint Contour Plate

    BPF505 Sugar Script Sentiments 2 Hot Foil Plate and Die Sets

  • Plaid Adornment Pumpkin | by Crystal Komara

    Plaid Adornment Pumpkin | by Crystal Komara

    Hello fall friends! This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here to inspire you today! I have been sharing a lot of detailed intricate die cut cards lately, so today I thought I would keep my card a little more simple. I know that those intricate contour dies can be intimidating to some (as they were to me at first), but Birch Press Design makes so many gorgeous products, that you can cater the level of detail to your own personal taste.

    Card details:

    The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. I cut a 5 1/4 x 4″ piece of Kraft cardstock and adhered it directly to the card base. Then, using Layer Plate B of the Flora Plate Layer Set, I die cut that from Kraft cardstock and adhered it directly to the previous Kraft layer (so it’s kind of see through).

    I die cut the base of Adornment Pumpkin from plaid cardstock from the Gladiola paper pack by Memory Box Company (a sister company of Birch Press Design). I LOVE their paper packs, they are all stunning. I cut the outline of the Adornment pumpkin from white cardstock. I layered the two together using a fine-tip liquid glue before adhering the pumpkin to the card with 3M foam adhesive for dimension.

    I die cut a bunch of leaves using the Tiny Tufts Leaves and Flowers contour set. I die cut these leaves in both a dark brown and gold glitter cardstock. I adhered the leaves to the top stem of the pumpkin. Lastly, I stamped the sentiment “forever grateful” from the Brush Sentiment clear stamp set. I stamped the sentiment in Versamark ink on dark brown cardstock and heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder. I then used an oval punch to punch out the sentiment. I adhered the sentiment to the pumpkin using 3M foam adhesive.

    Fall is one of my favorite seasons to make cards for. I promise you will be seeing lots more ways to use this Adornment Pumpkin in the very near future!

    Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

    Supplies

    57481 Adornment Pumpkin

    57501 Tiny Tuft Flowers and Leaves Contour Layers

    SH44003 Kraft Woodgrain Paper

    CL8158 Brush Sentiments clear stamp set

    57437 Flora Plate Layer Set

    Supplies

    PP1027 Gladiola Plaid 6×6 pack

  • Black & White Garden | by Crystal Komara

    Black & White Garden | by Crystal Komara

    Hello friends! I’m so excited that fall is finally here in New England, it’s my favorite time of the year! This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here today to inspire you with with a black and white garden of thanks!

    You know when you have an idea in your head and then when it times to execute the plan, you don’t always have the desired result? Well, this card came out exactly as I envisioned and I was so happy with it that I can’t wait to create similar cards in other colors.

    Card details:

    The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I cut a 5 1/4x ” x 4″ piece of Kraft cardstock and adhered it directly to the card base. Then I went to work die cutting a bunch of flowers using the Phlox Blooms and Leaves Contour Layers. I die cut all the flower bases from white cardstock and all the 2nd layer of the flowers from black cardstock. I die cut the centers from gold glitter cardstock. I also die cut all the leaves in black cardstock.

    First, I adhered the leaves to the card and then I added the flowers as I deemed visually appealing. Lastly, I left enough space to add the sentiment. The sentiment strips are actually heavy cardboard foiled tabs from Memory Box Co. (a sister company to Birch Press Design). You can find the Thank You Foiled Greetings Tabs here.

    I think a black and white card is so elegant. If you add a touch of gold glitter or foil, it even ups the WOW factor. This card would work really well as a wedding or sympathy card too.

    Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

    Supplies

    57507 Phlox Blooms and Leaves Contour Layers

    SH44003 Kraft Woodgrain Paper

    Supplies

    ST005 Thank You Foil Greetings Black Tabs

  • A Blue Hibiscus Summer | by Crystal Komara

    A Blue Hibiscus Summer | by Crystal Komara

    Hello crafty readers! This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here sharing a very detailed card using the beautiful Tropical Hibiscus Contour Layers. Now, contour layering dies have been around for a while now, but in all honesty, it’s taken them a little while to grow on me. I go through my love ’em and hate ’em phases. Well, I am currently in my die cutting era right now! I can’t stop, because each card comes out so elegant and gorgeous, it just makes all that die cutting and piece work worth it!

    Card details:

    The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I then cut a 5 1/4″ x 4″ piece of royal blue cardstock and adhered it directly to the card base.

    Next, I went to town just die cutting all those hibiscus layers (from three different colors of blue) and then the leaves in two shades of green. Really, I don’t measure or count anything as I’m doing all that die cutting, I just keep cutting and then put it all together in the end. Yes, I always have leftover and mismatched pieces, but I just add a couple of the “extras” to the inside of the card and any leftover pieces go in my scrap bin for another time.

    Once I adhered all the flowers and leaves together and situated them on the card in a visual appealing way, I added the sentiment. I used the Big Hello Vintage Sentiment die. I die cut the bottom layer from white cardstock and the top layer from royal blue cardstock. I adhered both layers together with a fine-tip liquid adhesive. Lastly I adhered the entire sentiment to the card using 3M foam for added dimension.

    Now, is this card “perfect” – goodness NO! I bet you didn’t realize that I splattered silver ink all over the card when I intended on splattering gold. Do I love it? No. But there was already so much work done that I wasn’t about to start all over. And, let’s be real, no one would ever know but me! Shhhh. . .

    Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

    Supplies

    57486 Tropical Hibiscus Contour Layers

    57550 Hello Vintage Sentiment

    SP1005 Ocean Blue 6×6 pack

    SP1003 Lush Green 6×6 pack

    SP1002 Sunny Orange 6×6 pack