Category: Crystal Komara

  • Block Print Star Flower Hello | by Crystal Komara

    Block Print Star Flower Hello | by Crystal Komara

    Hello beautiful Birch Press Design fans and Happy Monday! This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here with you today. This is actually my first time writing a blogpost in a little while as the blog was down for a, so I’m happy to be back with you and share today’s project using the new Block Print Star Flowers dies.

    Let’s talk a little about how I made this card:

    The base of my A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. This is my go-to cardstock for e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g! I use it for card bases, die cutting, ink blending, Copic coloring, etc. It’s a wonderful, good quality cardstock to use. Then using the Block Star Print Flower dies, I proceeded to cut out a bunch of flowers in a variety of blue shades of cardstock from the Stormy Blue 6″ x 6″ paper pack as well as gold glitter cardstock from the Festive Glitter 6″ x 6″ paper pack.

      I then began to layer alternating colors of cardstock to form the Block Star Flowers. After gluing the flower together, using a fine-tip liquid glue, I adhered them to the white cardstock base. I trimmed the edges as the flowers were extending off the length of the card. Then, I added the sentiment using the Hello Honey Script die. For the two-layered sentiment I used a layer of white cardstock and a layer of blue cardstock.

      Lastly, I added some blue rhinestones around the card for added sparkle!

      This is a card that you could make in a variety of colors and it would work just as beautifully. I simply chose various hues of blue, because that’s my favorite color, but I think all colors in this design and layout would look just as beautiful.

      Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

    1. 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

    2. 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

    3. 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

    4. 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

    5. 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

    6. 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

    7. 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

    8. Just a Little Something | by Crystal Komara

      Just a Little Something | by Crystal Komara

      Hello crafty friends and happy August! Where did the summer go already!? This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here today sharing a vibrant alcohol ink card featuring the Floral Star Layer set. Because this background has so much intense color, you might not even notice that I used just three layers of white on that Floral Star.

      Card details:

      This A2 card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. I pulled a scrap piece of a previously made alcohol ink background from my stash and splattered some white and gold ink all over the alcohol ink. I cut it down to 5 1/4″ x 4″ and adhered it directly to the white cards base.

      Next, I die cut all three layers – Layer A, Layer B and Layer C of the Floral Star Layering set from white cardstock. I adhered the three layers together using a fine-tip liquid glue. Then I adhered the full die to the center of the alcohol ink background.

      Using the Contempo Greetings stamp set, I stamped the sentiment in Versamark ink on black cardstock. I heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder and used the coordinating die to die cut the sentiment out. I adhered the sentiment to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

      I LOVE using alcohol inks on my cards, they are a great way to add visual interest and unique designs. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

      Supplies

      8160 Contempo Greetings clear stamp and die set

      56118 Floral Star Layer Set

    9. Hello Starlight Butterfly | by Crystal Komara

      Hello Starlight Butterfly | by Crystal Komara

      Hello friends! I hope your summer is going well and you are enjoying some beautiful hot and sunny days and cool ice cream summer nights! This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here today sharing a monochomatic purple and gold card using the Starlight Butterfly Layering dies.

      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 purple carsdtock and mounted that behind a sheet of purple gold foil paper from the Glimmering Gladiola cardstock paper pack from Memory Box Co. (Memory Box is a sister-company of Birch Press Design).

      I placed a 4″ x 3″ piece of vellum directly over the gold foil paper to “tone down” the pattern in the center of the card where I planned on adding the butterfly and sentiment.

      Using the Starlight Butterfly Layering Dies, I die cut Layer A (the top layer) from gold glitter cardstock, Layer B from a light purple cardstock and Layer C from a dark purple cardstock. I adhered all there layers together with a fine-tip liquid glue before adhering the butterfly to the card.

      Using the Hello Honey Script die, I die cut the bottom layer from dark purple cardstock and the top layer from gold glitter cardstock. I adhered the two layers together with a fine-tip liquid glue before adhering the sentiment to the card.

      I hope you have enjoyed this glittery card. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

      Supplies

      57310 Hello Honey Script

      57409 Starlight Butterfly Layer Set

      Supplies

      Supplies

      PP1027 Gladiola Plaid 6×6 pack

      SP1008 Twilight Purple