Category: Crystal Komara

  • Thankful Mandala | by Crystal Komara

    Thankful Mandala | by Crystal Komara

    Hello crafty friends! This is Crystal here today sharing two cards made using the beautiful Thankful Mandala background stamp. I chose to work with this stamp set because it was something very different for me, and I am so happy that I decided to challenge myself because I love how these cards turned out! In fact, I had so much fun experimenting with this stamp set that I’ll be sharing even more cards using it at the end of the month!

    The very first thing I did after receiving the stamp was to actually cut down the Mandala! Yes, this was equally as scary as it might sound! I knew this could go wonderfully right, or horribly wrong really quick and that I was taking a chance at potentially ruining a $25 stamp set! I didn’t particularly like the large square shape of the mandala, so I trimmed off the outermost layer to give it more of that peacock edge shape. Fortunately, it worked out just fine! Phew!

    Card details:

    The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I stamped the large mandala in Versamark ink on black cardstock and then heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. I cut the mandala in half in order to separate it on the card. I adhered each half to the top and bottom of the card base. I die cut the larger outline word “thanks” from gold foil paper and the smaller word outline from black cardstock. I mounted the two together using a Tombow tape runner and adhered both to the center of the card using 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I stamped the sentiment “for all you do” in the middle of the card in Memento Tuxedo black ink.

    For the second card, my card base is a sheet of turquoise cardstock. I stamped the mandala in Versamark ink on another sheet of turqoise cardstock and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I trimmed the image down to 5″ x 3 3/4″ and mounted this stamped mandala onto a scalloped sheet of white cardstock. I adhered both sheets to the card base. I die cut the word “hugs” from both gold foil paper and white cardstock, layering the two together using a Tombow tape runner. I stamped the words “it’s your birthday” in Versamark ink on a thin strip of white cardstock and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. I notched both ends before adhering it to the card below the word “hugs” using 3M foam adhesive.

    I hope you have enjoyed these cards featuring the Thankful Mandala stamp set. Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

    Supplies

  • Folk Art Heart Wedding | by Crystal Komara

    Folk Art Heart Wedding | by Crystal Komara

    Hello readers and happy Thursday! This is Crystal here with you today and I am sharing a wedding themed card created using the Folk Art Heart Layering dies. And yes, that is a mouthful to say! My husband and I actually had a wedding that we were supposed to attend two weeks ago in Orange County, California, that was canceled due to coronavirus. There were over 300 people anticipated to attend and travel in from across the country. Ugh, I can’t even imagine what that poor bride (and groom too, of course!) have been going through. . .

    *You can see full details on how to make this card in the video at the end of this post.

    The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. I also created a white scalloped frame from the same cardstock. Using Memento Tuxedo black ink, I stamped the sentiment at the top and bottom of the card, so that there would be room for the two hearts in the middle. I tried to create each heart to resemble more traditional bride and grooms colors, though you could easily make the hearts to match the wedding colors, or create two pink and white hearts if there were two brides to be celebrated!


    Here is a video tutorial that I created showing how to create this card:

    Thank you for visiting and I hope you have a wonderfully creative day!

    Supplies

  • Regal Peacock | by Crystal Komara

    Regal Peacock | by Crystal Komara

    Hello readers and happy Saturday to you! This is Crystal here with you today, and I hope that you are all enjoying your weekend thus far, and, more importantly, I hope that you are all happy, safe and healthy. We are fortunate to all share a common hobby that can be done from the comfort and sanctity of our homes. So keep on creating, but, don’t forget to also SEND those cards out to help brighten someone’s day! We could all use a little extra love right now.

    Today I am sharing two different cards that I created using the beautiful Regal Peacock Layering Dies. These dies were the very first layering dies that I actually purchased from Birch Press Design and I have to say, now that I’ve actually assembled them into cards, they are every bit as beautiful, elegant and regal, as I thought they would be.

    I created the “traditional” teal colored peacock card first (seen below), but I was very curious to see if a non-traditional colored peacock (purple) would have the same WOW factor, and yes, as it turns out peacock’s are beautiful creatures in any color!

    I have created a step-by-step tutorial video for you showing how each of these cards was created. I hope you will find it helpful!

    Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully crafty day!

    Supplies

  • String Art Frame| by Crystal Komara

    String Art Frame| by Crystal Komara

    Hello crafty readers! Thank you for visiting during our exciting Blog Blitz celebration! All week long the Creative Team is inspiring you with their amazing designs, but also giving YOU a chance to win some of these fun NEW products!

    This is Crystal here today sharing two vividly detailed cards using the new String Art Frame. Read all the way to the end of today’s post to see how you can win this die!

    For this first A2 sized card, I used a base of Neenah Solar White Smooth 80 lb. cardstock. I created a background from alcohol inks in the colors of Raspberry, Salmon and Valencia. I die cut the new String Art frame from gold glitter cardstock and adhered it directly over the alcohol ink background.

    Using the Lovely Butterflies stamp set, I stamped three of the smaller butterflies in similar ink colors (Raspberry, Salmon and Yellow). I die cut the butterflies and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I also added a couple gold rhinestones to the bodies of each butterfly for added sparkle.

    Using the Garden Bloom stamp set, I stamped the “butterflies” sentiment in Raspberry ink on Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and the “remind us of how good change can be” in salmon ink just below it. I trimmed the sentiment strip to 4 1/4″ x 1 3/4″ to fit the card just below the butterflies.

    I have created a video for you showing how I made each of today’s cards. I hope you will enjoy it seeing the step-by-step process.

    For this second card, I used an alcohol ink background filled with blues and greens that resembled the ocean. When I die cut the String Art frame in silver, I realized it kind of looked like a fishing net! So, I went with it and created an “Ocean Fantasy” scene.

    I stamped many of the images from the Ocean Fantasy stamp set in Versamark ink on a variety of blue and green colored cardstocks. I heat embossed the images with white embossing powder and then fussy cut each image (there is no coordinating die set). I adhered the images to the card with 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I even added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the images for even more sparkle!

    We’ll be having giveaways on our Instagram account March 21-29, 2020. We’ll use a random number generator to select a winner from the comments on each of the Instagram posts during the blog blitz. Only one prize per person, per giveaway. You have until midnight US EST on April 1 to leave a comment on each and every Instagram post that you want to enter. Winners will be announced on the Instagram posts on April 3.

    For a chance to win the String Art Frame die:

    1.) Follow Birch Press Design on Instagram
    2.) Double Tap (like) the post with this giveaway
    3.) Tag A Friend in the comments

    Good luck, and thanks for joining us!  

    Supplies

  • Colorful Floral Stars | by Crystal Komara

    Colorful Floral Stars | by Crystal Komara

    Hello crafty readers! This is Crystal here with you today sharing three cards featuring the beautiful new “Floral Star” Layering Dies. These dies, like all of the Birch Press Design products, are simply gorgeous and after initially making the purple card, I wanted to show you how these dies look in other colors too! This basic flower/star design would well for a variety of occasions.

    I have created a video for you to watch and learn how these cards were made. Each A2 sized card was made in a similar monochromatic color tone. Each color was carried throughout the card both in the cardstock base and coordinating ink.

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

    Supplies

  • Golden Thanks | by Crystal Komara

    Golden Thanks | by Crystal Komara

    Hello readers! This is Crystal here today sharing another way to use the beautiful Butterfly Garden Layering dies. If you recall, just last week I shared these two cards created using these same exact layering dies, yet they look vastly different when they are done in a completely different color scheme! I can’t decide which one I like better, can you?!

    I have created this fairly short video for you to watch to see how I put this A2 sized card together. This will guide you though step-by-step each process of this card – and it’s all under five minutes long! I’m a fan of keeping things short and sweet!

    There is also a list of supplies used (with clickable links) conveniently located at the end of this post.

    I hope you have enjoyed this card and video tutorial. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative weekend!

    Supplies

    Supplies

  • Butterflies in Blue | by Crystal Komara

    Butterflies in Blue | by Crystal Komara

    Hello friends and happy Wednesday! This is Crystal here today sharing two cards created from one layered die! I’m always trying to find the best way to get more “bang” for my buck, whether it’s recycling or repurposing products or making my craft supplies stretch just a little bit further. Who else has one of those “bits and pieces” bins filled with little odds & ends just waiting to be made into a card!?

    Today I have used the Butterfly Garden Layering Dies and the Lingo Thanks stamp set and coordinating dies. I feel like this is one of those cards that you could make in ANY color! I do that quite frequently, especially if I need to replenish my card supply. Perhaps someone really likes pinks or purples, then this design would also accommodate other colors too. Plus, by the time you are done die-cutting all those butterflies, you will have lots of extra ones to add to your “bits & pieces” bin!

    I have created a short step-by-step instructional video for you to see how this card came together. I do hope you will find it helpful!

    Thank you so much for visiting and I hope you have a wonderfully creative day!

    Supplies