Category: Crystal Komara

  • Let’s Party | by Crystal Komara

    Let’s Party | by Crystal Komara

    Let’s paarrrrtayyyyyyy, Birch Press Design friends! Today’s slimline card created by DT member Crystal Komara is a rainbow of fun! This colorful card features the new Let’s Party Sugar Script dies and the Floral Balloon Layer Set.

    Card details:

    This slimline card measures 8 1/2″ x 3 1/2″. Slimline cards are designed to fit inside a regular business envelope and require no additional postage. The base of this card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I also cut a 8 1/4″ x 3 1/4″ piece of the same white cardstock for the first matted layer.

    To create the balloons:

    From white cardstock, I die cut 5 balloons using Layer Plate B of the Floral Balloons Layer Set. Then I die cut one each of Layer A in red, orange, yellow, green and blue cardstock. I layered the two together and adhered them vertically down the card in a ROYGBIV rainbow pattern.

    To create all the “party” sentiments, I die cut the thicker shadow layer of “party” in red, orange, yellow, green and blue cardstock. I die cut the thinner top layer from rainbow patterned paper and adhered the two layers together with a fine-tip glue. I adhered the words vertically down the card (over the balloons) using 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I added the word “let’s” created from layering black and white cardstock together and adhered this sentiment to the bottom third of the card.

    I hope you are enjoying may of the many F-U-N new products from Birch Press Design! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

    Supplies

    57433 Floral Balloon Layer Set

    57430 Let’s Party Sugar Script

    SP1001 Berry Red 6×6 pack

    SP1002 Sunny Orange 6×6 pack

    SP1003 Lush Green 6×6 pack

    SP1005 Ocean Blue 6×6 pack

  • Make A Wish | by Crystal Komara

    Make A Wish | by Crystal Komara

    Hello readers and happy Saturday! I hope your weekend is off to a great start. This is DT member Crystal Komara here with you. The weekends are one of the few times I have to craft, so you’ll most likely find me in my craft room today. I’m so excited to be sharing some of the brand new dies that Birch Press Design has to offer in January! Many of these newly released products focus on birthdays, so my first card using the new Floral Balloon Layer Set and the Make a Wish Sugar Script dies is a fun shaker card. Nothing says let’s celebrate like sparkle and sequins!

    Card details:

    The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Pinpoint Radial Plate, I cut my first layer from white cardstock. This pinpoint die is what you see behind the balloons. I adhered this pinpoint embossed cardstock directly to the card base. I placed approximately 1 tablespoon each of black and raspberry sequins on the pinpoint embossed cardstock. I created a shaker frame using a scalloped rectangle die and a smaller scalloped rectangle die. I lined the back of the frame with clear acetate. I lined the back of the frame with thin strips of 3M foam adhesive, ensuring that every send and seal was covered so no sequins would fall out. I placed the frame directly over the sequins and pressed firmly sealing the edges.

    I die cut the words “make a wish” from black cardstock and white cardstock and layered the two together with a fine-tip glue. I put the sentiment aside to save for the final layer.

    Creating the balloons:

    For the first (black and white balloon) I used the Floral Balloon Layer Set. I die cut Layer B from black cardstock and layered it over a piece of white cardstock that I trimmed by hand to the same shape. I adhered this balloon directly to the acetate on the front of the card.

    For the second balloon (black/pink and white), I also used the Floral Balloon Layer Set. I die cut Layer A from pink glitter cardstock, Layer B from Black cardstock and then again, I layered the balloons over white cardstock and trimmed the white cardstock by hand to form the balloon shape. I adhered this second balloon over the first balloon using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

    Lastly, I added the “make a wish” sentiment to the card also using 3M foam adhesive.

    I hope you like today’s shaker card using some of the NEW Birch Press Design products! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

    Supplies

    1717 Make A Wish

    57433 Floral Balloon Layer Set

    57384 Pinpoint Radial Plate

    GP1007 Glitzy Glitter Pad

  • With Love | by Crystal Komara

    With Love | by Crystal Komara

    Hello crafty readers! This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here with you today inspiring you to get a head start on your Valentine’s Day cards with this slimline card made using the Flora Heart Layering Dies.

    Card details:

    This slimline card measures 8 1/2″ x 3 1/2″. Slimline cards are designed to fit inside a regular #10 business sized envelope and require no additional postage. The base of this slimline card was made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. The first layer of the card is also a piece of Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock measuring 8 1/4″ x 3 1/4″. I ran this piece of white cardstock through an embossing folder with small cascading hearts (a retired product).

    To create the two die cut hearts:

    Using the Flora Heart Layering Die set, I die cut Layer A, Layer B and Layer C all from white cardstock. (I did this twice). I adhered all three white layers together using a fine tip liquid glue. Then I fussy cut a red heart background behind the layers to ensure the die cut hearts would “pop” when placed on a white background. I adhered the hearts to the top and bottom of the card using 3M foam adhesive for dimension.

    To create the alcohol ink hearts:

    On a 5 1/4 ” x 4″ piece of white Yupo paper I ink blended Ranger Adirondack Alcohol inks in the colors in Crimson, Red Pepper and Pink Sherbet. I also added in gold mixative for the swirls of metallic gold. After the ink was dry, I die cut one large heart and two smaller hearts from the Yupo Paper. I adhered the large heart to the center of the card using 3M foam adhesive. I added the two smaller hearts beside the white die cut Flora Hearts.

    Lastly, I stamped the sentiment “with love” in red ink on white cardstock. This sentiment is from the Contempo Christmas Greetings stamp set. I die cut the sentiment with the coordinating Contempo Christmas Greetings die. I adhered the sentiment to the center heart using 3M foam adhesive.

    I hope you have enjoyed this beautiful and elegant slimline card. While designed with Valentine’s Day in mind, this card would also work for weddings and anniversaries.

    Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

    Supplies

    56120 Flora Heart Layer Set

    8162 Contempo Christmas Greetings clear stamp and die set

  • Just Add Sparkle | by Crystal Komara

    Just Add Sparkle | by Crystal Komara

    Hello Birch Press Design friends and Happy New Year! This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here. I live in Massachusetts (and grew up in Northern Maine) and January is essentially the “dead of winter” here with cold temperatures and typically measurable amounts of snow. So, clearly winter is on my mind with today’s card!

    Card details:

    The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. On a 5 1/4″ x 4″ piece of Yupo paper, I created a background using Ranger Adirondack Alcohol inks in the colors Glacier Blue, Sailboat Blue and Limeade. Once the alcohol ink background dried, I adhered it directly to the card base. I die cut two snowflakes from the Frosty Flake Layer Set. I cut Layer A from a piece of blue glitter cardstock in the Twinkling Jewel Paper Pack. I cut Layer B from white cardstock. I adhered both snowflakes directly to the alcohol ink background using a fine tip liquid glue.

    I stamped the sentiment “just add sparkle” on teal cardstock (from the Fresh Aqua Paper Pack) in Versamark ink. This sentiment is from the Contempo Christmas Greetings stamp set. I heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder and then die cut the sentiment using the coordinating Contempo Christmas Greetings dies. I adhered the sentiment to the center of the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly, I added a couple clear rhinestones to the snowflakes for more sparkle.

    I love working with alcohol inks! They can provide a beautiful background for the most simple of elements. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

    Supplies

    57388 Frosty Flake Layer Set

    SP1004 Fresh Aqua 6×6 pack

    8162 Contempo Christmas Greetings clear stamp and die set

    GP1003 Twinkling Jewel Glitter Pad

  • Christmas Mandala Trees | by Crystal Komara

    Christmas Mandala Trees | by Crystal Komara

    Hello! This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here with you today sharing my last holiday themed cards for 2021! I know there are only four days left until Christmas, so by now it’s more than likely too late to send those cards out, so think of it as a head start on next year’s cards!

    I just love this new Christmas Mandala Tree stamp and coordinating dies, though for these cards, I only used the two tree dies!

    Card details:

    *Please note – both cards were made the exact way I just used alternate color combinations for each card to show variety.

    These slimline cards measure 8 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ inches. Slimline cards are designed to fit inside a regular #10 business mailing envelope and require no additional postage. For one card I used a lilac purple cardstock base and the other I used a garden green cardstock base. I lined each cardstock base with an 8 1/4″ x 3 1/4″ piece of 80 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. I then started die cutting trees for each card. For the purple trees, I used some of the glitter cardstock from the 6″ x 6″ Graceful Garden Glitter pad and some extra purple plaid paper I pulled from my scrap bin. For the green trees, I used glitter cardstock from the 6″ x 6″ Frosted Glitter pad.

    I adhered the first five trees directly to the card base. I adhered the “top” tree (with the mosaic cutouts) to the center of the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. On thin white strips of cardstock, I stamped the sentiment “wishing you peace” in either green or purple ink. This sentiment is also included in the Christmas Mandala stamp set.

    Thank you for visiting! I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Feliz Navidad & Happy Kwanzaa! Whatever you celebrate, may your festivities be filled with peace, love and joy. I’ll see you in the New Year!

    Supplies

    8161 Christmas Mandala clear stamp and die set

    GP1002 Graceful Garden Glitter Pad

    GP1004 Frosted Glitter Pad

  • Be Merry | by Crystal Komara

    Be Merry | by Crystal Komara

    Hello readers! I can’t believe we are only 11 days away from Christmas! I am proud of myself for getting all 121 of my handmade Christmas cards out (and on time) this year! Although, my friends in Austria and Germany may see their cards around Valentine’s Day. . . I tried. Today I am sharing two cards made using the Frosty Snowflake Layering dies and while the sentiment on these cards says, “be merry,” they could easily be made into winter birthday cards or holiday thank you cards by simply changing out the stamped sentiment.

    Card details:

    *Note – both of these cards were made the same way, I just changed out the color combinations.

    The base of this A2 sized card was made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Pinpoint Radial Plate die, I cut the background from the same white cardstock. Using Layer A and Layer B of the Frosty Flakes Layering Dies I cut the snowflakes from the 6″ x 6″ Twinkling Jewel Glitter pad. I adhered the snowflakes directly to the background. Using the Contempo Christmas Greetings stamp set and coordinating die, I stamped the sentiment “be merry” in either blue ink or purple ink and then I used the coordinating circle die to cut the sentiment out. I adhered the sentiment to the center of each card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

    Here is the same card made in an alternate color combination:

    I hope you have enjoyed these beautiful cards. Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

    Supplies

    57388 Frosty Flake Layer Set

    57384 Pinpoint Radial Plate

    GP1003 Twinkling Jewel Glitter Pad

    8162 Contempo Christmas Greetings clear stamp and die set

  • Jolly | by Crystal Komara

    Jolly | by Crystal Komara

    Hello Birch Press Design friends! This is DT member Crystal Komara here with you and it’s a mad dash to the finish line to create those holiday cards and get them out in time! Today I’m sharing a fun and festive way to use a simple holiday shadow word die as the focal point of your card.

    Card details:

    The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I cut a 5″ x 3 3/4″ piece of white cardstock for the first layer and matted that with a 5 1/4″ x 4″ piece of red cardstock. Using Layer B of the Frosty Flake Layering Set, I cut four snowflakes from white cardstock. I adhered these four snowflakes onto the white cardstock to create my background. It’s a very subtle look to allow the colorful words to POP! I die cut the word “Jolly” three times using the Jolly Honey Script Word Die. I die cut one word from gold glitter cardstock, one from red glitter cardstock and one from green glitter cardstock. All of the glitter cardstock was from the 6″ x 6″ Frosted Glitter pad. I cut the thinner shadow portion of the “jolly” from white cardstock. I layered the two “jolly” layers together with a fine-tip liquid adhesive. I then placed the three “jolly” sentiments going down the middle of the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

    I hope you have joined this fun way to use your shadow word dies to create holiday cards, no stamping required! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

    Supplies

    57301 Jolly Honey Script

    57388 Frosty Flake Layer Set

    GP1004 Frosted Glitter Pad

  • Joy | by Crystal Komara

    Joy | by Crystal Komara

    Hello crafty readers! This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here with you today. Hopefully by now you have started making your Christmas cards or maybe even some of you are already done. And then the real overachievers have them all stamped and addressed ready to be shipped! Well. . . I’m not! I’m always late to the game. But, I’ve still got a little time to inspire you with some Birch Press Design products and this festive modern shaker card.

    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 red cardstock and used it as the first card layer. Using the Radial Pinpoint Cover Die, I cut the next layer from white cardstock. I cut Layers A and C of the Tranquility Layering Die from pool party cardstock and I cut Layer B of the Tranquility Layering Die from red glitter cardstock found in the Frosted 6″ x 6″ Paper Pack. *Note – I did not use the center pieces from the Tranquility Layering Dies because I used the vacant space to create a shaker card.

    I lined the circle on the back of the Tranquility Layering Die with a piece of acetate. I put about 1 tablespoon of iridescent sequins on the card before adhering the die in place over the sequins. I adhered this entire piece to the center of the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

    I stamped the “joy” from the new Contempo Christmas Greetings stamp set in red ink on white cardstock. I used the coordinating Contempo Christmas Greetings die to cut out the circle. I adhered the sentiment to the lower right side of the shaker card also using 3M adhesive for added dimension. Lastly, I added a few red rhinestone embellishments for added sparkle.

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

  • Pumpkins in Every Color | by Crystal Komara

    Pumpkins in Every Color | by Crystal Komara

    Hello crafty readers! This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here with you today sharing a couple cards made using the beautiful Pumpkin Lacework stamp set and coordinating dies. This is probably my favorite stamp set from Birch Press Design, so just like the old expression “if the shoe fits, buy it in every color”, I decided to stamp it in every color! Now the question is, do YOU prefer the more traditional orange/brown pumpkin, or do you like the blues and purples?

    So, let’s take a look at the most conventional card first. It’s beautiful and elegant heat embossed with gold embossing powder and then colored using Copic markers in brown, oranges and yellows. It is very traditional, warm and earthy.

    But, now let’s step outside-of-the-box and try the same exact card simply using a different color pattern. Does it still emit fall vibes? I think so!

    Card details:

    Each of these A2 cards were made using all the same dimensions and products, I simply alternated some colors. The base of each card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I matted a 5″ x 3 3/” piece of white woodgrain cardstock with a coordinating piece of blue, purple or brown cardstock from the Ocean Blue, Vibrant Violet and Earth Neutral 6 x 6″ paper packs. I cut 5″ x 1/4″ strips of ombre colors from these same paper packs and diagonally lined them up along the card alternating with 1/4″ strips of gold glitter cardstock from the Twinkling Jewel Glitter 6 x 6″ pad.

    I stamped the pumpkins and stems using the Pumpkin Lacework stamp set. I stamped the image in Versamark ink on white cardstock and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. I used the coordinating dies to cut the pumpkin and stem out. I colored the pumpkins with Copic markers and then adhered the colored pumpkins to the card with 3M foam adhesive. I stamped the tag in coordinating colored cardstock in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I adhered the tag to each pumpkin and added linen thread for extra dimension. Lastly, I cut the sentiment “thanks” and “hello” from white cardstock using the Thanks Sugar Script and Hello Sugar Script.

    I hope you have enjoyed seeing these cards in a variety of colors and that you’ll feel encouraged to try adding more color to your fall cards. Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

  • Hello Autumn | by Crystal Komara

    Hello Autumn | by Crystal Komara

    Hello friends, it’s almost the last day of September and we are officially in the midst of PSL season! That’s Pumpkin Spice Latte for anyone unfamiliar with the popular influencer inspired lingo. This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here today inspiring you to embrace fall (while dreading winter) and I’m sharing a simple, yet elegant card made using my favorite Birch Press Design stamp set called Pumpkin Lacework.

    Card details:

    The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. Using Layer B of the Autumn Breeze Layering Plates, I cut the background from white cardstock. I adhered this leafy imprinted background directly to the card base.

    Using the Pumpkin Lacework stamp set, I stamped the large pumpkin in Versamark ink on orange cardstock. I heat embossed the pumpkin with white embossing powder. I used the coordinating Pumpkin Lacework die to cut the pumpkin out. I adhered the pumpkin to the lower right side of the card using 3M foam adhesive. I stamped the pumpkin stem in Versamark ink on brown cardstock and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I also stamped a variety of the leaves in Versamark ink on white cardstock and heat embossed the leaves with gold embossing powder. I used the Pumpkin Lacework dies to cut all the small images out before adhering them to the pumpkin using a Tombow adhesive runner.

    I stamped the “hello autumn” sentiment from the same Pumpkin Lacework stamp set in Versamark ink on white cardstock. I heat embossed the sentiment with gold embossing powder and used the coordinating die to cut the sentiment out. I adhered the sentiment to the left side of the pumpkin using 3M foam adhesive.

    I hope today’s card will inspire YOU to create some beautiful fall things! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day.