Category: Flowers

  • Butterfly Congratulations | By Natasha Vacca

    Butterfly Congratulations | By Natasha Vacca

    Hello Birch Press friends! I am excited to be back up on the blog today sharing a card using the beautiful Eloquent Butterfly layering die set! So let’s get started!

    I started by die cutting Layer A and C using white cardstock from the Eloquent Butterfly layering die set. I die cut Layer B using the Memory Box Glitzy Gltter Pad using a silver cardstock from the pad. I also die cut the antennae from the Butterfly Basics die set using the same silver cardstock. I wanted to distress the glitter cardstock a bit and added a distressed gold paper glaze to areas of silver glitter cardstock. I then adhered the layers of the butterfly together using liquid glue.

    Next I started to work on the background for my card using the Marvelous Magnolia 3D embossing folder from Memory Box. I dry embossed a gelli print from my stash. Once the florals were embossed I used some oil pastels on the flowers, leaves, and stems to add color to the embossed background.

    I also added the same paper glaze from the butterfly onto areas of the leaves. I allowed the panel to completely dry, then trimmed the panel using my paper trimmer. I then adhered the floral background onto an A2 card panel.

    Next I adhered the butterfly using liquid glue. I chose a sentiment from my stash to complete my card. I added a few purple gemstones from the Autumn Fairy Jewels collection. I had fun creating today’s card and I will be back soon!


    Supplies



    Supplies


  • Jingle Bell Poinsettia | by Rosemary Dennis

    Jingle Bell Poinsettia | by Rosemary Dennis

    Hello, friends! Rosemary here on the blog today sharing a Christmas card I created using the new Splendid Poinsettia Contour Layers die set. I love poinsettias both real and paper crafted varieties! One of my favorite varieties of poinsettia is the one my local nursery calls “Jingle Bell”. The bright red leaves of this variety are splashed with white. Sometimes you get lots of white on the leaves and sometimes a little less. In case you are wondering why I am referring to them as leaves it is because that is in fact what they are… leaves or the more correct term bracts. The actual flowers on the poinsettia are very tiny and yellow. For my yellow “flowers” I used yellow Fairy Jewels.

    I die cut all the pieces from smooth bristol cardstock and then ink blended the red leaves with Lumberjack Plaid and Aged Mahogany distress oxides and the green leaves with Pine Needles distress oxide. I went with a heavier hand when applying the Pine Needles to the bottom layer of the leaf and a lighter hand for the top to get the variation I wanted.

    I let the red pieces dry for a little bit and then I placed them in my splatter box and splattered them with white gouache that I watered down a little bit. I think I should have used white acrylic paint because my white splatters turned a little pink, but that is okay as it still provides the look I was going for.

    Once everything was dry I adhered all the pieces together using liquid adhesive. I did not glue the pieces together completely, but only at the base of each leaf so I could get a bit of extra dimension. Liquid adhesive was used to adhere all the layers together, as well. When the adhesive was set I used my fingers to give all the leaves a slight curve for even more dimension. Now it was time to create a background. I looked through my layering dies as I had thought I would use one for my background, but then I saw the Pinpoint Snowflake die set and thought that using the die portion that embosses the pinpoint snowflake would be perfect.

    I die cut a piece of white cardstock with a Memory Box rectangle die and then placed the pinpoint snowflake on the left handside and ran it through my die cutting machine. I was going to stop there, but decided to add the snowflake in other areas. Before doing that I did stop to stamp the sentiment from the Glad Tiding stamp set on the white panel with black ink. I then added the additional embossing. I adhered the poinsettia to the panel, added the three fairy jewels and adhered the panel to my white card base with double sided tape.

    I hope you enjoyed today’s card and learned a little something about poinsettias. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

    Supplies

  • Elegant Pumpkin | by Crystal Komara

    Elegant Pumpkin | by Crystal Komara

    Hello Birch Press Design readers! This is DT member Crystal Komara here with you today and I can’t believe it’s November already! I have been loving the new Adornment Pumpkin dies and since I love creating with alcohol ink backgrounds so much, I decided to put the two together for this elegant card:

    Card details:

    The base of this A2 sized card was made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. To create the background, I die cut all three layers of the Viola Layering Plates from the same Neenah white cardstock and adhered them together with a fine-tip liquid glue.

    Using the Adornment Pumpkin 2-piece die set, I die cut the pumpkin shadow from white cardstock and I die cut the intricate layer pieces from an orange pre-made alcohol ink background. I simply used Valencia orange alcohol ink on Yupo paper to create the alcohol ink piece. Just one color! I adhered the pumpkin together and die cut the stem from brown cardstock and the leaves from olive green cardstock. I adhered the assembled pumpkin to the center of the card using 3M foam adhesive for dimension.

    On a thin white strip of cardstock, I stamped the sentiment “forever grateful” from the Brush Sentiments stamp set. I notched the left end of the sentiment strip before adhering it to the card.

    Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

    Supplies

  • Birthday Wishes | by Allison Frazier

    Birthday Wishes | by Allison Frazier

    Hello, Birch Press friends! Today, I am sharing a sweet birthday card featuring the new Oval Leaf Branches Contour Layers set. Maybe it’s because we got an early snow this past weekend, but I was in the mood for some spring colors!

    I started my card with the sentiment, since it was going to be my focal point. I used the Say It Big stamp set, stamped the sentiment with peach ink, and cut it out with the matching die. I put foam tape on the back of the sentiment and popped it up on a white panel. I had already glued this white panel onto an A2 sized yellow card base.

    I cut the leaves out of turquoise, yellow and peach card stock. I cut the bottom layers of the leaves from a darker shade of each color. I glued the lighter detail pieces onto these darker ones. I also cut some small leaves (the ones that don’t have a top layer) out of white, yellow and peach card stock.

    Although these leaves are connected to each other, I snipped them all apart so that I could arrange them and tuck them in under the sentiment. Because the sentiment is popped up on foam tape, there is room all the way around to tuck the leaves. Once I had glued all the leaves in place, I added a little butterfly on top of the sentiment. This butterfly comes from the Simple Butterfly Contour Layers set.

    I finished up the card by scattering some fairy jewels around the leaves. I hope this card puts a smile on your face and inspires you! Thank you so much for joining us today.


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    Supplies



    Supplies


  • Candy Corn Adornment Pumpkin | by Crystal Komara

    Candy Corn Adornment Pumpkin | by Crystal Komara

    Hello Birch Press Design readers, this is DT member Crystal Komara here to share a fun Halloween themed card with you. Hopefully it will remind you of candy corn, which are the colors that I was inspired to use on the pumpkin itself!

    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 black cardstock that I ran through my Big Shot with the 3D Blooming Embossing folder from Memory Box Company (a sister company to BPD).

    Using the Adornment Pumpkin dies, I die cut both the outer shadow and inner intricate frame from white cardstock. Then I ink blended Squeezed Lemonade and Dried Marigold Distress Oxide ink onto the pumpkin. I splattered black acrylic paint all over the pumpkin to “grunge it up”.

    I die cut the pumpkin stem from brown cardstock and the two leaves from an olive green cardstock. I adhered the pumpkin to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly, I added the “boo” sentiment also with 3M foam adhesive.

    I love how this card turned out with a candy corn colored pumpkin! It’s fun for Halloween without being terrifyingly spooky! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day.

    Supplies

  • Holiday Hugs | by Allison Frazier

    Holiday Hugs | by Allison Frazier

    Hello, Birch Press friends! Today, I am sharing this beautiful holiday card featuring the new Splendid Poinsettia Contour Layers Set. This set makes such a unique poinsettia, and I knew that I wanted to make a green one to make it even more unique.

    I started my card by embossing a light blue piece of card stock with the Gracious Floral 3D Embossing Folder. I then took a brayer and some blue ink and ran the brayer over the embossed, raised edges of the floral design. I took the same ink and blended around the edges of my panel. I finished the panel by inking up the corners in an even darker blue ink.

    There are two dies in the Splendid Poinsettia Contour Layers Set. I used one to cut some light green card stock, and the other one (which cuts the bottom pieces) to cut a darker shade of green card stock. I glued the lighter pieces on top of the darker pieces, and then I took a blending tool and inked up the edges with green ink. This just gives the edges a little bit of definition when layering. For the leaves, I only used the bottom pieces, and I ink blended those with a dark green ink. I glued the poinsettia layers onto my panel, right where the large flower is in the Gracious Floral design, making sure to only glue the center. I then tucked the leaves underneath. I also tucked some berries in the design – these come from Layer A of the Forest Canopy Layer Set.

    Before adding a sentiment, I splattered everything with some white acrylic paint. Once that was dry, I could add my sentiment and finish the card. I chose the new Holiday Hugs Vintage Sentiment. I cut the shadow from white card stock and the detail layer from red card stock. For a final touch, I scattered some clear Fairy Drops around the design.

    I hope this card puts a smile on your face and inspires you. Thank you so much for joining us today.


    Supplies



    Supplies


  • Thanks Oval Leaves | by Crystal   Komara

    Thanks Oval Leaves | by Crystal Komara

    Hello friends! This is DT member Crystal Komara here with you today with what just might be my new favorite card ever that I’ve designed for Birch Press Design. Now, I’ll admit, I was initially hesitant to use the contour dies, becuase oh-so-much die cutting, but I promise, the end result is always SOOooo worth the work!!

    Card details:

    The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I cu ta 5 1/4″ x 4″ piece of black cardstock and dry embossed it using the Blooming 3D Embossing Folder from Memory Box Co, a sister company of Birch Press Design. This is my go-to floral embossing folder, it’s so elegant.

    Then I just began die cutting lots and lots of the Oval Leaves contour dies in yellow, orange and gold cardstock. I mismatched up the layers, so that I layered yellow with orange and rust with gold. There was no method to this matching up madness.

    Lastly, I flicked some gold acrylic paint onto the entire image and I love how this effect came out! It added a bit of grunge, but also a bit of sparkle!

    I love this card so much that I want to try re-creating it in other color palettes too, so be sure to check back in regularly to see what myself and the rest of the Design Team are creating to inspire you!

    Supplies

  • Cozy Florals | by April Antonio

    Cozy Florals | by April Antonio

    Welcome back to the blog! Today I’m bringing you a cozy Autumn themed card using some beautiful floral images, and emboss resist inking.

    To start todays card I used the large floral image stamp from the Gracious Floral stamp and die set and heat embossed it with white powder onto a piece of white cardstock.

    I then used my mini blending brushes and a few different ink colors to blend all the flowers and leaves, making sure to use darker colors towards the bottom of center of flowers and lighter colors towards the top.

    TIP: color blending like this can be very forgiving. I was not worried about the colors overlapping each other, because once it’s all blended out it looks cohesive.

    Once I was satisfied with the color blending, I took a clean paper towel and wiped it across my image to remove any residual ink from the white embossed part. Then I used the coordinating die to cut the image out.

    To add some extra interest and shine to my flower I sprinkled a few drops of water so the ink would lift in those places, and also rubbed some shine powder across the image so it would sparkle a bit.

    Separately, I took the Pinpoint Contour Plate die and cut it from a piece of white cardstock, and glued it to an A2 card base. I then arranged the floral image into the center of the card and adhered it using foam dots.

    Next I took the ‘Just Because’ that is in the same Gracious Floral set and stamped it in black ink and heat embossed it with clear powder. I used the matching die to cut it out, and cut it out two more times from white cardstock. I glued all the layers together to add some dimension to the sentiment, and then added it to my card front.

    Lastly, I had to add some bling of course! I used jewels from the Autumn Fairy Jewels set to bling out the flowers. Some I filled in the center with jewels, and others I just did a few or filled in petals.

    That is it! I hope you enjoyed reading through my process to create this colorful, fall themed card and see you next time!

    Supplies

    Supplies

  • Poinsettia Blues | by Toni M Maddox

    Poinsettia Blues | by Toni M Maddox

    Hello, Birch Press fans! Toni here with you today with a glorious holiday card. Isn’t the Splendid Poinsettia die set absolutely stunning?!

    It was so easy to create this detailed bloom using Distress Oxide Salvaged Patina, Peacock Feathers and Uncharted Mariner with just a touch of Mustard Seed on the stamen. Gor-ge-ous!

    For the card base I added a layer of double-sided tape then carefully positioned the Herbarium Plate Layer A on top. I then burnished Doodlebug Design Lily White Glitter into the openings with my finger. It’s messy to apply but the tape secures the glitter really well.

    I glued down the poinsettia next (love it so much!), tucking in a few Oval Leaf Branches Contour Layer sprigs among the leaves.

    I added the rather retro Holiday Hugs sentiment, opting to use only the outline so some of the glitter would show throught. You can’t have too much glitter!

    I hope you enjoyed today’s card and have a great rest of your week!

    Supplies

  • Pink Adornment Pumpkin | by Crystal Komara

    Pink Adornment Pumpkin | by Crystal Komara

    Hello friends and happy Friday! I hope you have fun things planned for the weekend ahead! This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here with you today sharing a card made using the new Adornment Pumpkin dies.

    I looooooove how this card came out, if I do say so myself! While the pink alcohol ink pumpkin is a little more vibrant than I had initially intended, it works. That’s the thing with alcohol ink, you never quite know what you’re going to get and they can be a bit unpredictable in how they move and dry as you blow them around.

    Card details:

    *Please note, a full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.

    The base of this A2 sized card was made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth alcohol ink. Using Layer Plate A (the top layer) of the Herbarium Plate Layering Set, I die cut this from white cardstock and then mounted a sheet of magneta cardstock behind it before adhering it directly to the card base. I die cut the solid pumpkin from a scrap piece of an alcohol ink background I had in my craft bin and then die cut the frame using pink glitter cardstock from the 6″ x 6″ Glitzy Glitter paper pack. I adhered the two layers together with a fine tip liquid glue.

    I created a pumpkin stem from espresso brown cardstock and leaves from both green cardstock and green glitter cardstock. There was a lot of piece work here using these smaller contour dies. Next, using the new Oval Leaf Branches Contour Layers, I die cut leaves from pink glitter cardstock, espresso brown carsdstock and the same green and green glitter cardstock used on the leaves. Then I pieces all the layers of the leaves together (again, a little bit time consuming here to do all these small details, but SO worth it in the end). Then it was just a matter of adhering all the small branches and leaves into a pattern that was pleasing to the eye.

    I stamped the sentiment “forever grateful” in magenta ink on white cardstock and used oval punch to punch it over before adhering it to the pumpkin with 3M foam adhesive. This sentiment is from the Brush Sentiments clear stamp set.

    I love using non-traditional colors to create holiday or seasonal cards. Pink is perfect in lieu of traditional orange pumpkins.

    Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

    Supplies