Category: Friendship

  • just a note | by Rosemary Dennis

    just a note | by Rosemary Dennis

    Hello! Rosemary here on the blog today sharing a mixed media type card that I created using the gorgeous new Large Cosmos Contour Layer die set, along with Fuddled Leaf Branches Contour Layer die set and a sentiment from the Sugar Script Sentiments 1 set. Let’s have a look.

    My teammate, Natasha, creates the most amazing mixed media projects using her Birch Press products. I was inspired by her to create my card combining by clean and simple with mixed media. I used Tim Holtz distress mica sprays and distress sprays and watercolor cardstock to create my panels.

    I die cut all the pieces and them assembled them using liquid adhesive. After the pieces were dry I added Gilded Distress Foundry Wax to the edges of the petals and the leaves. I used only smallest leaf cluster from the Fuddled Leaf Branches for my card. You have to work quickly when applying the foundry wax since it dries fast. I used my ring finger to apply the wax and then heat set it with my heat tool. Heat setting serves two purposes, it gives the wax the gilded look and it permanently sets it on your project. If you don’t heat set the was, it will simply chip off.

    Once I had the gilding done, I created my background panel. I die cut cream Memory Box woodgrain cardstock and then splattered it with distress mica spray in Tart Cranberry. I had previously foiled the sentiment, so I simply had to die cut a few more blanks and then adhere them to the sentiment. I arranged the flower, leaves and sentiment to the panel with liquid adhesive. I then added my panel to an off-white cardstock base.

    Here is a close up of the flower and leaves showing all that pretty gilding and some of the mica that provides alot of shine in real life.

    I hope my card inspires you to try mixed media in a more clean and simple way. Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!

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  • Simple Friendship Card | by Rosemary Dennis

    Simple Friendship Card | by Rosemary Dennis

    Birch Press has a new release out and today I’m sharing a simple friendship card that I made using the new Curved Leaf Branch Contour Layers die and some Memory Box patterned paper.

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    Like alot of us I have many different pads of patterned paper, but I often forget to use them. I have a lovely pad of papers from Memory Box called Jolly Christmas. I thought it would be fun to look through the pad to see if there were any that would work for diecutting the Curved Leaf Branch and I found one that would. One side is a dark hunter green plaid and the other is a lighter more aqua green. I thought the extreme contrast between the two would create a fun look and I love how it turned out!

    After die cutting the main leaf from the dark hunter green paper and the layering pieces from the contrasting paper, I die cut the leaf, again, from black cardstock three times then adhered everything together using liquid adhesive. I once, again, turned to the Memory Box woodgrain cardstock to help me create a simple background for my leave. This time I used the cream woodgrain cardstock. I die cut a rectangle of the cardstock and then adhered my leaf with liquid adhesive.

    Now it was time to decide on a sentiment. I was going to stamp one, but then decided to do some hot foiling. So I pulled out the Sugar Script Sentiments 1 set and some matte gold foil. The backside of the woodgrain cardstock is actually rather smooth and since it obviously matched the color of the background perfectly I decided to try foiling on it. And it worked. Not perfectly, but I love the little bit of distressing that resulted. You can see it in the close up photo above. I die cut the sentiment and several “blanks” to adhere behind it so that the sentiment was a little more substantial. I adhered that to the card front with liquid adhesive, as well.

    To finish off the card I tied a simple bow using some gold twine from my stash and adhered it to the leaf with a dot of glue. I also used a dot of glue to adhere down tails of the bow.

    I hope you enjoyed my project today and that you will give hot foiling on the wrong side of woodgrain cardstock a try! Might just like it! Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!

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  • A Colorful Celebration | By Natasha Vacca

    Hello Birch Press friends, it is Natasha here today and I am sharing a colorful celebration card using the beautiful Eloquent Butterfly layer dies! I had a lot of fun creating today’s card, so let’s get started!

    I started by cutting out each layer of the Eloquent Butterfly die set. I started with layer C using a piece of card stock from my scrap bin. Once the layer was die cut, I added a pink spray to the butterflies for added texture. Then I die cut layer B using the Memory Box Fresh Aqua paper pad. I chose an aqua shade of card stock from the pack. I added a blue and pink dye ink to each butterfly, spritzed with water, then added gold metallic watercolor splatters. I then die cut layer A using white card stock. I then added distress oxide ink, embossing powder, glaze, and foil to the top layer for added texture and interest.

    I then adhered each layer together using liquid glue. I then die cut the antennae for the butterfly using the Butterfly Basics die set. I die cut 2 antennae using the Memory Box Vintage Pastel Mirror pad. I then adhered these using liquid glue. I set my butterflies aside to create my background.

    For the background I chose a colorful gelli print from my background stash. I then ran this through my die cutting machine with the Memory Box Ringadings embossing folder. I added some gray dye ink to the folder as well to add texture to the dry embossed background. Next I trimmed the panel with my deckle edge trimmer, distressed the edges of the panel, and then added distress ink around the edges for more interest. I then adhered this panel to an A2 card base.

    To complete my card I adhered the butterflies to the card front, then chose a sentiment strip from my stash to complete my card. I had a lot of fun creating this colorful celebration! I hope you enjoyed it too! I will be back soon with more crafty inspiration!


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  • Sparkly Butterfly Greetings | By Natasha Vacca

    Hello Birch Press friends, it is Natasha here today to share a card with you using lots of color and sparkle! For today’s card I am using the Butterfly Basics die set! Let’s get started!

    I started by creating 2 colorful background panels using Distress Mica Stain. I used 3 different colors to create my backgrounds. I spritzed each panel, allowed them to dry, then picked up some color with water. I repeated this process until I was happy with each panel.

    Once each panel was dry, I die cut 2 butterflies using the Butterfly Basics die set. I love these large butterflies! I then die cut the antennae for each butterfly using the Memory Box Vintage Pastel Mirror Pad. I then adhered the antennae to the butterfly using liquid glue. I set these aside to work on my background.

    Next I ran a piece of white card stock through my die cutting machine with the Memory Box Geometric Crystals embossing folder. I then tore a section of the panel off for a distressed look. I trimmed the panel down and then chose a piece of coordinating pattern paper. I then adhered these to an A2 card base.

    To complete my card I added foam tape to the back of each butterfly then adhered them to my card front. I chose a sentiment from my stash and added a piece of pattern paper to compliment my design.

    I had so much fun creating today’s card! I will be back soon with more crafty inspiration!


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  • Focal Point Buds | by Toni M Maddox

    Focal Point Buds | by Toni M Maddox

    Hello, Birch Press fans! Toni here with you today sharing a spring-theme card using the Delicate Floral Buds Contour Layers.

    I found a piece of my cardstock in my stash with a circle cut out of it (why did I cut it from the middle?!) and thought it would make a great focal background for the buds.

    I layered it on top of a scrap piece of aqua cardstock then added the Herbarium Plate Layer A in white on top of that.

    I cut the Delicate Floral Buds Contour Layers from white cardstock which I colored up with Copics R01 and R14. The leaves are cut from Lush Green 6×6 Cardstock.

    For the sentiment I used the Sugar Script Sentiments 1 Hot Foil Plate along with Therm O Web Gold Hot Foil and the Pinkfresh Studio Solid Hot Foil Plate. The latter allows you to use your hot foil leftovers, creating a solid version of the design.

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

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  • Colorful Blooms, Thank you Tag | By Natasha Vacca

    Hello Birch Press Designs crafty friends! I am excited to be back on the blog today! Today’s project features a colorful tag with beautiful blooms, lots of color, and texture too! I am using a few beautiful die sets, a pre-made tag base from my collection, an embossing folder, and a gelli print! So let’s get started!

    I was on the blog last week and shared how I created these flowers, leaves, and stems! When I was working on last week’s post, I made extra flowers and leaves! I love doing this as it saves time and allows you to have more die cuts for another project. I started with 4 die collections and 2 pads of colored card stock from Memory Box. I am using the Phlox Blooms and Leaves Contour Layers, Mixed Berry Contour Layers, Delicate Floral Buds Contour Layers, and the Sylvan Berries and Leaves Contour Layers. I used 2 pads from Memory Box: Berry Red and Lush Green. I love these pads of paper! The colors are amazing and they die cut beautifully and they are super easy to add ink blending on top as well! From each of the die sets listed above I die cut the leaves and stems using 2 shades of green paper from the Lush Green pad. Then for the floral dies (shared above) I used 2 shades of pink from the Berry Red paper pad.

    After my leaves and florals were all die cut I laid them out on my ink blending mat. For the green die cuts I used a combination of a light and green dye ink. On the pink layers I used a combination of dark pink and a purple dye ink. Once all the inking was completed I added water droplets to add a bit more texture to each piece. I added the water droplets, then picked up the color with a paper towel. I set each piece aside and allowed them to dry. Once dry I adhered the leaves and floral layers together with liquid glue.

    Next I used a pre-made tag for my base of my project. I then adhered a piece of a gelli print to my tag base. I adhered this with liquid glue. I did rough up the edges using my distress tool. Next I used the 3D Embossing Folder – Geometric Crystals from Memory Box. I ran this through my die cutting machine. I then ripped a piece of the dry embossed background and adhered this to the right side of my tag. I then added a couple more pieces of gelli print to the base layer. I did rip each of these layers as I wanted a worn look to the background. I added 2 strips of washi tape to the bottom of the tag to complete the base of the tag. Once everything was adhered I added distress ink to the edge of the tag and a few metallic gold splatters.

    Next I worked on the placement of my flowers and leaves on my tag base. Once I was happy with the placement, I adhered everything down with liquid glue and foam tape. I completed the tag with a sentiment from my stash and a piece of twine on the top! I also added a few fairy drops for added interest and texture.

    I hope today’s project inspires you to use your die cuts in another way! They are so much fun and the possibilities and endless!

    Thank you for stopping by today, I will be back soon!


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  • Shaker Star Flowers | by Crystal Komara

    Shaker Star Flowers | by Crystal Komara

    Hello readers and happy Wednesday! This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here today sharing one of my favorite (and seemingly easiest) interactive cards to make – a shaker card! I made this card very monochromatic in purple and white, but if purple really isn’t your color, there are endless possibilities and color combinations you could use instead with these beautiful Star Flowers Contour dies.

    Card details:

    The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. For the background, I cut a 5 1/4″ x 4″ piece of the same Neenah White cardstock and ran it through my Big Shot using the Pinpoint Radial Plate.

    Using the Star Flowers Contour Dies, I cut the flowers from two different colored purple cardstock and one purple glitter cardstock (for the center of the flowers). I adhered the layers of the flowers together with a fine-tip liquid glue.

    To create the shaker component, I die cut Layer A of the Roundabout Layer Set from white cardstock. I then fussy cut a solid white background of this same shape to create a white frame. I adhered a piece of clear acetate to the back of this frame. I added about 1 tablespoon of sequins to the card and then layered the shaker frame on top.

    I stamped the sentiment “to my friend” in purple ink on white cardstock and used a circle punch to punch it out. This sentiment is from the Kind Hearts clear stamp set.

    I love a card that can be made so easy to change simply by alternating the colors or the sentiments. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

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  • Just a Note | By Natasha Vacca

    Hello Birch Press Friends, I am super excited to be back up on the Birch Press Designs blog today! Today’s card features a few floral dies from the latest collection. I had a lot of fun creating today’s card, so let’s get started!

    For today’s card I started with 4 die collections and 2 pads of colored card stock from Memory Box. I am using the Phlox Blooms and Leaves Contour Layers, Mixed Berry Contour Layers, Delicate Floral Buds Contour Layers, and the Sylvan Berries and Leaves Contour Layers. I used 2 pads from Memory Box: Berry Red and Lush Green. I love these pads of paper! The colors are amazing and they die cut beautifully and they are super easy to add ink blending on top as well! From each of the die sets listed above I die cut the leaves and stems using 2 shades of green paper from the Lush Green pad. Then for the floral dies (shared above) I used 2 shades of pink from the Berry Red paper pad.

    After my leaves and florals were all die cut I laid them out on my ink blending mat. For the green die cuts I used a combination of a light and green dye ink. On the pink layers I used a combination of dark pink and a purple dye ink. Once all the inking was completed I added water droplets to add a bit more texture to each piece. I added the water droplets, then picked up the color with a paper towel.

    I set each piece aside and allowed them to dry. Once dry I adhered the leaves and floral layers together with liquid glue. I then added metallic gold splatters to the flowers. I allowed these to dry.

    Next I chose a background from my gelli print stash. I trimmed the gelli print panel down, then adhered this to a piece of cream colored cardstock and adhered this to an A2 card base. I then worked on the arrangement for the flowers, stems, and leaves. Once I was happy with the layout I adhered all the layers down using liquid glue and foam tape onto the gelli print background.

    To complete my card I chose to use the foiled sentiment Just a Note from the Sugar Scripts Sentiments 1 die set. I foiled the sentiment then adhered this to my card front using foam adhesive. Finally I added a few Fairy Drops to finish my card.

    I had a lot of fun creating today’s card! I hope you like it! I will be back soon to share more crafty inspiration!


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  • Bold Butterfly | by Rosemary Dennis

    Bold Butterfly | by Rosemary Dennis

    Happy Friday everyone! I have a bold jewel toned card to share with you today. Let’s take a look.

    I love the new Gilded Petalpoint stencil set. You can use it in combination with the Gilded Petalpoint hot foil plate or by itself like I did on my card. I decided to go with a bolder color palette for this card and chose shades of purple with a pop of blue.

    I don’t often make the decision to use the color purple, but it is so pretty in combination with the blue. I inked up the first stencil with a medium shade of purple and then started to blend on a slightly darker shade, but it wasn’t showing up so I switched to the darkest shade of purple I had. With the third stencil I used a bold blue embossing paste. It has a little bit of shine to it in real life.

    Once the stenciling was done I set the piece aside to dry. Thankfully even with the addition of the embossing paste there wasn’t much warping of my cardstock. After the piece dried I trimmed it down to fit my card front. I then moved on to doing a little bit of hot foiling. I used the medallion from the Gilded Pinpoint hot foil plate set and the sending hugs sentiment from the Sugar Script Sentiments 1 hot foil plate for these elements. The medallion was foiled using purple foil and the sentiment using dark blue. I used the darkest purple ink and blended it on the medallion after I die cut it with the matching die.

    Now it was time to create my butterfly using the Eloquent Butterfly layering die set. I die cut the top butterfly from a dark blue glitter paper from the Memory Box Glitz Glitter pad. To make sure that everything matched I used the inks that I used for the stencil to ink up some white cardstock. I used the direct to paper method in order to get good saturation of the cardstock. I let the cardstock dry and then die cut the second and third layers. I adhered the layers together with a dot of glue in the center of the butterfly. I then layered the medallion on to the main panel, added the butterfly and the sentiment. I finished off the card with a purple-blue Fairy Jewel to the center of the butterfly.

    I hope you enjoyed my project today. Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!

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  • Hot Foil Background Using Sprays | By Natasha Vacca

    Hello Birch Press Design friends, I am excited to be back up on the blog today! For today’s card I am sharing ideas on how to use a foil background die with sprays in your collection! Today I am using 2 new dies from the latest Birch Press release, Gilded Petalpoint Hot Foil Plate and die set, as well as the Thank you Noted Script Hot Foil Plate and die set. Let’s get started!

    I started my card today using 5 colors of sprays and mixed media card stock. I added each color to mixed media card stock. I allowed the layer of color to dry, then spritzed the panel with water droplets. I picked up the color with a paper towel, then repeated the process again using the 5 colors. Once the panel was dry it was time to hot foil!

    I love the new Gilded Petalpoint hot foil plate and die set. I started with the large background foil plate and my glimmer machine. I chose a matte gold foil for the background. I foiled the background panel and then trimmed the panel using a die in my collection.

    Next I used the same matte gold foil for the center of the Gilded Petalpoint hot foil plate set. I foiled the center and then die cut the center using the included die. I added foam tape to the center die cut and set it aside.

    Next I hot foiled the Thank You Noted Script hot foil plate and die set. Once the thank you was foiled, I die cut the shadow layer of the thank you die 3 times, then adhered all the layers together. To complete my card I adhered the panel onto an A2 card base. I then adhered the center of the panel using foam tape, then adhered the thank you sentiment using liquid glue.

    I had so much fun creating today’s card! I hope it gives you some ideas on how to use your foil dies using sprays! I love the sparkle and texture these 2 products give you!

    I will be back soon with more crafty inspiration!


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