Category: Friendship

  • 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!

    Supplies

    57505 Star Flowers Contour Layers

    57384 Pinpoint Radial Plate

    56124 Roundabout Layer Set

    SP1008 Twilight Purple 6×6 pack

    GP1003 Twinkling Jewel Glitter Pad

  • 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!


    Supplies


    bpf503 Sugar Script Sentiments 1 Hot Foil Plate and Die Sets
    57492 Delicate Floral Buds Contour Layers
    57527 Mixed Berry Contour Layers
    57507 Phlox Blooms and Leaves Contour Layers
    57503 Sylvan Berries and Leaves Contour Layers
    sp1003 Lush Green 6×6 pack
    sp1001 Berry Red 6×6 pack

    Supplies


    drp101 Fairy Drops
  • 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!

    Supplies

    BPF516 Gilded Petalpoint Hot Foil Plate and Die Set

    BPF503 Sugar Script Sentiments 1 Hot Foil Plate and Die Sets

    57426 Eloquent Butterfly Layer Set

    42037 Gilded Petalpoint Stencil Set

    GP1007 Glitzy Glitter Pad

  • 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!


    Supplies


    BPF516 Gilded Petalpoint Hot Foil Plate and Die Set
    BPF511 Thank You Noted Script Hot Foil Plate and Die Set
  • So Glad We’re Friends | By Allison Frazier

    So Glad We’re Friends | By Allison Frazier

    Hello, Birch Press friends! Today, I am sharing this beautiful muted card with a pop of sunshine yellow as the focal point. It’s like when the sun comes out after a dreary winter day! It features the new Morning Rose Contour Layers die and the Delicate Floral Buds Contour Layers die set. I also used the new Gilded Petalpoint Stencil Set.

    I started by stenciling the front of a light gray A2 card base. For the first stencil (with the largest openings), I used a light gray ink, just slightly darker than the card stock itself. For the second stencil, I used a medium shade of gray ink. And for the third stencil, I used clear Nuvo Glimmer Paste. I really love the tone on tone effect, but that Glimmer Paste really makes it special. This stencil actually matches up with the new Gilded Petalpoint Hot Foil Plate, but as you can see here, it looks great on its own, too!

    Next, I started making my die cuts. I used three shades of yellow card stock from the Memory Box “Sunny Orange” paper pack for the flowers. For the main flower, I cut two layers of each part of the flower so that I could stack them for dimension. I used two shades of gray for the leaves. By the way, the leaves come from the Tropical Hibiscus Contour Layers set. I love mixing florals and leaves from all of the different Contour Layers sets!

    And speaking of mixing up florals, I used the Delicate Floral Buds for my little flowers, again making two layers of each part of the flower. The Morning Rose actually comes with the “Triple Buds” dies, but I just wanted to mix things up today. I cut the stems/leaves for the Delicate Floral Buds from the darker shade of gray paper.

    Once I had all of my elements cut and the layers stacked, it was time to assemble the arrangement. This is probably the part that took the most time! Once I was happy with an arrangement, I started with the bottom by glueing the Delicate Buds first. Then I popped the main flower up on foam tape. This allowed me to then tuck the leaves in under that flower and still continue to make some last minute changes to the leaf arrangement. I finished the card by heat embossing a sentiment from the Lingo Thanks stamp set. I also added three fairy jewels to the center of the rose, just to tie in the shine from the stenciled background.

    Thank you so much for joining us today. I hope this card inspires you and brings a smile to your face! 

    Wishing you a crafty day,
    Allison


    Supplies


    57493 Morning Rose and Triple Buds Contour Layers
    57492 Delicate Floral Buds Contour Layers
    57486 Tropical Hibiscus Contour Layers
    42037 Gilded Petalpoint Stencil Set
    cl8143 Lingo Thanks clear stamp set
    sp1002 Sunny Orange 6×6 pack

    Supplies


    jwl001 Clear Jewels
  • Glittering Hugs | by Crystal Komara

    Glittering Hugs | by Crystal Komara

    Hello crafty friends and happy Wednesday! This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here with you today sharing some Valentine’s Day themed inspiration, but in non-traditional colors. I’m all for the lovey-dovey, over-the-top, red and pink hearts everything, but what if you want to tone it down just a bit and tell your friends you’re thinking of them? Well, keep reading because here’s my version of sending some love and hugs that isn’t so mushy-gushy romantic.

    First, I LOVE this color combination of mint green, teal green, gold and white. It’s classic and it’s elegant. You can also see what it looks like here with a Christmas themed card. Or here, where I added just a touch of baby pink color too! Clearly, it’s a combination I love as I have used it frequently.

    Card details:

    The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. This is my go-to white cardstock for e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g! It’s great for card bases, layering, die cutting, distress oxide blending and Copic coloring For the very first base layer I cut a piece of teal green cardstock to measure 5 1/4″ x 4″ from the Lush Green 6″ x 6″ paper pack. Using the Kinsley Heart Layering Plates, I cut Layer C (the bottom layer) from gold glitter cardstock. Next I cut Layer B (the middle layer) from mint green cardstock, also found in the Lush Green 6″ x 6″ paper pack.

    I cut Layer A (the top layer) from white cardstock. I adhered all three layers together with a fine-tip liquid adhesive before adhering them all to the card base. I then cut a 5 1/2″ x x 1 1/2″ strip of white cardstock and adhere it to the bottom third of the card. This allowed me to place the words “hugs” onto a white background in order for it to stand out against the detailed die. I used the Big Lingo Type Hugs die here. I cut the bottom thicker layer from teal green cardstock and the top thinner layer from gold glitter cardstock. Lastly, I stamped the sentiment “thinking of you” from the Lingo Thanks Clear stamp set in teal ink on white cardstock. I adhered the sentiment strip to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

    Gosh, I just looooooove this color combination so much. I hope you have enjoyed today’s card as well. Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

    Supplies

    57402

    SP1003 Lush Green 6×6 pack

    57227 Big Lingo Type Hugs

    CL8143 Lingo Thanks clear stamp set

    GP1006 Festive Glitter Pad

  • Hello Sweet Friend | By Natasha Vacca

    Hello Birch Press Friends! I am excited to be up on the blog today sharing the gorgeous Eloquent Butterfly layering die set! I absolutely love this set and decided to use this set today with a mixed media vibe! I hope you enjoy it, let’s get started!

    I started with the beautiful Eloquent Butterfly layering die set. I die cut all 3 layers. First I die cut layer C using white card stock, layer B using white and an inked background from my stash, and then layer A using an inked background from my stash. The inked backgrounds were made using sprays. Once all the layers were die cut, I added dye ink to layer B and layer A. I feel this adds a bit more texture and definition to the layer. On layer A I also added a bit of embossing glaze for added texture. I then adhered all layers together and added foam tape. I then die cut the antennae for the butterfly from the Butterfly Basics die set using a piece of card stock from the Vintage Pastel Mirror pad and adhered this with liquid glue to the butterfly.

    Next I chose a gelli print from my stash and embossed the panel using the Flora Plate die set. I used Layer C from the set and followed the instructions in my die cutting machine to emboss the panel onto my gelli print. Next I distressed the edges of the panel using a paper trimmer, distress tool, and then inked up the edges with distress ink.

    I then added a bit more texture to the panel using metallic paint by adding splatters with my paintbrush. Next I added a bit more distress ink to the raised areas of my background panel using a blending tool.

    To complete my card I adhered the panel to an A2 card base. Next I added two strips of paper, one from an old book and another piece of gelli print. Both pieces were distressed using a combination of distress inks and embossing glaze. I added the Hugs Honey Script sentiment to my card. I die cut the shadow layer using white card stock and ink blended the shadow with distress oxide. I die cut the hugs sentiment 3 times using kraft card stock and adhered them together with liquid glue. I then ink blended the sentiment with distress inks. I added a sub sentiment from my stash. Both sentiments were adhered using liquid glue.

    Thanks so much for stopping by today! I had so much fun creating today’s card! I will be back soon!


    Supplies


    57426 Eloquent Butterfly Layer Set
    57403 Butterfly Basics
    57300 Hugs Honey Script
    57437 Flora Plate Layer Set
    FP1002 Vintage Pastel Mirror Pad 6×6 pack
  • Tropical Hibiscus Friends

    Tropical Hibiscus Friends

    Hello, Birch Press Friends! Allison here, and today Iā€™m sharing a card featuring the new Tropical Hibiscus Contour Layers die set.

    I started by cutting all of the pieces of the flowers from white card stock. I then blended Distress Ink onto the pieces, but in a very subtle way. The most intense color is on the edges of the bottom piece, the outside edges of the top detail layer, and the center. My initial inspiration for this came from images of white hibiscus that I found online.

    To add dimension, I created duplicate layers of the bottom piece and the top detail pieces, before adhering all of the layers together with liquid glue. In order to determine the layout of my design, I first selected my sentiment and, before stamping it, arranged the flowers around it. Once I was happy with the layout, I removed the flowers and stamped the sentiment with VersaMark Ink. I heat embossed it with a platinum embossing powder and then repeated the process, which really gives the sentiment more of a rounded, smooth finish.

    I adhered the flowers to the stamped card panel with liquid glue, adding foam tape to the back of the pink and blue flowers. I then mounted that onto a warm gray A2 card base. As a finishing touch, I added matching Fairy Jewels to the centers of each flower. Even though these flowers don’t have a lot of color, the texture of all the layers really packs a punch.

    Thank you so much for joining us today. I hope this card inspires you and brings a smile to your face!

    Wishing you a crafty day,
    Allison


    Supplies


    57486 Tropical Hibiscus Contour Layers
    CL509 Colorful Life clear stamp set
    JWL002 Pastel Jewels
    JWL003 Bright Jewels
  • Layered Floral Star | By Allison Frazier

    Layered Floral Star | By Allison Frazier

    Hello again, Friends! Today I am sharing this gorgeous layered floral star card using one of my favorite color combinations. There is just something about orange and turquoise together, right? It has to be one of the more striking complementary color combos.

    I love creating texture in the background of my cards, even if it’s not with dies. For this card, I created texture by stamping and embossing the large stamp from the Christmas Ornament and Labels set. I used a textured turquoise embossing powder – the texture gives it a more muted and imperfect look. I cut the stamped panel down to 4″ x 5.25″ and mounted it to a dark teal A2 card base.

    I die cut each of the three layers from the Floral Star Layer Set, using orange paper for Layer C, dark teal for Layer B, and white for Layer A. I then traced one of the negative spaces from those die cuts onto a turquoise piece of paper and cut it with my scissors to form a solid back. I adhered the layers together with liquid glue and then adhered the entire element to the embossed panel, making sure to cover the ornament shape in the stamped image.

    Next, I die cut the “friend” shadow twice from white card stock, adhering the layers together. I die cut the friend word twice from white card stock and once from orange card stock, layered those together and adhered to the shadow. Then I placed the finished word into the middle of the floral star. The sub-sentiment is from my stash – I stamped it on the same dark teal card stock and white heat embossed it.

    This card is the perfect example of why I fell in love with Birch Press Design when I first started making cards several years ago. The layering dies and the font in their sugar script dies will always stay fresh. Fresh! Maybe that’s the word that comes to mind when I see this color combination.

    Thank you so much for joining us today. I hope this card brings a smile to your face.

    Wishing you a crafty day,
    Allison


    Supplies


    56118 Floral Star Layer Set
    CL8154 Christmas Ornament and Labels clear stamp set
    57177 Big Friend Sugar Script
    SP1002 Sunny Orange 6×6 pack
    SP1004 Fresh Aqua 6×6 pack
  • Hugs | by Crystal Komara

    Hugs | by Crystal Komara

    Hello crafty friends and Happy Valentine’s Day! Whether you love or hate the holiday, it is still a great reason to make cards (and eat chocolate, of course)! This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here with you today sharing an elegant and more traditional card using the beautiful new Adornment Peony dies.

    Card details:

    The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. Using the Pinpoint Radial Layer Plate, I die cut that first embossed layer from white cardstock. To create the peonies, I die cut the solid base layer from red cardstock (6″ x 6″ Berry Paper pack) and the top thin outline layer from red foil cardstock (from the Polished Foil Paper Pack). I die cut the solid base layer of the leaves from light green cardstock and the top thin outline layer from darker green cardstock. I used the 6″ x 6″ Lush Green Paper pack. I adhered all the layers together with a fine tip liquid glue.

    I die cut the word “hugs” using the Hugs Honey Script dies. I cut the larger shadow bottom layer from black cardstock and top thinner outline from gold glitter cardstock. I adhered both layers together with a fine tip liquid glue and then adhered the entire sentiment over the peonies using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

    Lastly, I added a couple iridescent round stones for added texture.

    I love, love, loooooove how this beautiful card came out and I think I’m going to try it in a few more colors (like yellow and pink) now too! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

    Supplies

    57300 Hugs Honey Script

    FP1001 Polished Foil Pad pack

    57384 Pinpoint Radial Plate

    57480 Adornment Peony

    SP1001 Berry Red 6×6 pack

    SP1003 Lush Green 6×6 pack

    GP1006 Festive Glitter Pad