Hello readers! This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here today sharing one of my “oldie but goodie” favorite dies. As much as I despise birds (shhhhh!), I do admire the peacock simply for the gorgeous plumage of its quills. I mean who wouldn’t want to shake their booty and BOOM! Instant wow factor! : )
Just look at the details in those tail feathers!
The base of this A2 sized card was made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. On a 5 1/4″ x 4″ piece of the same white cardstock, I heat foiled the Gilded Grace Hot Foil plate with gold foil. I only used the large background piece (and not the center cut outs) for this card. Then I created the layers of the peacock using a variety of teal and purple cardstock from the Ocean Blue 6 x 6″ paper pack and Vibrant Violet 6″ x 6″ paper pack. For the top layer (Layer A) and the main body of the peacock I used a teal glitter paper from the Glitzy Glitter 6″ x 6″ paper pack.
I then adhered the peacock to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.
For the sentiment I heat foiled the Hello Sugar Script with purple foil on white cardstock. I used the coordinating die to cut it out and adhered it to the card with foam adhesive.
Ahhhh, she’s so pretty! I hope you have enjoyed today’s card! Be sure to come back tomorrow for more inspiration from my fellow design team members!
Hello, Birch Press friends. Today, I am sharing a clean and simple card featuring the new Curved Leaf Branch Contour Layers set. The twist is not only in the color combination, but also in the sentiment!
I often struggle with clean and simple, but one thing I always do if I’m going to attempt it is to pick a bold color combination. I love pink and orange together, so these colors were easy choices. I cut the main branch from hot pink card stock and the detail layers from orange. I love how Birch Press includes little “cheat sheets” with their die sets that show which detail pieces go where! After assembling the pieces together with liquid glue, I added it to a layer that I cut from white card stock – this just gives it a little bit of dimension.
When I pulled the Jumbo Lingo Hello die set out of my stash and remembered that the detail layer cuts the letters out individually, I knew that I wanted to play with the height of the branch. I cut the letters from a dark pink glitter card stock and glued them on top of ones that I had cut from white card stock. I started to stagger the letters because the “L’s” are not as wide as the other letters, but I soon realized that staggering them also followed the curve in the branch.
I glued all of my elements directly onto a white card base. Again, since I struggle with clean and simple, I almost embossed the background. But, I held myself back! I did add just a few orange fairy jewels around the branch, as well as a sentiment strip from my stash. I think the black and white sentiment keeps the look of the card clean, but also plays well with the boldness of the colors.
I hope this card puts a smile on your face and inspires you to try something out of your comfort zone, as well. Thank you so much for joining us today.
Hello, Birch Press friends. Today, I am excited to share this brand new layering set called Forest Canopy! This is a set of three A2 sized layering plates, along with some individual dies that create berries. When I first saw how Layer A layers on top of Layer B, I immediately thought of the birch trees at my childhood summer camp. So, I just had to attempt to create this birch tree forest.
I started by cutting all three layering plates out of white card stock. I then got to work on Layer B. I first cut off all of the little branches that were meant for the berries. I then took a black marker and colored the branches black. I mainly focused on the parts of the branches that would partially be covered up when Layer A went on top. Any branches that would not be covered by Layer A were left white.
Next, I took a small blending brush and colored the leaves on Layer B with Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn Distress Ink. I wasn’t being very careful, so some of the green ink did end up on the white branches. In order to fix that, I took some white craft paint and a small paint brush, and I painted over the parts that I wanted to remain white. If I were to do it again, I would maybe not use Distress Ink. Since Distress Ink reacts with water/liquid, my white paint kept turning green. Because I had to keep dabbing white paint on, it started creating more texture on the branches. I liked the added texture, so I even added dabs of paint where I didn’t even need it.
For Layer A, I also colored the leaves with Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn. For Layer C, I colored the leaves darker – this time using Mowed Lawn and Rustic Wilderness. I then glued the layers together. Between Layer C and Layer B, I only glued the outside frames together. Between Layer B and Layer A, I glued the outside frames, as well as any of the Layer A branches that would cover the Layer B branches. Because I love dimension, I purposely did not glue any leaves down or any of the branches that would not be covered by other layers.
Once all of my layers were glued together, I took a thin black marker and added all of the little details to the branches to try and make them look like birch trees. Once I was finished with that, I created my background. I used light blue card stock, and then I did some loose ink blending with Broken China and Prize Ribbon Distress Oxide Ink. I then glued everything down to an A2 card base.
For the sentiment, I chose the small Hello Sugar Script die, which I believe is now retired. I used my favorite black glossy card stock. To finish the card, I added some clear fairy drops. I hope this card puts a smile on your face and inspires you to try customizing your die cuts, as well! Thank you so much for joining us today.
Hello, Birch Press fans! Toni here with you today sharing a card that’s perfect for PRIDE month or any occasion really.
I cut out a bunch of the Jovial Blooms & Leaves Contour Layers in Copic-friendly cardstock and colored them up with a bunch of bright colors. I thought about sponging but really wanted bright.
I adhered those to the bottom of the card front which I had cut from the Pinpoint Radial Plate. The curves of that reminded me of a rainbow. I added a few clouds and sentiment from the Rainbow Days (with dies) set with the bold Sugar Script Big Hello on top.
I hope you enjoyed today’s card and have a great rest of your week!
Hello crafty people! This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here with you today and I have made my first set of cards using the new Forest Canopy Layering dies. I am sooooo in love. These new dies are just beautiful and I think they will quickly become my new favorite.
Now all three of today’s cards were made using Layer C of the Forest Canopy Layering dies. What makes them most stunning are the alcohol ink backgrounds. Those vibrant colors are really what makes the white leaves pop! Add a sentiment of your choice and voila, easy peasy, but oh-so-pretty cards!
Card details:
All three of these A2 size cards were made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using Layer C of the Forest Canopy dies I cut three white leafy frame backgrounds. I have my alcohol ink backgrounds already pre-made, so I just pulled three from my stash and layered the leafy frames over. With alcohol inks, your color options are endless, so no matter what kind of background you add, your card will always look unique and different. Add a simple sentiment of your choosing and that’s it, you’re done!
I hope you will enjoy this new layering die set as much I do! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!
Hello, Birch Press friends! Today, I am sharing a couple different methods that will enable you to stretch the use of your dies. You can use each method separately, or you can do what I did, and use them both on the same card. The best part is that it results in a bonus card! You can’t beat a 2 for 1 technique, right? All you need to get started is a background die. My cards feature the Flora Plate Layer Set.
The first thing that I did was to use Plate C from the Flora Plate Layer set to emboss a piece of lavender card stock. It’s really easy to emboss your card stock with a die instead of cut it – you just need the rubber embossing mat and embossing plate for your die cutting machine. You place your card stock on top of the rubber mat and then place your die on top, cutting side down. It’s a really fun way of creating texture on your card stock.
Embossing with a die is the first way I stretched the use of my Flora plate. The next method is just as easy. Simply cut a piece of white card stock using the die in the traditional way and then use it as a stencil! Specifically, I used it as a stencil to color the embossed panel that I created with the first method. I just put the white die cut panel on top of the lavender embossed panel and secured it with tape in a couple places so it wouldn’t move. It’s really easy to line up the die cut pattern with the embossed pattern, since they’re the exact same. I used two shades of purple to ink blend over my “stencil,” going from a lighter color in one corner to a darker color in the other corner. Once I was finished, I used a purple alcohol marker to color the center of each embossed flower on the panel. I also added a dot of white gel pen to enhance the dotted pattern around each flower
To decorate the front of this card, I created three flowers using the Phlox Blooms and Leaves Contour Layers set and the same lavender card stock that I created my panel with. I inked up the edges of the flowers and the flower interiors with the same two colors of ink that I used to stencil the background. For my sentiment, I foiled the “You Are Loved” hot foil plate with purple foil. I added a clear fairy drop to the center of each flower.
Instead of discarding the panel that I had used as a stencil, I used it to make a bonus card. I used my purple inks to smooth out the ink blending that I had already done when I used it as a stencil. I adhered the panel to a white card base and then hot foiled another sentiment. This time, I used the Hello Sugar Script hot foil plate and die, along with silver hot foil. Once I hot foiled the sentiment onto white card stock, I then took the foil remnant and hot foiled that using a solid hot foil plate. That is why the silver foil is on the outside, and the word itself is white. I added a sub-sentiment from my stash.
To finish my bonus card, I added a clear fairy jewel to the center of each flower on the panel. Just to recap – the purple die cut panel on the top card in the image above was used to stencil the embossed panel on the card pictured behind it. I love how these turned out, and I hope they put a smile on your face. Thank you so much for joining us today!
Hello and welcome, friends! Dee here with you today! A few weeks ago, I shared a mini slimline card similar this card design, but this version is a bit cleaner and easier to recreate.
To start, I die-cut each of the Phlox Blooms Lovely Layers Dies in various colors. Next, I die-cut the Pinpoint Contour Plate in white, then adhered each of the flowers with foam tape, cascading from the top in rainbow order.
Next, I die-cut Big Hello Sugar Script in mirror gold cardstock and adhered it to the top. To finish, I added a few clear sequins in between the flowers.
Hello readers! This is Birch Press Design Team member Crystal Komara here with you today sharing some rainbow inspiration using the Roundabout Layer Set. I love creating rainbow colored cards, I just find them so cheerful and uplifting!
Card details:
The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah White Solar Smooth cardstock. Using the same Neenah white cardstock, I cut a 5 1/4″ x 4″ piece and ran it through my Big Shot using the Blooming 3D embossing folder from Memory Box Co. (a sister company of Birch Press Design).
Continue reading below to see how I created and assembled the rainbow roundabout itself, it was a little bit tricky!
Step 1: Die cut Layer A of the Roundabout Layer Set from white cardstock.
Step 2: Die cut Layer B of the Roundabout Layer Set from gold glitter cardstock.
Step 3: Die Cut Layer A from the Roundabout Layer Set from all the colors of the rainbow – ROYGBIV. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
Step 4: Save the large solid circles for another card!
Step 5: Adhere Layer A (white cardstock) over Layer B (gold glitter cardstock) using a fine-tip liquid glue.
Step 6: Piece all the little shapes back into the die in a rainbow array.
I then adhered 3M foam adhesive to the back of the roundabout and adhered it to the center of the card.
Using the Hello Honey Script word die, I die cut the back shadow layer from black cardstock and the thinner top outline from white cardstock. I adhered both layers together with a fine-tip liquid glue and then adhered the entire sentiment to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.
I also created a second card using the leftover solid circles that were die cut from the Roundabout Layer Set.
This mini slimline card measures 6 1’2″ x 3″. Honestly, I made up my own dimensions on this card, so don’t take these measurements as being any sort of a “professional” size! I placed all the die cut circles leftover from the Roundabout Layer Set in a rainbow array horizontally across the card. I stamped the sentiment “sending you sunshine, laughter and hugs” in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. This sentiment is from the Kind Hearts clear stamp set.
Using the same Hello Honey Script word die, I die cut the back shadow layer from black cardstock and the thinner top outline from white cardstock. I adhered both layers together with a fine-tip liquid glue and then adhered the entire sentiment to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.
I hope you have enjoyed these two very colorful ways to use the Roundabout Layer Set. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!
Hello, Birch Press friends! Today, I am sharing a card featuring the new Sprouting Crocus Contour Layers set. But, I did something unconventional. I used patterned paper for all of my die cuts! It’s a really fun way to add texture and color variation.
I started by cutting my flowers. I used the Madras Plaid Blue and Violet paper pad from Memory Box, which I believe is now retired. I chose a darker plaid pattern for the layers that go in front and a lighter pattern for the layers in back. I blended all the edges of each layer with a dark purple ink. I adhered all of the layers of my flowers together with glue.
I then took a similar pad of paper, the Madras Plaid Coral and Green pad, and I cut the stems from two different green plaid patterns. I only adhered one stem to each of my flowers, but I kept some extra ones to fill in later.
After completing my flowers, it was time to set the scene. First, I took a panel of white card stock and cut it with the Pinpoint Contour Plate. I blended some light blue ink onto the panel. I then used a rectangle die to cut an opening into a second panel of white card stock, slightly offsetting it into the upper left corner. I added foam tape to the back of this panel and attached it to the ink blended panel. Before attaching them together, I made sure that I had cut them both down to be slightly smaller than an A2 card base.
I cut a few clouds from white card stock using dies from the Rainbow Days Lingo Notes set. I inked up the edges of the clouds with light blue ink, and then I added them to the sky background. I tucked two of them under the edges of the framed opening. I then took my five flowers and tucked those into the bottom edges of the frame. I had left enough room between the edge of the framed opening and my foam tape so that I could achieve this look for the clouds and flowers. I used the extra stems/leaves that I had cut and filled in some of the gaps. I adhered this card panel to a dark purple A2 card base.
I used some more of the green plaid paper to cut the main layer of the Big Hello Sugar Script Die. I adhered this to two layers that I had cut from plain white card stock. I then adhered that stack to the shadow layer, which I also made from three layers of white card stock. I adhered that to the card, and then I finished everything off with a few green fairy jewels.
Thank you so much for joining us today. I hope this card inspires you and brings a smile to your face!
Hello, Birch Press fans! Toni here with you today sharing a floral card that reminds me of my cotoneaster bush.
The blooms of my cotoneaster aren’t very exciting but the resulting berries are prolific and gorgeous.
I cut the Sylvan Berries Contour Layers from Memory Box Glitzy Glitter 6×6 cardstock and leftover cardstock I had used Brushos on once upon a time. I cut the Sylvan Leaves from Memory Box Lush Green 6×6 cardstock.
I used the negative of the leaves diecut as a stencil with Distress Oxide Rustic Wilderness. What an easy way to add additional depth!
I spattered a bit of Copics Opaque White and Distress Oxide Spray Vintage Photo before adding the sentiment.
For that I used one of the Spellbinders Glimmer Satin Pastel hot foils with the Hugs Sugar Script Hot Foil Plate & Die. I wanted a smaller outline so cut the sentiment with the Sugar Script Big Hugs die. Cool shadow, right?!
I hope you enjoyed today’s card and have a great rest of your week!
