Category: Rosemary Dennis

  • Under the Sea | by Rosemary Dennis

    Under the Sea | by Rosemary Dennis

    Hello! Hope your September is off to a great start. Today I’m sharing a card that was inspired by a seahorse exhibit that used to be at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium located in Tacoma, Washington where I live. I used the new Block Print Proud Seahorse die set, as well as two other sets from the current release.

    The exhibit had several tanks with different species of seahorses with the final and biggest tank exhibiting one of the largest species. It was so fun to watch them swimming around in the water or clinging to strands of kelp. I started by die cutting all the pieces for my seahorse and the fish that would be inside my “aquarium”. I used just a few colors of distress oxide ink to color the seahorse and fish. I did alot of mixing and matching to create colors.

    Once I had all the pieces inked up and they were dry I assembled my seahorse and fish. The Sea Kelp and Mini Fish die set is fast becoming one of my most used set from the release. It is so versatile! I thought I needed a little bit bigger fish for my scene so I used the Block Prink Ocean Fish because it was just the right size. Then it was time to play around with the layout. Once I had that figured out I took a photo so I could recreate it.

    Now it was time to create my background. I inked up the bottom with Antique Linen distress oxide ink for my “sand” and Tumbled Glass and Mermaid Lagoon distress oxide inks for the water. I also used the Light Ray Stencil set to create the filter sunlight look. Now it was time to put together my scene.

    Using the photo as my guide I adhered everything in place using liquid adhesive. When I was done with adhereing everything to my background I added the panel to a white cardstock base using strong double sided adhesive. Small dot of Nuvo jewel drops in black were added to the fish and seahorse for the eyes. The sentiment is from the older Rainbow Days Lingo stamp set. I stamped it on white cardstock with black ink, die cut it with a label die and then inked it up with ink left on my blending brush.

    I hope you enjoyed today’s card. I had so much fun creating it! I also wanted to let you know that Birch Press Design is sponsoring the Die Cut Divas challenge this month. You can find all the details on the challenge and how to win here. Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

  • Here for You | by Rosemary Dennis

    Here for You | by Rosemary Dennis

    Happy end of August everyone! Rosemary here on the blog today with a card inspired by one of my favorite movies: Finding Nemo! Let’s take a look at what I created.

    One of my favorite scenes in Finding Nemo is at the end of the movie when Dorie is asking if the crabs have seen Marlin and they ignore her so she grabs one and sticks it up above the waves to where a group of seagulls are sitting on a buoy. When I saw the new Block Print Dancing Crabs die set I immediately knew I wanted to recreate that scene. I used the new Waterfront Pilings dies, Block Print Happy Seaqull and Corner Waves dies to complete the card.

    I started by inking up my panel with Tumbled Glass distress oxide ink. I used Tumbled Glass and Broken China on a piece of white cardstock that I die cut the corner waves from so there would be some contrast between the “waves” and the ocean/sky. The main panel was die cut to fit a card front and the sentiment from an Open Studio stamp set was stamped in black ink.

    The I die cut the rest of the pieces that I needed to complete the card. I die cut the seagull from white, gray and yellow cardstock. A little bit of gray ink was added to the seagull’s tummy and then everything was adhered together with liquid adhesive and set aside to dry. It is hard to tell, but I did use two different red cardstocks for my little crab. There are two crabs in the set and I used the smallest one for my card. The pilings were die cut from kraft cardstock and then some brown ink was blended on to darken the bases. The tops were left un-inked. The bands around the pilings were die cut from gray cardstock and also got a little bit of inking.

    The fin is from the new Block Print Majestic Whale. I die cut it from gray cardstock and then blended on blue in to change the color. Now it was time to assemble the card. I used liquid adhesive to attach everything. It was a bit tricky getting the “waves and the pilings adhered as I wanted them to be. I attached the bottom “wave” and then placed the pilings behind it, tilting the smaller piling. Then I added the second wave, tucking the fin into that one and working it behind the smaller piling. The final two waves were added behind the pilings and then the pilings were fully glued in place. I finished by attaching the seagull and the little crab.

    I absolutely love how this card turned out! I was a little tricky, but so worth the effort. Let me know what you think and if it reminds you of Finding Nemo! Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

  • Elegant Koi | by Rosemary Dennis

    Elegant Koi | by Rosemary Dennis

    Hello everyone! Rosemary here on the blog today sharing a card I made using the gorgeous new Elegant Koi die, as well as the new Honeycomb Cut Out die and the older Floral Cross layering die set. Let’s have a look at what I made.

    When I first saw the Elegant Koi die set (and the Koi Duo die set) I almost immediately thought of Kubota Garden located in the Rainier Beach neighborhood of Seattle. The garden is spectacular and has several ponds with numerous koi slowly swimming about. It is fun and relaxing to watch them swim by.

    I started by die cutting my koi from cardstock. I die cut the main body of the koi from orange cardstock from the Memory Box Sunrise cardstock pack. The rest of the koi was die cut from off white and gray. I then added some ink to the gray and off white pieces to give them more depth. I used what distress oxide ink was left on my blending brush to add the color.

    I set the piece aside to dry. Because I wanted my elegant koi to have an elegant pond to be swimming around in I decided to use the Honeycomb Cut Out die to create some tiles for the bottom of my pond. I used Memory Box glossy black cardstock for the tiles. I also die cut a template with the Honeycomb die so that I could layout and adhered my tile background perfectly.

    Once I had the background created I added some light inking using distress oxide inks in Tumbled Glass and Salty Ocean to the panel. I kept the color mainly at the edges, but did add some in the center of the panel. Once done with the ink blending I made sure to wipe off the ink that got on my black tiles.

    To provide even more of a look of an elegant pond I used the leafy stems and flowers from the Floral Cross layering die set to create some waterlily type flowers. Light inking was used on these pieces as well. Now it was time to complete the pond. I adhered everything using liquid adhesive.

    My sentiment is from the Crystal Lingo stamp set which is unfortunately no longer available. I did ink up the sentiment strip with the same inks used for the background so it blended in a bit more. I finished with small drop of Nuve Jewel drops in Limoncello.

    I hope you enjoyed today’s card. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

  • Birthday Fishes | by Rosemary Dennis

    Birthday Fishes | by Rosemary Dennis

    Hello, hello! Have you seen the new Birch Press Design release? It is full of absolutely amazing fish themed designs. I have so many ideas rolling around in my head. I’m starting off with a fairly simple design today. Let’s have a look.

    When my package arrived in the mail my niece and her family were on a vacation in Bali. The photos she shared on Instagram got some ideas going and one of them was this card. Along with all the dies there is a really fun stencil set that allows you to create beams of sunlight shining in the ocean. I immediately knew I was going to use the stencils for my card.

    I inked up my panel of cardstock with Tumbled Glass distress oxide ink and then used on of the stencils and Peacock Feathers distress oxide ink to add the sunlight streaming into the water. Once that was done I splatted the panel with water to create little bubbles.

    I then inkblended another panel with Mowed Lawn distress oxide ink, Squeezed Lemonade and Wild Honey. I die cut the kelp and little fish from that panel using the new Sea Kelp and Mini Fish die set. I added a bit of a darker green distress oxide ink (I don’t remember which one) to the kelp for some color variation.

    The I figured out the arrangement of the kelp and fish. Since this card was going to my great niece who was on vacation in Bali with her parents I found a round Memory Box Tabs birthday sentment and inked it up with some of the green ink. I purposefully chose the sentiment tab with the wavy birthday to mimic the ocean waves. I adhered everything to my panel with glue and then added it to a cardstock base.

    I just love how this turned out. Well, that’s it for me. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

  • Bold Butterfly | by Rosemary Dennis

    Bold Butterfly | by Rosemary Dennis

    Hello everyone! Rosemary here and today I am here to say that I LOVE the Block Print butterflies! They are sooo cool. Today’s card features the amazing Block Print Radiant Butterfly. Let’s have a look.

    Many times when I start making my card I don’t think about taking photos of my process. That is the case with this card. I’m always trying to come up with new ideas or mediums that I can use when creating my cards. With this card I decided to die cut the pieces of my butterfly from watercolor cardstock and then color them with watercolor pens.

    I thought that this bold butterfy needed to be paired up with something equally as bold and so I went with the Wiegela Leaf Contour Layers die. That was also die cut from watercolor cardstock and the pieces colored with watercolor pens.

    For the butterfly I went with a bright yellow and red combo. The watercolor pens I have are limited in colors so I achieved the variants by mixing colors. Wished I had taken photos, but I was so caught up in the process that I forgot. Once all the pieces were dry I assembled them using liquid adhesive.

    With the bold butterfly and leaf cluster I thought a simple white background with just a touch a light blue inking was the best. After inking up the background I adhered the panel to a light gray cardstock base. I arranged my leaf cluster and butterfly, adhering both with liquid adhesive. The sentiment is from the Vintage Everyday Greetings stamp and die set. I stamped it in black and die cut it with the matching die. I did die cut several additional layers that I adhered to the sentiment to give it some depth. The sentiment was also adhered with liquid adhesive.

    I just love the graphic look of the butterfly mixed with the more natural look of the leaf cluster. I hope you enjoyed today’s project. Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!

    Supplies

    cl8168 Vintage Everyday Greetings

    57515 Wiegela Leaf Contour Layers

    57600 Block Print Radiant Butterfly

  • Honey Bee Hello | by Rosemary Dennis

    Honey Bee Hello | by Rosemary Dennis

    Hello friends! Have you been amazed by the projects the design team has created with the most current release? Well, I have! I have been buzzing with excitement to get something made and today is the day! Let’s have a look at what I made.

    I had several ideas in mind and tried at least one of them, but wasn’t super happy with how it was turning out. I decided to shift gears and use up some yellow glitter paste I had out on my desk. I really wanted to use the Honeycomb Cut Out die and so I used it to create a stencil to use with the glitter paste.

    After doing a quick test to see how my DIY stencil would turn out I decided to diecut it from some sturdier cardstock. For this I chose (and sacrificed) a piece of Memory Box glossy black cardstock. As you can see it would have also made a pretty neat background, too. I die cut a piece of heavy white cardstock with a rectangle die and then taped that to the back of my DIY stencil. The stencil worked pretty well with only a small amount of the paste seeping under. I peeled off my stencil and let my panel dry.

    While my panel was drying I die cut my bees using the Block Print Buzzing Bumblebee from a piece of watercolor cardstock that I had initially planned to use for my background panel, but it was a bit of a fail. I think the bees I die cut from it are kind of fun and funky!

    Once the glitter paste was dry and full disclosure that did take a long time because of the amount of paste that was applied using the stencil. I let the panel dry overnight to make sure it was fully dry before assembling my card. I even at one point placed something heavy on top so that it would dry flat.

    Since I was going for a mixed media vibe. I splattered the fully dry panel with distress ink in Gathered Twigs and appropriately Wild Honey. For the bees I die cut enough so that I could cut some apart to build the bees for my card. The wings were die cut from heavy weight vellum. I assembled my bees and then what kind of sentiment I would use. I settled on the Big Hello Sugar Script. Initially I die cut the hello from heavy weight cardstock and then splattered it, but there was too much splatter. So I used another piece of glossy black cardstock and stacked it on top of the splattered sentiment. Everything was adhered with liquid adhesive and then I added my panel to a kraft cardstock base.

    Well, that’s it for me. I hope you enjoyed today’s card. Thanks for stopping by and have a truly lovely day.


    Supplies


    57598 Block Print Buzzing Bumblebee
    57594 Honeycomb Cut Out
    57201 Big Hello Sugar Script
  • Sending Hugs | by Rosemary Dennis

    Sending Hugs | by Rosemary Dennis

    Hello everyone! Rosemary here on the blog today with a sunny card that would brighten up anyone’s day. Let’s have a look at what I made.

    There are so many pretty flowers in the new Block Print line that it is hard to decide which one to use! For this card I decided to use the Block Print Fun Floral die set. One of the things I noticed about this set of dies and the resulting flowers is that they would be perfect for a wreath!

    I started by diecutting a circle using a die set from Poppystamps (our sister company) from bright yellow cardstock from the Memory Box Sunshine. The rest of the pieces were die cut from various shades of yellow from the same pad.

    I then assembled all the flowers by alternating colors. When I was done I had lots and lots of flowers to use for my wreath. Below is a photo of my pile of flowers.

    I die cut some cream Memory Box woodgrain cardstock for my background and then adhered the die cut circle to the panel. I flowers were arranged with the large flowers at the top, bottom and sides and the smaller flowers in the gaps that were left.

    To break up all the yellow I added some bright green leaves that I cut with the leaf die from the Block Print Stems and Berries die. I finished off the card with the sentiment from the Rainbow Days Lingo Note stamp and die set that I surrounded with lots and lots of clear Fairy Jewels.

    I love how my fun and bright wreath turned out! I hope you enjoyed learning how I created it. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.


    Supplies


    cl8159 Rainbow Days Lingo Notes clear stamp set
    57599 Block Print Stems and Berries
    57603 Block Print Fun Floral
    sh44002 Cream Woodgrain Paper
  • Tapestry Thank You | by Rosemary Dennis

    Tapestry Thank You | by Rosemary Dennis

    Hello and happy May! Rosemary here on the blog today with a fun and some what elegant thank you card. Let’s have a look at what I made.

    For this card I used the super pretty Block Print Tapestry Blooms die and the elegant Thank You Scripted die set. I went with a light blue and green color combo for this card.

    To keep things simple I die cut all the flowers from a light blue Memory Box cardstock and the stem from the dark green. Then I assembled my flower stem. The sentiment was also die cut from the same light blue.

    Time to figure out my layout and it was at this point I decided to pull out the Linear Lines stencil and create a simple partial diamond pattern on my white cardstock base. I used a light blue ink that coordinated with the blue cardstock I used for the flowers and the sentiment.

    Now it was time to put the card together. I used cardstock in the same blue for my card base and adhered the background panel with thin foam squares. I then adhered the flower stem with liquid adhesive. Finally I added the sentiment. I purposefully only added glue to the main part of the sentiment to allow for some appearance of movement in the swirls on the sentiment.

    I really like the slightly monochromatic look of the card and the simplicity. I hope you enjoyed today’s project. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!


    Supplies


    42041 Linear Stripes
    57545 Thank You Scripted
    57590 Block Print Tapestry Blooms
  • Oh Happy Day | by Rosemary Dennis

    Oh Happy Day | by Rosemary Dennis

    Hello Birch Press Design friends! Rosemary here on the blog today with a fun design I created using more new dies from the Block Print line. Let’s get started!

    I don’t know about you, but I’m loving the new Block Print line of dies from Birch Press Design. They just keep getting better and better with each release! The butterflies in this release are amazing! For this card I used the Block Print Brilliant Butterfly and the super fun Block Print Stems and Berries.

    Here you can see the products that I used. I started by diecutting everything from white cardstock and then placing the pieces on a sticky mat so I could apply the distress oxide ink. Once the inking was done I set everything aside to dry.

    Once I had all my pieces assembled I needed to figure out my layout. It was at this point I decided to throw the new Linear Stripes Stencil into the mix. I used the purple ink that was left on my brush to add the stripes. I just wanted them in the area where I would be putting the stem. After I did my stenciling I left the panel on the sticky mat so I could determine final placement of the pieces.

    With placement determined I removed the panel from the sticky mat and placed it in my MISTI stamping tool to stamp the sentiment from the Vintage Everyday Greetings stamp set. The sentiment was stamped in black ink and then I adhered all the pieces using liquid adhesive.

    I just love the fun graphic look that the Block Print Stems and Berries and the stenciled stripes provide. The beautiful Brilliant Butterfly provides a little softness to the design. Well, that’s it for me. I hope you enjoyed today’s card. Thanks for stopping by!


    Supplies


    CL8168 Vintage Everyday Greetings
    42041 Linear Stripes
    57599 Block Print Stems and Berries
    57596 Block Print Brilliant Butterfly
  • Congratulations | by Rosemary Dennis

    Congratulations | by Rosemary Dennis

    Hello everyone! Rosemary here on the blog. I hope your April is off to a good start. We have been having some wild weather here in the Pacific Northwest! Rain and high winds one day, sun the next. Today I’m sharing a card that I created with the gorgeous Abundant Branch die set. Let’s get started.

    My niece recently graduated from the University of Washington-Tacoma and so I actually made this card for her. UW’s colors are purple and gold, so I went in that direction for my color scheme. I die cut the Abundant Branch pieces from white cardstock and then colored everything with distress oxide inks.

    I let everything dry for a little bit before putting the branch together. I pulled a piece of patterned paper from the Memory Box Gladiola Plaid 6×6 pad and trimmed it down into a strip. I had previously die cut a pierced arch from cream woodgrain cardstock (Memory Box) so I added that to the mix.

    I die cut white cardstock with a rectangle die and then layered on the plaid paper strip and the cream woodgrain die cut. I used double sided tape and liquid adhesive to adhere the layers to a white cardstock base.

    Liquid adhesive was used to put the Abundant Branch together and then adhered to the wood grain panel. I made sure to not put the adhesive on the end of the branch and one of the flowers so I could slip the sentiment underneath. The sentiment from the Vintage Everyday Greetings stamp set was stamped in black and then die cut with a label die. I finished with tiny dots of yellow Nuvo drops to the centers of the flower.

    Well, that’s it for me. I hope you enjoyed today’s card. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

    Supplies

    cl8168 Vintage Everyday Greetings

    57575 Abundant Branch