Category: Stamps

  • Happy Birthday to You | By Angel Rivera

    Happy Birthday to You | By Angel Rivera

    Hi all!  I’m here with a funky, retro sort-of card for you today.  There was no real rhyme or reason here, believe it or not. Yes, I went out of my comfort zone. I literally chose three of the images from the new A Little Birdie stamp set and randomly stamped them with a hybrid ink.  I knew I was going to watercolor them, so after inking, I heat set it with my heat gun.  Nothing fancy, just go over the stamped images with your heat gun for maybe 20-30 seconds.  That’s it.  I then used my Zig Clean Color markers (any watercolor markers will work) and colored in only the edges of the images where I wanted the color to be darker.  Just a little swipe, not colored perfectly AT ALL.  Next, I spritzed some water onto my (waterproof) work surface and used a paintbrush to blend the ink.  I watercolored one color at a time, meaning I watercolored all of the red parts.  Cleaned my brush, then watercolored all of the orange parts.  Cleaned my brush, and so on, until I was done.  Again, I was going for a funky feel for this card, so the watercoloring is, well, sloppy.  😀  Pure fun and I love it!  I used a light gray marker to sort of color in the background as well using the same technique as the birds.  Once dried, I cut it with a rectangle die.  The sentiment is from the Time to Celebrate stamp set.  I stamped it onto black card stock, then embossed it with white embossing powder.  Keeping with the funky-feel, I hand cut (gasp!) the sentiment.  I layered the two pieces with foam adhesive.  I hope I’ve inspired you to step out of your comfort zone and just have FUN!

    Thanks for stopping by!  And a shout out to my mom – today is her birthday!  Love you!

  • Peony Blooms Birthday | by Tracey McNeely

    Peony Blooms Birthday | by Tracey McNeely


    Time for some more Tuesday inspiration using Birch Press Design’s craft dies and stamps.

    Today I am showing you another way to add colour using the Birch Press Design Stackable layer craft dies. I am using Peony Blooms Layer APeony Blooms Layer B and Peony Blooms Layer C along with Ranger Distress Oxide inks. I have put together a video tutorial for you.

    After I sponged my three panels with Distress Oxide inks I spritzed water on them so the Oxides could work their magic. These are the three panels I sponged cut out with the Peony Blooms Stackable Layer dies. In order from left to right Layer A, B and C.

    Once adhered together I prepared the cad base. Once again using Distess Oxide ink to sponge the background and spritzed it with water and lifted the excess with paper towel.  All layers were adhered together with Elmer’s Craft Bond Spray Adhesive (see previous tutorial done by designer, Laurie Schmidlin). I sponged some more Distress Oxide ink on to my base panel and also spritzed it with some clean water.

    The die cut layers were adhered to the front of the card base. I added my sentiment stamped and die cut from the Make a Statement Make a Statement clear stamps and Make a Statement craft dies.

    These close up photos really show how much depth and dimension can be achieved with these dies and just a few gradient changes in colour.

    Perfect for a summer birthday.

    With the Stackable craft dies the possibilities are endless. I hope I inspired you today to make something beautiful.

  • Note of Thanks | by Jeanne Jachna

    Note of Thanks | by Jeanne Jachna


    Thanks for stopping by!  Every Tuesday we feature items from the craft section of the store!  Today I made a shaker card inspired by a beautiful Summer day!

    I started by cutting the Fiori Plate layer C from pink card stock, and layer B from white card stock. I adhered the two layers together and placed a large acrylic block over them to keep pressure over them as the glue dried.    The cover plates are sized perfectly for an A2 card (4.25 x 5.5″) Next to make the shaker…

    I placed two ovals from the Memory Box Open Studio Stitched Oval Layers inside each other and cut them in my die cut machine to create a frame.  Using the larger oval die I cut a piece of acetate and adhered on the reverse of the frame.  Next I added adhesive foam tape to the reverse side of the frame.  I usually leave  an opening in the adhesive foam tape at the top of the frame.  After I attach it to the card base I add sequins.  Then I add a piece of adhesive foam tape to seal off the opening so my sequins don’t escape.

    I added iridescent pink and clear sequins to the inside of the shaker.  I love that you can still sett he beautiful stitching of the Fiori Plate layers inside the shaker window!

    I stamped the floral and dragonfly images from the Dragonfly Greetings stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored them with Copic alcohol markers..  I purposely left the brush strokes on the butterfly wings to add contrast and interest.

    The Dragonfly Greetings is a beautiful stamp set with floral images, dragonflies, and simple sentiments.  The coordinating die cuts make it easy to get a clean detailed cut with one pass through your die cut machine.

    I hope you find time to make something beautiful today!

  • Peony Blooms Thank You  | by Tracey McNeely

    Peony Blooms Thank You | by Tracey McNeely


    Have you had a chance to use the new Peony Blooms Stackable Dies yet? Watercolouring has become my new favourite colouring medium to use in crafting. Today I am going to use Peerless Watercolors in dilute washes for the layers of my peonies to create a monochromatic flower with lots of dimension.

    To begin I cut one each of the Peony Blooms Stackable dies–Layer A, Layer B and Layer C using 140 lb cold press watercolour paper.

    I started by cutting small pieces of the watercolor films from the Peerless Watercolor book that I was going to use for the flower and foliage. I colours I used were Royal Scarlet, Royal Crimson, Carnation Pink, Light Green and Brilliant Yellow. Put each piece of cut film into a different tray of a watercolour palette. Add a small bit of water to each of the trays to dissolve the colour from the film and tint the water, then remove the film from the trays with a pair of tweezers. ETA: Carnation Pink was added to the palette after photographing.

    Starting with Layer C I applied a generous amount of water to the die cut flower and then I painted the flower with the full strength of my dilute Royal Scarlet wash. I set it aside to dry.

    Next I did the same with Layer B using the Royal Crimson dilute. After the first layer of colour dried a bit I went back and added some darker highlights to the edges of the flower in the same colour but directly from the film in the book. I set that layer aside to dry.

    For Layer A I painted the Carnation Pink dilute directly to the dry die cut and then set it aside to dry.

    For the leaves I painted Layer C in Brilliant Yellow and added Light Green to the centre. For the leaves in Layer B I mixed some of the Brilliant Yellow and Light Green together in last available palette in my tray to make a yellow/green then I painted the Layer B leaves with it. I added more water to the custom yellow/green dilute to lighten the colour a bit more and painted the last leaves from Layer A.

    Once all papers were dry I assembled the Peony and leaves onto a white card base, isn’t the dimension achieved from the monochromtic watercolouring amazing? Finally the thank you sentiment from Dragonfly Greeting clear stamp set was die cut using the die from the Dragonfly Greetings die set and adhered to the card.


    I hope you enjoyed today’s tutorial on watercolouring in a monochromatic colour scheme and see how well it works with the lovely detailed dies from Birch Press Design. See you again next Tuesday for more Design Team inspiration.

  • Sentiments Frames | By Laurie Schmidlin

    Sentiments Frames | By Laurie Schmidlin


    Happy Tuesday!  Today I’m sharing a quick and easy way to create a sentiment frame.  This simple technique can be used on almost any card!


    First, I have to say that the new Peony Bloom layering die set is one of the prettiest that I have seen!  As soon as I saw it I was smitten!  While playing around with it I started thinking about different ways to add sentiments.  I didn’t want to cover up any of the flowers so I came up with the idea of stamping around the edges.


    The Dragonfly Greetings stamp set is full of sentiments that are perfect for this technique!  I chose to use the Thank You sentiment.  I started by lightly penciling in lines 1/4″ from the edges on all four sides.  I then stamped the sentiment repeatedly, using the pencil marks as a guideline to stamp.  Don’t worry if your sentiment goes off of the page at the corners as this will be covered up with the layering dies.


    One tip that can save you some time and frustration is to make sure your ink is completely dry before going on to the next step.  Trust me.  Ha!


    After the ink was dry, I erased all of the pencil marks using a high quality eraser.


    After assembling the three Peony Bloom layers (I used all three on my card), I adhered it to the white sentiment stamped layer.  For embellishment, I added some decorative jewels to the center of the flowers.


    I hope you get a chance to try this out!

    Thanks for stopping by!

     

     

     

     

     

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  • Fiori Plate Layers Card and Blog Blitz Winners Announced  By Jeanne Jachna

    Fiori Plate Layers Card and Blog Blitz Winners Announced
    By Jeanne Jachna


    I hope you’re having a great day!  Tuesdays are dedicated to the craft section of the Birch Press Design Store!  Have you had a chance to see the new Peony Bloom and Fiori Plate Layer Dies?  Today I’m sharing a card made with the Fiori set!

    There are three stackable dies for each collection that you can use individually or together as a set.   It’s fun mixing paper colors for unique designs.  I love to add a layer of glitter paper for some sparkle and shine.

    Today I wanted to share some of my favorite things to have on hand when working with these intricate dies.   First I would recommend a steel shim / adapter plate for your die cut machine.  You can find them where you purchased your machine under “accessories” .  Several die manufactures also carry them like Memory Box.

    There’s lots of ways to add adhesive to the back of your designs – my favorite is a precision needle tip applicator that reduces glue mishaps.  A large acrylic stamping block provides just the right amount of weight to keep your design flat while each layer dries.

    I always cut the final panel (in this case the orange) that’s attached to my white card stock base slightly smaller than the die cut background so it doesn’t peek out the edges.

    The layered backgrounds are all so beautiful that you will want to keep your sentiment’s simple so those intricate background patterns steal the show.   This sentiment is from the Make A Statement Stamp Set.

    If you visited during our giveaway last week I want to thank you for all your wonderful comments!  You make us all so happy!  There are three winners to announce – all selected with random number generator.  Congratulations!

    June 1, 2017 Tracey’s Post Amanda Dellamano
    June 2, 2017 Angel’s Post Sue LD
    June 3, 2017 Laurie’s Post Amy Cooley

    All winners have been contacted by email!


  • Blog Blitz May Release – Dragonfly Greetings | By Laurie Schmidlin

    Blog Blitz May Release – Dragonfly Greetings | By Laurie Schmidlin

    Hi friends!  We have one final post to share with you featuring the brand new May Release!  Today, I’m a project featuring the new Dragonfly Greetings stamp set.  Make sure to leave a comment on this post for a chance to win your very own Dragonfly Greetings stamp set!

    Red and aqua are two of my favorite colors!

    I really wanted to feature that gorgeous flower from the Dragonfly Greetings stamp set.  I embossed them on red cardstock, die cut them out, and then adhered them in a cluster of three on my card.

    And that dragonfly…isn’t it beautiful?!

    To create my card, I started by gathering supplies needed for my background.  I used the Peacock Feathers Distress Ink pad (any water soluble ink pad will work), a heavyweight piece of white cardstock, a large acrylic block, and a water spritz bottle.

    I started by rubbing my ink pad all over the acrylic block.  I didn’t completely fill it with ink as I wanted there to be some white space.

    I then spritzed the acrylic block so that the ink was very wet.

    I then put the cardstock down on the acrylic block, pressed it down a bit, and then carefully pull it up.  You can set your paper aside to dry or you can speed it up with a heat tool.

    For the flowers, I embossed them in white on red cardstock.

    To add a little more depth to the flowers, I did some light shading with a colored pencil.  I then die cut them out using the coordinating Dragonfly Greetings Die Set.


    For the dragonfly, I embossed it in white onto white cardstock.  It’s hard to see in the photo, but trust me…it’s there!  🙂  I then started to add some color using a few colored pencils.

    After I had it colored , I die cut it out.  I really love the open dies as it makes it easy to line up the stamped image with the die!

    For the final step, I embossed the sentiment in black on a small strip of white cardstock.

    Want to win this lovely new stamp set?  Just leave a comment on this post to be entered to win!  We use random number generator to select winners from comments. You have until midnight US EST June 4th to leave a comment, a winner will announced on this blog on June 6. Good Luck!

     

     

  • Happy Birthday Peony | Angel Rivera

    Happy Birthday Peony | Angel Rivera

    Hi all!  Angel here with a card using some newly released goodies!  I love these new Peony Bloom layered dies!  And guess what!?  I’m giving away the Peony Bloom Layer B!!!  Be sure to leave a comment on this post and we’ll announce a winner in a few days! 

    To start my card, I watercolored my background, keeping the color where the die (Peony Bloom layer A) would cut out the flower petals.

    As you see here, the watercoloring lines up with the die.  I used the same watercoloring technique for the leaves, which you’ll see on the finished card.

    I then used the die to cut out plain white card stock and also the watercolored paper.  I adhered the plain white die cut paper to a scrap piece of paper, then began the task of filling in the petals with the watercolored pieces.  Try it some time, it’s quite therapeutic.  🙂

    I used the new Make a Statement stamp set and dies for the sentiment.  I used washi tape to adhere the dies to some scrap paper, then sponged ink onto the middle of the sentiments.  Once I cut out the word dies, I then used black ink to stamp the actual words onto what I had previously sponged.

    I adhered the leaves to the back of the sentiments then layered them with foam adhesive onto the card.

    Thanks for stopping by!  Don’t forget to comment for your chance to win a Peony Bloom Layer B die!


  • Blog Blitz May Release and winner from last week’s giveaway | by Tracey McNeely

    Blog Blitz May Release and winner from last week’s giveaway | by Tracey McNeely


    We are back again celebrating the May release with a Blog Blitz. Today I am using a few of the newly released products for a card.

    The base layer of my card was created with the new Fiori Plate B which is part of another fabulous trio of stackable plates. These incredible plates can be used on their own or layered on top of one another. I started out by preparing an A2 sized card panel using watercolour paper and Distress Oxide inks.

    I smooshed the two colours of ink on to a craft mat and then generously spritzed it with water. Then the watercolour panel was dropped onto the ink puddle and then lifted up. The panel was dried with a heat gun and then I dipped the panel back into the ink where I felt it needed a bit more colour and then dried once again. The key to layering the Distress Oxide inks without getting a muddied look is to dry the panel in between each layer. Once dry I die cut the panel using the Fiori Plate B.


    Next a couple of dragonflies from the newly released Dragonfly Greetings clear stamp set were stamped and clear embossed using Versamark first, then Versafine inks and then die cut with the Dragonfly Greetings Die Set on watercolour paper. These were coloured with watercolour markers. The ‘sending a happy’ sentiment from Make a Statement clear stamp set was stamped and heat embossed in white on black cardstock. The  ‘hello’ sentiment from Make a Statement was stamped and die cut with the Make a Statement Die Set.

    The Fiori panel was adhered with spray adhesive as described in teammate Laurie Schmidlin’s tutorial last week. The black sentiment was adhered directed to the panel and pieces of foam tape were added to the backs of the dragonfly bodies and the hello die cuts before being adhered to the panel.

    Another look at the card.

    Now would you like a chance to win the Fiori Plate B die? We use random number generator to select winners from comments. You have until midnight US EST June 4th to leave a comment, a winner will announced on this blog on June 6. Good Luck! The lucky winner from last week’s giveaway on Jeanne Jachna’s post is Teresa Doyle–congratulations!


  • New May Release Revised Glitter Peony Panel  by Jeanne Jachna

    New May Release Revised
    Glitter Peony Panel
    by Jeanne Jachna


    Oh happy day!  We’re celebrating the new May release with a give away! We’ve added two new stamp sets with coordinating dies as well as two sets of stackable dies to the store!

    Today I’m playing with the Peony Bloom Layer A die.  This is just one of the three Peony Bloom layer dies that are stackable.   You can use them individually like I did here today, or together for lots of added dimension!

    I’m so happy that the leaves are separate from the flower so you can cut them from a different color card stock if you like.  For my design today I cut everything from white card stock.

    Next I adhered the die cut to a panel covered in double sided tape.

    I carefully added glitter to the sheet.  Just press the glitter into the sticky tape.  I used three shades of red for the flowers starting with light in the center and adding a slightly darker shade as I moved further away from the flower center.  You want to be careful along the edges so the red doesn’t spill into areas where you don’t want it. If some accidentally spills over you can use a pick or needle to scrape out the color.  This is a quick fix for small areas, I would start over for a large spill.  If you don’t want to work with colorful ink you can color the background panel with markers or distress ink, adhere the double sided tape, and then sprinkle on crystal glitter.

    I adhered the leaves to a separate panel covered in double sided tape, glittered them  and then fussy cut them before adding them to my card.  Dave Brethauer, the creator of these beautiful designs made a video for this technique that you can watch here on You Tube.

    The sentiment is from the new Make A Statement stamp set.  I used the coordinating die set to cleanly cut the “thanks” sentiment.
    Now the part you’ve been waiting for ..  the prize!  Want a chance to win the Peony Bloom Layer A?   Just leave me a comment!

    We use random number generator to select winners from comments. You have until midnight US EST May 30 to leave a comment, a winner will announced on this blog on June 1. Good Luck!