Hi there! It’s Tuesday again, and that means we are sharing something creative with you here on the blog!
I’m sharing two of my favorite things with you – stitched die cuts and ink blending! The new Party Balloon Dies is a wonderful set that is full of endless possibilities, and that stitching detail along the edge is the perfect detail!
I started by die cutting three different balloon sizes out of white cardstock.
I then applied ink to each balloon, making sure to blend darker color at the tops. I also sponged ink onto a piece of watercolor paper for the background. I used Distress Inks as they are very reactive to water, but other water based inks will work as well.
To create texture, I sprinkled on clear water to each layer, let it sit for a few seconds, and then gently dried it with a paper towel. After each layer had dried, I splattered on some I coordinating watercolor paint. I wanted just a bit more depth on the background layer so after the turquoise paint was dry I splattered on a bit of white paint.
I was on such a roll with adding texture that I just had to add some more! :-). I applied some clear glaze to the tops of the balloons and then sprinkled with a fine prisma glitter.
It’s time for another crafty Tuesday features here at Birch Press. It’s Tracey here and I have a fun card project to share with you today. When I start a craft project I find it easier to pull all my materials together and do as much of my stamping and die cutting as I can to make the process smoother–less interruptions. Fall has begun in my part of the world, but after a rainy cold summer I am not quite ready to give it up and I wanted to make another pretty summer time card.
For my prep work I prepared a white top folding card base and then I cut with vellum the Tilter Layer A craft die. Next I stamped, embossed with my chosen sentiments from the new Just Because Clear Stamp Set on white card stock. After embossing I die cut using the co-ordinating Just Because die set. I got out the Close to the Heart clear stamp set and the Close to the Heart craft dies. The rest of the materials I gathered were some watercolour paper and Distress Oxide Inks. I have a video for you today to show you my process.
A few more photos of today’s project.
Here you can see some of the dimension I created with foam tape.
Click here to browse the new Craft Catalog!
Check out our our exclusive craft dies and stamps along with lots of beautiful paper craft accessories – carefully curated in our online shop! Click on the pages of the catalog to zoom in and see all the details!
I hope you’re having a great day! There’s so much going on in the Craft section in the store! If you haven’t stopped by in a while you want to check out the “What’s New” tab! There’s some new layered dies as well as some great stand alone dies! There’s new stamp sets and accessories like washi and clips are being added every day!
Fall is in the air and I’m seeing the buses picking up kids early in the morning! I thought I’d make a special thank you for teacher with the new Home Sweet Home die. This die is so versatile.. I can imagine lots of uses for it.. congratulations on a new home, a we’ve moved card.. an invite for Thanksgiving or Holiday feast.. how about a haunted house in black and grey?
For my sunny day I started with a panel of blue card stock. I added clouds with Light Molding Paste spread through the openings of the Memory Box Mini Clouds Stencil. When it dries the clouds are thick and puffy and add great texture to the card.
Two die cut circles (Memory Box Open Studio Circle Basics) cut from yellow card stock make an easy sun and hand cut waves of green card stock make a hilly landscape. The house die is amazing.. there’s lots of detail. All the window outlines cut completely from the house frame so you can change colors easily. The roof has a scallop embossed design, the front door has embossed panels, and there is a separate cornice between the roof and the house so they attach seamlessly.
I added an apple for teacher from An Apple A Day, and a simple “thanks” word die called Calligraphy Pop Thanks. The word die comes as shown with a second outline die so you can add more detail if you like.
Wishing you sunny skies! Have a great day!
Hi all! Angel here with a cup o’ Joe for you this morning! Birch Press is one of the Coffee Lover’s Blog Hop Sponsors! And if you don’t know what that is Please go check out Amy Tsuruta’s Blog Hop HERE (she’s the hostess of this fab blog hop!). We will also be giving away a prize here on the Birch Press Blog – scroll down for more info!
My card looks like I slaved over it but that’s how Birch Press Design dies work – effortless beauty! I am in love with this Fiori Plate Layer C! I cut it out of some primitive white card stock then layered it with foam adhesive over a kraft card base. I cut out this super fun coffee cup from the Morning Cup Poppy Stamps die. I did cut it out twice so I could layer the larger, middle part of the cup, just for dimension.
The sentiment is from the Dragonfly Greetings stamp set. And yes, I think coffee is the greatest. 🙂
We will be giving away one of our Cover Plate Dies (winner gets to choose which one!)!!!!! All you have to do is comment on this post by 2 July. The winner will be posted on 4 July.
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.
Hello everyone and welcome! I am sharing a video today that features the Peony Bloom Stackable Dies – this set is so versatile and the layers create a beautiful three dimensional effect.
I am showing a basic card using different shades and textures of cardstock – and then taking it to the next level in the video by using Peerless Watercolors to shade each layer and create a completely different look. You’ll love the results!
There are three layers in the Peony Bloom Set – Layers A,B and C – and they are designed to work together. When I was working with them, I liked to use the lightest shade of paper on Layer A (this is the top layer) and then work my way towards darker shades as the layers went down.
Here is a look at Layer A by itself – this could be used on its own to make a striking card. Just add a sentiment and it is ready to go!
And here is what the layers look like when used together! I used three shades of pink and three shades of green cardstock to make this look – and I really wanted to use texture on the card so that there was a lot to look at visually. Positioning the leaves is fun -it seems like there isn’t a bad place to put them!
The layers create a raised appearance that is quite striking – very sculptural and it makes you want to run your fingers over it. I loved the pink and green together, but I wanted to try another color combination in a more subdued palette.
This stunning combination of greens and browns gives the card a completely different feel! I used lots of texture again – for a rich look. Notice that the lighter colors are on top and then it gets deeper towards the bottom – you might try the opposite. There are no rules here!
I love how the shapes overlap so well – here are some dramatic close-ups of the blooms. The way the light catches the cutouts and adds extra shadow makes it look even better!
Oh, did I mention how versatile these are? You don’t have to keep the flowers in the frame! Just assemble the layers, cut the peony blooms off of the frame and they can be used to embellish a card on their own!
Here I placed the blooms onto some notecards and stamped some phrases from the Make A Statement Clear Stamp Set. I just used my MISTI to stamp and emboss the phrases with some white embossing powder – and then tucked those beautiful blooms into the corners!
Here’s a plain version where I stamped directly onto the paper…
…and here is an updated version where I embossed the sentiment separately and then die cut it with the matching Make A Statement die set. I like both – but that extra pop you get by cutting out the words with the die set is probably my favorite!
I stuck to the original pink and green color scheme and then just arranged the leaves so that they would border the card and leave plenty of space for the sentiment.
I tried a simpler idea too – no leaves and just some gentle sponging with Distress Oxide Ink in Worn Lipstick and Peeled Paint. The sponged ink makes the white “hello” stand out and I used black dye ink for the “sending a happy”. This was pretty quick and I am going to give a set of these to a friend for a gift!
I had so much fun looking at the cards when I was done – and then got to thinking that it would be really cool if I could get shading on the petals. So I die cut the layers using 140 lb. hot press watercolor paper and got out my Peerless Watercolors and got to painting!
I painted the bottom layer and top layer as evenly as possible (check out the video for some tips on how to do this) and then concentrated my shading on the middle layer. The Peerless Watercolors have 40 colors in the pack, so I had plenty of shades to work from. The colors I used for the bloom were:
Layer A Chrome Yellow
Layer B Chrome Orange
Layer C Scarlet Vermillion
I wanted the color scheme to be really intense – so I painted several layers of color to really build up the bottom shades.
You can see how the middle color changes on the petals from light to dark, enhancing the dimensional quality of the layers. It was so wonderful watching the flower come to life!
For the leaves, the colors I used were:
Chrome Yellow
Grass Green
Chrome Green
I loved how it turned out, but then couldn’t wait to try a pastel version!
So I used the following colors of watercolor to create something softer looking:
Flower
Alizarine Red
Amethyst
Leaves and Background
Myrtle Green
Hunter Green
The main tip here is to use lots of water!
For Layer C (the bottom layer) I used lots of water and just a little Alizarine Red – this gave me a nice pink base to wrk with.
Then when I painted Layer B, I used lots of water and just a little Alizarine Red – and then I barely added some amethyst along the edges of the petals. I wasn’t too careful when adding them – I wanted there to be light areas and dark areas, just like you might see in the folds of the petal.
Layer A was just plain – no paint added at all so that there is a nice bright outline on top!
I painted the background with a soft wash of green – and then when it was dry I simply splattered it with some of the green paint.
I think you’ll love both techniques – if you decide to use cardstock the project will go quickly (the hardest part will be deciding what colors of cardstock to try!). Watercolor takes some time but it is really worth it – you’ll want to frame your creation when you are done!
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!
Thanks so much for joining us during our March release blog blitz! We are so excited to share the new craft dies with you. I can’t tell you how much we appreciate your kind comments … you really do make our day! We hope you’ll stop by every Tuesday when we feature products from the craft section of the store.
Congratulations to the winners who have all been contacted by email!
Welcome back to the final day of the Birch Press Design Blog Blitz! We are showcasing our new butterfly exclusive craft dies and new clear stamp set. What’s a blog blitz? We’ll it’s a chance for us to show you some designs made with the new products and give you a chance to win.
Today I am showcasing the new Close to the Heart stamp set and matching craft dies.
I am very excited to show you what you can do with these beautiful butterfly images. Here is a look at the stamp set and the matching dies which are sold separately.
To make the projects I am sharing today the butterfly images were heat embossed on white Bristol cardstock with clear embossing powder! To do this you first prep your cardstock with an anti-static tool, embossing buddy or even a dryer sheet. Then you apply Versamark ink to the butterfly image(s) and then apply black archival ink. Stamp on to your cardstock and then sprinkle your clear embossing powder to the image(s). Heat set so that you get a smooth and shiny black embossed image. Once cooled use the craft dies to cut out the images.
I coloured the images using watercolour markers using a waterbrush to blend the colours. For my background I used the previously released Sevilla background dies cut in soft grey and white. The sentiment is from the Close to the Heart clear stamp set embossed in white on black cardstock.
For my second project I created a tag using the smaller butterfly from the set. For the background I used the Sevilla C craft die to create a stencil and applied embossing paste. A couple pieces of greenery from the Brushed Christmas Greetings stamps and craft dies set were stamped in green and tucked in between the tag base and the butterfly.
Another look at the card.
Want a chance to win the Close to the Heart clear stamp set? Just leave me a comment!
Here’s the details for the rest of the blog blitz…..
The blog blitz runs from March 15 – March 17, 2017. We’ll be giving away a prize on every post during this time. To enter to win you need to leave a comment on EACH of the posts that you wish to enter. To enter ALL the posts during the blog blitz you need to leave a comment on EACH ONE. One person will be chosen at random from each of the posts during the blog blitz. Only one prize per person per blog blitz. We use random number generator to select winners from comments. You have until midnight US EST March 21 to leave a comment on each and every post that you want to enter. Winners will announced on this blog on March 25. Good Luck!
