Birch Press Design

Tag: cardmaking

  • You Are Loved | by Colleen Balija

    You Are Loved | by Colleen Balija

    Hi friends,

    I took a short break from the blog here, and now I’m happy to be back with you, sharing the love of Birch Press Designs! With Valentine’s Day around the corner, I wanted to share a lovely card using Banner Heart dies and You Are Loved Sugar Script die and hot foil plate. Also, I’ll be using Bevel Plate layering dies, Phlox Blooms & Leaves dies, Memory Box Vintage Pastel paper, and Flora Plate (A only). All of the products used will be listed at the end of my blog post!

    First, I die cut the Heart Banner and Phlox Blooms & Leaves onto white watercolor paper. I planned to add a lot of color and water, and watercolor paper holds water well. I sprayed the heart and flowers with Lindy’s Magicals in shades of blue, yellow and pink. I love the shimmer these magicals add! I also created a background using pink, red, and blue magicals. Then I set everything aside to dry. When they were dried, I adhered the layers together. In the photo below, you can see a closer look at the heart die and flowers! These are PERFECT for Valentine’s Day!!!

    Next, I focused on adding the layering designs to my card, using Flora Plate Layer A and Bevel Plate layering dies. I die cut all of the dies onto white cardstock. I layered the Flora Plate A over the colorful background to soften the intense color just a bit. I adhered all the layers from the Bevel Plate and placed them over gold cardstock from Memory Box. Then I adhered that over the background panel. The touch of white to the card panel will help the colorful heart, flowers, and sentiment stand out! Plus, the Bevel and Flora dies add beautiful texture!

    The next step was to work on the sentiment using You Are Loved sugar script. I hot foiled the sentiment in pink foil over white to coordinate with the background, and then die cut the sentiment using the coordinating die. You can see the lovely, shiny sentiment in the photo above!

    Now I was ready to put it all together into a Valentine’s Day card! I adhered the Banner Heart layers over the Bevel Plate dies in the lower right corner. Then I added the flowers and coordinating leaves to the corner of the heart using foam tape for the smaller flower. I love how the colors blend so beautifully! Then I placed the sentiment to the upper left corner using foam tape. I finished with a couple of clear drops over the center of the flowers! Below is one more look at the finished product!

    I’m so happy you stopped by today!

     

    Supplies

     

    FP1002 Vintage Pastel Mirror Pad
     
     

     

    56111 Splendor Bevel Plate Layer Set

     

    BPF509 You Are Loved Noted Script Hot Foil Plate and Die Set

     

    57437 Flora Plate Layer Set

     

    57510 Banner Heart Layer Set

     

    57507 Phlox Blooms and Leaves Contour Layers

     

  • Fall Adornment Oak Leaves | by Colleen Balija

    Fall Adornment Oak Leaves | by Colleen Balija

    Hey friends,

    It’s getting to that time of year when the leaves turn on the trees and we begin to crave hot cocoa and Pumpkin Spice Lattes! Yummm! Fall time of year can be messy and yet it can also take your breath away with the sights and smells! So today’s card is a tribute to all that is fall! I will be using the NEW Adornment Oak Leaf die, Membory Box Ringading embossing folder, and Memory Box Gracious Gloral stamp set.

    I started with the Adornment Oak Leaves by die cutting two of the base layers onto a card panel that I had sprayed in various autumn colors. Next, I die cut the 2nd layer using silver cardstock. I splattered white ink over the leaves to finish and set them aside to dry.

    Next, I worked on the black backdrop that would sit behind the leaves and the background. I trimmed a piece of black cardstock and then heat embossed 2 sentiments from Memory Box Gracious Floral stamp in white embossing powder. Then I added some white splatters and set it aside to dry. This technique of randomly stamping a sentiment is a great mixed media tool that is easy to do and very effective! It takes a piece of plain black cardstock and adds subtle detail and interest!

    The background panel was created using Memory Box Ringadings embossing folder, which I embossed over a card panel that was sprayed in shades of grey and tan Mica. The Mica adds texture and shine, another great mixed media tool! If you don’t have sprays, not to worry! Just use your inks and you’ll achieve a similar look.

    After I embossed the image, I went over the raised parts of it with a sander and removed some of the color. You can see in the photo below the distressed look this technique provides! And it’s so simple to do!!! By the way, you can find sanders at just about any craft store! It’s a great tool to keep in your stash!

    The last step was to put everything together. I adhered the embossed panel over a 5.5×4.25 white card base, and then adhered the black panel over it, slightly off center to the left. Then I added the 2 Adornment Leaves and a sentiment from Memory Box Gracious Floral!

    This card may look complicated, but it was so easy to create, and you can do it with your own stash! Thanks so much for stopping by today!

    Supplies

     

    EF1015 Ringadings 3D Embossing Folder

     

    cl5280 Gracious Floral Clear Stamp Set

     

    57484 Adornment Oak Leaf

     

  • Colorful Adornment Pumpkin | by Colleen Balija

    Colorful Adornment Pumpkin | by Colleen Balija

    Hi friends! As we near the end of summer and welcome fall into (most of) our lives, I wanted to share a card using the NEW Adornment Pumpkin. But…I am adding a playful twist by experimenting with color! So today I will share my version of the ideal pumpkin using Adornment Pumpkin die set, Splendor Bevel Plates, Memory Box Ringadings embossing folder, and Warm Wishes sentiment die!

    The first step was to decide on the color of my pumpkin. Using my Hero Arts shimmer sprays as inspiration, I created a fuchsia and aqua pumpkin with shimmery green foliage! To achieve that fun pop of color, I die cut the pumpkin layers onto white watercolor paper, placed them in a box that I use solely for my sprays (keeps the mess down!), and sprayed the pumpkin layers with the fuchsia and aqua sprays. When they dried, I adhered the layers together. Also, to give the pumpkin more depth and support, I die cut the base layer 2 more times and adhered them all together. Here is a closer look at the shimmer and shine of that pumpkin!!!

    Isn’t she a beauty? Next, I created the sentiment using the new Warm Wishes layered die. The base layer of the sentiment is white, and the 2nd layer is done with the green spray. I used only the negative part of “Warm Wishes”. But you could also pop the in the positive portion as well and use a different color!

    Now I was ready to work on a complimentary background!

    The background needed to be neutral since the pumpkin was so bright that you need sunglasses to look at it, ha ha! I dry embossed a piece of white cardstock with Memory Box Ringadings embossing folder, trimmed the panel to 5.25×4, and placed it over a 5.5×4.25 white card base. Then I created a geometric frame over the embossed image using Splendor Bevel Plates on black and white cardstock. I love the geometric look and the texture that both the embossing folder and dies added!!!

    The last step was to place the pumpkin and sentiment over the background that I had just created. I offset the pumpkin to the right of the Splendor Bevel Plates just for interest, and added the green stem with foam tape so it was in alignment with the pumpkin. I placed the sentiment and the leaf together at the bottom left of the pumpkin and finished with Memory Box Treasury Chest Fairy Gemstones over the sentiment.

    Next time I make a card using this pumpkin, I may play with color once again! Who says a pumpkin has to be limited to orange, right? Thanks so much for stopping by today!

    Supplies

     

    EF1015 Ringadings 3D Embossing Folder

     

    gem101 Treasure Chest Fairy Gemstones

     

     

    57539 Warm Wishes Vintage Sentiment

     

    57481 Adornment Pumpkin

     

    56111 Splendor Bevel Plate Layer Set

     

  • Autumn Thanks | by Sandhya Iyer

    Autumn Thanks | by Sandhya Iyer

    Hello Birch Press friends! This is Sandhya and I am super thrilled to be a part of the Birch Press design team and look forward to sharing my ideas and creations with all of you. I will start off with a couple of ‘thank you’ cards using the gorgeous new Adornment Wreath die set. It was fun playing with the delicate leaves as well as filling them up with leftover die-cuts.

    I started by trimming a piece of copper cardstock from the Memory box Glitzy Glitter Pad to a 4.25″x5.5″ panel. Then, I centered the detailed part of the Adornment Wreath die right in the middle of that panel and die-cut the wreath. I made sure to save the loose leaves that fell out of the die-cut wreath. Next, I used the Big Thanks Sugar Script die to cut out my sentiment from the same glitter panel and set it aside.

    Then, I trimmed a panel out of white cardstock to measure 4″x5.25″ and gently ink-blended around its edges with Antique linen Distress ink. I die-cut the wreath shadow layer out of white cardstock and ink blended over it with orange, yellow, and green inks and smaller-sized blending brushes.

    Now that I have all the bits and bobs ready, I assembled my card using glue and foam tape. First, I aligned the delicate glitter wreath over the ink-blended shadow and filled some of the gaps with solid leaf die-cuts. I didn’t add much glue towards the outer edges and gently lifted the glitter cardstock for added dimension. I adhered this down on the ink-blended panel and added the thanks sentiment using thin foam tape. Finally, I matted this panel with the glitter panel I used for diecutting and adhered it to an A2 card base.

    As I was creating this card, I had another idea to use the solid leaves to fill out the wreath a bit more. So I ended up creating another fun card to give this a try. For this card, I cut the wreath out of gold cardstock from the Memory Box Rainbow Reflection Mirror pad. I cut the solid shadow layer out of white cardstock and set them aside.

    Next, I stamped my sentiment from the Classic Sentimental Wreath stamp set on white cardstock and heat-embossed it in gold. I added a gold mat for my sentiment strip for added glam. Then, I went to play with a piece of watercolor paper and ink smooshing with Distress Oxide inks in fall colors – Crackling Campfire, Mustard Seed, and Mowed Lawn.

    I inked around the edges in orange and popped the watercolor panel on an A2 card base with foam tape. Next, I aligned the gold wreath imperfectly over the white solid layer and adhered it to the inky panel with foam tape. I went on to tuck the solid golden leaves to fill out the wreath. I just fell in love with this look and might just create this look in different colors now. Anyways, I went on to add the sentiment strip and finish this card. I would love to know your thoughts on my cards and if you will give any of these a try. Thank you so much for stopping by today.

    Supplies:

    57485 Adornment Wreath
    57142 Big Thanks Sugar Script
    8157 Classic Sentimental Wreath stamp and die set
    GP1007 Glitzy Glitter Pad
    FP1003 Rainbow Reflections Mirror Pad