Tag: mixed media

  • Forever Grateful | by Crystal Komara

    Forever Grateful | by Crystal Komara

    Hello crafty friends! This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here with you today sharing the first of a few fall themed pumpkin cards that I have made featuring the Adornment Pumpkin Set.

    The Adornment Pumpkin Layer Set is one of my go-to products for fall cards. I love the large size of the layering pumpkin. Plus, it comes together easily with only two dies – a solid inside layer and a thin outline layer. For this card, I combined it with a variety of other products from Birch Press Design to include:

    ~Phlox Blooms and Leaves Contour Layers

    ~Tiny Tuft Flowers and Leaves

    Card details:

    There is a lot to this card, so let’s break it down:

    1. To create the pumpkin, using the Adornment Pumpkin die, I die cut the large solid pumpkin from the 6″ x 6″ Gladiola paper pack from Memory Box Company. I die cut the outline layer from white cardstock. I adhered the two together with a fine tip liquid glue.
    2. Using the Phlox Blooms and Leaves contour layer set, I die cut a bunch of flowers from a mustard orange and rust colored cardstock. I also cut the inside of the flowers from chocolate brown cardstock and the center of of the flowers from gold glitter cardstock. For each flower, I layered the three colors togethers with a fine-tip liquid glue.
    3. Next I simply die cut a bunch of orange, yellow, mustard, gold and brown leaves from the Tiny Tufts Flowers and Leaves contour die and tucked them in and around the pumpkin.
    4. I splattered gold paint all over the card for some “distressing” or a “mixed media” look.
    5. Lastly, I stamped the sentiment “forever grateful” using the Brush Sentiment stamp set. I stamped the sentiment in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I used an oval punch to punch the sentiment out and adhered it to the card using foam adhesive for added dimension.

    I know at first glance that a lot of these intricate layered cards can seem intimating, but all it really entails is a LOT of die cutting. My little tip* – I don’t even count or measure as I’m die cutting, I just keep cutting until it seems like I have a lot. Any extra pieces can be used on the inside or saved for another card!

    Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

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  • Rustic Thank You Tags | By Sandhya Iyer

    Rustic Thank You Tags | By Sandhya Iyer

    Hello, friends! This is Design Team member Sandhya Iyer and I am sharing a pair of rustic thank you tags. These tags feature the Evening Moths die set and Thank You Foil Greetings Black tabs.

    I used Index flash cards to create my tags. First, I added a generous layer of crackle paste on 2 flashcards and set them to air-dry. What I had in my stash was ‘Golden’ brand, the cracks were very fine and barely noticeable. So after the tags dried, I crumpled them and added more interest. I ink blended around the edges with Rustic Hinge and Vintage Photo Distress inks and added black and white splatters to create an interesting background.

    Next, I die-cut the Moth Layers out of watercolor cardstock. I pulled out Distress Oxide inks and used detail blending brushes to ink the wings and body layers of the moth. I have a picture showing the colors I used to create my rustic and vibrant color combos. Then I assembled the little moths and added some detail to the wings using gel pens.

    Next, I inked the edges of another pair of index cards and adhered them to the back of the prepared backgrounds to make them more sturdy. I also added gold eyelets to the tags to harmonize with the sentiment tabs’ gold.

    I arranged the moths to my liking and adhered them with some foam tape. Finally, I added the sentiment tabs and colorful/jute twine to my tags. I finished off with a few little sprigs of dried baby’s breath tucked under the sentiment tabs.

    This brings us to the end of today’s post. Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you have fun crafting today!

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  • A Blue Hibiscus Summer | by Crystal Komara

    A Blue Hibiscus Summer | by Crystal Komara

    Hello crafty readers! This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here sharing a very detailed card using the beautiful Tropical Hibiscus Contour Layers. Now, contour layering dies have been around for a while now, but in all honesty, it’s taken them a little while to grow on me. I go through my love ’em and hate ’em phases. Well, I am currently in my die cutting era right now! I can’t stop, because each card comes out so elegant and gorgeous, it just makes all that die cutting and piece work worth it!

    Card details:

    The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I then cut a 5 1/4″ x 4″ piece of royal blue cardstock and adhered it directly to the card base.

    Next, I went to town just die cutting all those hibiscus layers (from three different colors of blue) and then the leaves in two shades of green. Really, I don’t measure or count anything as I’m doing all that die cutting, I just keep cutting and then put it all together in the end. Yes, I always have leftover and mismatched pieces, but I just add a couple of the “extras” to the inside of the card and any leftover pieces go in my scrap bin for another time.

    Once I adhered all the flowers and leaves together and situated them on the card in a visual appealing way, I added the sentiment. I used the Big Hello Vintage Sentiment die. I die cut the bottom layer from white cardstock and the top layer from royal blue cardstock. I adhered both layers together with a fine-tip liquid adhesive. Lastly I adhered the entire sentiment to the card using 3M foam for added dimension.

    Now, is this card “perfect” – goodness NO! I bet you didn’t realize that I splattered silver ink all over the card when I intended on splattering gold. Do I love it? No. But there was already so much work done that I wasn’t about to start all over. And, let’s be real, no one would ever know but me! Shhhh. . .

    Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

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  • Just a Little Something | by Crystal Komara

    Just a Little Something | by Crystal Komara

    Hello crafty friends and happy August! Where did the summer go already!? This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here today sharing a vibrant alcohol ink card featuring the Floral Star Layer set. Because this background has so much intense color, you might not even notice that I used just three layers of white on that Floral Star.

    Card details:

    This A2 card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. I pulled a scrap piece of a previously made alcohol ink background from my stash and splattered some white and gold ink all over the alcohol ink. I cut it down to 5 1/4″ x 4″ and adhered it directly to the white cards base.

    Next, I die cut all three layers – Layer A, Layer B and Layer C of the Floral Star Layering set from white cardstock. I adhered the three layers together using a fine-tip liquid glue. Then I adhered the full die to the center of the alcohol ink background.

    Using the Contempo Greetings stamp set, I stamped the sentiment in Versamark ink on black cardstock. I heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder and used the coordinating die to die cut the sentiment out. I adhered the sentiment to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

    I LOVE using alcohol inks on my cards, they are a great way to add visual interest and unique designs. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

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  • Peace and Joy Greetings | by Sandhya Iyer

    Peace and Joy Greetings | by Sandhya Iyer

    Hello, friends! This is Sandhya, sharing a pair of holiday cards featuring the latest holiday collection dies from Birch Press Design. I made my cards by pairing the gorgeous Yuletide Cheer and Yuletide Plaid pattern papers with the Pine Needle Twigs Contour Layers. For my sentiment, I used the Peace Love Joy Confection Script dies.

    I started with the gorgeous foiled pattern papers from the Yuletide Cheer and Yuletide plaid 6X6 paper packs. I trimmed it down to make 4.25″ X 5.5″ panels for my 2 cards. I also used the same pattern papers to die cut the sentiments and with gold shadows.

    Next, I die-cut the pine needles out of 2 shades of green cardstock and assembled 4 layered needles. I picked up 2 pieces of watercolor cardstock and ink smooshed with Distress inks to create a couple of interesting backgrounds for the die-cut needles.

    For the blue panel, I used a black marker to draw stitched details and adhered some music paper and pattern paper to create a mixed media effect. For the pink and green panel I actually stitched around the panel and adhered the pine needles. Next, I used white gouache to splatter on both panels and some snow like effect on the pine needles. I also added some gold splatters.

    Then I added the sentiment die-cuts and tied it all together with jute twine. I found some jingle bells in my stash and added them to the bow to add a tinkle to my cards. Finally, I attached the panels to the card bases to complete my holiday cards. This brings us to the end of today’s post. I hope this inspires you to get crafty today!

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  • Warm Wishes | by Sandhya Iyer

    Warm Wishes | by Sandhya Iyer

    Hello, friends! This is Design Team member, Sandhya Iyer, and today I am sharing a holiday card featuring the latest collection of holiday dies from Birch Press Design. I used the Classic Poinsettia Contour Layers, Holly Sprig Contour Layers and Warm Wishes Confection Script dies to make my holiday-themed card.

    I started by die-cutting the layers for the poinsettia and holly sprig out of watercolor cardstock. Next, I pulled out dye inks in shades of peachy corals and red and inked up the layers. I used mossy green shades for the leafy foliage.

    Next, I assembled the poinsettia flower and holly sprig and set them aside. Then, I trimmed a watercolor panel to be a bit smaller than an A2 card base and worked on my background. I used Tim Holtz mica sprays to create a shimmery blue effect. Then I arranged the die-cut foliage to the bottom left of the card panel. I also used glossy accents on a few berries and the poinsettia center for more drama.

    Finally, I used the ‘warm wishes’ confection sentiment die to create an elegant sentiment die-cut. I adhered the panel to a red A2 card base and finished with a generous white splatter.

    This brings us to the end of today’s post. Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you have fun crafting today!

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  • Bold and Bright Florals | By Natasha Vacca

    Bold and Bright Florals | By Natasha Vacca

    Hello Birch Press friends, it is design team member Natasha back on the blog today. Today I am sharing a colorful floral design with you using a few favorites from Birch Press! So let’s get started!

    I started by die cutting 3 die sets: Star Flowers Contour Layers, Rose Leaves Contour Layers, and the Peeking Flower and Leaves set. I die cut each of these sets using watercolor cardstock. Once they were die cut I added color to each of the florals and leaves using Lindy’s Magicals. I allowed each layer to dry before adding more color. I then added shine to each of the layers using gold magicals.

    I made sure each layer was completely dry, then I added more depth to each layer by adding dye ink to the edges of the leaves, as well as the floral layers. I then adhered all the layers together using liquid glue. I added foam tape behind the large leaves and then set these aside to work on my card panel background.

    I started with a piece of pattern paper from the Gladiola Plaid paper pad from Memory box. I then found 2 coordinating pieces of paper from my stash. I ripped each of these peices for a distressed look and inked the edges using Vintage Photo distress ink. I adhered the layers of pattern paper together using liquid glue and then trimmed the panel with my deckle trimmer. I inked the edges using Vintage Photo Distress ink and then adhered the panel onto a top folding card base.

    I then arranged the florals and leaves onto the card panel and once I was happy with the layout I adhered the layers using foam tape and liquid glue. I chose a Happy Birthday sentiment from the Happy Birthday Foil Greetings White Tabs set. I also inked the edge of the sentiment with Vintage Photo and then adhered this with foam tape. I had a lot of fun putting today’s card together and I hope this card inspires you to combine your die sets!

    Thank you so much for stopping by! I will be back soon with more crafty inspiration!


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  • Thank You Card and ATC Duo | By Sandhya Iyer

    Thank You Card and ATC Duo | By Sandhya Iyer

    Hello, friends! This is Design Team member Sandhya Iyer and I am sharing a thank you card and Artist Trading Card (ATC) duo. For my focal point, I chose the Rose Leaves Contour Layers die set. I used the Thank You Foil Greetings black circle tabs for the sentiment.

    I started by die-cutting the Rose Leaves Contour Layers out of watercolor cardstock. Next, I pulled out Distress Oxide inks in varying shades of green and used a blending brush to ink the leafy layers. For the delicate and more detailed pieces, I leave them attached to the area around them after die-cutting and ink them before popping them out.

    Next, I smooshed some green and pink ink on my craft mat and inked a watercolor panel. I layered on Antique Linen Distress ink over that for a vintage look. Then I added more interest and texture to the background using pages from an old book, washi tape, and snow gauze.

    I adhered the larger leaf to the panel and added the thank you sentiment tab. Then I added a generous splatter of black ink. Finally, I added a black mat to the panel and attached it to a kraft card base.

    I repeated the same process with tiny variations to create my ATC. Instead of the watercolor panel, I picked a small tag from my stash and inked it with Distress ink.

    As this is a mini tag, I added some twine for added interest and assembled the focal cluster with the mixed media tag, the inked die-cut leaves, and the sentiment tab.

    This brings us to the end of today’s post. Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you have fun crafting today!

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