Tag: Watercolor

  • Watercolor Meets Hot Foil | by Crystal Komara

    Watercolor Meets Hot Foil | by Crystal Komara

    Hello crafty readers! This is Design Team member Crystal Komara here with you today. I’m excited to be sharing the first two cards I created using the new String Art Frame Hot Foil plate. Now, if I’m being completely honest, these are actually the first two cards I have ever made using hot foil!! Heat foiling is very on-trend right now in the craft industry, so I succumbed to the peer pressure and bought the Gemini Foil Press (because it works with my Gemini, Jr. die cutting machine). Heat foiling is a magical process where heat and pressure are applied to a special foil to imprint on paper. Unlike heat embossing where the image is raised when Versamark ink and embossing powder are heated with an embossing gun, in heat foiling, the image is imprinted or pressed into the paper when heat and pressure are applied.

    I created two cards that are nearly identical, I simply swapped out the color combination and sentiment to achieve two unique looks. Keep reading for all the details:

    Card details:

    The base of this A2 sized card was made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I cut a 5 1/4″ x 4″ piece of purple cardstock from the 6″ x 6″ Twilight cardstock pack. On a 5″ x 3 3/4″ sheet of white cardstock, I heat foiled the String Art Frame hot foil plate on my Gemini Foilpress machine with purple Foilpress foil.

    On a separate sheet of watercolor cardstock, I stamped the large floral image from the Memory Box (a sister company to BPD) All the Happiness stamp set in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. I colored the image using Zig Real Color Watercolor Brush markers. Once the image dried, I used the coordinating All the Happiness dies to cut the image out. I adhered the flowers to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I stamped the sentiment in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. This sentiment is from the Kind Hearts clear stamp set. I adhered the sentiment to the card also using 3M foam adhesive tape. Lastly, I added a light coat of clear Wink of Stella to the flowers for added sparkle. *Be careful with Wink of Stella on watercolor though, because it will bleed as it is water-on-water based.

    For this second card, I used identical products as the first card, I simply swapped out the purple foil for a teal foil and I colored the flowers with teal or turquoise hued Zig Real Color Brush markers.

    Alright, so since I admitted this was my first go-round with hot foiling, I’ll also admit that I did my initial foiling wrong and ended up heat foiling the plate itself and not the paper. Note to self, read the instructions first! They do exist for a reason!! : ) But, all-in-all I was quite pleased with how my first heat foiled cards turned out and I look forward to experimenting more!

    Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

    Supplies

  • Watercolor Perfection

    Watercolor Perfection

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    Nothing says a perfect nature painting like a landscape water color photo. For you serious painters, there is no way you are going to take a photo off the internet and paint the picture in your home. Instead, you’re going to take yourself on an adventure and paint what is right in front of you. However, getting to these beautiful sights can be difficult.

    Hiking a five mile trail with a clunky watercolor paint set on your back, along with your supplies, practically makes the distance impossible!lookbook-1688

    Birch Press has found a product that will lessen the weight on your back and even fit into the smallest pocket of your travel pack. These unique watercolor sets have concentrated color on each sheet, just add a wet brush to activate the color!

    This makes it easy to start painting anywhere because this set will fit any type of adventure you are searching for. The watercolor sheet packs are just the set for you adventurous painters!

    We have three different sets of paint.

    • the 15 color pack offers 15 colors on  2 1/2 by 6 1/2 inch sheets
    • the small 40 color pack has 40 colors on 2 by 2 inch sheets
    • the large 40 color pack has 40 colors on 2 1/2 by 6 1/2 inch sheets

    When your creation is finished, you just let the squares dry and you can put them back into your bag.

    If painting landscapes is not your thing, don’t fear, these watercolor sets also work perfectly for crafting handmade cards. By using a blank card and stamping a design, you can fill in the stamp with these lovely colors, bringing that card to life. A quick and easy way to add a pop of color to help that card stand out!

    Here are all of the colors listed in our 15 color pack. As you can see, this pack offers a majority of the basic colors with some different shades to still add variety!

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    Below are the forty colors that are part of the small (2 by 2 sheets) and normal (2 1/2 by 6 1/2) sized bonus packs. 

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    So, whether you are into painting an outdoor scene or just want to make some pretty cards to send out to your friends, Birch Press now offers a product that’ll help make those works of art look breathtaking!