Here's a lovely valentine using the Pinpoint Heart Circle Frame.
I started with a standard A2 white card, side-folded. I covered the front of the card and both inside panels with Memory Box Gingham paper.
I cut the PINPOINT HEART CIRCLE FRAME die 94106 from white cardstock.
I used glue dots under the hearts to secure that inner circle to the card front.
I then used a glue pen to add the larger pinpoint circle, touching the bases of the two circles. I placed a bow at that spot.
I put tiny pearls at the ends of the spiral vines.
I stamped "Love" from the Birch Press Design SENDING LOVE CL8126 stamp set inside the circle using VersaClair Pine ink.
Inside the card:
I used a glue pen to add the plain circle from the die cuts to the right panel where I plan to write a message.
I put a foam dot on the back of the larger pinpoint heart (which cuts from the center of the circle) and overlapped the circle with it.
Simple, sweet card using one stamp and one die! And the first card sample is ready for my class at the senior center next week! With all of the new stamps and dies available in the latest release, making valentines is so much fun! Have you started yours yet?
Bright washi tape-covered Studio Hexagon Layers create a quick card for someone who's simply awesome. A change of colors would make this a guy-card too. Hi everyone, Jean Okimoto here with a Tape Too Challenge inspiration card today.
Unlike everyone with bins full of washi tape - my entire washi tape stash barely fills a little 8" square cakepan. That doesn't stop me from designing cards with them - I love their bright colors and convenience. Mix, match and layer strips of tape over white cardstock. The pink and orange patterns are Scotch Expressions tape. The wide pink tape - also used for the greeting - is Scotch Expressions masking tape.
Cut three hexagons from the taped cardstock using the three smallest Studio Hexagon Layers. Diecutting creates those smooth, crisp edges we love - and presses the tapes firmly onto the cardstock.
Attach a strip of pink masking tape to a scrap of white cardstock and diecut the delicate "awesome." Cut the bold "awesome" background from light gray cardstock.
Stamp "you are simply" - from the Birch Press Design Best Friend Clear Stamps Set - onto a side-folded white A-2 card with VersaFine Clair Nocturne. Quickly emboss it with detail clear powder.
Assemble the card. Add pink gem stickers.
Thanks for visiting - hope you're entering our September "Tape Too" challenge. Details are listed here.
We've added another GREETINGS FROM BIRCH PRESS class on Saturday September 8th - hope you can join us if you weren't able to attend the previous class. We're making 3 holiday cards and 3 any-occasion cards featuring Birch Press Design dies and stamps, and artpapers from Shizen Design.
I am excited to share a simple and amazing background technique today that I had fun playing with. The nature of the technique gives unexpected results each time - so it always ends up feeling new and fresh. Lets get started!
You will need a couple of items for this technique - some alcohol based inks and some Yupo paper. Yupo paper is synthetic - so the alcohol ink travels and spreads in interesting ways on the surface.
I wanted to share pictures of some of the backgrounds I create in the video - they really are beautiful and the texture that is created from the dried lines of ink is stunning. I think it looks crystalline in nature - almost as if you cut some agate or quartz, and saw all of the little fractures running across the rock.
This second background had the same color scheme as the first - but there was a change because there were different amounts of the colors applied. You can still see the cool lines - but the edges of color are a lot more subdued.
Once the backgrounds have dried (more on that in the video) then you can start using them on your cards. I chose a craft die that had a lot of open area so that I could really showcase the beautiful colors of the alcohol technique.
The 99823 Gentle Valley Oval has a large open area that was just right for this application - so I used that along with the 94011 Jotted Thanks die. The background ends up looking like the northern lights!
The Jotted Thanks comes with a background die that outlines the words - so I cut the "thanks" in white and then layered it onto a black cardstock outline. This really makes it stand out on top of the card.
I had a little bit of that particular background left over, so I put it behind a cutout using the 94018 Elegant Holly Double Frame. There was a lot of open space in the middle - in fact, just enough room for the Poppystamps 2066 Hello Folksy Script!
This is a good picture to show how deep the color can get - one of the things I learned doing this was that if you put a few drops of a dark color into the mix, it can create a lot of contrast. The lines along the seams of the plastic wrap really intensify. Without the dark color, the background becomes more pastel - which can be good too! You can decide what works for you!
The die cuts almost float on top of the dreamy background! You will love it!
Now here's a good example of a mistake! I couldn't wait to lift off the plastic wrap to see if things were dry...and they weren't!
The result?
A couple drops of alcohol ink spread out across the scrunched background - erasing the crackly lines a bit. However - these drops dried up and in the end I loved how the layers overlapped! There really are no mistakes!
I kept using some plain white on white color schemes - so that the background would really be noticed.
During the process I realized that I had started the experiment with 4 or 5 colors that were quite different from each other.
What, I wondered, would happen if I used colors that were close to each other?
Even that color scheme is interesting! The scrunch technique separates the color a little - so that there is texture even with a single shade.
I really love how it turned out! I glued the 94040 Wrapped Holly Circle Frame over the background - and it looks like a pattern of rubies underneath!
I realized at that point that the ink was going to make an interesting pattern whether I used 1 or 100 colors - so I experimented some more.
In the end, I made about 2 dozen backgrounds! It is easy to start making them - and then try different things as you go. More color, more scrunching, longer drying times, shorter drying times, etc.
I had plenty of backgrounds to work with after awhile! They are all so striking - and it was fun to use bits and pieces of them to create different little masterpieces.
As a bonus, I had the frame portion left over, so I could use that on a second card! The words are stamped from the Birch Press Design CL8125 Hooray for Everything Clear Stamp Set.
I hope you like the video - it is definitely one of those techniques where you will walk away with inky fingers, so consider yourselves warned!
The Butterfly Spectacle joins a group of favorite dies on today's card - like butterflies prepping for a summer reunion. I love how Memory Box dies can be mixed and mingled into endless combinations. Hi there, Jean Okimoto here with another quick card for you.
Cut the the matching antennae/center sections - from the Morning Garden Butterflies set - from gold glitter paper. I've used just a tiny portion of the large (21-½" x 30" sheet!) gold glitter paper from Impress. It supplies many, many of these delicate little pieces...and a lot more!
Attach the diecuts to an A-2 card of natural cardstock.
Stamp the greeting - from the Open Studio Garden Sketches Clear Stamp Set - on a scrap of natural cardstock with VersaFine Clair Charming Pink. Quickly emboss it with detail clear powder. Attach it with foam dots.
Add pale turquoise gem stickers.
Experiment with the dies in your Memory Box collection. You'll be amazed at how many different ways you can use them - as intended - or in creative, outside-the-box ways that Dave probably didn't expect. That's what we'll be doing in our BEYOND THE BOX Memory Box class at Impress on May 28th. Join us if you're in the Seattle area and have the day off for Memorial Day, or if you're visiting that weekend.
Thanks for visiting...have a great weekend and I'll see you again next week!
The multi-tasking Big Butterfly Wing makes it unbelievably easy to create a quick card! Here it is, on my May Challenge inspiration card, framing a beautiful print available from Birch Press Design. Hi everyone, Jean Okimoto here with a super-simple design for you.
Cut bright white cardstock with the 3-¾" x 5" Rectangle Basics die. Cut it with the Big Butterfly Wing. Save the detailed butterfly diecut for another project. We're recycling and using the "offcut" here. That's what I call it - I think "negative" sounds so gloomy, especially for such a pretty butterfly.
Find the perfect bright and flowery section of the screenprinted paper. Cut it with the 3-½" x 4-¾" Rectangle Basics die. Using the slightly smaller die eliminates measuring, guessing and wasting that beautiful paper!
Cut the center/antennae section from gold glitter paper. I love the new 21-1/2"x 30" gold glitter paper from Impress! It's easy to diecut - with very little "flaking" and works perfectly with both detailed and solid dies.
Attach the diecuts to an A-2 card of bright white cardstock. Add turquoise gem stickers - or clear gem stickers colored with a marker.
Have a stash of pretty artpapers? The Big Butterfly Wing will help you use them! Make a set of cards for special teachers or carpool moms - or for someone who's always scrambling to find a card at the last minute.
Today I have a fun birthday card for you, featuring the Rolling Wave Collagedie and some playful seals.
To create this card, I die cut the Rolling Wave from a piece of white cardstock, and then glued it onto a background layer which I painted with watercolors.
I stamped, colored and die cut the seals and the ball, then adhered them to the card front using foam adhesive.
I then stamped the sentiment on the bottom of the card and glued the card front to a white notecard.
I hope I inspired you to create a few cards!
Thanks for stopping by today and have a great weekend!
A felt owl from the Feathered Friends Deep Edge Dies delivers a bright greeting here today. Coordinate them with the perfect printed and embossed papers from Birch Press for more texture and zingy color. Hello, Jean Okimoto here with a birthday design for spring and summer celebrations.
Attach adhesive label paper or a sticker sheet to fuchsia felt and diecut the Feathered Friends owl. The paper backing stabilizes the felt and keeps adhesives from soaking through. Cut the face from natural cardstock.
Cut the eyes and beak - from orange cardstock. Color the eye circles with a black marker.
The gold embossed paper and bright leafprint are from Birch Press Design. They quickly add bright splashes of color and earthy texture to the design. Cut them with the 2" x 3-¼" and 1-¾" x 3" dies from the Rectangle Basics set. Cut the wing from the embossed paper too.
Stamp the greeting from the Spring Lilacs Clear Stamp Set on an A-6 (4-½" x 6-¼") card of natural cardstock with Charming Pink VersaFine Clair. Quickly emboss it with detail clear powder.
Assemble the card. Add dark pink gem stickers. I love how the leaves match the shape of the owl and wing...little things like that make me so happy!
The Deep Edge Dies are timesavers for quilting and fabric arts because they cut thru multiple layers of fabric and are specially made to easily release the diecut pieces. Of course you can use them for cardstock - and handmade artpapers that can sometimes be challenging to cut.
Big thanks to everyone from last weekend's ASIA NOW class at Impress! Hope you liked the cards - and the great Shizen Designs artpapers we used. Special thanks to Ann, Erin and Laura too - for helping us find the dies, papers and inks we needed!
Thanks for stopping by today...enjoy the sunshine!
Hello Memory Box friends. Penny here today with a bit of inspiration for the May Challenge here on Outside the Box. I love dragonflies...they are said to be messengers from heaven when you see one. I must confess, when I do see one in the yard, I always say "hi dad, mom, Rick" whichever one I am missing most at the time. I know it's silly...but I like it!
So...on to the card:
Start with a White cardstock base. Most of my cards are 5.5 x 4.25 inches, but you make yours whatever size you like.
To make the "honeycomb paper" I laid down several strips of Block Pink washi tape from Birch Press Design on to white cardstock, then die cut the panel with Hex Drift. Using the negative die cut as a guide, I then adhered the washi die cuts on to the front of my card.
I also adhered a strip of the washi tape along the left edge of my card, wrapping it to the backside.
Die cut the Dazzling Dragonfly from watercolor paper as well as Paintbrush Happy. Color with Spectrum Noir Aqua markers or your choice of medium. Adhere to card front as shown. Stamp and heat emboss the "birthday" sentiment from the Wishing You set, trim ends and use foam adhesive.
This card would be great for man, woman or child. :)
Make sure to join our Insects, Butterfly Challenge this month. Just click HERE.
The Plush Elegant Butterfly combines a little May Challenge inspiration - and a lot of copper thread - here today. Hi there, Jean Okimoto here with a detailed design that's a bit more involved than my usual "quick and easy" ideas. Hope you like it!
Spritz watercolor paper and paint it in pale, watery layers of pink, orange, yellow and teal Kaleidacolor dye ink refills. They're vibrant, concentrated inks that can be used as liquid watercolors. Dry the inks.
Attach adhesive label paper or a sticker sheet behind the pink portion and diecut it with the Plush Elegant Butterfly. Diecut the center portion too.
Punch a 2 or 3mm hole in the center of the butterfly. Securely tape one end of a strand of metallic copper thread behind the butterfly. Sew long stitches - beginning at the center hole - through and around the left half of the butterfly. Repeat on the right half. Tape the thread ends to the backside of the butterfly.
Diecut another butterfly from white cardstock and attach it behind the stitched butterfly to add dimension (and cover the backside of the stitches!).
Stitch the butterfly center with the copper thread.
Diecut the big antennae - from the Morning Garden Butterflies set- from rose gold mirror cardstock. Attach it between the butterfly and the center portion.
Today I have a card that features another new die from the spring release, and a beautiful embossed background paper from Birch Press Design called Cabbage Rose red handmade paper.
To create this card I die cut the Cheery Flower Collage in the center of a white cardstock mat layer. Then I cut my red embossed paper slightly larger than the white card layer and glued that to the red paper.
I spattered the front of the card with gold ink and adhered my stamped sentiment using foam adhevesive.
To finish the card I added some black epoxy embellishments to the flower centers.
