A softly-inked offcut from the Geodesic Oval Trio creates a great background for the Pretty Blossom Stem. Just add bright pops of color with Lemon Drop Fairy Sugar Glitter Glue and some Twinkling Jewel Glitter Pad hexagons. Hello, Jean Okimoto here with more designs from our Spring release.
Sponge the textured side of Open Studio Watercolor Paper with Squeezed Lemonade, Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn Distress Oxides. If it looks a little splotchy - spritz it lightly and blend the colors using the same inky sponges or daubers.
Pressure-emboss the center section with Pretty Blossom Stem using the embossing mat and plates recommended for your machine. Embossing takes just a minute - and adds shadowy dimension to your backgrounds.
Cut Pretty Blossom Stem from white cardstock. Attach it to the embossed backgroumd. Attach the oval and outline to a white A2 card.
Stamp the greeting - from the new Birch Press Design You Are Awesome Clear Stamps Set - on white cardstock with VersaMark. Heat-emboss it with detail clear powder. Sponge the cooled greeting strip with Mowed Lawn Distress Oxides. Remove any residual ink from the embossed letters with a tissue. Attach the greeting with foam dots.
Cut the green glitter sheet - from the new Twinkling Jewel Glitter Pad - with the Honeycomb Square. Add three of the little hexagons to the card.
Experiment with different colors and create some great watercolored backgrounds for your Memory Box dies and stamps. Thanks for visiting - see you next time!
Need a quick card? Rose Bouquest Wide Washi Tape makes it easier than ever! Frame it with a die from the Stylish Rectangle Trio - and add dots of Twinkling Jewel Glitter cardstock to make it sparkle. Hello, Jean Okimoto here with a super-simple design for you tonight (we had scheduling issues earlier).
Attach Rose Bouquet Wide Washi Tape to the textured side of pale yellow cardstock. The fine lines add a bit of contrast to the pearly, translucent washi tape. It's 4.5" x 11 gorgeous yards! Cut it with the medium-sized Stylish Rectangle Trio. Attach the delicate frame and rectangle to a Squash Notecard. It's a soft, warm yellow that would brighten any winter day.
Stamp the greeting - from the Birch Press Design You Are Awesome Clear Stamps Set - on green cardstock with Shady Lane VersaFine Clair. Attach the greeting strip with foam dots.
Add ¼" punched circles of the green Twinkling Jewel Glitter sheet. Just a trio of little dots - but I love how they make such a difference!
Want a chance to win this beautiful, versatile roll of Rose Bouquet Wide Washi Tape? Leave a comment on this post before 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, February 23rd. One comment will be chosen at random to win the tape. Winners will be announced on the blog on Monday, February 24th EST. Good Luck!
Thanks for visiting - hope you like this quick card. Why not make a gift set of floral notecards? Use different sections of the Rose Bouquet Wide Washi Tape and each card will be unique and special!
The new Rose Bouquet Wide Washi Tape makes it easy to create cards for any occasion. Add a quick greeting and some Twinkling Jewel Glitter Pad dots and your card is done! Hi, Jean Okimoto here with a fresh floral design from our 2020 Spring Collection.
Attach Rose Bouquet Wide Washi Tape to pale peach cardstock and diecut the smallest and second-largest flowers from the Birch Press Design Vivid Bloom Stitched Layer Set. Diecutting the tape ensures clean, crisp edges - and a delicate stitched pattern to match the green background rectangle.
Here's a tip I learned from Dave Brethauer...attach something to the torn or cut edge of wide washi tape. It keeps the end visible and minimizes wrinkling when you're using it. It can also be used as a straight edge to tear the tape. I use strips of those lightweight kitchen cutting mats from the dollar store or Ikea.
Cut green cardstock with the 2.1" x 3.3" Double Stitch Rectangle Cut Out die. Pressure-emboss the inner rectangle with the 1.6" x 2.8" die.
Stamp "greetings" - from the Sunflower Wreath Clear Stamp Set - on white cardstock with VersaFine Clair Nocturne. Attach the pieces to a side-folded white A2 card. Add ¼" punched circles of the green sheet from the Twinkling Jewel Glitter Pad.
Hope you'll add a roll of this beautiful floral tape to your stash. Its soft watercolored look will enhance any card and it's great layered over different shades of cardstock. I like it best layered over medium shades - not too light, not too dark.
I'll be using the Stitched Bloom Set I bought for a lot of my classes too. It's a classic, versatile design that's perfect for any occasion and coordinates with all of the stitched dies in my stash.
Join us for the BRIGHTER DAYS AHEAD class at Impress if you're in the Seattle area and have a holiday on Monday. We'll be using the Whittles, Scribbles and Stacking Dies from Poppystamps, Memory Box and Birch Press Design - AND a lot of the just-released items from our 2020 Spring Collection. Enjoy the 10% class shopping discount - it'll be a great time to save on everything you want from our latest release.
Meet the new Gilia Flower Frame from our 2020 Spring Collection! It's just one of many fresh, trending products from our latest release of dies, stamps, 6x6 prints, glitter cardstock, embossing folders, stencils, watercolor paper and glitter glue. It's everything you'll need to brighten winter days and add color and sparkle to your spring projects.
Hello, Jean Okimoto here with the first of many designs our team will be creating to share with and inspire you. Retailers are receiving their orders now - visit your favorite store soon!
Cut Open Studio Watercolor Paper with the large frame from the Gilia Flower Frame set. Save the delicate outer frame for another project. Pressure-emboss the flower frame onto diecut rectangle. Mask the edges and sponge it with Twisted Citron and Spun Sugar Distress Oxides. Flick it with Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide.
Cut the large blossom and extra petal set from the pink Delicate Pastel 6x6 Glitter Pad's page. Cut the leaves and stem from green cardstock. Attach the pieces - slightly offset for dimension - to the embossed background. Attach the extra petals to the stems and to the center of the large blossom.
Cut a ¾" x 5" strip of the new pale green striped Cottage Stripes and Dots 6x6 print.
Stamp the greeting - from the new Birch Press Design You Are Awesome Clear Stamps Set - on the pale pink Cottage Stripes and Dots sheet with Shady Lane VersaFine Clair.
Attach everything to a pink A-2 card - use foam dots for the greeting. Add sparkly highlights to the flowers with Open Studio Goldfinch Fairy Sugar glitter glue. Set the card aside to dry the glue.
We love this large, great release and can't wait to share our ideas with you! The new items are perfect for cards, layouts, party favors, planners, collages and journals.
Big thanks to everyone from last week's POPPYSTAMPS + BIRCH PRESS TOO class at Impress. Special thanks to Jenny for the popcorn and pretty Valentine cupcakes. Thanks to Ann, Erin and Lynne for helping everyone fill their shopping baskets.
Be the first to use the 2020 Spring Collection if you're in the Seattle area and have a holiday on Presidents Day. It's our BRIGHTER DAYS AHEAD class featuring the Whittles, Scribbles and Stacking Dies from Poppystamps, Memory Box and Birch Press Design. We'll make cards of caring and encouragement and celebrate friendship with the Spring release and our favorite designs from the stash. View the collection here, bring your wishlist and enjoy a 10% shopping discount too!
Join us throughout the coming weeks and discover the great new products in our 2020 Spring Collection!
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!
