"We do not remember days, we remember moments." Cesare Pavese

Thursday, February 13, 2025

The BPD Blog is Back!

 Hello!  The Birch Press Design blog is back!  I have a post on the blog today and here is a little peek:


I hope you will head over there to take a look at the full card.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!


Sunday, February 9, 2025

clean and simple birthday cards...

 Hello!  Popping in today with two cards for several different challenges.  Both cards ended up being very clean and simple and birthday cards.  Let's have a look at the first one. 


This card is for Freshly Made Sketches and Color Throwdown.  I wanted to use some of my stash that hadn't been out in a while.  I pulled out the Simon Says Stamp Fab Flower die set and to my surprise I had a set of the solid and outline flowers in brown in the envelope!  With that I had a start on this card.  I die cut the flowers from Hero Arts Peony Pink cardstock and another flower from PaperTrey Ink Dark Chocolate and then layered the flower as you see on the card.  Pulled out my oldie, but goldie Swiss Dot embossing folder for the background.  The sentiment is one from the EZ Strips Birthday stamp and die set from Simon Says Stamp.  I thought it would be fun to attach the sentiment as you see and I'm glad I did.  I really like it.  I added gems to the center of the flowers.  The gems are dark brown and pink, but only the brown one looks brown.  I adhered the panel to my cardstock base and I was done!




On to the next card!  This one is for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge (have a heart) and the JUGs challenge to use a die (heart).  


Again, I used an older product on this card, the Simon Says Stamp Deco Heart die set. I had some scraps of cardstock in shades of blue on my desk so I used those for the heart.   Just like the first card I didn't want a plain background so I pulled out the Simon Says Stamp Blossom Swag embossing folder to add the interest.  I placed the heart on its side inside the swag and then added the sentiments, also from the EZ Strips Birthday stamp and die set.  Those two products are really getting a work out, lol!  I really like how this card turned out.   


Well, that is it for me!  Thanks for stopping by and have a wondeful day!


Wednesday, February 5, 2025

happiest birthday...

 Hello from snowy Western Washington!  Thankfully in the lower Puget Sound area where I live there isn't a lot of it.  Rain is set to return soon.  That is the PNW!  I have a card today for a few challenges:  Color Hues/Inkspirational collaboration challenge and Pinkfresh Studio February challenge.  Let's have a look at what I made.


My sweet friend, Greta, was the lucky winner of the Pinkfresh Studio essentials dies release and she was so kind and offered the Blanket Stitched Bracket dies set to me.  I was intrigued by these dies and the possibilities they presented so I said "yes"!    After a rather long trip from her home in Oregon to my home in Washington (a trip that should take about 2 days but took 7 days this time!) they landed in my mailbox on Friday, January 31st.  I immediately put them to work making my card using the colors from Color Hues/Inkspirational.  I pulled out my favorite pink cardstock (Hero Hues Peony) and a dark red Memory Box cardstock and die cut my layers using the small Blanket Stitched Bracket die.  To provide a finished look I die cut some of the dark red using a label die to create the stop strip.  Everything was layered together and then adhered with glue and thin foam squares to a white cardstock base. 


Then I got started on the second part of my card and this is where the Pinkfresh Studio challenge comes in.  They recently changed their monthly challenge to anything goes, but they will still have colors and a theme that you can use on your project.  The theme this month is Transparent Treasures so I decided to use some thick vellum combined with touches of the pink and red cardstock for my cherry blossom branch from Pinkfresh Studio.  As I was working on the cherry blossom branch, I wasn't sure if it would work, but once I had it completed, I was really pleased with the look.  That branch was adhered using glue and then I finished with the sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp EZ Strips Birthday stamp and die set.


That's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Thursday, January 30, 2025

Birch Press Design Block Print: Crane

 Hello everyone!  Can you believe that January is almost over?!  What an amazing month this has been!  Today I'm popping in to share my second Birch Press Design card for the month of January.  For this card I used the new Block Print: Crane die set.  Let's have a look.


I knew I wanted to create a scene where the crane was standing on a shoreline with some reeds.  When I saw the current Freshly Made Sketches sketch I thought it would be a great way to get my card going.  For the banded element in the sketch I tore strips of patterned paper from two different Memory Box 6x6 paper pads (Anemone Plaid and Poinsettia Plaid).  I adhered the strips with glue to a white panel of cardstock.  I left an area with no glue so that I could slip some of my "reeds" and the crane's legs behind the first bluish strip.  I then die cut the panel with a rectangle die.


The "reeds" were die cut from some of the scrap patterned paper that was left after I tore the green and brown strips using the Budding Twigs Contour Layers dies.  There are two dies in the Budding Twigs die set.  Each die cuts three pieces that are supposed to be layered together to create the budding twig.  I only used one layer from each die.  I placed the die on the patterned paper so that I would mostly just cut the piece I needed.  I cut a bunch, but didn't use all of them.  Because the card already had a more masculine feel I die cut the crane from light gray, white and brown cardstock.  I layered all of the pieces and then inserted the crane in behind the first blue strip.


Then I began adding my "reeds".  I inserted most of them into the little pocket I created, but added a few in front to give the reed cluster a fuller look.   I finished off the card with a sentiment from the Sugar Script Sentiments 1 hot foil set that I foiled in matte gold.   

Well, that's it for me.  I'm also going to add this to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of anything goes.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!



Sunday, January 26, 2025

Birthday and Christmas!

 Hello!  Stopping in to share two cards that I made for a few challenges.  First up is a card for Freshly Made Sketches.  Let's have a look.


I made a recent purchase from Scrapbook.com and along with my order I received this super pretty mini kit from Paper Rose called Winter Blooms.  I just had to make a card with it and thought the FMS sketch was the perfect vehicle.   As you can see I made a Christmas card.  Another one for the stash!  The kit contains two sheets of die cut pieces that you punch out.  You can't see it in my photo, but the large floral piece I used has a beautiful shine to it.  The sentiment was trimmed out from one of the sheets of paper included in the kit.  I used another sheet for the background.  I didn't want to cover up all that lovely pattern so I used vellum.  Love how it turned out!


One of my great nieces is turning three at the beginning of February so this card will be going to her.  I used the colors from Color Throwdown for the three macarons featured on the card.  I did a little stenciling in the background using two different stencils so this card will also be going to the Just Us Girls challenge.  I placed a rectangle stencil on a piece of white cardstock.  Over the top of that I placed a stencil featuring tiny hearts.  I believe both stencils are from MFT.  I used light gray ink to stencil the hearts leaving me with a perfect rectangle of tiny hearts!  I die cut the panel with a rectangle die.  The macarons and candles were stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then I colored the macarons with Copic markers using only one color for each macaron and candle.  I die cut everything and then added glossy accents to the centers of the macarons and dunked them in Rock Candy glitter.  A little glossy accents was added to the candles, as well.  I layered the everything on the panel and finished with the tiny sentiment.  All stamps are from Simon Says Stamp.




That's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Saturday, January 18, 2025

Birdsong...

 Hello!  Popping in to share a card that I made for a few challenges:  Freshly Made Sketches and Seize the Birthday.   I recently purchased some products from another 49 and Market collection called Birdsong and I used those for my card.  Let's have a look.


I went through one of the packs of laser cuts from the Birdsong collection and pulled out pieces that I thought would work well with the FMS sketch.  I pulled a neutral piece of patterned paper from the 6x8 Birdsong paper pack for the background.  I stamped the sentiment on the tag and then layered up all the elements on a kraft card base.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy!  



That's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!