Category: Fall/Autumn - Crystal Komara

Elegant Pumpkin

11/6/2023

Hello Birch Press Design readers! This is DT member Crystal Komara here with you today and I can't believe it's November already! I have been loving the new Adornment Pumpkin dies and since I love creating with alcohol ink backgrounds so much, I decided to put the two together for this elegant card:

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card was made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. To create the background, I die cut all three layers of the Viola Layering Plates from the same Neenah white cardstock and adhered them together with a fine-tip liquid glue.

Using the Adornment Pumpkin 2-piece die set, I die cut the pumpkin shadow from white cardstock and I die cut the intricate layer pieces from an orange pre-made alcohol ink background. I simply used Valencia orange alcohol ink on Yupo paper to create the alcohol ink piece. Just one color! I adhered the pumpkin together and die cut the stem from brown cardstock and the leaves from olive green cardstock. I adhered the assembled pumpkin to the center of the card using 3M foam adhesive for dimension.

On a thin white strip of cardstock, I stamped the sentiment "forever grateful" from the Brush Sentiments stamp set. I notched the left end of the sentiment strip before adhering it to the card.

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

Thanks Oval Leaves

10/9/2023

Hello friends! This is DT member Crystal Komara here with you today with what just might be my new favorite card ever that I've designed for Birch Press Design. Now, I'll admit, I was initially hesitant to use the contour dies, becuase oh-so-much die cutting, but I promise, the end result is always SOOooo worth the work!!

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I cu ta 5 1/4" x 4" piece of black cardstock and dry embossed it using the Blooming 3D Embossing Folder from Memory Box Co, a sister company of Birch Press Design. This is my go-to floral embossing folder, it's so elegant.

Then I just began die cutting lots and lots of the Oval Leaves contour dies in yellow, orange and gold cardstock. I mismatched up the layers, so that I layered yellow with orange and rust with gold. There was no method to this matching up madness.

I die cut the "thanks" sentiment using the Big Thanks Sugar Script die set. I die cut the back shadow layer from a mustard yellow cardstock, and the top layer from black cardstock. I adhered the two layers of the sentiment together using a fine-tip liquid glue. I then began tucking all the various leaves behind the sentiment strip, along the top and bottom until I found an arrangement that was pleasing to the eye.

Lastly, I flicked some gold acrylic paint onto the entire image and I love how this effect came out! It added a bit of grunge, but also a bit of sparkle!

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

Autumn Trio

9/5/2023

Hello friends and happy September! I hope you all had a nice, long Labor Day weekend. This month marks the official start of fall and it's my favorite season of the year here in New England. So, I'm kicking off the month with some fall theme cards in a variety of jewel toned colors today.

Card details:

*Please note, the directions listed below will be for one card, but each of these cards were made the same way, using all of the same dimensions, I simply swapped out ink and cardstock colors. A list of supplies used is located at the end of this post.

The base of this A2 sized card was made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I then cut a 5" x 3 3/4" piece of this same white cardstock. Using the Autumn Layered Leaves stamp set from Whimsy Stamps, I stamped the leaves and berries in orange, yellow and brown ink (or a mixture of blues/teals (for the blue card) and pinks and purples for the third card. I mounted that stamped image with a coordinating 5 1/4" x 4" piece of orange (teal or pink) cardstock.

I cut a 4" x 3" piece of vellum and adhered this to the center of the card with vellum adhesive. This vellum help to soften the stamped image and to bring attention to the word die. For the word die, I used the Autumn Word and Shadow die also from Whimsy Stamps. I cut the background shadow layer from orange, pink or teal cardstock. I then cut the thinner top layer from gold glitter cardstock. I layered the two die cut images together with LineCo liquid adhesive and then I mounted the entire word die to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

Do you have a favorite colors from this trio of cards? I'm all for the magenta pink and browns!
Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

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Adornment Oak Leaf Mixed Media

9/4/2023

Friends, you are witnessing a FIRST here on my website. My very first foray into the world of mixed media cards! It has long been an art I admire, but one that gives me serious anxiety, as it involved getting messy. Verrrryyyy messy! If I'm being honest, I'm still not sure what I think! I mean I like (kinda sorta) how this card came out, but I wouldn't say I love the process of how I got there. One very messy step at a time and a lot of self doubt. So, I'll preserve judgement until I play around a little bit more to see if mixed media will "be my thing."

Card details:

The base of this A6 (6 1/4" x 4 1/2") is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. The background paper was leftover in my scrap bin, but it had the perfect fall colors I wanted, so I cut it to 6" x 4 1/4" and then splattered black ink and gold metallic spray all over the paper before adhering it directly to the card base.

Using the Adornment Oak Leaf die, I die cut three different colored leaves in a rust colored cardstock, a yellow cardstock and a cherry red cardstock. I then cut the overlapping detail element from gold glitter paper. I adhered the gold glitter paper over each leaf and then splattered the leaves with black ink and gold metallic spray. I adhered the leaves to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

Using the Big Sugar Script Thanks Die, I die cut the shadow layer from white cardstock and the thinner layer from rust colored glitter cardstock. I adhered both layers together with a fine-tip liquid glue and then I adhered the entire sentiment to the card with 3M foam adhesive.

I love the colors of this card, but will I try mixed media again? Yes, in small doses, when I am fully prepared to be splattered by my own ink flicking!

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

Pink Adornment Pumpkin

8/25/2023

Hello friends and happy Friday! I hope you have fun things planned for the weekend ahead! Today I am on the Birch Press Design blog with this card using the new Adornment Pumpkin dies.

I looooooove how this card came out, if I do say so myself! While the pink alcohol ink pumpkin is a little more vibrant than I had initially intended, it works. That's the thing with alcohol ink, you never quite know what you're going to get and they can be a bit unpredictable in how they move and dry as you blow them around.

Card details:

*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.

The base of this A2 sized card was made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth alcohol ink. Using Layer Plate A (the top layer) of the Herbarium Plate Layering Set, I die cut this from white cardstock and then mounted a sheet of magneta cardstock behind it before adhering it directly to the card base. I die cut the solid pumpkin from a scrap piece of an alcohol ink background I had in my craft bin and then die cut the frame using pink glitter cardstock from the 6" x 6" Glitzy Glitter paper pack. I adhered the two layers together with a fine tip liquid glue.

I created a pumpkin stem from espresso brown cardstock and leaves from both green cardstock and green glitter cardstock. There was a lot of piece work here using these smaller contour dies. Next, using the new Oval Leaf Branches Contour Layers, I die cut leaves from pink glitter cardstock, espresso brown carsdstock and the same green and green glitter cardstock used on the leaves. Then I pieces all the layers of the leaves together (again, a little bit time consuming here to do all these small details, but SO worth it in the end). Then it was just a matter of adhering all the small branches and leaves into a pattern that was pleasing to the eye.

I stamped the sentiment "forever grateful" in magenta ink on white cardstock and used oval punch to punch it over before adhering it to the pumpkin with 3M foam adhesive. This sentiment is from the Brush Sentiments clear stamp set.

I love using non-traditional colors to create holiday or seasonal cards. Pink is perfect in lieu of traditional orange pumpkins.
Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

Products used:

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Find Joy

8/23/2023

Hello friends and happy Wednesday! Today I am sharing a card that I designed using the Lumina Layering Set from Birch Press Design. Unfortunately, when I made this card, I did not realize these plates have retired, so you are no longer able to purchase this exact die, but perhaps my card might inspire you to try a similar layering die, or use a combination of these fiery colors. I can recommend the Enchantment Plate Layer set or the Viola Plate Layer set both by Birch Press Design in lieu of the layering plates I used.

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I then covered the white card base with a 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" piece of Basic Black cardstock. I Cut Layer A (the top layer) of the Lumina Layer Plate with yellow cardstock. I cut Layer B (the middle layer) from orange cardstock and I cut Layer C (the bottom layer) from orange glitter cardstock.

I adhere the three layers of the die together with LineCo fine tip liquid adhesive. This is my go-to liquid adhesive for card making. It is actually a well-known book binding glue, so it works exclusively well on paper products with out warping or damaging paper.

I adhered all three layers of the Lumina plate to the black background. For the sentiment, I used the Find Joy Word and Outline die. I die cut the back shadow layer from orange cardstock and the top layer from white cardstock. I adhered the two layers together and then mounted the sentiment to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

Initially when I created this card I thought it reminded me of the sun, or sunflowers, but I love how vibrant and bold the colors are against the black background.
I hope you have enjoyed today's card. Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

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Such a Blessing

11/14/2022

November is a great month to celebrate all the things we are thankful for. Today I am on the Joy Clair Designs blog sharing a slimline card she created featuring the new digital stamp set "Such A Blessing. The "Such a Blessing" stamp set is from the latest digital stamp release, Gather Together. Continue reading to learn how I made this card inspired by this month's mood board.

First, let's begin by taking a look at this month's mood board:

Card details:

To start with, this slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2". Slimline cards are designed to fit inside a regular #10 business sized envelope and require no additional postage. The base of my slimline card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. This is my go-to cardstock for everything. It can be used for card bases, die cutting, Copic Coloring, ink blending, heat embossing and so much more!
Next, I used a slimline die to create the stitched frame on white cardstock. Then, I layered this white stitched frame onto a piece of blackberry bliss cardstock and cut it to size to give the white frame a purple border. I also selected the "you are such a blessing" sentiment and placed it just above the line of pumpkins. After that, I set to work creating the digital image.

To create the long row of pumpkins, I printed out the digital pumpkin image from the "Such a Blessing" stamp set and repeated the image multiple times and in different sizes. Next, I colored the image using a variety of Copic markers in yellow, orange, peach, pink, raspberry and brown. Then I adhered both layers of the card together with 3M foam adhesive.

Thanks for visiting and letting me share my slimline card. Have a wonderfully creative day! Additionally, for more inspiration, you can follow me on my Instagram, Facebook and on my YouTube channel.

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Also, be sure to sign up for Joy Clair Designs newsletters. You will receive notifications of new releases, sales and exclusive offers to subscribers. You can also follow the team’s creations from Joy Clair Designs on Facebook Page, Joy Clair Stamp Projects Facebook Group, Instagram , Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube!

Hey Pumpkin

10/20/2022

Hello friends and happy (almost) Halloween! EEEEEKKKKKkkkk! It is my absolute favorite season of the year to make cards for! I love all the ghosts, zombies, pumpkins, bats, cats and witches! Today I am sharing a not-so-scary card using the Hey Pumpkin stamp set from Joy Clair Designs and some non-traditional pumpkin colors. Black and purple pumpkins? Why not? It's one way to up the spook factor.

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of white cardstock, I ran it through my big shot with a diagonal lined/striped background frame die. I then flipped the frame die over and filled in the gaps with strips of orange, black and purple cardstock. I printed out the large pumpkin image from the Hey Pumpkin stamp set. I colored the image in with orange, purple and green Copic markers. I fussy cut the image and then adhered it to the card using Scotch 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I cut the words "hey pumpkin" out in thin strips and adhered them to the card also using 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the image for added sparkle.

There are still 11 days left until Halloween! You have time to brew up some scary creations! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

Honey Butterfly

10/13/2022

Hello crafty friends! I know you don't know me from Adam, but today I am sharing a card that is quite outside of my comfort zone. It's my first attempt at sort of a mixed media type look. Even though looking back, I didn't fully embrace the "grunge" and I could have done some distress work, I'm happy with the end result and I think it's a good start to build from!

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. On a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Yupo paper, I ink blended some Ranger Adirondack alcohol ink in lemonade. I set this piece aside to let it dry. On a separate sheet of white cardstock I printed out the beautiful geometric butterfly image from the You Fill My Day digital stamp set. I printed this image large at about 40%. I colored the butterfly with yellow, orange and gold Copic markers. I found a scrap piece of gold foil honeycomb vellum and I adhered that directly to the dried alcohol ink Yupo background. I fussy cut the butterfly and then I adhered the butterfly to the card with Scotch 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I sliced off about 1/3 of the left side of the butterfly. I printed the sentiment out on a thin strip of white cardstock, notching the right end at an angle. Lastly, I added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the butterfly for added sparkle.

I hope you have enjoyed this card. I love using alcohol inks to create unique and bold background on my cards. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! For more inspiration, you can follow me on my website, Instagram, Facebook and on my YouTube channel.

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Be sure to sign up for Joy Clair Designs newsletters. You will receive notifications of new releases, sales and exclusive offers to subscribers. You can also follow the team’s creations from Joy Clair Designs on Facebook Page, Joy Clair Stamp Projects Facebook Group, Instagram , Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube!

XO, Crystal

Supersized Sunflower

10/6/2022

Hello friends and crafty readers! One of my absolute favorite new images from the Summerlicious release at Joy Clair Designs is the beautiful sunflower from the You Fill My Day digital stamp set. Flowers remain one of my favorite images to create cards with and I love this geometric sunflower. Recently I created this rainbow themed card with the same exact digital stamp. Rainbows always make me happy! Today I am sharing another (similar) way to use this supersized sunflower with a fall color palette.

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I cut a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of white cardstock and ran in through my Big Shot using a stitched leaf pattern background die plate. I adhered this as my first background layer. I printed out the giant sunflower at about 50% size and then colored it using Copic markers in a variety of yellow, gold and orange hues. I fussy cut the sunflower and adhered it to the right side of the card, actually chopping about 1/3 of the right side off the edge. I used Scotch 3M foam adhesive to adhere the sunflower to give it added dimension. I printed the sentiment "you fill my day with happiness" on a thin strip of white cardstock and adhered it over the sunflower. I added a couple clear rhinestones for added texture. Lastly, I added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the sunflower for added sparkle. *My general rule of thumb is ALWAYS add sparkle!

I hope you have enjoyed this card. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! For more inspiration, you can follow me on my website, Instagram, Facebook and on my YouTube channel.
XO, Crystal

Follow UsBe sure to sign up for Joy Clair Designs newsletters. You will receive notifications of new releases, sales and exclusive offers to subscribers. You can also follow the team’s creations from Joy Clair Designs on Facebook Page, Joy Clair Stamp Projects Facebook Group, Instagram , Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube!

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