Designer Carissa Wiley made these fabulous birthday cards and even made a video to demonstrate. Check it out here. I love how she incorporated multiple letterpress printing plates and die-cutting! This would be a very fun card to receive on your birthday, don't you think? These would also make for great party invitations. 

Also, don't forget that border dies are 20% off through the weekend! Click here to shop border dies. 

The Fourth of July is right around the corner!  Have you made plans yet?  We have a few fun ideas to share here on the blog today. Hopefully they will inspire you to get festive!  This first card is about as patriotic as they come. Carissa Wiley put this together with the Splendor letterpress printing plate, Nesting Stars, Red Ink, Hello.Goodbye patterned paper, and Square Fold Card letterpress paper.  It would be great as an invitation or even as party decor on the table at a barbecue.  

This Cracker Box by Shaunte Wadley is also very patriotic and would be fun to put a little treat inside of.  Better yet, how about sticking some sparklers inside to hand out to neighbors and family?  The Hello.Goodbye paper used again here is perfect for Fourth of July projects. Finally, what's a party without cupcakes?  The Sweet & Spicy patterned paper collection looks great for 4th festivities if you're going for more muted tones of red & blue.  These cupcakes are lined with the Basic Cupcake Liner and topped with the Basic Party Picks.

What are your plans for the holiday?  Have you found some great ideas to go along with your celebrations around the web? Please share!  Also, stay tuned for another 4th of July idea along with a sneak peek of next week's release.

It is finally starting to feel like summer around here and we wanted to share something fun that you can make for the summer months, particularly July.  This card is very patriotic and festive... perfect for 4th of July picnics and parties!  See below for instructions.  You can see more projects with the Splendor Printing Plate here.  It is available for purchase here. 

Products used: Letterpress Combo Kit, Splendor Printing Plate, Custom Printing Plate (wording), Red Ink, Royal Blue Ink, Party Flag Inserts Die, Letterpress Paper: Square Flat Card, Twine

Instructions:

1. Place your Splendor Printing Plate on your letterpress platform using the adhesive sheets that come with the printing plate.  

2. Ink your plate with Red Ink.  

3. Place your Square Flat Card on the opposite side of the platform, close the platform, and run it through your Epic 6 or other die-cutting machine. 

4. Print the Invitation wording using the Custom Printing Plate program and red Ink.  

5. Cut out the Party Flag Insert and print the 'Celebrate' sentiment onto it using the letterpress platform and Royal Blue Ink.

6. Adhere the Party Flag Insert and wrap the card with twine for the finishing touch.

Do you have a party coming up? Here's a great way to send an invite!  We combined forces with a lot of different new products and media for this project.  It displays our new Kraft media chipboard, new patterned paper and coordinating dies, and letterpress all in one!  If you already have a pre-made invite like we did, tihs is a great way to jazz it up.  See below for a list of the products used to make this.

Products used:
Letterpress/Die-cutting Combo Kit
Splendor Printing Plates
Royal Blue Ink
Treat Bag
Hello/Goodbye Shapes
Hello/Goodbye Patterned Paper
Kraft Paper
Ribbon

We've been crafting like crazy in the office getting ready for Valentine's Day. Laura, our marketing director makes a Valentine's Day CD mix for all of her friends every year. We decided to pair her ritual with a letterpressed Valentine. Check out the photos and tutorial below. We really enjoyed the project and can't wait to share it with our friends!

Instructions:

Step 1: Ink your base with Red Ink.
Step 2: With your brayer, spread ink onto the Splendor Printing Plate
Step 3: Using your Paper Placement Guides and Square Letterpress Paper, prepare to run it through your tool.
Step 4: Run it through the Epic 6.
Step 5: Using the Flourish Printing Plate and Light Pink Ink, use the "Love" piece and repeat the process from above.
Step 6: Burn your favorite Love songs on a CD and attach it to the back of your card. We used these CD hubs to attach our disc on the back.
Step 7: Add a little bakers twine and deliver to friends and family!

In the spirit of Valentines Day, we want to offer our readers 20% off on all web orders through Valentines Day!  Enter the code LOVE2011 at checkout.  What a perfect time to get some dies from the Love Release! Also, don't forget to enter the Craft Night Giveaway with Kim & Kris from the DIY Dish. 

*Discount code offer begins now and ends on Monday, February 14 at midnight MST.