Slimline Pop 'n Swap Card - Welcome Winter

For this month's Designer Challenge I taught a modification of the Pop 'n Swap die set to create a side swing arm. I mentioned in the video that this technique would work for any theme, so I thought I'd try a winter-themed version.

This is a slimline card measuring 3.5" x 8.5" when closed. The background is made using our new Snowflakes Pattern Plate and Crosshatch Long Rectangles die sets.

There are three styles of snowflakes in the pattern plate, so I cut it out of three colors and then snipped out matching snowflakes from each color to paste over a white pattern plate, creating the three-color plate. Then I repeated the process two more times with the remaining partial pieces so that I ended up with three full pattern plates, all with 3-colors of snowflakes. From there I just cut and spliced to fit my card.

Once the card is open two snowmen appear on the swing arms, the lower one peering through the window.

I used our new Slim Frames die set on this card for the window frame and the oval greeting frame. I also used the two snowflakes from the new Holiday Charms die set.

Learn the technique for this card by watching this Autumn-themed version full video tutorial:

Here are the dies I used on my winter version:

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 39: Autumn Slimline Pop 'n Swap Card

Welcome to our November Designer Challenge. To celebrate the dies in our newest release that are designed for long cards, I challenged the team to make slimline-sized fall-themed cards. Their cards are, as usual, spectacular and you'll find the photos and links at the bottom of this post.

For my card and video I had an idea for a clear-front card where you'd be able to see through a window in the Pop 'n Swap die set in the closed position and then open it to swing the arms and reveal something underneath.

Learn how to make this card by watching the full YouTube tutorial below:

My card measures 3.5" x 8.5" in the closed position. The clear front to the card only extends 5" from the left side and tucks under a leaf to stay closed.

Open the card and the swing arms start to move. The main pop-up lifts and you can spy a new scene being revealed through the window.

Once open, the swing arms reveal a turkey, leaves and pumpkins while through the window a pumpkin/acorn scene is revealed.

This would be a great technique to try in other themes. A Christmas version might use greenery on the swing arms and a cute Santa, reindeer or mouse revealed through the window. Or how about a birthday version where an age swings out instead of the turkey? Balloons, candles and cupcakes could be used to create the scene.

Ready to give it a try? Here are the dies and supplies I used in the video. The patterned paper is a very old Bo Bunny design from my stash.

 

---

Let's take a look at the awesome inspiration from the team for this month's challenge. Make sure you click their names to head over to the blog posts, where you will find additional photos, supply lists and even videos in some cases.

Sandy Diller cleverly adapted the Woven Basket Box Card into an apple basket that she animated inside a slimline using the Mini Pops Pop-up. I love all the beautiful fall colors and the mix of our autumn dies with the new Crosshatch Long Rectangles and Long Nature Edges.

Lois Bak combined our new Crosshatch Long Rectangles, Mini Pops Pop-up and Long Nature Edges die sets with our autumn dies and Woodland animals for a gorgeous pop-up pumpkin patch. I love her teal pumpkin and the apples in the mix. The inking is so vibrant and beautiful!

Fran Sabad has three cards to share this month, featuring our new Holiday House die set on a slimline. I just love her colorful villages! Make sure you click over to her blog to see the other two cards.

Kelly Booth created this gorgeous vertical slimline with a clever use of a circle element on the Flip Frame pop-up inside. Those bright happy clouds and the googly eyes on the fox add to the sweetness. Beautiful palette! 

Frances Byrne created this lovely top fold slimline featuring a mix of dies from our new release plus several previously-released dies. This is a great illustration of how our releases are always meant to coordinate with previous ideas plus create new combinations and looks. I love Frances's crumpled leaves and the Gnomes holding the leaves!

Karen Aicken made this absolutely stunning clear-panel slimline where an autumn-scene is visible when the card is closed and then it reveals a different scene upon opening, complete with spiral leaf pop-up. Definitely click over to Karen's blog to see a video of this card in action. Gorgeous!

Hopefully these cards have put you in a festive fall mood. Join us on Wednesday, December 2, 2020 for our next Designer Challenge with a theme of Mini Pops Pop-up. We'll be showing off this new generic pop-up die set in a variety of ways. 

Happy Crafting!

Karen Burniston October 2020 Release Blog Hop

Welcome to our Karen Burniston Products - KB Riley LLC October Release Blog Hop. I'm joining our Design Team for a fun blog hop to celebrate the release of 10 new dies. Sneak peeks of the new release started last week, and orders will start shipping the first week in November.

This release includes:

• A new interactive die set - Mini Pops Pop-ups
• Add-on die set for the Surprise Ball Pop-up and Bitty Ball Pop-up die sets - Animal Add-on 3 (creates a Penguin; Deer and Moose)
• 3 Slimline Sized Die Sets - Crosshatch Long Rectangles; Long Nature Edges and Slim Frames
• 2 New Pattern Plates - Snowflakes; Holly
• A new charm sets - Holiday Charms
• New frames to work with our Fancy Label Accordion - Fancy Winter Frames
• Stand Alone Die Set - Holiday House

Pre-orders are available now on the website. Shipping of pre-orders starts the first week of November in the order received.

 

GIVEAWAY:

To celebrate the release each of the blogs on the hop will be giving away a $25 Gift Certificate to some lucky person who comments on our blog posts, so make sure you join the hop and comment on everyone's blog post. Winners will be randomly chosen from ALL of the blog hop comments received on our blog posts by Monday, November 2nd 2020. Lots of chances to win some goodies, so just leave a comment on this post or any other blog hop posts to enter!

 

For my project I wanted to show off how well our new dies integrate with our previously-released dies. This is part of our brand philosophy - that new dies are always backwards compatible with your existing collection. For this project I was inspired by one I made years ago using dies from my licensing days. Now that the Holiday House is available again, it was the perfect time to make an updated version of this project.

 

 

Watch the video tutorial for this card on YouTube here:

 

This is a 4-page Fancy Label Accordion with the new Fancy Winter Frames used to decorate a couple of the pages. I also used the new Long Nature Edges for the stitched snow hills and small tree edges. The larger trees came from the Evergreen Pivot Panels.

 

Open the card to reveal a pop-up within a pop-up. The Evergreen Pivot Panels create the secondary pop-up for the four trees in the center.

On the first interior page I assembled the new Holiday House. This is an updated re-release from my licensing days. The die set includes all of the accessories shown except for the snowflake and tiny bow, which came from the Evergreen Pivot Panels.

 

 

The center two pages feature the Evergreen Pivot Panels integrated into the Fancy Accordion. I also used the stitched hills from the Long Nature Edges to make the background hills.

 

On the final page I used our Word Set 3 for a greeting, plus more trees and a snowflake.

 

All of the patterned papers are older designs from my stash. 

Ready to keep hopping? Here are the links to the other stops on the hop.

Karen Burniston <--- YOU ARE HERE
Frances Byrne
Lois Bak
Karen Aicken
Fran Sabad
Sandy Diller
Kelly Booth

Here are links to the products used on my project:

Cheers Rockin' Rectangle and Twine Pop-up Card

For our Designer Challenge yesterday I posted a video tutorial for using the Rockin' Rectangle Pop-up die set for a shaped-window card with the added element of pulling up a piece of twine to animate more items.

I thought it would be fun to make the card again but in a different theme. For this version I used the Happy Hour Charms, Cheers and Sweet Treat Charms, but then also filled in with decorator pieces from other sets.

This is a landscape A2 sized card with a martini-shaped window. For the front of the card I used our Crosshatch Ovals, Happy Hour Charms, "hello" from Word Set 6 - Summer, the watermelon slice from our Sweet Treats Charms, the tiny flowers from the Tree Pop-up, and the leafy vine from the Flip Frame Pop-up. One nice thing about our pop-up dies is that they come with so many decorator pieces the can then be used for other fun combinations.

Once open the Rockin' Rectangle lifts and rocks the martini, plus pulls up the twine. The flower charm is from our Backyard Charms set and the greeting is our Cheers die.

The twine I use for this technique is a thicker hemp twine. I used small jump rings to attach the charms to the twine, then used pliers to squish the jump rings so they wouldn't slide along the twine.

Learn this technique by watching this video:

Here are the dies that I used for my Cheers version. The paper is an older Pebbles design called Mocktails.

 

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 38: Inspired by Lois Rockin' Rectangle Penguin Card

Welcome to our October Designer Challenge. The theme this month is "Inspired by" where we each chose a card from a teammate to be our inspiration card. I chose this cute card by Lois Bak as my inspiration card. I liked how she used the Rockin' Rectangle Pop-up die set in a landscape orientation card and incorporated a penguin-shaped window into the front of the card. 

For my version I used the penguin from our Winter Animals die set. It was much smaller than Lois's stamped penguin so I also incorporated a twine feature to pop-up two more penguins.

Watch the full YouTube video tutorial to learn how I made it:

The card measures 5.5" x 4.25" when closed, so a standard landscape A2. I followed Lois's lead on a polka-dot paper to look like snow and some curvy snow banks below. The trees and snowflakes come from our Winter Charms die set. I used a labelmaker for the greeting.

Open the card and the Rockin' Rectangle brings up the penguin that was visible through the window and in the process also lifts a piece of twine, suspending two more penguins. 

To keep the center penguin weighted to stay right-side-up I added a snowflake under one wing.

Want to make your version of my version of Lois's card? Here are the dies and supplies I used on my card. The polka-dot paper is an older Echo Park design.

---

Now let's take a look at the cards the team made from their inspiration muses. In each case you can click on the designer's name to head to their blog post and see more details on their card plus a link to their inspiration.

Fran Sabad took inspiration from Kelly Booth to create a sweet stacked ball Elephant card in bright fun colors. I love those big round eyes and the great combination of patterned papers.

Frances Byrne's muse was Karen Aicken. Frances was inspired to use the Explosion Pop-up in a slimline card. This birthday card would brighten anyone's day and I love how Frances matched the colors and styling of her die cut cupcakes to the patterned paper.

Karen Aicken took inspiration from me to create a billboard version of a ball pop-up. She went even further with this idea, though, by incorporating a clear billboard to make the elements appear to float. This is such a beautiful and striking card. 

Kelly Booth's muse was Frances Byrne. Both Kelly and Frances love owls, so Kelly took inspiration from a stacked ball owl from Frances to create her own woodsy version. It's always fun to make a stacked ball animal that matches one of our smaller animals and Kelly did that here with this vibrant special birthday card.

Sandy Diller took inspiration from Fran's fairy Charm Accordion to make her own autumn-themed version. I love the white pumpkins and the fun garden scene that Sandy created to travel the length of her card.

Lois Bak's muse was Sandy Diller. Lois took inspiration from a Halloween-themed woven basket box card that Sandy made. Lois expanded the idea (literally) by doubling the basket to make a double-wide. She filled it with all sorts of boo-tiful elements.

Hopefully you found plenty to be inspired by with this month's challenge. Join us next month on Wednesday, November 4, 2020 for a Designer Challenge with a theme of Slimline Cards. We'll all be making long cards in the popular slimline style.

Happy Crafting!

Stamptember 2020 Simon Says Stamp plus Riley and Company

Today is the day for the limited time offer of an exclusive clear stamp set from Simon Says Stamp featuring Riley and Company. The links are in the supply list below. I was lucky enough to get an advance copy of this adorable, sweet and hilarious stamp set and thought it would be just perfect to use with the Parcel Pop-up Magic Card technique.

This card measures 5x7 when closed. It features a magnetic flap closure, a clear panel front and a bottom fold. I was delighted to discover that our Tiny Accessories glasses fit the stamped characters perfectly.

Open the magnetic flap to reveal the first greeting, stamped on the decorator flap die from our Flap and Closure set.

Open the card and the magic happens. The Parcel Pop-up mechanism slides the transparency upward until it overlays perfectly on the version that has been colored. It appears as if the stamp has magically turned to color.

Here's a close-up of the tag that slides up. I used Copic markers to color the characters. The stitched square comes included in the Parcel Pop-up, as does the small tag at the bottom of the card. The large tag comes from the Circle Tag Book. Because the stamp was wider than the Parcel Pop-up, I had to make an adjustment to the pop-up by widening it. I did this by cutting a second mechanism, cutting it up the middle, and gluing the halves to the full pop-up. The new halves provided the back arms for the pop-up, now moved outward to accommodate the tag. To cover the front of the now-wider pop-up I used our Crosshatch Rectangles instead of the square that comes included in the Parcel.

Want to give this technique a try? Here is the video tutorial for how to turn the Parcel Pop-up into a Magic Card.

And here are the links to the products I used. Remember the stamp set is available only while supplies last and only at Simon Says Stamp. SSS also sells our dies as an option.

 

Christmas Greetings Evergreen Pivot Panels Tag Book

Our brand focus has always been to create die sets that build on and coordinate with the dies from previous collections. The idea is that you are building a collection and nothing becomes obsolete because newer dies will provide fresh combinations and new looks. This card features six of our die sets released in four different collections. Our Pivot Panels die sets are designed to work on their own in a card or, as an option, they fit perfectly in our Tag Book Pop-up.

This card measures 3" x 6" when closed and can be mailed in an A7 envelope. The front features the Snowman and the reindeer from the Christmas Animals.

Inside the card I swapped the pop-up mechanism that comes included with the Tag Book with the Evergreen Pivot Panels instead. I added a greeting using Word Set 3 - Holiday.

If you'd like to give this card a try you'll find the assembly videos for the dies on their product pages. 

 

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 37 - In the Wild! Pumpkin Costume Card

Welcome to our September 2020 Designer Challenge.

Our theme this month is "In the Wild!" and I challenged the team to create animals by combining our Surprise Ball Pop-up with the new Bitty Ball Pop-up. 

For my card and video I wanted to show how the pieces in Animal Add-ons 1 can be repurposed to make a raccoon. I also thought it would be fun to show how any of the stacked animals can wear a pumpkin costume for Halloween.

Learn how to make this card by watching the YouTube video here:

This card measures 6x6 when closed, so it will require additional postage, both because it's a square but also because the bead closure on the front adds thickness to the card. I recommend a bubble mailer. The silver elastic cording is attached to the back of the card and stretches across to hook onto the bead/brad, keeping the card closed.

Lift the cord off of the bead/brad and the gatefold card will spring open, revealing a raccoon all ready for trick-or-treating in a pumpkin costume. The Happy Halloween greeting is from Halloween Charms and the backing oval is from our Ovals - Crosshatch set.

The pumpkin costume will fit any animal.

You also have the option to make animals (with or without pumpkin costumes) by stacking two of the same size ball dies. A note, though. The Bitty Ball die set includes animal accessories (arms, smile, pointy nose) that you will need to make the animals in Animal Add-ons 1. If you only want to invest in one ball die and animals are what you primarily want to make, then I would recommend the Bitty Ball. If you are looking for an Add-on set to use with your Surprise Ball only (no Bitty Ball) then I would recommend Animal Add-ons 2 because it includes arms. Hopefully that makes sense.

Want to give this card a try? Again, you can make the head, arms, legs and tail into any animal, so get creative with who will be wearing your pumpkin costume. Here are links to the supplies used. The plaid paper is from Echo Park in their Celebrate Autumn line from a couple of years ago. The paper on the pumpkin is a very old sheet of Basic Grey from my stash. The silver elastic cording is from Michaels, where you can also find plastic beads.

---

Are you ready for more animal inspiration? Check out these amazing cards by our incredibly talented design team!

Fran Sabad made this masterpiece of a card to celebrate her daughter's first wedding anniversary. I actually attended that wedding, which I was surprised to learn was just one year ago, when it feels like a decade! There are so many amazing details to this card, but especially that the hippos rotate and kiss!

Karen Aicken did something very clever with her batty bitty ball - she put the Surprise Ball on top for a bigger head than body! Brilliant! Karen hand cut the wings and has a YouTube video explaining the details and tips/tricks for her card. Definitely check it out!

Kelly Booth has a favorite color and it's on full display with this wonderful teal elephant. I adore the way Kelly has added the flowers from the Flip Frame die set to make a flower tiara for the elephant. The matching small elephant from the Safari Animals on the front of the card is perfection.

 

Sandy Diller made a sweet birthday card using a Bitty/Surprise stacked elephant in bright fun colors. I particularly like the way she snipped out some of the individual fronds from the Fronds Pattern Plate to decorate her interior greeting strip. And whiskers as elephant hair is brilliant!

Frances Byrne made this absolutely stunning lion card. I adore the scene she created on the front circle using the new Landscape Scene. Her use of the crosshatch circle die to create a mane is a stroke of genius. Love it!

Lois Bak fashioned her favorite mouse for this magical birthday card. This is a great example of combining pieces from other die sets to expand your menagerie (circle dies for ears) as well as clever panel decoration to make clothes. Awesome!

Please join us next month on Wednesday, October 7th (my 25th anniversary!) for our next Designer Challenge with a theme of "Inspired by -" we will be taking inspiration from each other for this fun challenge.

Happy Crafting!

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 36: Wing it! Just Chicken In Pop-up Card

Welcome to our August 2020 Designer Challenge.

Our theme this month is "Wing it!" and I challenged the team to incorporate wings into their cards. They have once again taken it to a new level with their creativity.

For my card and video I am styling our new Bitty Ball Pop-up die set as a chick for a "Just Chicken In" card. Watch the YouTube video to learn how I did it.

My card measures 5" x 5" when closed, so it will fit nicely in an A7 envelope for mailing. The front features a large circular window so the flattened Bitty Ball chick is visible. The top flap closure is magnetic. I used our Spring Animals chick with the bow from the Chicken, Pig and Lamb set to fashion a small chick for the front of the card. The rest of the greeting is made by using our Alphabet set and Word Set 10 - Thinking of You. 

Release the magnetic flap and the double-decker Chick will spring up. I used the included pieces in the Bitty Ball set for the wings, eyes, beak, feet and bow.

I think it's particularly fun to fashion large animals that match some of our smaller ones. I perched another small chick onto the wing of the big one. I also used an offset stack for the chick, with a flat-panel head atop a pointy-belly body. 

As I mention in the video, please don't limit your audience for these fun animal cards to just children. People of all ages would love to receive a card like this and especially right now, when we can't gather or travel. It's a great time to check in (chicken) on our loved ones. This could be the perfect card to brighten someone's day.

Ready to give this card a try? As of today, August 5, 2020, we are temporarily sold out of Bitty Ball Pop-ups on our website, but we have shipped orders out to the retailers and are currently shipping website pre-orders. You can check with your local store to see if they have Bitty Balls in stock or you can put in your e-mail on the product page to be notified when they are back in stock (estimated end of August). If you are in the UK, please tune in to our Hochanda shows August 7-8th where we will be featuring this new release. Hochanda will have Bitty Balls available for the shows as they reserved them early.

---

Let's look at the great Wing it! cards by our talented Design Team.

Fran Sabad featured the new fairy from our Backyard Charms set on this delightful Castle Pop-up card. I just love the rainbow circle of fairies on the front of the card and all the touches of gold on the castle. Magical!

Sandy Diller stacked the Bitty Ball onto the larger Surprise Ball for this cute "when pigs fly" anniversary card. This is another great example of mixing a large version of an animal with the smaller version. Sandy mixed pieces from Animal Add-ons 1 and 2 to make the ears, snout and legs of the pig. So sweet!

Karen Aicken made this stunning clear sympathy card featuring the Flowers Pattern plate and our new With Sympathy word set. I love her choice of grays and whites for this comforting card. Absolutely gorgeous!

Lois Bak used the Fancy Label Accordion and Fancy Flourish Frames to make this lovely 4-page card featuring stamped butterflies. The colors are so vibrant and happy. Love it!

Kelly Booth shows off the new Flip Frame Pop-up on this sweet thinking of you card. I love her styling on our new Gnome set, plus the Backyard Charms fairy and dangling butterfly. Amazing!

Frances Byrne made an extended Circle Tag Book with a gorgeous mix of gnomes and Backyard charms. She cleverly repositioned letters from two word sets to make the "fairy wishes" greeting on the front. A delightful scene!

Please join us next month on Wednesday, September 2nd for our next Designer Challenge with a theme of "In the Wild!". 

Happy Crafting!

Karen Burniston July 2020 Die Release Blog Hop

Welcome to our July 2020 Release Blog Hop.

Hop along on the blogs of our Design Team to find inspiration for using these new die sets. Dies are available for pre-order now on our website with shipping starting the first week of August, 2020 in the order received. 

Leave comments on the blogs on the hops to be entered into a drawing for a $25 credit to our website. Each stop on the hop will draw a winner on July 27, 2020 and winners will be notified by e-mail. 

 

For my card I'm using the new Pop 'n Swap to create a "you are super" thank you card, complete with a superhero giraffe from the Safari Animals.

Here's the full video tutorial for this card:

My card measures 4.75" x 6" when closed. The front panel of the card is cut 2" shorter to allow the upper swing arm of the pop-up to be viewed when the card is closed. I rounded the corners with a 1/2" corner chomper. I used the new Safari Animals to create the giraffe, dressed as a mild-mannered cub reporter on the upper swing arm. I used the giraffe die to create the hair and clothes by cutting the body out of the appropriate color for hair, jacket, shirt and then snipping sections into the proper shapes. The collar and buttons are drawn on with a black pen. I added a pair of glasses from Tiny Accessories 1. The "you" die comes included in the Pop 'n Swap die set as does the heart. The "thank" is made using a Dymo label maker.

As the card opens the mild-mannered cub reporter starts to lower behind the pop-up rectangle while the other arm swings out from the bottom. Once again I used the "you" from the die set along with a label maker to create the greeting. The hearts and rectangles come included in the Pop 'n Swap.

Once the card is fully open the cub reporter is completely hidden and SuperGiraffe has appeared. I used the cape and mask from Tiny Accessories 2 and a tiny star from the Paper Frames Pop-up to dress the giraffe as a superhero. The patterned paper is an older piece of Basic Grey paper from my stash.

Ready for more inspiration for these new dies? Here are the other stops on the hop. Remember to leave a comment on each blog to be in on a drawing for a $25 credit to our website. Every stop on the hop will be drawing a winner on July 27, 2020.

Karen Burniston <----- YOU ARE HERE

Karen Aicken

Frances Byrne

Fran Sabad

Kelly Booth

Lois Bak

Sandy Diller

 

Here are the dies used on my Pop 'n Swap Thank You Card:

If you missed the preview video for the new release you can watch it here: