Save the Crafty YouTubers Video Hop

We are proud to be a sponsor of the Save the Crafty YouTubers Video Hop. 

A huge thanks to Justine Hovey for organizing this huge event. She explains it so well:

"Our Save the YouTuber hop was put together in order to help out the many crafters that are affected by new YouTube rules that require a number of views and subscribers in order to earn money. Some of the biggest names in the industry, along with some companies, have come together to help those in need and to bring YOU, the audience, some amazing new tutorials from artists you may have never seen before. After you are finished watching each video, you can click the link in the YouTube video description to check out the next person on the list. The more videos you watch and comment on, the better your chances are to win 1 of over 120 prizes!”

For my video I show a fun combination of the Twist Panel die set and the Coffee Charms die set. If you leave a comment on the YouTube video (click to watch and comment on YouTube, not here on the blog) by February 26, 2018, you are entered into a drawing to win the two die sets I used in the video, or a $25 Simon Says Stamp gift certificate, or two Catherine Pooler Designs ink pads. (Note - the ink pad prize is for US residents only.)

Now because the hop is so huge, we were instructed to create shorter videos of around 6 minutes. As you can imagine, it was hard to teach all the parts of this card in that amount of time, so if you end up winning or purchasing these dies you'll probably want to watch the full assembly videos, which can be found here: http://karenburniston.com/videos

This card measures 4.25" x 5.25" when closed, so it will fit nicely in an A2 envelope for mailing and plan on the extra ounce stamp because of the thickness. To make the coffee rings I used a plastic cup and brown ink. The rectangle window and frame were cut using pieces from the Twist Panel set. The coffee cup and hearts came from the Coffee Charms. This is also my card for the Paper Pros February "Love" challenge as I love, love, love my coffee!

As the card is opened the panels start to twist and open. You can see how the coffee cup is attached to the back of one of the panels so it is visible in the closed position, but then disappears as the card is opened.

 To decorate my panels I dangled Coffee charms from frames cut with the pieces that come in the Twist Panel die set. (There are 15 dies included in that set, so you have everything you need for decorating!) I used strips of washi tape around the transparency window pane and added a rectangle at the bottom as a place to sign the card. The patterned paper is an old piece of Little Yellow Bicycle (FLH-107) from my stash.

The Catherine Pooler Designs Inks are so vibrant - they worked perfectly to color the Coffee Charms. The coffee stamp came from Hobby Lobby.

If you are just getting started with hopping I suggest you start on Justine's post here: Save the Crafty YouTuber Video Hop

Karen Burniston die sets are sold at independent and online stores throughout the world. As always, we encourage you to ask for the dies at your local stores. If you are sadly without a local store, you can always shop on our website OR at Simon Says Stamp.

Have fun on the hop!

Feb 2018 Class Cards - Scrapp'n Savvy

This Tuesday I'll be at Scrapp'n Savvy teaching two sessions of this card class. Both sessions are sold out, which is really very kind of all my regular students, who sign up for my classes without having any clue what they'll be making. (Thanks, my friends!)

We'll be making a coffee card, using the new Coffee Cup Pop-up, Coffee Charms and accessorizing with square from the Spinner Square. The greeting square can be flipped if you prefer to change out the greeting and make it more of a hot chocolate/apple cider card. The finished card measures 5" x 5.5" and can be mailed in an A7 envelope.

We'll also be making a birthday card using the Cake Pop-up, accessorized with Happy Birthday and labels from the Katherine Label Pop-up. The finished card measures 4.5" square and can be mailed in an A7 envelope.

You'll be receiving the Spinner Square die in your class kits, and you will do some of the cutting on this card with your die. This card uses the Spinner Square Pop-up, Sea Animals, Palm Tree and Tropical Scene dies. The finished card measures 4.25" x 5.5" and can be mailed in an A2 envelope.

As usual, it's an ambitious class, but we'll do our best to leave with three finished cards. If you're in class, here's what you need to bring:

• Die Cutting machine with plates and platforms for wafer-thin dies.
• Removable tape to hold dies in place.
• Pokey tool to eject dies
• Liquid glue in a fine tip bottle - VERY IMPORTANT - there are small pieces on these cards and you need to be able to glue them down. (You might bring your Xyron X sticker maker if you have one)
• Other adhesives - tape runner, double-sided tape, small glue dots, pop-dots
• Black pen to color in the crab's eyes. 
• Save the card photos to your tablet or phone OR print them out to refer to in class.
• Optional - brayer to press down glued items
• Optional decorating items - inks for edges, Wink of Stella or similar glitter pen

See you Tuesday!

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 06 - Castle!

Welcome to our February Designer Challenge with a theme of Castle!

I challenged the team to incorporate the new Castle Pop-up die set into a project of any theme.

For my project, I wanted to show an idea for using the Castle in a bottom-fold card with a semi-transparent cover so the castle is visible in the closed position and then expands into a 3D castle upon opening the card. I chose a sand castle birthday card but you could adapt this idea to any castle theme. Watch the video tutorial here (e-mail subscribers - click the title of the blog post to find the video - can't anyone solve this annoying problem for me? Why don't the videos play in the e-mails? Anyone? Anyone? Please?)

This card measures 4.5" square when closed and will mail easily in an A7 envelope for no additional postage. I used a double pane transparency window filled with sand. I like how the sandy window offers a hint of what's inside.

The top of the card features a foldover magnetic closure:

I used several other dies to decorate this card as a fun birthday party where the Sea Animals are playing in the castle.

 

Karen Burniston die sets are available at many independent and online craft stores throughout the world. As always, I encourage you to ask for them at your local stores. If you are sadly without that option, you can always shop on our website. Here are supply links for most everything used in the video:

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But wait . . . there's more! Much, much more! Check out these seven amazing Castle creations by the Design Team. For each card, I encourage you to click the name of the Designer, which will open their blog post in a new window. You'll find more photos, supply lists, tips, tricks, etc. on their individual blog posts.

Shelly Hickox shows that castle pop-up cards aren't just for kids! Check out this stunning Queen for a Day castle card, complete with ivy growing on the walls. Shellypiece!

Fran Sabad made matching boy/girl gift boxes and tags with the Castle die set plus related royalty accessory dies and I am blown away! Who wouldn't love to get a gift in a box like this? Amazing!

Kelly Booth was very clever by using the heart Cake Trim die to make glasses for the dragon! I love that! As usual, her coloring skills are exquisite and I love her choice to incorporate some pink into this anniversary card. Pink is for everyone!

Karen Aicken created an undersea castle! Brilliant! She used the floating floor die that comes with the House and Fence and then decorated it with a lot of new dies. I love how she converted the mermaid into a merman!

Summer Hills-Painter has three little boys and created this fabulous "you slay me" card using the Castle on the Spinner Square Pop-up. I love the bright regal colors and how the knight spins out from behind the square as it opens.

Frances Byrne created this absolutely fabulous sand castle card featuring the mermaid on both sides of the card so it looks great from any angle. She mixed in some stamped greetings that fit the theme perfectly. I want to go hang out on this beach!

Helen Cryer made this princess castle and it is perfection! She has such a gift for mixing patterned papers and I love the addition of the path and the Outdoor Scene in the background. Beautiful!

The team did such a great job of showing the versatility of the Castle Pop-up die set. Join us next month on March 7, 2018 for our next Designer Challenge with a theme of Coffee and Cake. We can choose to feature either the Coffee Cup pop-up or the Cake pop-up. Doesn't that sound delicious?!

Happy Crafting!

Winter 2018 Palm Tree Pop-up Assembly Video

NOTE: If you are reading this blog post in your e-mail because you subscribe to this blog, just know that I have been unable to figure out why the YouTube videos don't play in the e-mails. You have to click the name of the blog post to find the video. If anyone knows how to fix this, please tell me! Please! 

Here's the video tutorial for the Palm Tree Pop-up die set. All dies are available NOW! 

I love this die set for its quick, easy assembly and because you have the option to use it in a top fold card or a side fold card and it looks good either way. Versatility! And coconuts!

My video card measures 6.75" x 5" when closed and will mail easily in an A7 envelope. The front of the card is a simple lead-in to the magic inside, using the Tropical Scene and Sea Animals with the Palm Tree. I used an older Stampin' Up! stamp from my stash for the front greeting.

As the card opens the two palm trees start to lift up. 

Once open, the two palm trees pop-up and the hammock is suspended between them. The greeting is a combination of the Happily Ever After die and Congrats from Word Set 1. I thought this would be a great greeting for a retirement or honeymoon card.

I also posted the assembly video for the Sea Animals die set:

All dies are available now and have shipped out to independent and online craft stores throughout the world. As always, we love it when you ask for these products at your local stores first, but if you are sadly without that option, you can always shop on our website.

 

Storage Idea: Blending Foam Trays for Distress Oxide Inks

And now for something completely different! Ha ha.

Here's a quick video showing an idea for how to store your round blending foams underneath the large Distress Oxide ink pads with the velcro-side-up by making little storage trays to fit under the ink pad.

Feel free to grab the SVG for your electronic cutting machine OR the PDF if you want to hand cut your own. NOTE - make sure your printer settings are set to 100% (actual size) when you print the PDF. The trays should measure 1.5" tall when printed full size.

Download SVG_BlendingFoamTrays_by_KarenBurniston

Download PDF_BlendingFoamTrays_by_KarenBurniston

To download the files, just click on the links, which will open them in a new browser window. Then use the "File" menu at the top of the browser to save the files to your computer.

Share the files with anyone - they're free. 

Oh, and one more thing - it is completely possible that someone else has already posted this type of idea. I didn't do any research - just thought of it while chatting with Fran, made the file, it worked great, so I'm sharing it. End of story. No toe-stepping intended, I promise! 

Happy Crafting!