Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 42: Heart Tree Pop-up Card

Happy February!

For our challenge this month we are incorporating hearts into a card of any theme. For my card and video I cover the Christmas Tree Pop-up with hearts from the Love Charms to create a heart pop-up tree.

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

This card measures 5" x 6" when closed and will mail in an A7 envelope. For the front of the card I used our Border Blends - Argyle plus the Love Charms.

Open the card and the heart tree pops up. The labels come from the Paper Frames Pop-up set and the greeting is from Word Set 9 - Love.

The Christmas Tree is covered in hearts, mostly from the Love Charms, but also incorporating some small hearts from the Paper Frames Pop-up and the Heart Pivot Panels set. The conversation hearts are cut out of a thick white cardstock and then rolled with an inked brayer using various Distress Oxide inks.

Want to give this card a try? Here are the links for the products used on my heart tree card:

Now let's take a look at the wonderful creations by our talented Design Team. For each of these cards you can click on the name of the designer to go to their blog post for more photos, supply lists and, in some cases, videos.

Fran Sabad chose non-traditional colors for this soft and sweet Valentine featuring the Paper Frames Pop-up and the Safari Animals. It's so serene and pretty with the pastels.

Sandy Diller combined the Twist Panel Pop-up with the Heart Pivot Panels for this exquisite love-themed card. The metallic papers add a touch of shine and the combination of patterns is delightful.

Karen Aicken made this delightful Happy Anniversary card by turning the Cupcake Pop-up into a generic platform using a rectangle die. She then decorated with a cute couple made with our Gnome and Santa die set. The hearts, the rainbow, the confetti paper - what a delight!

Kelly Booth created this fabulous four-panel slimline in a Love theme. I adore how she styled the frames on the front with the Tiles Pattern Plate for texture. Inside, the Mini Pops set is used to animate her little vignettes, including Love Charms and owls from our Feathered Animals set. Fabulous!

Lois Bak made this eye-popping black and red Valentine featuring the Rockin' Rectangle Pop-up die set. I love how she created a shadow layer for the greeting die by tracing the die onto black cardstock and cutting it out. She also extended the arrow from the Love Charms to fit her large heart. Perfect!

Frances Byrne created this slimline card with an offset gatefold card and it's fabulous! I particularly like how she used the Slim Frames with mirror cardstock for this high fashion card. The mirror is animated using the Mini Pops Pop-up die set.

Join us next month on Wednesday, March 3, 2021 for our next Designer Challenge. The theme is BLACK, WHITE & A POP OF ?.

Happy Crafting!

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 41: Pompom Slimline Pop-up Card

Happy New Year!

We're kicking off 2021 with a simple challenge theme - Thinking of You. It's more important than ever to check in on your friends and family and the perfect way is with a cheerful card.

For my card and video I was inspired by a class card I designed with a pompom closure. I was also inspired by the Pantone colors of the year. The result is a slimline card with a gatefold opening, pompom closure and Mini Pops pop-up inside. 

Watch the full YouTube tutorial to learn this technique:

The card measures 3.5"x 8.5" when closed. It will fit in a No. 10 business envelope but will require extra postage because of the pompom. I used our Slim Frames, Border Blends - Party and Word Set 10 on the front of the card, along with flowers from the Woven Basket Box Card.

Open the gatefold card and a basket of flowers pops up, attached to one of the angled platforms from the Mini Pops Pop-up die set. 

Because I was working in a small area, I trimmed the Woven Basket to a smaller size. 

The inspiration for this card was one of my recent class cards, featuring the same basic construction.

Want to give this card a try? Here are links to the dies used. For papers I just used stash papers that matched my chosen color scheme.

Now let's take a look at the wonderful creations by our talented Design Team. For each of these cards you can click on the name of the designer to go to their blog post for more photos, supply lists and, in some cases, videos.

Frances Byrne made this absolutely stunning slimline card featuring side-by-side Adirondack chairs. I love how she incorporated the Backyard Charms, including those adorable fairies.

Sandy Diller extended the Triple Flip die set so it has five flips to fit a slimline card. How clever! I love her addition of the Border Blends and the striking color scheme.

Kelly Booth made this impressive double ball Elmo slimline card. I love how she created the hands by using a flower die for fingers! So clever!

 

Karen Aicken created this bright and cheerful slimline card with the Heart Pivot Panels inside. I just love the rainbow of hearts, both in the paper and the pop-up. A card to brighten any mailbox!

Lois Bak created a lovely Katherine Label Pop-up card featuring lovely patterned paper and matching colors. I love the simple elegance of this card.

Fran Sabad made this absolutely darling Heart Pivot Panels card featuring the Snowman. This is such a great combination of dies, colors and styling.

Well hopefully these cards inspire you to send a little bit of happy mail to someone in your thoughts. Join us next month on Wednesday, February 3, 2021 for our next Designer Challenge with a theme of "Hearts!"

Happy Crafting!

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 40: Swirling Snowflakes Pop Up Card

Welcome to our December Designer Challenge. Our theme this month is to use our new Mini Pops Pop-up in a card of any theme. I am showing how to use our smaller pop-up ball die, the Bitty Ball Pop-up, to animate the Mini Pops platforms, decorated with snowflakes from our Holiday Charms set.

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

My card is top fold and measures 6" wide by 5.5" tall when closed. On the front of the card I went with a simple lead-in using the Long Nature Edges and the Christmas Trees Pop Stand for the tree. To create a closure I used ribbon and a sewed-on snap closure and button. The ends of the ribbon are attached to the back of the card.

Open the snap to release the card, which springs open and reveals a forest surrounded by swirling snowflakes. The greeting is our large Merry Christmas die. In addition to the two snowflakes in the Holiday Charms, I also used the small snowflake from our Snowman die set.

In addition to the Mini Pops platforms used in the card itself, I also added them around the ball so that the snowflakes would appear suspended. I attached two trees to the ball and then added another tree attached to the first one. The 3D tree expands as the card opens, but folds flat for mailing.

Ready to give this card a try? For papers I used white, shimmer white, glitter white, gold metallic, green and brown from my stash.  Here are the dies and other supplies:

Now let's take a look at the wonderful creations by our talented Design Team. We've also invited a former DT member, Summer Hills-Painter, to be a guest designer for this challenge. For each of these cards you can click on the name of the designer to go to their blog post for more photos, supply lists and, in some cases, videos.

Karen Aicken made this very clever lift flap card with the Mini Pops inside. This is a great adaptation of the Fancy Label Accordion to create a different style card. I love the pops of color on the inside.

Frances Byrne made a wonderful slimline card featuring a snowman and forest on the Mini Pops platforms. What a clever idea to use the snowman's head for the title on the front!

Sandy Diller cleverly cut the Mini Pops spiral out of clear and doubled it for a long spiral full of birthday goodies. She also animated the greeting label, made using the new Slim Frames die set.

Lois Bak also made a slimline card with a wonderful scene. This one uses the Sleigh on the front, plus the Christmas Animals reindeer and the lights from the Holiday House as the reins. Then inside she has a fabulous scene with Santa and Mrs. Claus plus a tree, all animated with the Mini Pops.

Fran Sabad created these super cute gift tags using the spiral from the Mini Pops inside to animate the snowflakes. I love her styling of the Snowman, having him looking up at the swirling snow and creating a hat with a circle die.

Summer Hills-Painter joins us as a guest this month with this wonderful slimline card featuring the Mini Pops and our new Holiday House, among others, all decorated into a gingerbread town. This looks delicious enough to eat!

Join us next month for our first Designer Challenge of 2021. The theme is Thinking of You and it will be posted Wednesday, January 6, 2020. 

Happy Crafting!

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.

 

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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 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.

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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!

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.

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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.

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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 Designer Challenge 35: Two Folds - Slimline Circle Tag Book

Welcome to our July 2020 Designer Challenge.

This month the theme is Two Folds. I challenged the team to incorporate two folds into a card of any theme. 

For my card and video I am adding two folds inside a long Slimline card to be able to extend the Circle Tag Book Pop-up into a 6-panel pop-up instead of 4-panel pop-up. 

Watch the YouTube video to learn how to create this effect:

This side fold Slimline card measures 3.75" x 8.75" when closed, making it fit perfectly in a No. 10 business envelope. The donut paper is from Doodlebug.

When the card opens the extended Circle Tag Book pops up, revealing six circles instead of the usual four. This is a great way to make full use of the length of a slimline card as well as creating a lovely display piece. Imagine this technique used with photos for a wonderful mantelpiece holiday card.

The two extra folds are created by the back two circles and by adding those folds, the Circle Tag Book can be extended. The two center circles can remain solid or can be cut as frames to reveal the scene created on the back circles. Experiment!

In the video I teach ways to alter the Dog die to create different looks. Two of the dogs make use of the bear's body from the Winter Animals for a standing-up pose. The other dogs are altered by simply moving the heads, ears and faces into different positions.

In the video I also teach how I fashioned larger donuts as backdrops for the words. The smaller donuts are from the Sweet Treats Charms. The banners and borders come included in the Circle Tag Book. The larger circles are from the Crosshatch Circles die set.

Want to give this technique a try? Here are links to the supplies used in the video.

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Now let's take a look at the wonderful inspiration by our talented international Design Team.

Sandy Diller created this lovely summer camping scene. By using a gatefold card she has two interior folds to animate pop-ups. She chose a hybrid tree (Christmas Tree base plus Tree upper) and the Tent Pop-up. Notice the clever way she created a lake. Fabulous!

Lois Bak used the billboard technique with the Surprise Ball Pop-up to make this cheerful milestone birthday card. I love the way she holds it closed with a belly band and all the festive balloons. Lovely!

Kelly Booth created a bottom fold card with an upper flap, perfect to animate the Palm Tree Pop-up which she then decorated with adorable stamps from MFT. I love the whole beachy scene she's created. Amazing!

Fran Sabad had a blast with this rocket/train combo in a gatefold card. The colors and styling are so bright and fun and I love the way she used the train cars in a circle for the card front. Incredible!

Frances Byrne used the billboard technique with the Surprise Ball Pop-up for this very special milestone birthday card for a friend's mother. I especially love her clever repurposing of rounded rectangle dies into cake tiers. Fabulous!

Karen Aicken also made a milestone birthday card and what a fun way to use two folds to create an outdoor patio scene using the Family Room Pop-up and the Palm Tree Pop-up. She added greetings in keeping with the times, making this even more of a keepsake card. I love it!

Please join us next month on Wednesday, August 4th for our next Designer Challenge with a theme of Wing it!

Happy Crafting!

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 34 - Pattern Plates

Welcome to June 2020.

I had mixed feelings about posting a Designer Challenge at a time when our nation is so full of sorrow, struggle, anger and injustice. I considered, though, that our hobbies can be a source of peace in a time that feels so uncertain. Sending a handmade card can bring much-needed joy to others. It's very important that we keep our minds and spirits strong so that we can be part of the change this country so desperately needs.

And so, on with the challenge.

This month the theme is Pattern Plates. I challenged the team to use any of our Pattern Plates in a card of any theme. 

For my card and video I wanted to try something a little different. Spiral shapes can be used as pop-ups, and our Swirls Pattern Plate is full of little spirals/swirls. My thought was to attach the pattern plate to the Cupcake Pop-up and then glue the swirl centers to the card to create an interesting dimensional sculpture that could be decorated with cupcakes.

Watch the YouTube video to learn how to create this effect:

This top fold card measures 4.75" x 6" when closed, so it will fit nicely in an A7 envelope for mailing. For the front decoration I used leftover materials to create a simple lead-in. The large cupcake is included in the Cupcake Pop-up die set and the small cupcake charm is in the Birthday Charms die set.

When the card opens the cupcake pop-up comes forward and expands the spirals in the Swirls Pattern Plate. I covered the pop-up cupcake with one of our crosshatch circles to convert it into a generic backdrop for the swirl sculpture. The greeting is our large Happy Birthday die.

In the video I mention some other ideas for this technique. Treating the sculpture like streamers makes it perfect for any celebratory theme, like anniversary, graduation or retirement. But I also envision a cool look with underwater scenes, using the swirls as waves or seaweed. Our little animals also look adorable "climbing" on the sculpture. The frosting of all the larger cupcakes were cut from a piece of cardstock decorated with the same color Tiles Pattern Plate to resemble a dry embossed texture. 

Want to give this card a try? Here are the dies and supplies used in the video. The chevron patterned paper was a very old piece from my stash.

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Now let's take a look at the wonderful inspiration by our talented international Design Team.

Kelly Booth made this wonderful Coffee Cup Pop-up card and incorporated the Tiles Pattern Plate to decorate the cup itself. What a wonderful way to create texture on the cup. I love the masculine vibe to this card.

Kelly Booth made a second Coffee Cup Pop-up card and this time used the Swirls Pattern Plate to create the texture on the cup and front of the card. She went white-on-white for this card, making it look like a dry embossed texture. Such gorgeous colors!

Fran Sabad stacked three Tiles Pattern Plates on top of each other to make a dimensional frame for the front of this bright cheery card. The inside mechanism is the Upsy Daisy Pop-up. I just love the vibrant inking and uplifting (literally) feel to this card.

Karen Aicken combined some fun stamps from Riley and Co. with the Spinner Square Pop-up and Swirls Pattern Plate for a funny card about a dog named Shark! I love how Karen framed out the Swirls Pattern Plate on the front of the card.

Sandy Diller created this super cute Upsy Daisy Pop-up card featuring the Tiles Pattern Plate and the hedgehog from the Winter Animals. I love the bright fun colors on this and the way she stenciled the eyes differently on the two hedgehogs. Adorable! 

Frances Byrne has been rocking the popular slimline style of card. On this one she cleverly hid the seam between two Swirls Pattern Plates behind the castle spire. Inside the card the Katherine Label is used for the pop-up. This card just screams happy!

Lois Bak made THREE cards for the challenge! First up is a lovely mermaid card using the Swirls Pattern Plate and the Katherine Label Pop-up. I love how she sliced up the pattern plate to use it just on the bottom half of the card.

Next, Lois tackled the Flowers Pattern Plate, using two layered together for a gorgeous Heart Pivot Panels anniversary card.

For her final card, Lois used the Tiles Pattern Plate on a manly knight Father's Day card using the Rockin' Rectangle Pop-up die set. Lois really showed off the versatility of the Pattern Plates with her card variety this month.

 

If you are new to our Pattern Plates you can watch the assembly video here:

Please join us next month on Wednesday, July 8th for our next Designer Challenge with a theme of Two Folds. 

Happy Crafting!

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 33 - Treasure

Welcome to our May 2020 Designer Challenge.

Our theme for this month is Treasure. I challenged the team to use our new Treasure Chest and/or Treasure Charms in their projects. Although I say this every month, it's extra true with their cards this month - the team is amazing! You'll find links to their cards at the end of this post.

For my card and video I wanted to show another way to animate the Treasure Chest - this time using our Upsy Daisy Pop-up for the mechanism. By using two platforms in a clear-front side-fold card, the Upsy Daisy will lift the lid off of the Treasure Chest and slide it to the left, revealing the treasure. 

With it being graduation season I thought a congrats-themed money card was perfect for the theme. However, you can definitely make this card for other "treasured" themes - birthday, anniversary, friendship, thinking of you, thank you, mother's day, father's day, etc. Watch the video to learn how to make it:

In the closed position the card measures 5.5" x 4.25" and will fit in a standard A2 envelope for mailing. The front is a sheet of clear plastic, allowing the chest to be visible in the closed position.

Open the card and both parts of the treasure chest lift up and separate, revealing the treasure inside the card. I decorated with a combination of the included pieces from the Treasure Chest and then mixed in the Cruise Charms and Treasure Charms. The "congrats" is from Word Set 8 - Congrats.

I attached the money inside the chest using a belly band attached to the back. The money will slide out without damaging the card. For the coin from the Treasure Charms I first cut and embossed it from silver cardstock and then brushed Staz-on ink over the top and quickly wiped it away. This created the aged look you see here.

Ready to give this technique a try? Here are the supplies I used in the video. The woodgrain papers are old ones from my stash.

 

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Now let's take a look at the amazing Treasure cards by our talented design team. For each card simply click the designer's name to open their blog post in a new window. You'll find more photos, supply lists, tips, tricks and videos by visiting their blog posts.

Sandy Diller really knocked it out of the park this month with an amazing underwater floating seascape created by cutting a Pivot Panels die set out of acetate as the structure of the scene. She has a full video tutorial for this card, too. Awesome!

Frances Byrne used the Treasure Chest and Treasure Charms on the Parcel Pop-up to create this fabulous tropical card. She mixed in stamps from MFT for a perfect mix of dies and stamps. Love that striped background and the message in a bottle washing ashore.

Fran Sabad made this mermazing card by combining the Treasure Chest, Parcel Pop-up and some sweet rainbow-finned mermaids. I love how the crab steals the key from the mermaid to open the chest inside. Out of this world!

Kelly Booth turns up the awww factor with this summer-themed hello card featuring a dog pirate and our Swirls Pattern Plate. I love the soft pastel clouds as a backdrop to the Treasure Chest, animated with the Parcel Pop-up. Adorable!

Karen Aicken shows how wonderfully the Treasure and Cruise Charms fit on the Photo Collage Pop-up for this nautical masterclass. The color scheme is perfection and I love all the little vignettes on this card. Ahoy!

Lois Bak shows how the Treasure Chest can be used on the front of a card as a hinged reveal. She combined it with the Circle Tag Book and Treasure Charms and mixed in a cute stamp from Stampendous. What a great double reveal card!

One thing I treasure is our enormously talented design team. Join us next month on Wednesday, June 3, 2020 for a Designer Challenge with the theme of Pattern Plates. 

Happy Crafting!