Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 38 - 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!

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 32 - Tree

Welcome to our April 2020 Designer Challenge.

Our theme for this month is Tree. I challenged the team to create a card using any of our die sets that include a tree. For my card and video I wanted to revisit two of my all-time favorite die sets - the Tree Pop-up and the Nature Edges. To add a new element, I am teaching an alternate way to use the included pop-up die to make angled platforms instead of straight.

Watch the full assembly video here:

This card measures 5x5 when closed and features our brand new Flowers Pattern Plate on the front. I trimmed it down to make it fit the square card.

When the card opens the two angled platforms allow the trees to pop up and outward, extending beyond the limits of the card. The Nature Edges are combined to make the grassy meadow and the cloud-filled sky.

Here are links to the products used in the video:

 

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Let's take a look at the amazing tree cards by our talented design team. For each card, you can click the designer's name to open a new tab with their associated blog post.

Sandy Diller cleverly combined the Tree Pop-up with a house from the House Pivot Panels to make a treehouse card! What a cute idea!

Lois Bak created this darling double-wide Woven Basket Box Card to celebrate Easter. I love the mixture of charms, animals and the Tree.

Karen Aicken shows how well Christmas dies can be repurposed into nature dies. She has used the Christmas Trees Pop Stand plus the reindeer styled as a deer. I love all the evergreens throughout this masculine card. 

Fran Sabad made this joyful beach scene card using the Snowman Twist Circle die set (minus the snowman) She mixed in a bunch of other dies to create the scene and, in an extremely clever repurposing, used the Halloween Charms Ghost die to create a beach towel. Clever!

Kelly Booth created this beachy Woven Basket Box Card incorporating palm trees. I just love all the fun touches. Notice that the Sea Animals shark is styled as an orca! Brilliant!

Frances Byrne cleverly created an integrated pop-up into her scene. She used the new Paper Frames Pop-up and inked it to match the background scenery. She decorated with stamps and evergreen trees from our Evergreen Pivot Panels die set.

Another fabulous challenge by our fabulous team. Hopefully you gained some tree-spiration! Join us next month on May 6 2020 for our next challenge with a theme of TREASURE.

Happy Crafting!

 

Another fabulous challenge by our fabulous team. Hopefully you gained some tree-spiration! Join us next month on May 6 2020 for our next challenge with a theme of TREASURE.

Happy Crafting!

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 31 - In Case You Missed It

Happy March!

Our theme for this month's Designer Challenge is In Case You Missed it (ICYMI) where I challenged the team to repost an older Designer Challenge (DC) card and to be inspired by it to create a new version. For my card and video I took inspiration from Designer Challenge 23: Picture This! where I first taught how to assemble the Photo Collage Pop-up die set. 

My inspired version is a birthday card for John, who turns 50 in a few days. I wanted to try the Photo Collage in a clear front card. For an added challenge I also added 50 birthday candles.

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

The card measures 5" x 6" in the closed position and fits nicely in an A7 envelope. The clear front allows the Photo Collage to be seen in the closed position, so some of the photos and candles are attached to the back of the pop-up inside. Other photos and candles are attached to the front of the plastic. For those elements I made sure to attach the same shaped object to the inside of the plastic so the adhesive would be hidden. The "fifty" title was die cut using our Alphabet set with two layers stacked on top of each other for a subtle tone-on-tone look.

As the card opens the elements that are attached to the back of the pop-up "disappear" to the back and the photo collage starts to twist open.

Once open, the interior scene is revealed, with 9 photos attached to the pop-up. The paper is an older piece of Simple Stories patterned paper from my stash. I clipped the "happy birthday to you" greeting from the paper. The candles are made by adding washi tape strips to yellow cardstock before cutting the candles. 

2020 is a milestone year for us. We both turn 50 this year (but I shall enjoy my 40's for a few more months, thank you very much!) and our 25th wedding anniversary is in October. 

Ready to make your own personalized milestone birthday card? Here's what you need:

Get ready for amazing ICYMI inspiration with these fabulous Design Team projects. For each project you may click the designer's name to open a new tab with their blog post. On their blog posts you'll find supply lists, more photos, tips, videos, etc. Click away!

Kelly Booth was inspired by two cards she made for DC22 Beach Day. She combined elements from both cards into a brand new Surprise Ball card celebrating a day at the beach. I love her shaped belly band and the way she used the hexagons from the Surprise Ball as labels on the card.

Karen Aicken took her inspiration from last month's challenge, DC 30 Double! She repeated her clever doubling of the Cupcake Pop-up into a side fold card and then covered the cupcake shapes with squares to convert the card into an any-theme generic pop-up. Brilliant and so pretty!

Sandy Diller chose her inspiration card not from a previous Designer Challenge, but from a fun birthday card she made for a friend using the Gift Pivot Panels. Her new version is for her son's birthday, and features bright happy colors and a mix of dies and stamps. I love how she used an inset of solid orange inside the card to set off the pop-up.

Fran Sabad was inspired by her rocket/train mash-up card in DC 19 Enjoy the Ride for the styling of her adorable Easter card using the Train Pivot Panels. The details in this card are incredible! Notice all the fun cargo in the train cars and the generous sprinkling of eggs for the hunt. Love this!

Frances Byrne made an adorable card for DC 23 Picture This! featuring Frankie, her grandpuppy. She took inspiration from that card to create a new Frankie card, this time with the Tag Book Pop-up featuring designer dies pulled from the Photo Collage set. What a sweet birthday pup and a fabulous card!

Lois Bak found inspiration in the card she made for DC 27 Holiday Accordions. She created a new version of her Charm Accordion card, this time for St. Patrick's Day. I love the addition of the solid front panel to the card. It allows a big surface to add a fun stamp. 

Well there you have it. Another great batch of inspiring cards by our Design Team with a chance to go back and see some gems you may have missed the first time. Join us next month on April 8, 2020 for our next challenge with a theme of TREE.

Happy Crafting!

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 30 - Double!

Happy February!

Our Designer Challenge for this month has a theme of "Double!". I challenged the team to double up their pop-ups for a card of any theme. They could either use two of the same pop-up in a card, or combine two different pop-ups in an interesting way.

The team has been posting some very fun animals created by stacking our Surprise Ball Pop-up. You'll see several double-ball animals for this month's challenge. I wanted to try my hand at a double-ball animal and came up with a lizard. The offset stacking of the Surprise Balls makes for a different look at allows the animal to pop out further than the limits of the card - always a fun effect!

Learn how I made it by watching the full video tutorial:

My card measures 6.5" square when closed. It is held closed by using the flap from the Flap and Closure die set on the right edge of the card and then a magnet/ribbon closure. The papers are older ones from my stash. I used a few dies to decorate the front of the card, including the Circles - Crosshatch, a balloon from the Explosion Pop-up, Border Blends - Party and Word Set 2 - Birthday. 

Lift the ribbon to release the card. A cute lizard pops up on the right side of the card. Spin the lizard to see all sides. I used the Crosshatch Circles set for the greeting circles, the eyes and the mouth. The other circles come included in the Surprise Ball set. The tail and legs are hand cut.

To make nostrils, I used the inner parts of the lamb ears from the Chicken, Pig and Lamb set. 

Want to make your own lizard? What other animals can you style using this technique of an offset stacked Surprise Ball set? Here are the supplies used on my card:

Get ready for DOUBLE the inspiration with these fabulous Design Team projects. For each project you may click the designer's name to open a new tab with their blog post. On their blog posts you'll find supply lists, more photos, tips, videos, etc. Click away!

Frances Byrne created this fabulous stacked Surprise Ball penguin. The sleeve-style card keeps the animal flat for mailing and then offers such a fun surprise as it slides out and pops up. Such a clever and fun design.

Fran Sabad's double stacked Surprise Ball is decorated as a birthday piggy. Squee! I am so impressed with how the team manages to find “pieces and parts” for the animals from other die sets.

Frances Byrne also made this amazing double Surprise Ball panda. Incredible! Click over to her blog post to read how she made bamboo for her panda. So creative!

Lois Bak made a large card to hold two side-by-side Surprise Ball billboards. Such a special card for the happy couple. 

Lois also made a stacked Surprise Ball minion card with a banana-pull tab. What perfect styling to recreate these popular little cuties.

Sandy Diller created a full YouTube video to teach this stunning combination of the Fancy Label Accordion and Heart Pivot Panels. I love this clever combination for an over-the-top way to say I Love You!

Kelly Booth combined the Woven Basket Box card with the Coffee Cup Pop-up for a sweet Valentine's bouquet. I love the mix of woodgrain with the pinks and reds. So sweet!

Kelly Booth made a second version of her Woven Basket/Coffee Cup mash-up, this time with a bouquet of Love Charms delivered by the Feathered Animals. Absolutely adorable!

Karen Aicken always has great ideas for how to repurpose and stretch die sets. Her challenge card is the perfect example - turning the Cupcake Pop-up sideways and doubling it, then embellishing with the Gift Card Label. I love these soft pretty colors and the generic repurposing of the cupcake set.

Well that's a wrap on another challenge full of great inspiration by the team. Join us next month on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 for our next challenge with a theme of Treasure!

Happy Crafting!

 

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 29 - Hearts!

Welcome to our first Designer Challenge of 2020. This month our theme is "Hearts" and you'll find some lovely heartfilled cards by our Design Team to inspire you.

For my card and video I am showing how to use the Surprise Ball Pop-up to animate a circle billboard, suitable for any theme. In keeping with the challenge I decorated mine for Valentine's Day.

Learn the technique by watching the full YouTube video here:

This card measures 5.5" square when closed. The front is decorated with patterned paper (Crate Paper Main Squeeze, from my stash) and two love note charms from the Love Charms. The scalloped edge pieces were made using the Tropical Scene die set.

Because of the bulky bead closure, it would need a bubble mailer, but I plan to give it in person. You can always swap out the closure for something more mail-friendly, like a tie closure, belly band or magnets.

Once the closure is released, the billboard will pop-up, attached to the Surprise Ball. The billboard is created on a base of the largest Crosshatch Circle and decorated with Love Charms and our Happy Valentine's Day word die. The inside patterned paper (PhotoPlay Candy Hearts) is also from my stash. 

Here are the supplies used in the video. This technique would work wonderfully for any theme by swapping out the papers and embellishments.

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Let's take a look at the wonderful inspiration by our talented Design Team. 

Frances Byrne created this fabulous Circle Tag Book featuring the Heart Pivot Panels. Love the touches of cream and gold to highlight the red/pink color scheme. 

Karen Aicken combined red and kraft for this fabulous Surprise Ball Valentine. I especially love the paper yoyo on the top of the ball. Check out Karen's blog for a video of this card in action.

Fran Sabad made two cards for the challenge showing the Heart Pivot Panels two ways - in a standard card and then combined with the Twist Panel Pop-up. The foil elements and patterned hearts are gorgeous.

Sandy Diller cleverly combined the Tag Book Pop-up with the Heart Pivot Panels to create this unique card with elements of both pop-ups. She has a full video tutorial for how she made it on her blog post, so be sure to click over and watch it. Love the combination of pink and teal on this.

Lois Bak created this magnificent light-up Surprise Ball Valentine. She has more information and a video of the card in action on her blog post. This is such a cool effect and the EZ-Lights from Pear Blossom Press work so wonderfully with our pop-up dies that we are now carrying them on our website.

Kelly Booth created two amazing cards for the challenge. First up, she combined the Circle Tag Book and Heart Pivot Panels for a fun vibrant Valentine. I like how she added the Love Charms to the pop-up.

Kelly's second card is absolutely adorable, combining our Surprise Ball Pop-up with cute googly-eyed stamped frogs. One of the frogs is on an action wobbler for even more interactive fun.

Hopefully you feel inspired by a hearty helping of heart-filled cards. Join us next month on Wednesday, February 5, 2020 for our next Designer Challenge. 

Happy Crafting!

 

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 27: Holiday Accordions

Happy November!

For our challenge this month the theme is Holiday Accordions. The team was instructed to use either our Charm Accordion die set or our Fancy Label Accordion die set to make a card celebrating the upcoming holidays. 

My card and video is a technique for using the Fancy Label Accordion to create a bigger version of the Charm Accordion by adding your own little charm frames between the pages. Watch the video to learn this technique.

The Fancy Label Accordion measures 4.75" square when folded up, so it can be mailed in an A7 envelope. I decorated the outer frames with the companion Fancy Flourish Frames die set by coating the outer frames with tape runner, adding the frames, and then sprinkling glitter onto the leftover adhesive.

Open the card to reveal a fun 4-page accordion with extra charm frames in between the outer pages, holding a small snowflake charm from the Winter Charms set. 

In the video I show how you can change the location of the face of the Snowman die to create different looks. The greeting is a Paper Smooches stamp set from my stash.

Want to give this card a try? Here are links to the products used:

 

Let's look at some additional Holiday Accordion inspiration by our talented design team. 

Karen Aicken used the Charm Accordion for this delightful card that has treasures on each page and even displays on the back as well. If you pop on over to her blog there's a video of this card in action. Love it!

Fran Sabad also used the Charm Accordion and decorated it as cookie sheets with gingerbread cookies. So sweet! (pun intended)

Helen Cryer shows off the Charm Accordion with a mixture of the Winter Charms die set plus some premade embellishments from a collection pack. I love the addition of the ribbon bow over the snowflake!

Frances Byrne shows how perfectly the Fancy Label Accordion can be used to showcase stamps. I love that she added a solid panel as the final page to her album. Adorable!

Lois Bak created a staggered Charm Accordion with a solid panel front. What a great idea to spell out NOEL on the pages!

Sandy Diller demonstrates how the Fancy Label Accordion can be used to make a 2-page card. She packed the Sleigh with cute penguins and used our Enjoy the Ride die set as a title. I love the way the snowflakes are used as frame decor.

Kelly Booth created a lovely 3-page Fancy Label Accordion to celebrate Thanksgiving. She used gorgeous plaid papers and sweet stamps. Such a clever way to do the greeting, too.

Kelly Booth made a second holiday accordion for the challenge, this time to showcase Christmas stamps. I love how she added the banners across the first two pages.

Join us next month on December 4, 2019 for our next Designer Challenge with a theme of Surprise! We will be showcasing the new Surprise Ball Pop-up and the new Parcel Pop-up die sets for cards that surprise and delight!

Happy Crafting!