Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 59: Spinners!

Welcome to our July Designer Challenge with a theme of "Spinners." I challenged the team to create a card using any of our motion dies. Once again, their creativity is off the charts!

For my card and video I'm showing how to add three Spinner Square Pop-ups to a card for triple the motion. 

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

This top-fold card measures 5" x 6" in the closed position. Patterned papers are from Photo Play's "Add Another Candle" collection. The decoration for the front is made by combining rectangles and banners from the Slim Flaps and Frames die set with a streamer from the Big Birthday Charms and the corners from the Spinner Square Pop-up.

Open the card and all three spinners bring up items. The back spinner animates the right pole. The middle spinner brings up the Happy Birthday greeting and the front spinner animates the present. I added the slice of cake from the Big Birthday Charms to the front square and used rectangles from the Slim Flaps and Frames as a place to sign the card. The pole comes from our Street Lantern Pop-up die set. 

Ready to give this card a try? Here are the dies and supplies I used in the video:

Now let's take a look at the inspiring Spinner creations by our talented Design Team. For each of their cards you can click on the name to open their blog post in a new window. The information you seek about supplies, tips, tricks, photos and videos are on their blogs.

Fran Sabad used the Pop 'n Swap die set to create this delightful slimline card with a fast food theme. She followed the basic structure of this video tutorial and then customized with her own colors, theme and styling. What a fun card!

Frances Byrne made this bright and cheerful slimline double spinner birthday card for the challenge and I adore it! Click over to Frances's blog to see a short video of this card opening and closing. It has fun opposite motion that is sure to delight the recipient!

Karen Aicken did something very clever for her card. The Spinner Square is added to the card in the usual manner for a side fold card, but then she turned the card and decorated it as a top-fold card. This allows the pop-up square and spinner arm to suspend above the card's floor panel and creates a delightful spin reveal to the Celebrate greeting. I absolutely love how Karen used the Memory Charms on the back wall of the card. Definitely click over to Karen's blog for a full video walk-through of this card. Amazing!

Lois Bak used the Spinner Square for a fun Quidditch-themed card including a clear spinner arm for a flying effect. Make sure you click over to her blog to see the front of the card and to watch a video of this card opening and closing. I love how she added the initials of the houses to the banners. Great card!

Sandy Diller has a card that is more fun than a barrel of monkeys! Oh wait - it IS a barrel of monkeys! Sandy used the Mailbox Pop-up mechanism to make the double spinner card, having a monkey spin on the front of the barrel while two more spin up behind the barrel. She has a full YouTube tutorial for how she made this card, so definitely click over to her post to watch that video. This card is spectacular!

Well hopefully the team has inspired you to make some SPINNER cards of your own. Join us next month on Wednesday, August 3rd, 2022 for our next Designer Challenge with a theme of LABELS! The team will be making cards featuring pop-up labels. It will also be the first challenge of our expanded Design Team with four new members. You won't want to miss it!

Happy Crafting!

Well hopefully the team has inspired you to make some SPINNER cards of your own. Join us next month on Wednesday, August 3rd, 2022 for our next Designer Challenge with a theme of LABELS! The team will be making cards featuring pop-up labels. It will also be the first challenge of our expanded Design Team with four new members. You won't want to miss it!

Happy Crafting!

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 46 - Set the Scene!

Welcome to our June Designer Challenge with a theme of SET THE SCENE! I challenged the team to create cards featuring a scene of some sort. Their cards are as amazing as always.

For my card I created a Tiny House Pop-up scene that incorporates a second pop-up, the Spinner Square Pop-up, attached to the side of the house to elevate and animate the greeting label. As the card opens the house pops up and the label spins slightly.

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

The card measures 4.25" x 5.5" when closed and will fit in an A2 envelope for mailing. For the front decoration I made a very simple lead-in by repeating elements from the card's interior. 

Once opened the full scene is revealed. The Tiny House pops up, bringing the Tiny Tree with it and also engaging the Spinner Square, which lifts and rotates the greeting. Attached to the greeting label is a butterfly charm from the Backyard Charms, attached with small jump rings. The hello greeting is from Word Set 6.

The Tiny House roof die has an optional built-in stamp layer. Simply ink the die before die cutting and the shingle pattern will be stamped on the roof during the die cutting process.

Ready to give this card a try? The patterned papers are Carta Bella Farmhouse Market. Here are the dies and other supplies used:

NOTE: Amazon links are affiliate links where I receive a small commission on the sale at no cost to you. 

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Now let's take a look at the awesome scenes created by our talented design team. For each of these cards there is a full blog post, supply list and, for some of the cards, a video as well. Click the designer's name to visit the blog post, which will open in a new window.

Fran Sabad combined the royalty dies with the new Slim Flaps and Frames for a stunning castle scene. The details are incredible! Definitely click over to Fran's blog to see all of the photos of this amazing card. Wow!

Karen Aicken created a shadow box front for her slimline card and then filled it with a gorgeous layered die cut scene. This looks ready to go on the wall as art! Make sure you click to her blog to see the interactive interior of the card. Stunning!

Kelly Booth made an orchard of cute tiny pink trees and then strung banners between them for an adorable birthday card. On her blog post you'll see the card's front and more angles to view all of the details of this sweet card.

Sandy Diller used the Fancy Label Accordion as a backdrop for a whole farm in a card. This is such a great illustration of how the decorator pieces from several sets can combine together for beautiful scenery. Click to Sandy's blog to see a video of this card in action.

Frances Byrne created a lovely picnic vista in a top fold slimline card. This card combines several of our die sets and uses the Mini Pops Pop-up to animate the trees and picnic basket. I love all the details in this and especially how the blanket crosses into the background of the card as well. Click to Frances's blog to see more.

Lois Bak created an entire enchanted forest for here cute fence-perching fairies. This uses the Mushroom Tiny House Add-ons with the Tiny House and also the Tiny Trees. There are so many lovely details to this card and the front is equally stunning so head over to Lois's blog for a peek.

Hopefully this month's cards have you longing for wide open spaces! Join us next month on July 7, 2021 when we'll be taking on the challenge to create Tag Books. 

We started our Mission Poppable hashtag with last month's challenge and have been delighted with the projects posted. For the May challenge our winner (by random draw) is Suzanne S. with an adorable little purple Tiny House card that you can see on her blog here. 

Each challenge will bring a new mission and you have a month to complete it. You are welcome to post more than one card for the mission, which will increase your chances to win by random draw.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to make your own card following this month's challenge theme of "Set the Scene." Make sure your card features our die(s) heavily. Post your card on Instagram using the hashtag #missionpoppable OR on our Facebook Group Karen Burniston Pop-up Peeps OR both. Be sure to use the hashtag so we can find your card. You have until the next Designer Challenge date (July 7, 2021) to complete your mission. This message will not self-destruct because I don't know how to do that.

We will choose a winner by random draw from all the cards for a $25 credit to our website. The winner will be contacted via messenger or e-mail. 

Make sure if you're posting on the Karen Burniston Pop-up Peeps Facebook Group that you follow the rules of the group. Outside product is allowed, but not for the pop-up portion of the card. Cards posted on the group must heavily feature our brand. You can find us on Instagram @karenburnistonbrand and also my personal account @karenburniston

Happy Crafting!

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 44 - Yummy!

Welcome to our April Designer Challenge with a theme of YUMMY! I challenged the team to make cards that feature something delicious.

I chose to make my card as an ode to chocolate. 

This card features two Spinner Squares inside a slimline card, plus a variety of chocolate treats made using our charm sets. Learn how to make this card by watching the full YouTube tutorial:

This card measures 4" x 9" in the closed position and can be mailed in a No. 10 business envelope. The front is meant to look like a big chocolate bar. It's made using a combination of our Long Crosshatch Rectangles, a square from the Spinner Square and our Alphabet set.

As the card opens the two spinner arms start to move.

Once open, the greeting is revealed and a decadent array of chocolate treats are layered on the pop-up squares.

All of the squares and the lacy frame come included in the Spinner Square die set. For the chocolate treats, I combined pieces from several charm sets, including Treasure, Camping, Love and Fast Food.

This double-opposite-spinner-square-slimline (say that five times fast!) is a very generic technique that can be decorated for any theme. Here are the products used on my version:

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Now let's take a look at all the delicious inspiration from our talented design team. I encourage you to click their names to visit their blog posts, where you will find supply lists, more photos, explanations and, in some cases, videos!

Karen Aicken's idea of "yummy" is right up my alley! She made a very clever and beautiful gatefold Circle Charm Pop-up in a slimline card and decorated it in a wine theme. The shimmer cardstock adds such a soft elegance to the card. 

Frances Byrne combined fabulous colors for this top-fold slimline featuring the Ice Cream Sundae Pop-up and our Border Blends. It's a very clever design with a shortened card panel, allowing the greeting to be viewed in both the closed and open position. Yummy, indeed!

Fran Sabad celebrated the delicious decadence of fast food in this clever Explosion Pop-up card. Her styling on the Fast Food charms is divine, and I love the two-tone Party Border Blends. The front medallion made with French fries is so eye-catching!

Sandy Diller made a top fold slimline full of pop-up cupcakes and my mouth is watering! She brilliantly combined three Upsy Daisy mechanisms to animate the cupcakes and includes a full video tutorial for how she did it. The colors on this are so vibrant and cheery!

Lois Bak used the Circle Tag Book to make this sweet birthday card. She glued the tag book inside a larger card for more real estate. I love the combination of dies here. It's a great illustration of how the decorator pieces from multiple sets can combine into a custom card.

Kelly Booth finishes us up this month with this stunning Coffee Cup Pop-up card featuring a garland of yummy treats on the front. Everything about this card, from the colors to the shading to the clever mini-cup-on-the-cup styling is awesome!

Well hopefully you're both inspired and hungry!

Join us next month on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 for our next challenge with a theme of NEW DIES! We'll all be making cards featuring our April 2021 release. New dies will be available in stores at the end of next week and on our website starting April 19, 2021.

Happy Crafting!

Charity Blog Hop - Kat Scrappiness and Coffee Oasis Youth

Welcome! Today we are participating in a wonderful charity blog hop organized by Kat Scrappiness. It's for The Coffee Oasis - a very worthy cause benefitting homeless youth. You can find out all about the cause and hop on the Kat Scrappiness blog here: 

http://katscrappinessblog.com/charity-blog-hop/

As a sponsor, we are giving away a set of the two dies used in my Snowman Double Spinner card. Two lucky winners will each receive the Spinner Square and Snowman die sets. (Winners may opt for a $30 store credit in lieu of the dies if they already own one or both)

There are two ways to participate and enter prize drawings in this blog hop.

• Option One: Create a winter themed card and enter it into the blog hop. If you are entering your card to the blog hop, just click on "Add Your Link" at the bottom of the list (scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to find the list) and follow the instructions, it's quick and easy! If you have any questions on how to enter the blog hop, please contact Kat Scrappiness and they will be happy to help.
  
  
• Option Two: Leave a comment on the blogs and YouTube channels participating in the hop! We will pick a super commenter to win a prize too!

You have until December 13, 2018 to enter with either comments or by adding a card to the hop. (Or both!)

 

Earlier this week I posted a video tutorial for our monthly designer challenge teaching a Double Spinner Tag Card. Here is that video:

 

 

I love this technique so much that I wanted to show another version. Here is the video tutorial. It is the exact same double spinner technique a in the video above, just modified for a hand-cut tag card. I also show a fun technique for creating a deboss pattern using die cut shapes and cutting pads.

 

 

For this version I cut my own tag card and made it a little taller than the ones made using the Tag Book die set. The snowman card measures 3.75" x 6" when closed. A snowman peeks through the window from the side, even giving a little wave with his stick arm.

 

 

As the card opens you get a glimpse that all the snowman parts are separated. The spinners start to move everything into position.

 

 

Once open, the snowman is assembled. The greeting stamp is from Stacey Yakula for Purple Onion Designs.

 

 

If you'd like to make this card you'll need just two dies, some cardstock, a scrap of transparency for the window pane, enamel dots or rhinestones for buttons, a greeting stamp (or hand write your own) and ribbon for the scarf and tags. Here are some shopping links:

One last thing before I send you hopping with the links below. Please consider a donation of any amount to this wonderful cause. You can learn more about them here: Coffee Oasis Youth Programs. Here's just a little snippet from their website:

Our goal is to be “out there.” Wherever they are. In the midst of whatever they’re going through.
To compassionately guide troubled and at-risk youth into lives of dignity, integrity and responsibility.
To see not just youth lives changed, but the world around them change and become a place that cares for hurting youth.

The Coffee Oasis offers all resources, services, activities, and programs without regard to religious beliefs, race, color, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.

An InLinkz Link-up

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 16 - Ink it!

Well I can't believe it's December already. How did that happen?!

This month we have a theme of "Ink it!" where I challenged the team to use some sort of ink technique (or paints, pastes or sprays) in a card of any theme. The results are impressive as usual! For my card and video I'm teaching a fun Double Spinner Tag Card. 

This video is longer than usual because of the ink techniques, so here are your section stops for sliding ahead: 1:55 for Ink it! 5:00 for Cutting the Window! 5:52 for Double Spinners! 12:21 for Decorating the Spinners! 14:52 for Finishing the Card!

 

This card is made using the large tag, hinge and hole protectors included in the Tag Book die set. You can alternately create your own tag-shaped card measuring 3" x 6" when closed. The front decor is made using the Wine Charms die set, plus a frame from the Spinner Square.

As the card opens, the scene visible through the window starts to come to life. The wine bottle starts to pour and a wine glass spins into view. This is accomplished with two Spinner Square mechanisms.

Once open, the scene is revealed. The greeting is a Riley and Co. Funny Bones stamp.

A piece of embroidery floss acts as the pouring wine. The leaves are from the Autumn Elements die set, meant to give the feel of grape vines. 

The nice thing about this double spinner tag card technique is that it's so universal for any theme imaginable. Don't like wine? (Wait . . .what?!) Try it in a different theme. Here's a holiday version using the Flowers and Bee die set instead of the Wine Charms. By cutting the petals into points, the flowers resemble poinsettias. The same maple leaf as in the wine card can be trimmed into holly leaves.

For this version I added scalloped squares from the Spinner Square set to each of the spinners. They start to move as the card is opened.

Once opened the greeting is revealed. The stamp is Verve, from my stash. The banners come included with the Tag Book die set. Papers are very old holiday designs from my stash.

Ready to give this technique a try? Here are links to the products used on the two versions shown. 

 

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Check out the clever inky ideas by the design team. In each case, click their name to open a new window with their blog post. On their blog posts you'll find more photos, supply lists, instructions and even videos about their cards.

Helen Cryer inked her background in a gorgeous ombre effect for this Sleigh Pop-up card.  The colors are hip and happy and I love the addition of the ribbon bow to the featured present below the greeting. I say it every month, but this card is Helencredible!

Kelly Booth created this stunning Tag Book which started all white before she layered on the ink for a festive bright blue background. She even inked the ribbon to match! I love the details on this, including the frosty glittery trees and reindeer from the Christmas Animals set. Perfection!

Irene Mendes combined the Charm Accordion die set with houses from the House Pivot Panels die set for this fabulous 4-page staggered accordion. The details, like one plaid page, bows above the pivots, dimensional snow and little plaid houses are darling!

Shelly Hickox knows her way around inks! For this gorgeous Twist Panel card she created the backgrounds with stamps and inks plus she has great tips for how to highlight stamped images after watercoloring. The stacked foiled Alphabet letters for the JOY greeting are brilliant!

Lois Bak created an amazing northern lights effect for this pretty house-on-a-hill card. The Tree Pop-up adorns the yard with a tire swing providing the perfect perch for gazing at the night sky. Really lovely!

Sandy Diller has posted a full video tutorial for this marvelous Circle Charm scene. Her video shows how she makes foam stamps from the snowflake dies to stamp, emboss and ink the bright blue snowy background. Love her addition of the little animals to the scene!

Frances Byrne knows how to create a scene! This month is no exception with this fabulous glimpse at the north pole preparations for team Santa. Frances used the Katherine Label to animate the greeting as the card is opened. She also embellished the landscape with die cut evergreen trees.

 

Karen Aicken combined the most beautiful colors for this Sleigh Pop-up card. I love the black sleigh filled with shiny treasures. The background and the sleigh are both inked with stencils for a custom look. Gorgeous!

Summer Hills-Painter has the perfect idea for dressed up gift card giving. She created a magical winter wonderland on the front of the card with the Outdoor Scene die and a snow-splattered sky. Inside the card she's featured the Gift Card Label. 

Fran Sabad wraps us up this month (and year!) with this absolutely adorable Tag Book featuring an inked background and some very cute snowmen stamps. She also used our big script Merry Christmas and the Nature Edges.

Have a wonderful December and we hope you'll join us next month (and year) on Wednesday, January 2, 2019 for our next challenge, with a theme of "NEW!" - everyone will be trying something new - either a technique, color scheme, theme, style, etc.

Happy Crafting!

 

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 08 - Hip to be Square!

Welcome to our April Designer Challenge with a theme of "Hip to be Square!" I challenged the team to use squares in their projects this month. 

You'll see lots of inspiration this month for using the Spinner Square Pop-up die set and others. For my project and video I had an idea to do a double window card with the Spinner Square so that you would see all the overlapping layers in the closed position and then the scene would reveal itself as the card opens.

Watch the full video tutorial below:

In keeping with the theme, I chose a square card. This card measures 5x5 and will mail for a single stamp in an A7 envelope. In the closed position you can see palm fronds behind the sun.

As the card opens the spinner arm moves from behind the sun, revealing another palm tree and a hitchhiking crab, holding a heart. The sun appears to be suspended in the opening, attached to a transparency.

I challenged myself on this card not to fill every inch of available space with color and elements. I wanted it uncluttered, even though there's a lot going on. For the crab, I went with a brown color scheme so the heart would really stand out in her claws. I added Wink of Stella glitter pen to the crab and to the sun for a little sparkle.

As I mentioned in the video, I encourage experimentation with this technique. My original idea was to have the sun atttached to the blue paper in the background so it would only be revealed when the card opened. In that case, as the square moved out of the way you would see the sun through the second window. However, the sun looked a little small and lost in the background, so I moved it up onto the transparency as a floating element instead.

Another idea would be to have an animal in the background and another on the spinner arm so that one moves out of the way and reveals the other.

Oh, and one last idea - you could remove the transparency from the small window and put an object on thread across the opening and then wind it up and close the card. Open the card and that item spins in the window! So many possibilities!

Karen Burniston die sets are available at independent and online craft stores throughout the world. You can also shop on our website. Here are links to the items used in the video. The blue striped paper is an older Echo Park design (retired) from my stash, so just substitute something similar.

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Get ready for another round of amazing inspiration by the talented Design Team. In each case, I encourage you to click their name, which will open their individual blog posts in a new window. You'll be able to see more photos, tips, full supply lists, etc.

Fran Sabad chose fun hip colors for her soda pop Spinner Square card. I love how fresh and exciting this card is - such a great mix of stamps and papers.

Kelly Booth had a very clever idea to use square panels on the Twist Panel die set instead of the included rectangles. She substituted decorator dies from the Spinner Square set to give a similar look, but in a very "hippo to be square" way. Also - that coloring! Swoon!

Shelly Hickox is the queen of fussy cutting Graphic 45 paper into individual elements that she then combines in amazing ways. This Spinner Square card is exquisite. I love how she placed the butterflies so they both spin out on the arm at different angles.

Summer Hills-Painter made this absolutely fabulous kid-themed building blocks Spinner Square card. The coloring on the block people is amazing! I also love the mix of elements in the background as the card opens. 

Helen Cryer has tremendous talent for mixing patterns and colors into exquisite cards. For the challenge she used the Charm Accordion and mixed in elements from other die sets for a bright and cheerful birthday card. I love the open frames with items suspended across the openings. Gorgeous!

Karen Aicken made this stunning mermaid-themed card and there are so many clever elements. She tripled the mermaid's hair and tinged her skin blue. She converted the shark into a dolphin! Always be a mermaid, indeed!

Frances Byrne dropped the mic with this terrific Spinner Square card. I am in awe of all the perfectly placed and colored images and the entire vibrant fun feel to this party. Also notice her fun highlighting of the Number 6 with white dots. Love this!

As usual, the team has blown me away with their talents and expertise. Join us next month on Wednesday, May 2, 2018 for our next Designer Challenge with a theme of PARADISE! Can't wait!

Happy Crafting!

 

 

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I am not left-handed: Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 07 - Coffee & Cake

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!

Winter 2018 Spinner Square Pop-up Assembly Video

ACK! In good news, the new Winter 2018 dies start shipping out TOMORROW! Store orders have already been shipped, so you will see these dies showing up in your favorite local and online stores any day now. In bad news . . . I still have assembly videos to complete!

Today's assembly video is for the Spinner Square Pop-up. This die has no theme and will work for any occasion. There are so many possibilities with this one! Watch the video tutorial:

I decided to style the Spinner Square with some of the new tropical dies for a fun "hello" card. The card is a standard A2 card - 5.5" x 4.25" when closed and will mail for a single stamp in an A2 envelope.

When the card opens the shark will spin down from behind the square to say "hello"! The Spinner Square makes cards that people will want to open/close/open/close! 

Karen Burniston die sets are available at many independent and online retailers throughout the world. We love it when people ask for our products at their local stores. If you are sadly without a local store, you can always shop on our website. The dies have just arrived in time for our promised ship date of February 1st. We do have a lot of orders to fill, so they will be processed in the order received.

And now . . . back to more videos! Thanks for watching!