Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 81: From the Vault

Welcome to the May Designer Challenge with a theme of From the Vault. I challenged the team to create a project inspired by a previous project. I also asked that they post a photo of their inspiration piece on their blog post with the new card. Be sure you click through to their blogs for double the inspiration!

For my project I was inspired by my May Zoom class card featuring the Tea and Coffee Pop-up mechanism, turned sideways, tripled and turned into a "Wiggle Card". Four swing arms create dancing items on the pop-up. 

The inspiration for my wiggle card is the class card from our May 2024 Zoom class. If you are reading this blog post close to the date it was first published you may still be able to get a kit for the inspiration card. Contact one of the stores listed on our Events Page if interested.

Learn how to create the wiggle card by watching this full tutorial:

This is a standard A2-sized card and will mail in an A2 envelope. For the front of the card I combined squares from our Squares - Crosshatch die set with cupcakes created using our Cupcake Add-ons set. All patterned papers came from my scrap bin.

Open the card to watch the four swing arms wiggle the cupcakes and swing the "celebrate" square. This is a fun one to open and close (and open and close and open and close)!

This technique is completely generic and can be decorated for any theme. You can also explore adding additional swing arms. One nice thing about the cupcakes is being able to use up a bunch of scraps. This could be an "in front of the TV" activity to assemble cupcakes from scraps and have them ready for a card like this.

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

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Let's take a look at how our talented Design Team interpreted the FROM THE VAULT challenge. In each case you can click the designer's name to go to their blog post where you'll find additional photos, including their inspiration card, supply lists and, in some cases, videos! (Frances is on sabbatical)

Jen Webster always impresses with her Copic coloring on the die cuts and this month she's done an amazing job of authentic coloring of a multitude of butterflies. Make sure you click over to Jen's blog to see her inspiration card and subscribe to her YouTube channel for more great coloring ideas. Stunning card!

Suzanne Smit took inspiration from a previous baby card to make a new version. She's used the Heart Pivot Panels and I love her choice to decorate the pop-up with additional hearts top and bottom. Love this idea of celebrating the gender mystery. So sweet!

Sandy Diller has made a great Little Twist Panel pop-up for the challenge and she posted a ton of inspiration on her blog post. I have an ongoing joke that when a DT member gravitates toward a certain die that the die itself is bestowed a middle name. By that rule the Little Twist Panel is definitely the Little Sandy Twist Panel! Be sure to click over to see all the ways Sandy has used this die. Love them all!

Lois Bak makes wonderful patriotic cards each year and this time was inspired by a previous 4th of July card to make a new version, this time using the Raising Platform Pop-up, tripled for additional "wow"! Definitely check out the inspiration piece on her blog as both cards are a blast! (See what I did there?)

Sue Small-Kreider took inspiration from a previous scene card to make an updated version and wowie wow wow! I love how this card reveals itself with every layer and then creates a stunning display piece. Click over to watch a video on this card and be sure to subscribe to Sue's channel so you don't miss any of her great videos.

Nicky Foden provides some much-requested masculine inspiration with both her inspiration and new card. I love the use of the Sports Charms on this new Little Labels Pop-up, inspired by a previous Circle Tag Book. As usual, Nicky has included a picture tutorial for her card, so click over to check it out. Fabulous!

Well the sad day has come where we bid adieu to one of our original Design Team members. Fran Sabad has decided to retire and live her best carefree wind-in-her-hair deadline-free life, full of travel and exploring new hobbies. Fran started on my Design Team when I was with Sizzix and made the jump with me to Elizabeth Craft Designs and then right on through to our new company. Over the course of the last 15 years Fran has become one of my closest friends. We will miss her incredible cards and clever unique style but shall smile through the tears as we wish her the best. Here's a look at just a sampling of the exquisite cards Fran has made for Designer Challenges over the years:

Well we hope you feel inspired to inspire yourself! Join us next month on June 5, 2024 for our next Designer Challenge with a theme of BORDERS! BORDERS! BORDERS! We'll be showing off our many border dies.

Happy Crafting!

 

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge 80: Thirst Quencher!

Welcome to the April Designer Challenge with a theme of Thirst Quencher. I challenged the team to create a project featuring a beverage. As usual, you will be delighted with their creations!

For my project I'm showing how to make a fun stacked teacup card by combining the Tea and Coffee Pop-up mechanism with the spiral from the Mini Pops Pop-up.

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

My card measures 5" x 6" in the closed position and can be mailed in an A7 envelope. The front of the card combines the small teacups and saucers from the Tea and Coffee Borders along with circles from the Mini Gift Bag and Circles - Crosshatch sets. The greeting is from Word Set 4 - Just a Note. The patterned paper is from Stamperia.

Open the card to reveal three stacked teacups and a gift card holder.

To style the teacups I cut them from white cardstock and use a brayer to color them with ink. The deep score lines in both pieces will remain white. Then I put the teacup back into the die and ran it through my machine with an embossing sandwich. I used a sanding tool to sand the color from the top of the embossed pattern. The pop-up mechanism included in the Tea and Coffee Pop-up was elongated to hold the bottom two tea cups. The spiral die from the Mini Pops Pop-up was used on the back of the center teacup to animate the top one.

I used a folded Mini Gift Bag to act as a gift card sleeve inside the card. The greeting is our Thank You die and the circles from the Mini Gift Bag provide a spot to sign the card.

This stacked teacup card can be customized for any theme by simply changing the colors and styling. Add little animals or character perched in the teacups for a cute look, or have flowers or butterflies spilling out of the cups for a pretty look. 

Ready to give this card a try? Here are the dies and supplies used on my card:

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Let's take a look at how our talented Design Team interpreted the THIRST QUENCHER challenge. In each case you can click the designer's name to go to their blog post where you'll find additional photos, supply lists and, in some cases, videos!

Nicky Foden created this amazing cocktail card using our Happy Hour Charms on the Twist Panel Pop-up. This is such a clever "twist" on a card and the greeting is hilarious! Nicky has posted a full photo tutorial for how she created this masterpiece, so be sure to click over to her blog for full instructions. Love this!

Sue Small-Kreider created an absolutely fabulous Summer Fete card using the Explosion Pop-up mechanism as booths for delicious offerings, including thirst quenching lemonade. This is just an amazingly clever combination of dies for a wonderful effect. Be sure to click to Sue's blog for more photos of how she created this sweet slimline card.

Fran Sabad posted three cards for the challenge, all featuring our original Coffee Cup Pop-up and Coffee Charms. I just love this "crabby" card (and can relate!) with the bright fun colors and tropical theme. Be sure to click over to Fran's blog to see her other cards. Wonderful!

Sandy Diller created a custom beer card for her son's birthday and I just love how it has two reveals. The first one uses the Flip Frame Pop-up to animate a greeting and then the main card opens to reveal a fun saying that Sandy says fits her son to a tee! Be sure to click over to Sandy's blog to see this card in action. Definitely thirst quenching!

Lois Bak made a gorgeous Teacup pop-up as a birthday card and included gold gilding on the cup and saucer. I love her play on words for the custom greeting of "Sip Sip Hooray!" Be sure to click over to Lois's blog for a peek at the fun card front. Lovely!

Suzanne Smit made this adorable 4-page mixed Landscape Rectangle Accordion. I love the coffee and cupcakes theme and the addition of several caffeinated giraffes. This makes such a lovely display piece. Check out Suzanne's blog post for a photo of this card in the closed position. Love it!

Jen Webster turned a coffee mug into a beer mug with this clever repurposing of the Tea and Coffee Pop-up set. I just love how she styled the beer mug, using clouds as foam and glossy accents for drips. Be sure to click over to Jen's blog for a photo of the card front and a description of how she created this card. Perfection!

Frances Byrne made a vision in pink Tea card for the challenge. I just love her clever re-purposing of a scalloped rectangle die into an edger. There are so many great styling ideas on this card. Be sure to click over to Frances's blog to see more. Fabulous card!

Well hopefully you feel inspired to craft some thirst quenching creations of your own. Join us next month on May 8th, 2024 for our next Designer Challenge with a theme of "From the Vault" - the team will take inspiration from one of their previous cards to make a new version. What fun!

Happy Crafting!