Karen Burniston Blog Hop

 Hi Crafty Friends,

Welcome to our Karen Burniston Products - KB Riley LLC November Release Blog Hop. The Design Team have come together with Karen today for a fun blog hop to celebrate the release of 15 new dies and 5 new stamp sets. Sneak peeks of the new release started last week, and the dies are available to pre-order NOW!

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This release includes:

1 new Pop-up Die Set
2 new Playful Add-on Die Sets
1 new Ball Add-on Die Set
3 new Ball Access Tab Die Sets
3 new Word Die Sets
3 new Border Die Sets
1 new Greetings Label Die Set
1 new Stand Alone Die Set
5 new Clear Sentiment Stamp Sets

Dies are available to order now on the website.

I think the first Karen Burniston die that I purchased many years ago was the Fancy Label Accordion, and it remains one of my favorites.  I combined it with my favorite new die set from this release -- the Pine Cone set.  I scattered the pine boughs and pinecones throughout this card.  I recently started to add full panels at the front and/or back of the accordion.  Today's card has both.

The front panel really shows off the larger pine bough.  I added both pinecones and the small branch as well as a sentiment from the Christmas Wishes clear stamp set.

The three middle panels have the smaller pine boughs and pinecones as well as one of the sentiments from the new Quiet Forest clear stamp set.

The back full panel features a combination of two sentiments from the previously released Season of Cheer stamp set.

GIVEAWAY:

To celebrate the release Karen Burniston and each of the Karen Burniston - KB Riley LLC Design Team members will be giving away a $25 Gift Certificate to some lucky person who comments on our blog posts, so make sure you join the hop and comment on everyone's blog post. Winners will be randomly chosen from ALL of the blog hop comments received on our blog posts by Monday, 1st December 2025. Lots of chances to win some goodies, so just leave a comment on this post or any other blog hop posts to enter! Don't forget to leave some way for us to contact you, in case you are a lucky winner!

Design Team members are listed below:

Karen Burniston

Lois Bak (that's me)

Sue Small-Kreider

Frances Byrne

Jennifer Webster

Suzanne Smit

Nicky Foden

Karen Burniston New Release -- Day 5 Sneak Peek

Today's sneak peek uses dies I've already shown you -- the Playful Pop-up and the Pine Cone.

As I mentioned the other day, this Pine Cone set is my favorite of the release.  I think it makes such lovely, peaceful cards for fall, winter, and Christmas.  I added the Merry Christmas and Merry Christmas Shadow to the front . . . 

. . . and used all of the pieces from the Pine Cone set on the inside -- as well as one of the labels from the new Greeting Labels.  I did cut off one of the "arms" from the Playful Pop-up mechanism.

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BTW, I found this pretty patterned paper on Amazon.  I thought it coordinated really well with this die set.

Only one more day and all the dies will be available for purchase.  And be sure to check out the Blog Hop, which starts on Monday as well.  Comment on each of the team members' blogs for more chances to win a $25 gift card to Karen Burniston's website.

Karen Burniston New Release -- Day 4 Sneak Peek

Much of this new release focuses on the various pop-up balls, with both Add-ons and utilitarian Ball Access Tabs.  My card today is made with Bitty Ball Pop-up and the Mini Ball Pop-up, along with the new Animal Add-ons 6, to create this cute grasshopper card.

The front of the card is relatively plain, with just a parade of grasshoppers from the new Bug Borders set and a sentiment.

Also included in this release are 5 coordinating stamp sets and a set of dies (Greeting Labels), which are actually additional sizes of label dies in several different previous sets.  The ones I used on this card are the same shape as the Katherine Label.

Also used on this cute grasshopper were the Access Tabs for both the Bitty Ball Pop-up and the Mini Ball Pop-up.  These make it so easy to get access to the inside of the ball for possible repairs.

Karen Burniston New Release Sneak Peeks -- Day 3

When I saw the new dies in the new Karen Burniston release, I fell in love with the Pine Cone set. 

I realize it's not a pop-up, which is Karen's forte; but I think it's my favorite from this release.  I recently was introduced to a new-to-me fun fold card called a Split Easel Card.  I've become obsessed with it and have made many cards using this technique.  I thought it lent itself very well to the Pine Cone set.  The ones I have seen have all been A2-sized cards (4 1/4" x 5 1/2").  This one, however, is a 5" x 7" card.  I also used one of the new stamps from the new Quiet Forest stamp set on the base.

You can see the "easel" in the photo below -- and it folds flat for mailing.

As I said before, I just love this set; so much so that I have made quite a few cards with it.  Here's another one -- this time using the Arch Pop-up.

Be sure to check out the Blog Hop next Monday.  You could win one of many $25 gift certificates to the Karen Burniston website merely by commenting on one or more of the design team members' blogs.

Karen Burniston New Release Sneak Peeks - Day 2

 Again I'm using several dies from the new Karen Burniston release -- Playful Pop-up and Dog & Cat Playful Add-ons.

I have a friend who is not quite a "crazy cat lady," but she's bordering it.  I used today's dies on this card for her.  

The front of the card is relatively simple using Word Set 4 and the cat from Cat and Dog . . .

. . . but the inside is where the action happens.  As you could see from the video above, his paws, ear, and tongue move when you open and close the card.  My friend's cat is a tri-color, so I tried to blend the black and brown to match her cat.

That big MEOW is also a new die as are the small mouse border and the greeting label.  The label set contains additional sizes of many of the labels in various Karen Burniston die sets. The sentiment is part of one of the new stamp sets.

I hope my friend likes her card.

Be sure to check out the Karen Burniston Blog Hop starting Monday, November 24th.  Comment on any or all of the blogs, and you could win a $25 gift card to the Karen Burniston website.

Karen Burniston New Release - Day 1 Sneak Peek

It's finally time for the sneak peeks to begin, and Karen Burniston outdid herself this time.  15 new dies and 5 new stamp sets!  There are three Add-ons for the pop-up balls.  They can all be pre-ordered on the 24th.

One of the new dies makes three cute bugs -- a ladybug, a bee, and a grasshopper.  There is also a border set that coordinates with it.

My card today features the ladybug along with the Bitty Ball.  The front of the card has the border along with a sentiment from one of the new stamp sets.

When you open the card, up pops the cute ladybug.  I held the card closed using the Flap and Closure set with a small magnet on the back.

As shown in this photo, I had mounted the ladybug on a circle so that it can be removed from the card.

One nice thing about this Add-on set is that everything you need (except the ball) is included  -- things like the eyes and the mouth.

Included in this release are three utilitarian die sets which allow you to open the pop-up balls (one set for each ball size) to get to the rubber bands.  I, of course, used the one for the Bitty Ball.  It cuts out two sets of access tabs that you would use to replace the smaller tabs on the ball die cuts.

I'm glad you stopped by today to see my card.  I'll have more sneak peeks as the week progresses.  I hope you stop back.

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge - Fun Faces

Karen Burniston recently had a "mini-release" of five clear stamps.  One of them was made to enhance the Paper People die set and had faces for lots of her animal dies as well.  This month's Designer Challenge theme was dedicated to that fun stamp set.

When I saw the theme "Fun Faces," an idea immediately popped into my head; and I ran with it.  As Christmas is right around the corner, I made a Christmas choir made up of 14 members, both male and female.  I placed them in the Wide Woven Basket, which is decorated with a Christmas swag from Fireplace Extras 1 and Ovals Crosshatch.  The choir members have various hair styles from Paper People, and several of them have glasses from Tiny Accessories 1.

What is so fun about the Fun Faces 1 set is that some of the Paper People images have eyelashes and some of them don't.  So, my female singers have the eyelashes, and the males do not.  You can see the difference in this photo.

This was such a fun project.

Happy Thanksgiving

I recently followed along with Karen Burniston for her October Virtual Class.  We made two Halloween cards using the Charm Accordion die and some really cool Halloween paper from Graphic 45.  This is one of the cards we made.

 

It was such a fun class that I decided to make a second card using the instructions -- only this time I made a Thanksgiving card.   It gave me the opportunity to use some of the fall papers that have been in my stash forever.  On the last page is the cute turkey from the Feathered Animals set.   The acorn in the charm frame is from Autumn Elements.

The back of the card is just as colorful.

There is also a charm on this side which was made with parts from the Baking Borders.   It was easy to make charms out of "non-charm" pieces by using the  dies in the Charm Rings set.  I used the smallest rings.

If you haven't followed along with Karen in one of her on-line classes, you should give it a try sometime.

October Karen Burniston Designer Challenge

Karen Burniston just had a special new release of five new sentiment stamps -- just in time for the October Designer Challenge, the theme of which is "Peek-a-Boo."  When she released the Arch Pop-up several months ago, she said she thought it would make a cool monster.  So I took her up on her challenge by making a monster and including a couple of the new stamps from the set Halloween Phrases. The front just has the Happy Halloween w/Shadow set and one of the Border Blends.

But the inside has lots of dies -- the Arch Pop-up for the body of the monster, the pennants from the Graduation Elements, the bats from the Halloween Borders, the eyes from the Mini Ball Pop-up, the Boo from the Halloween Elements, and the rectangles from the Rectangles Crosshatch.  

And you can see that I met the challenge theme by having my monster saying "Boo" when you open the card.  

I was glad to accommodate Karen and her wish for an Arch Pop-up monster!

Hug in a Mug

It's been a while since I've made a clear-front card using the Karen Burniston Rockin' Rectangle die, so I thought I would give it a go.  Have you seen Karen's new sentiment stamps?  One of them is devoted to coffee drinkers.  I'm not a coffee drinker, but lots of people I know couldn't function without that first cup or two in the morning,  The Tea & Coffee Pop-up mug was mounted onto the Rockin' Rectangle, so that it pops out of the card when you open it.

I added the Tea & Coffee Borders on the inside to frame the coffee cup.  And I just love that brown and red plaid paper from Creek Bank Creations.

I've been having lots of fun with the new sentiment stamps.  There are five sets in this new release.

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge - Letter

It's time again for the Karen Burniston Designer Challenge.  This month's theme is "Letter."  We could interpret this any way we wanted -- use a letter in the mail, or maybe just a letter of the alphabet.  I chose the second and made a birthday card/gift for a 3-year old -- some letter blocks.

Using both the Alphabet set and the Mini Alphabet and Numbers set, I made a Slider Box with pop-out blocks, adding a matching birthday card.  Google images provided the small blocks on both the card and the box.

Be sure to check out the "Letter" cards made by the rest of the team, and maybe you'd like to play along with us.  It was fun!

Happy Fall, Y'All

Even though the temperatures are currently in the 90s, autumn is right around the corner.  Because Karen Burniston's new Whirly Wheel die is so much fun, I thought I'd like to make an autumn card using it,  Her Autumn Elements set was the perfect accompaniement.

The matching Whirly Wheel sentiments stamp set has three one-word vertical sentiments that fit perfectly on the strip.  I attached a piece of acetate to the top of the strip and glued on several leaves from Autumn Elements.  The "Happy Fall, Y'All" is from a very old, retired stamp set from MFP Stamps, which is no longer in business, but I use stamps from those sets quite often.  The grass along the bottom was cut using KB set Nature's Edges.  

Here's a little video showing the Whirly Wheel in action.

I recently discovered white acrylic paint pens, which work so much better making accents than white gel pens.  I used an acrylic paint pen to make the arrows on the Whirly Wheel and the accents on the pumpkin, acorns, and picture frame.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge -- Bottom Fold

It's time for the Karen Burniston Designer Challenge for August, the theme of which is "bottom fold."  I'm not sure I've ever done a bottom fold card, but I dove right in.  My sister was visiting recently from Illinois, and her birthday was shortly after she got home.  Try as I might, I wasn't going to be able to get her birthday card into the mail in time for it to arrive on or before her birthday.  Fortunately, one of Karen Burniston's stamp sets has a "belated" sentiment in it.  I used it on the inside of her card.

I also used the new Display Helpers die on this card.  They help to hold the card open when you display it.

I wasn't really sure how I was going to handle this challenge and was experimenting with ideas.  This card was actually the second one I made for it.  The first one was a little simpler.  It's called a Matchbook Card, as you can see by the way it opens.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today to look at my two bottom-fold cards.

Christmas in July

Who doesn't like Christmas in July?  And for that reason, I have a Christmas card made with the new Karen Burniston Arch Pop-up die along with several others.

The front of my 5" x 7" card features the Postage Pop-up, released earlier in the year, along with the Poinsettia die.  I thought the Echo Park I Love Christmas patterned paper was the perfect background.

When you open the card, the new Arch Pop-up takes center stage.

Decorating the arch is the smaller poinsettia, along with holly leaves from the Pattern Plate - Holly and pine sprigs from the Poinsettia set.  At each end of the arch is a Christmas tree made with the Christmas Tree Pop Stand set from a few years ago.  To make the tree skirts, I cut out circles from the Circles - Crosshatch set, cut them in half and notched out just a little bit at the center.  I then glued them back in place at the front and back of the upright pieces which hold the trees.  The garlands across the top of the Echo Park paper at the bottom are from Fireplace Extras 1.  The sentiments on the front and inside are from Karen's Season of Cheer clear stamp set, cut out with two different dies from Rectangles and Labels - Crosshatch set.

I had originally cut the arch from white cardstock but decided that some green behind all the foliage would look better, so I cut pieces from some patterned paper and glued it over the white arch.  I didn't realize until I was finished that a little strip of white is showing beneath the green.  I was going to try to trim it off but decided against it.  Here is a close-up of the arch.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.  

Movie Night with Harry Potter

I haven't played with the new Movie Night Charms very much, so I thought I would make a card using them today.  One of my favorite dies is the Fancy Label Accordion, which was one of the very first Karen Burniston dies I purchased many years ago.

As you may or may not know, I am a big Harry Potter Fan.  I had some of the journaling cards left from a recent Karen Burniston on-line class.  I cut it down to fit the first panel of my card.

I thought the panels of the Fancy Label Accordion were just a bit too large to use the charms as is, so I cut off the charm rings and layered them on the panels.

The filmstrip in the set was perfect for showing off my Harry Potter characters.  These are digital images I downloaded many years ago from Bugaboo Stamps.  I sized them to fit perfectly in the individual sections of the filmstrip.  The sentiment is from Karen's Birthday Magic stamp set.

And here is the whole card.  Movie Night Fun!

I'm giving this card to my daughter-in-law for her birthday later this month.  She is also a big fan of Harry Potter.

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge -- Rainbow

It's time for the Karen Burniston Designer Challenge for July.  This month our theme is "Rainbow," the perfect reason to pull out the new Arch Pop-up die and Rainbow Add-ons.  

The front of my card is rather simple -- just a happy birthday greeting.  However, keeping with the theme I did use rainbow paper.  I also added some enamel dots in rainbow colors.

For the inside I popped up the Rainbow Arch, adding a pot of gold using the cauldron from the Witch and Cauldron set.  The sentiment is from the new Rainbow greetings stamp set.

Here's a close-up of the pot of gold.  As you can see, I scored across the cauldron and glued the top portion to the rainbow and the bottom portion to the card base.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.