Karen Burniston Designer Challenge -- Song Lyrics

The theme of this month's Karen Burniston Designer Challenge is "song lyrics."   That's pretty wide open.  I decided that a song sung in December more than likely would be Christmas-related.  For this reason, I chose the Bing Crosby classic White Christmas.

I've been following along with Karen and her on-line classes for a while.  October's class was two Halloween cards, but I liked them so much that I decided to use the instructions for one of them to make a Christmas card and use it for this month's Designer Challenge.

The second verse of White Christmas goes like this:

            I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

            With every Christmas card I write.

            May your days be merry and bright,

            And may all your Christmases be white.

The front of my card actually contains part of the lyrics.  All the papers I used are from a 12 x 12 paper pad that I found in Michaels on sale.  They really worked well for this card.

And the inside carries through with the theme.  The main die set used on this card is the Charm Accordion, as well as the Christmas Tree Pop-up.

The original card had two skeletons on the inside.  This one has a penguin and a polar bear, made using the Winter Animals set.   It was really fun transforming Karen's Halloween card into a Christmas one.

After I decided on this card for this month's Designer Challenge, two things happened:  1) The new release with that awesome Pine Cone die set; and 2) A gorgeous 12 x 12 Christmas patterned paper pad I found at Hobby Lobby.  I was compelled to make a second card with the "song lyrics" theme.  You can see pieces from the Pine Cone die set and the Pattern Plate - Holly within the Postage Pop-up on the front.

The inside really shows off that pretty paper.  More of the Pine Cone and Holly die cuts are there as well.

Here's a close-up of the "song lyrics" of the Osmonds' version of It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.  The first line of the second verse is "Pne cones and holly berries."

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.  

Poinsettia Christmas Accordion

Karen Burniston has the most informative and detailed classes.  She recently had a virtual class using the Fancy Label Accordion.  With these classes you are able to purchase a kit so that you can create the exact card she is demonstrating, or you can use what you have and follow along with her.  That is what I did for this card.

I love blue Christmas cards, so I searched through my stash of Christmas papers to find something in blue that I thought would work.  I found some pretty blue paper with a splash of red and decided it would work for my card.  The sentiment on the front of my card was made using Karen's Small Sentiments Christmas dies.  The pretty little poinsettias inside the frames are part of Honey Bee Stamps' Loads of Holiday Cheer set.

The Fancy Label Accordion has several Add-on sets, and the candles for the inside are from the Birthday Candle Add-ons set.

If you'd like to make one of these cards for yourself, here is the link to Karen's Youtube video.

Karen Burniston Sept 2024 Virtual Class Day Recording (youtube.com)

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge - Music, Music, Music

The new release from Karen Burniston has two dies and a stamp set that are music related -- the perfect choice for the August Designer Challenge.  I recently purchased a very pretty, vintage Christmas sheet music paper pack from Amazon that complemented the new stamps and dies.  I made two different cards using the two die sets -- one in red and one in green.

Here is the green one.

And here is the red one.

I'm not really musically inclined, but I've been playing with these dies over the past month and have been having lots of fun.

Karen Burniston New Release -- Sneak Peeks Day 2

Two of the dies from the new release were made for each other -- the Slider Box and the Surprise Pop-Up Cubes.  I have been having lots of fun with these two sets.

It's another Christmas project I have for you today.  I plan to give this to my grandson with a gift card inside -- as well as the cubes.

Here's a closer look at both the box and the cubes.  As you can see, there are lots of decorator pieces in this set.

Three cubes fit very nicely inside the box.  And when you pull the drawer out, BAM!  Out they pop!

Don't you agree that this is a fun project?  Come back tomorrow and I'll have another project using some of the new dies.

Karen Burniston New Release -- Sneak Peek Day 1

Exciting times for the Karen Burniston design team.  Karen has a new release coming out next week, and we're going to be showing you some sneak peeks all this week.  There are 11 new dies in this release.  One of the new die sets will make it lots easier to make a Double-Wide Woven Basket.  As much fun as the Woven Basket is, I love making double-wide ones; and this add-on set makes it so much easier.

I have a neighbor who just loves flamingos.  I usually give her a religious card, but this year's Christmas card for her is full of flamingos -- all in the Double-Wide Woven Basket.  The new set includes the die to make the wider sides of this basket as well as a die for the grass.  These cute flamingos are from a retired My Favorite Things set called Festive Flamingos.

I added a couple of palm trees from the Palm Tree Pop-Up set along the back of my basket and decorated it with Christmas lights from the Holiday House set.

I'll have some more sneak peeks as the week goes on, as will the rest of the team; so be sure to check back.

CCEE2238 National Coffee Day

Kelly's final CCEE Stampers challenge this week is celebrating National Coffee Day.  She considers it a definite holiday in her eyes!  Not so with me.  I'm not a coffee drinker, but I like to make coffee-related cards for the rest of my family.  The card I made today is actually a gift card holder -- and it will be given to someone at Christmas.

As you can see, the gift card slips in behind the coffee cup.

 Be sure to check out the CCEE Stampers blog for more coffee inspiration.

CCEE2236 - International Dot Day

Kelly's challenge for the CCEE Stampers this week is to celebrate International Dot Day (today) by making a card with a circle, polka dots, or anything round.

As I tend to make Christmas cards all year 'round (get it -- "round"), my card is a Christmas card using a very cool die -- Sugar Pea Designs' interlocking circles.  

And I even used some Christmas paper with red and green circles for the background.

Be sure to check out the CCEE Stampers blog to see how the rest of the team handled this challenge.

CCEE2234 Intl. Toy Testing Day & Karen Burniston New Release Sneak Peek Day 4

Kelly Santi started her month-long stint as hostess for the CCEE Stampers challenge by telling us that today is International Toy Testing Day.  She asked us to make a card with a toy/toys on them.  Think Christmas cards and Santa's workshop, too.

Many years ago I purchased some Art Impressions Doors & Windows stamps.  The fun part of this series is that there are many add-on sets to create different themes, one of which was a Christmas Toy Shop.  I combined the Art Impressions stamps with a set of stamps/dies from Pink & Main to create this delightful toy store.

AND, when you go into the store (by opening the card) you'll find a couple of dies from the new Karen Burniston release, which will be available next Monday.  The fireplace is actually a pop-up, but I had wanted to make a card with a flat fireplace.  This was my opportunity.

Be sure to check out the CCEE Stampers blog for more toy cards -- and make sure you check out the new dies from Karen Burniston.  

CCEE2150 - Christmas Around the World

For the CCEE Stampers' final challenge of 2021, Lynn would like for our stampers to select a country or culture other than their own and feature a unique element in that country or culture's Christmas celebrations to feature on their card.

My ancestors came mainly from Ireland and England, so I looked in another direction and chose Germany for my card.  I found this on the website for House Beautiful -- "Decorative nutcracker figurines, commonly made to resemble a toy soldier, is a common German Christmas tradition. According to German folklore, nutcrackers were given as good luck keepsakes to the family to protect their home. It's thought they would watch over the family, keeping evil spirits and danger at bay."  Nutcrackers have found their way into many American homes as well, but apparently they started in Germany.   Fortunately, I had an old stamp set with several nutcrackers the right size and came up with this card.

Check out the CCEE Stampers blog for more Christmas around the world.  As this is our last challenge for the year, I want to wish you a very merry Christmas; and I'll see you next year!

C4C614 - Sketch Challenge

The final Crazy4Challenges challenge of 2021 is a sketch challenge, with a bit of a twist.  We were to select our favorite "crazy" sketch from this year to create our card.   As I had joined the team in the middle of the year, I decided that I would choose a sketch from before I joined.  So I selected C4C580, which was the sketch for April.

My card is another Christmas card using dies from both Honey Bee Stamps (poinsettia and foliage) and Karen Burniston (labels).

Check out the Crazy4Challenges blog to see which sketches the rest of the team chose.  As this is our final challenge for the year, I will wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  See you in 2022.

CCEE2149 - Family Traditions

Lynn continues as CCEE Stampers hostess this week.  She said, "If your family is like mine, there are certain family traditions that show up at each of your Christmas celebrations together.  I would love for the CCEE Stampers' cards to represent a favorite or an unusual Christmas tradition shared by the members of your family each year."

Like many crafters, I have gone through the gamut of various different crafts.  One of my hobbies for a long time was ceramics.  I think every ceramic hobbyist I know made a Nativity set, and I am no exception.  This set took me several Christmases to complete, and it is a part of my Christmas every year.

Several years ago I was part of the CottageCutz design team.  One Christmas I chose several Nativity die sets with which to create.  I have made several different cards using some or all of the three sets.  My card today uses all three.

I'm anxious to see Lynn's card today because of something she said about her family tradition in her challenge to us:  "I am betting that mine might just be the wackiest!!"  Check out the CCEE Stampers blog to see what it is.

C4C613 - Christmas Flowers/Foliage

Frances' Crazy4Challenges challenge this week is all about Christmas Flowers/Foliage.  She said:  "One of the ways people decorate for Christmas is with flowers and/or foliage -- the most popular being Poinsettias, Holly, Ivy, and Mistletoe.  For our challenge this week create a card using something flower or foliage related."

Another way to decorate for Christmas is with wreaths, so I pulled out my Wreath Builder and created a wreath using Creek Bank Creations' A Thrill of Hope stamp set.  I made my card using their Angel Side Circle die.

The plaid from the front is carried through to the inside as well.

Check out the Crazy4Challenges blog for some more Christmas florals.

CCEE2148 - Celebrate with Song

Lynn McAuley is the CCEE Stampers hostess for December.  For today's challenge, she chose "celebrate with song" as her theme.  She asked that the CCEE Stampers use song lyrics from a holiday song (either secular or religious) as the sentiment on the front of their Christmas design.

I recently purchased a couple of Hero Arts stamp and die sets that seemed to coordinate with each other.  One set is just dies (Tri-fold Edge Village Fancy Die) and the other set is both stamps & dies (Cozy Village).  Many of the houses on the Cozy Village stamps were the same as those on the Tri-fold Edge Village die, so I tried an experiment.   I think it worked!

The sentiment on the stamp set was just "Santa is coming to town," but that's not exactly the same as the song; so I printed it out on my computer.  I've had that little sleigh and reindeer stamp for many years, and it was the perfect size.

Be sure to check out the CCEE Stampers blog for some more musical inspiration for Christmas.

C4C610 - Die Cuts Only

This week's Crazy4Challenges challenge is one after my own heart -- create a card that is created using dies only, no stamps.  If you must, you can use a stamp for the sentiment; but bonus points if you use dies.  Bonus points for me!

My card for this challenge is a  Christmas slimline, using various dies from Pink & Main, Honey Bee Stamps, and CottageCutz.

Check out the Crazy4Challenges blog for lots of die-cut fun!

CCEE2145 - Tag! You're It!

Kelli continues as hostess for the CCEE Stampers this week and asked us to create some tags to get ready for the holidays.

Last year I bought a set of dies called Winter Bouquet from Honey Bee Stamps.  I used that die set to make these two tags.

Check out the CCEE Stampers blog for some more holiday tag ideas.

C4C609 - Home, Sweet Home

Frances gave the Crazy4Challenges team a "home, sweet home" challenge this week -- create a card that features a house or any element you might find on a house -- door, window, roof, etc.

My card fits the bill -- a house as well as elements of a house -- using various Karen Burniston dies (Holiday House, Merry Christmas & Shadow, House Pivot Panels, Evergreen Pivot Panels and Border Blends).

Check out the Crazy4Challenge blog to see how the rest of the team handled this homey challenge.

CCEE2143 - Create a Scene

For her final CCEE Stampers challenge this month, Frances asked the team to create a card that features a scene of some type -- outside or inside.

Last month, one of my challenges to the team was to make a card inspired by a new technique they had seen, and my card was a Bay Window card.  I took that same technique, cutting actual windows in the front, to create my card for today's challenge.  I used several Karen Burniston dies to decorate my Christmas window -- the garland from the Street Lantern Pop-up, the tree and decorations from the Christmas Tree Pop-Stand, and the wreath from the Sleigh Pop-Up.

You can see how the Bay Window is formed from this top view.

Be sure to check out the CCEE Stampers blog for more scenic cards.

C4C593 - Sketch Challenge

This week's Crazy4Challenges sketch is a slimline card.

I recently bought some scenic slimline background papers from Whimsey Stamps.  I used one of them (from the set called Frozen) on today's card.  Even though it's 90 degrees outside, it's always a good time to make a Christmas card.  These cute images are from Paper Nest Dolls.

Stop over at the Crazy4Challenges blog to see what the rest of the team did with this fun layout.

Merry Christmas

 Christmas is in two days, so this will be my final Christmas card for the year.  

I was curious to see if I could put the tree from the Karen Burniston Christmas Tree Pop Stand die set into the Woven Basket.  I didn't know if it would be top heavy -- but it is not!  After making the double Woven Basket, decorating it with one of the KB Border Blends and the stocking from the new Holiday Charms, I cut the pieces for the Christmas tree. I glued the two trunks to either side of one of the cross pieces of the Woven Basket and then decorated it.  I added some gifts from the Birthday Charms and the Sleigh Pop-Up sets.

And, as you can see from this photo, it will still lie flat if I decide to mail it.