Talk Like Yoda Day It Is

Are you a Star Wars fan?  I am, but I was unaware of this interesting holiday -- Talk Like Yoda Day.  When I saw, I was immediately inspired to make a card in celebration.  After deliberating exactly how I was going to accomplish this, I thought I would make a pop-up ball, using Karen Burniston's Bitty Ball Pop-Up.

I decided that I would place Yoda inside a gatefold card with a belly band holding it closed.  This particular Yoda is a Kindred Stamps set I've had for a long time -- Galactic Adventures.  I've got him mounted in Karen's Circles - Crosshatch.  I made the sentiment using my label maker.

I wasn't 100% happy with my first attempt at Yoda.  His face just didn't look enough like Yode to satisfy me.  So I went a different route and printed out an image of his face and attached it to the head of my figure.

It's not the best thing I've ever created, but . . . fun doing it I had.

Happy Star Wars Day

May the 4th be with you!!!   Happy Star Wars Day!

I hadn't played with Karen Burniston's Photo Collage Pop-up in a while, and I thought it would be perfect for a Star Wars Day card.  It's for my son, who is a Star Wars fan, as am I.

The stamps are from a couple of Kindred Stamps sets, Galactic Adventures and Galactic Travel.

I had to do a bit of word-surgery to create the sentiment for this card.  Obviously, we don't have a "Happy Star Wars Day" die, but we do have a "Happy Father's Day" die, which is what I used.  After cutting the sentiment and the shadow, I cut the words apart -- discarding "Father's" and gluing the words to the shadow.  I then carefully cut around "Happy" and "Day."  The other letters are from Karen's Mini Alphabet and Numbers set.

I decided that I would use the same color cardstock for each of the photos rather than make them multi-colored.  The blue is just slightly lighter than the cardstock I used for the base of the card (and the background for the characters).  I had to place the Millenium Falcon and the X-wing fighter strategically so that they would not create catch points when the card is opened.   That is the same reason the oval for my signature is oriented vertically rather than horizontally.

Two Gifted Stamp Sets

My sister Dotsy and I share a common malady -- purchasing items that we already own.  I couldn't tell you how many times I have purchased a stamp set and subsequently found out that I already had it.  Fortunately, we also share a common interest -- stamping.  So when either of us duplicates a purchase, we can share the extra one with the other person.  I have two cards today that I made using shared products.

The first one is a cute little stamp set from Kindred Stamps based on the movie Up!  As I was trying to design something to use this set on, I wondered if the Karen Burniston Raising Platform would work with it.  Guess what -- it does!  I found a small scrap of balloon paper that I just couldn't throw away, and it was just enough for the front of this mini slimline card.

The Raising Platform Pop-up was actually the perfect base for the house/balloons on the inside.  I added a few clouds to the sky and stamped an appropriate sentiment on the strip across the bottom, adding a balloon from Karen's Big Birthday Charms set.

Dotsy's second duplication was a cute tennis player named Gigi from StampAnniething.  It had been a while since I used Karen Burniston's Rockin' Rectangle set, and I love making acetate-front cards using it.  I love the way you get a hint of what's on the inside with this type of card.  I have one really old vertical "Happy Birthday" stamp, and it worked great on this card.

There's a little play-on-words on the inside.  I'm not a tennis player, but I know that "love" is the word for no score in tennis.  And that little tennis ball is mounted on a short strip of acetate so that it looks like Gigi is ready to hit it away.

It's nice that, when our brains don't quite remember what is in our stamping arsenal, we have someone with whom to share our duplicate purchases.  I have done the same with Dotsy as well.

A Very Merry Un-Birthday

Did I say that I love the new Karen Burniston Tea & Coffee Pop-Up?  Well, I do.  And after seeing fellow DT member Jennifer Webster's Mad Tea Party card, I was inspired to make one of my own.  I've had a set of Alice in Wonderland-inspired stamps from Kindred Stamps, and it was perfect for my card.  I stacked three of the teacups from the Tea & Coffee Borders set on the table.

I used the same gingham patterned paper from the table on the front for the inside, adding my teacup and two panels from the Fancy Label Accordion for my sentiment.  

I loved reading Alice in Wonderland as a kid.  There's also a second book by Lewis Carroll -- Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There.  I have a very old copy of this book, which was my mother's when she was a child.  The cover page is missing, so I have no idea how old it is -- but she was born in 1919 and the pages are quite brown around the edges.

Karen Burniston New Release Day 4 - House of Cards

I've got another House of Cards creation for you today, but this time I used something other than playing cards.  A few weeks ago, USA Network had a Wizarding World Weekend; and, as an avid Harry Potter fan, I used the opportunity to watch the movies again.  I also decided that a Harry Potter House of Cards would be fun to create.  I had to do a bit of "word surgery" on this in order to get the correct sentiment.  FYI - the "wishing" was made by adding the "ing" from Thanksgiving" (Word Set 7 - Autumn) to the word "wish" from Word Set 2 - Birthday.  "You" and "a" are also from Word Set 2.  "Magical" is a stamp from one of the Kindred Stamps Hogwarts-related stamp sets.

Some time ago I purchased some digital patterned paper from Etsy.  I used that paper as the backs of my cards.  Kindred Stamps has several Hogwarts-related stamp sets that I used for the faces of the cards.  

I must say that this card is one of the most fun cards I've ever made.

The new release blog hop is a bit different from previous hops.  It will be tomorrow, rather than on a Monday.  Be sure to hop along with the Design Team for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Karen Burniston store.

Karen Burniston New Release - Day 6

I've got another project made with that awesome Slider Box and Surprise Cube Pop-Up combination.

This will be going to my great granddaughter at Christmas.  She loves to watch Frozen.  This stamp set from Kindred Stamps was perfect for this project.

I also made that little bag in which the Slider Box will be presented.

Be sure to check out our Blog Hop on Monday.  You've got lots of chances to win a $25 gift certificate to the Karen Burniston website just by commenting on any one or all of the blog posts.

Karen Burniston New Release - Sneak Peek Day 5

Another new die set from Karen Burniston that will be released next week is the Sports Charms.  It covers a wide range of sports -- basketball, golf, soccer, football, baseball, and volleyball.

To say that I'm a football fan is putting it mildly.  When my kids were young, my daughter told me that I embarrassed her because she said she could hear me screaming at the TV all the way down the street.  I rather doubt that, but I am pretty enthusiastic when I'm watch the Miami Dolphins on TV.  The card I have today is going to my son, who is also an avid Dolphins fan.  I used the Label Charm Pop-Up with the Mini Alphabet and Numbers showing on the front.

For the inside, I stenciled the yard lines (using a stencil from Kindred Stamps) and added the Dolphins logo.  Hanging in the center panel is one of the new Sports Charms -- the football.   My blog hop post on Monday will show several more of the Sports Charms on the card I made.  So I hope you'll check it out.

Only a couple more days before the new dies will be available to purchase on the Karen Burniston website!

CCEE2243 - Walk Your Dog Week

Maryann is the hostess for the CCEE Stampers this month and starts off with an interesting challenge.  According to the days of the year calendar, it is Walk Your Dog Week, a weeklong holiday dedicated to bringing your dog a healthier lifestyle.   She asked us to make a card with your furry friend in mind.

I currently do not have a furry friend; but when I was a kid, we had a dalmatian called Patches.  My father's friends loved to throw lit cigarette butts on the ground and watch Patches pounce on them to put them out.  A true firehouse dog!  

For my card I made a pop-up card using Karen Burniston's Surprise Ball and Bitty Ball Pop-Ups.  The pups on the front of the card are from Kindred Stamps.

As you can see, you can take the dog out of the card for display.

Check out the CCEE Stampers blog for more tributes to our furry friends.

CCEE2242 - International Animation Day

Lynn's final CCEE Stampers challenge this month celebrates Animation Day, which is tomorrow.  What joyful and action-packed entertainment has filled our lives through the talented creations of the world's amazing animators.  In honor of these animators' remarkable work, we were to choose one of our favorite animated characters to feature on this week's CCEE design.  How fabulous would it be if you included the name of the animator who created your character!

Well, I was a bit limited to my choices (based on the stamps I own).  But Kindred Stamps has many pop culture stamps in their inventory, and one of them is called Tea Friends.  This is based on Alice in Wonderland.  I read both Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass as a kid several times. 

I googled "Alice in Wonderland" and found this image of the Walt Disney movie.  I don't know who the specific animators were who worked on this film, so we'll give credit to Walt Disney Studios for this one.

The inside of my card sort of depicts the Mad Tea Party.  I used the Karen Burniston Little Labels Pop-Up, which fits very nicely inside a 3 1/2" x 6 1/2" mini slimline card.

If you're CURIOUS to see more tributes to the animators of this world, check out the CCEE Stampers blog.

CCEE2241 - Reptiles

Lynn has a fun challenge this week for the CCEE Stampers.  She tells us that tomorrow (Oct. 21) is National Reptile Day.  She said to be sure our card this week features the reptile of your choice:  an alligator, a lizard, a turtle, a snake, a dinosaur!  Or, include them all!  

As a resident of Florida, I should be a Gators fan.  Unfortunately, I am not.  Go 'Noles!  But I have friends who definitely cheer on the Gators of the University of Florida.  So I have Albert the Alligator for you today, made with the Karen Burniston Bitty Ball Pop-Up.  The football field on the inside was created using a stencil from Kindred Stamps.

As you can see, Albert is able to leave the card in case the recipient wants to display him separately.

Be sure to check out the CCEE Stampers blog for some more reptile fun!

Scor-Pal "More Than One Score"

I was recently asked to make a teacher appreciation card, so I combined it with this month's Scor-Pal "More Than One Score" -- just in time for school to start.  It qualifies for the "Anything Goes" category.

There are several different versions of Z-fold cards; this one is called a Z box fold.  In some versions of this card, the front horizonal strip goes all the way to the edge of the card.  I needed a little more room on that front panel, so I cut it short.

The image is a digital one from Paper Nest Dolls -- Teacher Emma, and the sentiment on the blackboard is from Kindred Stamps' Masters of Magic stamp set.

C4C606 - Sketch Challenge

This month's Crazy4Challenges Sketch Challenge was initially a little intimidating for me.

But after I studied it a little bit, it reminded me of a stage, with a curtain at the top; so that's how I approached it and came up with this card.  I used a stamp set from Kindred Stamps for the image and some masking paper so that I could sponge in the spotlight.

Check out the Crazy4Challenges blog to see how the rest of the team handled this sketch.

CCEE2134 - Dog Day

For her final August challenge, Frances told the CCEE Stampers that today is Dog Day!  For our challenge today, we were to include an image of a dog on our cards.

I believe the 101 Dalmatians are back for a second movie, so I pulled out the Kindred Stamps set called A Little Spotted for my card.  I'm loving the Theater Fold die from Taylored Expressions, and it worked well for today's challenge.

Check out the CCEE Stampers blog for some more canine cards.

Star Wars Day Slimline Waterfall Card

May the 4th be with you!!!  Today is Star Wars Day, and I had to make a card to celebrate.  I used some Kindred stamps and the new Karen Burniston Waterfall Card die.  As the Star Wars logo is yellow and black, I used those colors for my waterfall.  I did have to fudge the construction a little bit.  My images are just a little too large for the smallest of the waterfall panels, so I put them on the middle panel and cut a black mat piece just a little larger -- just enough to set off the photo.

And, when you turn it over to the back, there's R2D2!

Here's a little video showing how this card works.

I couldn't let this day pass without celebrating.  I am a big Star Wars fan!  Thanks for visiting my blog today.

CCEE2040 Mad Hatter Day

Frances starts off the month of October by telling the CCEE Stampers that October 6th is Mad Hatter Day.  She asked us to create cards inspired by the theme -- Hats, Alice in Wonderland, Mad Hatter, etc.

Before we get onto this week's challenges we would like to introduce you to our two new Design Team members who are joining our team this week. Please make welcome Hazel Estibeiro, her blog is Handcrafted Expressions and Manal Habib, her blog is Miniscraft. 

I had fun with this challenge, making a waterfall card using the Karen Burniston Frame Pull Pop-Up die and some fun stamps from Kindred Stamps.

We have Alice . . .

and the Mad Hatter . . .

and the Cheshire Cat . . . 

and finally the White Rabbit.

Such a fun challenge.  Check out the CCEE Stampers blog to see how the rest of the team handled it.

CCEE2037 Slimline Cards

Frances continues as hostess for the CCEE Stampers and mentioned that slimline cards seem to be very popular at present, especially with a few companies releasing dies especially for the use of creating this style of card.  For our challenge this week, we were to create a Slimline card.  There are two popular sizes for Slimline cards:  8 1/2" x 3 1/2" or 4" x 9".  Actually, many of my Slimline cards are 8 3/4" x 3 3/4".

I recently purchased a couple of slimline die sets from Mama Elephant and used one of them for my card today, along with some stars of the silver screen from Kindred Stamps.  I love that filmstrip die!

Check out the CCEE Stampers blog for some more examples of this popular card style.

C4C36 - Photo Month

Apparently, May is Photo month, and the Crazy4Challenge challenge this week is to include something that relates to photos this week . . . a card including a real photo, faux photos, selfie style stamps, cameras, etc.

One of my favorite Karen Burniston dies is the Photo Collage Pop-Up, and one of my favorite book/movie franchises is Lord of the Rings.  I combined these two loves on my card this week.  Kindred Stamps has a few stamp sets that were perfect for my card.

See some more photo-related cards over on the Crazy4Challenges blog.

C4C533 - Free Comic Book Day

I'm so happy Frances Byrne asked me to be a guest designer for the Crazy4Challenges blog during the month of May.  I'm always up for a challenge!  According to the Days of the Year web site, today is Free Comic Book Day.  Frances said,  "Maybe create a comic book layout with any theme or create something that might be included in a comic book, e.g., super heroes."

Kindred Stamps has some great comic book images, and I used four of them on my card.  I'm sure you recognize some of those super heroes!

For more comic book fun, stop over at the Crazy4Challenges blog.

Scor-Pal Pinspired Project - Exploding Box

I've got a project on my blog today that was inspired by another project from the Scor-Pal Pinterest Board -- an Exploding Box from 2006.

When I started my box, I decided that my theme would be a favorite of mine -- a certain boy wizard and his friends.  My box differs from the original in that there are only two layers of explosion rather than three, and also there is a 3-D object on the inside.

To start my project, I scored a piece of 12" x 12" cardstock at 4" and 8" on both sides . . .

. . . and a piece of 10 1/2" x 10 1/2" cardstock at 3 1/2" and 7" on both sides.

I then cut the four corners out of each piece.

I chose some wizard-related patterned paper and cut eight pieces 3 3/4" square and eight pieces 3 1/4" square.  As you can see, the patterns represent all four houses at the magic school.

Scor-tape is attached to the bottom of the center square of the smaller panel, the pieces are glued together, and the patterned paper applied appropriately.

The next step was to make the lids for the two layers.  The larger lid is made from a piece of matching yellow cardstock 6 5/8" square.  The smaller lid is made from a piece of matching dark gray cardstock 6 1/8" square.  I then scored each piece 1 1/4" in from all four sides.

After cutting tabs on all four corners, I added some Scor-tape.

This was done to both the yellow lid and the dark gray lid.

I then stamped and colored the images (4 teachers and 4 students).  I cut them out with a Spellbinders Labels One die with a slightly larger Labels One die for the matting.

Following the video instructions for the Karen Burniston Castle Pop-up, which you can find on her website here, adding the additional trimwork.

After the castle was completed, I attached it to a 3 3/4" square of patterned paper, using the tabs created with one of the dies in the Castle Pop-Up die set.  I then cut a hexagonal piece of the same patterned paper, inserted the free-standing turret, and glue it inside the castle.

As you can see from the photos, the teachers are glued to the first layer of explosion. . .

. . . and the students are glued to the inside layer.

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and will try to make an Explosion Box yourself.  It was a really fun project.