Karen Burniston Designer Challenge

It's time again for the Karen Burniston Designer Challenge.  This month we had a choice of two themes -- "AUTUMN or CHRISTMAS CHEER."  I decided to choose "AUTUMN."

One of the new dies just released was the Postage Pop-up.  I haven't used it much, so I decided to give it a little love today.  On the front I just let some pretty fall leaves have center stage.  I cut out the centers of the four "postage stamps" and let them show through.  The sentiment is from a Simple Sentiments stamp set from Taylored Expressions.

But on the inside, I added some Thanksgiving symbols to the stamps.  The simple pop-up box under that panel raises it up.  

I think I used all the dies in the Autumn Elements set on that collage.  The turkey on the smaller pop-up is from Feathered Animals.  The "Happy Thanksgiving" is from Word Set 3 - Holiday.

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you come back agin.

Karen Burniston New Release Sneak Peek - Day 3

My card today uses the new Oven Pop-Up and Oven Extras sets.  These sets are so cool with all their little bits and pieces.  We're all cooking and baking in the fall -- especially when Thanksgiving rolls around.

The front of my card shows off a previously released set called Autumn Elements.

But when you open the card, there is a fully stocked kitchen with upper and lower cabinets, drawers and even a brick backsplash.  I brought some more of those Autumn Elements in from the front of the card on the "Happy Thanksgiving" sentiment oval.

By the way, the oven door opens to reveal a turkey roasting inside.  My Thanksgiving oven doesn't look like that however because my son deep-fries our turkey!

I've seen several creative kitchens made by the rest of the design team.  I hope you check them out.  And be sure to check in on our Blog Hop next Monday.  There are many chances for you to win a $25 gift certificate to the Karen Burniston website.

Christmas Accordion

I think one of the first Karen Burniston dies I ever bought was the Fancy Label Accordion, and it has remained one of my favorites.  It has been so hot this summer that I thought a nice chilly Christmas card would be a change of pace.  Of course, I make Christmas cards all year round.

I added the snowflakes frame from the Fancy Winter Frames and used the individual houses from the House Pivot Panel to create my little winter village, adding the Merry Christmas sentiment to the second and third panels.  What I like about the Fancy Label Accordion (in fact, ALL of Karen's accordion sets) is that you can make your card as long as you want.

Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope you'll come back again.

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 Designer Challenge -- Sun or Snow

It's time again for the Karen Burniston Designer Challenge.  Karen has a good one for us this month -- Sun or Snow.  As I live in Florida and rarely see it, I chose "snow."  

Several months ago I purchased some background paper packs for slimline cards from Whimsy Stamps.  For my card today, I used several of the papers from the Frozen pack.  On the front of my card I used the one with several icebergs on it -- the perfect thing for these cute penguins from the Karen Burniston Winter Animals die set.  I strategically placed two of them on the floating ice.  The sentiment is from the new Word Set 13 - Snow.  I love that two of the words in this set (Brrr! and Snow) have shadows.

Another one of the Whimsy Stamps background papers adorns the inside of my card, but the star of the show is the newly released Garden Bench Pop-Up.   As you can see, another penguin has jumped up on the bench.  In the background is the new Street Lantern Pop-Up peeking over the back of the bench.

I also used the snowflakes die from the new Long Nature's Edges 2 set, as well as one of the ones from the original Long Nature's Edges set.  All that was left was to add the small rectangle for a place to sign the card.

Be sure to check out all the cards made by the Design Team this month.  Karen will have her card tomorrow.

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge - Mini Pop-Ups

 The Karen Burniston Designer Challenge for December is to use the new Mini Pop-Up dies on a card of any theme.  Inasmuch as Christmas is right around the corner, it is almost a given that many of the cards for this challenge will be Christmas cards.  Mine is no exception.

I used the Sleigh Pop-Up on the front, pulled along by two reindeer from Christmas Animals.  The string of lights are from the new Holiday House.

When you open the card, you will find Santa and Mrs. Claus getting ready for Christmas.  I love the new Mini Pop-Up dies -- easy to use and the result is lots of fun.

Here is a close-up so you can see how the Mini Pop-Up work.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.  I hope I have provided some inspiration for you.

Snowflakes and Ornaments

 I've been playing around with the new Karen Burniston release.  The card I have today uses two of the new sets (Pattern Plate - Snowflakes and Holiday Charms) as well as one of the word sets (Word Set 3 - Holiday). 

I like using the Pattern Plates on 5 x 6 1/2" cards because it allows a border around the 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" die-cut.  The shimmer white cardstock I used for the snowflakes is mounted on some light blue copy paper, and then  I cut the dark blue border using some Spellbinders A2 dies.    I just got that yummy blue Christmas paper that I used on the Christmas balls.  After constructing that panel, I mounted it on the white card base with foam tape, adding some sequins over the holes in three of the snowflakes.

This is not necessarily a Christmas card, so I just added the words "Winter Greetings" from Karen Burniston's Word Set 3 - Holiday.

Karen Burniston Sneak Peek - Day 6

 Today's sneak peek at the Winter Release of Karen Burniston's dies also uses the Pop 'n Swap.  The front of my card has a simple layout using the new Holiday Charms, one of the Border Blends, Word Set 3 - Holiday, and some pretty designer paper.  

 I really liked the hack Karen did to make the Pop 'n Swap into a Pop 'n Pop, which is what I did for the inside of my card.  One of the fun dies included in the Holiday Charms is some coal -- so Naughty or Nice was a no-brainer.  Naughty little children receive coal in their stocking, whereas nice little children get toys and candy.  Using some brick designer paper, I made a "fireplace mantle" on which to hang my stockings.  The words were made with a label maker.

The final die in the Holiday Charms set is a snowflake, which fits nicely inside the Christmas ball.

Karen Burniston New Release - Day 3

 It's Day 3 of the sneak peeks of the new Karen Burniston dies, which are available right now for pre-order on her website.  Shipping will begin the first week of November.

The card I have to show you today uses the new Holiday House -- as a gingerbread house.  Using several different shades of brown, I constructed my house.  After adding the snow roofline, I added the multi-colored Christmas lights.  

The gingerbread "people" are from Winter Charms, and the sentiment "Greetings" is from Word Set 3 - Holiday.  The snowdrifts and trees are from another new set -- Long Nature's Edges.  I can see lots of use of these new dies for Christmas cards this year!

Karen Burniston Sneak Peek - Day 2

In this new Karen Burniston release are two more cover plates -- one with Holly and the other with Snowflakes.  Today I'm using the Holly one for a relatively simple card.

I liked the white border around the sample card on the packaging, so I emulated it with a 5" x 6 1/2" card.  I also used one of the smaller Long Rectangles - Crosshatch dies for the sentiment panel.

As you can see, there is a separate die for the red holly berries.  The sentiment is from Word Set 3- Holiday, and the little bows are from the Easter Charms.

Don't forget, this new release is available for pre-order now on the Karen Burniston website and will be shipping the first week of November.

Karen Burniston and Pear Blossom Press Collaboration Blog Hop

Thank you so much for hopping along with us on the Karen Burniston and Pear Blossom Press Collaboration Hop! Be sure to comment along the way to be entered to win one of two great prizes: Snowman Twist Circle Die Set with a 5-pack of EZ-Lights, or 
Cake Pop-Up Die Set with a 5-pack of EZ-Lights!  

I was so excited when I heard that the Karen Burniston design team would be collaborating with the Pear Blossom Press design team on this blog hop.  I have become somewhat addicted to those EZ Lights that Pear Blossom Press has just released.  And they work so well with the Karen Burniston Pop-Up dies.  You can just feed the wires up through the pop-up mechanisms on your card to create some pretty cool effects.

I have made a bunch of cards using them, two of which I am showing in today's hop.  The first one uses the House Pivot Panels die, along with the Twist Panel die.  The front of the card is pretty simple -- just the snowdrift and deer from the Outdoor Scene die set, along with Crosshatch Ovals and a sentiment from Word Set 3 - Holiday.

When you open the card, that's where all the action takes place.

In addition to the houses, I added some trees from the Evergreen Pivot Panels and another greeting.  Do you see that sign down at the bottom that says, "Push Here"?  When you push it, magic happens.

I made a short video showing my card in action.

My second card is also a Christmas card.  I started by using the Karen Burniston Christmas Pop Stand, but I couldn't get it to cooperate.  So I salvaged the light-wired trees and used the pop-out mechanism from the Tree Pop-Up.  This worked much better.

This video shows the trees lighting up.

Now don’t worry if you aren’t drawn as one of the winners; we’ve got a special gift for everyone! Just enter the code POPANDLIGHT for 15% off your purchase at karenburniston.com or pearblossompress.com. One code works for both shops! (Coupon code valid until November 2, 2019.)

Karen Burniston

Pear Blossom Press

Karen Aicken

Niccole Kulig

Frances Byrne

Jessica Shier

Lois Bak  (that's me)

Lynnea Hollendonner

Fran Sabad

Jenn Paar Gross

Sandy Diller

Jess Francisco

Kelly Booth

Lisa Golzbein

Summer Hills-Painter

Prizes & Official Contest Rules

Two prizes will be awarded to two separate winners, chosen at random, from comments left on participating blogs and videos. No purchase necessary. Comments must be posted by 11:59 pm PDT on October 26, 2019. Only one comment per blog or video will be counted, but you can comment on multiple blogs and videos in the hop for additional entries. (This is to prevent spam.) Contest open internationally to participants over 18 years of age. Void where prohibited by law. Any personal information collected will only be used for the purposes of contacting winners, your information will never be shared or sold. Comments left on YouTube videos must not violate community guidelines. This contest is not sponsored by YouTube. Winners will be announced on November 28, 2019 here and prizes must be claimed within thirty days of announcement, or new winners will be drawn.