Monday, August 3, 2026

Favorite Die from the New Karen Burniston Release


As soon as Karen Burniston dropped her video on how to use the new Cascade Pop Up die set I just had to try one. I had a feeling it would be my favorite of the new release and it is. Sooo many things you can do with it! My first card is a CASE from several design team members who used Karen's Poinsettia die on theirs. Pretty front but look at the inside!


Three levels of pop up magic! It is hard to catch that in a still photo, so here is a reel I filmed showing the card being opened and closed:


I know I am going to be making many more cards with this die set as soon as I have time to play, and will be teaching with it as well. 
 
Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Thursday, July 30, 2026

New Cards with the July Release from Karen Burniston


Have you seen the dies and stamps in the July release from Karen Burniston? All I can say is WOW - she knocked it out of the park again! I just got mine and played with a couple of the new sets, but when I have time I will be playing and sharing many more! I created this fall gazebo scene with the new Little Bench Pop Up and the Gazebo Stage Add-on. This combo can be used for weddings or holidays or any occasion. I decided to add some fall leaves to mine. 


The new Toolbox Pop Up is perfect for guy's cards and easy to create with especially after watching Karen's excellent videos. Here is the front of this card:


There is also an add-on for this set called Six Pack Toolbox Add-on and with it we can create six packs of beer or soda. I chose beer:



Each of the new die sets released have matching stamp sets with perfect sentiments for each theme as you can see. The beer keg on the front is from an older Sue Wilson set. 

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Friday, July 24, 2026

Playing with New Dies and Products from Recent Shows


I finally had some more time to play with new products I bought at the last couple shows I attended. This CAS card showcases gorgeous papers and an Open Window Die set from Blue Knight Rubber Stamps. I am busy designing cards for an upcoming class at Harts N Scraps featuring stencils and stamps from Blue Knight so if you are local, be sure to check them out!


I took a class with Winneconne Crafts at the Madison show and she featured this LDRS Stepped Edge Die and several ways to use it. This card also features more of the gorgeous paper from Blue Knight Rubber Stamps and some bird dies from Crealies.


The Stepped Edge die can be used along the edge of the card front too. The sand background was created with colored sand from Mudd Puddles and a shell I bought in their booth too. It opens as you can see here:


Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen

Thursday, July 23, 2026

Christmas in July Class Cards

My friend Deb Holms and I taught Christmas in July Fun Folds Cards this last week at Harts N Scraps in Rothschild. All the cards also featured Clear View Transparencies. Deb's card was the star card. My favorite card was the last one with the amazing blue jay from Altenew and the pop up frame from Karen Burniston. Which is your favorite?






Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

More Amazing Interactive Cards Inspired by Sam of Mixed Up Craft

 
I have been having so much fun trying interactive card ideas shared recently by Sam of Mixed Up Craft. This one is a sliding waterfall. Watch what happens when the arrow is pulled: 


To really see this movement and the next card be sure to watch the reel below...


I could not resist the new coffee cup scenery stamps and dies from Altenew and made another tiered wiper card with it. Here is the view when the snowflake is pulled:


Still pictures do not show the movement of these cards very well, so I made a reel:


Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Monday, July 20, 2026

Altenew Keyhole Easy Blue Jay or Cardinal Cards


I taught a Christmas in July class this last week and we made a Christmas card with this gorgeous layered blue jay die from Altenew. I needed some thinking of you cards to send to friends this week so I made several cards with the easy keyhole layering die cut set. The sentiment die is from Karen Burniston and the pretty sky paper is from Blue Knight Rubber Stamps. 


The same keyhole system die set from Altenew can be styled into a cardinal and I love how this card turned out! Which is your favorite?

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Thursday, July 16, 2026

More Tiered Wiper or Pop Out Cards



Sam from Mixed Up Craft has been sharing videos with various versions of Tiered Wiper Cards and I have been having fun trying each one. I finally received my backordered Spellbinders Dumpster Fire and Favorite Side Effects dies and stamps and created this card with them. See the arrow? This is what happens when it is pulled:


Isn't that fun? (See below to see this and the other card in action.)


Most recently, Sam shared a slimline double pop out version. I adapted it to fit into a 5 x 7 envelope. The super cute paper and pop outs are from Paper Wishes. Pull the tab and here is the surprise:


Here is a reel of the fun pop out surprises on these cards:


Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen