Back with New Sparkle and Washi Tape Picture

I just got back from an amazing crafty cruise learning from Karen Burniston and enjoying the amazing generosity of our host, Scrapp'n Savvy. We were gifted so many different products and I was so excited to win a package of AALL Create Layer It Up washi tape sets that I have been wanting to try. I also recently received a sample Sparkle Overlay from Brutus Monroe in my SCT Cardmaking Delivered box (classes on line this weekend!) and I had to order some right away. I like the sparkle of overlay foils but don't always want to pull out my MINC. These new Sparkle Overlays have adhesive on the back and can be used to add sparkle to just about anything. I combined those two new products on each of these cards. This AALL Layer It up is called Blueish Parlor and I die cut and embossed with a Spellbinders set I also won. The Brutus Monroe Sparkle was added to a patterned paper and die cut with another Spellbinders arches die.

My favorite of the AALL washi tapes that are torn to create a picture is this Painted Desert. Here is another card I made with it:

I tried to attach the Sparkle Overlay to an acetate card front but ended up with many bubbles, I don't recommend unless you have a different way of attaching. But I covered it up with the pretty desert scene and some dragonflies and the recipient will not even know. 

I watched Simon Hurley play with the Brutus Monroe Sparkle Overlays and he showed cutting them in strips and then blending ink over them, so I gave it a try. This beautiful AAL Layer It Up is called Studio Botannicals. 

Another lovely floral Layer It UP is this Peony Pinks which I attached to a piece of pink marble paper covered with a Sparkle Overlay with an eclipsed HBD message. 

I added 1/8 inch strips in between the Terrasse Fleurie washi strips, cut it down and layered on another Sparkle Overlay background. I also punched some butterflies out of the sparkle and washi tape extra pieces. 

The sparkle of the overlays is so hard to capture in still photos, so I filmed a short reel, but Blogger is not allowing me to upload??  You can go to my Instagram or Facebook Page (icons on the right) to see it. 

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Hero Arts Friends With Flair Jean Jacket Layering Stencil

I love layering stencils but to be honest I am so tired of flowers and love unique layering stencils like this new one from Hero Arts. It is called Jean Jacket Layering Stencil and is from the new Friends With Flair collection. I see it more like a shirt and cut this card to show the shape. There are 5 stencils in the set and it creates the front and back of the shirt or jacket. Here is a look at the back of this card:

Perfect for any guy! All of the sentiment stamps on these cards are from the new Totally Awesome stamp set also part of the Friends with Flair release at Hero Arts.

I made this card for my husband whose favorite color is orange for Father's Day. And here is another blue shirt card:

There are many views of all these cards because it was so fun to show the front and back of the jackets or shirts. I made a mini-video to show all those sides:

I love how all these cards turned out and hope they encourage you to give some of the products and ideas a try.

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Stepping Outside My Box with Jaycee's All My Senses Collection

Have you ever taken a class from or watched Jaycee Gaspar create? He is an amazingly talented designer, and I was very excited to see Spellbinders has teamed up with him and released a new collection of dies, stencils and Press & Foil Plates that he designed! Our styles are very different and that is OK- I have stepped outside my box and created some cards with his new collection and I love how they turned out! 

My favorite of the new collection is the Whisper Weave Press & Foil Plates with cutting dies for the sentiments. Press & Foil plates can be pressed with just ink of course, but I chose to add the sparkle of foil to the gorgeous ladies, butterflies and sentiments on the sides of this tri-fold card. The shaped pieces of the tri-fold were created with Spellbinders Essential Arches dies. I added some fun color to the right side with Jaycee's Ambient Aura stencil set. 

Here is another view of this tri-fold. The centerpiece beauty is Jaycee's Fragmented Gaze die cut lady with a few fussy cut butterflies from the Whisper Weave set. I added a couple more foiled images to the front and back of this card when it is closed to mail:

The pieces of the new die sets from Jaycee Gaspar and Spellbinders go together like a puzzle and create a really unique picture. This die set is called Sensory Facets. I embossed the finished image with Spellbinders Soaring Embossing Folder and added a "Chase Joy" sentiment. 

Is it time to step outside your box and create with something so different and fun like this collection? It is available now at Spellbinders here.

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Everyday MVPs Stitched Die of the Month from Spellbinders

Guess what happens the end of this month? Baseball season starts! This month's Stitching Die of the Month from Spellbinders is perfect for baseball lovers like my husband and my brother. It is also perfect stitched like I did above or unstitched like I did below:

I chose Milwaukee Brewers colors for both of these hats and layered them on card bases cut with Spellbinders Mirrored Arch Labels and embossed with Spellbinders Geo Screen embossing folder. 

If you love this Spellbinders Stitching Die of the Month and want it right away, you can visit the website here and join the monthly club. You have until the 27^th of the month to sign up to receive this set and then look forward to getting a new stitching die set each month. But if you can’t commit to a monthly club right now, you can check the website after the 10^th of next month to purchase. If not sold out, the monthly kit products are available to buy then. However, the cost is higher and shipping is not free.

I am a member of the Spellbinders Stitching Die of the Month club, so each month this year I will share cards made with that month’s die set on this blog, on my Instagram and on my Facebook page.

 Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

February Class Cards

Here are the cards I taught in February's class at Harts n Scraps locally. I featured Clear Views transparencies and different ways to frame them. 

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Super Spinners Cards

I don't play pickleball but I do know some pickleball fanatics and I am really proud of this card I created for a pickleball lover. The net lays flat to mail but is standing on a court I drew. The paddle, ball and stamp set are all from a set by Spellbinders called Born To Dink. Here is another pretty card I made with papers from 49 & Market and Simple Strips dies from Taylored Expressions:

Both are nice, but wait until you see this mini video of the spinner movement:

The amazing spinning movement is created with Dress My Craft Nano Spinners. It is even easier to see it in my new video where I show how easy they are to attach and many more cards with them. 

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Spin, Sparkle and Pop Up Cards

Who doesn't love a card with super spinning movement and amazing sparkle? In my newest video here I share two new products that add those to any card. The bunny and egg above sparkle because of Brutus Monroe's Sparkle Overlays and spins around on a Dress My Craft Nano Spinner. And the inside of the card is even more fun:

An Easter rabbit made with Karen Burniston dies with moving arms, carrot lunch and ears pops out! I show step by step how to make this in the new video but I will admit it is a longer video to do the front and inside of this card. If you don't have time right now to watch, here are a few more cards I share and a mini video showing the amazing spin, sparkle and pop up insides all featuring Karen Burniston dies, Nano Spinners and Sparkle Overlays:

Isn't all that sparkle and spinning and pop up insides fun?! If you are a subscriber and can't see the video, just click on my blog or Instagram on the side to see the mini video with all the movement which still pix cannot show.

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Playful Pop Up - Favorite Karen Burniston Pop Up Die?

It's hard to pick a favorite of Karen Burniston pop up dies but the Playful Pop Up has to be in the top 3. I played a bit with it when it came out just before Christmas, but made a few more cards this week in anticipation of Karen's Zoom class with it this weekend. I can't take the class live but can watch the replay anytime and as many times as I want. Karen's Zoom and On line classes are worth every penny and you can buy them with or without the dies needed to make the cards. I get my kits here at Creative Pals in Wisconsin, but there are other vendors as well. 

The Playful Pop Up is a generic pop up die with FOUR arms that move when the card is opened! As you can see in these pictures, there are add ons that make a dog as well as borders and word dies and stamps that make perfect cards for dog lovers. But what is you want a card for a cat lover? The same Add On set makes cats too!

And of course there are border and sentiment dies and perfect stamps too. But the arms can move just about anything and I wanted a design to maybe teach without all the die cutting, so I made this one with Hero Arts Butterfly Confetti die so the pieces inside were all die cut at the same time:

Of course you really can't appreciate the movement with still pictures, so I made a reel to show you:

Wow right? I love how these cards move when opened! 

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

New Karen Burniston Stage Pop-Up Die Set

One of the new die sets in the newest release from Karen Burniston is a fun Hot Air Balloons die set and I made this 5 x 7 card front sending sunshine and joy to a dear friend. But as is always the case, the best part of cards made with Karen's dies is what pops up when the card is opened:

This is a pop up stage that can be used to feature any theme or message. I chose Happy Birthday and more hot air balloons.

I used inspiration from two Karen Burniston design team members to make these Easter treats for my grandsons. One shared an Easter theme and I created Easter egg hunts. Another showed using mini-cake spinners so the scene spins round and round. Still pictures do not do justice to these projects, so here is mini video showing the movement:

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

New Karen Burniston Fun Pop Ups

I get so excited when I see there is a new release from Karen Burniston and while I love all of the new products, I think my favorite is the one that creates the gorgeous peacock below:

Karen has been coming out with stamp sets perfect for most of her new dies. The Peacock is an add on die set for the Arch Pop Up. 

Another fun new pop up die in this release is the Photo Gallery Pop-up. I CASED an idea from one of the KB design team and used Karen's Alphabet dies to spell Happy BDay. It is hard to really see the fun of these cards in still photos, so here is a mini video showing the pop up fun:

Here is another card I made with the new Thank You Lorna Label add on and Hot Air Balloons dies and an idea I learned from Jennifer McGuire with the vellum card front and the smaller center card fold:

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Happy Heart Day with Cards Designed In My Dreams

Happy Valentine's Day! Therm O Web recently sent me many of their new Toner Cardfronts that can be foiled for sparkles of color. I had a dream recently in which I had taken two of them, foiled in different colors and cut a wavy path through one of them with my deckle scissors. The rest of the dream was too weird to share, but I wrote down the card idea and gave it a try. I raised parts for dimension and added some inking on the first card. Foiled cards are hard to photograph to show all the sparkle and different colors, but my dream inspired cards didn't turn out too bad. 

I made one more card with the new toner sheets and pink sparkly Deco Foil. The heart is raised and the arrows pattern continues from the background into the heart. This card could be a Valentine's Day card for my hubby or a wedding card. 

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

OMG Cards That Move From Spellbinders

OMG! Spellbinders new Aged to Perfection dies are perfect to create punny cards that we all love to send in the mail. This Dancin' Chatterbox will surely put a smile on anyone's face! These cards also feature the new OMG and HBD Balloons dies. I added shapes to the cards with Spellbinders Essential Arches and Mirrored Arched Labels dies. 

Here are a couple more pictures to show the movement and the inside of this card:

Pear Blossom Press Snap 'N Slide is the easy to use object that allows the legs to swing back and forth. I also used it to make the front piece and inside balloon spin on this card:

Movement is hard to capture in still photos, so here is a reel I made showing the interactive movement of these cards:

(If you a subscriber and  cannot see the video, you can see it on my blog itself, or on Instagram or my Facebook page.)

I am entering the first card in the Spellbinders Monthly Challenge to add a pop of color. 

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen