Rare Oddities Pop-Up Tunnel Card

Hi all! When I posted my last card in the Graphic 45 Facebook group, one of the members commented that it was a bit too complicated for them. I agree that it can be overwhelming when you first start making any type of pop-up or folded card, so I thought it would be fun to show a card that has a similar feel to it, but is much more simple to construct.

What takes this one from simple to fabulous is all the amazing Graphic 45 papers! I am on a mission to stop hoarding all of my favorite papers and release them into the wild. Rare Oddities was one of my favorite papers from a year (two?) ago and I thought it would be perfect for this card.

I used some of my favorite new dies from Karen Burniston - like this cool Halloween sentiment - and lots of fussy cut elements. Follow along below to see how I made it.

Begin by cutting two pieces of black cardstock measuring 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" (an 8.5" x 11" piece of cardstock cut in half). Score one piece in the center at 4 1/4". Score the other in the center, and then halfway between the center and each outer edge - from the left side your scores should be at 2 1/8",
4 1/4", and 6 3/8". Fold on all score lines as shown and burnish with a bone folder.

Adhere a 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" panel in the center of the mountain-folded card. Align the 4 3/8" oval die from Karen Burniston's Ovals - Crosshatch die set in the center and use your die cutting machine to cut through both layers of paper. If you don't have a die, you could hand-cut this section.

 Refold the card and ink the inside of the cutout with black ink.

Cut decorative elements from paper. Here I'm using Graphic 45's Rare Oddities paper (retired). Adhere a 4 1/8"x 5 3/8" panel to the center of the single-folded card.

To create the pop-out element for the backing card, score a panel in the center, and 1/4" from each side. (My panel was a bit small, so I added strips to widen it.) Fold as shown and apply adhesive to outer tabs.

With both pieces lying flat, align the center fold of the small panel with the center of the card and adhere. Pop center panel out as shown and retrain the folds.

To create a frame for the opening, nest two oval dies from Karen Burniston's Ovals - Crosshatch die set as shown and die cut.

 Adhere frame and other elements to card as shown.

Fussy cut flowers or other elements to add to card. Die cut spider web and spider, both from Karen Burniston's Halloween Scene collection.

 Adhere die cut and fussy cut elements to the card as shown.

 Apply adhesive to the outer edges of the frame panel.

Adhere frame panel to backing card, aligning edges carefully. Retrain all folds. Decorate front of card as desired.

 I just adore tunnel cards. It's so much fun adding little elements here and there and building a scene.

Here you can see how it folds up when closed. So cool!! It is a bit bulky because of the paper I used and how many layers there are - it will most likely need extra postage.

If you've never made a tunnel card before, I suggest using plain cardstock and making a sample card before you start cutting into your fancy papers. I do this with almost any new pop-up die or card fold and it makes it much less stressful when you don't have to worry about messing up! You can also play with where you'd like to place your elements, etc. My biggest problem with cards like this is knowing when to stop!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. It's been ages since I've done one and it was a lot of fun - I might have to do this more often. :-)

You can find the supplies I used via the links below. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Accordion Floral Thank You Card

Hi all! I'm just popping (!) in to share an idea for a quick thank you card using Karen Burniston's Fancy Label Accordion die. If you've followed me for awhile, you might remember a post from a couple years ago where I used napkins as background paper for cards. This weekend, I was trying to think up a quick thank you card that would be pretty, but be fairly quick and easy to make. I spotted my stack of napkins and my problem was solved!

I used Karen's Fancy Flourish Frames to decorate the front. The sentiment was cut from green cardstock using dies from Word Sets 1 and 4. I highlighted the words with a white gel pen and glitter, but it's a bit hard to see in the photo.

To give the card a bit more interest, I adhered another napkin to cardstock and cut out a few of the elements, like the bird and flowers, then adhered them to the card with foam to give it a 3D appearance. So pretty!

You can find the supplies I used via the links below.




Thanks so much for stopping by today!

You're So Sweet!

Hi everyone! I have a sweet little pop-up card to share with you today. I found this pretty paper from Authentique at Tuesday Morning last month and thought it would be perfect for this dessert-themed thank you card.

The front is decorated using one of the frame dies from Karen Burniston's Katherine Label Pop Up set. The thanks die is from her Greetings set, and the flourish is from the Cupcake Pop Up set.

So sweet for a thank you note, right?! The Cupcake Pop Up Card die set is great for lots of different card themes. The sentiment was computer-generated and trimmed to fit the bottom pop-up. On the top, I used Karen's new wavy edge die to create a rick rack border. I love that stitching!

You can find the supplies I used via the links below.






Thanks so much for stopping by today!

New Karen Burniston Cake Pop-Up Card!

Hi all! I'm back today with another amazing new die from Karen Burniston's Winter 2018 release. This one might just be my favorite (today at least!). It's the Cake Pop-Up die and it is definitely a show-stopper!

I chose an older collection from Graphic 45 for this card. I have been hoarding this paper and it's absolutely perfect for this pop-up die. I kept the front fairly simple since I didn't want any bulk to keep the card from lying flat when opened. I added a decorative clip, which actually serves a dual purpose. On the front it's a pretty embellishment...

And on the inside it helps to hold the card open for display. And seriously, who wouldn't want to display this?! The Cake Pop-Up die looks so complicated, but is one of the easiest of Karen's dies to assemble (you can find her assembly video here). I cut each tier with a different paper to give it more interest. The top tier has a little tab so that you can glue candles, etc onto the top. Here, I added fussy cut flowers and a banner for maximum 'wow' factor. I added a few more fussy cut details to the back of the cake, making sure that it could still move freely when opening and closing.

Great news! Karen's new collection is shipping tomorrow, February 1st! You can shop for this die and all the other incredible dies from the release via the links below. Have fun!

Be sure and follow me on Instagram for videos of this card (and others) in action! There's nothing quite like a video for showing how amazing these cards really are.

Thanks so much for stopping by today - have a great day!

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge - Trees, Please!

Hi all! It's time again for Karen Burniston's Designer Challenge. This month our theme is Trees, Please! I decided to create a card using Karen's Christmas Tree Pop-Up die, since I haven't had a chance to use it yet. While I was trying to decide exactly what to make, Karen suggested I try a gate fold card with two trees. I immediately thought of this card from a couple years ago and I was off and running!

The base of the card was created by scoring a 6" x 12" piece of kraft cardstock 3" from each edge. I also added a 4" flap at the top that's attached by a tab across the back. The closure was made from one of Tim Holtz's adorable log slices and a length of elastic cord.

Remove the elastic cord and the top panel pops up. Ooooh, a pretty winter cabin! But what's under those side panels?

You open them slowly...is that...are those...trees?!?

Why, yes...they are! And a little bunting that unfurls as the trees are lifted. How amazing is that tree die?!

A few details about the construction: the patterned paper is from a pad I found at Hobby Lobby. I'm obsessed with it and it's what pretty much inspired the whole card. The little cabin was created by cutting down Karen's House die and adding snow and a little wreath. The bunting is from the Tag Book set and the labels are from the Katherine Label Pop-Up set. The greeting was cut into the label using dies from the Holiday Word Set. Finally, the snow was cut with the wavy edge from the Nature Edges set.

Whew! I told myself I wasn't going to go overboard with this challenge, but I couldn't help myself. Even thought I used a lot of products, you could easily replicate this with just the tree die, substituting dies you already have for the other elements.

The supplies I used can be found at KB Riley and Simon Says Stamp via the links below.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Make sure you check out Karen's blog tomorrow for a gorgeous card tutorial - you're going to love it!

Winter Wishes Tag Book Pop-Up Card

Hi everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful Thanskgiving holiday. Earlier this month, Karen Burniston released a small collection of dies and I'm so excited to share this card using one of my favorites from the collection - the Tag Book Pop-Up. Imagine all the possibilities with this cool die!

Wow! Right?! I love that this card looks so complicated, but it's actually incredibly simple to put together - that means you can spend your time embellishing it to your heart's content.

For this card, I decided to use some of my favorite papers and embellishments from Tim Holtz. The little bunting was made with pennant dies that are included in the set, plus little snowflake charms from the Winter Charms set. The trees were also made with dies from the charms set - I just cut off the top ring.

See that little paper clip? It's a die! Also included in the set. I cut this one from cardstock that was covered with metal foil tape. It needs a bit of glue to hold it in place but it makes such a cute accent. My little 'holly' leaves were cut using the fall leave die from the Tree Pop-Up die set. I scored a line down the middle and added a red pearl and you'd never know it's not a holly die.

I hope you enjoyed this cozy winter tag card. I can't wait to try more variations. The supplies I used can be found at Simon Says Stamp and Amazon via the links below. The paper is from an older TH collection, but many of the same/similar patterns are in the newer set.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge - Gingerbread

Hi all! It's time again for the Karen Burniston Designer Challenge. This month our theme is Gingerbread. Christmas will be here before you know it so it's a great time to start thinking about your Christmas and winter holiday cards!

I was inspired to make this cute gingerbread snow globe card by, of all things, a cookie video from Sweet Ambs. She is absolutely amazing - I dream of someday making amazing cookies like her. For now, I'm happy to use them as inspiration for cards; paper is so much easier than dough!

Read on to see how I altered Karen's Cupcake Pop Up card die and combined it with a few of her other dies to make a sweet little snow globe shaker card.

To make the shaker, I cut a circle from white cardstock with the largest circle from the Snowman Twist Circle set, then inked it with Distress Oxide and sprayed it with Picket Fence Distress Ink spray. I cut white fun foam with the same die, then cut the edge with the wavy die from the Nature Edges die set. This will create the 'dam' for the bottom half of the shaker - I felt very smart for thinking of that! :) To make the dam for the upper part of the shaker, nest the large and next size down circle dies and cut another piece of fun foam.  Trim off the excess and adhere to the cardstock, butting the edges up to the snow part.

Next, I cut my gingerbread man from cork using the large gingerbread boy from the Winter Charms set and added a hat from the Winter Animals set. The tree is also from the Winter Charms set. The snowflakes are part of the Snowman Circle Twist set. After gluing down the elements and filling it with glitter and snow (not shown in this pic) I adhered a circle of actetate to the foam, then added a frame of glitter paper.

The base of the snow globe was created by cutting the cupcake liner from glitter paper, trimming it slightly, then adhering it with foam dots as shown. I cut a little strip from the glitter paper and added it to the top to keep the little strips of the cupcake wrapper together. The cupcake pop-up was trimmed down on the sides so that it wouldn't peek out from behind the snow globe.

Seriously, how sweet is this little guy?! To finish the snow globe, I added a little die cut bow to the front, and a die cut snowflake to the 'glass' front. I added more snowflakes randomly around the card to give it even more sparkle. The paper is all from My Mind's Eye, and I think the glittery red washi tape is from The Dollar Tree.

On the front of the card I used the circle die cut again, along with a sentiment from the Holiday Word Set die. The top is tied with Tim Holtz's Christmas Jute String and a snowflake charm from the Winter Charms die set.

What's extra fun about a snowy pop-up shaker card is that it 'snows' as the card is being opened. So cool! I hope you enjoyed my take on the Gingerbread challenge. The supplies I used can be purchased at Amazon and Simon Says Stamp via the links below.


Thanks so much for stopping by today. Be sure and check out Karen's post tomorrow to see an amazing video tutorial plus lots of great gingerbread inspiration from the whole team!