Karen Burniston Designer Challenge - May

I am beyond excited to share today's card with you! It's my second card for Karen Burniston's Designer Challenge. This time my month is May so I thought I'd do a pretty Mother's Day card with another one of my favorite Graphic 45 collections - Botanical Tea. What makes this card so special?

It's a tunnel card! Or a double concertina, or double accordion tunnel card. Take your pick! Last month I saw this card on Pinterest. My first thought was that there had to be a way to make one with one of Karen's accordion dies. But try as I might, I couldn't figure out how to make it work. I asked Karen if she had any idea how I could do it and, within minutes, she had a mock up and basic instructions! That woman works fast.

When I was trying to decide what kind of card to make for the challenge, I thought I would be brave and try what looks like an incredibly complicated card technique. You know what I found out? It's super easy. Like, crazy, super easy. Here's how I made it:

Begin by cutting an 8.5" x 11" piece of paper in half lengthwise. Fold each piece and die cut using Karen's Accordion Oval die. Be sure you drop the fold down below the cutting edge so that the fold remains intact. Cut out the center portion as shown on the bottom piece.

Next, cut notches on the inside of the oval on one piece, and on the outside of the other. Stamp with desired images.

Line your card sections up facing each other, with the fold facing out. Gently fold the left section of the piece with the top notches and pass it through the oval opening, lining the notches up. If the fit is too tight, remove and snip out a bit more paper until they fit.

Repeat the process for the other section. You've just made your tunnel accordion. I told you it was crazy easy!

This is the direction you'll be working in when you decorate your card. I recommend decorating your card after it's assembled, other than stamping or a bit of paper layering. You definitely need to be able to have everything lined up when you're planning out your paper placement.

I had a blast snipping and gluing and pop-dotting all the the gorgeous images from this Graphic 45 collection. It's truly hard to know when to stop! I used Karen's House Pivot Card die to make a little fence, and the banner from her Lorna Label set to create a sentiment.

One thing about a card like this - still photos don't come close to showing the dimension. Here's a quick little video to give you a better idea of how this card operates.

The best part about this card is that if folds completely flat for mailing. I couldn't control myself and went outside the margins with some of my flowers, but if you keep it all within the edges of the card, you can just pop it in an envelope and send it on its way!

The supplies I used for my card can be found at Inspiration Emporium and Elizabeth Craft Designs via the links below. Remember to use my coupon code - stamptramp - to save 10% on your order!

Pop it Ups Accordion Oval Die Graphic 45 Botanical Tea 8x8 Foam Sticky Squares Scotch Tape Glider Sizzix Magnetic Platform Vagabond

InLinkz.com

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Be sure and head over to the Elizabeth Craft Designs blog tomorrow for a new video from Karen (I've seen it and you don't want to miss it!), plus incredible cards from the team for every month of the year!