Karen Burniston Designer Challenge - New!

Hi all! It's time again for Karen Burniston's Designer Challenge. The theme this month is 'New'. Anything goes as long as we use at least one of the dies from Karen's new collection. Since I'm just a bit obsessed with the Hanging Charm Pull Tab die, I decided to give it a steampunk look and create a Valentine's Day card for my husband.

Oh, if you've never seen this die, I'll bet you didn't see that coming!! How insane is that?! When you pull the tab, it pops up the frame and reveals a message hidden underneath. How perfect is it for a mechanical, interactive steampunk card? I love love love this die!

A few quick details on how I made my card. The bottom layer is painted corrugated cardboard. Next, I cut a panel from a cereal box (cheap chipboard!) and painted it with Brushed Pewter Distress paint, then stamped it with a number stamp and jet black ink. The next layer is more chipboard, this time painted with Tarnished Brass Distress paint. Oh, and prior to painting it I dabbed some DecoArt Media Texture Sand Paste here and there. The rivets are the waste from the center of Karen Burniston's large gear die.

The pull tab mechanism was cut from cardstock, dabbed with sand texture, then painted with DecoArt Payne's Grey and English Red Oxide to give it the look of rust. After making this, I would recommend avoiding any part of the mechanism where the texture would cause it to snag (I scraped a lot of it off!). The heart charm (included in the die set) was cut from chipboard and painted with DecoArt Crackle Paste. After it dried, I adhered numbers that were die cut from black cardstock using Karen's clock die, then covered the whole thing with DecoArt Liquid Glass, to give it the look of enamel.

The frame was cut from cardstock using a rectangle frame from the Flourish Gift Frame set, and the medium-sized oval from the Accordion Oval die set. I love being able to mix and match these dies to get the perfect look. I trimmed down the frame a bit to get it to fit, then embossed it with a gear stamp from Artistic Outpost, and painted over it with more Payne's Gray, wiping off the excess. Finally, I added embellishments from Tim Holtz and a stamped sentiment and I was done!

I didn't have my husband to act as my trusty cameraman today, but I managed to take a quick video to show you how the pull tab works. Seriously, it's so cool - you need this die! Check out this video from Karen that shows how easy it is to use this die.

The dies I used can be found at Elizabeth Craft Designs via the links below, the rest of the supplies I used can be found at Simon Says Stamp and Amazon.

Hanging Charm Pull Tab Karen Burniston Clock and Gears Die Set Flourish Gift Frame Pop it Ups Accordion Oval Die Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape - 6mm (506) Tim Holtz Idea-ology SWIVEL CLASPS Hardware Metal Jewelry TH92677 *Tim Holtz Idea-ology MINI FASTENERS Brads Screws Hardware *Tim Holtz Idea-ology LONG FASTENERS Brad Hardware TH92703 Attachers Tim Holtz Idea-ology CLOCK KEYS TH93014 *Tim Holtz Rubber Stamp STENCIL Stampers Anonymous P4-2319 Tim Holtz Idea-ology JUTE STRING TH93139 Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain VINTAGE PHOTO Ranger TSS42594 Tim Holtz Distress Paint BLACK SOOT Ranger TDD36302 *Tim Holtz Distress Paint TARNISHED BRASS Ranger Metallic TDD36487 *Tim Holtz Distress Paint ANTIQUED BRONZE Ranger Metallic TDD36289 *Tim Holtz Distress Paint BRUSHED PEWTER Ranger Metallic TDD36326 Ranger Archival Ink Pad JET BLACK AIP31468 Tim Holtz Distress Markers BLACK SOOT Ranger TDM32458 *Zip Dry PAPER GLUE Permanent Adhesive Paper Arts Beacon 3 IN 1 ADVANCED CRAFT GLUE Crystal Clear Instant Grab Fast Dry Glue 00210 Media Crackle Paste 4oz-White Deco Art Media Texture Sand Paste, 4-Ounce, White Deco Art Media Fluid Acrylic Paint, 1-Ounce, English Red Oxide by DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylic Paint 1oz-Paynes Gray (Series 3) Deco Art Media Liquid Glass, 2-Ounce, Clear

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Thanks so much for stopping by today and for all the lovely comments you've been leaving on my CHA posts. I'll have another designer challenge project to share tomorrow, so be sure and check back!

I'm also submitting this to the latest SanDee and Amelie's Steampunk Challenges - my first time!