Karen Burniston Designer Challenge - Stretch it Out!

Hi all! It's time for the second installment of this month's Karen Burniston Designer Challenge. The theme, chosen by the amazing Kelly Booth, is 'Stretch it Out'. We could choose any style of accordion die and decorate it as we wished.

I had purchased this pretty, glittery butterfly gift bag for my good friend Cyndi's birthday, and decided to try make a matching card. I was inspired by this beautiful butterfly accordion card done by Helen Cryer a few years ago (which was inspired by one of my cards - full circle crafting at its finest!). I didn't want to totally make my card from clear acetate, so I used one of the ovals to cut a frame in the green cardstock, then cut the clear piece and adhered it behind the frame.

The butterflies were cut from cardstock using the butterfly charm die from Karen's Hanging Charm Pull Tab set. I just snipped the ring at the top and covered the hole with a pearl. I layered two together then covered with clear glitter. The little hydrangeas were made by stacking the tiny flowers from the Props 7 set, then adding a drop of Buttercup Perfect Pearls to the centers.

You can find the supplies I used at Elizabeth Craft Designs and Simon Says Stamp via the links below.

Oval Landscape Accordion Flourish Gift Frame Hanging Charm Pull Tab Karen Burniston Butterfly Pivot Card Props 7 Karen Burniston Happy Birthday PopUp Die White - Silk Microfine Glitter Soft Finish Cardstock 8.5" X 11" 270gr /100Lb 10 pack (PSF102) Ranger BUTTERCUP Liquid Pearls Pearlescent Paint LPL28086 Ranger GLUE N SEAL 1 OZ Matte INK44987 Tombow MONO MULTI Liquid Glue Two Applicators 62191 Kaiser Scrapbook PEARL 50 Count Self Adhesive Pearls SB713

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Be sure and check out Karen's blog tomorrow for a really cool technique I know you're going to love, plus lots of accordion inspiration from the whole team!

Sizzix Party Ideas - Embossed Kraft Favor Box

Hi all! This month, the Eileen Hull Inspiration Team is sharing some fun party ideas. One of my favorite dies - the Square Box die - has just be re-released so I thought this would be the perfect time to highlight it!

Sometimes my projects can be a bit time-consuming, so I decided to keep this one sweet and simple. I love the look of Eileen's new Heart and Soul flower cut from coffee filters and her new Lace Medallions die is extra pretty when it's highlighted with white paint. Here's how I made it:

Begin by cutting two box pieces from medium weight kraft chipboard. Emboss as shown using Eileen's Lace Medallions embossing folder. Highlight the raised areas with white paint. Let dry and assemble using Beacon 3-in-1 glue, or other strong adhesive.

Next, cut several flowers from white coffee filters using the Heart and Soul die. Separate and stack the large flower and the small one. Thread a wire through a large white pearl bead and twist to secure.

To hide the wire, thread one small flower onto the wire and adhere with glue.

Finally, add the rest of the flowers, securing with a dab of glue. Fluff the petals for a full look.

Isn't this just the sweetest flower? And so easy and very inexpensive! I think this box would be a great wedding or shower favor. Or, change up the colors and use it for a birthday party. Coffee filters are so easy to dye with spray inks and stains, so you can match your flowers to any theme.

You can find the products I used at Sizzix, Scrapbook.com, and Simon Says Stamp via the links below. All Eileen's dies are on sale at Scrapbook.com right now, and all Ranger supplies are on sale at SSS. It's a great time to stock up!

Eileen Hull Square Box Die Eileen Hull Lace Medallions Eileen Hull Heart and Soul Die Ranger Paint Dabber GLACIER WHITE RAD43751 Beacon 3 IN 1 ADVANCED CRAFT GLUE Crystal Clear Instant Grab Fast Dry Glue 00210 Tombow MONO MULTI Liquid Glue Two Applicators 62191 Sizzix BIG SHOT PLUS MACHINE Gray And White 660340 Grafix Medium Weight Chipboard Sheets, 12-Inch by 12-Inch, Natural, 25-Pack BUNN BCF100-B 100-Count Basket Filter

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Thanks so much for stopping by today. Check out Eileen's blog for more great inspiration for your parties!

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge - Up!

Hi all! This month we're kicking off a new format for the Karen Burniston Designer Challenge. Instead of a monthly post, we'll be doing challenges twice a month, with a new theme each time. Double the inspiration, right? This week's challenge theme is 'Up'. I decided to use birds as my theme since they are 'up' in the sky!

Over the weekend, I got together with my friends to make some napkin cards. You might remember I was inspired to try fusing napkins to cardstock after finding some pretty sea-themed ones at Tuesday Morning. My friends and I started the day at Tuesday Morning, rifling through all the gorgeous napkins there. My favorites are by Michel Design Works. They have the most beautiful patterns.

See what I mean??? Gorgeous! We each bought several packages and then shared with each other. It's a great way to get lots of different patterns without being stuck with a huge supply of napkins. To read more about making cards with Pop it Ups dies and napkins, check out THIS post from last month.

Cyndi is my friend who is always hip to the cool new products that I never know about. She's been talking about Wink of Stella glitter pens lately and I admit I was skeptical that they were anything great. Well, I was wrong!! After she let me try hers, I was hooked! I love the subtle sparkle of glitter it adds and the pen is so easy to use! And so tidy. On my card, I added cutouts of the birds and flowers, popped up with foam dots. Then I used the pen to add highlights. I wish you could see this sparkle in person. It's so beautiful!

I used Karen's Katie Flourish Frame edges to decorate the front of the card. So pretty! My friend Michelle had the great idea to add more cutouts to the card edges. I love the layered look it gives the card. Just be sure that your mechanism can still pivot when you're planning your placement. Yes, that's the voice of experience speaking. ;-)

One tip I have with using the napkins and Pop it Ups dies is to make sure you get the larger, rectangular shaped napkins if you want to use dies like the Accordion Rectangle die I used above. That way you have plenty of napkin graphics to fit the whole card.

The supplies I used can be found at Elizabeth Craft Designs, Simon Says Stamp, and Amazon via the links below. I can't find the same napkins to link to, but I found some pretty ones on Amazon, as well as paper placemats. I have a feeling those are going to be showing up in my studio very soon - imagine the possibilities!!

Karen Burniston Accordion Rectangle Card Oval Landscape Accordion Katie Flourish Frame Edges Karen Burniston Accordion Rectangle Die Clear Double Sided Adhesive Sheet - 6" x 6" - 5 pack (503) Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape - 6mm (506) Soft Finish Cardstock 8.5" X 11" 270gr /100Lb 10 pack (PSF102) Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad FADED JEANS Ranger TIM21452 ZIG Wink of Stella GLITTER CLEAR Brush Tip Marker 025320 Michel Design Works 15-Count 3-Ply Paper Hostess Napkins, Peony Michel Design Works 20-Count 3-Ply Paper Luncheon Napkins, Peony Michel Design Works 25 Count Peony Paper Placemats

InLinkz.com

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Be sure and check out Karen's blog tomorrow for inspiration from the whole team and a great tutorial from Karen!

I'm also submitting this for the Simon Says Stamp Flora and Fauna challenge. Love that theme!