Paper Pros Challenge - Spring!

Hi all! It's time again for the Paper Pros monthly challenge. This month's challenge is Spring and was chosen by the wonderfully talented Karen Aiken. We were to use spring blooms and butterflies and I managed to use both in this fun pop-up z fold card.

After making my first card in this style last month, I couldn't wait to make another one. I thought Easter was the perfect theme for this pretty fenced garden card. I used Karen Burniston's Iron Fence die, cut twice from gray cardstock, then swiped with a white dabber, to create the fence. I used clear acetate to create a strip for the girl and tree to attach to. It moves with the card as it opens and closes. The background paper and fussy cut pieces are all by Prima.

My friend Cyndi loaned me this adorable bunny die from Cheery Lynn, which was the inspiration for the whole card. I love Karen's little woven basket die fulled with eggs. So perfect! The swirly flowers are new dies from Elizabeth Craft Designs.

I knew I wanted a little tree in the garden, but I wasn't sure what else to use. When I was searching for an Easter greeting, I came across these sweet stamps from Oxford Impressions and thought the little girl with the chicken was just perfect!! I just love that pretty stamp.

The dies I used are available from Elizabeth Craft Designs via the links below.

Iron Fence Pop-Up Props 7 Karen Burniston All Seasons Tree Happy Flowers

InLinkz.com

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I'm sharing this over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Hip Hop. Be sure and check out all the wonderful entries! Oh, and speaking of spring and Easter and girls with chickens, check out one of our new babies! We just got them last night and they are all adorable. This one was sweet enough to pose for me while I snapped a quick glamour shot. :)

Have a great week and Happy Easter to my friends who celebrate!

Shake it Up! Valentine's Shaker Card

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Since my last post with Karen Burniston's Designer Challenge team, we've regrouped as a casual group of crafty friends called Paper Pros and are participating in a monthly, no-stress challenge. I'm so excited that the team is still together and happy to get to work with such a talented group of friends!

This month our challenge is Shake it Up. We all created cards with either a shaker or some other type of movement. I'm still on my addiction to shakers, so I used Karen's Hearts Pivot die to created a three panel card using some pretty papers from Prima. You might remember I used this fabulous technique from Summer Hills-Painter a couple years ago, but with the Butterfly Pivot. I love that it looks so complicated, but is really quite easy!

I created the shaker portion by using the two smaller heart dies to cut two layers from fun foam. I adhered them, then covered the top with a clear piece of acetate cut from the larger heart die. The final layer was another frame, this time cut from pretty paper. I added dots of Platinum Stickles to decorate the edges. I filled the heart with pearl beads and sequins, then glued a backing on.

Here are links to the other Paper Pros.

Caz Counsell - Valentines treat boxes with wobbling critters
Fran Sabad - beach-themed shaker card
Karen Aicken - pop-up Valentine with shaker balloon
Sandy Diller - accordion Valentine with wobbling bear
Frances Byrne - pop-up Lorna label window shaker card
Donna Wright - http://oldredshed.blogspot.com
Summer - Hills Painter - http://1craftypainter.blogspot.com
Raquel Mason - http://raquelmason.blogspot.com
Helen Cryer - http://diningroomdrawers.blogspot.com
Kelly Booth - http://cruzinkellster.blogspot.com


Thanks so much for stopping by today! You can find the supplies I used at Elizabeth Craft Designs and Simon Says Stamp via the links below. The Heart Pivot die is on sale right now for just $12.95, so grab it while you can!

Heart Pivot Card Tim Holtz Idea-ology GUMDROPS Ornamental Embellishment TH93183 Tim Holtz Idea-ology CHARMED Findings TH93266 idea-ology Heirloom Roses Ranger Stickles PLATINUM Glitter Glue SGG09696

InLinkz.com

Butterfly Shaker Card

Hi all! This week the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is 'Spread Your Wings'. I just made this pretty shaker card for my friend, Michelle's, birthday, and I thought it would be perfect to share for this challenge.

I started by embossing some Prima paper with Eileen Hull's Honeycomb embossing folder, then sanding lightly to remove the top layer. The butterfly shakers were made by die cutting mat board with Tim Holtz's Mini Butterflies, then trimming around them. I layered two cuts to get the depth I wanted. Next, I cut the openings in the card front with the same dies, then covered them with clear acetate. I stamped text on a folded white card, then adhered the shaker cutouts. I filled them with glitter and adhered the card front over them.

I have to say, I haven't done many shaker cards, but I am a bit addicted to them after making this one! I am excited to try more shapes and cut outs. I love the little extra fun they bring to a card.

You can find the supplies I used at Sizzix, Simon Says Stamp, and Amazon via the links below.

Sizzix Honeycomb Embossing Folder Eileen Hull Romance Flower Tim Holtz Sizzix Die MINI BUTTERFLIES Movers & Shapers Alterations 657209 Tim Holtz Sizzix CELEBRATION WORDS SCRIPT Thinlits Die 660223 RESERVE Tim Holtz Idea-ology ROSE Design Tape Paperie TH93354 idea-ology Tissue Tape - Symphony idea-ology Heirloom Roses Elizabeth Craft Designs DOUBLE SIDED TAPE ROLL 6 Inch Clear Adhesive 020512 Ribbon Connections Rayon Seam Binding, Natural by Ribbon Connections

InLinkz.com

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge - New! Day 2

Hi again, everyone! Today I'm sharing three mixed media tags I made for Karen Burniston to display in the Elizabeth Craft Designs booth at CHA. I love using Karen's Pop it Ups dies to make interactive cards, but they also are great dies to use in other projects!

The tag above was made with the Tags and More 1 die from ECD. I cut the tag from some Prima paper from my stash, adding more interest with spray ink and Karen's new Swirly Flourish stencil. I added a pretty balloon created with Karen's new Hot Air Balloon die, plus the 'Happy' from her Happy Birthday die set.

This was the first tag I made and thought I was going to go in a masculine direction, but the more stuff I piled on, the prettier it got! It ended up setting the tone for the other two tags. Again, I started with the Prima mixed media paper and added stenciling with gesso - this time using Karen's new Paisley stencil. The Tags and More 2 - Deco diw was used to cut the tag. Next, I combined her clock die with the small flourish corners to create a pretty focal point. I love the Hinge dies from ECD and cut two from silver Shimmer Sheetz to add a bit of a metallic element.

My last tag features one of my favorite dies - the Eiffel Tower Pop Stand. I cut it from corrugated paper and added dabs of gesso to give it a shabby chic feel. I used the same gesso with the Swirly Flourish stencil to add a pretty pattern to the background paper. The Berry Branch from ECD has become one of my favorite dies - I look for ways to sneak it into everything now! To finish this tag, I added a tag cut using one of the dies from Karen's Tags Pivot die set that is stamped with her new Just a Note clear stamp set.

All of my embellishments were adhered with Beacon 3-in-1 glue. I was generously given a selection of their glues and was absolutely ecstatic. It's my favorite line of adhesives and I can't recommend it enough if you want your little flowers and other bits to stay in place! Thank you, Beacon!

The dies and stamps I used can be found at Elizabeth Craft Designs via the links below. The other supplies can be found at Simon Says Stamp.

Hot Air Balloon Karen Burniston Eiffel Tower Pop Stand Karen Burniston Clock and Gears Die Set Karen Burniston Happy Birthday PopUp Die Oval Landscape Accordion ECD Hardware 1 - Hinges Karen Burniston Tags Pivot Die Set Berry Branch (758) Tags & More 2 - Deco Elizabeth Craft Designs Tags and More 1 Paisley Stencil Swirly Flourish Stencil Just a Note Clear Stamps Soft Finish Cardstock 8.5" X 11" 270gr /100Lb 10 pack (PSF102) Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape - 6mm (506) Clear Double Sided Adhesive Sheet - 6" x 6" - 5 pack (503) Karen Burniston Tag Pivot Card Tim Holtz Idea-ology 2015 HEIRLOOM ROSES Embellishments TH93210 Tim Holtz Idea-ology CRINKLE RIBBON TH93020 *Tim Holtz Idea-ology 1088 CHITCHAT STICKERS TH92998 We R Memory Keepers AQUA Baker's Twine Spool 71168-1 *Kaiser Scrapbook PEARL 50 Count Self Adhesive Pearls SB713 Dina Wakley Ranger WHITE GESSO 2 OZ. TUBE Media MDM41672 Beacon 3 IN 1 ADVANCED CRAFT GLUE Crystal Clear Instant Grab Fast Dry Glue 00210 *Zip Dry PAPER GLUE Permanent Adhesive Paper Arts

InLinkz.com

The great thing about Pop it Ups is that each set works on its own, but also coordinates with so many others. As you build your collection you find multiple ways to combine the dies - the possibilities are endless! Plus, they can be styled in so many different ways. For this set of tags I was feeling feminine, but they could have easily been taken in a more steampunk/industrial direction.

Make sure you check out Karen's blog tomorrow, where she'll be sharing a new video tutorial plus tons of inspiration from the rest of the Designer Challenge team.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Have a great week!