Karen Burniston Characters

Today I have a bunch of die cut critters made from some Karen Burniston dies.  They are SO cute and easy to put together!  While they can easily be cut from different colors, I cut them all from white card stock and colored them with Distress Inks and Distress Oxide Inks.  Her dies have some stencil holes for adding finishing touches like eyes, mouths, and feet.  So quick and easy to make and did I say CUTE! :)

In the picture at the top of the page, are her Feathered Animals - owls, ostriches and turkeys.  As you can see, I added glasses and eyebrows to the first owl.  I decided not to add them to the others, but instead wait until I know how they'll be used and what I might want in the way of accessories for them.  I also have some little top hats I could add to the turkeys if I want to do so.

Next up are the Woodland Animals.

 

First are the raccoons - which I think may be the cutest of the bunch. I really love how easy they are to put together. 

 

Then there are the foxes.  It's hard to realize they are the same base die as the raccoons - just decorated differently.

 

The squirrels are the last of the Woodland Animals.

Next up are ones from the set called simply Monkey and Lion.

 

The lion came with a crown and heart - but again, I only added them to one, waiting until I use them to decide what I want.  I colored the crown with metallic Sharpie, but that might be one piece I would die cut from metallic tag board.  

The monkey comes with a couple of bananas and a vine it can hang from.  As you can see, it can be put together in two different ways.  Such fun!

Finally, are the cat and dog.

These look much better when they have their little added accessories - collar, kerchief, food bowl, etc.  I DID cut those out, but am not coloring them and adding them until I know what color I want for the particular project on which they get used.

That's all for now.  But can I just say, I LOVE these critters!!!!  They are so cute, and so easy to put together!

WCMD Marathon - Part 2

Here's Part 2 of my card making marathon (see part 1 here). This time I'm featuring the cards I made on Oct 6 - only 7 cards this time, but one (the one you see above) took a bit of time to figure out and make.

So, here are the 7 cards I made - in order of how I made them.

Card #1: 

 

I started with the one I figured would be the most complicated.  It was, but really not too bad.  A link had been posted to the video of how it was made (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLkr-n0ZUME).  The patterned papers I used were from a set I was given called Wild and Free collection from Graphic45.  The only thing that wasn't was the sentiment - stamped with a stamp from Crafter's Companion Compendium set of greetings - the set called Birthday-Female. The base card and mats were card stock from my stash.  The picture above shows the card when folded up.  The next picture shows it open for display.

 

There are two things I'll mention about the structure.  First, I would use lighter card stock for the base next time.  Because I have so many layers, the card is really firm and thick.  Secondly, in her video she says she makes her diamonds 1/8" bigger so she doesn't have to be as precises when putting this card together.  I made mine the way she suggested and had to trim my diamonds because they really didn't fit if you wanted to fold the card.  SO, next time I would NOT add the 1/8" like she did!

Here you see the back of the card where I have stamped a greeting (same stamp set) and will write my message to the recipient.

Card #2:

This card, and the 3 that follow are made using a One Sheet Wonder pattern for a 6 x 6 piece of patterned paper.  The OSW pattern started by cutting the paper into quarters.  Each card used one of these resulting 3 x 3" papers - plain or cut further.  I used paper my niece shared with me - Halloween themed in fun colors - not sure who made it.  

For this card, the 3 x 3 was again cut into quarters - then matted individually - then matted collectively.  This piece served as a large mat for my focal sentiment.  All patterned paper used on these 4 cards was from the same set, but the plain pink and the black were from my stash.   

The background started with a piece of black paper that had been embossed using a Darice folder called Damask.  A strip of patterned paper down the center completed the background. The focal sentiment, and the strip sentiment below it, were both from Sassy's LLC.  For the focal, I lightly inked the edges of the sentiment, then matted it on a punched scalloped pink circle, then on a black die cut piece (Flower multi-frame set by Nellie Snellen).  The strip sentiment was double matted & then added with foam tape.

Card #3:

This next card left the 3x3 piece intact.  The background was a piece of matted pink patterned paper with a strip of matted orange and pink patterned paper down the center.  The focal was a sticker from the set which I narrowly matted with black and added with foam tape.  The sentiment was another from Sassy's LLC and was again matted and added with foam tape.

Card #4:

The background this time uses the same two patterned papers as the previous, but the strip is narrower and the patterns are reversed.  For this card, the 3 x 3 piece was cut into 1" wide strips and matted before being added on top of the background.  The sentiment was a sticker that I attached to black card stock and then fussy cut around it to form a narrow border.  This was then added to the card front using dimensionals.  The card still felt fairly plain, so I added some "gem" diamonds from my stash to bling it up a bit.

Card #5:

This last card was the most fun.  The background was very plain - just black card stock. The 3 x 3 piece was cut on the diagonal, matted individually, and then matted on a pink rectangle.  The focal was another sticker.  This time  when I added it to the black, I just cut a rectangle around it.  Next, I narrowly matted this with pink card stock.  The whole was then added to the card front using a wobble spring.  The double-matted strip sentiment is another from Sassy's LLC.

Card #6:

By now I was winding down.  My mojo and energy were waning after two marathon card making days!  The last challenge was to C.A.S.E. up to three cards.  I only managed to do two before I gave out and called it a day.  Both were pretty straight forward, using 2 3/8" wide strips cut from patterned paper.  I cut both this and the one used on the next card from one 6 x 6 set of papers that my Mom shared with me.  It was double sided, so the two look quite different.  I used a lilac card stock as card base for this one, narrowly matted my strip with blue and then glued it in place.  The sentiment was a stamp from JustRite's Chicken Soup Labels Four set.  After stamping and embossing on light blue card stock, I cut it out using a die from Spellbinders Labels Four cutting die set.  I inked the edges before adding to the card front with dimensionals.

Card #7:

This last card is a cut away.  The patterned paper strip is a little shorter and matted with white.  The card itself is a dark blue card stock, but the inside is also matted with white, so only narrow borders show.  The sentiment is another stamp from JustRite - this time their Always and Forever Medallion Labels stamp set. I die cut this using JustRite's Nested Medallion Labels cutting dies.  I wanted a narrower border than their next size up die, so used the die I cut with and traced around the outer edges before fussy cutting my mat from the same card stock as that used for the card base.

 

Th-th-th-th-ats all folks! :)

WCMD Marathon Part 1

Wow!  What a fun and busy WCMD marathon! On the message board I frequent (https://paperwishers.freeforums.net/), there were SO many challenges for WCMD that completion spilled over to the next day!  It was great fun.  On WCMD proper (Oct 5) I made 10 cards for challenges on WCMD.  You can look for the WCMD Marathon Part 2 for the cards that were made on the next day (Oct 6) - some for fewer points, but they still counted.  For now, here are the 10 cards I made to meet challenges on the first day.

Card #1:

The first challenge of the day was pretty easy - make a card using a tag for a focal. When I went looking through my tags, I found this fun one that I had printed from a freebie download some time ago - no clue where at this point.  I embossed a piece of aqua card stock using a Darice embossing folder called Snowflake Swirl.  After inking the embossing & edges with silver ink, I wrapped the embossed panel with a 1/4" black ribbon & a 1/8" red one before adhering it to the card front.  I matted the tag with red, then black and glued it in place.  Finally, I added a little die cut gift (from Spellbinders Gnome Drive Holiday die cut set) and finished with a triple bow at the top of the tag (3 1/8" ribbons - black, red, aqua).

Card #2:

Next up was a fun challenge called "mystery stamping event".  Every 15 minutes we were given instructions (or additional instructions) that we were to implement before the next instruction came due.  Over the course of the next 1 hour and 15 minutes, we were given 5 instructions that told us what we needed to do to create the card you see above.  The only thing we weren't given specific instructions about was our embellishments.  We were simply told to embellish as we pleased.  The flowers and greenery that I added were ones I had made ahead using dies from Spellbinders Tropical Friends die set (May 2024 Small Die of the Month).  It was a fun activity and I was please to finish with another pretty card. Sentiment stamps used were from Crafter's Companion's Rainy Days set.

Card #3:

Next up we were to choose a number from 1 to 4 and private message the organizer with our pick.  She then let us know which "destination" was to be the inspiration for our card.  My pick turned out to be Paris.  Honestly, when I was given Paris as a focus, I figured it would turn out to be a card I couldn't use.  Fortunately, I was wrong. I found this paper & the focal picture in a HOTP set of papers and cutouts called 8 x 8 Vacation.  I found a little sticker of a French girl saying "bonjour", put it on a piece of card stock & fussy cut it, then put it on foam tape where you see it near the Eiffel Tower in the focal.  I found the perfect strip sentiment and die cut "hello" in my stash and added them to complete my card.

Card #4:

This card was the hardest for me by far.  We had been given a list of different things to pick from in advance - one of this, two of that, etc.  Then, on WCMD, we were told what we had "picked".  The requirements for mine were quite challenging - using things I don't like to use like buttons and chip board, but limited supplies of other things and worst of all, I had to use a sketch.  Since one of my "picked" requirements was that the card be a gate fold card, finding a sketch was challenging.  At any rate, this was my completed card for that challenge and I was GLAD to have it behind me.  I embossed the card stock using a Darice folder called Brick Wall.  The "h" and "b" were the chipboard elements (the rest of the words die cut using a HOTP die set), and the flying witch was die cut from flocked suede paper (Temu die).  The buttons were put on the "O's" of the added "Boo".  That, the witches hat, spider web and spider all came from a Halloween paper/die cut set my niece shared with me. 

Card #5:

These next four cards are from what I think may have been the most fun event of the day.  Ahead of time we had been given a list of snack foods and told to choose.  Each "food" would represent things we needed to include in our card.  What we didn't anticipate was that we got one more point for each that was pictured with it's chosen snack food.  (Which, of course, meant that we had those snacks available for a quick "pick me up" when our energy started to drop!)  This first was "Chocolate".  It was to have 1) brown card stock, 2) rectangles, 3) something with foil.  The 3 focal pieces & sentiment were from a Hunkydory Pop-a-Topper called Ladies Choice.  Embossing folder was again the Darice Brick Wall.

Card #6:

This "chips" card was to include 1) cream colored card stock, 2) ovals, and 3) glitter (little dots on the frame).  In addition to the cream card stock used for the card base, I used pieces from a Hunkydory kit called Childhood Dreams - the set called Let's Make Memories, and border/corner stickers from HOTP.

Card #7:

 

Next up was Ice Cream.  This one needed to have: 1) white card stock, 2) circles, 3) sequins or enamel dots.  Since I didn't have any of the latter, I used stickers that resembled them (HOTP Jewel Dazzles).  The white card stock again formed my card base - also mat layers for my sentiment (one of them inked to a gray/black) and the sentiment itself. The die cut mat was cut using a die from Spellbinders Splendid Circles set. The background paper and focal were from a Hunkydory Papers and Inserts set called Happiness Is.  There's also a scalloped mat immediately under the sentiment that was punched from silver glimmer paper.  The sentiment itself is one from Sassy's LLC.

 

Card #8:

 

It's so much fun to have die cut pieces ready made so I can pull them for a quick card as I did for this one (from Spellbinders Backyard Haven View set of dies.)  The requirements for this "Popcorn" make were: 1) Cream colored card stock (used for the card base), 2) Circles, and 3) puffy stickers.  I had very few puffy stickers, but found a set in my stash that had little flowers and butterflies.  I immediately remembered this die cut tree I had made that had little flowers that COULD go in it.  I thought the puffy stickers would similarly work well, so this card was born.  The blue background is a piece of wallpaper.  The "ground" was a patterned card stock in my stash.  I just tore the edge and glued it in place.  I've already mentioned the puffy stickers.  The rest except for the sentiment and the butterfly "trail" were all die cuts that I'd made ahead from that spellbinders set.  The butterfly trail was scraps stickers, and the sentiment was one from Sassy's LLC.  I inked the edges and matted it on a scalloped circle that I punched from the same card stock as the card base.

Card #9:

 

For this challenge we had all been asked to post a favorite card we found somewhere on the internet.  Then we were told to choose someone else's favorite and base our card on that.  The card I chose had a focal that had 3 penguins side by side on the front of the card.  Since I had just made the previous card, I had blue wallpaper sitting in front of me, and my embellishments book opened to die cuts I had previously made and put together.  This card was what resulted.  As you can see, I matted the background wallpaper on black before adding it to the card.  The sentiment was one I stamped (Sending Sunshine Sentiments stamp set from Spellbinders) on a strip of white paper, cut the ends (with a punch from Stampin' Up), and matted it on black before adding with dimensionals.  The remaining elements were all die cut from Spellbinders Up In the Air View.

Card #10:

This was my last card for the day.  We were to make a card where the focal element started with a W or C or M or D (in honor of World Card Making Day of course).  I made a D = Dragonfly card with all elements from a Hunkydory kit called Animal Kingdom.  The set was called All My Love, and everything you see was from that set - the background, the focal, the frame, and the sentiment.  I guess that's not quite right.  The background was matted on gold tag board from my stash.  As you may be able to tell, the frame and sentiment were matted with foam tape for dimension.

For the Birds!

Today I have a BUNCH of birds - two flocks and a flamboyance!  I recently got these dies from Spellbinders (Tropical Friends & Grand Tropical Flamingos - Large & Small Die of the Month for May 2024).  I had seen a video where someone shared about laying out dies on one piece of card stock and then taping the dies together so they could move them as a set from to cut another piece of card stock the same way - allowing one to cut several colors but only having to arrange them once. It sounded like a great idea and time saver, and I figured I'd try it with these new dies.  

It WAS a great idea, but I got carried away and made WAY too many of these critters.  They're cute, but how many of them can I use?  I have 24 toucans (see above).

I've finished 16 parrots, but have more of them to make because I hadn't die cut enough eyes).

And finally, my flamboyance of flamingos - I have 36 of them! I don't have a CLUE how I'll use so many, BUT . . . I shouldn't have to make more for awhile!!!

Also with the sets were some tropical flowers - I think I'll be more likely to use them.

Here are the largest ones:

And here are the little flowers:

If you look closely, you'll see that I shaped these last ones.  (And I'll probably go ahead and shape the bigger ones at some point.)  I shaped them using a small stylus and bending the petals around the shank of the stylus.  It took awhile, but I really liked the result.  My fingers, were definitely getting sore by the time I was done, though.  I also die cut and shaded/put together a bunch of leaves & branches, but don't feel like taking pics of those.  I'm sure I'll be using plenty of flowers and greenery on future cards, though - and even occasionally some of those birds! :)