Christmas in July

The theme for the card I'm publishing today is "Christmas in July."

I figure it's everywhere right now, so....why not?  Right?! 

I am going do my best to list all the "ingredients" that went into the card, 

but some of my earlier stuff doesn't have paperwork with it anymore!  

My bad!  I did not realize, at the time, that I would need it later!

  Oops!

First off, my photography kinda stinks.  At the moment, I don't have the right lighting, and I should probably use something other than my phone to take pictures with!  Ya think?!   But Hey!  What's a girl without dreams?  Satisfied...spoiled...or just plain lucky?!  Hmmm!  Maybe sometimes things should just stay in your "Dream Pile" for a while.   Yep!  I'll go with THAT one!

So, this is my first card with the "Ups Daisy Popup" Die by Karen Burniston.  The card measures      5 1/2 by 5 1/2.  The die set is pretty straight forward and easy to use.  I can see using this one a LOT!

The section with the 3 frames is suspended, and is not touching the base of the card.  The frames are connected to each other by string.  It all folds flat for easy mailing.

This die set has the main mechanisms, and enough support pieces to make a card.  By support pieces I mean decorative dies. The frames are one example.  There are two mats for the frames (different sizes so you can double mat if you want, otherwise single mats of different sizes.)  There's a small banner die, a stem, a flower,  and a flower center. 

on to the card...

The Reindeer is "Rudy the Reindeer" and is a retired die.  I used regular cardstock, and inked the edges.  

The antlers were made out of cream cardstock that I inked to look like wood.  The bow was from Elizabeth Craft Designs ( #1408 Reindeer), as were the snow flakes.  

The candy cane was from "Jolly the Mouse",  another retired die from Karen Burniston.  The Merry Christmas was from a Sizzix die set.  I'm sorry, but I just can't remember what the name of the set is, but it has lots of Christmas sentiments in it.  

The paper was from my stash, so I cannot tell you where that is from.  The medallion on the front, and the hanging Santa clothes came from this years Mad Plaid Christmas, by Photoplay.  That is a cute collection of Christmas paper.  Worthy of a look see.  I found mine on scrapbook.com.

This was a fun card to make.  Probably the best advice I can give you on this die set is to make a mock up design before making the final card, at least the first time.  I ended up needing to make my card longer to accommodate Rudy's antlers.  I'm glad I found that out before starting!

The other thing is pay attention to the instructions on which pop up goes on which size.  If you read directions, you won't have any problems.  Just wanted to say that the pop ups are NOT interchangeable!

As with any card, It's much better in person.  Sometimes they look "flat & lifeless" in photos.  This one has sparkle that doesn't really show up in the pictures.

First time using this die....Yeah, I've got ideas now, and a better understanding of the set.  Full instructions  AND a video on how to use this die can be found on Karen Burniston's web page @ http://karen burniston.com

Happy Crafting everyone!

ttfn: Karen

Paper Benders.....The beginning

Ok this is the start.  I really can't believe I've made it this far!

Saturday night, while talking to my husband, I expressed a desire to expand with my card making.  We discussed it, but I really didn't have any specific direction to go.  Sunday, I opened faceBook, got on my new favorite page (Karen Burnistons Pop-Up Peeps), and found that they were looking for a couple of new design team members! WOW!

I couldn't believe this! I looked up the ad, read it, almost cried, then picked my self up and said "You can do this girl!"

One of the requirements was to have a Blog.  This is where I almost panicked.....a little! =) .  How hard could that be?  Next thing I know, I'm on the phone with my older brother, crying "HELP!"  He tried, and he did help, but let's face it....He wasn't talking "card language," he was talking "computer".....WITH ME!  OH NO!!!

I was a bit overwhelmed with all the info he was giving me, but decided to jump in anyway.  He made it sound kinda easy, and bullet proof. Anybody can do it! He works with these things, it's his job....no problems for....HIM!

 So I'm doing my best to figure things out about setting up my Blog,  and it occurs to me that even the "help" menu isn't helping!  There's more directions on the back of a bottle of shampoo! By now, I am panicking!  What to do? I can't keep pestering my brother!  I did what any self respecting NON-computer guru would do.....I took the dogs to the dog park!

On the way to the park, I am running all sorts of scenarios thru my non-computerlike brain.  Then it hits me....YouTube!  Oh blessed be!  There's computer people out there.....willing to help....even me!

So, here I am, one day later....I've managed to figure out enough to get me up and running.  My page still needs some help, but I'm working on it.

I only tell this story so that all of you out there will realize that there is always hope, and hey....It's funny!  You have to be able to laugh at yourself in this world.  One of the most important things I've learned is this:
YOU NEVER KNOW HOW STRONG YOU ARE, UNTIL YOU HAVE NO CHOICE!


The second most important thing I've learned is:
HUMOR MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER!

Both are true!

Thanks for listening.

ttfn: Karen

Under construction

This page is under construction and by no means even close to being complete. I need more education in blog building first 🤪 be patient!