September 2025 Karen Burniston Designer Challenge

Hi Crafty Friends,

Welcome to our September Karen Burniston Designer Challenge.

Check out Karen Burniston's blog on Wednesday (US Time) when you will be able to see what all the designers created for the challenge this month, plus Karen will have an amazing video tutorial to share with us all.

Our challenge theme this month is ... "LETTER" - How will you interpret this challenge? Does "letter" meana piece of mail? Or does "letter" mean an actual letter? You decide!

As you can see I decide to opt for the "Piece of Mail" definition for this challenge. I pulled out both the Postage Pop-up and Mail Box Pop-up die sets to create a large pop-up postage stamp which features a mail or letter box which ever you prefer to call it.

I die cut the main die from the Postage Pop-up from white cardstock and also sky patterned paper, trimmed around the edge of the sky panel and layered the two together.

After adding my mailbox decoration to this panel, I decided to add some of the faux post stamps from the Special Delivery Clear Stamp set.

To decorate the card a little further, I added the fence from the Fence Add-ons die set and the fence along the edge of all three red polka dot panels. I added the grass from the die set and also added a row of envelopes/letters along the bottom of the card.

I added the sentiment to another panel from the postage pop-up die set adding the heart wings to the corner. I also added a paper airplane to the top right hand corner of the card.

For the front, I echoed much of what I did on the inside, adding the mail box behind the fence and changing up the colour, so it looked like another mailbox. I added another of the sentiments from the Special Delivery Clear Stamp set, to the fence.

I added another couple of envelopes/letters to each side of the fence and added another paper plane so it would appear to be landing on the mailbox.

Make A Splash

Hi Crafty Friends,

Today I have an under the sea themed Slimline card to share with you all. This card using a few more of the club kits from Spellbinders Paper Arts August 2025 Club Kits. This is such a fun kit and I have been having fun playing with all the products.

For this card I started with the Stencil of the Month - Underwater Blooms, I coloured all the plants in various shades of greens. As I was making a Slimline card, I masked off the bubbles and stars and added the bubbles in later adding a second layer above the first so that the bubbles extended the length of the card.

I added the fish from the Caboodle set of the month (the freebie you get when you get all kits), this one is called Fish Friends.

Finally I added the sentiment using the sentiment die inclued in the Large Die of the Month - Splash Tales.

 

For the inside, I pulled out the stencil once again to add the seaweed along the bottom of the ocean floor. I also added another fish.

Finally I added a sentiment using the Clear Stamp of the Month - Paper Splash

Rebus - Minerals

Hi Crafty Friends,

It's time to share another rebus swap with you. This month the theme is "Names of Types of Minerals"

If you would like to solve my rebus puzzle, why not post a comment on my blog post with your answers. I will let you know what the correct answers are next time I post a rebus card here.

How did you go solving my July Rebus which was "Buddy Holly Songs'"

 Here are the correct answers so you can check how you did.

1. Peggy Sue
2. Raining in My Heart
3. Not Fade Away
4. Maybe Baby
5. Look At Me
6. Well All Right
7. Heartbeat
8. That'll Be The Day

You can find all my past Rebus Cards here.

 

Gingerbread Man Baggy Gift Tag

 

Hi Crafty Friends,

Today I am sharing 6 Christmas gift tags I created using products from Spellbinders Paper Arts. 

The cute bag is from the August 2025 Large Die of the Month set … Splash Tales. It’s meant to be used as a gold fish bag, but as you can see it can have other uses.

The Gingerbread man is part of the Candy Christmas Collection by Stamperia/Spellbinders called Gingerbread Delivery. I also added the bow from this die set.

The sentiments on all tags are from the Merry Messages Press Plate & Die set which I glimmer foiled using gold foil,

I added the to/ from sentiment on the back of the tags which is an older stamp from my stash.

Book Owl Teacher Centre Step Card

Hi Crafty Friends,

I am still on my mission to create 18 teacher themed cards for my daughter to give to her fellow coworkers for Early Childhood Education Day which is in early September ... this is #17 so I am getting very close to my goal, yay!

As I still had plenty of scraps after making the 5 x 7 version of this card the other day, I decided to try making a Centre Step card using the books from the Stacked Stories 3D Embossing Folder. For this I found it easier to cut a white panel the sized I needed, then layer the books onto that panel and trim around the edges if needed. 

For the Centre Step card, I used an old die I had in my stash, but I have linked to another which is very similar below in the product description page. I also have a tutorial on my YouTube Channel on making these, but these days I much prefer using a die.

To finish decorating my card, I pulled out the owl from Spellbinders March 2024 Club Kit and also the Small Die of the Month from May 2025  to add the teacher book the owl is standing on. The sentiment at the top of the card is from the Glimmer Plate of the Month for May 2025 and is actually the negative black foiled piece.

For the inside I added the stamped sentiment from MFT Stamps and added two more of the stacked books from the May 2025 Small Die of the Month.

Make A Splash

 

Hi Crafty Friends,

Today I am sharing another card I created using some of the sets from Spellbinders August 2025 Club Kits. 

As the kits all have an underwater theme, and earlier this year I had purchased Spellbinders Underwater Tunnel Scapes die sets. I knew that I wanted to make a Tunnel Card. 

Bonnie Crane, recently shared a tutorial on how to create this style of card which you can see here. Bonnie’s card is an A2 version, as I prefer 5 x 7 I changed up the measurements to suit. 

To add texture to the panels I used the Underwater Waltz 3D Embossing Folder. To decorate I used both the Large & Small die sets of the month .. Splash Tales & The Deep  Blue Two. 

I added a top folding card to the back of the tunnel card, so I had a place to add a personal message. I added two sentiments using the Paper Splash Clear Stamp set. I added a few left over elements to decorate this panel. 

Poinsettia Trio Christmas

 

Hi Crafty Friends,

As you can see, I have another Christmas themed card to share with you today. I have been having so much fun playing with my Christmas supplies.

Recently I came across an older Sam Calcott YouTube video on how to adapt the 5 x 7 Trifold die set from the Showstopper Collection into a Top Fold Tri-fold Stepper Card. I love been able to use my supplies in different ways, so of course I had to play with the idea. You can find Sam's video here.

I kept my card reasonable simple. I was just playing with the idea. So I pulled out a few supplies that were sitting near my desk ... manly the new Merry Christmas sentiments, which are from two die/stamp sets, each have one of the parts of the sentiments as a die accompanied with some coordinating stamp setniments.

I used the 2D Embossing Folder from the July Spellbinders Club Kits for the white panel of my card. I then added the Merry Christmas using red glitter cardstock and white card. To finish off the card, I added some poinsettias from an older Spellbinders Glimmer/die set called Ornament.

I kept the inside of my card very simple, just adding the stamped sentiment which is from a Made To Surprise Christmas sentiment set.

Book Owl Card

 

Hi Crafty Friends,

Today I am sharing a 5 x 7 teacher card I created recently using products from a couple of Spellbinders Club Kits from May 2025 and March 2024.

I loved the Stacked Stories Embossing Folder when it was first released and have been looking forward to playing with it. I especially loved the cards I have seen where the panel has been cut apart using different colours of cardstock. So that is what I decided to do today. Seeing my card was for an Early Childhood Teacher, I decided to using bright rainbow colours. After adhering all the books to a card panel, I swiped the books using white pigment ink. I trimmed the panel down so it would fit onto a 5 x 7 card.

I added the Owl from the March 2024 Club Kit, I have been wanting to play with this die too, so it was the perfect opportunity. I added the sentiment to the base of the card which is from Spellbinders May 2025 Glimmer of the Month Club Kit. 

For the inside of the card, I added the stamped sentiment from MFT Stamps and then added the book and pencil to the bottom of the card. The book is from the same die set as the owl and the pencil is from the Glimmer of the Month May 2025 Club Kit, I found that hiding under my glass mat the other day, so of course I put it aside to use.

Hope Your Day Shimmers

 

Hi Crafty Friends,

Welcome to my blog! Well my Spellbinders August Club Kits arrived on Thursday afternoon, so I had a lovely weekend creating a couple of cards using some of the sets.

The theme this month is under water … think fish, mermaids, snorkeling etc. So one of the first things I thought of was a fish tank. I have seen a few people make these using the kit and the Tiered Hexagon is perfect for this idea. Sam Calcott has a number of different sizes of this style of card on her YouTube channel. I created a 5 x 7 version for my card.

For my card, I used the Underwater Waltz 3D Embossing Folder to create the background panels on the back of the fish tank. I used the Beneath the Bubbles Glimmer Plate & Speckled Prism Glimmer Foil to glimmer the acetate that is on the front of the card. 

To decorate I added images from both the large & small die sets of the month … Splash Tales & The Deep Blue Two die sets.

The sentiments on the front of this card is also included in the Glimmer set.

For the back of my card, I added a panel to add a sentiment and a place for a personal message. The sentiment used here is from the Clear Stamp of the Month … Paper Splash Stamp set. 

Ahoy

 

Hi Crafty Friends,

Today I am sharing a 5 x 7 card I created recently featuring the Steamboat Willie Betterpress Plate from Spellbinders Paperarts. After using my Betterpress to stamp the image onto white cardstock and black ink, I coloured the image using Copic markers.

I used the borders from the Classic Mouse Borders die set which I die cut in a variety of colours and layered to the card. When I knew the space I had left for the image, I cut that down to size and adhered to the panel using foam tape.

To finish the front of the card, I added the "Ahoy" sentiment which is from the June Clear Stamp of the Month - Anchors Away.

For the inside of the card, I added the border dies along the bottom of the card and then added another sentiment from the Anchors Away stamp set.

Santa Mug Double Z Fold Card

 

Hi Crafty Friends,

Welcome to my blog! Today I am sharing a Christmas card using a few products from Spellbinders. The Santa Mug is from the Cocoa Wonderland die set.

 This card is a Double Z Fold Card, for the pink background I started with a panel of white cardstock and then used the Snowfall Shimmer Glitter Plate and Aura Glimmer Foil to create the foiled background. I then coloured the panel pink using Spun Sugar Distress Oxide Ink.

On the far right panel I added the "Santa" word which is from an old Crafters Companion Edgeable Word die set. 

I added the Merry Christmas to the centre panel using one of the sentiments included in the Merry Messages Betterpress Plate. This I gold glimmered onto red cardstock.

The red card base measures 5 1/2 inches x 8 1/2 inches and is scored at 4 1/4 inches & 2 1/8 inch.

The decorative pink panel at the top is 4 1/2 inches x 7 1/2 inches and scored at 3 1/4 inches & 5 3/8 inches.

Here is a look at my card when it is closed ready to be placed in an envelope. The finished card measures 4 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches.

I added a panel to the back of the card which I decorated using the tree from the Cocoa Wonderland die set. The sentiment is another sentiment from the Merry Messages Betterpress Set.