Hot Air Balloon Accordion Valentine Card

It’s time for the Karen Burniston Design Team February 2026 Challenge whose theme is “Love is in the air” – something flying.

I made an accordion card using the new Love Is In The Air Charms die set – along with the previously released Fancy Label Accordion, Circles – Crosshatch and Fancy Solid Frame sets. Two new stamp sets were used – Stage Scenes and Love Notes.

Watch the process video to see how I made this card.

Accordion Cardbase: Watch the assembly video located at the bottom of the linked page for the Fancy Label Accordion. Cut three Fancy Label Accordion frames from a heavy weight blue cardstock. Using the 2.4-inch die in the Circles – Crosshatch, cut openings in the label portion of TWO of the three accordion frames. Glue the three frames together with the circle frames on the ends. Cut six sets of Fancy Solid Frame from patterned paper. Glue decorative frames on to both sides of the accordion frames. (Watch this assembly video for adding frames to accordion cards.) Finish assembling the card as shown in the video above.

Hot Air Balloons: Cut four red heart charms from the Love Is In The Air Charms die set. Use the stencil feature and a white gel pen to add the highlights. Cut a total of four baskets. (I cut two brown and two pink.) Cut four white clouds and one set of tiny hearts in red. Assemble as shown in the video above. Using a thin sewing needle and cotton thread, pierce a hole into the top of the circle frame label and then thread the balloon charm onto the thread. Tie off the thread loop using a square knot. Push the knot to the back side of frame and add a drop of liquid glue to secure it to the frame. (I like the Neutral PH Adhesive by LINECO.)

Sentiments: The sentiments are stamped onto white cardstock and then cut out. On the card front is “A little love floating your way” is from the Stage Scenes. Fussy cut to fit on the card frame. Using the Fancy Label Accordion decorator dies, cut the “Love is in the air” from the Love Notes stamp set.

Envelope: The closed card fits into an A7 (5×7-inch) size envelope stamped with “Love is in the air” from the Love Notes stamp set.

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Thank you for experiencing this blog post.

I hope this inspires you and makes you smile.

Please subscribe, like and leave comments 😊

Follow my YouTube channel, Instagram and Pinterest as well.

___________________________________

Disclaimer: Karen Burniston products are provided free of charge by the manufacturer for review and use. All other items were personally purchased. Compensated affiliate links used where or when possible, meaning I will receive a small percentage commission from these manufacturers at no cost to you. This will allow me to add more content to my YouTube channel and help out a lot. Thank you.

Materials Used:

Dies

Stamps

Papers

  • Concord & 9th – 8.5×11-inch Solid Colored Cardstock – Harbor
  • Craft Consortium – 6×6-inch Double-Sided Cardstock – Over the Rainbow
  • Pink, Red and White Cardstock
  • A7 (5×7-inch) Envelope – White

Ink

Adhesives

Tools

  • Die Cutting Machine
  • Paper Trimmer
  • Bone Folder
  • Stamping Blocks used as paperweights
  • Scissors
  • Paper Masking Tape
  • Thin Sewing Needle
  • Tweezers
  • We R Memories – QuickStick

Miscellaneous

  • White Cotton Sewing Thread

Love Notes – A Pop-Up Valentine

IT’S TIME for the Karen Burniston Products – KB Riley LLC January 2026 Release Blog Hop. (See GIVEAWAY details at the end of this post for blog hop list.) The Design Team have come together with Karen today for a fun blog hop to celebrate the release of 10 new dies and 5 new stamp sets. Sneak peeks of the new release started last week, and the dies are available to pre-order NOW!

Today’s card uses the new dies of Stage Pop-Up and Grass Stage Add-Ons and two new stamp sets – Love Notes and Stage ScenesThe card also uses previously released die sets of Mailbox Pop-Up, Fence Add-Ons and Greeting Labels.

Watch the process video to see how I made these cards.

Stage Pop-Up Base: Using the Stage Pop-Up die set, cut two of the largest die from patterned cardstock. Cut six of the rectangle decorator dies from the same patterned paper. From green cardstock cut two of the grassy stage-side strips and two of the smaller grass strip from the Grass Stage Add-Ons die set.  Glue the decorator rectangles on to the front panels of the grassy stage-side strips.  Assemble the stage platform as shown above in the video.

Fence: Cut two of the fence pieces from the Fence Add-Ons die set. Trim off the right end large post and small tabs on each end to create a symmetrical fence with a large center post that is 4-inches wide. Repeat with second piece. Glue the pieces together matching up the fence pickets.

From green cut twice the short grass die from the Mailbox Pop-Up set and then cut each of them in the middle. Glue these pieces to the ends of the grass strips cut from the Grass Stage Add-Ons. Center and adhere the grass strips on the bottom edge of both sides of the fence. Trim the grass flush with the fence edge.

Mailbox: Cut the mailbox, lid and circle dies in the Mailbox Pop-Up set from silver cardstock. Cut the same pieces from the back side of the silver cardstock so you will have the reverse set of pieces. (A suggestion that I should have done when I cut my reverse pieces, is to lay a thin piece of paper on your cutting mat then then the sliver cardstock silver side down. Then the dies and top plate. This will help eliminate all the scratches that will be embossed onto the reverse silver side.)

Cut from brown, two mailbox posts and glue them to the center post of the fence on each side. Glue the Two lid pieces back-to-back. Glue the front mailbox piece onto the top of the brown post. Adhere the back mailbox piece back-to-back with the front mailbox with no glue on the front edge where the lid will be slid into it. Trim if necessary and glue the lid into the mailbox.  Add silver circles to the mailbox sides to cover the holes. Add the red flag to the front.

Tiny Envelopes: Cut seven of the envelopes in the Mailbox Pop-Up set from thin white cardstock. Fold on the side stitch lines. Glue one envelope together as shown in the video above. Cut one set of the tiny hearts in the same die set from red. Glue hearts to envelopes top flaps with a dot of glue.

Sentiments: Stamp seven of the Love Notes sentiments on thin paper and cut out with a square die and trim to fit into the envelopes. (I used the stitched 1 1/8-inch square die in the Greeting Labels set and trimmed on the stitched lines to get a 1-inch square.) Add a ¼-inch strip of thin paper to the back of the note to go in the mailbox envelope as shown in the video. Write “Lift” on one side and “Pull” on the other side of the strip. From Stage Scenes the “Push” with arrows was stamped on white and glued to the bottom of the stage to help the card recipient know how to open the stage card.

Envelope: The card fits into an A7 (5x 7-inches) size envelope with one of the Love Notes sentiments stamped on the back flap.

___________________________________

Thank you for experiencing this blog post. I hope this inspires you and makes you smile.

Please subscribe, like and leave comments. 😊

Follow my YouTube channel, Instagram and Pinterest as well.

___________________________________

Disclaimer: Karen Burniston products are provided free of charge by the manufacturer for review and use. All other items were personally purchased. Compensated affiliate links used where or when possible, meaning I will receive a small percentage commission from these manufacturers at no cost to you. This will allow me to add more content to my YouTube channel and help out a lot. Thank you.

Materials Used:

Dies

Stamps

Stencil

  • Waffle Flower – Plastic –  Birthday Puppies

Papers

  • Simple Stories – 12×12 inch Double Sided Cardstock – Garden Party CollectionTea Garden
  • Thin White Copier Paper
  • Silver Foil Cardstock
  • Brown, Green, Red and White Cardstock
  • Park Lane Paperie – A7 Envelope – White

Ink

  • Memento – Fade Resistant Dye ink – Tuxedo Black
  • Pigma – Mircon 01 Fine Tip Pen – Black

Adhesives

Tools

  • Die Cutting Machine
  • Paper Trimmer
  • Bone Folder
  • Stamping Platform
  • LDRS – Stampendable Stamping Tool
  • Stamping Blocks used as paperweights
  • Scissors
  • Paper Masking Tape
  • Tweezers
  • We R Memories – QuickStick

GIVEAWAY

To celebrate the release Karen Burniston and each of the Karen Burniston – KB Riley LLC Design Team members will be giving away a $25 Gift Certificate to some lucky person who comments on our blog posts, so make sure you join the hop and comment on everyone’s blog post. Winners will be randomly chosen from ALL of the blog hop comments received on our blog posts by Monday, February 9, 2026. Lots of chances to win some goodies, so just leave a comment on this post or any other blog hop posts to enter! Don’t forget to leave some way for us to contact you, in case you are a lucky winner!

Karen Burniston – https://karenburniston.com/blog/january-2026-release-blog-hop/

Lois Bak https://clownmomcreations.blogspot.com/2026/02/karen-burniston-new-release-blog-hop.html

Sue Small-KreiderYOU ARE HERE

Frances Byrnehttps://stampowl.blogspot.com/2026/02/karen-burniston-kb-riley-llc-january.html

Jennifer Websterhttps://www.jlwebstercreations.com/2026/01/karen-burniston-kb-riley-llc-january.html

Suzanne Smit – https://knutselsuus.blogspot.com/2026/01/kb-riley-llc-januari-2026-release-blog.html

Nicky Foden – http://mymessycraftroom.me/2026/01/28/little-bitty-pretty-one-karen-burniston-january-release-blog-hop/

Sandy Diller – https://sandydiller.blogspot.com/2026/01/new-release-blog-hop-2026.html

Pop-Up Valentine’s Day Hot Air Balloon Card

This card was made for Craft Roulette #304 whose parameters were: drop down project, mahjong colors, go wild element and hand drawn border. I used new Karen Burniston dies and stamps for this airy, pop-up Valentine. (Dies will be available for sale on February 2, 2026)

Watch the process video to see how I made this card.

Pop-Up Stage Base: (Watch the video above for assembly instructions.) Cut two base pieces and two side strips from the Stage Pop-Up die set.

Hot Air Balloons and Raining Hearts: (Watch the video above for assembly instructions.) The Hot Air Balloons die set along with the tiny hearts from the Love Is In The Air Charms set are the key dies used. The hearts are sandwiched with dots of glue to pieces of cotton thread. The cloud die used is the largest one in the Hot Air Balloons set. Cut the different balloon designs several times from different patterned papers to get the different colored stripes.

Sentiments:Go Wild!” is a previously released Karen Burniston die cut in red patterned paper. The “Happy Valentine’s Day” is part of the new Love Notes clear stamp.The stitching and hearts were hand-drawn onto the label. Stage Scenes stamps set was used for the “Push” on the bottom of the stage.

Envelope: The card fits into a 6×9-inches envelope.

___________________________________

Thank you for experiencing this blog post.

I hope this inspires you and makes you smile.

Please subscribe, like and leave comments 😊

Follow my YouTube channel, Instagram and Pinterest as well.

___________________________________

Disclaimer: Karen Burniston products are provided free of charge by the manufacturer for review and use. All other items were personally purchased. Compensated affiliate links used where or when possible, meaning I will receive a small percentage commission from these manufacturers at no cost to you. This will allow me to add more content to my YouTube channel and help out a lot. Thank you.

Materials Used:

Dies

Stamps

Papers

  • Echo Park – 6×6-inch Double-Sided Paper – Love Notes
  • Stampin’ Up – 8.5×11 80 lb. Cardstock – Copper Clay
  • Red, Tan and White Cardstock
  • Clear Plastic Packaging
  • 6×9-inch Catalog Envelope – White

Ink

  • Memento – Fade-Resistant Dye Ink – Tuxedo Black
  • Pigma – Mircon 005 Fine Tip Pen – Black

Adhesives

Tools

  • Die Cutting Machine
  • Scrapbook.com – Magic Mat
  • Stamping Block
  • Stamping Platform
  • Paperweight
  • Scissors
  • Scrapbook.com – Mint Tape
  • Tweezers
  • We R Memories – QuickStick

Miscellaneous

  • White Cotton Sewing Thread