Hot Air Balloon Accordion Valentine Card

February 3, 2026February 2, 2026 | ullycatdesigns

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.

___________________________________

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

Memento – Fade-Resistant Dye Ink – Tuxedo Black
Sakura – Gelly Roll Pen – Medium – White

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

Pop-Up Valentine’s Day Hot Air Balloon Card

February 1, 2026February 2, 2026 | ullycatdesigns

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.

___________________________________

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

Sending Love

February 14, 2023March 2, 2023 | ullycatdesigns

It’s Sneak Peek week for Karen Burniston’s February 2023 release!

Making sure your loved-one, who is far away, feels love at Valentine’s Day, is what this card is all about. It uses two new die sets from Karen Burniston’s February 2023 release along with some previously released sentiments and collage decorations.

I started with a 10-inch by 7-inch rectangle and folded in half to make a 5-inch by 10-inch cardbase.

Next, I die-cut all my mats and decorative frames from patterned papers using the crosshatch rectangles from the new Rectangles and Labels – Crosshatch. For the scalloped frame I used white copier paper and heavier white cardstock to cut all the labels and twist mechanism two flag arms. The small, scalloped rectangles and flag arms are dies in the Little Twist Panel Pop-Up die set.

Because my decorative papers were thin paper, I used a sheet of double-sided adhesive to adhere the paper to a piece of cardstock. I did this for the twisting mechanism and the folded panel that is glued to the twisting mechanism. Before I die-cut my Little Twist Panel Pop-Up, I watched the assembly video for the pop-up mechanism.

Using double-sided tape, I covered the inside and outside card panels with coordinating paper mats. (My favorite technique for using double-sided tape is to place around the edge of the card, lift the ends of the tape so corners are sticky, position the covering paper, you can shift the top paper a bit before you pull all the tape backing paper strips. See tutorial post,)

Fold all the scored lines of mechanism piece as directed in video. Using a ruler mark the center of the cardbase fold with a pencil. Glue one side of mechanism to cardbase lining-up the mechanism’s center hole with the pencil mark making sure the folded score lines of the mechanism arms line up with the casebase fold. Fold mechanism shut and glue other side to cardbase.

The center heart is cut from the Heart Collage Pop-Up set in two pieces. Slide solid heart into slotted heart and glue the back halves to the mountain fold of the folded panel mechanism making sure that the panel slots are not blocked by heart. Following the video assembly instructions, insert the two flag arms into the slots on the folded panel. Glue the flag tabs onto the back of the other flag. Adhere the panel to the twisting mechanism as directed in assembly video. Test and train the mechanism how to fold inside the card.

The card front is simply decorated with the scalloped frame which is glued only on the straight edge inside of the frame.

To have a white shadow behind the die-cut “Happy Valentine’s Day,” Trace the outer edge of the word die with pencil and fussy cut the shadow.Two tiny hearts from the Sending Love die set complete the front.

The inside decorations include more tiny hearts in corners of the decorative panels as well as two hot air balloons carrying hearts. The balloons are from the Balloon Collage Add-Ons and the hearts on strings are from the Little Twist Panel Pop-Up. The balloons are adhered to the card with foam dimensionals. “Sending Love” sentiment is its own die set. There are two scalloped white labels are from the Little Twist Panel Pop-Up to write a personal message.

As with all my cards that are sent in an envelope, I have decorated the back flap with scalloped heart from the Heart Collage Pop-Up set . The card is A7 envelope.

You can see more Valentines by clicking here.

Thank you for reading this blog post. I hope it inspires you and makes you smile. Please like and leave comments 😊

Materials Used:

Dies

Papers

American Crafts – The Color of Memories – 12 x 12 Printed Paper – Heart Flowers -320506
American Crafts – The Color of Memories – 12 x 12 Printed Paper – Tumbling Blocks -320330
White and Pink Cardstock & White Copier Paper Scraps
Fun Stampers Journey – 8.5 x 11 Cardstock – Banana Cream
A7 Envelope – Ivory

Miscellaneous

Neutral PH Adhesive by LINECO
Fine-Tip Glue Bottle
Scrapbook.com – Double-Sided Adhesive 1/4 Inch Tape
Clear Double-Sided Adhesive 8.5 x 11-Inch Sheets
Die Cutting Machine
Piercing Tool
Pencil
Sand Eraser
Baker’s Twine
Stampin’ Up – Foam Dimensionals

Balloons and Flowers Pop-Up

May 19, 2020 | ullycatdesigns

My challenge to make a sweet and up-lifting birthday card for someone who was not happy about celebrating her birthday alone. I had the “Flying High” Craftwork Cards paper collection which has muted neon colors along with pinks and turquoise blue. It is cheery with it has hot air balloons and loads of cute die-cuts and foiled sentiments.

I decided on a box pop-up and used the low and wide shape of the Lawn Fawn Scalloped Box die set which fits into an A2 envelope. Th box was cut from the second darkest pink shade of lightweight cardstock in the Recollection’s Pink Buttons paper pack.

I punched out the flower die-cuts and shaped them with my fingers and adhered pearls and dots embellishments to their centers. Next, I adhered the flowers to long strips of clear acetate from leftover packaging.

I assembled the box following the video instructions by Kelly Marie, using strips of clear acetate for the crossbars adhering them in place with clear tape which bends well. All the decorative papers are from one sheet of paper from the “Flying High” collection as well as all the decorations.

The finished card folds flat. A small hot air balloon from the Tim Holtz Collection Little Things stamp set was stamped on the back flap of the envelope.

Materials Used:

Dies

Lawn Fawn Scalloped Box die

Stamps

Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Collection Little Things Cling Stamps

Inks

Brown Ink – Stampin’ Up Classic Stamin’ Pad – Chocolate Chip

Papers

Flying High Craftwork Cards 8×8” paper collection from Papercraft Essentials Issue 175.
Recollection’s Pink Buttons paper pack
Office Depot A2 invitation envelope

Miscellaneous

Foam tape/squares/dimensionals from stash
PVA Glue – Cosmic Shimmer Acrylic Glue

Double-Sided Tear Tape – com Clear Double Sided Adhesive Roll ¼ inch

Stick-on pearls and dots from Dollar Tree and

A Trout Fishing Kind of Day

May 18, 2020May 11, 2020 | ullycatdesigns

After 63 years of marriage and numerous fishing and mountain trips, I knew this couple deserved a special anniversary card that evoked all the things they love.

Hunkydory’s Moments in Time “Love is In the Air” die set and matching paper pad had the perfect pop-up card with a pond, mountains, hot air balloons and a couple taking it all in siting at the edge of the pond. The die took a couple of passes through a die cutting machine and then the tricky part of working all the folds. This die is one of the less intricate dies in the Moments in Time series but using a paper piercing tool helped with shaping all the trees on the mountains and puffing out the clouds. There is an instruction sheet on the Hunkydory’s website that is useful when doing the folding.

The front of the card’s paper and label topper came from the “Flying High” Craftwork Cards paper collection. “On Your Special Day” die cut sentiment is from Creative Dies by Sue Wilson and the jumping trout is from Stampin’Up’s “Best Catch” stamp set stamped in brown ink and fussy cut and adhered with foam pads.

The inside “Happy Anniversary” sentiment was cut from two die sets in the Gemini Expressions series by Crafter’s Companion. The additional bird on flower and best wishes banner came from the aforementioned “Flying High” paper collection. The back side of the card is finished with more of the paper from the front.