Happy New Year! We have arrived at our 101st Designer Challenge and the theme this month is BUGS! I challenged the team to use bugs in a card of any theme. As usual, their creations are amazing.

For my card and video I had the idea to launch a bug into the air where it would be tethered to the card with a ribbon. The idea worked a little too well and the bee flew right off the ribbon when the card was complete. I then pivoted to attaching the bee to the flower using magnets so it would spring up and not leave the card, but could still be removed for display (or just play!) 

Learn both versions of the card by watching the full tutorial here:

My card measures 4.25" x 5.5" (A2) when closed. The Flap and Closure die works wonderfully to make a petal fold closure that allows the bee to peek through. The greetings are from our new Bug Greetings Clear Stamps and the smaller bees are from the Bug Borders.

Open the card and the bee and flower pop-up. The bee is made by combining the Mini Ball Pop-up, Mini Ball Access Tabs and Animal Add-ons 6. The flower and leaves came from the Twist Flower Pop-up and the animated stem from two stacked Bam Box Pop-ups.

The bee has magnets to keep it attached to the flower when the card opens, but can be easily removed for play. The greetings are from the Bug Greetings Clear Stamps and the shapes came from the Bam Box Pop-up set. The smaller bees are from Bug Borders and the tiny flowers from the Twist Flower Pop-up set. 

A nice feature of Animal Add-ons 6 is that it fits on all three ball sizes. I chose the Mini Ball Pop-up for this project because I wanted to make an A2-sized card. A larger card could have accommodated a larger bee.

Ready to give this card a try? It would also look great as a ladybug card. The patterned paper is a (very old) piece from my stash and here are the other supplies:

Now let's take a look at the wonderful BUGS inspiration by our talented Design Team. In each case you can click their name to go to their blog posts where you will find additional photos, supply lists and, in some cases, photo or video tutorials!

Nicky Foden dropped the mic with this epic box of bugs! In addition to the bugs featured in Animal Add-ons 6, Nicky created her own beetle, butterfly and spider! The bugs flying out of the box is sure to delight the lucky recipient.

If you don't click over to Nicky's blog for each Designer Challenge you are missing out. Nicky photographs her process every month and then explains each step. This month you'll learn Nicky's clever repurposing of pieces to make the custom bugs, like this partial die cutting technique to create butterfly wings:

Sandy Diller created an adorable ladybug card for the challenge. I like her use of a belly band as the closure and the sweet mixing of smaller ladybugs with the ball bug. Very cool wing placement on the ladybug, too. Click over for a video of this card in action.

Sue Small-Kreider created a shallow box to hold her cute grasshopper and then decorated the front of the box with individual small bugs arranged as a medallion. What a cool effect! Be sure to click over to Sue's blog to watch her video tutorial for this creation. Amazing!

Suzanne Smit took inspiration from this video to combine the Piano Keys Pop-up with the Katherine Label Pop-up and then created a musical ladybug garden. I just love all her special touches in this card. Be sure to click over to her blog to see the card front.

Lois Bak made a delightful slimline card that features major motion using the Playful Pop-up, doubled. You'll definitely want to click over to Lois's blog so you can see this card in action and check out the card front. Love this!

Jen Webster created a card that made me gasp when I first saw it. Her coloring talents are on full display with this adorable Postage Pop-up gnome and insect card. I love everything about this! Be sure to click over to Jen's blog for more info, including a full video tutorial for this project! Amazing!

Well we hope these little squiggles have made you giggle. Join us next month on February 4, 2026 for our 102nd Designer Challenge with a theme of LOVE IS IN THE AIR. Our love-themed projects will also feature the sky and something flying.

Happy Crafting!