Author: susanfoxbowen

Easter · Fun Folds

It’s Friday…Sunday’s Comin’

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Happy Good Friday, friends! While today is one of the hardest days in the Christian calendar, it’s pivotal in the journey to our eternal destination. As a church musician, it happens to be one of my favorite services to sing. The music just pierces the soul.

We’re continuing our Easter-inspired card series. And today, I decided to try the cross-covered z-fold, combining the beautiful retired Everyday Skies paper with the Faith Collection and Prayers & Promises stamps.

We get started with a base of black cardstock and score to crest our z-fold front panel and a portion of the cross. Panels of the Everyday Skies dark & cloudy patterned paper cover the front and inside of the card to create the backdrop for the cross.We use a sheet of the Country Woods woodgrain pattern to form our cross. The front sentiment from the Faith Collection set is stamped in the center of the cross and heat embossed in black.

The cross is wrapped in retired Blackberry Bliss ribbon and affixed it with glue dots. We stamp the inside sentiment panel with the Prayers & Promises sentiment is heat embossed in black. We finish off the card front with some metallic dots to serve as nails and a few moody palette dots for a subtle pop of additional color in the sky.

It may seem like all is dark and hope is lost, but remember this, Sunday’s coming. And Sunday changes everything. The Light will shine, the birds will sing, and the tomb will be empty — our victory forever won! Tune in tomorrow to see how we’ll celebrate.

Easter

Hoppy Day

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

As we march our way toward Easter this week, we’re pulling out the crafty goodness to make some cute Easter-inspired cards. Today we’re using the Easter Joy foiled paper and Time for Celebration ephemera pack to create the springy encouragement card.

We get started with a base of Basic White cardstock. A sheet of the floral pattern from the Easter Joy paper pack serves as our backdrop for the springtime scene on our focal panel. Our focal panel starts with a mat of yellow shimmer paper from the Pastel Shimmer paper pack and then we layer on top the scenic panel from a sheet of the Easter Joy pack. Both are cut with Everyday Arches dies of graduating sizes. We use small flowers and the cute bunny from the Time for Celebration ephemera pack to finish our scene, using dimensionals to add some depth to a few of our ephemera pieces. The sentiment from the retired Heartfelt Hellos stamp set is stamped in Secret Sea and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder to help the wet ink set on the foiled paper and to add some glossy sparkle to catch the eye. The focal panel is adhered to the patterned backdrop over a twist of gold & white baker’s twine using dimensionals. And then we finish things off with some assorted opal rounds in opposing corners of the card and around the sentiment to help draw the eye across the full scene on our card front.

This is such a fun and easy card to pull together and is sure to bring a smile to the recipient, don’t you think? I’ll have a much more Easter-focused design trend going as we move forward this week. I hope you’ll drop in and check those out.

Product List
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166780 ]
[166780]
$14.00
Easter Joy 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper [ 166939 ]
[166939]
$16.50
Pastels Shimmer 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper [ 167198 ]
[167198]
$10.00
Time For Celebration Mix & Match Ephemera Pack [ 165354 ]
[165354]
$7.00
Everyday Arches Dies [ 164629 ]
[164629]
$29.00
Heartfelt Hellos Cling Stamp Set (English) [ 162964 ]
[162964]
$20.00
Secret Sea Classic Stampin' Pad [ 165285 ]
[165285]
$9.00
Basics Wow! Embossing Powder [ 165679 ]
[165679]
$21.00
Black & White & Gold Baker's Twine [ 166005 ]
[166005]
$8.50
Opal Rounds Assortment [ 163298 ]
[163298]
$8.50
Mini Stampin' Dimensionals [ 144108 ]
[144108]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Easter

Hoppy Easter

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Monday, everyone! We survived our busy weekend of activities and birthday fun. The weather was beautiful and the company was superb. I would have loved a do-over. Anyone else?

But we’re back at it in this shiny new week, and it’s going to be a busy one in the life of this church musician. With rehearsals and services, Holy Week surpasses any other church holiday as the most time-consuming. But when you consider that Holy Week is the turning point of the Christian faith, then it truly makes sense.

So in honor of Holy Week this week, I’ll be bringing you some Easter-inspired designs in fits & spurts between rehearsals & services. Today we’re getting started with a super easy card using the Easter Joy paper and Easter Time ephemera.

We get started with a base of Berry Burst cardstock. I used one of the ready-made panels from the Easter Joy paper pack as the backdrop for our little Easter scene with the ephemera bunny and basket of colored eggs, which are colored with Wink of Stella and gold embossing powder. They’re adhered to the backdrop with dimensionals. The sentiment from the Saying Hey retired stamp set is a combination of two stamps from the set. I used Blackberry Bliss ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. We finish things off with a pink bow and some pink iridescent dots.

This one is so fun and so easy, making it a perfect design for a quick batch of Easter hello cards. I hope you’ll drop back by and see what else we get into this week.

Techniques

Spotlight on Paper

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome back, my friends. I hope you’re enjoying your weekend. It’s been a busy one for us so far, but we’ve gotten to enjoy lots of time together. So although we’ve been on the go, I’ll count together time a win any day!

This week, we’re exploring the spotlight technique and looking at all the different ways you can shine a spotlight on your focal points. Did you know you can use the spotlight technique with paper and not just stamps? Today we’re using dimension to highlight a beautiful section of a sheet of the Splendid Autumn paper.

We get started with a base of Blackberry Bliss cardstock. A beautiful dusky scene from the Splendid Autumn paper pack serves as our focal point and cut just shy of a quarter panel for the card front. I chose a 2-inch section in the center to highlight with dimension and a small mat of Lemon Lolly shimmer paper. I ran a panel of white cardstock through with the More Messages die to create some sentiment panels and chose a banner for this card. The stamp set from the 2025 Advent Calendar gives us our decorative flowers and the sentiment. The sentiment panel is adhered with dimensionals and glue dots at the bottom of the spotlight panel. And then we finish things off with a pop of sparkle with some pearlized faceted circles.

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning some of the different ways that you can spotlight elements of your card designs. And remember, there’s never a right or a wrong way to do it. So have fun and just play! Next week, we’ll be hopping into a couple of Easter designs in between all of the Holy Week activities I have coming up.

Product List
Blackberry Bliss 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 133675 ]
[133675]
$14.00
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166780 ]
[166780]
$14.00
Splendid Autumn 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 164173 ]
[164173]
$12.50
Pastels Shimmer 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper [ 167198 ]
[167198]
$10.00
More Messages Die [ 165472 ]
[165472]
$33.00
12 Days Of Crafting Advent Calendar (English) [ 167335 ]
[167335]
$99.00
Fresh Freesia Classic Stampin' Pad [ 155611 ]
[155611]
$9.00
Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147094 ]
[147094]
$9.00
Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147101 ]
[147101]
$9.00
Pearlized Faceted Circles [ 166978 ]
[166978]
$8.00
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Mini Glue Dots [ 103683 ]
[103683]
$7.25
Add All to Cart
Techniques

Spotlight on Layers

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Whew — we made it to Friday, friends! And what a TGIF feeling it is! It’s gonna be a busy weekend around here but also lots of fun as we celebrate the kiddo’s birthday this weekend. And we have to throw in a few around-the-house projects too. What are you getting up to?

We’re continuing our Spotlight technique series and today is all about layers as we combine the Layers of Beauty and Peace on Earth Stampin sets to create this encouragement card.

We get started with a base of Lost Lagoon cardstock. In opposing corners we stamp portions of the Layers of Beauty image tone on tone with Lost Lagoon ink. Our focal panel is a small piece of Lost Lagoon cut with the Textured Notes dies with the same images stamped in opposing corners. The sentiment from the Peace on Earth stamp set is stamped in Pretty Peacock and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. This panel is adhered over some white with gold ribbon in the center of our card so that our floral images overlap one another. Frosted iridescent dots finish off our card with a touch of whimsy.

I hope you’ll tune in tomorrow to see another Spotlight technique at work!

Product List
Lost Lagoon 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 133679 ]
[133679]
$14.00
Layers Of Beauty Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [ 163514 ]
[163514]
$20.00
Peace On Earth Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [ 165918 ]
[165918]
$19.00
Textured Notes Dies [ 165555 ]
[165555]
$31.00
Lost Lagoon Classic Stampin' Pad [ 161678 ]
[161678]
$9.00
Pretty Peacock Classic Stampin’ Pad [ 150083 ]
[150083]
$9.00
Versamark Pad [ 102283 ]
[102283]
$9.50
Basics Wow! Embossing Powder [ 165679 ]
[165679]
$21.00
White With Gold 3/8" (1 Cm) Ribbon [ 166979 ]
[166979]
$8.50
Frosted Iridescent Dots [ 165766 ]
[165766]
$9.00
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Techniques

Spotlight on Birthday

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome back, friends! I hope you aren’t giving up on me. I’ve had a string of weeks where things are just NOT going as planned. Do you ever have those? I’m about ready to trade up for something different. Whew! Between the day job and church music job, it has just been C-RAZY. And, of course, as we move into Holy Week next week, things will really ramp up before they calm down at all.

The kiddo’s birthday this weekend has me thinking of birthday cards today as we continue our spotlight technique design series. Today we’re using repeating text and emphasizing our focal point with ink as we combine the new Nature Walk and Wood Grain Wonders papers, which give us just the right masculine feel for this card.

We get started with a base of Crumb Cake cardstock to compliment our subtle woodgrain pattern in the background that comes from the Wood Grain Wonders paper pack. Our focal panel is two patterns from the Nature Walk pack and we start by cutting out our background mat with the Perennial Postage dies and then cut our top sheet down to size to form the perfect mat. For the spotlight element in this design, we’re using repeated text and I chose a sentiment that would leave a nice border on all sides. To determine whether this sentiment was going to work, I rolled it end over end down the center to confirm I could stamp the full sentiment 3 times down the front of the focal panel. I started stamping the sentiment in a lighter color that stands out just so from the background and stamped it on both the top and bottom. For a solid-color panel, stamping tone on tone works well. Here, I decided that Pool Party ink would do the trick. (In hindsight, I probably should have chosen something like Mossy Meadow for just a touch more color in the background.) And then I stamped the sentiment in Pretty Peacock in the center and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. HINT: you can make embossing powder any color you want by first covering your stamp with Versamark and then your selected ink color. The focal panel is adhered to the mat with dimensionals and then wrapped in linen thread that is tied in a small bow. Some sparkle dots and frosted iridescent dots are added to draw the eye across the card diagonally. The full panel is adhered to the card front with dimensionals. And it’s as simple as that!

Since I’m running on fumes this evening, I needed one of the simpler spotlight techniques and I really love the repeated image style when I want a simple and eye-catching design but have limited time to make a card. I hope you’ll drop in tomorrow to see what spotlight technique we use next!

Product List
Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 120953 ]
[120953]
$14.00
Wood Grain Wonders 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 167428 ]
[167428]
$12.50
Nature Walk 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 166912 ]
[166912]
$12.50
With You In Mind Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [ 169063 ]
[169063]
$20.00
Perennial Postage Dies [ 162607 ]
[162607]
$33.00
Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147107 ]
[147107]
$9.00
Pretty Peacock Classic Stampin’ Pad [ 150083 ]
[150083]
$9.00
Versamark Pad [ 102283 ]
[102283]
$9.50
Basics Wow! Embossing Powder [ 165679 ]
[165679]
$21.00
Linen Thread [ 104199 ]
[104199]
$5.00
Frosted Iridescent Dots [ 165766 ]
[165766]
$9.00
Sparkle Dot Essentials [ 166991 ]
[166991]
$8.00
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Botanicals · Techniques

Spotlight on Flowers

susanfoxbowen2 Comments

Howdy, friends! Did you miss me? Last week didn’t exactly turn out as I had planned. I had grand plans for all of last week’s posts and then our schedules just kinda imploded. Between a major office furniture swap out and then a home update project, last week was chocked FULL and I didn’t have anything left for crafts.

Sooo here we are in a brand new week and I finally get to bring you all the fun ideas I have for this new design theme — the spotlight technique. Typically, this technique will, in some way, repeat a pattern or an image in a fresh, new way. Today, we’re using the elevated coloring method to spotlight a portion of the Flowers Fair stamped image.

We get started with a background of Blackberry Bliss cardstock. The focal panel backdrop is a quarter panel of white cardstock stamped with the Flowers Fair stamp and then cut to size with the largest Perennial Postage die. A second white quarter panel is also stamped with the identical image and then we use one of 2025 Advent Calendar dies to cut out a small portion of the image and then color it with Stampin Blends. The small colored panel is matted with pink shimmer paper and the two are adhered together with dimensionals. We wrap our background panel with pink ribbon before adhering it to our card front with dimensionals. The spotlight panel is adhered in place with dimensionals so it is just above its uncolored counterpart in the image below. The sentiment from the Rolling Waves stamp set is heat embossed in silver on Blackberry Bliss cardstock and then cut out with the Stylish Shapes banner due. Some pink flat pearls in opposing corners finish things off perfectly.

I hope you’ll drop in again to see what other spotlight methods we’ll be using this week!

Product List
Blackberry Bliss 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 133675 ]
[133675]
$14.00
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166780 ]
[166780]
$14.00
Pastels Shimmer 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper [ 167198 ]
[167198]
$10.00
Flowers Fair Photopolymer Stamp Set [ 167217 ]
[167217]
$23.00
Rolling Waves Photopolymer Stamp Set [ 167142 ]
[167142]
$20.00
Jet Black Stāzon Ink Pad [ 101406 ]
[101406]
$10.50
Versamark Pad [ 102283 ]
[102283]
$9.50
Metallics Wow! Embossing Powder [ 165678 ]
[165678]
$21.00
Perennial Postage Dies [ 162607 ]
[162607]
$33.00
Stylish Shapes Dies [ 159183 ]
[159183]
$30.00
12 Days Of Crafting Advent Calendar (English) [ 167335 ]
[167335]
$99.00
Old Olive Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [ 154892 ]
[154892]
$11.00
Pretty In Pink Stampin’ Blends Combo Pack [ 163824 ]
[163824]
$11.00
Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [ 154883 ]
[154883]
$11.00
2024–2026 In Color™ Shimmer Gems [ 163781 ]
[163781]
$8.50
Bubble Bath 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Faux Linen Ribbon [ 167075 ]
[167075]
$8.00
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
sketches · Botanicals

So Grateful

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome to the weekend. I hope you enjoyed some weather as lovely as we did here today. It was spring in every way — warm temps, breezy, and sunny. We got some spring cleaning done both inside and outside today.

And speaking of spring, this week we’ve been using all the spring flowers to create our projects and using a sketch as design inspiration. Today we’re pairing up the Delicate Dreams paper with a sketch from the gold folks over at the Global Design Project.

We get started with a base of Crumb Cake cardstock. our background panel comes from the Nature Walk paper pack. I used the Everyday Arches dies to create our focal panel. Our mat is a sheet of Misty Moonlight glimmer paper from the Peaceful Garden glimmer pack and then our focal panel is from the Delicate Dreams pack. The panel is wrapped with some white & gold ribbon tied in a decorative knot. The sentiment from the Sentimental Framing stamp set is stamped in Secret Sea on white cardstock and then diecut with the Word of Beauty dies and then adhered at the base of the focal panel with dimensionals. We finish things off with opal rounds and hues of blue flowers.

Thanks for hopping along with me this week. I hope you’ve enjoyed this series.

Product List
Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 120953 ]
[120953]
$14.00
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166780 ]
[166780]
$14.00
Delicate Dreams 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper [ 167498 ]
[167498]
$16.50
Peaceful Garden 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Glimmer Paper [ 165929 ]
[165929]
$10.50
Sentimental Framing Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [ 165475 ]
[165475]
$24.00
Everyday Arches Dies [ 164629 ]
[164629]
$29.00
Words Of Beauty Dies (English) [ 167089 ]
[167089]
$31.00
Secret Sea Classic Stampin' Pad [ 165285 ]
[165285]
$9.00
Hues Of Blue Flowers [ 165930 ]
[165930]
$9.00
Opal Rounds Assortment [ 163298 ]
[163298]
$8.50
White With Gold 3/8" (1 Cm) Ribbon [ 166979 ]
[166979]
$8.50
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Botanicals · sketches

Have the Best Day

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

TGIF — am I right friends? It’s been a long week, but we all made it! I must say I’m lamenting the fact that’s it’s Friday just a little bit, but that’s because my kiddo is gone for the next week. It sure will be quiet around here!

This week, our design them has circled around spring and we’ve been using sketches to get the ball rolling. Today we’re bringing out an oldie but goodie. We’re pairing up the Perennial Lavender paper with a sketch from the good folks over at Freshly Made Sketches.

We get started with a neutral base of Crumb Cake cardstock. Our focal panel from the Perennial Lavender pack is double matted with a combination of garden textures foil paper and shimmer paper. The combination of the dark blue and light pink really bring out the darks and lights of the floral pattern sheet. The banner is cut from a purple sheet from the pack using the Stylish Shapes banner die, which serves as the perfect backdrop for the sentiment. The sentiment from the Cutest Crew stamp set is stamped in Gorgeous Grape on a white banner cut with the smaller banner die from the same set. The two banners are adhered together to form one panel and are then adhered over the pink ribbon with dimensionals. We finish everything off with a scattering of purple shimmer gems.

We’ll be wrapping up our series tomorrow and I hope you’ll drop by to see what pairing finishes things off.

Product List
Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 120953 ]
[120953]
$14.00
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166780 ]
[166780]
$14.00
Perennial Lavender 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 162593 ]
[162593]
$12.50
Garden Textures 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Foil Sheets [ 167125 ]
[167125]
$10.50
Pastels Shimmer 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper [ 167198 ]
[167198]
$10.00
Cutest Crew Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [ 167146 ]
[167146]
$19.00
Stylish Shapes Dies [ 159183 ]
[159183]
$30.00
Gorgeous Grape Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147099 ]
[147099]
$9.00
Bubble Bath 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Faux Linen Ribbon [ 167075 ]
[167075]
$8.00
Purple Fine Shimmer Gems [ 162611 ]
[162611]
$8.00
Mini Stampin' Dimensionals [ 144108 ]
[144108]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Botanicals · sketches

Peaceful Birthday

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome back! I’m sure glad you stopped by today. This week, our design theme is inspired by spring and we’re pairing up our spring theme with a sketch each day to make it super easy to pull together a card each day. Today we’re using the Peaceful Garden patterned papers and pairing it with a sketch from the folks over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge.

We get started on our card with a base of Secret Sea cardstock. I chose a more neutral pattern from the Peaceful Garden pack and then a sheet that would compliment my chosen focal image. I placed the busier Secret Sea floral pattern on the bottom and then have the neutral Crumb Cake pattern as the half circle on top. The Layers of Beauty image is stamped in black on white cardstock and then the leaves and daisy centers are colored with Stampin’ Blends. The centers of the roses have a touch of Wink of Stella for a little twinkle. Our focal image is adhered onto the card front with dimensionals. The sentiment from the new Rolling Waves set is stamped in Secret Sea on a white banner that has been cut with one of the smaller banner dies from the Stylish Shapes set. The sentiment is mounted over some Old Olive rickrack with several layers of dimensionals. We finish things off with a few Old Olive sparkle dots.

This one is truly easy to make and such a stunner! I’m going to try it with some other larger floral images in the stash! I hope you’ll drop in tomorrow to see what goodies come to the party next.

Product List
Secret Sea 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 165624 ]
[165624]
$14.00
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166780 ]
[166780]
$14.00
Peaceful Garden 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 165917 ]
[165917]
$12.50
Layers Of Beauty Bundle (English) [ 163519 ]
[163519]
$56.50
Rolling Waves Photopolymer Stamp Set [ 167142 ]
[167142]
$20.00
Stylish Shapes Dies [ 159183 ]
[159183]
$30.00
Secret Sea Classic Stampin' Pad [ 165285 ]
[165285]
$9.00
Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [ 154885 ]
[154885]
$11.00
Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [ 154883 ]
[154883]
$11.00
Old Olive 3/8" (1 Cm) Specialty Rickrack [ 167006 ]
[167006]
$8.00
Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush [ 141897 ]
[141897]
$10.00
Sparkle Dot Essentials [ 166991 ]
[166991]
$8.00
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart