Author: susanfoxbowen

Coming Soon · January Mini Catalog · Sale-a-Bration

Made My Day

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It’s a bright and shiny new week already! It was a busy weekend for us between bowling league activities and lessons, holiday gatherings, and holiday preparations. Whew — I feel like I need a weekend from my weekend. What about you?!

As promised, this week we’re going to be getting some sneak peeks at some of my favorite items from the upcoming Stampin’ Up! January Mini and Sale-a-Bration catalogs. Today’s card is based on a super fun color combination that our Luv 2 Stamp Group is working a challenge with right now — Night of Navy, Pool Party, and Melon Mambo. As soon as I saw this combo, I knew exactly what new products I was going to pair to show you. So let’s get a closer look.

I decided to use a sketch from the Annual Catalog to simplify the design process, so this design is based on Sketch #16. We get started with a base of Melon Mambo cardstock. The focal panel consists of the lovely new Toadstool Gardens designer paper, which is a Sale-a-Bration freebie, and a double mat of Night of Navy and the new pastel ombré glimmer paper, which will launch in the January Mini. I wrapped this panel with some Pool Party crinkle ribbon and then placed the sentiment panel over it. The sentiment from the new Mixed Labels stamp set is stamped on white cardstock and then diecut with the coordinating sentiment die from the Mixed Labels die set. I used the size-up sentiment die to cut the mat from the same Pool Party pastel ombré glimmer paper. Dimensionals behind both the sentiment panel and main panel give this card some dimension. I added some shiny sequins for a touch of sparkle across the focal panel.

I’ll be sharing more product previews this week, so I hope you’ll pop in and see what caught my eye from the new January catalogs!

Products used in today’s design:
Melon Mambo, Night of Navy, Basic White cardstock
Pastel ombre glimmer (coming soon!), Toadstool Gardens (coming soon!) DSP
Mixed Labels bundle (coming soon!)
Pool Party crinkle ribbon
Shiny sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Christmas · Gifting

Beary Cute Envelope

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Howdy, crafty friends! I got a little side-tracked yesterday with a cookie project and ran out of time to play in my crafty stash. I was trying out a new cookie recipe to take to a cookie exchange. And once again, I forgot how much I hate messing with the candy coating. I can never get it to melt right and then end up making a big mess. I guess the good thing about this particular recipe is that the cookies are supposed to resemble snowballs, and snowballs are lumpy. Soooooo my lumpy candy coating is perfect! Hahaha!

I’m still furiously working away on gift tags and gift holders. And today, I’m bringing you a super easy gift card holder that I ran across on Pinterest that uses a standard card base. I decided to pull together some of my retired favorites for this one because the paper is perfect for my intended recipient!

We get started with a base of Night of Navy cardstock. It’s scored at 1 1/4 inches, 4 inches, 6 inches, and 8 inches and then folded to create the center gift card pocket. I used a 2-inch circle punch to make the pull-out section in the center of the gift card pocket. The pocket itself is held together with tear-and-tape. The Beary Christmas patterned paper pack was a part of last year’s holiday catalog, and I just loved it so much that I stocked up when it went on sale. I was able to use a collection of scraps from another project to cover the panels on the outside and inside of the gift envelope. I thought the sweater-patterned strips were perfect accents for the flap and adjoining panels. I found a cute star-patterned cardstock from the Irresistibly Yours paper pack (long ago retired) in my scrap stash that is the perfect panel for the gift message. Our smaller circle focal elements on the outside and inside of our gift envelope are diecut to highlight cute little critters. I used the Changing Leaves and Spotlight on Nature dies for these circles. I thought the decorative edges were perfect designs elements that add a lot of interest to the pop-out panels. The fox panel on the front is adhered to the flap with dimensionals, which gives a nice gap under which I slid the knotted diagonal striped ribbon to keep the envelope closed.

I just love how this turned out, and it came together quickly. The hardest part was choosing what adorable critters from the Beary Christmas paper that I wanted to highlight on each portion of the gift envelope.

Products used in this design:
Night of Navy Cardstock
Beary Christmas (retired), Irresistibly Yours (retired) DSP
2″ circle punch
Changing Leaves, Spotlight on Nature dies

Christmas · Gifting

Tree Pocket Gift Holder

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We’re gearing up for Christmas here at Song Sparrow. Every day that Amazon shows up, my husband says something about the number of boxes that end up on the porch. *snicker* Hey, I can’t help it if the warehouses decide to box orders in a multitude of boxes.

But speaking of getting ready for Christmas, I’m still working on gifts and gift tags. And today’s design is a super cute gift-giving envelope that I plan to hang on the Christmas tree for a little holiday hide-n-seek. I ran across this super cute envelope in one of my Pinterest searches, and it’s super easy to put together.

We get started with a 6×6 sheet of Take a Bow patterned paper and score from corner to corner on both sides. Then you fold to create the envelope. For this one, the flap on the envelope is supposed to stay open, which makes it a snap to put together. I used two smaller strips of the Take a Bow paper to cover my score line in the center and also to serve as a nice break in the pattern underneath the focal panel. Our focal panel starts with a base of the (retired) Garden Walk patterned paper that is cut using the Peaceful Season decorative square die. Then I just layered the stocking and sentiment from the Joyful ephemera packs right on top using the dimensionals. The gift panel is a sheet of the (retired) More Dazzle specialty paper with a to/from panel cut from white cardstock using the (retired) Stitched Nested Labels dies. I cut some greenery fronds from Granny Apple Green cardstock using the Golden Greenery dies and adhered them to the back of the gift panel with dimensionals. A cute red bow tied from Cherry Cobbler & Gold metallic ribbon finish off the gift panel nicely. The whole kit & caboodle will hang from the tree with some green thread.

The hardest part of this whole design was picking what ephemera I wanted to use! Otherwise, it comes together in a snap. And don’t you think it will just be the cutest way to give cash or a gift card?

Product List
Take A Bow 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper
[164309]
$12.50
Garden Walk 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper
[162227]
$12.50
More Dazzle 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Specialty Paper
[161749]
$7.50
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[159276]
$13.00
Granny Apple Green 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[146990]
$11.50
Joyful Images Mix & Match Specialty Ephemera Pack
[164110]
$9.50
Joyful Sayings Mix & Match Ephemera Pack (English)
[164109]
$9.50
Golden Greenery Dies
[164116]
$39.00
Peaceful Season Dies (English)
[164020]
$34.00
Stitched Nested Labels Dies
[149638]
$35.00
Cherry Cobbler & Gold 1/2'' (1.3 Cm) Metallic Ribbon
[156312]
$8.00
Mini Glue Dots
[103683]
$7.25
Stampin' Dimensionals
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Christmas · Gifting

Making Lists

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Welcome to a bright and shiny new week, crafty friends! We’re in full-on Christmas mode over here as we make our lists and check them twice. I pulled out all of the gifts we’ve purchased so far and started wrapping last night.

And that meant that I was also busy in the craft room making the gift tags. Did you know it’s super easy to make gift tags? Even with the smallest crafty stash, I have no doubt that you have the perfect combination of things to make cute gift tags. Today, I’m showing you a small sampling of what I whipped together last night using some patterned paper, several die sets, and the Joyful ephemera.

Are these not the cutest? And they are SO easy to put together. Let’s take a closer look at each one.

I got started on the first tag by diecutting the base from a sheet of Take a Bow paper using the largest Greetings of the Season die. I kept things simple with just a few elements from the Joyful ephemera packs — just a wreath and a sentiment. To help the wreath stand out against the polka dot background, I cut a sheet of red polka dot from the Take a Bow paper pack. I put this panel over a gold banner, which draws the eye nicely to the wreath panel. I mirrored on the reverse side with just the gold banner and then the Holly Jolly sentiment. For the to/from tag, I cut a smaller tag from white cardstock using the Greetings of the Season die and then finished off with some (retired) Cherry Cobbler twine to attach the tag to my package.

For this tag, I also used the largest Greetings of the Season die and cut a piece of the (now retired) Garden Walk patterned paper. I chose two larger images, some greenery, and two sentiments from the Joyful ephemera packs to decorate each side of the tag. I also cut some gold twigs using the Changing Leaves die sets. The bear, evergreen branch, and small sentiment are adhered on varying layers of dimensionals for a little depth. On the reverse side, I layered the drums, evergreen, gold sprigs, and sentiment. I also used varying layers of dimensionals on this side, as well. The small to/from tag is from Greetings of the Season and secured with some retired twine.

Our last tag uses a retired Memories & More set called Beary Christmas. I pulled the sleigh and sentiment from the Joyful ephemera packs and adhered on the package side of the Beary Christmas tag. I cut the to/from tag from white cardstock using the smallest banner from the Nested Essentials die set and secured with some retired twine. To cover the overhanging sentiment on the opposite side of the tag, I adhered two small stars from the ephemera packs to either side.

No matter the size of your crafting stash, you can dress up your packages with cute handmade gift tags! Tune in the rest of the week as we take a look at how we can quickly dress up our holiday gift-giving.

Products used in today’s featured designs:
White cardstock
Take a Bow, More Dazzle (retired), gold foil DSP
Joyful ephemera
Greetings of the Season, Nested Essentials, Changing Leaves dies
Beary Christmas Memories & More (retired)
Assorted twine (retired)
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Christmas

Through the Branches

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I have sent handmade Christmas cards for many, many years — even before I became a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator. In recent years, I’ve moved away from creating one single card design because I found myself agonizing over which of my favorites would be the star of the holiday card show each year. I love being able to create a variety of designs using both current and retired products in my stash and then choosing a design that really fits a recipient. What about you? Do you send a single card design? Or do you mix it up?

I love creating designs that seem to be peering through the trees. I’ve made several cards over the last couple of months that use this design concept. Today, we’re peering through the evergreens to this lovely Christmas tree in the center.

We get started with a base of Mossy Meadow cardstock. Our background panel is a sheet of the Take a Bow designer paper. I loved the variety of greens and the contrast that this patterned sheet provided to the design. Our focal panel has many layers and begins with a background panel of Mossy Meadow that is diecut using the largest Deckled Rectangle die. The evergreen branches are cut from Mossy Meadow using the Winterly Treetops dies from the Nests of Winter suite. Layers of dimensionals give the illusion of us looking through layers and layers of branches. Our focal tree is from the Joyful Images ephemera pack, and I cut around the image to remove as much white space as possible. I added a star, also from the ephemera pack, to the top of the tree. The sentiment is from the Joyful Sayings ephemera pack, and I love how the lighter green really pops against our mossy background panel. We finish things off with gold thread and snowflakes for a little touch of sparkle to bring out the small gold foiling elements on our tree.

Next week, we’ll be looking at all the ways we can use our crafty goodies to create special holiday gifts. I hope you’ll tag along.

Products used in today’s design:
Mossy Meadow cardstock
Take a Bow DSP
Joyful ephemera
Deckled Rectangles, Winterly Treetops dies
Gold thread
Snowflakes assortment
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Christmas

Advent Prayer

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We’re already halfway through the first week of December. I’m still working through Christmas lists and holiday to-dos. What about you?

Today, I’m sharing an update to our family dinner prayer. A month or so ago I shared the story of how this got started for our family. This is such a terrific practice, not only to hide the Word in our hearts, but to give us new and fresh ways to reframe each day — no matter how well or how poorly the day has gone. I challenge you to adopt something similar for your family and see how it begins to change things for you.

We get started with the same 6×6 frame from Amazon. Our backdrop for our scripture this month is a sheet of the (very sadly now-retired) One Horse Open Sleigh designer series paper. I printed the scripture on a quarter panel of white cardstock and then diecut using the Radiating Stitches dies and mounted on the background panel with dimensionals. I added a few snowflakes and rhinestones basic jewels for a little sparkle. I’m storing all of the prayers we aren’t using in a 6×6 paper pocket envelope (also an Amazon find) so they’ll be ready to use again.

Products used in today’s featured design:
6×6 frame (Amazon)
One Horse Open Sleigh DSP (retired)
Basic White cardstock
Snowflake assortment
Rhinestone basics jewels
Dimensionals

Christmas · Coming Soon

Sending Snowy Cheer

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It’s that time of year where we’re all in holiday mode. Swiping all of the sale items off our lists to give to loved ones and friends. Taking the annual family photos. Carefully choosing the annual holiday cards.

Today, I’m sharing another holiday card from this year’s crafting stash. I have several versions of this particular design that I hope to try, but this is by far the simplest one, I think. And I just love the look of the new Soft Waves embossing folder that will release with the new catalog in January. Doesn’t it give the perfect look of snow drifts swirling swiftly across this scene?

We get started with a base of Real Red cardstock. The background panel is a quarter panel of Real Red that’s embossed with the new (not yet released) Soft Waves embossing folder and then lightly wiped with craft ink to give the look of swirling snow. To create the snowdrift in the front, I took a panel of white cardstock and tore it to create the perfectly soft and frayed-looking top edges. Our mailbox from Sending Love is stamped in black on white cardstock and colored with Stampin’ Blends. I cut with the coordinating die and then made the cuts even tighter with my paper snips. The wreath from the Sophisticated Sled stamp set is stamped in Shaded Spruce and Old Olive and then colored with Stampin’ Blends before I cut it out with the coordinating die. I also tightened up the edges around the wreath with paper snips to reduce the white space. I slit the wreath and then put it around the mailbox. Dimensionals help give it definition all around. The bow is cut using the Peaceful Evergreens dies and is cut from gold foil paper. Dimensionals help give the whole scene layers and dimension for all of the elements. I wrapped some red & white baker’s twine around the bottom of the focal panel and added the sentiment from the Joyful Sayings ephemera pack. Gold snowflakes and gold iridescent gems finish things off with just the right amount of sparkle.

Tomorrow, I hope you’ll pop in to see how I’ve updated our dinner table prayer for the season of Advent.

Product List
Real Red 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[102482]
$11.50
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[159276]
$13.00
Gold Foil Sheets
[132622]
$5.00
Sending Love Cling Stamp Set (English)
[162873]
$25.00
Sending Love Dies
[162879]
$35.00
Sophisticated Sled Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)
[164340]
$24.00
Sophisticated Sled Dies
[164133]
$35.00
Peaceful Evergreens Dies
[164024]
$40.00
Whisper White Craft Stampin' Ink Refill
[101780]
$7.00
Jet Black Stāzon Ink Pad
[101406]
$10.50
Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin' Pad
[147088]
$9.00
Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad
[147090]
$9.00
Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends Combo Pack
[154882]
$11.00
Shaded Spruce Stampin' Blends Combo Pack
[154903]
$11.00
Smoky Slate Stampin' Blends Combo Pack
[154904]
$11.00
Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Blends Combo Pack
[154880]
$11.00
Old Olive Stampin' Blends Combo Pack
[154892]
$11.00
Joyful Sayings Mix & Match Ephemera Pack (English)
[164109]
$9.50
Adhesive Backed Snowflake Assortment
[162129]
$8.00
Iridescent Foil Gems
[162842]
$8.00
Real Red & White Baker's Twine
[164051]
$5.00
Stampin' Dimensionals
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Christmas · Holidays

Christmas Greenery

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

As soon as I saw the Seasons of Green & Gold suite of products by Stampin’ Up!, I immediately put it in my cart. Aside from the fact that one of my favorite things about the holidays is all of the evergreens, this suite had all of the festive sparkle that could be used beyond holiday card designs.

Today, I’m using a combination of evergreen colors with the glittering gold elements of the suite to create this elegant holiday design.

We get started with a base of Very Vanilla cardstock. Our background panel is a sheet of the golden greenery from the Seasons of Green & Gold paper pack. I used some of the leftover diecut greenery from last week’s home decor project to create an evergreen spray for the center focal point of this design. The greenery is diecut from the Graceful Greenery vellum and Seasons of Green & Gold patterned paper using the coordinating Golden Greenery dies. The sentiment combines the word Merry from the Joyful Sayings ephemera pack and elements diecut using the Peaceful Season dies and a combination of gold foil and festive glimmer papers. A faux bow of Shaded Spruce sheer ribbon adds a layer of green while dressing up the design. Dimensionals give us lots of layers between the card elements. We finish things off with a combination of earth tones shimmer gems and regal foiled dots.

Tomorrow, I’m going to share our newest dinner prayer with you — just in time for Advent.

Product List
Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[101650]
$13.00
Season Of Green & Gold 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper
[164324]
$16.50
Graceful Greenery Vellum 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper
[164118]
$10.00
Gold Foil Sheets
[132622]
$5.00
Festive 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Glimmer Paper
[164106]
$12.00
Joyful Sayings Mix & Match Ephemera Pack (English)
[164109]
$9.50
Golden Greenery Dies
[164116]
$39.00
Peaceful Season Dies (English)
[164020]
$34.00
Shaded Spruce 1/2" (1.3 Cm) Satin & Sheer Ribbon
[164224]
$8.50
Earth Tones Shimmer Gems
[164070]
$8.50
Regal Foiled Adhesive Backed Dots
[164038]
$8.50
Stampin' Dimensionals
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Christmas · Holidays

Merry Stockings

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy December, everyone. I don’t know about you, but I’m over here wondering how I ended up in a time warp! Every year, I feel like the fall months just whiz by and we end up at Christmas in the blink of an eye!

The last quarter of my year has definitely felt like it’s on fast forward after returning to work. I just can’t seem to find a good rhythm to keep all of the balls in the air. Each week, something has to give, it seems. So for those who have been following along for a while and for those who are new here, I’m still working on finding a good balance in order to find time in the craft room.

I was fortunate to have a few days at home over the Thanksgiving holiday and could carve out a little crafty time. I’m still working on Christmas cards and it’s going to be a race to the finish to get enough made to get them all out before Christmas! Today’s card uses the Joyful Ephemera packs to create a super simple and very festive holiday card.

We get started with a base of white cardstock. The focal panel is machine embossed using the Cute Crochet embossing folder that is then matted with some red Festive Glimmer paper. The mantle is a strip of the Take a Bow patterned paper pack that is mounted with dimensionals. The stockings and bows are from the Joyful Images ephemera pack and the banner sentiment is from the Joyful Sayings ephemera. A few iridescent discs finish things off with a twinkle and help the eye pass across the design.

I’ll be bringing you some more holiday designs as the week moves along. Thanks for dropping in!

Product List
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[159276]
$13.00
Festive 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Glimmer Paper
[164106]
$12.00
Take A Bow 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper
[164309]
$12.50
Joyful Images Mix & Match Specialty Ephemera Pack
[164110]
$9.50
Joyful Sayings Mix & Match Ephemera Pack (English)
[164109]
$9.50
Cute Crochet 3 D Embossing Folder
[163792]
$10.00
Iridescent Adhesive Backed Discs
[161954]
$7.00
Stampin' Dimensionals
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Christmas · Holidays · L2S Group Instahop

Most Wonderful Time

susanfoxbowen2 Comments

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Our family has so very much to be thankful for this year. Most importantly is that we’re all here to celebrate together. After my husband’s very serious health crisis early in the year, we do not take for granted that he is here and he is healthy and recovering!

A quiet holiday week at work has turned out to be quite busy, and so once again, I’m mostly playing catchup this week. But I’m thankful to have a job that I really enjoy and that provides for my family. Even if it does cut into my favorite hobby! *wink-wink*

And speaking of my new job, I wanted to create a little festive holiday art that I could display in my bookshelf. And so today’s project uses the ever so lovely Seasons of Green and Gold Suite of products to create the festive 6×6 framed project. This is a simple white frame that I purchased on Amazon.

We start with a 6×6 piece of white cardstock as the base for our greenery spray. The greenery is diecut from the Season of Green & Gold patterned paper and Graceful Greenery vellum using the coordinating Golden Greenery dies. I also mixed in a few green Festive Glimmer paper sprigs for a pop of sparkly fun. Our pops of red are also diecut from Festive Glimmer paper but use the small sprig from the Changing Leaves die set. The greenery is adhered to the white cardstock in varying layers, which are created with dimensionals. The sentiment from Greetings of the Season is heat embossed in gold on white cardstock and diecut with the Spotlight on Nature die set. A ribbon of silver and white sheer ribbon dresses the sentiment panel with some shimmer. And drusy embellishments in the corners catch the eye and move it across our decorative piece. I really love how this turned out and can’t wait to put it out in my office!

Today’s card is a part of the Luv 2 Stamp Group Instagram Hop, which goes live at 9 AM Pacific Time (PST).  Click here to head over to my Instagram feed at 9 AM Pacific/11 AM Central and check out what the other demos in our L2S Group have created for you today! 

Product List
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[159276]
$13.00
Season Of Green & Gold 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper
[164324]
$16.50
Graceful Greenery Vellum 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper
[164118]
$10.00
Festive 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Glimmer Paper
[164106]
$12.00
Greetings Of The Season Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)
[164325]
$25.00
Versamark Pad
[102283]
$9.50
Metallics Wow! Embossing Powder
[165678]
$21.00
Spotlight On Nature Dies
[163580]
$35.00
Golden Greenery Dies
[164116]
$39.00
Changing Leaves Hybrid Embossing Folder
[164138]
$40.00
Silver & White 1/2" (1.3 Cm) Sheer Ribbon
[162149]
$9.00
Drusy Adhesive Backed Embellishments
[164223]
$9.00
Stampin' Dimensionals
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart