Author: susanfoxbowen

About Me

Confessions of a Crafter with a Day Job

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Howdy, crafty friends! I know it’s been a minute since I’ve shared any projects with you.

With quite a few new followers over the course of the last several months, I thought it might be time to re-introduce myself. So first off, welcome — I’m so glad you’re here! My name is Susan Fox-Bowen, and I’m an independent demonstrator for Stampin’ Up! and reside in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I use this space to share my love of papercrafts and a few snippets from home.

My childhood friends would probably describe me as a crafty person, but I didn’t really get into papercrafts until college when I began scrapbooking. I fell in love with the process of designing pages and making those design ideas come to life. And I eventually transitioned from hands-on pages to digital. My son enjoys looking through all of my scrapbooks, and it’s fun to see the evolution of design trends through the years.

My mom is the one who invited me to a stamping party, and that’s when I officially became hooked on stamping. I’ve always loved writing to friends and family, and being able to make my own cards to send to them made those notes and letters all the more special. Some of my most treasured family memorabilia are cards and letters, and I hope that others now feel the same about ones they have received from me.

Aside from being an avid papercrafter, I also moonlight as a semi-professional singer. Over the years, I have had the privilege of singing many major works from Mozart to Broadway in renowned theatres in the area, and I have served as a staff musician at several area churches.

My family and I enjoy spending time outdoors, are huge baseball fans (Go, Rangers!), and love cats (we have 4 and a sizable feral colony we feed). All in all, I’m thankful to have this platform and opportunity to share what I love with all of you. So thanks for following along!

For those who have been around a little while and have been wondering about my absence, you may remember me mentioning that I went back to work in September. And in the beginning, that did little to impact my crafty time. But as time marches on and work gets busier, well, I’m finding it a little difficult to balance all the things — family, work, crafting — and I’m having to pick and choose what gets my free time. I have always had the Family First ideal. If put in a corner, I choose family first. So, as you can tell by my absence, my crafting has taken a back seat to life as of late.

The kiddo is, of course, the biggest part of priority family time. He joined a bowling league last year and has been working really hard to improve his game. Between lessons and league play, our weekends (and now our weekdays) stay packed! And that hard work has been paying off as he took the top prize across a number of categories for the school season league, including Top Team and Most Improved Average. Next round of league starts this weekend, and in the last several weeks, he’s already seen another consistent increase in his average and has broken his personal record scratch game score TWICE!

As I said in one of my most recent posts, I really and truly DO have a lot of ideas running around in my head that I would love to make a reality. And there are some adorable new Stampin’ Up! products that I intend to feature. So I hope you’ll hang with me as I work to strike a balance.

Tomorrow, I’ll be sharing some kit alternatives from my most recent Kit Together class using the absolutely adorable new kit called Share a Smile. This kit is even cuter in person than it is in pictures! I hope you’ll drop by and check them all out!

Clean and Simple · Gifting

Thanks in the Bag

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We’ve made it to Friday and that means that, for my kiddo, we’ve also made it to the end of another school year. It always feels like the second semester is on fast forward because we sure get from January to May super quickly!

This week, we’ve used the new School Days stamp set to create some cute clean and simple card designs. And we’re finishing things with a bag full of thanks.

We get started with a base of Basic Black cardstock. The background panel is a sheet of Pumpkin Pie with a border a pencils stamped in black. The focal section starts with stamping the backpack image in Poppy Parade onto the background panel. I stamped the small stack of books onto a scrap of Pumpkin Pie using Misty Moonlight ink and then fussy cut with paper snips before adhering onto the background panel with dimensionals so that there is a slight overlap over the backpack. I stamped the sentiment in Misty Moonlight above the pile of books. A few Timid Tiger pearls add a shimmery pop. I tied some twine around the focal panel towards the top and then adhered it to the card base with dimensionals.

It’s been fun to design cards with our talented teachers in mind. Hopefully you’ve pocketed a few ideas for next year.

Next week we’re going to explore some goodies from the new catalog. I hope you’ll drop in to check it out!

Products used in this card:
Basic Black cardstock
School Days, With You in Mind stamps
Textured Notes dies
Dimensionals
Gold textured dots

Clean and Simple · Gifting

Pack in Thanks

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Anybody else a little floored by the fact that it’s already Wednesday?! This is one of those weeks where time is flying by at Mach 10! And I’m pretty sure the teachers and students are absolutely hoping that this last week of school flies by.

This week’s designs are all about honoring those special teachers who give our kiddos 150%. And we’re using the current School Days stamp set to create clean and simple designs that show the appreciation they all deserve.

Today’s card keeps the punches of color to the focal elements. We get started with a base of white cardstock. The focal panel is diecut with the largest Textured Notes die. The sentiment from With You in Mind is stamped in black toward the bottom-right corner of the panel. I stamped the backpack from School Days in Poppy Parade on a scrap of white cardstock and then fussy cut with my paper snips. It’s adhered next to the sentiment with dimensionals. The apple is stamped in Garden Green next to the backpack. Things are finished off with some gold textured dots.

Designs don’t have to be overly complicated to have a big impact. And this card definitely brings home the thanks. I hope you’ll continue to follow along this week as we create more teacher appreciation designs.

Products used in this card:
Basic White cardstock
School Days, With You in Mind stamps
Textured Notes dies
Dimensionals
Gold textured dots

Clean and Simple · Gifting

World of Difference

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Welcome to another installment of teacher appreciation. As we wind down this last week of school, I know that students and teachers alike are counting down the days with gleeful excitement as their much-anticipated summer break is fast approaching.

We continue to use the new School Days stamp set to create our designs, and today we’re pairing it with the Timeless Plaid paper pack.

We get started with a sheet of Poppy Parade cardstock. I used a leftover strip of the blue plaid sheet from the Timeless Plaid pack to serve as the backdrop for our focal elements and then stamped the stars from School Days with Versamark on the card base on top. The book stamp was inked up in a variety of colors and then stamped onto white cardstock before being fussy cut in pairs. I stacked them up and adhered them to the backdrop with dimensionals. The apple is stamped in green onto Granny Apple Green cardstock and then fussy cut and set atop the tower of books. The sentiment from School Days is stamped in black and placed just next to the apple. A scattering of drusy embellishments adds a fun sparkly element.

I hope you’ll continue to follow along this week with all of the teacher appreciation designs.

Products used in this card:
Poppy Parade, Granny Apple Green, Basic White cardstock
Timeless Plaid DSP
School Days stamps
Dimensionals
Drusy embellishments

Clean and Simple · Gifting

Bushel of Thanks

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Happy Monday, everyone! So glad to be back after an unexpected little hiatus. Between a crazy busy work schedule and prepping for and chaperoning my kiddo’s National Academic Pentathlon meet, I ended up having no time in the craft room last week. I’m pleased to report that the Texas teams represented the state well and my son’s school came home with 3rd place overall and a whole host of medalists in each of the 5 individual categories.

But never fear because all of the ideas for teacher appreciation gifts are still swirling around in the old noodle and need a place to go! So this week, the last week of school for us, we’re going to be exploring all of the ways we can use the Online Exclusive set called School Days to create some awesome designs to honor all of those teachers who have worked so hard all year. We’re starting our series with the old tried and true repeated pattern technique to create a sheet of patterned paper.

We start with a base of Mossy Meadow cardstock. To create our sheet of patterned paper, I used the apple image from School Days to create the quarter sheet of apple paper using Real Red, Old Olive, Poppy Parade, and Garden Green. After cutting the panel down, it’s mounted on Old Olive glimmer paper to leave a large shimmery border on the bottom. A strip of gold trim serves to divide the apple pattern from the green glimmer below. The sentiment from School Days is stamped in Real Red on white cardstock and then diecut with the smaller sentiment die from Beautiful Butterflies. The sentiment panel is adhered to the glimmer panel with dimensionals. A few iridescent discs finish things off with a little extra twinkle.

I hope you’ll continue to follow along this week as we honor our hard-working and dedicated teachers.

Products used in this card:
Mossy Meadow, Basic White cardstock
Old Olive glimmer DSP
School Days stamps
Beautiful Buuterflies dies
Gold trim
Dimensionals
Iridescent discs

Mother’s Day

Lovely Mom

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Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms, moms-to-be, grands, and moms in the gap. What a privilege it is to love and care for another. There isn’t more truth than a child is a piece of your heart walking outside your chest.

This week we’re exploring all the ways we can use our crafty stash to make lovely things for our moms. And we’re finishing out our series with the Thankful Garden bundle.

This lovely gets started with a base of Blackberry Bliss cardstock. The focal panel backdrop starts with a quarter panel of white cardstock that is machine embossed with the Dotted Circles embossing folder and is then matted with the Thoughtful Designs specialty paper. Our Thankful Garden bundle takes center stage here with the hydrangea bloom in the center. After stamping the image on white cardstock several times, I used the decorative masks to color the image. I chose to have the blooms be a combination of pink and purple — which was my grandmother’s favorite hues to aim for with her hydrangea (easier said than done). A layer of Wink of Stella over the blooms makes them shimmer in the light. The coordinating dies made quick work of cutting out the bloom and adding the life-like dimension. A combination of pink and purple regal dots serve as the floret centers. I cut some extra stems of leaves from a combination of the Lovely Garden patterned paper and a sheet of Shaded Spruce and laid the hydrangea bunch on top. The sentiment is created using a combination of Sweet Blooms dies and She’s the Greatest stamps. The lovely is cut from purple silver foil and Berry Burst glimmer paper. I adhered the two layers together with the glue pen before adhering over a bow of iridescent striped ribbon. I stamped Mom in Blackberry Bliss on white cardstock and used a heart punch to cut it out. It’s adhered with a dimensional. A few drusy embellishments finish things off with an extra sparkle.

We’re going to be honoring our teachers next week as prepare to wind down the last couple of weeks of school. I hope you’ll drop by for some cute ideas to thank the folks who work selflessly and tirelessly all year to impart knowledge into the next generation!

Product List
Blackberry Bliss 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 133675 ]
[133675]
$11.50
Shaded Spruce 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 146981 ]
[146981]
$11.50
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166780 ]
[166780]
$14.00
Lovely Garden 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 165524 ]
[165524]
$12.50
Thoughtful Designs 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper [ 163317 ]
[163317]
$11.00
Berry Burst, Old Olive & White 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Glimmer Specialty Paper [ 163769 ]
[163769]
$6.00
Silver Foil 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Pack [ 163096 ]
[163096]
$10.00
Dotted Circles 3 D Embossing Folder [ 163789 ]
[163789]
$12.00
Thankful Garden Bundle (English) [ 165534 ]
[165534]
$64.75
She's The Greatest Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [ 165439 ]
[165439]
$24.00
Sweet Blooms Dies (English) [ 165186 ]
[165186]
$33.00
Jet Black Stāzon Ink Pad [ 101406 ]
[101406]
$10.50
Pretty In Pink Classic Stampin Pad [ 163807 ]
[163807]
$9.00
Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147092 ]
[147092]
$9.00
Shy Shamrock Classic Stampin Pad [ 163808 ]
[163808]
$9.00
Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush [ 141897 ]
[141897]
$9.00
Iridescent 1/2" (1.3 Cm) Striped Trim [ 163299 ]
[163299]
$8.50
Regal Foiled Adhesive Backed Dots [ 164038 ]
[164038]
$8.50
Drusy Adhesive Backed Embellishments [ 164223 ]
[164223]
$9.00
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Mini Glue Dots [ 103683 ]
[103683]
$7.25
Fine-Tip Glue Pen [ 138309 ]
[138309]
$7.25
Add All to Cart
Mother’s Day

love you MOM

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This week is all about MOM as we pull out all the stops to create some super fun designs worthy of all of the love, care, and encouragement that moms give. Today’s card is a combination of products that might be akin to the kitchen sink. *haha* But our biggest stars of the show are the Country Woods bundle (hurry, it’s on Last Chance in the shop!) and the new Notes & Totes bundle, along with two new paper packs called Florals in Bloom and Flower Garden foils. Together, they build this cute little scene you might find on the front porch next to the porch swing.

I love this color palette of soft blue hues. We get started with a very neutral base of Basic White cardstock. We turn to the Florals in Bloom papers for our backdrop which we cut using the largest Textured Notes die. And then we follow it with a sheet of the Flower Garden foil and cut it with the next Textured Notes die. I love how the foil is just a tick darker than the striped pattern sheet underneath and how the cross-hatch pattern of the foil plays so well off the stripes below. I adhered the two layers together with dimensionals.

Next up, we work on our focal images. The stool and water jug are stamped onto sheets of the Country Woods woodgrain papers using the Country Flowers set and then diecut with their coordinating dies. The smaller flowers are cut from the Florals in Bloom paper using the coordinating Sweet Blooms die. I layered the stool and jug of flowers using varying layers of dimensionals on focal panel background. I used the scarf die from the Notes & Totes setto cut a gold accent ribbon for the water jug of flowers. I made a smaller handbag using the Notes & Totes bundle. I stamped the hibiscus pattern onto Pretty Peacock and then used the pocket die to cut it out. For the flap, I used the pocket die and cut just the top portion out of the Pretty Peacock Season of Elegance foiled paper. I fussy cut to clean it up and then adhered to the stamped layer. I cut the latch and handle from Crumb Cake cardstock, again using the Notes & Totes set, and adhered with glue dots. The purse is affixed next to the flowers with dimensionals.

The sentiment combines two stamps from the She’s the Greatest set and are stamped in Balmy Blue on white cardstock. I fussy cut the letters of MOM and then diecut a banner for love you using the Nested Essentials small banner die. I loved the look of them in the top corner and affixed them with dimensionals. I added adhesive hearts to finish of the sentiment and a few of the new In Color flat pearls around the flowers for a little touch of shine.

We’ll be closing out our series tomorrow with the last little bit of Mother’s Day inspiration. I hope you’ll drop by!

Product List
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166780 ]
[166780]
$14.00
Pretty Peacock 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 150880 ]
[150880]
$11.50
Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 120953 ]
[120953]
$11.50
Florals In Bloom 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 165175 ]
[165175]
$12.50
Flower Garden Foils 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper [ 165511 ]
[165511]
$10.00
Season Of Elegance 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper [ 164144 ]
[164144]
$16.50
Country Woods 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 163393 ]
[163393]
$12.50
Textured Metallic 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper [ 163772 ]
[163772]
$8.50
Country Flowers Bundle (English) [ 163411 ]
[163411]
$53.00
Notes & Totes Bundle (English) [ 165241 ]
[165241]
$52.00
Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147105 ]
[147105]
$9.00
Sweet Blooms Dies (English) [ 165186 ]
[165186]
$33.00
Textured Notes Dies [ 165555 ]
[165555]
$31.00
Nested Essentials Dies [ 161597 ]
[161597]
$34.00
2025–2027 In Color™ Flat Pearls [ 165192 ]
[165192]
$8.50
Adhesive Backed Heart Sequins [ 164920 ]
[164920]
$8.50
Mini Stampin' Dimensionals [ 144108 ]
[144108]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Mother’s Day

So Grateful

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Have you seen all of the new products that hit the online store yesterday? There are so many wonderful new suites and bundles that it’s a little hard to choose a favorite! But one of the new bundles that ranks at the top is the Notes & Totes bundle that we’re using today to make a cute little giftie to go with mom’s handmade card.

This might look a little overwhelming, but the dies make it super easy to create this cute little gift bag! I’ve filled this one with a gift card, some stickies, and chocolates. And there’s still room for a little tube of hand cream or lip gloss if you wanted to throw one in.

To get started, we cut the sides of the bag out of Timeless Plaid with the largest Notes & Totes die. Fold along the score lines and then adhere together with tear-n-tape. To give the look of leather, I cut the straps and accent pieces for the bag out of Crumb Cake cardstock. Adhere the vertical straps first and then the piece on the bottom of the bag with tear-n-tape. I used glue dots to adhere the handles and accent pieces on each side of the bag. I tied a small bow of Pretty in Pink bordered ribbon around one strap and then filled the bag with goodies. I cut a small notecard with the included die and then stamped the sentiment from Notes & Totes in Melon Mambo and tucked it in the bag amongst the goodies. Voila! A cute little something to leave next to mom’s coffee!

I’ll be back on Friday with some more inspiration for Mother’s Day. I hope you’ll pop in!

Product List
Timeless Plaid 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 164678 ]
[164678]
$12.50
Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 120953 ]
[120953]
$11.50
Notes & Totes Bundle (English) [ 165241 ]
[165241]
$52.00
Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147051 ]
[147051]
$9.00
Pretty In Pink 3/8" (1 Cm) Bordered Ribbon [ 163784 ]
[163784]
$7.50
Tear & Tape Adhesive [ 154031 ]
[154031]
$7.00
Mini Glue Dots [ 103683 ]
[103683]
$7.25
Add All to Cart
Mother’s Day

Best Mom

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Guess what day it is? It’s product release day! That’s right, today we have a whole new batch of Online Exclusives AND all of the products from the brand new Annual Catalog. In my neck of the woods, that’s what we call a red letter day! In all seriousness, if you haven’t had the opportunity to check out all of the new products, it’s really worth a looksy!

This week, we’re focusing on MOM in preparation for Mother’s Day on Sunday. And there are so many beautiful new things that will help you make the perfect card for mom in no time flat. Today, we’re combining the new Florals in Bloom paper with the new Flower Garden Foil to create this super quick and easy tribute to mom.

We get started with a base of Flirty Flamingo cardstock. Our background panel consists of two sheets from the new Florals in Bloom paper pack. Our focal section is a group of circles cut using the Spotlight on Nature dies and is a combination of vellum and the lovely red Flower Garden foil. The sentiment is a combination of the With You in Mind and She’s the Greatest stamp sets. I used a combination of Poppy Parade and Flirty Flamingo for the sentiment, and I took advantage of the wet ink on the vellum and heat embossed the sentiment with clear embossing powder to fully set it on the vellum panel. The circles are adhered over gold striped and mesh ribbon using dimensionals. We finish things off with a little twinkle using the new In Color flat pearls and iridescent faceted gems.

We’ll be restocking mom’s bag tomorrow. I hope you’ll drop by and see what it’s all about!

Product List
Flirty Flamingo 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 141416 ]
[141416]
$11.50
Vellum 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 101856 ]
[101856]
$10.00
Flower Garden Foils 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper [ 165511 ]
[165511]
$10.00
Florals In Bloom 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 165175 ]
[165175]
$12.50
With You In Mind Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [ 164747 ]
[164747]
$20.00
She's The Greatest Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [ 165439 ]
[165439]
$24.00
Spotlight On Nature Dies [ 163580 ]
[163580]
$35.00
Flirty Flamingo Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147052 ]
[147052]
$9.00
Poppy Parade Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147050 ]
[147050]
$9.00
Basics Wow! Embossing Powder [ 165679 ]
[165679]
$21.00
Gold Striped 3/8" (1 Cm) Mesh Ribbon [ 165599 ]
[165599]
$8.00
2025–2027 In Color™ Flat Pearls [ 165192 ]
[165192]
$8.50
Iridescent Faceted Gems [ 163368 ]
[163368]
$8.50
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Mini Glue Dots [ 103683 ]
[103683]
$7.25
Add All to Cart
Mother’s Day

The Best Mom

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Welcome to a bright and shiny new week! I don’t know about you, but I can’t even believe that we’re starting the month of May. The end of school is going to be here in a flash!

This week, we get to welcome a whole host of brand new products to the store. Are you excited? I know I am! There’s so much good stuff coming. I hope last week’s sneak peeks have you interested in seeing more because there is SO much more to see, and I just know you’re going to love it.

We’re getting started with a new design theme for the week, and with Mother’s Day just a week away, I thought it would be the perfect theme for our designs. And speaking of sneak peeks, we’re getting a little better look at the Pretty Florals bundle, which will be part of the new release, in today’s card.

We get started with a base of Fresh Freesia cardstock. Using the Plaster Painting embossing folder, I embossed just the front panel of the card. I added a piece of the coordinating pastel ombre glimmer paper to the left side against the fold, and this particular piece has the perfect subtle shift from pink to purple. I used a strip of the Blackberry Bliss and gold trim to cover the edge of the glimmer paper and tie together with our focal elements. The sentiment from the She’s the Greatest stamp set is stamped in Blackberry Bliss on white cardstock and then diecut with the largest banner die from the Mixed Labels set. It’s adhered in the bottom corner of the card front with dimensionals. Using the Pretty Florals dies, I cut the flowers from a combination of Petunia Pop and Blackberry Bliss cardstock. The leaves are cut from the Old Olive Season of Elegance paper. I added some Wink of Stella to the blooms for a touch of subtle twinkle. The florals are all adhered to the card front around the sentiment panel at varying heights with a combination of glue dots and dimensionals. We finish things off with a scatter of Blackberry Bliss shimmer gems for the perfect touch of sparkle.

I hope you’ll pop back by tomorrow for another bit of Mother’s Day inspiration.

Products used in today’s card:
Fresh Freesia, Petunia Pop, Blackberry Bliss, Basic White cardstock
Pastel Ombre glimmer, Season of Elegance DSP
Plaster Painting embossing folder
Pretty Florals bundle (coming soon)
She’s the Greatest stamps
Mixed Labels dies
Blackberry Bliss & gold metallic ribbon (retired)
Purple fine shimmer gems
Wink of Stella
Dimensionals