Author: susanfoxbowen

Sketchy Fridays · Thankful

Sketchy Fridays: Tweet Thanks

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We’ve made it to another Friday, and you know what that means? It’s time for another Sketchy Fridays!

Each week we’ll be using a card sketch to design our featured card. Right now, we’re working through a full series of designs using the card sketches found in current Stampin’ Up! catalogs.

This week’s card is based on Sketch #22 in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog and features a whole assortment of products. We’re pairing our sketch with the Thoughtful Journey and Nests of Winter papers, the Timber embossing folder, and Simply Said stamps along with our thankfulness theme to create today’s card.

Today, I used our sketch more as a guide than an absolute. That’s the best part about using sketches to design cards—they get you started but don’t have to box you in!

Our card starts with a base of Early Espresso cardstock. The focal panel combines a sheet of Gray Granite embossed with the Birch Wood embossing folder with a mat of Blackberry Bliss. Our two focal panels are cut from a sheet of Thoughtful Journey patterned paper using the Nested Essentials dies. I fussy cut the bird from a sheet of Nests of Winter paper and adhered over the focal panel with dimensionals. The sentiment from Simply Said is heat embossed with gold on a Blackberry Bliss panel diecut using the Peaceful Season dies. A few gold iridescent foil gems and Blackberry Bliss transparent dots finish things off with pops of interest.

We’ll be finishing out our thankfulness theme tomorrow. I hope you’ll pop in.

Products used in today’s card:
Early Espresso, Blackberry Bliss, Gray Granite cardstock
Thoughtful Journey, Nests of Winter DSP
Nested Essentials, Peaceful Season dies
Birch Wood embossing folder
Simply Said stamps
Gold embossing powder
Transparent dots, iridescent foil gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Product List
Early Espresso 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[119686]
$11.50
Blackberry Bliss 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[133675]
$11.50
Gray Granite 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[146983]
$11.50
Thoughtful Journey 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper
[163303]
$12.50
Nests Of Winter 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper
[164183]
$12.50
Birch Wood 3 D Embossing Folder
[164069]
$12.00
Nested Essentials Dies
[161597]
$34.00
Peaceful Season Dies (English)
[164020]
$34.00
Simply Said Mix & Match Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)
[163756]
$17.00
Versamark Pad
[102283]
$9.50
Metallics Wow! Embossing Powder
[165678]
$21.00
Transparent Adhesive Backed Dots
[163432]
$8.00
Iridescent Foil Gems
[162842]
$8.00
Stampin' Dimensionals
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Thankful

Good Heart

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I always find it interesting to analyze the overall sentiment people share on social media after elections. From gloating to despair, the feelings that people share very much run the full spectrum. In some election cycles, as a voter, I feel like a “winner” while in others I feel at a loss. And isn’t that the cycle of life. But the most important thing that I always like to carry with me is that, no matter what, my voice matters. And even more importantly, my actions on a day-to-day basis matter. Do my actions convey my deeply-held beliefs? That’s our point to ponder today.

This week, we’re working within a theme of thankfulness. And I really loved this sentiment from the Frosted Forest stamp set — no beauty shines brighter than that of a good heart. Let’s carry that thought with us today!

We get started on today’s card with a base of Cajun Craze cardstock. Our focal background is a sheet of the lovely Thoughtful Journey designer series paper that has been matted with a piece of Peach Pie glimmer paper. Our sentiment from Frosted Forest is stamped in Early Espresso on white cardstock and then diecut with the Autumn Leaves stamps. I had a collection of leaves diecut from some lovely shimmery paper (all retired) that really bring out all of the subtle colors in this piece of patterned paper, so I scattered them behind the sentiment and made a little pile on the ground. For a little extra pop of sparkle and to really draw the eye to our sentiment, I added some drusy embellishments.

I hope you’ll pop in tomorrow as we use a sketch to design a card, keeping with our thankfulness theme.

Products used in today’s card:
Cajun Craze, Basic White cardstock
Thoughtful Journey, In Color shimmer DSP
Frosted Forest stamps
Autumn Leaves dies
Drusy embellishments
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Thankful

Give Thanks in Everything

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Our design theme for this week is thankfulness. And on this post-election day, I can certainly give thanks for the ability to vote. How fortunate we are as Americans to be able to voice our opinions by choosing our leaders on all levels. What a tremendous privilege this is!

Back to the crafty task at hand. This week, my son actually helped me choose a theme. And I think it works perfectly for inspiring designs of all kinds. Today’s card borrows a fall color palette to deliver our message of thanks.

We get started with a base of Early Espresso cardstock. The backdrop for our focal panel is a piece of Cajun Craze diecut with the largest rectangle from the Radiating Stitches dies. I just love the pop the detail in this die lends to this card design. Our focal panel is a sheet of Early Espresso cardstock that has been embossed using the Leaf Fall embossing folder and then cut to fit within the center of the Cajun Craze panel. To add more depth and dimension to the embossing, I rubbed gold ink over the raised portions with my finger and then wiped the excess across the full panel so it has a slight gold sheen all the way across. To really bring this forward, the embossed panel is matted with textured gold specialty paper. The sentiment from the Courage & Faith stamp set is stamped in Copper Clay on Crumb Cake cardstock and then diecut with the Autumn Leaves die using the extension method. A faux bow of Cherry Cobbler & Gold satin ribbon is adhered behind the sentiment panel which is popped up over our focal panel using dimensionals. I added a few Earth Tone shimmer gems on either side of the sentiment to draw the eye and add a little sparkle.

Tune in tomorrow to see where our thankfulness theme takes us.

Products used in today’s card:
Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake cardstock
Textured gold SP
Leaf Fall embossing folder
Courage & Faith stamps
Autumn Leaves, Radiating Stitches dies
Cherry Cobbler & Gold satin ribbon
Natural tones shimmer gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Thankful

Meditation on Thanks

susanfoxbowen1 Comment

Happy Stampin’ Up Online Exclusives release day, everyone! Have you checked out the new goodies in the store yet? In addition to the new Online Exclusives, two new kits also launched today. So much exciting stuff!

This week, our projects are revolving around the theme of thankfulness. And today, we’re getting started with a home decor item and, for grinsies, I thought I would share a little backstory on how this particular project came about.

Each evening before dinner, we have the kiddo recite a blessing. We’ve gone through a number of them over the years. Most recently, we have been meditating on a scripture and that scripture has become our prayer over meals. I made a little decorative table placard that had our prayer printed. A happy little side effect of this practice has been that we’ve all now memorized that scripture. So we’re going to periodically change the scripture we use to pray over our meals. Today’s project is our new daily prayer.

The frame for today’s project came from a Luv 2 Stamp group get-together project, but I have found similar 6×6 frames on Amazon. I used a sheet of the lovely Splendid Autumn designer series paper as the backdrop for our daily prayer. I typed up our prayer on the computer and printed on a sheet of white cardstock and then cut it down to size. The prayer is matted in Moody Mauve shimmer paper and textured gold specialty paper. The scripture is mounted to the mounts with dimensionals and then the full panel is adhered to the background panel with dimensionals. I added a few Drusy embellishments near the prayer to draw the eye and add another element of sparkle.

For me, this particular project was about keeping things pretty simple because the prayer was the most important part of the project. I think it turned out nicely. And I’m looking forward to creating a rotation of prayers that we will use.

Tune in tomorrow for another take on our thankfulness theme.

Products used in today’s card:
6×6 frame (find them on Amazon)
Splendid Autumn DSP
Moody Mauve shimmer paper
Textured gold specialty paper
Drusy embellishments
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon

It’s Almost Time!

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Happy Monday, everyone! It’s been a pretty dreary day here in North Texas, but we’ve received some much-needed rain. So I suppose we’ll take the dreary.

Tomorrow (November 5th) is the big day — the Stampin’ Up! Online Exclusives release day! I still have a few things that I plan to snag from this release. Can’t wait to hear what you think of the new products. Be sure to pop back and let me know in the comments!

Wanna know something else exciting? I’ll be hosting a Christmas card class at the end of the month, and you still have time to register. We’ll be using the Joyful Ephemera packs to make 9 gorgeous cards. Click the Upcoming Classes tab for more info.

Tune in tomorrow as we get started on projects with this week’s theme — thankfulness. Can’t wait to show what’s up my sleeve!

Coming Soon

Here for You

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Do you ever find yourself stuck in a design rut? Sometimes w have to shake things up and get out of our comfort zone! And today’s card design does just that.

This week, we’re spotlighting the new Marbled Elegance paper that will launch on Tuesday with the new Stampin’ Up! Online Exclusives. For today’s card, we’re pairing it with the cute Otterly Adorable paper (also launching Tuesday) and Friends for Life dies in a unique take on the window design.

We get started with a base of Real Red cardstock. Our background panel is from the Marbled Elegance patterned paper pack. Using the Heartfelt Hexagon punch, we make a window in the top of the Marbked Elgance background. I cut the cute cuddling otter pair from a sheet of the Otterly Adorable paper pack and mounted them in the open window. I tied the white diagonal trim around the panel under the window, making a small bow, and then adhered the panel to the card base with dimensionals. I had leftover heart outlines from yesterday’s card design, and I used those to create nesting hearts. A few additional hearts were cut from red Season of Elegance foiled paper. The sentiment panel is cut from white cardstock with the Radiating Stitches heart die and then stamped with the sentiment from Changing Leaves in Real Red. The smaller hearts are adhered with varying levels of dimensionals to create some depth and interest. I finished things off with iridescent rhinestones basic jewels for a dash of twinkle.

It’s always fun to push our creative limits with new design techniques. I love the unexpected mix of shapes, colors, and textures in this design.

Products used in today’s card:
Real Red, Basic White cardstock
Marbled Elegance (coming soon), Melon Mambo foil (retired), Otterly Adorable (coming soon), Season of Elegance DSP
Friends for Life, Radiating Stitches dies
Changing Leaves stamps
Heartfelt Hexagon punch
White diagonal striped trim
iridescent rhinestones basic jewels
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon

Hearts of Love

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As I am sure you have gathered, my week has not exactly gone as I had planned. Between the day job, the kiddo’s band concert, and Halloween, it’s been a hectic few days. I even had to bow out of the group Instahop. But I know we’ve all been there. That’s just life sometimes.

It’s supposed to be a much quieter weekend, and I hope to be able to play a little catch-up in the craft room. Maybe I’ll even get to bring you some weekend bonus content if all goes well. We shall see.

For now, let’s continue our sneak peek at the new pack of gorgeous paper that will be releasing on Tuesday with the new Stampin’ Up! Online Exclusives. The Marbled Elegance paper is two-sided with a gold foiled side that looks like a paint pour and the other side of complementary patterns. This paper is perfect for making Valentines but honestly is pretty enough to work for absolutely any occasion. Today, I wanted to highlight the no-sentiment technique, where the card design simply speaks the message.

We get started with a base of Pretty in Pink cardstock. The lovely rose patterned sheet of Marbled Elegance serves as our backdrop for the card front. Using the Friends for Life heart die, I cut two large hearts — one from Marbled Elegance and the other from Melon Mambo foil paper (sadly retired). To complete the trio of hearts, I cut a smaller heart from white glimmer paper using the Radiating Stitches dies. All of the hearts are adhered with dimensionals at varying heights to create a lot of visual interest. I added a bit of Pretty in Pink ribbon bunched with some gold cord. And the design is finished off with a combination of gold hearts and iridescent rhinestones basic gems for that extra pop of twinkle.

What do you think? Are you a fan of no sentiments on the front?

Products used in today’s card:
Pretty in Pink cardstock
Marbled Elegance (coming soon), Melon Mambo foil (retired), white glimmer DSP
Friends for Life, Radiating Stitches dies
Pretty in Pink ribbon, Gold cord
Gold hearts (coming soon), iridescent rhinestones basic jewels
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon

Pocket Full of Love

susanfoxbowen2 Comments

We’re continuing with our sneak peeks of the upcoming Stampin’ Up! Online Exclusives release, which releases in just a week! This week, we’re pairing up the lovely Marbled Elegance designer series paper with other products in the Stampin’ Up! lineup.

Today, we’re combining a whole host of fun products from the current stash, including Sending Love, Perennial Postage, and Playing in the Rain just to name a few. So let’s see how we put this cutie together.

We get started with a Basic White cardstock base. Our background panel is the heart patterned sheet from the Marbled Elegance paper pack that is diecut using the Perennial Postage dies. Our focal panel background is a piece of vellum that is also diecut with the Perennial Postage dies. Our little envelope is made from Marbled Elegance paper and the Sending Love die set. Inside the envelope are stems of heart flowers. The floral stems are cut from Mossy Meadow using the Playing in the Rain dies, while the heart flowers are cut from white glimmer paper using the Sending Love dies. A few gold hearts finish the flower centers and add a pop of golden sparkle to compliment the gold foiling of the envelope and the twist of gold trim in the background. The sentiment from Country Flowers is stamped in black on white cardstock and then fussy cut with paper snips. The design is finished off with iridescent rhinestones basic jewels.

I’ll be taking a little break tomorrow due to my kiddo’s band concert but will be back Thursday morning with the Luv 2 Stamp Group Instahop. Hope you’ll drop in and check it out!

Products used in today’s card:
Basic White, Mossy Meadow cardstock
Marbled Elegance (coming soon), vellum, white glimmer DSP
Country Flowers stamps
Perennial Postage, Sending Love dies
Playing in the Rain dies
Gold trim
Gold hearts (coming soon), iridescent rhinestones basic jewels
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Product List
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[159276]
$13.00
Mossy Meadow 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[133676]
$11.50
Berry Burst, Old Olive & White 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Glimmer Specialty Paper
[163769]
$6.00
Vellum 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[101856]
$10.00
Country Flowers Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)
[163405]
$24.00
Jet Black Stāzon Ink Pad
[101406]
$10.50
Sending Love Dies
[162879]
$35.00
Playing In The Rain Dies
[160550]
$35.00
Perennial Postage Dies
[162607]
$33.00
Gold & Silver 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Trim Combo Pack
[161633]
$9.00
Iridescent Rhinestones Basic Jewels
[158130]
$7.50
Stampin' Dimensionals
[104430]
$4.25
Mini Glue Dots
[103683]
$7.25
Add All to Cart
Coming Soon · Fun Folds

Miss You

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Monday, crafty friends! Our weekend turned out to be waaaaaay busier than I anticipated. Between the kiddo’s bowling league and lessons and my own singing engagements, we kinda met each other coming and going this weekend. And that left no time to craft – womp, womp!

But here we are starting a bright, shiny new week and I have some bright & shiny new things to share with you from the upcoming Stampin’ Up! Online Exclusives release that will go live next week! This week, we’re going to pair some gorgeous new patterned paper with all sorts of things from the crafty stash — from other new Online Exclusives to current products. It’s going to be a fun week.

We’re getting started with a really cool fun fold called the Curtain Fold because it really shows off the new Marbled Elegance paper beautifully! Our card starts with a base of Melon Mambo cardstock. The backdrop for our gorgeous curtain fold is a combination of Melon Mambo foil paper (sadly retired) and the creamy Season of Elegance foiled paper that’s been embossed using the Painted Texture embossing folder. The sheet of Marbled Elegance is a combination of pinks, shades of white, and gold foil. Our sentiment from Sending Love is stamped in Melon Mambo on Very Vanilla and then diecut with the Everyday Details circle die. I used the leftover portion of a piece of white glimmer paper cut with Spotlight on Nature dies as the eye-catching border around our sentiment. A strip of iridescent striped trim anchors it against our sparkly background. A few iridescent rhinestones basic jewels and gold hearts finish things off with the perfect amount of twinkle.

The Marbled Elegance paper really is stunning, and I’m looking forward to showing you all the ways you can incorporate it into your everyday designs to give a little extra pop.

Products used in today’s card:
Melon Mambo, Basic White cardstock
Marbled Elegance (coming soon), Season of Elegance, White glimmer, Melon Mambo foil (retired) DSP
Painted Texture embossing folder
Sending Love stamps
Spotlight on Nature, Everyday Details dies
Iridescent striped trim
Iridescent rhinestones basic jewels, gold hearts (coming soon)
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Product List
Melon Mambo 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[115320]
$11.50
Season Of Elegance 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper
[164144]
$16.50
Berry Burst, Old Olive & White 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Glimmer Specialty Paper
[163769]
$6.00
Melon Mambo & Granny Apple Green 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Foil Sheets
[161953]
$10.00
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[159276]
$13.00
Painted Texture 3 D Embossing Folder
[154317]
$10.00
Spotlight On Nature Dies
[163580]
$35.00
Everyday Details Dies
[162864]
$34.00
Sending Love Cling Stamp Set (English)
[162873]
$25.00
Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad
[147051]
$9.00
Iridescent 1/2" (1.3 Cm) Striped Trim
[163299]
$8.50
Iridescent Rhinestones Basic Jewels
[158130]
$7.50
Stampin' Dimensionals
[104430]
$4.25
Mini Stampin' Dimensionals
[144108]
$4.25
Tear & Tape Adhesive
[154031]
$7.00
Add All to Cart
Coming Soon · Sketchy Fridays

Sketchy Fridays: Otterly Love

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

We’ve made it to another Friday, and you know what that means? It’s time for another Sketchy Fridays!

Each week we’ll be using a card sketch to design our featured card. Right now, we’re working through a full series of designs using the card sketches found in current Stampin’ Up! catalogs.

This week’s card is based on Sketch #1 in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog and features the Otterly Adorable products which will release on November 5, along with a whole bunch of other new Online Exclusives.

In all honesty, I’ve had a really hard time finding a way to use this sketch. Until today. This sketch just seems to be made for this suite! While I’m not usually one to mix a lot of busy patterns, this sketch gives you the opportunity to break up busy patterns with the offset center focal panels.

Our card starts today with a base of Lost Lagoon cardstock. I used the pond flora sheet from the Otterly Adorable paper pack as the backdrop for our two offset focal panels. The sweet scene of the mom and baby otter sit atop the rippling water pattern. The sentiment from the Otterly Amazing stamp set is stamped in Pretty Peacock on a banner diecut from white cardstock using the Greetings of the Season dies. A small bow tied from the Lost Lagoon soft cording and the riverside pearls add nice touches of soft shimmer to this cute and lovable design.

Tomorrow I hope to bring you the promised fun fold that failed earlier in the week. I hope you’ll pop in and see if I was able to pull it off!

Products used in today’s card:
Lost Lagoon, Basic White cardstock
Otterly Adorable DSP (coming soon)
Otterly Amazing stamps (coming soon)
Greetings of the Season dies
Lost Lagoon soft cording (coming soon)
Riverside irregular pearls (coming soon)
Dimensionals
Adhesives