Author: susanfoxbowen

Changing Leaves · Fun Folds

Not Without You

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome to another bright & shining Monday. I don’t know about you, but it was a busy weekend for us. The kiddo finished up his summer bowling league and took some lessons in preparation for the start of the fall league. So we spent a lot of time at the bowling alley. But given the inferno we’re experiencing here in North Texas, that worked out just fine!

This week, we’re starting a new card series called In the Woods. Each we’ll be using products from Stampin’ Up! that fit our weekly theme. Today, I’m feeling all the fall vibes and thought it would be appropriate to get started with the Changing Leaves bundle paired up with the Splendid Autumn designer series paper that launches next week on September 6th.

To give an opportunity for our gorgeous leaves from the Changing Leaves bundle to take center stage, we’re working with the barn fold today. And we get started on today’s card with a base of Crushed Curry cardstock. We cover each of the front flaps of our barn fold with a strip of paper from the Splendid Autumn paper pack. The pattern is a very subtle brushed, grainy texture that gives some nice depth in our color palette. Next up, we emboss a quarter panel of Blackberry Bliss cardstock using the Changing Leaves hybrid embossing folder and then diecut it into a smaller panel with one of the larger Deckled Rectangles dies. On a quarter sheet of white cardstock, I traced the outside of the trio of leaves from the Changing Leaves die set in pencil to make it easier to stamp each of the leaf images and then diecut all at once. I used a combination of fall colors to ink each leaf from the stamp set, including Copper Clay, Blackberry Bliss, and Crushed Curry, and imitated the look of leaves in a color metamorphosis by going over sections of each leaf with other colors for a subtle two-toned look. I diecut a few additional leaves in gold foil and Blackberry Bliss and then layered everything together to create a leafy focal section behind the sentiment panel. Our hexagonal sentiment panel consists of a white center panel and mat of Peach Pie glimmer paper. The sentiments from Everyday Greetings and Changing Leaves are stamped in Blackberry Bliss. Our focal panel section is finished off with Blackberry Bliss & Gold textured ribbon from the upcoming Holiday Mini catalog, releasing next week on September 6th. A few shiny sequins finish things off with a little extra sparkle and help draw the eye across all the gorgeous design elements on the front of this card.

Tomorrow we’re working with another fun fold design and another gorgeous sheet from the Splendid Autumn paper pack to create a gorgeous peek-through scene. You won’t want to miss it!

Products used in today’s card:
Crushed Curry, Blackberry Bliss, Basic White cardstock
Splendid Autumn (coming soon!), gold foil, In Color glimmer DSP
Changing Leaves stamps, dies & hybrid embossing folder
Deckled Rectangles
Everyday Greetings stamps
Hexagon punch
Blackberry Bliss & Gold textured ribbon (coming soon!)
Shiny sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Product List
Crushed Curry 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[131199]
$11.50
Blackberry Bliss 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[133675]
$11.50
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[159276]
$13.00
Gold Foil Sheets
[132622]
$5.00
2024–2026 In Color™ Glimmer 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper
[163771]
$11.00
Changing Leaves Hybrid Embossing Folder
[164138]
$40.00
Deckled Rectangles Dies
[159173]
$30.00
Heartfelt Hexagon Punch
[162888]
$23.00
Changing Leaves Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)
[164351]
$20.00
Everyday Greetings Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)
[165084]
$21.00
Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad
[147092]
$9.00
Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad
[147087]
$9.00
Copper Clay Classic Stampin' Pad
[161647]
$9.00
Adhesive Backed Shiny Sequins
[163484]
$7.50
Stampin' Dimensionals
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Inspiration

Where There is Heartache

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

I love finding new ways to use product in my stash. And I realized that I often look at the “holiday” products as just that – products for the holidays and not for the everyday. So I wanted to challenge myself to expand designs with those holiday products.

Today, we’re using the Season of Green & Gold patterned paper to create a stunning sympathy card. I feel like sympathy cards should offer love, hope, and encouragement. And while it’s certainly a somber occasion, a design of carefully selected colors and elements can convey hope without words.

We get started on our card with a base of Lost Lagoon cardstock. Our focal panel backdrop consists of a panel of Lost Lagoon embossed on an angle with the Cute Crochet embossing folder and then matted with the gold mercury vellum. The Lost Lagoon panel has gold trim tied around it with a small bow. The sentiment from Everyday Greetings is stamped in Versamark on Soft Sea Foam and then heat embossed in gold. This is then diecut with the Spotlight on Nature dies. I love that the Season of Green & Gold designer paper coordinates with the Golden Greenery dies and have used the two together to cut out several of the stalks of greenery for the sentiment panel. I also cut a sheet of textured gold with the greenery dies. All of these greenery pieces are layered behind the sentiment panel. The drusy embellishments add extra sparkle.

Next week, we’re going to be in the woods. I hope you’ll come along!

Products used in today’s card:
Lost Lagoon, Soft Sea Foam cardstock
Season of Green & Gold, mercury vellum, textured gold DSP
Cute Crochet embossing folder
Everyday Greetings stamps
Spotlight on Nature, Golden Greenery dies
Gold embossing powder
Gold trim
Drusy embellishments
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon · sketches · Sketchy Fridays

Sketchy Fridays: Cuppa Thanks

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

This week we’re exploring all of the ways that we can use our holiday products to make everyday cards. For this week’s Sketchy Fridays, we’re taking a little detour from the Annual Catalog and, instead, are taking a page from my personal sketch book. And today, we’re pairing our sketch with the new Take a Bow patterned paper and Joyful Images ephemera both of which will be available on September 6th.

We get started with a base of Balmy Blue cardstock. Our center strip of patterned paper is from the Take a Bow paper pack and provides a colorful grounding base for our focal panel. Our focal panel backdrop consists of a piece of Garden Green cardstock embossed with the Cute Crochet embossing folder that is mounted on the mercury vellum sheet. The mug of hot chocolate is from the Joyful Images ephemera pack. A few adhesive peppermints add some visual texture and interest. The sentiment from Simply Zinnia is stamped in black on white cardstock and then diecut using the Autumn Leaves die. A faux bow of gold trim behind brings another pop of gold to the design, tying our full focal panel together as one. The mug and sentiment are adhered over a Graceful Greenery vellum panel diecut with the Nested Essentials dies. Iridescent faceted gems across the design help the eye pass across and to the sentiment.

We’re closing out our design series tomorrow with a stunning sympathy card. You don’t want to miss it!

Products used in today’s card:
Balmy Blue, Garden Green, Basic White cardstock
Take a Bow (coming soon!), Graceful Greenery vellum, mercury vellum DSP
Simply Zinnia stamps
Nested Essentials, Autumn Leaves dies
Cute Crochet embossing folder
Joyful Images ephemera (coming soon!)
Real Red & White peppermints (coming soon!), iridescent faceted gems
Gold trim
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Fun Folds · Terrific Tuesdays

Diamond Birthday

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Do you ever see a special fold and think WOW? That’s precisely what happened when a fellow demonstrator shared the Diamond Fold with our team. And I’m glad to finally have the time to sit down and learn this fold. It looks far more complicated than it is, and it is absolutely a perfect way to spotlight beautiful patterned paper!

This week, we’re looking at all the ways we can use traditional holiday products in everyday designs. Today, we’re pairing the Season of Gold & Green designer paper with part of the new Season of Elegance suite to make this gorgeous Diamond Fold card.

We get started on today’s fun fold design with a base of Shaded Spruce cardstock. We cut a standard-sized base but in landscape orientation with a fold in the center and then one to divide the second half. I chose two different patterns from the Season of Green & Gold designer series paper pack, a current Stampin’ Up! Online Exclusive. We’re bringing out the gold foiling by using the gold foil specialty paper as an accent color on our diamond panel. Our focal image is the largest tree from the new Peaceful Evergreens bundle. It’s stamped and diecut from Mossy Meadow with a gold bow diecut and added to the top. The new Peaceful Evergreens die set that will release on September 6th with the Holiday Mini catalog includes a set of dies to make paper bows and it really makes it easy to have perfect bows for your cards! Our sentiment from Adventurous Sky is stamped in black on Very Vanilla cardstock and then diecut using the Peaceful Season dies. This panel is mounted on a gold foil banner diecut with the largest banner from that same die set. I added some drusy embellishments for lots of extra sparkle and to help draw the eye across the card front.

Tomorrow we’ll be using a sketch to create a super fun thank-you design. I hope you’ll stop by and check it out.

Want to know how to make today’s card step-by-step? You can catch this week’s of episode of Terrific Tuesdays to see this card come together from start to finish. I’ve also provided a FREE PDF tutorial here. Please note that some of the products shown will not be available until September 6th.

Products used in today’s card:
Shaded Spruce, Mossy Meadow, Very Vanilla, Basic White cardstock
Season of Green & Gold, gold foil DSP
Adventurous Sky stamps
Peaceful Evergreens stamps & dies (coming soon!)
Peaceful Season dies (coming soon!)
Drusy embellishments (coming soon!)
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Holidays · Winter

Wish You Were Here

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Thanks for joining me today as we continue our new design series — using holiday products to create everyday designs. I don’t know about you, but I tend to look at products in a holiday release from a single lens. But very often, these products are intended for designs far outside specific holidays.

Today, we’re using the new Take a Bow paper and Joyful ephemera packs to create a missing-you card. For me, there’s no question that the winter holidays make me think of friends and loved ones far away. So why not send them a card to let them know?!

We get started with a base of Pool Party cardstock. All of the patterned papers come from the Take a Bow paper pack, which will release on September 6th. I used the Nested Essentials dies to cut the two image background panels that hold our focal images from the Joyful Images ephemera packs. The sentiment comes from the Joyful Sayings ephemera pack. Varying layers of dimensionals behind elements gives depth and interest to our design. We finish things off and tie things together with a few gold snowflakes to bring out the gold striping in the sentiment banner backing.

Tomorrow we’re making an elegant sympathy card that is definitely a must-see! I hope you’ll pop in and check it out.

Products used in today’s card:
Pool Party cardstock
Take a Bow (coming soon!) DSP
Joyful Sayings & Images ephemera (coming soon!)
Nested Essentials dies
Snowflakes
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon · Winter

Glad You Exist

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

I don’t know about you but I really love getting snail mail. I have since I was a very little girl. Some of my most cherished memories in my scrapbooks are handwritten notes from loved ones and friends. It’s one of the reasons that I continue to send notes to people I care about and why I became a cardmaker.

This week, we’re exploring ways we can use our holiday products for designs that speak to the everyday. Today’s card can serve a number of occasions — from birthday to encouragement to anniversary — and goes beyond the bounds of winter.

We get started with a base of black cardstock. A sheet of the Pretty Peacock and gold Season of Elegance designer paper serves as our gorgeous backdrop. Our focal panel base is a piece of white woodgrain from the Nests of Winter paper pack diecut with a larger Spotlight on Nature die. The focal image of the pair of titmice birds is fussy cut from another pattern of the Nests of Winter pack. The sentiment from the Saying Hey stamp set is stamped in black in white cardstock and then diecut using the Greetings of the Season banner die. A few Pretty Peacock and gold sequins across the card front add sparkle and draw the eye across our focal panel.

Tune in tomorrow as we use our ephemera packs to create a design to reach across the miles.

Products used in today’s card:
Basic Black, Basic White cardstock
Nests of Winter (coming soon!), Season of Elegance (coming soon!) DSP
Saying Hey stamps
Spotlight on Nature, Greetings of the Season dies
Sequins trio, neutrals sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Holiday Mini Catalog · Holidays

Let’s Celebrate

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Monday, everyone! Can you believe we’re halfway through August already?! Me either! But that means, we’re just a few short weeks away from the launch of the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog. And trust me when I say you’re gonna love it!

This week, we’re starting a new design series. We’re going to be looking at our holiday products from a different angle, taking them beyond the holidays into the everyday.

And today, we’re starting with the new Nests of Winter designer paper. We’re using the detailed bird patterned paper to create a celebratory card. While it’s a little wintery, the design doesn’t feel like a holiday card. This card would be perfect for a winter birthday, promotion, retirement, or graduation.

We get started with a base of Night of Navy cardstock. Our focal panel backdrop consists of a narrow panel of Night of Navy embossed with the Snowflake Sky embossing folder and two mats — white glimmer paper and textured gold specialty paper. The cluster of birds are diecut from the Nests of Winter designer paper using the Spotlight on Nature dies. The sentiments are stamped in navy on white cardstock using the Happy Little Things and Friends for Life stamp sets and then diecut using the Greetings of the Season banner die. I’ve tied Night of Navy & Gold sheer ribbon through the end. Our sentiment panel overlays the focal images. And the design is finished with a few gold sequins to draw the eye across the design.

Tune in tomorrow for another twist on the Nests of Winter.

Products used in today’s card:
Basic White, Night of Navy cardstock
White glimmer, textured gold, Nests of Winter (coming soon!) DSP
Happy Little Things, Friends for Life stamps
Spotlight on Nature, Greetings of the Season dies
Snowflake Sky embossing folder
Night of Navy & Gold sheer ribbon
Neutrals sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon · Holiday Mini Catalog

Christmas in the Air

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a ball digging into my box of Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog preorder goodies and sharing sneak peeks with you. One of the many perks of being a demonstrator is having the opportunity to order new items early, and I love being able to share my excitement about new products with you.

Today, we’re getting a look at a new embossing folder called Painted Trees, which is part of the larger suite that we worked with yesterday. This embossing folder is on the larger side, which is perfect for anyone who prefers making larger-sized cards. For today’s card, I kept things really simple. Let’s take a look.

We get started with a card base of Basic White cardstock. While cut to a standard size, I did orient the score line at the top of the portrait orientation. The base of our front panel is a sheet of the new Take a Bow designer paper. For our focal panel, we start with a quarter panel of Pool Party cardstock, which is cut down so that a narrow border of our base shows on all sides. I then machine embossed this panel using the Painted Trees embossing folder. I oriented the tallest tree so that it would be in the center of my panel, which gives just partial images of the smaller trees on either side. Using my sponge daubers, I went over the embossed portions with Mossy Meadow and Old Olive inks to bring out the details of each tree. I then sponged around the trees with Pool Party ink to give more depth and variation to the sky in the background. I used my water painter to flick diluted white craft ink on the panel to give the look of fluffy falling snow. Our sentiment panel is diecut from Garden Green cardstock using the Peaceful Season dies and then the sentiment from Peaceful Season is heat embossed in white. The word Christmas is diecut from white glimmer paper using the Peaceful Season die. I thread the silver & white sheer ribbon through the ends of the sentiment panel and tied a bow on one end to affix it to the card front. A few adhesive snowflakes finish things off.

I just love this embossing folder and can think of so many other sets that could be paired with it to create some really beautiful scenes. But this design is super simple and easy to replicate and is definitely going into my rotation of Christmas cards this year!

Next week, we’re going to look at our designer papers a little differently. I hope you’ll tag along as we turn patterns that may seem seasonal into designs for all occasions.

Products used in today’s card:
Basic White, Pool Party, Garden Green cardstock
White glimmer, Take a Bow (coming soon!) DSP
Peaceful Season stamps & dies (coming soon!)
Painted Trees embossing folder (coming soon!)
White embossing powder
Silver & white sheer ribbon
White snowflakes
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon · Holiday Mini Catalog · Sketchy Fridays

Sketchy Fridays: Cheer All Year

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

This week has come and gone in a flash! We’ve survived the first full week of school and are starting to feel like we’re getting back into the school year rhythm. Definitely looking forward to the weekend and having some down time!

And speaking of Fridays, it’s time for another installment of Sketchy Fridays, where 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 on page 22 of the current Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog.

This week’s card is based on Sketch #12 and features several products from the new Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog that launches on September 6th.

We get started on our card today with a base of Cherry Cobbler cardstock. Our background panel consists of a mat of Festive Glimmer paper and a sheet of the gorgeous new Season of Elegance patterned paper. Our focal images are diecut from Cherry Cobbler using the Peaceful Season dies. On our larger square, I’ve heat embossed the sentiment from Peaceful Season in gold. The word Christmas is diecut from Festive Glimmer Paper and Gold Foil using the Peaceful Season dies and then adhered with dimensionals. Our larger square is adhered with dimensionals to ensure the sentiment is front and center. A twist of gold trim and some drusy embellishments draw extra attention to our sentiment. I added a few earth tones shimmer gems around the cluster of focal images to help the eye pass across the design.

One of the fun things about sketches is remembering that they’re a starting point for your design. You can stick to the spirit of the sketch without compromising on an idea for using something a little different. Take, for example, the circles in the sketch. For this card, I wanted to showcase the new Peaceful Season dies, which does not have any circles, but look how beautifully the rounded squares work here in this layout. Dare to color outside the lines the next time you’re using a sketch. You’ll be glad you did!

Tomorrow, we’ll be in the evergreens. I hope you’ll pop by and check it out!

Products used in today’s card:
Cherry Cobbler cardstock
Festive Shimmer (coming soon!), Season of Elegance (coming soon!), gold foil DSP
Peaceful Season stamps & dies
Gold embossing powder
Drusy embellishments, earth tones shimmer gems (both coming soon!)
Gold trim
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon · Holiday Mini Catalog

Joyful ephemera

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

This week, we’re getting a sneaky peek at some of the upcoming products that will release with the new Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog, which officially goes live on September 6th. Today’s card features some of the new ephemera packs. What are ephemera packs, you might wonder? Well, the packs in the current lineup offer colorful words, images, and/or sentiments that are preprinted and ready to be added to your card. They’re a wonderful way to make beautiful cards when you are short on time.

For today’s card, we’re using a combination of the new Joyful Images Ephemera and Joyful Sayings Ephemera. We’re pairing them up with the new Take a Bow designer series paper pack and Sketch #5 from the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. Let’s take a closer look at how it all comes together.

We get started with a base of Garden Green cardstock. Our striped banner background element is a sheet of the new Take a Bow paper that is diecut with the Nested Essentials banner dies using the extension method. The green spotted background element is another pattern included in the Take a Bow paper pack and is diecut using the largest square in the Nested Essentials set using the extension method. This panel serves as the backdrop for the focal images of evergreens and an elk from the Joyful Images pack. These adhered to the background panel with varying layers of dimensionals. Our sentiment comes from the Joyful Sayings pack and an evergreen sprig and pinecone are added to tie everything together. The sentiment is matted with a banner of Festive Glimmer paper and then adhered on the focal panel with dimensionals. A faux bow of Cherry Cobbler & Gold satin ribbon behind the focal panel adds another pop of red. A few Earth Tones shimmer gems add sparkle and draw the eye across our card design.

This card came together in a jiffy and I love having the ephemera packs on hand to make cute cards on the fly. I chose a more neutral theme for today’s card, but the pack has images that would make cute Christmas or winter-themed cards. We’ll take a closer look in the coming weeks.

Tomorrow we’re diving into the Season of Elegance suite, and I think you’re going to love it! Pop in and check it out.

Products used in today’s card:
Garden Green cardstock
Take a Bow, Festive Glimmer DSP (both coming soon!)
Joyful Images, Joyful Sayings ephemera (both coming soon!)
Cherry Cobbler & Gold satin ribbon (coming soon!)
Earth Tones shimmer gems (coming soon!)
Dimensionals
Adhesives