Author: susanfoxbowen

Friends for Life

You Are Loved

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Happy shiny new week, friends! We had some more crazy, wet weather here over the weekend. So we didn’t get as much time in the great outdoors as we would ordinarily prefer. But we made the most of our sunny breaks with fun family time over the first few days of official summer break.

This week, we will be working with a brand new product bundle from Stampin’ Up! called Friends for Life, which includes photopolymer stamps and coordinating dies. Like so many SU! products, this bundle pairs smashingly well with a whole host of other items in the current catalog.

Today’s card design works with a monochromatic color palette. These 4 shades of blue-green are next to one another on the SU! color wheel. And we pair the Friends for Life bundle with the Leaf Collection and Softly Said stamps to turn out this stunner.

We get started with a base of Lost Lagoon cardstock. The background image panel is a quarter-sheet of Lost Lagoon that is stamped tone-on-tone using the Leaf Collection background stamp. This panel is matted with Pretty Peacock. Both the background panel and the mat are cut down to ensure that a very thin border of the card base is showing once both are adhered to the base.

Next, we diecut our complementary image pieces starting with the Pretty Peacock leaf-print heart from the Friends for Life set. I used both the heart outline and the print together when diecutting this piece. I cut a second heart outline from Pretty Peacock to make the center backing piece for the leaf-print heart. The two sets of leaves from Friends for Life set are diecut from Summer Splash cardstock and adhered behind the heart. A twist of Pretty Peacock & Gold metallic trim add a little sparkle to the focal section of the card.

The sentiment from Softly Said is stamped tone-on-tone on Coastal Cabana cardstock. Each word is then cut out using paper snips. The word “loved” is adhered with dimensionals to the paint smear die from the Friends for Life set that is diecut from Pool Party cardstock, while the other block-cut words are adhered askew over the heart using dimensionals. The design is finished off with a combination of Summer Splash In Color shimmer gems and ombré matte decorative dots.

Tomorrow we will be making our own designer paper using the Friends for Life stamps. I hope you’ll come check it out.

Products used in today’s card:
Pretty Peacock, Lost Lagoon, Coastal Cabana, Pool Party, Summer Splash cardstock
Friends for Life dies
Leaf Collection, Softly Said stamps
Pretty Peacock & gold metallic ribbon
In Color shimmer gems, ombré matte decorative dots
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Botanicals · sketches

Flower for a Friend

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We’re rounding out our week of designs using the Stampin’ Up! Inspiring Snapdragons bundle, which includes coordinating cling stamps and dies. Today, we have a clean and simple design that was inspired by a sketch from my sketchbook.

We get started with a base of Shy Shamrock cardstock. I also cut a quarter-sheet of Shy Shamrock and then embossed using the Cute Crochet embossing folder. The embossed quarter panel is then trimmed down to be 1/4-inch smaller than the standard card front. The panel is adhered to the card front using dimensionals. I next diecut the middle-sized snapdragon from white cardstock using the Inspiring Snapdragons dies. Using Pretty in Pink and Shaded Spruce Stampin’ Blends, I colored the decorative layer of the snapdragon. I used a glue pen to apply adhesive to the decorative layer and adhere it to the snapdragon base. The sentiment is diecut from Shy Shamrock glimmer paper and Basic White cardstock using the Friends for Life dies. I used a glue pen to apply adhesive and adhere to the two sentiment layers together.

To assemble the focal section of the card, I began with a glue dot in the center of the card. I cut linen thread and made a decorative faux bow and used the glue dot to hold it in place. Using dimensionals, I next adhered the snapdragon over the linen thread and then the sentiment over the snapdragon blossom. To ensure the sentiment stands above everything else, the dimensional layer is doubled. I finished things off with a scattering of Shy Shamrock shimmer gems.

I really love this card design because it’s super simple to make and replicate quickly, but it looks like a million bucks. If you have other sentiment diecuts in your stash, you could easily substitute a different one for a multitude of occasions.

Next week, we’ll be focusing on the Friends for Life bundle. I hope you’ll pop in and see how many different ways we can use this fabulous bundle!

Products used in today’s design:
Shy Shamrock, Basic White cardstock
In Color glimmer paper
Inspiring Snapdragons, Friends for Life dies
Cute Crochet embossing folder
Stampin’ Blends
In Color shimmer gems
Linen thread
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Botanicals · SU! Promotions

Best of Luck

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Our product focus this week is Stampin’ Up!’s Inspiring Snapdragons bundle, which includes a coordinating cling stamp and die set. We’ve explored using the stamps and dies together and independently in this week’s designs. Today’s card is pairing a sketch from my sketch book with Inspiring Snapdragons stamps and several of the new In Colors.

We get started with a card base of Summer Splash cardstock. The decorative element behind the focal panel consists of a mat of Petunia Pop In Color glimmer paper and Petunia Pop cardstock that has been machine embossed using the Cute Crochet embossing folder. The focal panel is matted with a trio of Summer Splash cardstock, Summer Splash In Color glimmer paper, and a sheet of Unbounded Beauty designer paper. The focal panel is white cardstock diecut using the Radiating Stitches dies on which I then stamped the smallest snapdragon in a combination of Shy Shamrock and Petunia Pop. The dragonflies are stamped in Smoky Slate on white cardstock and diecut using the coordinating Inspiring Snapdragons dies. I covered the wings in Wink of Stella for a little realistic shimmer. Each dragonfly is suspended in air with a dimensional. The sentiment panel is diecut from Petunia Pop cardstock using the Spotlight on Nature dies and then the sentiment from Unbounded Love is stamped tone-on-tone in the center. I tucked Summer Splash bordered ribbon and white diagonal trim behind the sentiment panel. For some extra pops of sparkly color, I added In Color shimmer gems across the card front.

Don’t forget, TODAY is the last day to take advantage of the fantastic Stampin’ Up! joining special, where for $99 (plus tax) you’ll get
⭐️$125 in products of your choice
⭐️5 new In Color Ink Pads for FREE ($40.50 value)
⭐️5 new In Color Markers for FREE ($17.50 value)
⭐️An Assorted Pack of In Color Cardstock for FREE ($11.50 Value)
⭐️An In Color Designer Series Paper Pack for FREE ($12.50 Value)
⭐️A FREE Paper Pumpkin Kit ($23 value)
⭐️FREE shipping on the Starter Kit

Ready to sign up? Click here.

Tomorrow we’re closing out our Inspiring Snapdragons series with a clean and simple design. I hope you’ll pop in and check it out!

Products used in today’s design:
Shy Shamrock, Petunia Pop, Basic White cardstock
Unbounded Beauty, In Color glimmer DSP
Inspiring Snapdragons, Unbounded Love stamps
Inspiring Snapdragons, Radiating Stitches, Spotlight on Nature dies
Cute Crochet embossing folder
Wink of Stella
Bordered ribbon, diagonal trim
In Color shimmer gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Botanicals · L2S Group Instahop

Hey, You’ve Got This

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Happy Thursday, friends. I don’t know if you guys have had crazy weather this week, but here in North Texas, we’ve had some big thunderstorms over the last week. The one we experienced on Monday has closed school for the remainder of the school year due to damage sustained to campuses and buildings across the district. I have to say that it’s the craziest wind I’ve experienced in a long time! Today’s card theme is getting through tough times. And there are certainly some folks who have had tough times this week with damage from the storms.

This week, we’ve been exploring all the ways we can use the Inspiring Snapdragons stamps and dies to make beautiful cards. Today, we’re using the dies to build a scene. And I gained color inspiration from Mother Nature herself. When you’re working with a set, especially botanical sets, do you ever look for photos of the plants to find inspiration? I love doing this when I’m looking to create art that imitates life, and that’s precisely how I put together the colors of these snapdragon blooms.

We start our card with a base of Flirty Flamingo cardstock. The background for the image panel consists of a mat of Peach Pie cardstock and a piece of Unbounded Beauty designer series paper. I slid a large strip of Peach Pie In Color glimmer paper behind the image panel for sparkle and a bit of blingy drama. The snapdragon blooms are a combination of Melon Mambo, Petunia Pop, Pretty in Pink, Basic White, Daffodil Delight, and Peach Pie and are all diecut using the Inspiring Snapdragons dies. I layered the blooms to give the illusion of a stand of snapdragons in the garden. The blades of grass are cut from Shy Shamrock cardstock and are scattered in amongst the snapdragon blooms. The sentiment panel consists of a strip of Peach Pie and a tab of white cardstock punched using the Heartfelt Hexagon punch. “Hey” from the Saying Hey stamp set is stamped tone-on-tone on the Peach Pie strip, while the “you’ve got this” from Unbounded Love is stamped in Flirty Flamingo on the white hexagon half-tab. I used Melon Mambo and Pumpkin Pie shiny sequins to add pops of sparkle across the card front and a large paper butterfly to really draw the eye in to the sentiment panel.

Today’s card is a part of the Luv 2 Stamp Group Instagram Hop. Click here to head over to my Instagram feed and check out what the other demos in our L2S Group have created for you today!

Products used in today’s card:
Flirty Flamingo, Peach Pie, Petunia Pop, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Pretty in Pink, Shy Shamrock, Basic White cardstock
Unbounded Beauty, In Color glimmer DSP
Inspiring Snapdragons dies
Saying Hey, Unbounded Love stamps
Shiny sequins
Paper butterfly
Dimensionals
Adhesives
Heartfelt Hexagon punch

join my team · SU! Promotions

Who Wants to Join My Team?

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Have you ever thought about joining Stampin’ Up! as a demonstrator? Did you know you can join just for the discount you will receive on products?

Whether you are an avid paper crafter and interested in starting a business or you’re just into stamping as a hobby and want great products at a discount, being a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator is for you! This community of creativity is supportive, encouraging, and just plain fun!

Right now, Stampin’ Up! is offering an incredible discount for all new demos. For $99 (plus tax), you will receive:
⭐️$125 in products of your choice
⭐️5 new In Color Ink Pads for FREE ($40.50 value)
⭐️5 new In Color Markers for FREE ($17.50 value)
⭐️An Assorted Pack of In Color Cardstock for FREE ($11.50 Value)
⭐️An In Color Designer Series Paper Pack for FREE ($12.50 Value)
⭐️A FREE Paper Pumpkin Kit ($23 value)
⭐️FREE shipping on the Starter Kit

After you purchase your starter kit, you will receive:
⭐️20% off all purchases
⭐️exclusive access to new products before official launch to customers (like new Online Exclusives coming to demos on June 5th!)
⭐️exclusive access to training and demonstrator events

But more importantly, I would love for you to join my team for the camaraderie, encouragement, and fun we will share together. As demonstrators, we get to preview new product, enjoy special product credits, receive FREE training, have access to demonstrator-only events, and so much more! Let’s put our creative heads together and share what we love with each other and with others!

I honestly cannot recall a time when the joining offer has included this many FREE items. This offer is definitely giving you THE most value for your money. This terrific joining offer ends on Friday, May 31st. So if you’re interested in joining, now is a great time to become a demonstrator!

Have questions? Let’s chat.

Ready to join my team? Click here to get started.

Botanicals · sketches

Hi, Friend

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Howdy, friends! Thanks for popping by today for another look at the Inspiring Snapdragons stamps and dies bundle. Snapdragons were one of my Granny’s favorite seasonal flowers. She had the best green thumb when it came to snapdragons. I, however, did not inherit that part of her gardening skills. I have the worst luck with snapdragons, even though I enjoy them a lot. *grin*

We’re revisiting our sketch from yesterday … with a little twist. The fun thing about sketches is that they give you a place to start with design and give you the flexibility to adapt them. And today’s card is a perfect example of adapting, where I scaled down and adjusted the placement of the image panel to allow more of my background panel to show.

So let’s get started on today’s card. We begin with a base of Pretty in Pink cardstock. The background panel is a sheet of Meandering Meadow designer series paper. I chose a sheet that had flowers that, to me, had similar shape and look to snapdragons. I tied silver & white trim around the designer paper panel before adhering to the card base.

The image panel is a base of white cardstock diecut using the Everyday Details dies. I chose to make several snapdragons in the pink color family to really pull the pink blossoms forward in the background paper. I used a combination of cardstock and glimmer paper for the snapdragon blooms, including Berry Burst, Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, white, and Petunia Pop. Each blossom consists of two layers—a base and detail layer. I adhered the snapdragon blossoms to the image panel and varied the height of each using dimensionals. The image panel is adhered to the background layer using dimensionals.

The sentiment panel is cut from white cardstock using the Spotlight on Nature dies. The sentiment from Wonderful Thoughts is stamped in black in the center. The sentiment panel mat is diecut from Pretty in Pink using a larger die from the Spotlight on Nature die set. The layers are adhered using dimensionals and then affixed to the card front using stacked dimensionals to ensure the sentiment panel stands above the layered snapdragons. I added a dragonfly cut from In Color glimmer paper above the snapdragon blossoms and then finished things off with iridescent foil gems.

I hope you’ll pop in tomorrow to see how we can use this fabulous bundle to build a scene! You won’t want to miss it.

Products used in today’s card:
Pretty in Pink, Petunia Pop, Melon Mambo, Basic White cardstock
Meandering Meadow, In Color glimmer DSP
Wonderful Thoughts stamps
Inspiring Snapdragons, Everyday Details, Spotlight on Nature dies
Silver & white trim
Iridescent foil gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Botanicals · sketches

Snapdragon Love

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This week, we’re going to be working with the Inspiring Snapdragons bundle by Stampin’ Up! This bundle includes cling stamps and coordinating dies. We’ll be looking at all of the ways that we can use these stamps and dies, both together and apart, to create beautiful cards.

And today’s card is based on a sketch from my sketch book. When I come across a great card, I typically take a screenshot and add it to my inspiration folder. Sometimes I am saving a card because I’m inspired by product usage, but a lot of times, I’m saving it as inspiration for layout when using products from my own stash. I often share with you guys when I found inspiration for a layout but don’t usually include a sketch. I have begun converting awesome layouts into digital sketches and thought I would begin sharing them with you as I use them. Love a sketch? Please feel free to save it to your own sketch collection.

Today’s card starts with Pretty in Pink cardstock. The patterned background layer is a sheet of the Unbounded Beauty designer series paper. For the image panel, I started with a sheet of white cardstock diecut using the Everyday Details dies. The image panel mat is diecut from Petunia Pop In Color Glimmer paper using the Deckled Rectangles dies. On the white panel, I stamped the two smaller snapdragon images using Bubble Bath, Pretty in Pink, and Petunia Pop ink. I then adhered the two panels together using my adhesive runner.

Next, I diecut the sentiment panel and mat. The sentiment panel mat is diecut from white glimmer paper and the sentiment panel itself is diecut from white cardstock using nesting circles from the Spotlight on Nature dies. The sentiment is from the Country Flowers set. I first stamped the word “sending” in black ink towards the top of the blank sentiment panel. Then I stamped “love” in Petunia Pop underneath, allowing part of the L to overlap the word “sending.” Adhere these two panels together with adhesive. TIP: To prevent stamping any portion of the word “sending” while stamping the remaining portion of your sentiment, I covered it with a piece of tape — any tape will do. I have tried cleaning my stamp in between stamping portions, but I still manage to get a ghost image of the previously inked portion. And I’ve found the taping method to be the most effective way to prevent that.

To finish things off, adhere the image panel on the top-right portion of the card. Tie sheer ribbon around the bottom third of the card, covering the bottom of the image panel. I chose to tie the sheer ribbon in a knot, but a bow could also work. Next, adhere the sentiment panel over the ribbon and bottom-left portion of the image panel using dimensionals. I added a gold glimmer dragonfly and In Color resin dots to finish things off.

Tomorrow, we’re going to take our sketch for another spin with a little variation. I hope you’ll pop in and let me know what you think!

Products used in today’ card:
Pretty in Pink, Basic White cardstock
Unbounded Beauty, In Color Glimmer DSP
Inspiring Snapdragons, Country Flowers stamps
Iridescent striped trim
In Color resin dots
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Flowering Zinnias · Fun Folds · Shop the catalog

Wishing Strength

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We’re finishing out this week’s tour of the Flowering Zinnias suite with a beautiful fun fold featuring the designer series paper. The paper in this suite is what initially caught my eye, but once it was all said and done, I ended up with all of the coordinating products after being inspired by what other crafters were able to do with the suite as a whole.

Today’s card design uses a double fold-over panel fun fold and showcases the Flowering Zinnias DSP. We’re using the coordinating Simply Zinnia dies to accentuate elements of the gorgeous paper.

We start this card with a standard base of Mossy Meadow cardstock, which is scored in the center. The front panel is cut diagonally to make a smaller fold-over panel in order to reveal more of the gorgeous designer paper on the fold-over panel underneath. This small panel is then covered with the leaves and stems patterned sheet from the Flowering Zinnias paper pack, which is matted with a piece of Soft Sea Foam cardstock. Each layer is 1/8-inch smaller than the next.

Next, we move to assembling the overlapping front sentiment panel. The base layer is Mossy Meadow cardstock that has been diecut with the second largest hexagon from the Nested Essentials die set. Cut an identical size hexagon from Soft Sea Foam and then cut a sliver from the center so that a small border of Mossy Meadow is exposed on either side at top and bottom when the two hexagons are adhered together. The sentiment panel is cut from white cardstock with the next-smallest nesting hexagon from the die set and the sentiment from the Inspiring Snapdragons stamp set is stamped in the center. All three layers are adhered together in one flat panel and adhered directly to the bottom of the front fold-over panel. I cut a second sentiment panel from white cardstock and stamped the sentiment from Something Fancy in the center. This is adhered to the back of the hexagon on the inside of the small fold-over panel.

Now we move to assembling the inside fold-over panel. This panel also begins with a base of Mossy Meadow cardstock, which is cut so that there is a 1-inch flap to adhere to the card base and serve as the hinge for this panel. The sheet of designer paper from the Flowering Zinnias pack is matted with a sheet of Soft Sea Foam and then adhered to the flap base. Each layer is 1/8-inch smaller than the one underneath. The inside message panel is a plain white sheet of paper that has been left blank for an extended message.

We finish off the card design by accentuating the zinnias in the patterned paper panel. Using the Simply Zinnia dies, I assembled two blooms. The petals are cut from Calypso Coral and Flirty Flamingo, while the flower centers are cut from Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie. I also cut a single bloom from the edge of the sheet of blooms paper from the paper pack and adhered a flower center to the top to add that bit of realism to it, as well. The partial flower is adhered to the left side of the sentiment panel to cover the center seam of the Soft Sea Foam layer. The two diecut zinnia blooms are placed so that they give some life and realism to the two DSP panels—one over the stems and leaves flap and one nestled in the floral DSP panel just under the sentiment. Everything is finished off with sequins and a butterfly.

Click here to download the detailed PDF tutorial for today’s card. Don’t be intimidated by the number of steps! I break things up into bite-sized pieces to help ME not miss a step the next time I pull out my directions. *wink*

Tomorrow we’re (finally) going to get a look at those By Your Side Kit alternatives. I hope you’ll pop in to see how you can make a few little tweaks to kits to give them a fresh look.

Products used in today’s card design:
Mossy Meadow, Soft Sea Foam, Calypso Coral, Flirty Flamingo, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Basic White cardstock
Flowering Zinnias DSP
Simply Zinnia, Nested Essentials dies
Inspiring Snapdragons, Something Fancy stamps
Paper butterfly
Shiny sequins, sequins trio
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Flowering Zinnias · Shop the catalog

My Person

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

I really love a good sketch. A good sketch allows for so many different applications with a wide array of looks. Today’s card is based on a sketch that is in my go-to stash in the sketch book. Our product focus this week is the Flowering Zinnias suite of products and today we’re focusing on the largest image from the stamp and die bundle, as well as the designer paper. This card only has a few elements, but I love how it’s a show-stopper.

This card design is built on a base of Basic White cardstock. The focal panel base is sheet of lattice pattern from the Flowering Zinnias designer paper pack that is matted with Basic Black cardstock. The focal panel itself consists of the background circle panel cut from the white woodgrain sheet from the Country Woods designer paper pack using the middle circle size of the Spotlight on Nature dies and adhered using dimensionals. Our focal image is the largest image in the Simply Zinnia stamp set stamped on white cardstock and then diecut using the coordinating Simply Zinnia die. I used Stampin’ Blends to color the stems and zinnia centers, leaving the flowers themselves white. I originally intended to color the flowers but loved the look of the white flowers against the busy background of this design. The (partial) sentiment from Wonderful Thoughts is stamped on white cardstock and then diecut using the Happy Little Things banner die. A bit of silver and white trim behind the sentiment panel adds a little sparkle and works together with the transparent dots to draw the eye across the design to the sentiment.

Tomorrow we will be closing out our series featuring the Flowering Zinnias suite and our project is going to highlight the gorgeous designer series paper and show how you can use the coordinating dies to add dimension to patterned paper. I hope you’ll pop by to see the end result!

Products used in today’s card:
Basic White, Basic Black cardstock
Flowering Zinnias DSP
Simply Zinnia stamps & dies
Wonderful Thoughts stamps
Spotlight on Nature, Happy Little Things dies
Silver & white trim
Transparent dots
Dimensionals
Adhesives