Author: susanfoxbowen

Botanicals

Hello, Lavender Fields

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As promised, I’m back! Thanks for hanging with me as I worked to get my husband settled in back home for a few days before we head back to the hospital for the next big surgery. Hats off to all of the full-time caregivers out there — it’s definitely a big job!

I’m super excited to get back to scheduled programming and take a stroll through the hills and fields of flowers. I’m going to showcase some of my favorites from the current and soon-to-release Stampin’ Up! lineup. I hope you’ll plan to come along for the whole trip!

Today, we’re walking the Hills of Tuscany, using the stamp set by the same name. This lovely stamp set is on the Last Chance list, and I’m sad to see it go! But this is a set that will definitely be staying in my crafting stash for making beautiful landscape scenes.

Now, let’s take a closer look at how today’s card came together. I chose to have a lavender theme for this landscape. We get started with a base of Crumb Cake cardstock. The back panel of the focal section of this card is a quarter-sheet of Crumb Cake that has been diecut with the largest Deckled Rectangles die and then machine embossed with the Distressed Tile embossing folder. To help the beautiful embossed detailing stand out a bit more, I gave it an aged look by sponging Crumb Cake ink over the top. It’s also elevated with dimensionals to give depth to the design. The focal panel mat is Gorgeous Grape cardstock that has been diecut with the Deckled Rectangles dies, while the focal panel is a sheet of white cardstock diecut with the nesting rectangle from the same set of dies. The focal panel landscape scene is stamped using the Hills of Tuscany stamp set.

The sentiment panel is diecut from Crumb Cake cardstock using the soon-to-release Unbounded Love dies. The lavender bunch is diecut from Gorgeous Grape using the Painted Lavender dies and tied together using linen thread. The frame is adhered directly to the focal panel, while the sentiment portion is popped up on dimensionals to ensure the sentiment isn’t lost in the scene.

Two strips of the Perennial Lavender designer series paper behind the focal panel finish off this design. They serve to begin the eye’s journey across the card front. Notice how the purple elements form a visual triangle across the card front as your eye passes from this strip of DSP to the sentiment panel to the field of lavender in the landscape to the gems in the bottom-right corner.

TIP: when you overlap stamped images from this stamp set, it creates darker areas that add depth and shading. Notice the darker green path in the hill that was created in this fashion. I still have a lot to learn when it comes to this technique, but I have enjoyed experimenting with the layering. Should we make this an episode of Terrific Tuesdays? I would love to know your thoughts!

Products used in today’s card:
Crumb Cake, Gorgeous Grape, Basic White cardstock
Perennial Lavender DSP
Hills of Tuscany stamps
Deckled Rectangles, Unbounded Love (coming soon!) dies
Distressed Tile embossing folder
Purple fine shimmer gems
Linen thread
Dimensionals
Adhesives

SU! Promotions

Last Chance Clearance

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It’s that time again — time to clear the shelves to make room for more terrific new Stampin’ Up! products. And for you and me, that means opportunities for savings!

Last chance products include products that will be fully retired with the release of the new Annual Catalog in May. Last chance products also include stamps and dies that will no longer be offered as bundles and will instead have to be purchased separately. Check out all of the Last Chance products here.

Need a few ideas? These versatile bundles are a must-have for my craft room. Once the new catalog releases, they will be available for purchase separately. So grab them now while you can take advantage of the bundle pricing!

As with any new catalog release, there are always things that I’m sad to see go. These are just a few of my favorites that are retiring, and quite a few of them are marked down to move!

Had your eye on some things in the Annual Catalog? Now is the time to add them to your crafting stash, especially if they’re retiring. Check out all of the Last Chance products here.

I look forward to returning to planned content later this week as we’re set to come home from the hospital sometime soon. So I hope to get back in the craft room to finish up a few projects for you.

Kits

Introducing By Your Side

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Happy Tuesday, everyone! Thanks for stopping in today. My hubby had surgery and recovery is going a bit slower than anticipated. So we’re taking a little detour from touring fields of flowers for the next day or two, but we’ll get back to it once we’re able to return home.

Over the last several years, I’ve had several opportunities to sit in hospital waiting rooms awaiting word on family members having surgery. And I’ve found it helpful to have things to do to help take my mind away from worrying about all of the what-ifs of surgery. One of the things I have really enjoyed doing to pass the time is assembling Stamipn’ Up Kits.

You may be wondering how on earth I’ve managed to assemble cards in a hospital. Well, the beauty of SU! card kits is that they include everything you need to put together at least 3 different card designs. All you need to throw in your bag is some adhesive and paper snips!

While in the waiting room for my husband’s surgery, I finished assembling cards from one of the newest SU! kit releases called By Your Side. This adorable kit is purrrrfect for all of the animal lovers in your life!

The kit includes everything you need to create 4 different card designs. And, of course, you can punch things up with extras, like ribbon or twine or embellishments if you want.

One of the things I love about the SU! Kits is that the designs are simple to put together. You have all the supplies you need, and the kit comes with instructions for assembling each of the different cards. But you can also easily adapt and change designs to suit.

Here’s a sample design variation. My son needed a birthday card for one of his friends who is a huge cat lover. So I substituted the birthday sentiment from the Hot Air Balloon stamp set and added some twine and embellishments to make this super cute birthday design.

I have a number of variations to share with you that are simply the cat’s meow. I’ll share them in my socials once we get home and settled in — maybe a little later this week.

Think this is a cute kit? Interested in having one yourself? You can pick one up anytime in my online store. Simply click here and you’ll go straight to it!

Products used in today’s featured card:
By Your Side Kit
Hot Air Balloon stamps
Twine
Swirl dots

Clean and Simple · Fun Folds

Picked for You

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This week, we’ll be frolicking in the meadows and stopping to smell a few flowers along the way. Stampin’ Up! has a whole host of papers and stamps that put us squarely in the middle of beautiful fields and fragrant flower patches. And we’re going to explore some of my favorites throughout this week.

We begin today with a new take on an old fun fold. I recently ran across the hidden barn fold design and knew I had to give it a try. Why is it called a hidden fold? When the card is completely closed, the two sections of the front panel meet, they make the center cut virtually disappear.

So our take on this card begins with a base of Blackberry Bliss cardstock. The focal panel consists of a bottom mat of Lost Lagoon soft shimmer paper that is diecut using the largest Perennial Postage die, followed by a layer of Highland Heather cut just a tick smaller, and finally with our section of Meandering Meadow designer paper on top. To accomplish the two perfect sections, I cut the shimmery layer in half after I diecut it. I adhered the DSP and Highland Heather mat together first before also cutting them in half with the trimmer. Then these three layers were adhered together before carefully adhering them in place on the card front so that they meet together perfectly at the center. The sentiment from Charming Sentiments is stamped on white cardstock and diecut using the smallest Thoughtful Expressions die. The sentiment mat is cut from Lost Lagoon shimmer paper. A twist of silver & white sheer ribbon and Lost Lagoon bordered ribbon are adhered in between the two sentiment layers. Using dimensionals, the sentiment is adhered to the left flap of the card front. I added a few purple fine shimmer gems for sparkle and to move the eye diagonally across the card front.

This particular design is super easy to put together. And by changing the color palette and DSP, each card has a completely different look. This is going to be a go-to design for me if I need to make a whole host of simple yet beautiful cards!

Tune in tomorrow as we explore the rolling Hills of Tuscany!

Products used in today’s card:
Blackberry Bliss, Highland Heather, Basic White cardstock
Meandering Meadow, Lost Lagoon soft shimmer DSP
Charming Sentiments stamps
Thoughtful Expressions, Perennial Postage dies
Silver & white sheer trim, Lost Lagoon bordered ribbon
Purple fine shimmer gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon

Lifting Me Higher

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Our journey through the skies comes to an end today as we round out our aviation-themed trek through the Stampin’ Up! lineup. And today’s card is a full sneak peek at the brand NEW suite of products called Take to the Sky. The full suite includes stamps, coordinating dies, designer series paper, and silver trinkets. This suite will have you soaring when it releases in May!

Our card today begins with a base of Balmy Blue cardstock. The backdrop for our focal panel is a sheet of the cloud pattern designer paper. On top is another sheet with a radar view pattern. I cut a hole towards the top of the radar sheet using the Everyday Details dies, which allows the cloud pattern to peek through. And I reinforced this peek-through look by diecutting clouds from vellum using the Bright Skies and Hot Air Balloon dies. I stamped the largest plane from the Adventurous Skies stamp set onto white cardstock, colored the body of the plane with Stampin’ Blends, and then diecut with the coordinating die. I drew further attention to the spinning propeller by diecutting the smallest circle from Everyday Details from vellum. I added an Industrial Trinket to give a realistic look to the center of the spinning propeller. The sentiment from Adventurous Sky is stamped directly on vellum and then diecut using the Bright Skies dies. I scattered a few additional trinkets and some translucent sequins to tie things together and help the eye move across the card.

There are so, so many more designs I would like to try with this super fun suite of products that I plan to highlight this suite for a full week once it releases with the brand new Annual Catalog in May. In the meantime, next week we’ll be romping through the grassy plains and fields of flowers. I hope you’ll come along!

Products used in today’s card:
Balmy Blue, Basic White, vellum cardstock
Take to the Sky DSP (coming soon!)
Adventurous Sky bundle (coming soon!)
Industrial trinkets (coming soon!)
Stampin’ Blends
Sequins trio
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon

Speedy Recovery

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We’re continuing our aviation adventures this week by taking a closer look at the brand NEW Adventurous Sky bundle, which is set to release in May with the launch of the new 2024-25 Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. This week’s chosen theme of flight is inspired by husband, who is a commercial pilot and aviation enthusiast.

And the theme of today’s card, in particular, is also inspired by my hubby, who has been having some serious health issues. When we’re making get well cards, we don’t often think of incorporating someone’s hobbies or interests when designing cards, but when you want something to feel very personalized for a recipient, I believe that’s the best way to do it!

Our card today is set on a base of Balmy Blue cardstock using the fold-back fun fold, which allows a portion of the inside panel to peek through when the card is fully closed. Before I adhered the fold-back portion of the card front, I used the Adventurous Sky cloud stamps to stamp a background on the entire inside-left panel. I also adhered the raindrop-embossed piece of vellum to the edge of the fold-back panel and then adhered it to the card front. On the exposed portion of the inside message panel, I chose the topography patterned sheet from the Take to the Sky designer series paper pack — the coordinating DSP to Adventurous Sky that will release in May.

The plane is cut from the Silver and Berry Burst sheets of Holographic specialty paper using the Adventurous Sky dies. But you might be thinking that it doesn’t look red. This particular sheet of paper looks blue when it’s cut into smaller pieces and from certain angles in larger pieces, and so by diecutting and then putting the plane on the diagonal, you see blue in this design. Neat, huh?! To give the illusion of a spinning prop, I cut a circle from vellum using the smallest die in the Everyday Details set. The center of the prop is made with the soon-to-be-released Industrial Trinkets piece.

The sentiments from Happy Little Things are stamped on white cardstock that is diecut from white cardstock using the Deckled Rectangles dies. A twist of silver & white sheer ribbon and the white sequins tie with the metallic elements of the plane and finish the visual triangle across the card design.

I hope you’ll fly by tomorrow to get a better look at the full Take to the Sky suite — paper, stamps, dies, and embellishments!

Products used in today’s design:
Balmy Blue, Basic White, vellum cardstock
Holographic Trio, Take to the Sky (coming soon!) DSP
Happy Little Things stamps
Deckled Rectangles, Adventurous Sky (coming soon!) dies
Raindrops embossing folder
Sequins trio, Industrial Trinkets (coming soon!)
Silver & white sheer ribbon
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon

Flying Hi

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This week, we’re taking to the skies with some Stampin’ Up! flying-themed products. Thus far, we’ve made some cute cards using the Hot Air Balloon bundle. And today, I’m sharing a sneak peek of a brand NEW bundle that will be available in the upcoming 2024-25 Annual Catalog that releases in May.

Say hello to Adventurous Sky! Did you know that my husband is a commercial pilot? And he’s the inspiration for this week’s theme and the reason that I just had to have this new aviation-themed bundle!

Like all of the Stampin’ Up! product line, the NEW Adventurous Sky stamps and dies pair perfectly with other existing product lines. For today’s card designed, I’ve paired it with the Bright Skies and Hot Air Balloon bundles to make this fun card.

Our card starts with a base of white cardstock. The focal panel is built on a background of Pool Party cardstock that has been diecut using the largest Deckled Rectangles die. I cut a variety of clouds using the Bright Skies and Hot Air Balloon dies and layered them across the background for lots of billowy dimension. The hot air balloon combines a Berry Burst balloon with a white glimmer banner and Bubble Bath frills — the whole balloon made with the Hot Air Balloon bundle. The staggerwing aircraft is the medium-sized airplane stamp in the Adventurous Sky stamp set. It’s stamped in black and then colored with Stampin’ Blends before being diecut with the coordinating die. The sentiment is also from the Adventurous Sky stamp set. The scene is finished off with a combination of white sequins from the Sequins Trio and the Pool Party dots from the Rainbow Dots set.

Fly back in tomorrow to see more of the Adventurous Sky set at work!

Products used in today’s design:
Pool Party, Berry Burst, Basic White cardstock
White glimmer, Bubble Bath soft shimmer SP
Hot Air Balloon, Adventurous Sky (coming soon!) bundles
Bright Skies dies
Sequins trio, rainbow dots
Dimensionals
Adhesives

January Mini Catalog

Wishes Up and Away

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This week, we’re flying high with Stampin’ Up! sets that feature vehicles of flight. Thus far, we’ve been soaring with the Hot Air Balloon bundle. And today’s design is (almost) directly inspired by fellow SU! demo Anne Granger. Just a few tweaks here & there with products I had on hand and *voila* a fantastic birthday card ready to hoist your well wishes.

This card design begins with a base of Lost Lagoon cardstock. The background panel consists of a mat of Pretty Peacock soft shimmer paper and the lovely rainbow pattern designer paper from the Sale-a-Bration pack called Sunny Days. The focal panel is also matted with the shimmer paper and the balloon is stamped directly on the white cardstock panel in coordinating colors of Lost Lagoon and Pretty Peacock. I dressed up the sentiment by diecutting it separately using the Autumn Leaves dies. This design is finished off with Pretty Peacock sequins from the Sequins Trio set and the Pretty Peacock & Gold metallic ribbon.

Tune in tomorrow to get a SNEAK PEEK at a brand new flight-related suite of products. I know you’re gonna love it as much as I do!

Products used in today’s card:
Lost Lagoon, Basic White cardstock
Pretty Peacock fine shimmer SP
Sequins trio
Pretty Peacock & Gold metallic ribbon
Dimensionals
Adhesives

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January Mini Catalog

A Note to Lift You

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I love a good play on words. And Stampin’ Up! never fails to deliver on them in their sentiments. I find that a good pun always makes me smile or even chuckle. And who doesn’t need a little bit of that in their life?!

Today’s card is all about the pun in the Hot Air Balloon set. We get started with a base of Lost Lagoon cardstock. The background panel consists of a mat of Lost Lagoon shimmer paper and a sheet of the Lighter Than Air designer series paper. Our focal images are diecut from another sheet of Lighter Than Air using the Hot Air Balloon dies. I added a few detail die strips to a few balloons and each balloon got a treatment of coordinating Rainbow Dots to really punch things up (see what I did there? *snicker*). The balloon baskets are a combination of Calypso Coral and Crumb Cake cardstock. I added dimensionals and a vellum cloud for a bit of realism to our scene. The sentiment from the Hot Air Balloon set is stamped on white cardstock and then cut with trimmers to resemble a banner. The sequins and ribbon add a bit of sparkle and help the eye move diagonally across the card design.

Sail in tomorrow to see what card is taking flight!

Products used in today’s design:
Lost Lagoon, Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral, Pretty Peacock, Basic White, vellum cardstock
Lost Lagoon shimmer, Lighter Than Air DSP
Hot Air Balloon stamps
Silver & white sheer ribbon
Rainbow dots
Neutrals sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesives

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January Mini Catalog

Hang in There

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For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by hot air balloons. My aunt and uncle had a balloon when I was a little girl. And I remember going to a few balloon festivals and watching the balloon teams prepare the balloons for flight — all the sights and smells and sounds. I still love to watch hot air balloons from afar so that I can see the balloons all at once with their rainbow of colors.

Stampin’ Up! has launched its own balloon festival with the suite called Lighter Than Air. The full suite includes stamps, dies, paper, and embellishments. I started with just the designer series paper, which makes wonderful cards for all sorts of occasions. But I’ve since added the stamp bundle after seeing so many wonderful inspiration designs. The Hot Air Balloon bundle will be carrying over when the new catalog launches!

For today’s card design, we start with a background of Melon Mambo cardstock to coordinate with the selected background paper from the Lighter Than Air paper pack. The focal panel background is a combination of white glimmer paper, which has been diecut using one of the larger Perennial Postage dies, and a sheet of the cloud paper from Lighter Than Air. Two balloons have been diecut from the designer paper, while the third is stamped on white cardstock using the Hot Air Balloon stamps. The white detailing on the balloon has been diecut from white glimmer paper using the coordinating Hot Air Balloon dies. Each of the baskets has been stamped in Crumb Cake ink on coordinating cardstock and then diecut using the Hot Air Balloon dies. The clouds and sentiment panels were each diecut from vellum. The sentiment from the Hot Air Balloon set is stamped on the banner which was cut using the Happy Little Things dies. The scene is layered with dimensionals to give a more realistic look, and a bit of sparkle is added using the shiny sequins and silver trim.

We’re taking to the skies this week with more fun air-inspired designs. I hope you’ll take flight with me!

Products used in today’s card:
Melon Mambo, Basic White, Crumb Cake, vellum cardstock
Lighter Than Air, glimmer DSP
Hot Air Balloon bundle
Perennial Postage, Happy Little Things dies
Shiny sequins
Silver trim
Dimensionals
Adhesives

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