Author: susanfoxbowen

Father's Day · Gifting

Trusty Tools Gift Card Box

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Howdy, crafty friends! It’s hard to believe it’s already Wednesday and we’re halfway through the week. Holiday weeks are always weird because I never know what day it is. Anybody else have that issue?

This week, I’m feverishly working to completely product prep for a craft show this coming weekend. And today I’m giving you a looksy at a new fun fold project that I took for a spin to create a super cute gift card box. I’m using the retired Trusty Toolbox paper and coordinating stamps, along with the Family Ties stamp and Stylish Shapes dies. Let’s take a closer look.

The box is constructed from Gray Granite cardstock. The outside of the box is decorated with several different patterns from the Trusty Toolbox paper pack. The sentiment panel is cut from white cardstock using the circle dies from the Stylish Shapes set and then stamped with the sentiment from the Family Ties stamp set. The banner is cut from Real Red and adhered behind the sentiment. The sentiment panel is popped up with dimensionals and a few Industrial Trinkets are added for a little pizzazz.

The gift card holder is designed as a pop-up so that it recesses into the box when it closes. It looks complicated but it’s quite simple. Again, I used some of the Trusty Toolbox paper to decorate the lid, along with a sentiment from the coordinating stamp set. The Hershey Nugget treats are wrapped in strips of the Trusty Toolbox paper for a cohesive look. There’s even room for a small pocket knife or other clever (but small) gifty insert.

So what do you think? Isn’t this a clever way to gift a gift card and a little treat! You can snag the tutorial here and give it a try yourself!

Product List
Gray Granite 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 146983 ]
[146983]
$14.00
Basic Gray 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 121044 ]
[121044]
$14.00
Real Red 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 102482 ]
[102482]
$14.00
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166780 ]
[166780]
$14.00
Trusty Toolbox 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 162978 ]
[162978]
$12.50
Trusty Tools Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [ 169049 ]
[169049]
$24.00
Family Ties Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [ 166897 ]
[166897]
$18.00
Stylish Shapes Dies [ 159183 ]
[159183]
$30.00
Branching Out Dies [ 165775 ]
[165775]
$29.00
Jet Black Stāzon Ink Pad [ 101406 ]
[101406]
$10.50
Industrial Trinkets [ 163450 ]
[163450]
$8.50
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Tear & Tape Adhesive [ 154031 ]
[154031]
$7.00
Mini Glue Dots [ 103683 ]
[103683]
$7.25
Add All to Cart
Gifting

Hello, Summer!

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Howdy, crafty friends! Thanks for allowing me a little break as we wrapped up the school year and wound down over the holiday weekend.

The kiddo said ADIOS to 8th grade and will be headed off to high school next year. *gulp* Not quite sure how time went by so quickly! This weekend we just enjoyed some down time, and it was nice to get a little breather and enjoy time unhurried as a family.

This week will be a busy one as I fast & furiously work to finish up product and prep for a craft fair this coming weekend. My mom will be joining me again, and we’re looking forward to our first summer event. We typically stick to fall events. So we’re interested to see if we’ve managed to put together a good selection of product based on a different season. What would you be looking for at a summer craft fair?

One of the new products I’ll be offering is the cute little Fun in the Sun gift bag that includes some sunscreen, hydration packets, and some SPF lip balm — a perfect hostess gift for those summer poolside get-togethers! The Notes & Totes die set makes the perfect little bag to hold all of the goodies. I’ve made an assortment of these little gift bags and have pulled all of my favorite (retired) summer-inspired patterns to create the bags. For this bag, I’ve used the retired Bloom Impressions paper and accented with Crumb Cake. For a good hold, I chose narrow tear-and-tape to assemble.

Is this not the cutest? I really hope these sell. What do you think — yay or nay on the idea?

Products used in today’s project:
Crumb Cake cardstock
Bloom Impressions DSP (retired)
Notes & Totes dies
Stuffings: hydration packets, sunscreen, lip balm

Gifting

You Did It, Graduate

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Howdy, everyone! We’re sitting at T minus 1 on middle school. And I just can’t even believe it. Time really does fly!

Speaking of that, I know a lot of parents of graduates who are feeling the same way right now. This week our designs are an ode to this year’s graduating seniors. And today we’re pulling together the school colors of another local high school to create this tassel card using the Diamond Fun Fold tutorial.

We get started with a base of Basic Black cardstock and then use Crushed Curry for our front and side panels. The diamond panel is a small square of black cardstock with a small hole in the center. The tassel is created from gold twine and a goldenrod Brad in the center. I pulled some older Papertrey Ink stamp sets — Wise Owl and Paper Clippings Congratulations — to provide the owl (the school mascot), stars, and the sentiment. We finish things off with a little sparkle from a few foam shimmer stars for the star centers.

The tassel is probably the most time consuming part of this design. And that took just a few minutes. You could easily make several of these in one sitting and even change up the colors to match a different school. Easy peasy!

Gifting

Celebrate, Grad

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Welcome back on this wet and wild Tuesday! It was a stormy commute home for me today and quite the crazy drive. It seems like people forget how to drive in the rain when we haven’t had any for more than a week! But I made it home in one piece, even if it took far longer than it needed to.

We’re continuing our design series that’s all about the grads. And today’s card is a nod to one of the local high schools. One of the fun things we can do as crafters is tailor our designs with things like school colors. in this case, we’re using a combo of navy, white, and orange. And we’re pairing up two retired goodies to make this cutie — the School Days stamps set and the Wanted to Say dies.

We get started with a base of Night of Navy cardstock. a panel of white cardstock serves as the base for the focal panel, where we repeatedly stamp the cap from the School Days stamp set in navy. Our focal panel is matted with Timid Tiger. Then we wrap the panel with Timid Tiger ribbon and tie in a knot to one side. We’re using the Wanted to Say dies to create our celebrate sentiment using a combination of Peach Pie glimmer paper and navy Garden Textures foil paper. The sentiment is adhered above the ribbon with dimensionals. A few Timid Tiger dots finish things off.

I’ll be participating in a craft show the weekend after graduation and I’m hoping there will be some locals who are still on the lookout for graduation cards for parties that weekend. We’ll be continuing our grad theme tomorrow. I hope you’ll drop in and see what’s next.

Gifting

All the Best, Grad

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Happy Monday, friends! I don’t know about you, but I needed double the weekend and half the week! Whew, there’s just too much going on and not enough time to get it all done as we close out the school year. And I ended up taking some extra down time last week and did zero crafting. Not because I didn’t want to but because I simply didn’t have the energy to put into anything. Sometimes we just have to listen to those call for rest.

So here we are at the start of a brand new week and it’s time for a new design theme. And o think you’ll like this one and probably find it as fitting as I do as we stare down the last day of school on the horizon. That’s right, we’re tackling graduation designs this week. And we get started with a really simple one that can honestly serve a whole host of happy celebrations as we pair up the Velvet Meadow paper with the Everyday Arches dies.

We start with a neutral base of Cloud Cover cardstock. A sheet of the light snd bright vine pattern from the Velvet Meadow paper pack is taking center stage here as we prep a quarter panel. I cut a small section from the center with the Everyday Arches dies. We’re matting that small panel with a little larger panel of Elegant Pine shimmer paper. The panel is adhered directly over the area from whence it was cut using dimensionals. The sentiment from the Saying Something ephemera pack is adhered over a bow of white with gold ribbon using dimensionals. A few opal rounds on either side finish things off.

This design is super versatile and could encompass a whole host of celebratory gatherings. It also comes together in about 5 minutes, making it a nice go-to when you’re crunched for time.

Masculine Designs

Today is Your Day

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Happy midweek, everybody! We are halfway to the weekend already. And it’s definitely the downhill slide to the end of school. The kiddos are counting down the days — T minus 7 now.

And the countdown to school means the countdown to vacations for a lot of folks. And today’s card is a nod in that direction as we continue our card series that’s all about the guys. Even the guys spend time thinking about summer vacay! We’re putting the new Rolling Waves bundle center stage in today’s design.

We get started with a base of Lost Lagoon cardstock. A quarter panel is then embossed with the Soft Waves embossing folder and adhered to our card front to set the stage for our beach scene. Our beach scene is built on a base of Pool Party cardstock cut with the Everyday Arches die. The Rolling Waves stamps allow us to create the look of water as we stamp tone on tone on the panel. The same stamp also allows us to create the look of sand on a panel of Crumb Cake. A smaller detail stamp in the set gives us the darker grains of sand. The sand is cut from the half arch panel and adhered to the ocean backdrop. The foamy water rolling in is created with a die from the Rolling Waves set and then lightly brushed with Pool Party ink and adhered over the sand. The sentiment from the Saying Something ephemera set is adhered with dimensionals at the water’s edge. A bow of Lost Lagoon soft cording is adhered with a glue dot at the op edge of the sentiment panel. We finish things off with some starfish cut from Flirty Flamingo paper and adhered with dimensionals beside the sentiment and a scattering of shimmering dots.

Can you hear the sound of the crashing waves and picture yourself sitting beside the water? And isn’t this the perfect color palette for celebrating a guy in your life?

Product List
Lost Lagoon 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 133679 ]
[133679]
$14.00
Pool Party 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 122924 ]
[122924]
$14.00
Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 120953 ]
[120953]
$14.00
Flirty Flamingo 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 141416 ]
[141416]
$14.00
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166780 ]
[166780]
$14.00
Rolling Waves Bundle (English) [ 167145 ]
[167145]
$51.25
Soft Waves 3 D Embossing Folder [ 164695 ]
[164695]
$11.00
Everyday Arches Dies [ 164629 ]
[164629]
$29.00
Saying Something Mix & Match Ephemera Pack (English) [ 163761 ]
[163761]
$8.00
Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147114 ]
[147114]
$9.00
Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147116 ]
[147116]
$9.00
Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147107 ]
[147107]
$9.00
Lost Lagoon Soft Cording [ 164938 ]
[164938]
$8.00
Shimmering Dots [ 167949 ]
[167949]
$8.50
Small Blending Brushes [ 160518 ]
[160518]
$15.00
Mini Stampin' Dimensionals [ 144108 ]
[144108]
$4.25
Mini Glue Dots [ 103683 ]
[103683]
$7.25
Fine-Tip Glue Pen [ 138309 ]
[138309]
$7.25
Add All to Cart
Masculine Designs

Grill Master

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Welcome back, everyone! This week, we’re creating masculine designs. And today we’re using the new BBQ Master stamp and die set and pairing it up with the Pleasing Patterns foil paper.

We get started with a base of Shy Shamrock cardstock and then use the striped pattern from the Pleasing Patterns paper pack as our background. I had a smaller piece that I used to cut the decorative circles using the Stylish Shapes dies. the circles are adhered in each corner of the card with dimensionals and will serve as the backdrop for each of our foodie vignettes. To build each of the vignettes, we select foods and tools from the BBQ Master stamps and dies and get to work cutting and stamping. Using color coordinated cardstock, we cut a variety of vegetables, shrimp, and sausage. The new Lunar Luster paper is the perfect silvery sheen for the bbq skewers. The oven mitts are Night of Navy and hold our teak grill tools. The sentiment from the BBQ Master stamp set is stamped in navy on white cardstock banner cut with the Stylish Shapes dies. Some shimmering dots finish things off with a pop of white across the card front.

Isn’t this one fun.. I love how the slits I. The meat and veggies let us thread them onto the skewers for a more realistic look to our little scenes! I hope you’ll drop back in tomorrow to see what’s up next in our masculine design series.

Product List
Shy Shamrock 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 163795 ]
[163795]
$14.00
Night Of Navy 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 100867 ]
[100867]
$14.00
Highland Heather 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 146986 ]
[146986]
$14.00
Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 120953 ]
[120953]
$14.00
Cajun Craze 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 119684 ]
[119684]
$14.00
Flirty Flamingo 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 141416 ]
[141416]
$14.00
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166780 ]
[166780]
$14.00
Pleasant Patterns 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper [ 166950 ]
[166950]
$10.00
Country Woods 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 163393 ]
[163393]
$12.50
Lunar Lustre 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper [ 167199 ]
[167199]
$8.00
Stylish Shapes Dies [ 159183 ]
[159183]
$30.00
Bbq Master Bundle (English) [ 167466 ]
[167466]
$39.50
Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147110 ]
[147110]
$9.00
Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147114 ]
[147114]
$9.00
Gray Granite Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147118 ]
[147118]
$9.00
Shimmering Dots [ 167949 ]
[167949]
$8.50
Mini Glue Dots [ 103683 ]
[103683]
$7.25
Fine-Tip Glue Pen [ 138309 ]
[138309]
$7.25
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Masculine Designs

Super Thankful

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome back and happy Monday, friends! It was a busy weekend around here with all of the kiddo’s activities — pretty fitting for Mother’s Day weekend, I suppose. He played his final band concert on Friday, had his 8th grade formal on Saturday, and we have the athletics banquet today.

Given the stormy Mother’s Day we had yesterday, I got some unexpected time to play in the craft room and whipped up this fun card to start off this week’s design theme — everything masculine. We’re pairing up the Nature Walk and Silly Old Bear papers with a few new dies and a new set of ephemera. Let’s get a closer look!

We get started with a nice neutral base of Crumb Cake cardstock. I chose three different patterns from the Nature Walk paper pack to build our backdrop. The grid pattern is cut using the new Scalloped Blooms die. Our focal image is a cute scene from the Silly Old Bear paper pack with Pooh getting a little help from Rabbit & his buddies to get out of a “tight spot.” The new Sweet Words & Labels dies coordinate perfectly with the scene sheets in this paper pack. Pooh and friends are adhered over the backdrop of the scalloped circle using dimensionals. The sentiment is from the new Saying Something ephemera pack and is adhered with dimensionals over a bow of white with gold ribbon. A few of the new shimmering dots give us a pop of color across our card front to draw the eye across the design.

This week’s masculine theme should be lots of fun. We’re going to use a few unexpected products to create a few of our designs. I hope you’ll drop in each day for inspiration!

Product List
Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 120953 ]
[120953]
$14.00
Nature Walk 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 166912 ]
[166912]
$12.50
Silly Old Bear 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 167616 ]
[167616]
$13.00
Scalloped Blooms Dies [ 167646 ]
[167646]
$39.00
Sweet Words & Labels Dies [ 167627 ]
[167627]
$37.00
Saying Something Mix & Match Ephemera Pack (English) [ 163761 ]
[163761]
$8.00
White With Gold 3/8" (1 Cm) Ribbon [ 166979 ]
[166979]
$8.50
Shimmering Dots [ 167949 ]
[167949]
$8.50
Mini Stampin' Dimensionals [ 144108 ]
[144108]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Father's Day

Best Dressed Dad

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome back, everyone! So glad you could stop by. Now that it’s been a couple of days, I’m dying to know — have you looked at all the new goodies in the online store yet? Eeeek! So much good stuff! If you haven’t had a chance to peek at everything that dropped on Tuesday, I highly recommend it.

Today we’re continuing our celebratory design theme as we turn to dad. We’re pairing up one of my favorite retired stamp sets with some super fun ephemera to create this cutie!

We get started with a base of Shaded Spruce cardstock. A sheet of the Nature Walk paper gives us our soft, masculine background. The background panel is wrapped in some Shaded Spruce & Soft Sea Foam ribbon before it’s adhered to our card base. The sentiment from the Heartfelt Hellos stamp set is stamped in Garden Green ink on a white panel cut with the More Messages die. The sentiment panel is mounted with dimensionals on a banner of green Garden Textures foil paper cut with the Sweet Words & Labels die. We add a cute mustache from the Time for Celebration ephemera pack at the bottom of the panel for a cute nod to our theme. The whole kit & kaboodle is then adhered in the center of our card front with dimensionals. We adhere the two bow ties from the ephemera pack just above snd just below our sentiment panel and then finish things off with a scattering of the new shimmering dots.

Isn’t this just too cute?! And it comes together super quickly to boot! I’ll be taking a little break tomorrow since it’s the kiddo’s very last band concert. *sniff* But I’ll be bringing you some more fun stuff on Saturday. I hope you’ll drop in!

Product List
Shaded Spruce 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 146981 ]
[146981]
$14.00
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166780 ]
[166780]
$14.00
Nature Walk 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 166912 ]
[166912]
$12.50
Garden Textures 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Foil Sheets [ 167125 ]
[167125]
$10.50
Time For Celebration Mix & Match Ephemera Pack [ 165354 ]
[165354]
$7.00
More Messages Die [ 165472 ]
[165472]
$33.00
Sweet Words & Labels Dies [ 167627 ]
[167627]
$37.00
Heartfelt Hellos Cling Stamp Set (English) [ 162964 ]
[162964]
$20.00
Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147089 ]
[147089]
$9.00
Shaded Spruce & Soft Sea Foam 1/2" (1.3 Cm) Ribbon [ 165234 ]
[165234]
$8.50
Shimmering Dots [ 167949 ]
[167949]
$8.50
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
birthday

Birthday Friends

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Howdy, friends! We’ve made it to the halfway point thru the week and will soon be on the downhill slide. As we count down the final days of junior high, our days are beginning to get really busy. This weekend is one of those on-the-go weekends with school activities spanning the weekend and into next week.

We’re continuing our celebration design series this week. And today we’re turning to birthdays. This is a super simple combo that comes together in a snap and packs a lot of punch without a lot of work. We’re letting the new Silly Old Bear paper sit front snd center.

We get started with a base of Shaded Spruce cardstock. A sheet of the neutral floral pattern from the Delicate Dreams paper pack serves as our backdrop for the focal panel. The background panel is wrapped in Shaded Spruce & Soft Sea Foam striped ribbon before it’s adhered to our card front. The focal image from the Silly Old Bear paper pack is cut out with the coordinating die from the Sweet Words & Labels set. We mat our focal image with some green Garden Textures specialty paper that is cut with one of the larger dies from the Sweet Words set. The two panels are adhered together with dimensionals and then mounted on our card front with dimensionals, as well. We tuck our sentiment from the Saying Something ephemera pack down in the corner of our focal panel and adhere it with several layers of dimensionals so it stands nice & tall above everything else. We add just a touch of twinkle with some drusy embellishments.

And just like that, you have a super cute birthday card. I hope you’ll drop by tomorrow to see what we’re celebrating next!

Product List
Shaded Spruce 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 146981 ]
[146981]
$14.00
Delicate Dreams 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper [ 167498 ]
[167498]
$16.50
Silly Old Bear 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 167616 ]
[167616]
$13.00
Garden Textures 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Foil Sheets [ 167125 ]
[167125]
$10.50
Sweet Words & Labels Dies [ 167627 ]
[167627]
$37.00
Saying Something Mix & Match Ephemera Pack (English) [ 163761 ]
[163761]
$8.00
Shaded Spruce & Soft Sea Foam 1/2" (1.3 Cm) Ribbon [ 165234 ]
[165234]
$8.50
Drusy Adhesive Backed Embellishments [ 164223 ]
[164223]
$9.00
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart