Author: susanfoxbowen

birthday

Birthday Blitz

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The end of August presents many opportunities for new birthday designs as we have lots of friends celebrating birthdays. So this week I cranked out several cards for friends with birthdays in the next week.

First up is this cute fella buzzing in to bring some birthday cheer. This design is for one of my son’s friends. They’re in those awkward preteen years so it’s always hard to know which way to go with card themes, but something whimsical really fits this particular kiddo’s personality. So I pulled out the Zoo Crew designer paper and fussy cut this scootering fox as the focal image. I added a little color and some Wink of Stella here and there on the image from the DSP to add more color and realism to the image. I thought it would be cute to have foxy motoring in the birthday balloons, so I diecut a set from various shades of cardstock and added a little Wink of Stella for some added pizzazz. The whole scene sits atop a piece of embossed cardstock matted on Pretty Peacock cardstock to really help the whole scene stand out nicely.

Products used: Basic White, Pretty Peacock, Calypso Coral, Poppy Parade, Granny Apple Green cardstock; vellum; Zoo Crew DSP; So Many Stars (retired), Bunch of Banners (retired), Zany Zoo dies; Sizzix embossing plate; PTI sentiment; glitter sequins; dimensionals

I had a lot of fun building this cute birthday scene. Once again, I pulled out my Zoo Crew designer paper for this adorable croc pedaling in some flowers. I kicked up the color by adding some to the bike and flowers and also added a bundle of balloons to punch up the birthday theme here. To help it feel as though the croc is trekking to a party, I added some simple trees and a cloud as background scenery.

Products used: Pretty Peacock, Lost Lagoon, Granny Apple Green cardstock; Bright & Beautiful DSP; vellum; Zoo Crew DSP; PTI scalloped circle (retired), Zany Zoo dies; adhesive-backed discs; twine (retired); dimensionals; adhesives

Have any adventure types in your circle of friends or family? There’s a terrific sheet of Zoo Crew DSP for that! And I pulled it out and started working on a scene for my outdoorsy friend. I used a circle punch to cut out the scene with the lion roasting a marshmallow. I used the Zany Zoo dies to cut the adorable birdwatching skunk and then fussy cut the mountains and trees. I filled in with a lot of color using the Stampin’ Blends markers to really help the scene come to life. On a scale of 1 to 10, I rank my coloring skills about a 4, but I’m pretty pleased with how things came out for this design.

Products used: Shaded Spruce, Basic White cardstock; Zoo Crew, Bright & Beautiful DSP; PTI stamps; tinsel gems; adhesives

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Christmas

‘Tis the Season

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Today, the bear is finishing its trek as we wrap up a sneak peek at the newest card pack called A Walk in the Forest. This designer series paper, which will be available in the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog in just a few weeks, is simply lovely, and I was truly captivated by the sheet of paper with the bear traversing the evergreen forest.

For today’s design, I wanted the trees to be more of the focal point than the bear. You will note that the bear is making its way in the background of this scene, while the stately evergreens are front and center. I heat embossed the sentiment on vellum because I wanted each of the evergreens to show through on this design. I added an additional tree in the forefront on dimensionals and the shimmery sequins move the eye up and across the design, which adds to the feeling that you’re taking a walk up the mountain trail. Can you picture yourself on this trail?

Products used:
Pretty Peacock cardstock
Vellum
A Walk in the Forest DSP
PTI Think Big Favorites #8 stamps (retired)
Nested Essentials, Merriest Trees dies
Glitter sequins
Glitter twine (retired)
Embossing powder
Dimensionals
Adhesive

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Christmas

Winter Crossing

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How have you enjoyed A Walk in the Forest so far? This pack of Stampin’Up! designer paper is simply delightful with a mixture of playful and wintery designs. On our journey with the bear thus far, you may have noticed that I have done a lot of punching and diecutting, which leaves an awful lot of scraps. Do you ever wonder what happens with those paper scraps?

Today’s design is a perfect example of how scraps can be put to use to create a beautiful card. The bear and tree images I have been highlighting thus far are all diecut/punched from the same sheet of designer paper. This particular sheet of paper also has beautiful groves of smaller evergreen trees and I really loved the look of them because they very much reminded me of the snowy mountains where I’ve been snow skiing. So when I cut the bear and trees for other cards, I carefully cut around the evergreen groves, leaving me some sizable ones to work with.

For this card design, I decided to mimic a scene I’ve seen in one of the Arctic adventure shows my hubby and I like to watch — with the bear looking out from the trees across a frozen river to the other side. I used a sheet of snowflakes from A Walk in the Forest to serve as the frozen river in this scene. I cut a few snowflakes from a sheet of Snowflake Magic designer paper to catch a little silvery sparkle. A few of these snowflakes are on dimensionals to give some depth, along with the bear to bring it to the forefront of the groves of evergreens. With the sentiment panel also on dimensionals, the eye moves easily across the card through each of the key elements.

Products used:
Balmy Blue cardstock
Shimmer cardstock
Vellum
A Walk in the Forest, Snowflake Magic DSP
Magical Meadow stamps
Nesting Labels (retired), Merriest Trees dies
Beary Cute punch
Embossing powder
Adhesive-backed sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesive

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Christmas

Peace, Love, Joy

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We’re continuing our journey through A Walk in the Forest designer paper pack, which will be available to customers in the new Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog in just a few weeks. Earlier this week, we were trekking through the snow, while today’s card has us on a walk through an evergreen forest along with our friend, the bear.

In order to have the designer paper pop, I mounted the background scene on Pretty Peacock cardstock. This really brought out the smaller trees and gives a sense of realism to the scene. I used the Merriest Trees dies to cut the evergreen in the foreground from a sheet of A Walk in the Forest paper and punched the bear using the Beary Cute punch. Adding dimensionals of various heights allows the bear to stand out against the evergreen in the foreground. I set the tree and bear atop a strip of silver & white sheer ribbon (also from the Holiday Mini) to look as though they’re both on the edge of a frozen pond. The sentiment is heat embossed in a deep navy on a piece of vellum, which allows the background to show through for a snowy effect. I love the simplicity and realism of this cute forest scene. Do you feel like you’ve gone on a walk through the woods?

Products used:
Pretty Peacock, vellum cardstock
A Walk in the Forest DSP
PTI Stylish Sentiments: Holiday stamps (retired)
Merriest Trees, Nested Essentials dies
Beary Cute punch
Silver & White sheer ribbon
Navy embossing powder
Adhesive-backed sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesive

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Christmas

Love & Joy

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When I saw this design in the new Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog, I knew I had to do a take on it. We’re continuing our travels through A Walk in the Forest paper pack and still find ourselves in the snowy woods. What really drew me to this design, aside from the beauty of a snowy scene, is the music in the background. For me, a soundtrack is always playing in my head. Do you hear music as you go about your day doing everyday things?

Although not seen, Night of Navy serves as the base for this scene. A sheet of music from the Joy of Christmas designer series paper pack is the backdrop. In my mind, Silent Night plays in the background. The grove of trees is nestled in a scene of falling snow — a lovely design included in A Walk in the Forest paper pack. The trees are diecut from a sheet of A Walk in the Forest designer series paper using the Merriest Trees dies. Fresh snow has begun to fall and the snowflakes in the foreground are diecut from white cardstock using Merriest Trees dies with a touch of sparkle in each center thanks to Wink of Stella. I pulled out an older banner die to cut the sentiments. Varying heights of dimensionals give depth to the scene. This design really brings to mind the Robert Frost poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, don’t you think?

Products used:
Night of Navy, Basic White cardstock
A Walk in the Forest, Joy of Christmas DSP
Merriest Trees stamps
‘Tis the Season (retired), Merriest Trees dies
Festive pearls
Wink of Stella
Dimensionals
Adhesive

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Christmas

Beary Warm Wishes

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I’ve started on a new pack of holiday cards and, although the designing is not completely finished, I just can’t wait to show you how things are turning out! This new pack of cards highlights an adorable pack of designer series paper from the new Stampin’ Up! Holiday mini catalog called A Walk in the Forest. Proceeds from the sale of this DSP will benefit organizations that provide support and cheer to people in need. How wonderful is that?!

A Walk in the Forest designer series paper features various forest scenes and this adorable bear. And there are dies and a punch that make building scenes with this paper pack SO much easier — the Merriest Trees dies and Beary Cute punch, both available in the new Holiday Mini. This paper pack, along with all of the other wonderful products in the new Holiday Mini catalog, will go live for ordering at 11:59 PM MST on September 5th.

I wanted to make a super simple snowy scene, so I diecut a few trees and punched the bear from a sheet of A Walk in the Forest and gave layers to the scene with varying heights of dimensionals. I used a sheet of the Snowflake Magic specialty paper as the snowy background and put it all atop a card base of Balmy Blue. The sentiment is heat embossed for a little extra pop. Super simple design with a lot of pizzazz!

Products used:
Balmy Blue cardstock
Snowflake Magic, A Walk in the Forest DSP
Magical Meadow stamps
Merriest Trees, Nested Essentials dies
Beary Cute punch
Navy embossing powder
Glitter sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesive

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Christmas

Be Joyful

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I really love holiday greenery. There is not a single room safe in my house from having at least a little bit of holiday greenery in it! And the greenery in the beautiful Joy of Christmas suite of products from the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog served as the inspiration for the entire set of cards in the Joyful Tidings series.

Here, a stunning foiled sheet of designer paper from the Joyful pack serves as the backdrop for this simple but lovely design. Cherry Cobbler cardstock serves as the card base and really allows the red elements in this design to properly stand out. It only seemed appropriate to have the “Be Joyful” sentiment embossed on a panel of foiled sheet music. The twigs of greenery perfectly draw the eye to the center sentiment panel.

Interested in checking out the entire pack of cards in this brand new set? Joyful Tidings is now available in the Etsy shoppe!

Products used:
Cherry Cobbler cardstock
Joy of Christmas, Joyful DSP
Merriest Wishes stamps (retired)
Christmas Season (retired), Magical Meadow dies
Gold embossing powder
Adhesive-backed sequins
Tinsel gems
Dimensionals
Adhesive

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Christmas

Holiday Happiness

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Even subtle patterns can lend themselves beautifully to a stunning card design. The newest designer paper called Joy of Christmas has several designs that could be overlooked, but when paired together in the right combination, they really sing beautifully!

Here Shaded Spruce serves as the card base, but the stunning backdrop is a sheet of designer paper with a very subtle holly pattern. When paired with a foiled woodgrain and sheet of holly printed in red, it works together to create a stunning background for the greenery and really allows the sentiment to be the proper focal point of the design. I wanted it to feel as though the holiday message had been tacked to a holiday tree. How do you think it came out?

Interested in checking out the entire pack of cards in this brand new set? Joyful Tidings is now available in the Etsy shoppe!

Products used:
Shaded Spruce, vellum cardstock
Joy of Christmas, Joyful DSP
Stylish Sentiments: Holiday PTI stamps (retired)
Magical Meadow, Christmas Season (retired), Deckled Rectangle dies
Gold embossing powder
Adhesive-backed sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesive

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Christmas

Warm Winter Wishes

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Another of my favorite things about the holidays is music. As a singer, I perform a lot during the holidays. And there is SO much beautiful holiday music. No matter the time of year, I never mind listening to holiday music. When holiday crafting kicks into high gear, I will often begin playing my favorites.

Today’s card design features a beautiful sheet of foiled sheet music which is part of the new Joyful designer series paper pack from the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog. It serves as the perfect backdrop for the lovely holiday greenery paper. To add depth to the design, I added fresh cut greenery behind the sentiment panel.

Interested in checking out the entire pack of cards? Joyful Tidings is now available in the Etsy shoppe!

Products used:
Shaded Spruce cardstock
Shimmer cardstock (retired)
Joy of Christmas, Joyful DSP
Magical Meadow stamps
Magical Meadow, All That dies
Gold embossing powder
Adhesive-backed sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesive

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Christmas

Joyful Patterns

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One of my favorite things about the holiday season is all of the beautiful patterns in clothing and blankets. I love to snuggle up in a soft flannel shirt with a warm fleece blanket in front of the fire with a cup of cocoa or hot apple cider. Don’t you?

The patterns in the new Joy of Christmas and Joyful designer series paper packs in the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog borrow from all of the beautiful and comforting holiday patterns that so many of us love and adore. I wanted this card to feel like you were walking in the winter woods in a warm flannel. So this design features a combination of greenery, woodgrain, and plaid patterns. The gold elements dress things up and really help to convey the bright happiness of the holidays.

Interested in checking out the entire pack of cards? Joyful Tidings is now available in the Etsy shoppe!

Products used:
Shaded Spruce, Cherry Cobbler cardstock
Shimmer cardstock (retired)
Christmas Messages stamps (retired)
Joy of Christmas, Joyful DSP
Magical Meadow, Christmas Season (retired), Stitched Nested Labels (retired) dies
Gold embossing powder
Gold trim
Adhesive-backed sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesive

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