Botanicals · Online Exclusives

Sending Blossoms of Love

Welcome to the weekend, everyone! It’s a rainy Saturday here in North Texas. And while I have lots of things on the outside spring to-do list, the indoor activities won out today. I started the day providing music for a funeral and then spent the afternoon at the kiddo’s Academic Pentathlon district meet, where he placed individually in Literature and then took several medals with his team. And before hitting the home to-do list, I’ve stolen a little time in the craft room to bring some of my own sunshine to this overall dreary day.

This week, we’ve been letting spring inspire our designs. And today is all about the gorgeous Lovely & Beautiful patterned paper, along with a few other things from the crafty stash, and a sketch as we create this beautiful encouragement card.

Because I’ve got a list of things to do, I wanted to create a beautiful card but without a lot of time spent on designing from the ground up. And what helps the most in those situations? For me, sketches are a must! So we’re using #719 by the Freshly Made Sketches team to make quick work of today’s card.

We get started with a base of Fresh Freesia cardstock. A sheet of the small floral pattern from the Lovely & Beautiful paper pack serves as our background pattern. A strip of Fresh Freesia helps break up our busy patterned background and we spruce it up just a touch by machine embossing our strip with the Beautiful Patterns embossing folder. From a scrap of one of the larger floral patterned sheets from the Lovely & Beautiful pack, I cut a gorgeous peony and adhered it on the left with dimensionals. The sentiment from the Fabulous Sayings stamp set is stamped in Versamark and then heat embossed in gold before being diecut with the Nested Essentials banner die using the extension method to get it just the right size. The vellum sentiment panel is adhered over the flower with mini glue dots. We finish things off with some pearlized faceted gems for just a touch of twinkle.

There are so many more beautiful spring florals in the current Stampin’ Up! lineup that I think we’re going to continue it for one more week. Do you have any current floral-y favorites you’d like to see? Maybe they’re in my stash. Drop me some suggestions in the comments! Until then, see you next week.

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Botanicals · Online Exclusives

Delicate Thoughts

Welcome back for today’s bonus post. This week’s theme is all about spring as things here in my area are certainly starting to feel like spring, including last night’s storms! But with spring showers come spring flowers and isn’t that what we’re all in for?! Today’s bonus card is showcasing more of the Delicate Dreams suite as we pair the Delicate Dreams and Delicate Designs foil papers to create this lovely thinking of you design.

The layout for today’s card uses Sketch 276 from the Freshly Made Sketches team as the starting point. We get started with a base of Misty Moonlight cardstock. Our base layer combines the small blue floral pattern from the Delicate Dreams pack and the leaf pattern from the Delicate Designs pack and then separated with some Misty Moonlight and silver edged ribbon in a faux book binding look. Our focal panel plays double duty as our sentiment panel. The sentiment from With You In Mind is stamped in Versamark on vellum and then heat embossed with copper. The panel is cut with the Label Me Grateful panel die and then adhered over some leaf fronds cut with the same die set from a combination of earthen toned metallic and blue garden textures foil sheets. We finish things off with a combination of metallic gems on our sentiment panel and then blue opal rounds surrounding our focal panel.

This paper is just so beautiful that I keep turning to it. But I promise I’ll be branching out into some other goodies in the crafty stash tomorrow as we continue our spring design series! Hope to see you then!

Edited to add: would you like to know what happens when you get in a hurry to post your card because you’re so excited about how it turns out? You forget to actually insert it in your post. DOH!

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Botanicals · florals · Online Exclusives

Floral Hello

Welcome in, friends, on this very soggy day. We experienced some record-breaking rainfall in our area yesterday, which made yesterday’s commute home very interesting and is sure to impact this morning’s commute, as well.

Today is going to be a two-post day since my evening didn’t go quite as planned yesterday — I’ll tell you a bit more about that later. This week, we’re tipping our hats to spring with all of our projects. And today we’re letting the brand new Flowers Fair background stamp and the Delicate Dreams foiled paper take center stage.

We get started with a base of white cardstock. A sheet of the small floral patterned paper from the new Delicate Dreams paper pack serves as the backdrop for our focal panel. The focal panel starts with a quarter-panel of Cloud Cover cardstock where we stamp the new Flowers Fair image in black. Using a combination of Pretty in Pink, Berry Burst, and Lost Lagoon Stampin’ Blend markers, the image is colored in. The panel is cut down to size for our card front using the Branching Out dies. I wrapped some of the new Berry Burst shiny ribbon around the midsection of the panel and then adhered the sentiment panel over it. The sentiment panel starts with a mat of the Earthen Toned metallic paper that is cut with the larger sentiment die from the Words of Beauty set. The sentiment panel is cut from white cardstock with the smaller sentiment die from the same die set. Then we carefully stamp the sentiment using a combination of stamps from the Wonderful Thoughts stamp set using Blackberry Bliss ink. We finish things off with our embellishments — a dash of Wink of Stella to the lighter pink flowers, some smaller iridescent pearls to the sentiment panel, and a few metallic dots on either side of our focal panel.

I really love how this card came together. And this is truly one of those instances where the whole design evolved as I went and pulled new crafty goodness that I wanted to be sure to include.

Now how about a little backstory on how my evening didn’t go to plan. Aside from the exceedingly long and rainy commute home, one of the feral kitties we’ve been feeding finally returned to our porch last night in between bands of rain. Yes, we’re some of those crazy cat people!

She’s quite young — likely approaching her first season — and super friendly. While she’s naturally skittish, if she figures out that you’re one of the nice ones, she sticks to you like glue and just wants all the pets. We’re calling her Ava. So needless to say, we quickly began formulating a plan to try to catch her the next time she appeared so that we could get her vetted, fixed, and put up for adoption through our local rescue group.

Last night, she was being pursued by a suitor in our driveway and I went outside to see if I could call her up. I called once and she came running — suitor hot on her tail….until he caught sight of me. After she snacked for a bit and got lots of pets, I swooped her up and brought her inside with our feral momma kitty who is close to her release date. So she got to stay safe and dry during last night’s torrential rains and we’re now making plans to find her a happy home.

Hopefully this evening will be a little less eventful and I can bring you the card I have in mind for today. As always, thanks for popping in and I hope you’re enjoying this week’s series so far!

Products used in today’s card:
Basic White, Cloud Cover cardstock
Delicate Dreams, Earthen Toned metallic DSP
Branching Out, Words of Beauty dies
Flowers Fair, Wonderful Thoughts stamps
Stampin’ Blends
Wink of Stella
Berry Burst shiny ribbon
Iridescent basic pearls, metallic dots
Dimensionals

Botanicals · Online Exclusives

Blooming Birthday

Howdy, friends! Welcome back. Second semester of school is always busy for us as the kiddo’s extracurricular activities really pick up and start overlapping. This weekend was one of those overlapping weekends as we met ourselves coming & going! But we got to spend it together, which is always fun and worthwhile.

Needless to say, I needed a weekend from my weekend and by the time I got a card made yesterday evening, I too pooped to sit down and write anything about it! So here we are in a brand new week with a brand new design theme — spring. I don’t know about where you are, but here in North Texas it’s already feeling like spring. Our weekend temps were in the 80s and everything is blooming & budding. So it only seemed appropriate to throw a spotlight on spring this week, which is perfect since there are so many awesome new things in the shop that a perfectly spring! Have you gotten a chance to take a look yet?

So our first spring card this week uses the brand new Delicate Dreams foiled paper. We get started with a base of Crumb Cake cardstock. Our focal panel is a sheet of the new Delicate Dreams floral paper that is matted with some earthen toned metallic paper to really bring out the coppery foil elements of this gorgeous patterned paper. The panel is wrapped with some Misty Moonlight & silver bordered ribbon that is then tied in a neat bow. To add a pop of additional color, I added a bow of the new Berry Burst shiny ribbon to add a second bow. We finish things off with our sentiment panel which uses the smaller decorative elements from the 2025 Advent Calendar. The sentiment from the Simply Said stamp set is stamped in Blackberry Bliss ink on the circular panel and then the diecut floral edging is adhered with glue dots. Some purple fine shimmer gems add a shimmery touch to the floral centers around the sentiment edge. A few extra metallic gems in opposing corners tie everything together and draw the eye across our card front.

There are so many wonderful new spring-inspired goodies in the shop. I hope you’ll drop in each day this week to see them all!

Products used:
Crumb Cake cardstock
Delicate Dreams, Earthen Toned metallic DSP
Simply Said stamps
2025 Advent Calendar
Berry Burst shimmer, Misty Moonlight & silver edged ribbon
Purple fine shimmer, metallic gems
Dimensionals

Botanicals · January Mini Catalog

You Can Do Anything

Happy Saturday, crafty friends! It’s a cold and icy day here in North Texas, just as the weathermen predicted. The kiddo has had fun sliding down the steep driveway, and I’ve puttered around sweeping off the porch and setting up makeshift shelters for the cat food bowls and temporary potty box so our (very spoiled) outside cats don’t have to leave the back porch. Hubby made us all a big breakfast and we’ve been enjoying loafing around since, which leaves me time to play in the craft room!

I got a brand new box of goodies earlier this week that I’ve been dying to take out and make some projects. Today, I decided to make another project with the new Lovely & Beautiful patterned paper pack and Fabulous Sentiments Product of the Month stamp set. I flipped through my trusty fun fold template book put together by fellow demo Jackie Bolhuis over at Klompen Stampers to source the card layout.

So this design gets started with a quarter panel of Blackberry Bliss cardstock. I love the contrast that this small panel provides and the stability it lends to the overall card design. Our folding panel is a sheet of Fresh Freesia that is scored to give us a tick-smaller standard quarter panel in the center section. The top and bottom flaps of our folded section then open to reveal the inside message panel of our card. I chose a sheet of the smaller foiled floral pattern paper from the Lovely & Beautiful paper pack as the patterned sheet for the card front panels. The top fold is just slightly larger than the bottom so that it overlaps slightly, and so we build our overhanging focal panel on the top panel. Our focal section gets started with a scrap of Blackberry Bliss cut with the Nested Essentials die. The sentiment from the January Product of the Month Fabulous Sayings stamp set is stamped in Fresh Freesia on white cardstock and then cut with paper snips. The sentiment is adhered over a bow of white & gold ribbon with dimensionals onto the Blackberry Bliss panel. This panel is adhered to the bottom of the top flap with dimensionals. A flower and leaves from the Covered in Flowers accents serve as our floral accents, and they’re colored with small blending brushes using Fresh Freesia and Mossy Meadow before being covered with Wink of Stella. They’re tucked behind the sentiment and adhered with a combination of dimensionals and glue dots. I added a gold drusy embellishment as the flower center to coordinate with the foiled paper and added a group of In Color pearls on the sentiment panel for a pop of twinkly color contrast to draw the eye to the sentiment.

I’m planning to bring you some more designs this weekend. I hope you’ll drop back by and see what I have in store for you!

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Botanicals · January Mini Catalog

On My Mind, Lovely

Howdy, friends! It has beeeeeeeeen a week! You might remember that I mentioned my office was moving over the weekend last weekend. Needless to say, this week has been crazy busy as we’ve unpacked and put things back together so we could actually function. Despite the move, the work kept coming and we had to make the best of it. I was pooped by the time I got home, but the work didn’t stop at home either.

We’re expecting a major winter storm with temps around 0-degrees F this weekend and my evenings have been taken up preparing things inside and out. I’ve been getting all of the heated huts ready for our outside kitties, wrapping pipes, and covering plants, as well as thinking of all of the things we needed to have on hand in the event of power outages from the ice. Although we’re no stranger to winter precip here in North Texas, we’re not necessarily adequately equipped for it because we’re accustomed to it just blowing in and out in a day or two instead of sticking around for extended periods.

But I’ve been itching to get in the craft room to play with a few more new goodies that arrived this week. And with that winter storm set to keep us in for the foreseeable future, it looks like I’ll have my opportunity and I’ll be able to bring you some fresh ideas. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty stoked about this winter storm. *snicker*

I just couldn’t resist the new Lovely & Beautiful patterned paper pack. It’s the perfect combination of florals and foiled patterns. And I paired it up with the new January Product of the Month (POTM) — the Fabulous Sayings stamp set. A simple layout with gorgeous paper made for a quick and stunning result.

We get started with a base of white cardstock. Our backdrop is a sheet of the gorgeous Lovely & Beautiful patterned paper matted with a panel of Fresh Freesia. Some Petunia Pop iridescent ribbon is wrapped around the bottom before the panel is adhered to the card front. The sentiment from the Product of the Month Fabulous Sayings stamp set is stamped in Petunia Pop on white cardstock. I used my paper snips to cut around the sentiment for a little visual interest. A circle of the Pleasant Patterns paper is diecut with the Stylish Shapes circle and adhered to the card front over the strip of ribbon. The sentiment is adhered to the circle over a faux bow of Petunia Pop iridescent ribbon with dimensionals. A few In Color flat pearls on either side of the sentiment add a sheen of extra color to draw the eye to the sentiment.

Isn’t this paper gorgeous?! I can’t wait to use the other sheets in the pack. And the new POTM set deserves some more love too! Tune in tomorrow to see what’s up next.

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Botanicals · January Mini Catalog

Hope & Comfort

Happy Saturday, friends! As expected, the office move stole my crafting time yesterday, so I’m stealing a little time in the craft room this morning before I head to the new office to unpack and work to get things settled so we’re ready to roll next week.

This week, we’re using the new Prayers & Promises sentiment stamp set to create our card designs. I’ve been pairing up this stamp set with a whole host of products in the stash — most of them new goodies. And today we’re using the January Product of the Month True Blue Florals paper, the new Lovely Arrangements dies, and the new laser cut Covered In Flowers accents. (FYI — the January POTM is still available with any qualifying order while supplies last!)

I used a layout by fellow demo Heidi Collins over at On Y Go! Stamping as the inspiration for this card design. We get started with a base of Night of Navy cardstock. A sheet of the large floral-patterned paper from the True Blue Florals pack serves as both the backdrop for our card front, as well as the accent design panel behind the focal point. I used the Lovely Arrangements die to create that strip of circles on the right that really helps our focal point pop. The sentiment from Prayers & Promises is stamped in Secret Sea on white cardstock and then cut out with the Stylish Shapes circle die. This panel is adhered over a twist of the white & gold baker’s twine with dimensionals. A spray of florals is colored with Wink of Stella and then placed to the side of sentiment panel and held in place with dimensionals. We finish things off with a combination of the moody palette dots & charming shimmer faceted dots.

I love the contrast of light and dark in this design and how it really draws our eye to the encouraging sentiment. I hope to get a little time this evening to bring you one last project using the Prayers & Promises sentiment set. Fingers crossed I’m not completely wiped out from a day of unpacking and setup at the office!

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Botanicals · January Mini Catalog

Peace I Leave You

Hi there, friends! I can’t believe it’s already Thursday. Has this week been on fast forward for anyone else? It’s been a busy week at the office, especially as we prepare to pack up and move to a new space this weekend. So as much as I love to think about Friday approaching, I’ll be busy this weekend getting the office put back together! Womp-womp.

This week, we’re playing with some of the new products from the latest release. In particular, I’m using the new Prayers & Promises sentiment set for each design as we pair it up with other fun sets. Today, I’m using a less conventional color palette for a soft and comforting vibe with the plants from the On Display and Gliding Garden Swing sets.

We get started with a base of Balmy Blue cardstock and then place our background pattern from the True Blue Florals paper pack (still available until it’s gone!) on top. Our focal panel backdrop consists of a trio of circles cut with the Spotlight on Nature dies from a combination of the Pleasant Patterns foiled paper and the pink shimmer paper from the new Pastels Shimmer pack. The pink shimmer circle in the center serves as our sentiment panel. The sentiment from Prayers & Promises is stamped right on the circle panel in a combination of Versamark and Lost Lagoon and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder to be sure it pops. We surround our sentiment panel with some potted greenery cut from Lost Lagoon and Cajun Craze using a combination of the On Display stamps & dies and the Gliding Garden Swing dies. Layers of dimensionals give us the depth of scene. A few Sparkle Dot Essentials finish things off with our twinkle of pink accents.

As I was working out this design in my head, I wanted to show that simple designs and unconventional color palettes can give just as much wow factor as the cards with all the layers and fancy techniques. And I think that’s one of the many things that I love about papercrafts — the multitude of ways to make beautiful things!

I hope to bring you another design tomorrow, assuming the office pack-up runs smoothly and I’m able to get home at a reasonable time. We will keep our fingers crossed!

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Botanicals · January Mini Catalog

Blossoms of Recovery

Welcome to the midweek, everyone! My best intentions of getting this post wrapped up and published yesterday didn’t come to pass. My day just didn’t quite go as planned. We’re still working to get back into the groove of all the things after the holiday break and I forgot how busy Tuesdays typically turn out to be.

This week, we’re continuing to take a look at some of the new products that hit the store last week. If you haven’t checked out all that’s new, click here to take a look. It’s definitely worth the peek!

So this week we’re working with the new Prayers & Promises stamp set. These sentiments cover a whole bunch of occasions and help with those “difficult” cards. Today we’re making a get well card using a whole host of new products, including paper, laser cut elements, ribbon, and embellishments!

We get started with a base of white cardstock. A sheet of the Lovely Blossoms patterned paper serves as our backdrop. I love the combination of the soft background with the bold Secret Sea accents. Our focal panel combines several elements. We start with a base of the January Product of the Month (still available!) called True Blue Florals and then layer the new Pleasant Patterns foiled paper on top. The sentiment from the Prayers & Promises set is stamped in Secret Sea on one of the diecut sentiment panels included in the 2025 Advent Calendar, which is adhered in the bottom corner with dimensionals. I layered some Covered in Flowers accents, colored with Wink of Stella, over a twist of the new white with gold ribbon. We finish things off with some sparkle dot essentials for an additional pop of twinkle.

This card comes together in a flash and is sure to be the perfect pick-me-up for a friend who’s under the weather. We’ll be staying with our botanical theme tomorrow as we pair our sentiment set with two new multi-image bundles. I hope you’ll drop in to see which bundles are coming to the stage!

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Botanicals · January Mini Catalog

Birthday Blossoms

TGIF, everybody! We made it thru the first full work week since the holidays. How did it go for you? It was pretty busy here. I’m glad I had worked ahead in the craft room last weekend!

This week, we’ve been working with the new Lovely Blossoms suite that just released in the store this week. Today, we’re combining all of the suite elements to create this lovely birthday card.

We get started with a base of Cloud Cover cardstock, which provides a nice contrast with our focal panel background of Secret Sea. A sheet of the small white floral pattern from the Lovely Blossoms paper pack provides our backdrop for the focal panel. Our focal panel has lots of layers. We start with a piece of vellum machine embossed with the Lovely Stripes embossing folder included in the suite. This provides a subtle relief from our background and provides a soft landing for our bold focal backdrop of Secret Sea glimmer paper that has been cut using the Lovely Arrangements circle backdrop die. The floral elements use the coordinating Lovely Arrangements stamps and dies. The flowers are stamped in Cloud Cover on white and then cut with the coordinating die. We adhere them to our backdrop with dimensionals. The leaves are cut from Soft Sea Foam using the leaf die from the Delicate Pines die set and are tucked behind over flowers in opposing corners for balance. The sentiment from Lovely Arrangements is stamped in Secret Sea on white and then diecut with the small sentiment strip die from the coordinating die set. The sentiment sits atop a strip of the Cloud Cover broad ribbon placed in the center of our foliage. We finish things off with some Cloud Cover dots in opposing corners for just a flash of color and reflective sparkle.

I really love how this one came out. So soft and elegant. I’ll be taking a little break tomorrow as we travel out of town for a family funeral. But I’ll be back next week with some new products,

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