Always There

April 29, 2026 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome back, everyone! So glad you chose to stop by today. This week, were taking a random tour of the myriad of projects on my desk as I’m in the throes of creating product for an upcoming craft show and am also thinking ahead to both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

Today we’re using the brand new Silly Old Bear patterned paper (that will release next week) to create this Father’s Day card. I love the ready-made panels that are included in this paper pack. There are two separate sheets that give you instant card panels when cut apart.

We get started with a base of Crumb Cake cardstock for this one. The background panel is a sheet of the Nature Walk paper. I love the subtle grid pattern that this sheet provides. The Silly Old Bear paper gives us our focal panel, which is cut out with the largest Perennial Postage die. The focal panel is wrapped in gold and white baker’s twine before it’s mounted on our background sheet with dimensionals. The sentiment is from the Sweet Words & Labels set is stamped on Crumb Cake in Early Espresso and then diecut with one of the coordinating dies. We finish things off with some iridescent opal rounds for a hint of twinkle.

I hope you’ll hop back by tomorrow to check out a very special fun fold design!

Products used in this card:
Crumb Cake cardstock
Nature Walk, Silly Old Bear (coming soon!) DSP
Perennial Postage dies
Sweet Words & Labels (coming soon!) stamp & die bundle
Early Espresso ink
Opal rounds
Gold & white baker’s twine
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon

Relax & Enjoy Today

April 27, 2026 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome to a brand new week! The weekend went by in a flash here. We had lots of stuff going on between all of the kiddo’s activities and the usual weekend around-the-house chores. What about you? What did your weekend look like?

This week, we’re off to a new design series — a NO theme week. As I’m prepping for a late spring craft show and looking ahead to both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, we’re going to take a look at a very random assortment of projects. First up is some fun tabletop home decor using the new Rolling Waves stamps & dies.

This scene is built on a sheet of Pecan Pie 6×6 cardstock. I still have a stash of the Oh So Ombré 6×6 retired paper pack that had the perfect sheet of turquoise-colored paper fading to white that fit the bill perfectly for the ocean water in this scene. I used the Rolling Waves dies to cut the edge of the paper toward the light end and then cut the detailed portion of the wave from white cardstock and another die from the set. Once I knew where the water’s edge was going to be, I stamped the sand detailing in Crumb Cake and Gray Granite with the stamps from the Rolling Waves set. The water dies don’t quite reach across a 6×6 sheet, so I used the palm leaves to cover the exposed portion. The leaves are cut from Granny Apple Green cardstock and then layered with dimensionals. The umbrella is a combination of white and Cloud Cover with an opal dot as the knob on top. Some shells are scattered along the beach and are cut from Flirty Flamingo and white. The sentiment combines the Notes & Totes relax & enjoy stamp heat embossed in white with the today from the Time for Celebration ephemera pack that is covered with Wink of Stella. I added some yellow opal rounds on either side of the sentiment for a little hint of sunshine.

This turned out even cuter than I had hoped. I’m thinking it will be the perfect summertime gift that just might catch someone’s eye when they stroll through my booth. What do you think?

Coming Soon

Keep Looking Up

April 25, 2026 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome to the weekend! We made it. This is one of those weeks where I’m glad to see the weekend but already wishing I had more time to do all the home-things I put off to the weekend AND still get a chance to rest & recharge. But sometimes it doesn’t really seem to be in the cards to do both.

We’re still working our way through the patterns & textures design series. And as soon as I saw the patterns included in the new pack of Silly Old Bear paper, I knew I had to use it to make a card for this design series! Two patterns in the pack include a sheet of small scenes, like the one I used in today’s card, which make quick & easy work of a card. We’re pairing up Silly Old Bear with the Branching Out dies, which are on the last chance list, and some of the Woodgrain Wonders paper for this super simple encouragement card.

We get started with a neutral base of Crumb Cake cardstock. A sheet of the darker woodgrain from the Woodgrain Wonders paper pack serves as the backdrop for our focal scene. The focal panel is cut from a sheet of the Silly Old Bear paper using the largest die in the Branching Out die set. The panel is adhered with dimensionals over a strip of green patterned paper from the Nature Walk paper pack. The sentiment from Sweet Words & Labels is stamped in Early Espresso on white cardstock and then cut with the small banner die from the coordinating die set. The leaf and acorns are also cut with dies from that set. The sentiment is adhered with dimensionals. A few metallic gems in opposing corners finish things off.

I love how all of the subtle patterns in the papers work together to create a feeling of walking through the woods. Sometimes patterns are bold and loud, while other times they’re backup players in the overall design. Either way, patterns are a great way to convey a message in your designs.

Products used in this card:
Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, Early Espresso, Basic White cardstock
Nature Walk, Woodgrain Wonders, Silly Old Bear (coming soon!) DSP
Branching Out dies
Sweet Words & Labels (coming soon!) stamp & die bundle
Early Espresso ink
Metallic gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon

The Right Words

April 23, 2026 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome back, friends! I’m glad you decided to stop by. Do you ever have days that just get off on the wrong foot — with one snafu after another? It started out as one of those days for me, but thankfully, everything was a bit more uphill after lunch. I’ll definitely be glad to see this week in the rearview!

We’re slowly but surely going to work our way through a patterns & textures design series. And today I’m sharing a sneak peek of some new paper that literally has texture — velvet, to be precise. The new Velvet Meadow patterned (and textured) paper is taking center stage in this fun fold sympathy card, along with a few other new products.

We get started with a base of Berry Burst cardstock. It’s scored to give a standard size panel inside but with offset folding panels for the card front. I really love to use this fun fold with busy patterned papers. It allows the sheet to sit front and center while also breaking up the pattern for some eye relief. The sheet of new Velvet Meadow patterned paper is matted with Pretty in Pink soft shimmer paper, which really helps the softer details in the paper pop. The sentiment from The Right Words stamp set is stamped in Secret Sea on a panel of white cut with the More Messages die. (Hint: I usually cut a quarter sheet of cardstock with the More Messages die to create a stash of sentiment panels for easy grab-and-go sentiments.) its mounted with dimensionals on a sheet of new pink Sunset Shimmer vellum and Berry Burst Garden Textures paper that are both cut with the new Sweet Words & Labels dies. I made a big twist of Berry Burst shiny ribbon and adhered it to the back of the sentiment panels for before adhering it to the left panel of the card front with dimensionals. Pearlized faceted circles and frosted iridescent dots finish things off with pops of color.

Although not pictured (because I completely forgot to photograph it), the inside is decorated with leftover strips of the Velvet Meadow paper. And the message panel includes a coordinating sentiment from The Right Words stamp set.

Sympathy cards are always hard, but combining products in a way that feels like a paper hug is always worth the extra effort!

Products used:

Berry Burst, Basic White cardstock

Garden textures, pastel shimmer DSP

Velvet Meadow DSP, Sunset Shimmer vellum, Sweet Words & Labels dies (May releases)

The Right Words stamps

More Messages dies

Secret Sea ink

Pearlized faceted dots, frosted iridescent dots

Berry Burst shiny ribbon

Dimensionals

Coming Soon

On My Desk

April 22, 2026 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Howdy, friends! Did you miss me? I’ve sure missed being in my studio! It’s been a crazy week around here with a super busy work schedule. So every free minute I’ve had has been spent with the family or catching much-needed Zzzzzz. But I wanted to drop in to let you know that I haven’t forgotten about our patterns & textures design series. And I’m planning to hop right back into it once the ol’ work schedule allows.

In the meantime, I wanted to share with you a little sneak peek at the brand new goodies that arrived — all from the new release that drops in just a little under 2 weeks.

I’ve broken my shopping list into a couple of orders and this is part one. And I can’t WAIT to have some time to start playing with all this good stuff. So hopefully you can hang with me as I craft in fits and spurts for the next couple of weeks! We’ll be exploring all this new loot and picking out part two!

Coming Soon · Online Exclusives · Sketchy Fridays

Sketchy Fridays: Little Howl-lo

February 27, 2026 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Friday! We finally made it. You know, it’s so funny. I was in a work meeting today and we were all talking about how the last two weeks have felt like a month and it’s just been CRAZY. Anybody else been in the boat? BUT we’re finally to the weekend and get a little breather.

And I thought this was the perfect opportunity to have a Sketchy Friday. What do you think? For those of you who are new here, Sketchy Fridays is a weekly series where we use a card sketch to design our featured card.

Funny enough, I was drawn to a sketch that I used the last time I hosted a Sketchy Fridays post. Clearly, it must be a good one! Soooo this week’s card is based on the Freshly Made Sketches #706 sketch. As I was trying to find a sketch to go with the idea in my head to best show off the adorable new bundle called Cutest Crew, this one caught my eye. So here we go.

We get started with a neutral base of Crumb Cake cardstock. Our focal panel sits on a background of the brand new Garden Textures foil that will release next week. The base of the focal panel is a combination of a neutral geometric pattern from the Autumn Toile paper pack with a border of Earthen Toned metallic paper and adhered to the card front with dimensionals. The focal panel starts with a banner of Crumb Cake cardstock cut with the Nested Essentials dies. We heat emboss our sentiment from the new Cutest Crew stamp set in copper. Our cute band of doggos is from the new Cutest Crew stamp & die bundle releasing next week. We start by stamping the band of merry furballs onto white in black ink and then color them with an assortment of Stampin’ Blends, including Crumb Cake, Basic Gray, Basic Black, and a few others. The puppers are adhered to our focal panel with dimensionals. The full focal panel is adhered to the larger base with dimensionals over some Gray Granite variegated trim and Cloud Cover baker’s twine from the 2025 Advent Calendar. We finish thigs off with some opal rounds on opposite corners of our sentiment to draw our eyes across our adorable scene.

We’re rounding out our critter series tomorrow. Do you have any critter favorites that might be in my crafty stash? Drop me some suggestions and see if yours makes the cut!

Product List

Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[120953]

$14.00

Earthen Toned Metallic 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper

[165901]

$7.50

Autumn Toile 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[165882]

$12.50

12 Days Of Crafting Advent Calendar (English)

[167335]

$99.00

Nested Essentials Dies

[161597]

$34.00

Versamark Pad

[102283]

$9.50

Metallics Wow! Embossing Powder

[165678]

$21.00

Opal Rounds Assortment

[163298]

$8.50

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Add All to Cart

Coming Soon · L2S Group Instahop · Online Exclusives

Purrrfect Day

February 26, 2026February 25, 2026 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Thursday, friends! We are almost through this week and on to the weekend. I’m super excited to bring you today’s card design because we’re getting sneak peeks at several new Stampin’ Up! goodies coming your way next week with the new Online Exclusives release. This week, our design theme is all about our favorite critters and there are some adorable critters coming your way! We’re pairing up the brand NEW Cutest Crew stamp & die bundle with the Easter Joy foil papers to bring together this adorably cheerful card. Let’s see how it all comes together!

We get started with a nice neutral base of Crumb Cake cardstock. It works well to bring out the pastels in the patterned papers without competing with them. (And trust me, I tried all kinds of colors as the base layer and the neutral worked the best!). Our background layer is a fun multicolor cross pattern from the Easter Joy foiled paper pack. There’s just enough peeking out around the edges to add some interest and pizzazz without taking away from the focal panel scene.

And speaking of our focal panel. We get started with the focal panel mat which is a brand new patterned foil paper coming your way next week in the Garden Textures foil pack. This panel is cut with the largest arch in the Everyday Arches die set. I chose the Blueberry Bushel sheet to help our focal panel stand out against our patterned background, and it also works to help the pastels in our scene pop. Our focal panel on which we’re building our scene is one of the ready-made panels in the Easter Joy paper pack. I used the next-smallest die in the Everyday Arches set to cut it out.

And then we get started with our cute kitties who are enjoying a romp on the grassy hill chasing butterflies. These adorable felines are part of the new Cutest Crew stamp set & die bundle releasing next week. I stamped the kittens on white cardstock and then used a combination of Stampin’ Blends to color them before using the coordinating dies and paper snips to cut them out. They adhered to the scene with a combination of glue dots and dimensionals to give lots of depth of scene. The butterflies are cut from Lemon Lolly pastel shimmer paper and adhered with glue dots. The sentiment from the Unforgettable Times ephemera pack is adhered over Secret Sea bordered ribbon using dimensionals. A double layer helps the sentiment to really stand above everything else and catch the eye. We finish things off with some flowers from the new garden epoxy dots pack and some pops of twinkle with the pearlized faeted circles.

Isn’t this super fun? We’re going to get a peek at a few more critters tomorrow as we return to the lazy days of breezy summers. I hope you’ll drop in and see what cutie critters are up next!

Today’s card is a part of the Luv 2 Stamp Group Instagram Hop, which goes live at 9 AM Pacific Time (PST). Click here to head over to my Instagram feed at 9 AM Pacific/11 AM Central and check out what the other demos in our L2S Group have created for you today!

Product List

Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[120953]

$14.00

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[166780]

$14.00

Easter Joy 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper

[166939]

$16.50

Pastels Shimmer 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper

[167198]

$10.00

Unforgettable Times Mix & Match Specialty Ephemera Pack (English)

[166987]

$8.50

Everyday Arches Dies

[164629]

$29.00

Jet Black Stāzon Ink Pad

[101406]

$10.50

Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154882]

$11.00

Basic Black Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154843]

$11.00

Pumpkin Pie Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154897]

$11.00

Calypso Coral Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154881]

$11.00

Smoky Slate Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154904]

$11.00

Pearlized Faceted Circles

[166978]

$8.00

Secret Sea 3/8" (1 Cm) Bordered Open Weave Ribbon

[166932]

$8.50

Mini Glue Dots

[103683]

$7.25

Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

[144108]

$4.25

Add All to Cart

Coming Soon

Here for You

January 5, 2026January 4, 2026 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Monday, friends! Did you have a productive weekend? We ticked quite a few things off the to-do list. And then there’s still quite a bit left to do. Isn’t that how it always goes? A never-ending to-do list, it seems.

Even with all of the household to-dos, I still found some time to play in the studio with new stampin’ goodies. I’m really digging into the new releases that will go live in the shop tomorrow (1/6). You guys are going to love them! This week, we’re going to playing with the Lovely Blossoms suite. This gorgeous suite of SU! products includes patterned paper, stamps, dies, an embossing folder, ribbon, and embellishments. I love the cool hues of this suite! And *bonus* one of the patterned papers includes a side of mixed-size images that make quick work of a card front. And we’re using one of those today.

Today, we’re keeping things pretty simple. We get started with a base of Secret Sea cardstock. The background layer is the striped pattern from the Traditions of Christmas paper pack. I cut apart the image sheet in the Lovely Blossoms paper pack and used one of the large images. To make things interesting, I decided to cut it down with the Everyday Arches dies and cut a mat from a sheet of the silver Peaceful Garden glimmer paper with the next-up arch die. The sentiment is from the new (coordinating) Lovely Arrangements stamp set and is stamped in Secret Sea right on top of the focal image panel. The whole panel, including mat, is adhered to the card front with dimensionals. And we finish everything off with a bow of Misty Moonlight & Silver ribbon and some of the new Misty Moonlight sparkle dots.

This card comes together in a jiffy thanks to the ready-made card front panel. We’re going to use another panel tomorrow but in a dressed-up version. I hope you’ll pop in and check it out!

Product List

Secret Sea 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[165624]

$14.00

Traditions Of Christmas 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper

[165853]

$16.50

Peaceful Garden 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Glimmer Paper

[165929]

$10.50

Everyday Arches Dies

[164629]

$29.00

Secret Sea Classic Stampin' Pad

[165285]

$9.00

Misty Moonlight & Silver Edged 1/2" (1.3 Cm) Ribbon

[165931]

$10.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Add All to Cart

Coming Soon · Product of the Month

Sunshine on the Porch

January 3, 2026 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome to the weekend, friends! I’ve started out my day in the craft room but have lots more on the to-do list since it’s a beautiful, sunny day here in North Texas. What about you? What are you getting up to today?

This week, we’ve been playing with some of my new crafty goodies. And we’ve started with the new On Display stamp & die bundle. The latter part of the week, we’ve paired this bundle with the new Gliding Garden Swing bundle that will release next week. And let me tell you, these two sets go together like peas & carrots! (And I don’t even like peas & carrots! *snicker*). Today, I’m also adding a little peek at a new ribbon and a new die set. Let’s take a closer look!

We get started with a base of Night of Navy cardstock, which works together perfectly with the current Product of the Month (leaving next week!) True Blue Florals patterned paper that gives us our background panel and grounding strip of white patterned paper. Adding to our grounding background is a circle pattern lattice from the new Lovely Arrangements die set. These pops of white provide the perfect lift from the dark background so that our scene really pops.

Speaking of our scene, we’re combining the new On Display bundle with the Gliding Garden Swing bundle to create our cozy porch scene. The swing set includes dies that allow you to create a bench rather than a swing, which is what we’ve done here using the Country Woods woodgrain paper. Our sweet kitty, stamped and cut with the On Display set, is cozied up next to the throw pillow, cut with the swing set. The little side table, cut with the swing dies, holds a little picture frame, cut with the On Display dies. We finish our scene with a few potted plants, which use both of our bundles. The sentiment from the Gliding Garden Swing set is stamped in Secret Sea on white cardstock and cut with the Stylish Shapes banner die and sits on top of a circle of Secret Sea glimmer paper cut with the Spotlight on Nature dies and a twist of the brand new gold & white ribbon. Some Secret Sea charming shimmer faceted dots finish things off with a dash of sparkle across the card front.

We’ll take some time in January to look at both of these bundles a little more closely. But next week, we’re going to be playing with some more goodies that will be available in the store on January 6th! So tune in for some more peeks at new product!

Product List

Night Of Navy 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[100867]

$14.00

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[166780]

$14.00

Secret Sea 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[165624]

$14.00

Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[120953]

$14.00

Cajun Craze 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[119684]

$14.00

Shaded Spruce 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[146981]

$14.00

Granny Apple Green 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[146990]

$14.00

Gold Foil Sheets

[132622]

$5.00

Country Woods 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[163393]

$12.50

Peaceful Garden 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Glimmer Paper

[165929]

$10.50

On Display Bundle (English)

[167306]

$56.50

Spotlight On Nature Dies

[163580]

$35.00

Stylish Shapes Dies

[159183]

$30.00

Secret Sea Classic Stampin' Pad

[165285]

$9.00

Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad

[147114]

$9.00

Jet Black Stāzon Ink Pad

[101406]

$10.50

Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

[144108]

$4.25

Charming Shimmer Faceted Dots

[166139]

$8.50

Add All to Cart

Coming Soon

Great Friend

January 2, 2026 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Friday, everybody! What’s on your weekend to-do list? For us, a lot is going to depend on the weather. But we definitely have some outside work to do while we’re having more springlike weather. And it’s time to swap out the holiday decor, which means making some trips to & from the storage unit.

This week, I’m having fun getting some of my new crafty goodies out. We’ve been working closely with the new On Display bundle. And now we’re weaving in the Gliding Garden Swing bundle, as well. These two sets pair beautifully thanks to similar scaling with the images, which allows easy scene-building cards. Today we’re also getting a sneak peek at the new Lovely Stripes embossing folder. Both the swing bundle and embossing folder will launch in my online store on January 6th.

Today, we’re having some tea on grandma’s porch. I used my Granny’s porch as inspiration for the setup. So we get started with a base of white cardstock and emboss half of it with the new Lovely Stripes embossing folder. The focal panel starts with a base of Cloud Cover cardstock cut with the largest Textured Notes die. I used the fence die from the Notes & Totes die set to build the porch. We start with the floor, which is planks of Crumb Cake cardstock. Then we cut white cardstock planks to build the porch railing. Both the flooring and railing are adhered directly to the focal panel so they are clearly at the back of our scene. Next up, we build our swing by stamping the swing image on white cardstock with Gray Granite ink and then diecut with the coordinating die from the Gliding Garden Swing set. I also cut just the seat portion from white woodgrain paper from the Country Woods paper pack. The swing is adhered with dimensionals. We add some pillows and our comfy cat to our swing. The pillows are cut from Pretty Peacock, Lost Lagoon, and Cloud Cover cardstock using a combination of dies from the On Display and Gliding Garden Swing die sets. The center pillow uses the upside-down cookie jar from the On Display set to add some variety to our pillow collection. Our kitty is stamped in Gray Granite and Crumb Cake and cut with the coordinating On Display die. These are all adhered onto our swing using a variety of heights of dimensionals to give lots of depth here. Our little garden table is cut from silver foil and we add a pitcher and glass of tea on top which are cut from vellum to give a more realistic see-through look. And no porch is complete without some potted plants. The pots are cut from Cajun Craze using the swing dies and then filled with foliage cut using a combination of the leaf bunches and purple flowers from the swing die set and the large-leaf plant from On Display. I used the smallest rectangle from the Textured Notes dies to cut the sentiment panel and stamped the sentiment from the Words of Beauty set in Blackberry Bliss ink. I used a leftover flower to the end to tie things together. And we finish things off with a dab of shimmer with the frosted iridescent gems.

Do you want to sit a spell on this porch and enjoy a nice cup of sweet tea? I know I sure do! Brings back fond memories, for sure! We’re going to be wrapping things up tomorrow in our little On Display-Gliding Garden Swing mini series. I hope you’ll drop by and see what images appear together next.

Product List

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[166780]

$14.00