Category: Thankful

Botanicals · Thankful

Beautiful Thanks

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Saturday, friends! I hope you’re enjoying a restful catch-up from the busy week. It’s been a pretty lowkey day around here for us as we putter around with various things on the home to-do list.

This week we’re exploring the new Beautiful Gallery paper pack. And today is all about cutting up that beautiful paper to create some lovely thank-you cards.

Our first card begins with a base of Cloud Cover cardstock. I selected two different patterns from the Beautiful Gallery paper pack — the blue-hued roses and a grayish linen pattern. The rose paper sits most prominent as the focal piece, while the gray linen pattern serves as the backdrop for the sentiment. The sentiment from the Scalloped Blooms stamp set is stamped in Secret Sea. Both panels of patterned paper are mounted on a mat of Lunar Lustre paper, wrapped with Secret Sea ribbon that is tied in a bow, and then the full panel is affixed to the card front with dimensionals. A few In Color flat pearls serve as rose centers and then the sentiment is flanked with some Secret Sea moody palette dots to draw the eye to the sentiment.

The second card is assembled using the Atlantic Hearts Sketch 664 as inspiration for the layout. We get started with a base of Crumb Cake cardstock. I selected two different patterns from the Beautiful Gallery paper pack — a green plaster pattern and a damask sheet. The damask sheet is cut into the half circle and affixed to the green plaster backdrop. The panel is wrapped with gold striped ribbon and then affixed to the card front with dimensionals. The sentiment is cut from Peaceful Pine velveteen paper with the Words & Wishes dies and affixed to the card front with multipurpose glue. The brand NEW Gilded Wings Accents butterfly (set to release in July) along with the drusy embellishments draw the eye to the sentiment and focal section of our card.

As we gear up for Father’s Day, next week is all about dad. I hope you’ll tag along as we use all sorts of goodies from the stash to create some special projects for dad!

Product List Card 1
Cloud Cover 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 165621 ]
[165621]
$14.00
Beautiful Gallery 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 165196 ]
[165196]
$12.50
Lunar Lustre 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper [ 167199 ]
[167199]
$8.00
Scalloped Blooms Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [ 167639 ]
[167639]
$20.00
Secret Sea Classic Stampin' Pad [ 165285 ]
[165285]
$11.00
Secret Sea 3/8" (1 Cm) Bordered Open Weave Ribbon [ 166932 ]
[166932]
$8.50
2025–2027 In Color™ Flat Pearls [ 165192 ]
[165192]
$8.50
Moody Palette Glossy Dots [ 167180 ]
[167180]
$8.00
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Product List Card 2
Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 120953 ]
[120953]
$14.00
Beautiful Gallery 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 165196 ]
[165196]
$12.50
Velveteen Assortment 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper [ 167915 ]
[167915]
$12.00
Words & Wishes Dies (English) [ 167894 ]
[167894]
$38.00
Gold Striped 3/8" (1 Cm) Mesh Ribbon [ 165599 ]
[165599]
$8.00
Drusy Adhesive Backed Embellishments [ 164223 ]
[164223]
$9.00
Mini Stampin' Dimensionals [ 144108 ]
[144108]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Thankful

Gratefulness Knocking

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Howdy, everyone, and Happy Veterans’ Day to all who serve or have served in the US Armed Forces. We are ever so thankful for your faithful and dedicated service to this great nation. It is so easy for us to sit in the comfort of our daily lives, forgetting those who make it all possible and who serve without asking anything in return. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you!

And that brings us to this week’s design theme — gratitude. We’re using our crafty goodies to create designs that allow us to express our thanks and gratitude. Today’s clean and simple design combines the Country Woods paper and some of the foliage dies, like Label Me Grateful and Gathering Moments, to create our door of gratitude.

Our design gets start with a simple and neutral background of white cardstock. A panel of the white woodgrain pattern from the Country Woods paper pack serves as the wall in which our door is affixed. We create our door from a nice woodgrain from the Country Woods pack using one of the larger dies from the Everyday Arches set. The door is affixed to our background panel with dimensionals to give a sense of realism. We create our fall foliage spray using a combination of foliage dies and images, including Label Me Grateful and Gathering Moments, and cut them from fall colors of Cajun Craze and copper specialty paper. We tie our spray together with some Timid Tiger ribbon. The small sentiment under the spray is a portion of a sentiment in the Sentimental Framing set stamped in Early Espresso on Crumb Cake and then diecut with the smallest Traditional Labels die. A few Cajun Craze & gold dots finish things off with a spot of colorful twinkle.

As we make our designs together this week, do you have folks in mind to receive your gratitude cards? I have a few folks who immediately jump to mind and plan to put some happy mail in the box. I hope you’ll drop in tomorrow to see what products might get put together next for the special recipient I have in mind.

Product List
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166780 ]
[166780]
$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
Country Woods 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 163393 ]
[163393]
$12.50
Oxidized Copper 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper [ 162190 ]
[162190]
$8.00
Sentimental Framing Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [ 165475 ]
[165475]
$24.00
Gathering Moments Cling Stamp Set (English) [ 165970 ]
[165970]
$26.00
Traditional Labels Dies [ 165864 ]
[165864]
$29.00
Everyday Arches Dies [ 164629 ]
[164629]
$29.00
Label Me Grateful Dies [ 166111 ]
[166111]
$24.00
Gathering Moments Dies [ 165979 ]
[165979]
$37.00
Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147116 ]
[147116]
$9.00
Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147114 ]
[147114]
$9.00
Cajun Craze & Gold Dots [ 165984 ]
[165984]
$9.00
Timid Tiger 3/8" (1 Cm) Faux Linen Ribbon [ 165275 ]
[165275]
$8.00
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Thankful

Thanks Abounds

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you enjoyed your weekend. Although we were on the go most of the weekend doing the usual errands and chores, we got to enjoy some beautiful weather and time together. And sometimes that makes the most mundane of tasks a lot more enjoyable.

We’re on to a new design series this week, and it seems apropos to do some thankful reflection as Thanksgiving is quickly upon us. I don’t know about you, but outside of personal reflection on thankfulness this time of year, I also try to express words of thanks to others — be it friends, family, coworkers, or someone else who just deserves a word of thanks. So we’re getting started today with a lovely book binding fold that combines the Gathering Together paper with the Label Me Grateful dies and With You in Mind sentiment.

This lovely card comes together in a jiffy thanks to a layout that does all the work. We get started with a base of Early Espresso cardstock. Two different patterns from the Gathering Together paper pack serve as our card front and the inspiration for our sentiment panel. The sentiment panel base is a circle of vellum cut using the Spotlight on Nature dies. A variety of foliage is cut with the Label Me Grateful dies using an assortment of cardstock and specialty paper — Cajun Craze, Earthen Toned Metallic, and Country Woods. The sentiment from With You in Mind is heat embossed in copper on Very Vanilla cardstock and then hand cut with paper snips. The foliage and sentiments are layered on dimensionals over a twist of Mossy Meadow & gold trim. And we finish things off with a few green sparkling sequins.

What a perfect little card to tell someone they’re appreciated! I hope you’ll drop in tomorrow to see where our gratitude takes us for tomorrow’s crafty adventures!

Product List
Early Espresso 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 119686 ]
[119686]
$14.00
Very Vanilla 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166784 ]
[166784]
$14.00
Cajun Craze 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 119684 ]
[119684]
$14.00
Earthen Toned Metallic 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper [ 165901 ]
[165901]
$7.50
Country Woods 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 163393 ]
[163393]
$12.50
Gathering Together 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper [ 165969 ]
[165969]
$16.50
Vellum 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper [ 167099 ]
[167099]
$10.00
With You In Mind Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [ 164747 ]
[164747]
$20.00
Versamark Pad [ 102283 ]
[102283]
$9.50
Metallics Wow! Embossing Powder [ 165678 ]
[165678]
$21.00
Label Me Grateful Dies [ 166111 ]
[166111]
$24.00
Spotlight On Nature Dies [ 163580 ]
[163580]
$35.00
Mossy Meadow & Gold 1/4" (6.4 Mm) [ 166158 ]
[166158]
$9.50
Traditional Sparkling Sequins [ 165875 ]
[165875]
$8.00
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Fall · Thankful

Amazing Leaves

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Fall is my favorite season of the year. Thus far, Texas isn’t really cooperating. It’s unseasonably warm for November and the leaves have only just started to hint at changing color. I’m ready for sweater weather and a big pile of leaves in the yard!

This week, we’re working within the theme of thankfulness. Aside from this time of year lending itself to this type of reflection, it just really feels like we all need a little reminder to slow down and appreciate all of the little things. Even when we don’t have it all, there are so many small ways we are living in the overflow of God’s grace and goodness.

For today’s card design, I took inspiration from the usual color palette of fall foliage that we see in our area. I really love the combination of foliage color and texture in today’s design.

We get started with a base of Early Espresso cardstock. Our leaf patterned focal panel is matted with lots of shimmer between the Oxidized Copper specialty paper and the Old Olive glimmer paper. For the focal panel, I inked the Leaf Collection background stamp with a combination of Blackberry Bliss, Copper Clay, Cherry Cobbler, and Mossy Meadow ink and stamped on Very Vanilla cardstock. I then embossed with the Changing Leaves embossing folder. I used gold ink to bring out the embossing and add a sparkly sheen to the leaves. The sentiment from the Changing Leaves stamp set is heat embossed in gold on a piece of Early Espresso that was embossed with the Leaf Fall embossing folder and then diecut with the Nested Essentials dies. Another rub of some gold ink helps bring out the pattern in the sentiment panel and match the sheen of our focal panel. A twist of the Natural Tones linen thread and some gold Blooming Pearls add the final touches.

Next week we’re going to take a trek through the trees and see what we can find. Hope you will tag along.

Sketchy Fridays · Thankful

Sketchy Fridays: Tweet Thanks

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

We’ve made it to another Friday, and you know what that means? It’s time for another Sketchy Fridays!

Each week we’ll be using a card sketch to design our featured card. Right now, we’re working through a full series of designs using the card sketches found in current Stampin’ Up! catalogs.

This week’s card is based on Sketch #22 in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog and features a whole assortment of products. We’re pairing our sketch with the Thoughtful Journey and Nests of Winter papers, the Timber embossing folder, and Simply Said stamps along with our thankfulness theme to create today’s card.

Today, I used our sketch more as a guide than an absolute. That’s the best part about using sketches to design cards—they get you started but don’t have to box you in!

Our card starts with a base of Early Espresso cardstock. The focal panel combines a sheet of Gray Granite embossed with the Birch Wood embossing folder with a mat of Blackberry Bliss. Our two focal panels are cut from a sheet of Thoughtful Journey patterned paper using the Nested Essentials dies. I fussy cut the bird from a sheet of Nests of Winter paper and adhered over the focal panel with dimensionals. The sentiment from Simply Said is heat embossed with gold on a Blackberry Bliss panel diecut using the Peaceful Season dies. A few gold iridescent foil gems and Blackberry Bliss transparent dots finish things off with pops of interest.

We’ll be finishing out our thankfulness theme tomorrow. I hope you’ll pop in.

Products used in today’s card:
Early Espresso, Blackberry Bliss, Gray Granite cardstock
Thoughtful Journey, Nests of Winter DSP
Nested Essentials, Peaceful Season dies
Birch Wood embossing folder
Simply Said stamps
Gold embossing powder
Transparent dots, iridescent foil gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Product List
Early Espresso 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[119686]
$11.50
Blackberry Bliss 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[133675]
$11.50
Gray Granite 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[146983]
$11.50
Thoughtful Journey 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper
[163303]
$12.50
Nests Of Winter 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper
[164183]
$12.50
Birch Wood 3 D Embossing Folder
[164069]
$12.00
Nested Essentials Dies
[161597]
$34.00
Peaceful Season Dies (English)
[164020]
$34.00
Simply Said Mix & Match Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)
[163756]
$17.00
Versamark Pad
[102283]
$9.50
Metallics Wow! Embossing Powder
[165678]
$21.00
Transparent Adhesive Backed Dots
[163432]
$8.00
Iridescent Foil Gems
[162842]
$8.00
Stampin' Dimensionals
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Thankful

Good Heart

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

I always find it interesting to analyze the overall sentiment people share on social media after elections. From gloating to despair, the feelings that people share very much run the full spectrum. In some election cycles, as a voter, I feel like a “winner” while in others I feel at a loss. And isn’t that the cycle of life. But the most important thing that I always like to carry with me is that, no matter what, my voice matters. And even more importantly, my actions on a day-to-day basis matter. Do my actions convey my deeply-held beliefs? That’s our point to ponder today.

This week, we’re working within a theme of thankfulness. And I really loved this sentiment from the Frosted Forest stamp set — no beauty shines brighter than that of a good heart. Let’s carry that thought with us today!

We get started on today’s card with a base of Cajun Craze cardstock. Our focal background is a sheet of the lovely Thoughtful Journey designer series paper that has been matted with a piece of Peach Pie glimmer paper. Our sentiment from Frosted Forest is stamped in Early Espresso on white cardstock and then diecut with the Autumn Leaves stamps. I had a collection of leaves diecut from some lovely shimmery paper (all retired) that really bring out all of the subtle colors in this piece of patterned paper, so I scattered them behind the sentiment and made a little pile on the ground. For a little extra pop of sparkle and to really draw the eye to our sentiment, I added some drusy embellishments.

I hope you’ll pop in tomorrow as we use a sketch to design a card, keeping with our thankfulness theme.

Products used in today’s card:
Cajun Craze, Basic White cardstock
Thoughtful Journey, In Color shimmer DSP
Frosted Forest stamps
Autumn Leaves dies
Drusy embellishments
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Thankful

Give Thanks in Everything

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Our design theme for this week is thankfulness. And on this post-election day, I can certainly give thanks for the ability to vote. How fortunate we are as Americans to be able to voice our opinions by choosing our leaders on all levels. What a tremendous privilege this is!

Back to the crafty task at hand. This week, my son actually helped me choose a theme. And I think it works perfectly for inspiring designs of all kinds. Today’s card borrows a fall color palette to deliver our message of thanks.

We get started with a base of Early Espresso cardstock. The backdrop for our focal panel is a piece of Cajun Craze diecut with the largest rectangle from the Radiating Stitches dies. I just love the pop the detail in this die lends to this card design. Our focal panel is a sheet of Early Espresso cardstock that has been embossed using the Leaf Fall embossing folder and then cut to fit within the center of the Cajun Craze panel. To add more depth and dimension to the embossing, I rubbed gold ink over the raised portions with my finger and then wiped the excess across the full panel so it has a slight gold sheen all the way across. To really bring this forward, the embossed panel is matted with textured gold specialty paper. The sentiment from the Courage & Faith stamp set is stamped in Copper Clay on Crumb Cake cardstock and then diecut with the Autumn Leaves die using the extension method. A faux bow of Cherry Cobbler & Gold satin ribbon is adhered behind the sentiment panel which is popped up over our focal panel using dimensionals. I added a few Earth Tone shimmer gems on either side of the sentiment to draw the eye and add a little sparkle.

Tune in tomorrow to see where our thankfulness theme takes us.

Products used in today’s card:
Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake cardstock
Textured gold SP
Leaf Fall embossing folder
Courage & Faith stamps
Autumn Leaves, Radiating Stitches dies
Cherry Cobbler & Gold satin ribbon
Natural tones shimmer gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Thankful

Meditation on Thanks

susanfoxbowen1 Comment

Happy Stampin’ Up Online Exclusives release day, everyone! Have you checked out the new goodies in the store yet? In addition to the new Online Exclusives, two new kits also launched today. So much exciting stuff!

This week, our projects are revolving around the theme of thankfulness. And today, we’re getting started with a home decor item and, for grinsies, I thought I would share a little backstory on how this particular project came about.

Each evening before dinner, we have the kiddo recite a blessing. We’ve gone through a number of them over the years. Most recently, we have been meditating on a scripture and that scripture has become our prayer over meals. I made a little decorative table placard that had our prayer printed. A happy little side effect of this practice has been that we’ve all now memorized that scripture. So we’re going to periodically change the scripture we use to pray over our meals. Today’s project is our new daily prayer.

The frame for today’s project came from a Luv 2 Stamp group get-together project, but I have found similar 6×6 frames on Amazon. I used a sheet of the lovely Splendid Autumn designer series paper as the backdrop for our daily prayer. I typed up our prayer on the computer and printed on a sheet of white cardstock and then cut it down to size. The prayer is matted in Moody Mauve shimmer paper and textured gold specialty paper. The scripture is mounted to the mounts with dimensionals and then the full panel is adhered to the background panel with dimensionals. I added a few Drusy embellishments near the prayer to draw the eye and add another element of sparkle.

For me, this particular project was about keeping things pretty simple because the prayer was the most important part of the project. I think it turned out nicely. And I’m looking forward to creating a rotation of prayers that we will use.

Tune in tomorrow for another take on our thankfulness theme.

Products used in today’s card:
6×6 frame (find them on Amazon)
Splendid Autumn DSP
Moody Mauve shimmer paper
Textured gold specialty paper
Drusy embellishments
Dimensionals
Adhesives