Hot Foil

Violets & Butterflies

August 8, 2026 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy weekend, everyone! I don’t know about you, but I have a lot on the weekend to-do list. I’ve crossed quite a few things off already but still have quite a bit to go.

But I took a nice crafty break to try out my new Stampin’ Up! Hot Foil System that launched last month. Can I be honest with you? I’ve actually been a little afraid to use it. *looking around* Don’t ask me why because it is SO easy to use! But there was just something intimidating about it to me and it had me frozen in my tracks. So if you ever find yourself there, you are not alone. I’ve been watching all sorts of videos and finally just sat down and gave it a try. Easy peasy! So we’re pairing up two sets of hot foil dies — Butterfly Flight and Classic Greetings — with the beautiful Violet Dreams paper to create this project.

We get started with a very neutral base of white cardstock. I tried all sorts of colors back there but love how this made all of the elements pop so much better. The backdrop is the Secret Sea polka dot pattern from the Violet Dreams paper pack. The focal panel starts with a leftover panel I had diecut with the Branching Out dies for another project and just so happens to be the back side of the background panel. After getting both panels adhered to the card front, I wrapped the whole sheebang with some Fresh Freesia satin ribbon and then adhered the decorative panel (from the coordinating Violet Dreams precut pieces) with dimensionals.

Here’s where the fun part comes in — hot foil! I kept my foiling super simple since it was the first roll of the dice. I used the thinking of you sentiment from the Classic Greetings die set to create the sentiment by foiling in gold on Highland Heather cardstock and then cutting it out with the coordinating die. It’s adhered on our decorative panel with a layer of dimensionals. Next up are the butterflies using the Butterfly Flight hot foil die set. I lightened things up a bit by using Fresh Freesia cardstock to have a hue of contrast and help the butterflies stand out amongst the business of the patterns and elements on the card front. They’re adhered with varying layers of dimensionals above the sentiment. A few adhesive blooms in a darker shade of purple finish things off.

I’m looking forward to having a little bit more time to really play around with the foiling system. And the new foiling goodies that will arrive in the studio SOON! I’ll try to share some of the bonus foiling projects over on the socials. Next week we’re gonna be in the woods. I hope you’ll come along for the hike!

Product List

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[166780]

$14.00

Fresh Freesia 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[155613]

$14.00

Highland Heather 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[146986]

$14.00

Violet Dreams 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper

[168186]

$17.00

Branching Out Dies

[165775]

$29.00

Butterfly Flight Hot Foil Dies

[170045]

$36.00

Classic Greetings Hot Foil Dies

[170042]

$36.00

Fresh Freesia 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Satin Ribbon

[168199]

$10.00

Adhesive Backed Blooms

[168198]

$8.50

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Gold Stampin' Hot Foil Rolls

[170066]

$12.00

Stampin' Hot Foil System Na & Craft Class

[170009]

$160.00

Add All to Cart

Father's Day

Relax & Enjoy, Dad

June 10, 2026 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome back, crafty friends! We’re half way through this week. How’s your week going so far?

This week our designs are all about dad as we prepare for Father’s Day. Today is for the guys who enjoy the water. We pairing up the new Splash & Relax bundle with some fun older papers from the stash.

We get started with a base of Balmy Blue cardstock. A sheet of the Thoughtful Journey 6×6 paper serves as the backdrop for our focal panel. The base of the focal panel is a sheet of the Beautiful Bokeh paper that is cut with the Branching Out dies. Using the Splash & Relax stamps, we stamp two tubes in a combo of Cloud Cover and BlackBerry Bliss and Misty Moonlight and Pretty Peacock. The two innertubes are cut out with the coordinating die. The sentiment is a combination of the Say Something ephemera and the relax and enjoy stamp from the Splash & Relax stamp set. The variety of colors brings a sense of whimsical fun to the card. We finish things off with some shimmering dots for a pop of twinkle.

Tomorrow we’re headed to the woods to honor the outdoorsy dads out there. I hope you’ll drop in.

Product List

Balmy Blue 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[146982]

$14.00

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[166780]

$14.00

Thoughtful Journey 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[163303]

$12.50

Beautiful Bokeh 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[164607]

$12.50

Saying Something Mix & Match Ephemera Pack (English)

[163761]

$8.00

Branching Out Dies

[165775]

$29.00

Splash & Relax Bundle

[167903]

$44.00

Cloud Cover Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

[165279]

$6.00

Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad

[147092]

$9.00

Misty Moonlight Classic Stampin' Pad

[153118]

$11.00

Pretty Peacock Classic Stampin’ Pad

[150083]

$11.00

Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad

[147051]

$9.00

Shimmering Dots

[167949]

$8.50

Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

[144108]

$4.25

Add All to Cart

Botanicals

Beautiful Gallery Prayer

June 3, 2026 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Howdy, friends, and happy hump day! We’re halfway through this week already. And honestly, I’m a little bit over it. I’m finding it hard to be the one working while everyone else in the house is enjoying summer break without me. How about that for a little pity party? *snicker* Seriously though, it’s hard being a working mom, feeling like you’re missing all the good stuff. But such is life sometimes and we make the most of the time we have.

I’ve finally landed on a design theme for this week. We’ll be working with the Beautiful Gallery 6×6 papers. This paper pack is so beautiful and offers so many different styles and feels. So we’re going to try all the things this week as we work to show this paper’s versatility. We’re keeping it super simple with an easy home decor project to get started (because all of these papers are so beautiful and hard to cut up!).

We get started with a full sheet of paper. I chose the sheet with the rose limbs that stretch across the paper. Since this is going to sit on our table as our next dinner prayer, I chose a scripture that is fitting for the season and printed it on a quarter sheet of Blushing Bride cardstock (only because I totally boogered up the original sheet of Petal Pink I had chosen). Then I used the smallest Branching Out die to cut out the scripture using the extension method. Using the gold striped mesh ribbon, I created a large bow and affixed it behind the sentiment panel and then affixed the sentiment panel to the patterned paper background with dimensionals. Some drusy embellishments on either side in opposing corners finish things off with the perfect amount of sparkle. I’m using another one of my favorite 6×6 Amazon frames to hold the finished product.

Tomorrow we’re going to create a scene card. I hope you’ll drop in and check it out!

Product List

Blushing Bride 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[131198]

$9.25

Beautiful Gallery 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[165196]

$12.50

Branching Out Dies

[165775]

$29.00

Gold Striped 3/8" (1 Cm) Mesh Ribbon

[165599]

$8.00

Drusy Adhesive Backed Embellishments

[164223]

$9.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Add All to Cart

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

Botanicals · florals · Online Exclusives

Floral Hello

March 5, 2026 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

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

Clean and Simple · On Display

Just for You

December 30, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Tuesday, everybody. I still find it hard to figure out what day of the week it is after being home sick and just the holidays generally. Anybody else? Slowly but surely we’ll get back in the groove. But not before another holiday interrupts our week!

This week we’re playing with some of my new crafty goodies that arrived. And we’re keeping it simple again today with the new On Display stamp & die bundle. All of the little images in this set make it easy to make quick, clean & simple cards, which is super helpful when you’re short on time but don’t want your card to show short on thoughtfulness. Today we’re pairing up On Display with the current Product of the Month True Blue Florals paper to create this cutie.

We get started with a base of Balmy Blue cardstock and we’re using the floral pattern (that reminds me of my grandmother’s wallpaper) from the True Blue Florals paper pack as our backdrop. I wrapped this panel with some Misty Moonlight linen thread to tie all of our hues of blue together. The focal panel is cut from white cardstock with the smallest die in the Branching Out set and then matted with Misty Moonlight glimmer paper from the Peaceful Garden glimmer pack that’s diecut with the next size up. I stamped the sentiment from the On Display set directly onto the focal panel in the top-right corner. Our potted plants are cut with the On Display dies with a combination of Cajun Craze, Mossy Meadow, Oxidized Copper, and Shaded Spruce. They’re adhered onto our focal panel with dimensionals and then the full panel is adhered to our card front with dimensionals, as well. We finish things off with some Misty Moonlight flowers from the Hues of Blue flower set, along with some Secret Sea charming shimmer dots.

Doesn’t this feel like a picture in a picture? I just love that effect. And I love how the backdrop feels calm and familiar, just like my Granny’s house. This card would be perfect to welcome someone into a new home or simply to just say hello.

Tune in tomorrow as we take a peek in Granny’s curio cabinet. It will be fun to see what we find!

Product List

Balmy Blue 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[146982]

$14.00

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[166780]

$14.00