Christmas Wishes

September 5, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Howdy, friends! Have this week’s card designs gotten you into the holiday spirit? Well, today’s card will have you smelling evergreens. *wink*

We’re using some of the new Stampin’ Up! holiday release products to create our clean & simple holiday card designs this week. And today, we’re pairing up the Joyful Days Memories & More card pack with the Christmas Tags & More paper pack with coordinating ephemera sheets and the Greetings for You ephemera pack. And what kind of card would it be if I didn’t include some sparkle? *grin*

We get started with this card with a base of Shaded Spruce cardstock. The background panel is a sheet of snowflake pattern Christmas Tags & More paper diecut with the largest Textured Notes die. The bottom of the panel is wrapped with Shaded Spruce sheer ribbon that is tied off with some gold thread (both now retired). Our focal panel is the smaller evergreen card from the Joyful Days card pack that is matted with some (retired) Shaded Spruce festive glimmer paper and mounted on dimensionals. I added some of the packages from the ephemera sheet included in the Christmas Tags & More pack and mounted them on varying levels of dimensionals for some realistic depth of scene. The tree baubles are some of the traditional sparkling sequins. We finish things off with a holiday sentiment from the Greetings for You ephemera pack and mount it with enough dimensionals to stand above the center focal point.

This is such a super simple design – so fun & so easy to put together. And don’t you think it’s just a lovely way to send some holiday cheer? Tomorrow we’re going to close out this week’s design series with a traditional evergreen wreath. I hope you’ll pop in and check it out.

Product List

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

[146981]

$14.00

Christmas Tags & More 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Mix & Match Specialty Designer Series Paper

[165907]

$12.50

Festive 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Glimmer Paper

[164106]

$12.00

Joyful Days Memories & More Card Pack

[165822]

$11.50

Textured Notes Dies

[165555]

$31.00

Greetings For You Mix & Match Ephemera Pack (English)

[166208]

$8.50

Traditional Sparkling Sequins

[165875]

$8.00

Shaded Spruce 1/2" (1.3 Cm) Satin & Sheer Ribbon

[164224]

$8.50

Gold Twisted Thread

[164603]

$7.50

Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

[144108]

$4.25

Mini Glue Dots

[103683]

$7.25

Add All to Cart

Wonderful Time

September 3, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

It is most definitely the most wonderful time of the year. Wanna know why? Two things: (1) it’s starting to feel like fall, which is my most favorite season; AND (2) it’s time for the new Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini Catalog!!! Have you checked out all the new goodies in the shop today? What’s on your shopping list? I’ve already shopped twice and still have a few more things I’m on the fence about.

This week, we’re creating very clean & simple holiday cards using the Joyful Days Memories & More card pack, Greetings for You ephemera pack, and the Christmas Tags & More 6×6 designer series paper pack with coordinating ephemera sheets. Today’s card is maybe just about the simplest design of the whole week. You can literally turn out 6 cards just. like. that.

Today’s card starts with a base of Crumb Cake cardstock. I selected the most wonderful time of year card from the Joyful Days pack and cut off just enough so it fits horizontally on the card front. Before adhering with dimensionals, I wrapped the decorative card with some (sadly retired) Cherry Cobbler & Gold satin ribbon tied with a nice, big bow. I finished it all off with a scattering of Pool Party sequins from the Traditional Sparkling sequins pack. Easy peasy!

Tomorrow we’re going to be creating a holiday card that has long legs. You’ll have to drop by to see what I mean. *wink*

Product List

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

[120953]

$14.00

Joyful Days Memories & More Card Pack

[165822]

$11.50

Traditional Sparkling Sequins

[165875]

$8.00

Cherry Cobbler & Gold 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Satin Ribbon

[164028]

$8.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Mini Glue Dots

[103683]

$7.25

Add All to Cart

Coming Soon · Holiday Mini Catalog

Merry & Bright Plaid

September 2, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

I don’t know about you, but I have a love-hate relationship with holiday weeks. We all love a short work week, but it always feels to me like I’m just squeezing in a lot more work into a shorter time period. That was definitely the case today anyway!

And I’ve been SO off on my days as of late that I was thinking today was the new product release day when it’s actually tomorrow….womp-womp! But it doesn’t dampen my enthusiasm for you to see all of the new stuff. I’m just sad you have to wait one more day.

Anywho, this week we’re getting another peek at some of the cute holiday products that will be available tomorrow. Our design focus this week is clean and simple holiday cards using the Joyful Days Memories & More card pack, the Greetings for You ephemera, and the Christmas Tags & More patterned paper pack with ephemera sheets included. So much good stuff! Today we’re mixing in an embossing folder.

Today’s card starts with a base of Cherry Cobbler cardstock. I had a leftover strip of light brown patterned cardstock from one of the sheets in the Christmas Tags & More pack which served as the jumping-off spot for the color palette and design for the rest of the card. I paired it up with a piece of Pecan Pie machine embossed with the Birch Wood embossing folder to create the backdrop for the focal panel. The focal panel backdrop is a combination of one of the smaller cards of plaid from the Joyful Days card pack and a plaid tag from the sheet of tags in the Christmas Tags & More pack. I chose the Merry & Bright circle sentiment from the Greetings for You ephemera pack and matted it with a banner of gold foil specialty paper and adhered it to the focal panel with several layers of dimensionals to be sure it really catches the eye. I finished things off with some gold sparkly sequins from the Traditional Sparkling Sequins pack so your eye catches some sparkles all the way across the card front.

I hope you’ll tune in tomorrow to see another clean & simple holiday card design.

Products used in today’s card:
Cherry Cobbler, Pecan Pie cardstock
Gold foil, Christmas Tags & More DSP
Greetings for You ephemera
Joyful Days Memories & More card pack
Birch Wood embossing folder
Traditional sparkling sequins
Dimensionals

Christmas · Sweet Jar

Jar Full of Cheer

August 7, 2025August 3, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

This week’s featured product is the Sweet Jar stamp and punch bundle by Stampin’ Up! And today’s card put the complimentary stamp set called Jar of Joy on full display. Because we couldn’t have jars with goodies without including the gingerbread men! I’m drawing on my stash of retired Take a Bow holiday paper for this design and I had the perfect scraps for this card.

We get started with a simple base of white cardstock. The background panel is a quarter panel of white that is machine embossed with the retired Cute Crochet embossing folder and then this is matted with the Real Red festive glimmer paper. I started with the tone-on-tone look but felt like the embossing got lost and the sparkly red is the perfect popper. The focal backdrop is a trio of strips from the Take a Bow patterned paper pack that was part of last year’s holiday release. These strips were the perfect combination of pattern and festive color. I wrapped the full panel with Real Red & White baker’s twine. We stamp our jar in green and then add the gingerbread scene. The lid is punched from a scrap of Shaded Spruce glimmer paper. I added some red & white twine and a peppermint to the lid for a coordinated festive touch. The sentiment from Jar of Joy is heat embossed in white on a sheet of Real Red and then diecut with the Nested Essentials banner die using the extension method. These elements are adhered to the card front on dimensionals. I added a few rhinestones and some extra peppermints to finish things off.

Tomorrow we’re going to be visiting a lesser-included holiday but I think you’re going to love the all-occasion twist. I hope you’ll pop in to check it out!

Product List

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[166780]

$14.00

Real Red 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[102482]

$14.00

Take A Bow 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[164309]

$12.50

Festive 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Glimmer Paper

[164106]

$12.00

Cute Crochet 3 D Embossing Folder

[163792]

$10.00

Nested Essentials Dies

[161597]

$34.00

Sweet Jar Builder Punch

[165506]

$26.00

Jar Of Joy Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

[166176]

$20.00

Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin' Pad

[147088]

$9.00

Cajun Craze Classic Stampin' Pad

[147085]

$9.00

Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad

[147084]

$9.00

Versamark Pad

[102283]

$9.50

Basics Wow! Embossing Powder

[165679]

$21.00

Real Red & White Baker's Twine

[164051]

$5.00

Real Red & White Adhesive Backed Peppermints

[164050]

$8.50

Rhinestone Basic Jewels

[144220]

$6.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Add All to Cart

Christmas · Gifting

Beary Cute Envelope

December 13, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Howdy, crafty friends! I got a little side-tracked yesterday with a cookie project and ran out of time to play in my crafty stash. I was trying out a new cookie recipe to take to a cookie exchange. And once again, I forgot how much I hate messing with the candy coating. I can never get it to melt right and then end up making a big mess. I guess the good thing about this particular recipe is that the cookies are supposed to resemble snowballs, and snowballs are lumpy. Soooooo my lumpy candy coating is perfect! Hahaha!

I’m still furiously working away on gift tags and gift holders. And today, I’m bringing you a super easy gift card holder that I ran across on Pinterest that uses a standard card base. I decided to pull together some of my retired favorites for this one because the paper is perfect for my intended recipient!

We get started with a base of Night of Navy cardstock. It’s scored at 1 1/4 inches, 4 inches, 6 inches, and 8 inches and then folded to create the center gift card pocket. I used a 2-inch circle punch to make the pull-out section in the center of the gift card pocket. The pocket itself is held together with tear-and-tape. The Beary Christmas patterned paper pack was a part of last year’s holiday catalog, and I just loved it so much that I stocked up when it went on sale. I was able to use a collection of scraps from another project to cover the panels on the outside and inside of the gift envelope. I thought the sweater-patterned strips were perfect accents for the flap and adjoining panels. I found a cute star-patterned cardstock from the Irresistibly Yours paper pack (long ago retired) in my scrap stash that is the perfect panel for the gift message. Our smaller circle focal elements on the outside and inside of our gift envelope are diecut to highlight cute little critters. I used the Changing Leaves and Spotlight on Nature dies for these circles. I thought the decorative edges were perfect designs elements that add a lot of interest to the pop-out panels. The fox panel on the front is adhered to the flap with dimensionals, which gives a nice gap under which I slid the knotted diagonal striped ribbon to keep the envelope closed.

I just love how this turned out, and it came together quickly. The hardest part was choosing what adorable critters from the Beary Christmas paper that I wanted to highlight on each portion of the gift envelope.

Products used in this design:
Night of Navy Cardstock
Beary Christmas (retired), Irresistibly Yours (retired) DSP
2″ circle punch
Changing Leaves, Spotlight on Nature dies

Christmas · Gifting

Tree Pocket Gift Holder

December 11, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

We’re gearing up for Christmas here at Song Sparrow. Every day that Amazon shows up, my husband says something about the number of boxes that end up on the porch. *snicker* Hey, I can’t help it if the warehouses decide to box orders in a multitude of boxes.

But speaking of getting ready for Christmas, I’m still working on gifts and gift tags. And today’s design is a super cute gift-giving envelope that I plan to hang on the Christmas tree for a little holiday hide-n-seek. I ran across this super cute envelope in one of my Pinterest searches, and it’s super easy to put together.

We get started with a 6×6 sheet of Take a Bow patterned paper and score from corner to corner on both sides. Then you fold to create the envelope. For this one, the flap on the envelope is supposed to stay open, which makes it a snap to put together. I used two smaller strips of the Take a Bow paper to cover my score line in the center and also to serve as a nice break in the pattern underneath the focal panel. Our focal panel starts with a base of the (retired) Garden Walk patterned paper that is cut using the Peaceful Season decorative square die. Then I just layered the stocking and sentiment from the Joyful ephemera packs right on top using the dimensionals. The gift panel is a sheet of the (retired) More Dazzle specialty paper with a to/from panel cut from white cardstock using the (retired) Stitched Nested Labels dies. I cut some greenery fronds from Granny Apple Green cardstock using the Golden Greenery dies and adhered them to the back of the gift panel with dimensionals. A cute red bow tied from Cherry Cobbler & Gold metallic ribbon finish off the gift panel nicely. The whole kit & caboodle will hang from the tree with some green thread.

The hardest part of this whole design was picking what ephemera I wanted to use! Otherwise, it comes together in a snap. And don’t you think it will just be the cutest way to give cash or a gift card?

Product List

Take A Bow 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[164309]

$12.50

Garden Walk 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[162227]

$12.50

More Dazzle 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Specialty Paper

[161749]

$7.50

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[159276]

$13.00

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

[146990]

$11.50

Joyful Images Mix & Match Specialty Ephemera Pack

[164110]

$9.50

Joyful Sayings Mix & Match Ephemera Pack (English)

[164109]

$9.50

Golden Greenery Dies

[164116]

$39.00

Peaceful Season Dies (English)

[164020]

$34.00

Stitched Nested Labels Dies

[149638]

$35.00

Cherry Cobbler & Gold 1/2'' (1.3 Cm) Metallic Ribbon

[156312]

$8.00

Mini Glue Dots

[103683]

$7.25

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Add All to Cart

Christmas · Gifting

Making Lists

December 9, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome to a bright and shiny new week, crafty friends! We’re in full-on Christmas mode over here as we make our lists and check them twice. I pulled out all of the gifts we’ve purchased so far and started wrapping last night.

And that meant that I was also busy in the craft room making the gift tags. Did you know it’s super easy to make gift tags? Even with the smallest crafty stash, I have no doubt that you have the perfect combination of things to make cute gift tags. Today, I’m showing you a small sampling of what I whipped together last night using some patterned paper, several die sets, and the Joyful ephemera.

Are these not the cutest? And they are SO easy to put together. Let’s take a closer look at each one.

I got started on the first tag by diecutting the base from a sheet of Take a Bow paper using the largest Greetings of the Season die. I kept things simple with just a few elements from the Joyful ephemera packs — just a wreath and a sentiment. To help the wreath stand out against the polka dot background, I cut a sheet of red polka dot from the Take a Bow paper pack. I put this panel over a gold banner, which draws the eye nicely to the wreath panel. I mirrored on the reverse side with just the gold banner and then the Holly Jolly sentiment. For the to/from tag, I cut a smaller tag from white cardstock using the Greetings of the Season die and then finished off with some (retired) Cherry Cobbler twine to attach the tag to my package.

For this tag, I also used the largest Greetings of the Season die and cut a piece of the (now retired) Garden Walk patterned paper. I chose two larger images, some greenery, and two sentiments from the Joyful ephemera packs to decorate each side of the tag. I also cut some gold twigs using the Changing Leaves die sets. The bear, evergreen branch, and small sentiment are adhered on varying layers of dimensionals for a little depth. On the reverse side, I layered the drums, evergreen, gold sprigs, and sentiment. I also used varying layers of dimensionals on this side, as well. The small to/from tag is from Greetings of the Season and secured with some retired twine.

Our last tag uses a retired Memories & More set called Beary Christmas. I pulled the sleigh and sentiment from the Joyful ephemera packs and adhered on the package side of the Beary Christmas tag. I cut the to/from tag from white cardstock using the smallest banner from the Nested Essentials die set and secured with some retired twine. To cover the overhanging sentiment on the opposite side of the tag, I adhered two small stars from the ephemera packs to either side.

No matter the size of your crafting stash, you can dress up your packages with cute handmade gift tags! Tune in the rest of the week as we take a look at how we can quickly dress up our holiday gift-giving.

Products used in today’s featured designs:
White cardstock
Take a Bow, More Dazzle (retired), gold foil DSP
Joyful ephemera
Greetings of the Season, Nested Essentials, Changing Leaves dies
Beary Christmas Memories & More (retired)
Assorted twine (retired)
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Christmas

Through the Branches

December 6, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

I have sent handmade Christmas cards for many, many years — even before I became a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator. In recent years, I’ve moved away from creating one single card design because I found myself agonizing over which of my favorites would be the star of the holiday card show each year. I love being able to create a variety of designs using both current and retired products in my stash and then choosing a design that really fits a recipient. What about you? Do you send a single card design? Or do you mix it up?

I love creating designs that seem to be peering through the trees. I’ve made several cards over the last couple of months that use this design concept. Today, we’re peering through the evergreens to this lovely Christmas tree in the center.

We get started with a base of Mossy Meadow cardstock. Our background panel is a sheet of the Take a Bow designer paper. I loved the variety of greens and the contrast that this patterned sheet provided to the design. Our focal panel has many layers and begins with a background panel of Mossy Meadow that is diecut using the largest Deckled Rectangle die. The evergreen branches are cut from Mossy Meadow using the Winterly Treetops dies from the Nests of Winter suite. Layers of dimensionals give the illusion of us looking through layers and layers of branches. Our focal tree is from the Joyful Images ephemera pack, and I cut around the image to remove as much white space as possible. I added a star, also from the ephemera pack, to the top of the tree. The sentiment is from the Joyful Sayings ephemera pack, and I love how the lighter green really pops against our mossy background panel. We finish things off with gold thread and snowflakes for a little touch of sparkle to bring out the small gold foiling elements on our tree.

Next week, we’ll be looking at all the ways we can use our crafty goodies to create special holiday gifts. I hope you’ll tag along.

Products used in today’s design:
Mossy Meadow cardstock
Take a Bow DSP
Joyful ephemera
Deckled Rectangles, Winterly Treetops dies
Gold thread
Snowflakes assortment
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Christmas

Advent Prayer

December 5, 2024December 4, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

We’re already halfway through the first week of December. I’m still working through Christmas lists and holiday to-dos. What about you?

Today, I’m sharing an update to our family dinner prayer. A month or so ago I shared the story of how this got started for our family. This is such a terrific practice, not only to hide the Word in our hearts, but to give us new and fresh ways to reframe each day — no matter how well or how poorly the day has gone. I challenge you to adopt something similar for your family and see how it begins to change things for you.

We get started with the same 6×6 frame from Amazon. Our backdrop for our scripture this month is a sheet of the (very sadly now-retired) One Horse Open Sleigh designer series paper. I printed the scripture on a quarter panel of white cardstock and then diecut using the Radiating Stitches dies and mounted on the background panel with dimensionals. I added a few snowflakes and rhinestones basic jewels for a little sparkle. I’m storing all of the prayers we aren’t using in a 6×6 paper pocket envelope (also an Amazon find) so they’ll be ready to use again.

Products used in today’s featured design:
6×6 frame (Amazon)
One Horse Open Sleigh DSP (retired)
Basic White cardstock
Snowflake assortment
Rhinestone basics jewels
Dimensionals

Christmas · Coming Soon

Sending Snowy Cheer

December 4, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

It’s that time of year where we’re all in holiday mode. Swiping all of the sale items off our lists to give to loved ones and friends. Taking the annual family photos. Carefully choosing the annual holiday cards.

Today, I’m sharing another holiday card from this year’s crafting stash. I have several versions of this particular design that I hope to try, but this is by far the simplest one, I think. And I just love the look of the new Soft Waves embossing folder that will release with the new catalog in January. Doesn’t it give the perfect look of snow drifts swirling swiftly across this scene?

We get started with a base of Real Red cardstock. The background panel is a quarter panel of Real Red that’s embossed with the new (not yet released) Soft Waves embossing folder and then lightly wiped with craft ink to give the look of swirling snow. To create the snowdrift in the front, I took a panel of white cardstock and tore it to create the perfectly soft and frayed-looking top edges. Our mailbox from Sending Love is stamped in black on white cardstock and colored with Stampin’ Blends. I cut with the coordinating die and then made the cuts even tighter with my paper snips. The wreath from the Sophisticated Sled stamp set is stamped in Shaded Spruce and Old Olive and then colored with Stampin’ Blends before I cut it out with the coordinating die. I also tightened up the edges around the wreath with paper snips to reduce the white space. I slit the wreath and then put it around the mailbox. Dimensionals help give it definition all around. The bow is cut using the Peaceful Evergreens dies and is cut from gold foil paper. Dimensionals help give the whole scene layers and dimension for all of the elements. I wrapped some red & white baker’s twine around the bottom of the focal panel and added the sentiment from the Joyful Sayings ephemera pack. Gold snowflakes and gold iridescent gems finish things off with just the right amount of sparkle.

Tomorrow, I hope you’ll pop in to see how I’ve updated our dinner table prayer for the season of Advent.

Product List

Real Red 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[102482]

$11.50

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[159276]

$13.00