Peaceful Prayers

August 11, 2025August 12, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Monday, crafty friends! It was a busy weekend that went by way too fast for us as we spent the last weekend soaking up summer and preparing for the new school year that begins today.

I am SO excited about this week’s featured design products. We’re going to be using the *new* Peaceful Garden suite of products, which releases in the new Holiday Mini catalog on September 3rd. This suite includes beautiful patterned paper, coordinating glimmer paper, stamps, dies, an embossing folder, gorgeous ribbon, and fun embellishments. I just love the beautiful blue color palette of this suite! And today’s super simple design features the gorgeous patterned papers.

We get started with a base of Misty Moonlight cardstock. I chose two coordinating patterns from the Peaceful Garden paper pack – the beautiful doves and greenery sheets. I loved the repeating pattern of the doves and chose to cut one of the vertical strips of repeating pattern to serve as the centerpiece of this design. To give a little eye relief and add a little punch, I separated the dove strip from the greenery with a strip of blue glimmer paper from the coordinating pack. The sentiment from the Peace on Earth stamp set is stamped in Misty Moonlight on a strip white cardstock and then notched on each end to create the banner. I offset the sentiment to allow for the diecut dove on the left. The dove is cut from white cardstock using the Peace on Earth dies and adhered to the sentiment panel with dimensionals. I also cut and added a branch of greenery cut from silver glimmer paper. The sentiment panel is adhered at the bottom of the front panel with dimensionals. A few charming shimmer faceted dots on either side of the sentiment panel add a little extra color-coordinated sparkle.

This suite really does make it easy to create beautiful cards in a snap. I can’t wait to show you more!

Products used in today’s card:
Misty Moonlight, Basic White cardstock
Peaceful Garden DSP & glimmer paper (coming Sept 3!)
Peace on Earth stamp & die bundle (coming Sept 3!)
Charming shimmer faceted dots
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Fun Folds · Holiday Mini Catalog · Tutorials

Big Hugs

August 2, 2025August 1, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Howdy, everyone, and happy Saturday! We are officially to the weekend. We’re counting down the last week of summer break over here, so there are lots of things on the to-do list to be sure the kiddo is ready for his first week of 8th grade! What about you? What will your weekend plans have you doing?

Here in the craft room, we’re wrapping up our full week of fun fold designs. And today, I’m giving you a sneak peek of a full suite of products that will be available in the Holiday Mini catalog on September 3rd. We’re using the Peaceful Garden Suite to create a 4-Panel Accordion Fold. Demos were able to purchase this suite early as part of the special Creativity Now event in June, and I’ve saved using it until we got closer to the official release date for customers.

We get started by cutting down a 12×12 piece of Night of Navy cardstock and then score it to create the accordion base. I chose the leaf and vine patterned sheet from the Peaceful Garden paper pack as my focal paper and then matted these strips with the coordinating silver glimmer paper. The sentiment panel is created using the Peace on Earth stamp & die bundle included in the Peaceful Garden suite. I finished things off with a few Hues of Blue flowers and Misty Moonlight trim from the suite, along with a few drusy embellishments.

I dressed this fun fold up a bit by adding mats for each of the patterned paper panels. When you’re using heavier glimmer paper, like the sheets from Peaceful Garden, this will add some extra weight to your card. You could simplify this by omitting the extra mats or using lighter weight glimmer paper.

How would you like to give the 4-panel accordion fold a try? You can download the free PDF tutorial here.

It’s been a lot of fun learning some new fun folds this week. And there are quite a few that will be going into my more regular rotation. Do you have a favorite from this week’s fun fold series? Tell me in the comments!

Next week, we’re going to be exploring a super fun stamp bundle called Sweet Jar that has a new coordinating holiday stamp set called Jar of Joy. I hope you’ll pop in and see all of the fun things we can do with these cute stamps & punch!

Products used in today’s card:
Night of Navy, Cloud Cover, Basic White cardstock
Peaceful Garden, Peaceful Garden glimmer DSP (coming in September!)
Peace on Earth stamp & die bundle (coming in September!)
Misty Moonlight & silver edged ribbon (coming in September!)
Hues of blue flowers (coming in September!), Drusy embellishments
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon · Treat Boxes

Boo Box

June 24, 2025June 23, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

This week’s design theme is 3D projects, and today we’re whipping up a super simple (but simply adorable) treat box using some up-and-coming Online Exclusives. The new Spooky Sweet paper pack and coordinating precut shapes are just adorable. Add a few twinkly stars and some iridescent ribbon and you have the perfect treat box for your trick-or-treaters!

Our treat box is made from Basic Black cardstock. I used two different patterns from the Spooky Sweet paper pack on the box and added a little twinkle with the glimmer paper for an extra pop on the lid. I chose some precut shapes that complimented the patterned paper and helped tell the trick-or-treating story on the lid. A few sparkly stars scattered across the lid finish things off. I found that adding a few finger notches on the sides of the lid, as well as the little tab on the front of the box really helped make the box much easier to open.

Isn’t this box the cutest?! A simple swap of paper and embellishments and you can have a cute little gift box for any occasion! Wanna try making one yourself? You can download the instructions here.

Products used in today’s project:
Basic Black cardstock
Spooky Sweet DSP & cutouts (coming July 1st)
Three color glimmer paper (retired)
Petunia Pop iridescent ribbon (coming July 1st)
Shimmer stars foam pieces (coming July 1st)
Small circle punch
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon · Sentiments

Make a Difference

June 21, 2025June 21, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

We’re finishing out our sentiments design series with a super clean and simple design. This card combines the lovely Florals in Bloom Online Exclusive paper with the up-and-coming Label Me Grateful stamp and die bundle that will release on July 1st.

This card starts with a base of Summer Splash cardstock. A sheet of the Florals in Bloom paper serves as the backdrop for our focal panel. The sentiment from the new Label Me Grateful stamp set is stamped in Pretty Peacock on white cardstock and then diecut using the Something Fancy dies. To help the sentiment really pop against the floral background, we mat it with a panel of Summer Splash glimmer paper that’s cut with the next size die up in the Something Fancy set. We mount the sentiment panel with dimensionals over Lost Lagoon soft cording and some greenery cut from the pastel ombre glimmer paper using the Label Me Grateful detail dies. I added a diecut flower and Petunia Pop iridescent ribbon for some pops of color around the sentiment panel. We finish off with a few charming shimmer faceted dots on either side of the focal section.

I hope this week’s designs have given you a fresh look at your sentiments and how they can stand front and center as easily as they can support a focal image. Tune in next week as we work through a whole week of 3D projects and gift-giving projects.

Product List

Summer Splash 8 1/2" X 11 Cardstock

[163797]

$14.00

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[166780]

$14.00

Florals In Bloom 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper & Sticker Sheet (English)

[166643]

$17.00

Pastel Ombre Glimmer 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper

[164851]

$12.00

2024–2026 In Color™ Glimmer 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper

[163771]

$11.00

Something Fancy Dies

[160424]

$28.00

Pretty Peacock Classic Stampin’ Pad

[150083]

$9.00

Lost Lagoon Soft Cording

[164938]

$8.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Mini Glue Dots

[103683]

$7.25

Add All to Cart

Products that will release on July 1:
Label Me Grateful bundle
Charming shimmer faceted dots
Petunia Pop iridescent ribbon

Coming Soon · Sketchy Fridays

Sketchy Fridays: Smile!

May 2, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

This week, we’re getting some sneaky peeks at some of the brand new product that will be launching next week. And today we’re making another trip to the garden as we combine some new products with a sketch for Sketchy Fridays.

For those of you who are new here, Sketchy Fridays is a weekly series where we’re 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 #3 from the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. Today’s design features the Florals in Bloom suite that will release next week. This week, I’m staying pretty true to the sketch. I simply flipped the side where the focal panel is affixed.

We get started with a base of Blackberry Bliss cardstock. I used the Pattern of Friendship die on the front panel to add a little texture in the background. Our background panels are a combination of Florals in Bloom and Petunia Pop glimmer paper, and these are all adhered directly to the card front. I tied a piece of Fresh Freesia velvet ribbon around the card front before placing the focal panel. The focal panel base is a white circle cut using the Spotlight on Nature dies. Using the Pretty Florals dies, I cut some flowers from the Florals in Bloom paper and then affixed them to the circle using a combination of dimensionals and glue dots. The sentiment panel is cut from vellum using the Something Fancy dies. The sentiment from Sweet Blooms is stamped in Blackberry Bliss ink and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder before being adhered to the focal panel with glue dots. We finish things off with two tone sparkle gems across the card front.

Tomorrow we’re going to have our sentiments take center stage. I hope you’ll drop by and check it out.

Products used in today’s card:
Blackberry Bliss, Basic White cardstock
Florals in Bloom (coming soon), In Color glimmer, vellum DSP
Sweet Blooms stamps (coming soon)
Pretty Florals (coming soon), Spotlight on Nature, Something Fancy, Pattern of Friendship dies
Clear embossing powder
Fresh Freesia velvet ribbon
Two tone sparkle gems
Dimensionals

Coming Soon

Amazing

May 1, 2025May 1, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

This week, we’re exploring some of the new products that will be launching next week in the online store. Today we’re getting a look at the Notes & Totes bundle. This fabulous set not only makes super cute cards, but it also allows you to make cute little gift bags perfect for a tube of chapstick and a piece of chocolate! Today, I’m also using super fun technique that Sarah demonstrated several months ago — embossing over glimmer paper!

We get started with a base of Pool Party cardstock. I’m using a sheet of the Thoughtful Journey paper as the backdrop for this little beachy scene. To create the sand, we’re using a strip of Pecan Pie cardstock and then tearing it at the top to give it the look of beach sand. I stamped the sentiment from Scenic Adventure in Fresh Freesia in the top corner. Our beach bag is a combination of Floral Delight and Crumb Cake cardstock and diecut using the Notes & Totes dies. The cute sash is a small scrap of Wildflower Birthday with a starburst sequin serving as the decoration on the knot. The sunglasses are cut from Basic Black and Shy Shamrock glimmer paper and then affixed to the top edge of the bag with a dimensional. To add some beachy interest, we’re adding a conch shell and water bottle. The shell is cut from a sheet of Beautiful Bokeh. The water bottle is cut from a sheet of pastel ombre glimmer paper and silver foil and has a subtle raised pattern that is created by stamping the florals from the Notes & Totes set in versamark and then heat embossing with clear embossing powder. To help the pattern stand out and give a more decorative look to the bottle, I used a blending brush and Pretty Peacock ink to go over it and then added some wink of stella. It’s adhered next to the shell on some dimensionals. I added a few rainbow dots in the sand to finish everything off.

We’re going to be taking a stroll through the garden tomorrow. Pack your gloves and a cutting basket!

Products used in today’s card:
Pool Party, Pecan Pie, Crumb Cake, Basic Black cardstock
Thoughtful Journey, Wildflower Birthday, Floral Delight, Beautiful Bokeh, Silver foil, In Color shimmer, Pastel Ombre glimmer DSP
Notes & Totes bundle (coming soon)
Scenic Adventure stamps (coming soon)
Clear embossing powder
Wink of Stella
Rainbow dots, starburst sequins
Dimensionals

Coming Soon

The Best Dad

April 30, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

This week, we’re getting a sneak peek at some of the newest products that Stampin’ Up! is set to release next week. And today we’re once again pairing up some current products with what’s soon to come to create this super cool scene. I love the sunset mountain hues of blues and purples, and the Splendid Autumn paper pack has some terrific sheets to choose from to create our scene using the Scenic Adventure bundle.

We get started with a base of Misty Moonlight cardstock. A sheet of the Splendid Autumn paper serves as our sunset backdrop for the mountain scene and is matted with a sheet of the Thoughtful Designs specialty paper. I used the Scenic Adventure dies to cut mountains and trees from coordinating scraps of the Splendid Autumn papers. I also added the ripples of the lake in the foreground with the dies, along with the faint stars and moon in upper-right corner. And I stamped some clouds in the distance using the Scenic Adventure stamp and Pool Party ink. The mountains and trees are layered with dimensionals to give depth to the scene and Wink of Stella gives the perfect amount of subtle twinkle to the the tops of the trees and mountain, the ripples in the water, and the moon in the sky. The sentiment from She’s the Greatest and He’s the Greatest is stamped in Misty Moonlight on white cardstock and diecut with the smaller Sentimental Framing die. I added some blue linen thread behind the panel before adhering to the card front with dimensionals. We finish things off with two tone sparkle gems in opposing corners to ensure the eye passes over the whole design.

Next, we’ll be taking it to the beach. Pack your flip flops and come along!

Products used in today’s card:
Misty Moonlight, Basic White cardstock
Splendid Autumn, Thoughtful Designs DSP
Scenic Adventure bundle (coming soon)
She’s the Greatest, He’s the Greatest stamps
Sentimental Framing (coming soon) dies
Natural tones linen thread
Two tone sparkle gems
Wink of Stella
Dimensionals

Coming Soon

Just Breathe

April 28, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Monday, everyone. It was a busy weekend around here with all sorts of different activities. I feel like I need a weekend from my weekend!

This week, we’re getting some little sneak peeks at some upcoming releases. Did you know that next week Stampin’ Up! will be releasing new Online Exclusives and a new annual catalog?! Today’s design is the perfect combination between old and new as we pair the Thoughtful Journey designer series paper with the new Sentimental Framing dies and Scenic Adventure stamps in this very clean and simple design.

We get started with a base of Petunia Pop cardstock. The sheet of flowering thistle paper from the Thoughtful Journey paper pack is cut using the new Sentimental Framing dies. The decorative frame is adhered to the card base with dimensionals while the center section is adhered directly to the card base to give a layered effect. The sentiment from the new Scenic Adventure stamp set is stamped in Pretty Peacock on white cardstock and diecut with the frame from the Enduring Beauty set. A twist of Fresh Freesia seam binding ribbon is adhered behind the sentiment panel at the base of the focal panel. The smaller flowers and leaves are cut from Mossy Meadow and Fresh Freesia cardstock using the Enduring Beauty dies and adhered behind the corner of the sentiment panel. Some starburst sequins finish things off with a pop of color and a patterned twinkle.

Tune in tomorrow for another sneak peek of products coming next week!

Products used in today’s card:
Petunia Pop, Basic White, Mossy Meadow cardstock
Thoughtful Journey DSP
Scenic Adventure stamps (coming soon!)
Sentimental Framing (coming soon!), Enduring Beauty dies
Starburst sequins
Fresh Freesia seam binding ribbon
Dimensionals

Online Exclusives · Thankful Garden

Thankful Friend

March 3, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

We are already to another Monday – the first Monday of March. MARCH! Man, it seems like this year just got started. It was a busy weekend for us, so March definitely came marching’ on in. We had some beautiful weather and enjoyed a lot of together time that included time outside. One of my favorite things about spring is the return of all my sleeping plants and the chance to visit the nursery for new plants. My boys entertained me with a trip to our favorite local nursery and even helped pick out our new flowers.

And speaking of spring, there is a whole crop of brand new stamps releasing tomorrow with the launch of new Stampin’ Up! Online Exclusives. So this week, we’re going to be getting a closer look at the Thankful Garden bundle, which includes stamps, masks, dies, paper, ribbon, and embellishments. And today’s card showcases the beautiful paper.

Our card starts with a base of Night of Navy cardstock. Our focal background pattern is from the Lovely Garden paper pack. The sentiment from the Thankful Garden stamp set is stamped in Melon Mambo on white cardstock and then diecut with the Something Fancy dies. I cut the sentiment mat from Berry Burst glimmer paper using the larger Something Fancy die. A faux bow of Shaded Spruce satin ribbon is affixed to the back of the sentiment. The dainty dot patterned strip from the Lovely Garden paper pack serves as our sentiment backdrop. I cut a stem of greenery from Shaded Spruce with the Thankful Garden dies and adhered it under the sentiment panel which sits on top thanks to a layer of dimensionals. Regal foil dots dress things up a bit and bring our eyes front and center to the sentiment.

I hope you’ll pop in tomorrow to see more of this Thankful Garden!

Products used in today’s card:
Night of Navy, Shaded Spruce, Basic White cardstock
Lovely Garden (coming 3/4!), Berry Burst glimmer paper
Thankful Garden stamps & dies (coming 3/4!)
Something Fancy dies
Shaded Spruce satin ribbon
Regal foil dots
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Product List

Night Of Navy 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock

[100867]

$11.50

Shaded Spruce 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock

[146981]

$11.50

Basic White 8 1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock

[159276]

$13.00

Berry Burst, Old Olive & White 12″ X 12″ (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Glimmer Specialty Paper

[163769]

$6.00

Something Fancy Dies

[160424]

$28.00

Melon Mambo Classic Stampin’ Pad

[147051]

$9.00

Regal Foiled Adhesive Backed Dots

[164038]

$8.50

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

[164224]

$8.50

Stampin’ Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Add All to Cart

Coming Soon · January Mini Catalog

Because I Care

January 6, 2025January 11, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Here we are — already beginning a fresh week of the new year. I was able to enjoy a little down time last week with a more relaxed work schedule, and I always find it funny how quickly that time passes by. I’m back in the office this week and the kiddo is back to school.

This week, the new Stampin’ Up! January Mini catalog will launch, and we’re continuing to get a closer look at some of the fabulous products that will be available. In particular, this week we are going to be focusing on the Mixed Media Florals suite of products. And today, we’re pairing up the stamps & dies with the lovely new Floral Delight designer series paper.

We get started today with a base of Lemon Lolly cardstock. I chose a smaller floral pattern from the Floral Delight paper pack as the backdrop for our focal panel. The focal panel base is a circle of blue gingham vellum from the coordinating Floral & Gingham vellum pack that I cut with the Spotlight on Nature dies. The floral bunch is stamped on white cardstock with the Mixed Florals stamp and then colored with Stampin’ Blends before being diecut with the coordinating die from the Mixed Florals dies. The sentiment mat is a lovely banner cut from Crushed Curry cardstock using the Mixed Labels die, which really helps our white sentiment panel pop. The sentiment from Mixed Labels is stamped in Lost Lagoon and then cut using the coordinating small banner die from Mixed Labels. Some Lost Lagoon soft cording and Daffodil Delight narrow satin ribbon tie our color palette together. A few riverside irregular pearls guide the eye across our card design.

I hope you’ll join me tomorrow where we’ll look at a few of the other stamps and dies in this terrific product suite!

Products used in today’s design:
Lemon Lolly, Crushed Curry, Basic White cardstock
Floral Delight DSP & vellum (coming soon)
Mixed Media Florals stamps & dies (coming soon)
Mixed Labels stamps & dies (coming soon)
Spotlight on Nature, Heart Shaped (coming soon) dies
Stampin’ Blends
Lost Lagoon soft cording, Daffodil Delight satin ribbon (coming soon)
Riverside irregular pearls
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Product List