Inspiring Strength

August 18, 2025August 17, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Monday, one and all. We’re getting started with a bright, shiny new week. What’s on your plate this week? Things are starting to ramp up for the kiddo with the second week of school getting underway, and it’s set to be a busy one at the office for me. But what I’m most looking forward to? Showing you a stunning new suite of products headed your way the first week of September!

This week, we’re going to be working with the Lights of Aurora suite, which includes paper, stamps, dies, ribbon, and embellishments. And it’s ever bit as beautiful as the natural wonder that inspired it! And if you’re a scene builder, then you’re most definitely going to love this coordinating suite. Today we’re getting started with a simple scene that really lets the lights shine.

We start with a base of Cloud Cover cardstock. I chose a sheet of the full sky, wavy aurora from the Lights of Aurora 6×6 paper pack. I cut the sheet in half – and since it’s only the top portion of the aurora that shows for this scene, it allows you to make two cards and not just one! I then moved to cutting all of the pieces for the bottom portion of the scene, starting with the mountain range in the background. I cut the range using the die from the Light & Wonder die set from a sheet of Blackberry Bliss cardstock. This portion is the base on which the remainder of the scene is built so it will cover the bottom portion of the card base. I cut a shadowy treeline from Basic Black using the die from the Light & Wonder set. To add some depth & detail to the mountain range, I used the detail mountain range die and cut it from the remaining portion of my Blackberry Bliss cardstock. I broke it into pieces and adhered portions of the treeline behind each piece using dimensionals. To add a little mystical sparkle I cut some water from a sheet of the blue pastel ombre glimmer paper and adhered it at the bottom so that it gives the appearance of an inlet in the center. The sentiment from Light & Wonder is heat embossed in silver just above the mountains. I adhered the mountain details with treelines just above the water and below the larger mountains in the back. I finished things off by adding some sparkly details to the mountain peaks using Wink of Stella and added frosted iridescent dots around the sentiment to draw the eye.

I can’t wait to show you more of what this suite has to offer. I hope you’ll drop in tomorrow to catch another peek!

Products used in today’s card:
Cloud Cover, Blackberry Bliss, Basic Black cardstock
Lights of Aurora (coming in Sept), pastel ombre glimmer DSP
Light & Wonder stamps & dies (coming in Sept)
Silver embossing powder
Versamark
Wink of Stella
Frosted iridescent dots (coming in Sept)
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon · Fun Folds · Holiday Mini Catalog · Peaceful Garden

Peaceful Thoughts

August 16, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome to the weekend! How is yours going so far? It’s been a busy one here just catching up on all of the things you don’t have time to deal with during the school week. But, of course, there’s always a little time for crafting too! *wink*

This week, we’ve been using the products in the SU! Peaceful Garden suite that will release in a few short weeks with all of the products in the new Holiday Mini catalog. Today we’re pairing up the paper with the With You in Mind stamp set and a cool fun fold I learned from fellow demo Patti Dolan called the Arrow Fun Fold.

We get started with a base of Cloud Cover cardstock. One sheet of patterned paper from the Peaceful Garden pack serves as the show-stopping focal elements in this card. The sentiment from With You in Mind is stamped in Secret Sea on white cardstock. I used paper snips to cut around the sentiment. It’s adhered to the arrow portion using dimensionals. I finished things off with some Misty Moonlight silver edged ribbon, Hues of Blue flowers, and charming shimmer gems.

Would you like to give this fun fold a try? It’s really pretty simple, and you can download the PDF tutorial here.

Next week, we’re going to a stroll through another suite of products that will be releasing in September. And I can’t wait to show it to you!

Products used in today’s card:
Cloud Cover, Basic White cardstock
Peaceful Garden DSP (coming in Sept)
With You in Mind stamps
Misty Moonlight silver edged trim (coming in Sept)
Hues of Blue flowers (coming in Sept), charming shimmer faceted dots
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon · Holiday Mini Catalog · Peaceful Garden · Sketchy Fridays

Sketchy Fridays: Peace, Love, & Joy!

August 15, 2025August 13, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Sketchy Fridays, everyone, and welcome to the weekend! Around here, we’ve survived our first week of school and now we’re sailing into the weekend ready for the R&R for sure. I’m super stoked because I just got my box of pre-order goodies for the new Holiday Mini catalog. Anyone know what I plan to be doing this weekend? *grin*

We’ve taken a little break from Sketchy Fridays for the last little bit, but I thought it would be fun to get back to it. Because who doesn’t love being able to push the easy button on getting a card started?! *wink* 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.

This week’s card is based on our Luv 2 Stamp Group’s monthly sketch challenge using the Atlantic Hearts Sketch #640. Today’s design features the new Peaceful Garden suite that will release in Holiday Mini catalog in September.

We get started with a base of Cloud Cover cardstock. The background panel is a nice neutral pattern from the Peaceful Garden paper pack. The focal panel backdrop is a floral pattern and cross-hatch sheet from the pack. The sentiment from Peace on Earth is stamped in Misty Moonlight on white cardstock and then cut to a simple banner. The sentiment panel is adhered over a bow of Misty Moonlight & silver edged ribbon with dimensionals. I finished things off with some Hues of Blue flowers. Super simple and super elegant!

We’ll be wrapping up our Peaceful Garden card series tomorrow with a fun fold. I hope you’ll drop in!

Products used in today’s card:
Cloud Cover, Basic White cardstock
Peaceful Garden DSP (coming in Sept)
Peace on Earth stamps (coming in Sept)
Misty Moonlight & silver edged ribbon (coming in Sept)
Hues of Blue flowers (coming in Sept)
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon · Holiday Mini Catalog · Peaceful Garden

Peaceful Greenery

August 13, 2025August 12, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome to the midway point of the week. The first week of school is always a whirlwind as we get back into the groove of the schoolyear schedule, and this year is no exception. Hopefully we’ll start finding our groove a little better next week, but for now we’re just flying by the seats of our pants! *grin*

This week, all of our designs feature the Stampin’ Up! Peaceful Garden suite which is due to release in September in the new Holiday Mini catalog. Today, I wanted to give a look at the Peaceful Greenery embossing folder.

We get started with a base of Night of Navy cardstock. The backdrop for our focal panel is a sheet of vine pattern from the Peaceful Garden paper pack. This panel is machine embossed with the Peaceful Greenery embossing folder. To ensure that the embossed pattern stood out against the complimentary patterned background, I used my finger to “shade” the embossing with platinum ink from my metallic ink stash. The embossed image has a perfect shaped portion in the center where the stacked dies from the Peace on Earth set fit. The sentiment from Peace on Earth is stamped in Misty Moonlight on white and then cut with the smallest die. The panel is then matted with Secret Sea glimmer paper from the Peaceful Garden pack that has been cut with the larger die. The full panel is adhered to the card front with dimensionals. I cut two of the larger twigs from the die set from silver glimmer paper and held them together with some of the Misty Moonlight silver edged ribbon. Drusy embellishments draw the eye down and across the design so that the eye takes in all the details.

I hope you’ll drop by tomorrow to see what else this lovely embossing folder can do!

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

Coming Soon · Holiday Mini Catalog · Peaceful Garden

Wishing You Love

August 12, 2025August 12, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome back, friends! I hope your week has gotten off to a good start. We have successfully navigated the first day of school. The kiddo was pretty stoked that he had friends in every class. And we’re just glad that he had a great day and seems to be at least moderately excited about this school year.

On to some crafting, shall we? This week, we’re working with a brand new suite from the upcoming Holiday Mini catalog – Peaceful Garden. And the beautiful paper takes center stage in today’s card.

We get started with a base of Secret Sea cardstock. (Does anyone else love the moodiness of this new shade of blue?) A sheet of the floral stems from the Peaceful Garden paper pack serves as the backdrop for our card. A strip of the coordinating Secret Sea glimmer paper serves as the focal panel on which we have two small squares of the vine patterned from the Peaceful Garden pack. The hovering dove is cut from a sheet of silver glimmer paper using the Peace on Earth dies and secured to the panel with dimensionals. Extra dimensionals under the wings give the realistic look of wing movement. The sentiment from Peace on Earth is stamped on white cardstock in Secret Sea ink. One end of the panel is snipped to create the sentiment banner that is adhered underneath the larger focal panel. A few drusy embellishments on either side help draw the eye across our design so that you take in each element.

Tomorrow we’ll be exploring a few of the other elements included in the suite. I hope you’ll drop in and see some of the other awesome goodies in this amazing suite.

Products used in this card:
Secret Sea, Basic White cardstock
Peaceful Garden DSP & glimmer paper (coming Sept 3!)
Peace on Earth stamp & die bundle (coming Sept 3!)
Drusy embellishments
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon · Holiday Mini Catalog · Peaceful Garden

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

Sweet Jar

Jar of Luck

August 8, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

TGIF, my crafty friends! We’ve made it through this hectic week and we’re staring the weekend in the face. Anyone else excited? It’s the last weekend of summer freedom for the kiddos here in our area, so we’ll all be livin’ it up before the new school year gets started.

This week, we’ve been using the new Sweet Jar bundle from Stampin’ Up, along with its coordinating stamp set called Jar of Joy, to create some super fun designs. And as promised, we’re trying our luck at creating an everyday design with a more holiday-inspired image. I saw some super cute St. Patty’s Day designs that combined the Sweet Jar images with a rainbow and I thought that was a pretty genius way to impart some design luck.

We get started with a base of Summer Splash cardstock. Our backdrop is a combination of a coordinating floral patterned sheet from the Bloom Impressions paper pack (back for a limited time in the Last Chance section) and an ominous sky from the Everyday Skies paper pack. To give the Bloom Impressions sheet the look of standing grass, I tore a strip and then adhered it over the sky using dimensionals. The Spotlight on Nature Dies help build our rainbow made from a combination of Pretty Peacock, Shy Shamrock, Peach Pie, and Flirty Flamingo and tucked neatly behind the grass horizon. The jar and shamrocks are stamped on white cardstock using the Sweet Jar set with a combination of Secret Sea and Shy Shamrock inks. For a little extra punch, I used Shy Shamrock glimmer paper for the lid. The image is adhered over our backdrop with dimensionals. I filled in around the focal image with a few single shamrocks to give the illusion of luck being in the air. The sentiment is a combination of Jar of Joy and Sweet Jar sentiments. It’s adhered over a bow of Summer Splash ribbon using dimensionals. We finish things off with a combination of hexagons, shimmer gems, and dots.

We’ll be rounding out our series tomorrow with a little dash through the snow. I hope you’ll drop in and check it out!

Product List

Summer Splash 8 1/2" X 11 Cardstock

[163797]

$14.00

Pretty Peacock 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[150880]

$14.00

Shy Shamrock 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[163795]

$14.00

Peach Pie 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[163799]

$14.00

Flirty Flamingo 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[141416]

$14.00

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[166780]

$14.00

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

[163771]

$11.00

Everyday Skies 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[164622]

$12.50

Bloom Impressions 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[164944]

$12.50

Spotlight On Nature Dies

[163580]

$35.00

Sweet Jar Bundle (English)

[165507]

$41.25

Jar Of Joy Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

[166176]

$20.00

Secret Sea Classic Stampin' Pad

[165285]

$9.00

Shy Shamrock Classic Stampin Pad

[163808]

$9.00

2024 2026 In Color™ Resin Dots

[163389]

$8.00

2024–2026 In Color™ Shimmer Gems

[163781]

$8.50

Shades Of Green Hexagons

[165233]

$8.00

Summer Splash 3/8" (1 Cm) Bordered Ribbon

[163786]

$7.50

Mini Glue Dots

[103683]

$7.25

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Add All to Cart

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

Sweet Jar

Feel Better Sweets

August 6, 2025August 3, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome in on this Wednesday as we slide into the midway point of the week. How’s your week going so far? Let’s just say that I’m glad I put in some extra work over the weekend because it’s definitely been a busy one here!

This week, we’re using the new Sweet Jar bundle from Stampin’ Up! to create cards for different occasions. Today, we’re pairing up this bundle with the Timeless Plaid paper to create this clean and simple get well card. I don’t know about you, but getting a special meal or treat when I’m feeling under the weather always turns my frown upside down. So why not some chocolate chip cookies?!

We get started on this one with a base of Strawberry Slush cardstock. I decided to mat the Timeless Plaid sheet with Early Espresso to help the plaid really pop. The mat is diecut using the largest Textured Essentials rectangle die. Our focal section gets started with two banners diecut with the Nested Essentials dies using a combination of Strawberry Slush and some Petal Pink glimmer paper from my retired stash. The focal image is, of course, a jar of delicious chocolate chip cookies that we’ve whipped up using the Sweet Jar stamps and punch. This time, I cut the lid from some Crumb Cake cardstock and then stamped the detailing in Gray Granite. The cookie jar is mounted over a box of Strawberry Slush ribbon using several layers of dimensionals. The sentiment from Unbounded Love is heat embossed in white on a small banner of Early Espresso cardstock. I used the smallest die from the Countryside Corners set (just recently retired) to cut this thin banner and then adhered it under the cookie jar with dimensionals. An assortment of gems finish things off with a nice amount of eye-catching sparkle.

We’re working our way through all sorts of seasons. What do you think will be up on deck tomorrow? I hope you’ll tune in and find out!

Product List

Strawberry Slush 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[165625]

$14.00

Early Espresso 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[119686]

$14.00

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

[120953]

$14.00

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[166780]

$14.00

Timeless Plaid 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[164678]

$12.50

Three Color Glimmer 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper

[162813]

$10.50

Sweet Jar Bundle (English)

[165507]

$41.25

Nested Essentials Dies

[161597]

$34.00

Textured Notes Dies

[165555]

$31.00

Countryside Corners Dies

[161471]

$28.00

Gray Granite Classic Stampin' Pad

[147118]

$9.00

Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad

[147114]

$9.00

Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad

[147116]

$9.00

Versamark Pad

[102283]

$9.50

Basics Wow! Embossing Powder

[165679]

$21.00

Strawberry Slush 3/8" (1 Cm) Faux Linen Ribbon

[165274]

$8.00

Strawberry Slush & Pretty In Pink Gems

[165615]

$8.50

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

[144108]

$4.25

Mini Glue Dots

[103683]

$7.25

Add All to Cart

Sweet Jar

Sending Love Your Way

August 5, 2025August 3, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

This week, we’re using the new Stampin’ Up! Sweet Jar stamp & punch bundle to create our projects. And today, we’re keeping things super simple with just a few scraps of patterned paper and a diecut panel. And I used a fun taping technique to make the sentiment into a horizontal strip.

We get started with a standard base of Secret Sea cardstock. I used a scrap of the heart pattern from the Marbled Elegance paper pack along with a striped pattern from the Florals in Bloom pack to create the anchor for the focal panel. The focal panel starts with a piece of white cardstock diecut with one of the larger Spotlight on Nature dies and then we stamp the jar image and hearts directly onto the panel. To dress things up and add a touch of sparkle, I decided to punch the lid from a piece of red Festive glimmer paper (now retired). The focal panel is adhered directly over the paper strips onto the card front. I wanted to have a banner for the sentiment panel so I opted to break up the sentiment from the Sweet Jar stamp set to create a more horizontally-stretched sentiment. To ensure I didn’t have any ghost stamping on my sentiment panel, I covered the already-stamped portions of the sentiment with a strip of tape after I had the next portion inked up. The banner shape is created the simple way with just the trimmer and paper snips. And it’s popped up on dimensionals so that it stands up front and center. I scattered heart sequins and pink In Color shimmer gems across the front to draw the eye across the panel and provide some nice pops of sparkle.

The Sweet Jar bundle and its complimentary Jar of Joy stamp set provide possibilities for all sorts of different occasions. I hope you’ll drop in tomorrow to see what we celebrate next!

Product List