Botanicals · January Mini Catalog

You Can Do Anything

Happy Saturday, crafty friends! It’s a cold and icy day here in North Texas, just as the weathermen predicted. The kiddo has had fun sliding down the steep driveway, and I’ve puttered around sweeping off the porch and setting up makeshift shelters for the cat food bowls and temporary potty box so our (very spoiled) outside cats don’t have to leave the back porch. Hubby made us all a big breakfast and we’ve been enjoying loafing around since, which leaves me time to play in the craft room!

I got a brand new box of goodies earlier this week that I’ve been dying to take out and make some projects. Today, I decided to make another project with the new Lovely & Beautiful patterned paper pack and Fabulous Sentiments Product of the Month stamp set. I flipped through my trusty fun fold template book put together by fellow demo Jackie Bolhuis over at Klompen Stampers to source the card layout.

So this design gets started with a quarter panel of Blackberry Bliss cardstock. I love the contrast that this small panel provides and the stability it lends to the overall card design. Our folding panel is a sheet of Fresh Freesia that is scored to give us a tick-smaller standard quarter panel in the center section. The top and bottom flaps of our folded section then open to reveal the inside message panel of our card. I chose a sheet of the smaller foiled floral pattern paper from the Lovely & Beautiful paper pack as the patterned sheet for the card front panels. The top fold is just slightly larger than the bottom so that it overlaps slightly, and so we build our overhanging focal panel on the top panel. Our focal section gets started with a scrap of Blackberry Bliss cut with the Nested Essentials die. The sentiment from the January Product of the Month Fabulous Sayings stamp set is stamped in Fresh Freesia on white cardstock and then cut with paper snips. The sentiment is adhered over a bow of white & gold ribbon with dimensionals onto the Blackberry Bliss panel. This panel is adhered to the bottom of the top flap with dimensionals. A flower and leaves from the Covered in Flowers accents serve as our floral accents, and they’re colored with small blending brushes using Fresh Freesia and Mossy Meadow before being covered with Wink of Stella. They’re tucked behind the sentiment and adhered with a combination of dimensionals and glue dots. I added a gold drusy embellishment as the flower center to coordinate with the foiled paper and added a group of In Color pearls on the sentiment panel for a pop of twinkly color contrast to draw the eye to the sentiment.

I’m planning to bring you some more designs this weekend. I hope you’ll drop back by and see what I have in store for you!

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Botanicals · January Mini Catalog

On My Mind, Lovely

Howdy, friends! It has beeeeeeeeen a week! You might remember that I mentioned my office was moving over the weekend last weekend. Needless to say, this week has been crazy busy as we’ve unpacked and put things back together so we could actually function. Despite the move, the work kept coming and we had to make the best of it. I was pooped by the time I got home, but the work didn’t stop at home either.

We’re expecting a major winter storm with temps around 0-degrees F this weekend and my evenings have been taken up preparing things inside and out. I’ve been getting all of the heated huts ready for our outside kitties, wrapping pipes, and covering plants, as well as thinking of all of the things we needed to have on hand in the event of power outages from the ice. Although we’re no stranger to winter precip here in North Texas, we’re not necessarily adequately equipped for it because we’re accustomed to it just blowing in and out in a day or two instead of sticking around for extended periods.

But I’ve been itching to get in the craft room to play with a few more new goodies that arrived this week. And with that winter storm set to keep us in for the foreseeable future, it looks like I’ll have my opportunity and I’ll be able to bring you some fresh ideas. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty stoked about this winter storm. *snicker*

I just couldn’t resist the new Lovely & Beautiful patterned paper pack. It’s the perfect combination of florals and foiled patterns. And I paired it up with the new January Product of the Month (POTM) — the Fabulous Sayings stamp set. A simple layout with gorgeous paper made for a quick and stunning result.

We get started with a base of white cardstock. Our backdrop is a sheet of the gorgeous Lovely & Beautiful patterned paper matted with a panel of Fresh Freesia. Some Petunia Pop iridescent ribbon is wrapped around the bottom before the panel is adhered to the card front. The sentiment from the Product of the Month Fabulous Sayings stamp set is stamped in Petunia Pop on white cardstock. I used my paper snips to cut around the sentiment for a little visual interest. A circle of the Pleasant Patterns paper is diecut with the Stylish Shapes circle and adhered to the card front over the strip of ribbon. The sentiment is adhered to the circle over a faux bow of Petunia Pop iridescent ribbon with dimensionals. A few In Color flat pearls on either side of the sentiment add a sheen of extra color to draw the eye to the sentiment.

Isn’t this paper gorgeous?! I can’t wait to use the other sheets in the pack. And the new POTM set deserves some more love too! Tune in tomorrow to see what’s up next.

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Botanicals · January Mini Catalog

Hope & Comfort

Happy Saturday, friends! As expected, the office move stole my crafting time yesterday, so I’m stealing a little time in the craft room this morning before I head to the new office to unpack and work to get things settled so we’re ready to roll next week.

This week, we’re using the new Prayers & Promises sentiment stamp set to create our card designs. I’ve been pairing up this stamp set with a whole host of products in the stash — most of them new goodies. And today we’re using the January Product of the Month True Blue Florals paper, the new Lovely Arrangements dies, and the new laser cut Covered In Flowers accents. (FYI — the January POTM is still available with any qualifying order while supplies last!)

I used a layout by fellow demo Heidi Collins over at On Y Go! Stamping as the inspiration for this card design. We get started with a base of Night of Navy cardstock. A sheet of the large floral-patterned paper from the True Blue Florals pack serves as both the backdrop for our card front, as well as the accent design panel behind the focal point. I used the Lovely Arrangements die to create that strip of circles on the right that really helps our focal point pop. The sentiment from Prayers & Promises is stamped in Secret Sea on white cardstock and then cut out with the Stylish Shapes circle die. This panel is adhered over a twist of the white & gold baker’s twine with dimensionals. A spray of florals is colored with Wink of Stella and then placed to the side of sentiment panel and held in place with dimensionals. We finish things off with a combination of the moody palette dots & charming shimmer faceted dots.

I love the contrast of light and dark in this design and how it really draws our eye to the encouraging sentiment. I hope to get a little time this evening to bring you one last project using the Prayers & Promises sentiment set. Fingers crossed I’m not completely wiped out from a day of unpacking and setup at the office!

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Botanicals · January Mini Catalog

Peace I Leave You

Hi there, friends! I can’t believe it’s already Thursday. Has this week been on fast forward for anyone else? It’s been a busy week at the office, especially as we prepare to pack up and move to a new space this weekend. So as much as I love to think about Friday approaching, I’ll be busy this weekend getting the office put back together! Womp-womp.

This week, we’re playing with some of the new products from the latest release. In particular, I’m using the new Prayers & Promises sentiment set for each design as we pair it up with other fun sets. Today, I’m using a less conventional color palette for a soft and comforting vibe with the plants from the On Display and Gliding Garden Swing sets.

We get started with a base of Balmy Blue cardstock and then place our background pattern from the True Blue Florals paper pack (still available until it’s gone!) on top. Our focal panel backdrop consists of a trio of circles cut with the Spotlight on Nature dies from a combination of the Pleasant Patterns foiled paper and the pink shimmer paper from the new Pastels Shimmer pack. The pink shimmer circle in the center serves as our sentiment panel. The sentiment from Prayers & Promises is stamped right on the circle panel in a combination of Versamark and Lost Lagoon and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder to be sure it pops. We surround our sentiment panel with some potted greenery cut from Lost Lagoon and Cajun Craze using a combination of the On Display stamps & dies and the Gliding Garden Swing dies. Layers of dimensionals give us the depth of scene. A few Sparkle Dot Essentials finish things off with our twinkle of pink accents.

As I was working out this design in my head, I wanted to show that simple designs and unconventional color palettes can give just as much wow factor as the cards with all the layers and fancy techniques. And I think that’s one of the many things that I love about papercrafts — the multitude of ways to make beautiful things!

I hope to bring you another design tomorrow, assuming the office pack-up runs smoothly and I’m able to get home at a reasonable time. We will keep our fingers crossed!

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January Mini Catalog · Prayers & Promises

Prayers for Loss

Happy Monday, friends! We were traveling over the weekend for a family memorial service, so the weekend went by quickly. It was a beautiful service and it was wonderful to see everyone.

And honestly, this weekend’s activities spurred the idea for this week’s design theme centering on the new Prayers & Promises stamp set. This beautiful sentiment set can be used for a whole variety of cards — from sympathy to encouragement to recovery. There are so many ways to lift someone up with this set. Today, we’re pairing it with a whole collection of new products, including the Pleasant Patterns foiled paper, the Lovely Blossoms paper, and new embellishments.

We get started with a base of Mossy Meadow cardstock, which pairs beautifully with the focal panel and gives grounding for the green accent color. The backdrop for our card front is the Peach Pie spotted sheet from the Pleasant Patterns paper pack. I loved the soft glimmer this panel provides and helps the focal panel pop. The focal panel itself is a combination of two of the ready-made elements from the Lovely Blossoms paper pack. I had the green panel left after removing a square from the center for another design and found that it made the perfect frame for the peachy floral & vine panel. A strip of the peachy eyelet-patterned paper from Lovely Blossoms gave the perfect eye relief in the background pattern, tying everything together. The sentiment panel is cut from the eyelet pattern using the Stylish Shapes dies and then the sentiment from the Prayers & Promises set is stamped in Secret Sea in the center and adhered in the corner with dimensionals. A bow of Old Olive rickrack adds a decorative touch of green and the white glossy dots give the perfect pop of shine to draw the eye across the full card front.

I hope you’ll drop in tomorrow as we pair this sentiment set with some of the newest SU! releases.

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Botanicals · January Mini Catalog

Birthday Blossoms

TGIF, everybody! We made it thru the first full work week since the holidays. How did it go for you? It was pretty busy here. I’m glad I had worked ahead in the craft room last weekend!

This week, we’ve been working with the new Lovely Blossoms suite that just released in the store this week. Today, we’re combining all of the suite elements to create this lovely birthday card.

We get started with a base of Cloud Cover cardstock, which provides a nice contrast with our focal panel background of Secret Sea. A sheet of the small white floral pattern from the Lovely Blossoms paper pack provides our backdrop for the focal panel. Our focal panel has lots of layers. We start with a piece of vellum machine embossed with the Lovely Stripes embossing folder included in the suite. This provides a subtle relief from our background and provides a soft landing for our bold focal backdrop of Secret Sea glimmer paper that has been cut using the Lovely Arrangements circle backdrop die. The floral elements use the coordinating Lovely Arrangements stamps and dies. The flowers are stamped in Cloud Cover on white and then cut with the coordinating die. We adhere them to our backdrop with dimensionals. The leaves are cut from Soft Sea Foam using the leaf die from the Delicate Pines die set and are tucked behind over flowers in opposing corners for balance. The sentiment from Lovely Arrangements is stamped in Secret Sea on white and then diecut with the small sentiment strip die from the coordinating die set. The sentiment sits atop a strip of the Cloud Cover broad ribbon placed in the center of our foliage. We finish things off with some Cloud Cover dots in opposing corners for just a flash of color and reflective sparkle.

I really love how this one came out. So soft and elegant. I’ll be taking a little break tomorrow as we travel out of town for a family funeral. But I’ll be back next week with some new products,

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Botanicals · January Mini Catalog

Blossoms of Smiles

Howdy, friends, and welcome back! This week is coasting along. And all I can think about is all of the things I have to do before we head out of town this weekend for a family funeral — get the kitties situated, tidy up the house, last-minute laundry, packing. Ack! So many things. But somehow I know it will all get done and things will be fine. We’re fortunate to have friends who are willing to let their teenager taking on the pet sitter gig, so we know our guys will be in good hands!

This week, we’re getting an in-depth look at the brand new suite called Lovely Blossoms. It just launched in the online store. Have you checked out all of the new goodies that dropped in the store this week? I’m really loving this suite because you can create so many different looks based on the products you combine. And today we’re letting our stamps and dies take center stage. I actually borrowed the inspiration for today’s card design from one of the samples in the online store. Maybe you can figure out which one?

Today’s card is actually pretty simple and comes together relatively easily. We get started with a base of Secret Sea cardstock. I used a quarter panel as the backdrop and punched it up by die cutting the eyelet pattern on the diagonal across it using the Lovely Arrangements die. The panel is then adhered to the card front with dimensionals to really give that eyelet pattern more prominence. Our focal section is the florals. I stamped a collection of both the large and small flowers from the Lovely Arrangements stamp set in Secret Sea on white paper and cut with the coordinating dies. The images are filled in with an assortment of Stampin’ Blends, using the darks from each pair for the centers and the lighter blends for the flower petals and edges. Nothing too precise — just swipes across the images. I really love this simple shading method and the look you get. I also stamped a couple of the leaf bunches in Garden Green on Soft Sea Foam paper and cut them with the coordinating die. And then we start arranging the flowers and leaves to get the layers of color and shapes that are most pleasing to the eye before sticking everything down. Glue dots adhere the elements that are in the background, while varying layers of dimensionals give us the depth and layers in the flowers. The sentiment sits on a banner of vellum cut with the Words of Beauty die. The sentiment from the Lovely Arrangements stamp set is stamped in Versamark on vellum and then heat embossed with gold and is adhered over a twist of the gold striped mesh ribbon with glue dots. A few traditional sparkling sequins finish things off with a pop of Pool Party.

I hope you’ll drop in tomorrow as we continue our Lovely Blossoms design series with a closer look at the dies.

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Fun Folds · January Mini Catalog

Because You’re Amazing

Welcome back and welcome to the midweek! With most of us going back to work and kiddos returning to school, this is either the first full week for some or simply feels like the longest short week ever for others. *wink*

But how about some new product inspiration to give a little bright spot in this week for you?! Did you know that a whole bunch of new stuff hit the online store yesterday? Yep — there are 3 new kits, a whole new batch of online exclusives, PLUS all of the products in the new January Mini catalog. Soooooo many goodies. And this week, we’re getting a good look at the brand new Lovely Blossoms suite that includes paper, ribbon, embellishments, stamps, dies, and an embossing folder.

Today’s featured fun fold card puts another one of the ready-made card panels on display. The new Lovely Blossoms paper pack includes a full sheet of these panels of varying sizes. Today’s panel is a little smaller, which lets some of the other cool goodies in this suite get a chance at the spotlight. Let’s take a closer look.

Our card front starts with a base of Cloud Cover cardstock. For this fun fold, we’re using a standard A2-sized base. The backdrop for our front focal panel is a combination of two patterned papers. The mat is from the Traditions of Christmas pack and our floral panel is from the new Lovely Blossoms pack. Our focal panel base is white cardstock that is embossed with the new Lovely Stripes embossing folder. This folder gives a nice, deep impression in the paper making the details really pop. I used my paper snips to cut closely around the focal image from the ready-made panel I cut from the Lovely Blossoms paper. The little detail of the overhanging leaves just added a nice soft touch to the card front. The because sentiment is from the Words of Beauty set and is stamped on vellum with Secret Sea ink and then set with clear embossing powder before being diecut with the coordinating outline die. It’s adhered to the focal panel with glue dots to keep the adhesive invisible. The focal panel is adhered to our embossed panel with dimensionals over a twist of the new Cloud Burst ribbon and we finish off our focal panel with a dash of subtle twinkle with the new Moody Palette glossy dots.

When we open our small front focal panel, we reveal the other portion of our sentiment I think you’re amazing from the Words of Beauty set. Our sentiment panel sits atop a beautiful backdrop of some of the smaller ready-made panels from the Lovely Blossoms paper. We add some interest to our backdrop using the Stylish Shapes dies and the set of postage stamp dies in the 2025 Advent Calendar.

The sentiment is stamped on vellum in Secret Sea and heat set with clear embossing powder before being cut with a smaller banner die from the Stylish Shapes die set. It’s adhered over a faux bow of Cloud Cover baker’s twine from the 2025 Advent Calendar. And we finish off our sentiment panel with a little pop of twinkle with some Secret Sea Moody Palette glossy dots. The card opens up to a blank white message panel which covers the anchor portion of our smaller front focal panel.

Tomorrow we’re going to let the stamps & dies from the Lovely Blossoms bundle take center stage. I hope you’ll drop in and see.

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Botanicals · Fun Folds · January Mini Catalog

Thankful Blossoms

Welcome in, friends! I hope your week is off to a good start. This is the first full week I will have had since the flu and the holidays. And I’m still not sure what day it is! *snicker* All of the kiddos in our area are returning to school today so the roads are back to being busy.

This week, I’m playing with some of my new January Mini Catalog goodies with an up-close look at the new Lovely Blossoms bundle by Stampin’ Up! This terrific bundle includes it all — stamps, dies, embossing folder, paper, embellishments…the works! And one of my favorite things about the paper in this set is the sheet of ready-made card elements. With a pretty tight schedule these days, it’s nice to have ways to still make handmade smiles without hours in the craft room.

Today’s fun fold card starts with a base of Secret Sea cardstock. I’m using the barn fold here which places the flaps opening squarely in the center of the card front. But I used an overly large overlay panel to give the look of a traditional cohesive card front. Isn’t that such a fun twist on this barn fold?! I used one of the largest ready-made panels from the Lovely Blossoms sheet and cut it down just a smidge with the largest Textured Notes die. The panel is then matted with Secret Sea glimmer paper and the full panel is adhered just to the left flap of our barn fold. The sentiment from the Lovely Arrangements stamp set is stamped in Secret Sea on white cardstock and then diecut with the Words of Beauty middle-sized sentiment panel die. The sentiment is adhered over a twist of the new white with gold ribbon in the bottom corner of our front focal panel. And we add bits of sparkle with some of the brand new Secret Sea sparkle dot essentials.

Now comes the fun part — the inside of our card. The message panel has a flower image from the Lovely Arrangments set stamped in the bottom corner. Each of the flaps is covered with a coordinating lighter floral and vine patterned sheet from the Lovely Blossoms set. And then we cover the exposed part of our front card panel with a coordinating Secret Sea patterned sheet from the Lovely Blossoms paper pack.

I just love how this one comes together. You could even add an inside sentiment on the left inside panel. That would be a really nice variation actually. *making note to self* Tomorrow we’re going to be making another fun fold with this suite and getting a sneak peek at a few more new products. I hope you’ll drop in and see!

Products used:
Secret Sea, Basic White cardstock
Lovely Blossoms, Peaceful Garden glimmer DSP
Textured Notes, Words of Beauty dies
Lovely Arrangements stamps
Secret Sea ink
White with gold ribbon
Sparkle dot essentials
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon

Here for You

Happy Monday, friends! Did you have a productive weekend? We ticked quite a few things off the to-do list. And then there’s still quite a bit left to do. Isn’t that how it always goes? A never-ending to-do list, it seems.

Even with all of the household to-dos, I still found some time to play in the studio with new stampin’ goodies. I’m really digging into the new releases that will go live in the shop tomorrow (1/6). You guys are going to love them! This week, we’re going to playing with the Lovely Blossoms suite. This gorgeous suite of SU! products includes patterned paper, stamps, dies, an embossing folder, ribbon, and embellishments. I love the cool hues of this suite! And *bonus* one of the patterned papers includes a side of mixed-size images that make quick work of a card front. And we’re using one of those today.

Today, we’re keeping things pretty simple. We get started with a base of Secret Sea cardstock. The background layer is the striped pattern from the Traditions of Christmas paper pack. I cut apart the image sheet in the Lovely Blossoms paper pack and used one of the large images. To make things interesting, I decided to cut it down with the Everyday Arches dies and cut a mat from a sheet of the silver Peaceful Garden glimmer paper with the next-up arch die. The sentiment is from the new (coordinating) Lovely Arrangements stamp set and is stamped in Secret Sea right on top of the focal image panel. The whole panel, including mat, is adhered to the card front with dimensionals. And we finish everything off with a bow of Misty Moonlight & Silver ribbon and some of the new Misty Moonlight sparkle dots.

This card comes together in a jiffy thanks to the ready-made card front panel. We’re going to use another panel tomorrow but in a dressed-up version. I hope you’ll pop in and check it out!

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