Diamond Birthday

August 22, 2024August 20, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Do you ever see a special fold and think WOW? That’s precisely what happened when a fellow demonstrator shared the Diamond Fold with our team. And I’m glad to finally have the time to sit down and learn this fold. It looks far more complicated than it is, and it is absolutely a perfect way to spotlight beautiful patterned paper!

This week, we’re looking at all the ways we can use traditional holiday products in everyday designs. Today, we’re pairing the Season of Gold & Green designer paper with part of the new Season of Elegance suite to make this gorgeous Diamond Fold card.

We get started on today’s fun fold design with a base of Shaded Spruce cardstock. We cut a standard-sized base but in landscape orientation with a fold in the center and then one to divide the second half. I chose two different patterns from the Season of Green & Gold designer series paper pack, a current Stampin’ Up! Online Exclusive. We’re bringing out the gold foiling by using the gold foil specialty paper as an accent color on our diamond panel. Our focal image is the largest tree from the new Peaceful Evergreens bundle. It’s stamped and diecut from Mossy Meadow with a gold bow diecut and added to the top. The new Peaceful Evergreens die set that will release on September 6th with the Holiday Mini catalog includes a set of dies to make paper bows and it really makes it easy to have perfect bows for your cards! Our sentiment from Adventurous Sky is stamped in black on Very Vanilla cardstock and then diecut using the Peaceful Season dies. This panel is mounted on a gold foil banner diecut with the largest banner from that same die set. I added some drusy embellishments for lots of extra sparkle and to help draw the eye across the card front.

Tomorrow we’ll be using a sketch to create a super fun thank-you design. I hope you’ll stop by and check it out.

Want to know how to make today’s card step-by-step? You can catch this week’s of episode of Terrific Tuesdays to see this card come together from start to finish. I’ve also provided a FREE PDF tutorial here. Please note that some of the products shown will not be available until September 6th.

Products used in today’s card:
Shaded Spruce, Mossy Meadow, Very Vanilla, Basic White cardstock
Season of Green & Gold, gold foil DSP
Adventurous Sky stamps
Peaceful Evergreens stamps & dies (coming soon!)
Peaceful Season dies (coming soon!)
Drusy embellishments (coming soon!)
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Wish You Were Here

August 21, 2024August 20, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Thanks for joining me today as we continue our new design series — using holiday products to create everyday designs. I don’t know about you, but I tend to look at products in a holiday release from a single lens. But very often, these products are intended for designs far outside specific holidays.

Today, we’re using the new Take a Bow paper and Joyful ephemera packs to create a missing-you card. For me, there’s no question that the winter holidays make me think of friends and loved ones far away. So why not send them a card to let them know?!

We get started with a base of Pool Party cardstock. All of the patterned papers come from the Take a Bow paper pack, which will release on September 6th. I used the Nested Essentials dies to cut the two image background panels that hold our focal images from the Joyful Images ephemera packs. The sentiment comes from the Joyful Sayings ephemera pack. Varying layers of dimensionals behind elements gives depth and interest to our design. We finish things off and tie things together with a few gold snowflakes to bring out the gold striping in the sentiment banner backing.

Tomorrow we’re making an elegant sympathy card that is definitely a must-see! I hope you’ll pop in and check it out.

Products used in today’s card:
Pool Party cardstock
Take a Bow (coming soon!) DSP
Joyful Sayings & Images ephemera (coming soon!)
Nested Essentials dies
Snowflakes
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Holiday Mini Catalog · Holidays

Let’s Celebrate

August 19, 2024August 18, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Monday, everyone! Can you believe we’re halfway through August already?! Me either! But that means, we’re just a few short weeks away from the launch of the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog. And trust me when I say you’re gonna love it!

This week, we’re starting a new design series. We’re going to be looking at our holiday products from a different angle, taking them beyond the holidays into the everyday.

And today, we’re starting with the new Nests of Winter designer paper. We’re using the detailed bird patterned paper to create a celebratory card. While it’s a little wintery, the design doesn’t feel like a holiday card. This card would be perfect for a winter birthday, promotion, retirement, or graduation.

We get started with a base of Night of Navy cardstock. Our focal panel backdrop consists of a narrow panel of Night of Navy embossed with the Snowflake Sky embossing folder and two mats — white glimmer paper and textured gold specialty paper. The cluster of birds are diecut from the Nests of Winter designer paper using the Spotlight on Nature dies. The sentiments are stamped in navy on white cardstock using the Happy Little Things and Friends for Life stamp sets and then diecut using the Greetings of the Season banner die. I’ve tied Night of Navy & Gold sheer ribbon through the end. Our sentiment panel overlays the focal images. And the design is finished with a few gold sequins to draw the eye across the design.

Tune in tomorrow for another twist on the Nests of Winter.

Products used in today’s card:
Basic White, Night of Navy cardstock
White glimmer, textured gold, Nests of Winter (coming soon!) DSP
Happy Little Things, Friends for Life stamps
Spotlight on Nature, Greetings of the Season dies
Snowflake Sky embossing folder
Night of Navy & Gold sheer ribbon
Neutrals sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon · Holiday Mini Catalog

Christmas in the Air

August 17, 2024August 15, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a ball digging into my box of Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog preorder goodies and sharing sneak peeks with you. One of the many perks of being a demonstrator is having the opportunity to order new items early, and I love being able to share my excitement about new products with you.

Today, we’re getting a look at a new embossing folder called Painted Trees, which is part of the larger suite that we worked with yesterday. This embossing folder is on the larger side, which is perfect for anyone who prefers making larger-sized cards. For today’s card, I kept things really simple. Let’s take a look.

We get started with a card base of Basic White cardstock. While cut to a standard size, I did orient the score line at the top of the portrait orientation. The base of our front panel is a sheet of the new Take a Bow designer paper. For our focal panel, we start with a quarter panel of Pool Party cardstock, which is cut down so that a narrow border of our base shows on all sides. I then machine embossed this panel using the Painted Trees embossing folder. I oriented the tallest tree so that it would be in the center of my panel, which gives just partial images of the smaller trees on either side. Using my sponge daubers, I went over the embossed portions with Mossy Meadow and Old Olive inks to bring out the details of each tree. I then sponged around the trees with Pool Party ink to give more depth and variation to the sky in the background. I used my water painter to flick diluted white craft ink on the panel to give the look of fluffy falling snow. Our sentiment panel is diecut from Garden Green cardstock using the Peaceful Season dies and then the sentiment from Peaceful Season is heat embossed in white. The word Christmas is diecut from white glimmer paper using the Peaceful Season die. I thread the silver & white sheer ribbon through the ends of the sentiment panel and tied a bow on one end to affix it to the card front. A few adhesive snowflakes finish things off.

I just love this embossing folder and can think of so many other sets that could be paired with it to create some really beautiful scenes. But this design is super simple and easy to replicate and is definitely going into my rotation of Christmas cards this year!

Next week, we’re going to look at our designer papers a little differently. I hope you’ll tag along as we turn patterns that may seem seasonal into designs for all occasions.

Products used in today’s card:
Basic White, Pool Party, Garden Green cardstock
White glimmer, Take a Bow (coming soon!) DSP
Peaceful Season stamps & dies (coming soon!)
Painted Trees embossing folder (coming soon!)
White embossing powder
Silver & white sheer ribbon
White snowflakes
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon · Holiday Mini Catalog · Sketchy Fridays

Sketchy Fridays: Cheer All Year

August 16, 2024August 14, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

This week has come and gone in a flash! We’ve survived the first full week of school and are starting to feel like we’re getting back into the school year rhythm. Definitely looking forward to the weekend and having some down time!

And speaking of Fridays, it’s time for another installment of Sketchy Fridays, where each week we’ll be 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 on page 22 of the current Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog.

This week’s card is based on Sketch #12 and features several products from the new Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog that launches on September 6th.

We get started on our card today with a base of Cherry Cobbler cardstock. Our background panel consists of a mat of Festive Glimmer paper and a sheet of the gorgeous new Season of Elegance patterned paper. Our focal images are diecut from Cherry Cobbler using the Peaceful Season dies. On our larger square, I’ve heat embossed the sentiment from Peaceful Season in gold. The word Christmas is diecut from Festive Glimmer Paper and Gold Foil using the Peaceful Season dies and then adhered with dimensionals. Our larger square is adhered with dimensionals to ensure the sentiment is front and center. A twist of gold trim and some drusy embellishments draw extra attention to our sentiment. I added a few earth tones shimmer gems around the cluster of focal images to help the eye pass across the design.

One of the fun things about sketches is remembering that they’re a starting point for your design. You can stick to the spirit of the sketch without compromising on an idea for using something a little different. Take, for example, the circles in the sketch. For this card, I wanted to showcase the new Peaceful Season dies, which does not have any circles, but look how beautifully the rounded squares work here in this layout. Dare to color outside the lines the next time you’re using a sketch. You’ll be glad you did!

Tomorrow, we’ll be in the evergreens. I hope you’ll pop by and check it out!

Products used in today’s card:
Cherry Cobbler cardstock
Festive Shimmer (coming soon!), Season of Elegance (coming soon!), gold foil DSP
Peaceful Season stamps & dies
Gold embossing powder
Drusy embellishments, earth tones shimmer gems (both coming soon!)
Gold trim
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon · Holiday Mini Catalog

Joyful ephemera

August 15, 2024August 14, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

This week, we’re getting a sneaky peek at some of the upcoming products that will release with the new Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog, which officially goes live on September 6th. Today’s card features some of the new ephemera packs. What are ephemera packs, you might wonder? Well, the packs in the current lineup offer colorful words, images, and/or sentiments that are preprinted and ready to be added to your card. They’re a wonderful way to make beautiful cards when you are short on time.

For today’s card, we’re using a combination of the new Joyful Images Ephemera and Joyful Sayings Ephemera. We’re pairing them up with the new Take a Bow designer series paper pack and Sketch #5 from the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. Let’s take a closer look at how it all comes together.

We get started with a base of Garden Green cardstock. Our striped banner background element is a sheet of the new Take a Bow paper that is diecut with the Nested Essentials banner dies using the extension method. The green spotted background element is another pattern included in the Take a Bow paper pack and is diecut using the largest square in the Nested Essentials set using the extension method. This panel serves as the backdrop for the focal images of evergreens and an elk from the Joyful Images pack. These adhered to the background panel with varying layers of dimensionals. Our sentiment comes from the Joyful Sayings pack and an evergreen sprig and pinecone are added to tie everything together. The sentiment is matted with a banner of Festive Glimmer paper and then adhered on the focal panel with dimensionals. A faux bow of Cherry Cobbler & Gold satin ribbon behind the focal panel adds another pop of red. A few Earth Tones shimmer gems add sparkle and draw the eye across our card design.

This card came together in a jiffy and I love having the ephemera packs on hand to make cute cards on the fly. I chose a more neutral theme for today’s card, but the pack has images that would make cute Christmas or winter-themed cards. We’ll take a closer look in the coming weeks.

Tomorrow we’re diving into the Season of Elegance suite, and I think you’re going to love it! Pop in and check it out.

Products used in today’s card:
Garden Green cardstock
Take a Bow, Festive Glimmer DSP (both coming soon!)
Joyful Images, Joyful Sayings ephemera (both coming soon!)
Cherry Cobbler & Gold satin ribbon (coming soon!)
Earth Tones shimmer gems (coming soon!)
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon · Holiday Mini Catalog

Good Courage

August 14, 2024August 13, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Halfway through the week we already are. As I mentioned on Monday, it’s been run-run-run around here as we adjust to our schoolyear routine. On that note, you may have noticed that I haven’t released a new Terrific Tuesdays video the last 2 weeks and that is why. We’ve focused on family time and getting adjusted to the new routine. I’m working on some new fun folds that I look forward to sharing with you in the next episode, so have no fear, new content is coming!

But for now, this week we’re sneak peeking into the new Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog that goes live on September 6th. And today’s card design features a new bundle called Nests of Winter, which includes coordinating patterned paper, stamps, dies, embossing folder, shimmer gems, and linen thread. I really love when the dies and paper can be used together, and our card today showcases that beautifully. So let’s take a closer look.

We get started with a base of Shaded Spruce cardstock. Our background panel consists of two different patterns from the Nests of Winter paper pack. I paired the Garden Green stripe with the white birch pattern. I used the Winterly Treetops dies to diecut the bird elements. One of the patterns in the paper pack includes them both, and I liked the look of them both together on one card. Our sentiment from the Courage & Faith set is stamped in black on white cardstock and then diecut using the Greetings of the Season die. I carefully placed the oriole over the pre-punched hole in the die. I placed a twist of Shaded Spruce satin & sheer ribbon behind the sentiment panel to make our color palette more cohesive and added a few drusy embellishments to add sparkle and draw the eye across our design.

This suite would pair perfectly with the sketches in the Annual Catalog. And BONUS, there’s a whole new set of sketches in the Holiday Mini catalog, too! And I look forward to sharing more of this suite with you so you can appreciate just how wonderful it is.

Tomorrow we’re going wild with ephemera. Tune in to see how you can shortcut your way to beautiful cards!

Products used in today’s card:
Shaded Spruce, Basic White cardstock
Nests of Winter DSP (coming soon!)
Winterly Treetops (coming soon!), Greetings of the Season dies
Courage & Faith stamps
Shaded Spruce satin & sheer ribbon (coming soon!)
Drusy embellishments (coming soon!)
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Back to School · Sketchy Fridays

Sketchy Fridays: Packed for Success

August 9, 2024August 8, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

How is it Friday already?! Anyone else feel this way? Our last week of summer has just flown by. We’ve shopped for school clothes and last-minute supplies, cleaned out the backpack and started fresh for the year, set next week’s lunch box menu, and squeezed in some random fun. What do you typically do with your kiddos for their last week of summer break?

For this week’s Sketchy Fridays, we’re taking a little detour from the Annual Catalog and, instead, are taking a page from my personal sketch book. Our sketch is a little unconventional, but then again, so is today’s card!

Today, we’re continuing our back-to-school theme, and I just love how this card design came out! I knew that I wanted to make a design that included a backpack, but I definitely didn’t have a backpack image in my current product stash. So I started looking at everything a little differently as I sorted through sets again. And that’s when I realized that I could use the sled die from Sophisticated Sled die set to make it happen. Let’s take a closer look!

Our card gets started with a base of Basic Black cardstock. I wanted the focal panel to look like a wall in a classroom. Although difficult to see here, the focal panel is a quarter sheet of black cardstock that has been trimmed slightly on each side and then raised with dimensionals. I used the Bright & Beautiful patterned papers to help me create this look with the bottom of the wall being the striped pattern. And then I wanted the top portion to look like a bulletin board, so the star pattern is serving as the decorative border around the bulletin board and our printed sentiment is the inspirational message from the teacher.

To create our backpack, we’ll start with a quarter sheet of Pretty Peacock cardstock and use the top portion of the sled die to cut our backpack. Be sure to save all of the negative space pieces to serve as backpack pockets, and we’ll trim any portion of the bottom of the sled off to keep the look of a backpack. Using the die itself, I traced around the outside of the portion I used to cut the backpack and then fussy cut on my trace marks to create a base to which I adhered all of my pieces. This also creates a more realistic look of a stuffed backpack. I used my glue pen to adhere the outline portion and then I used several layers of glue dots on each of the “pockets” to adhere them and give them the look of having items inside. Using the letter “i” from the Alphabet a La Mode die set, I cut the handle for the backpack and adhere it using tear & tape. I used the handle for the toolbox from the Trusty Toolbox die set to create the backpack straps. The backpack is adhered to the background with dimensionals. I added a few stars cut from silver foil with the Merriest Trees dies to finish off the design.

Isn’t this the most fun? Our inside sentiment says “reach for the stars” so everything ties together nicely. I just love how it turned out!

I hope you’ll tune in tomorrow where we’ll be making some Lunchbox Lovin’. You won’t want to miss it!

Products used in today’s card:
Basic Black, Basic White, Pretty Peacock, Crushed Curry cardstock
Bright & Beautiful, Silver foil DSP
Sophisticated Sled, Trusty Tools, Merriest Trees dies
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Product List

Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[121045]

$11.50

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[159276]

$13.00

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

[150880]

$11.50

Crushed Curry 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[131199]

$11.50

Bright & Beautiful 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[161449]

$12.50

Silver 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Foil Sheets

[163387]

$5.00

Sophisticated Sled Dies

[164133]

$35.00

Trusty Tools Dies

[162722]

$37.00

Merriest Trees Dies

[162047]

$37.00

Mini Glue Dots

[103683]

$7.25

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Tear & Tape Adhesive

[154031]

$7.00

Add All to Cart

Back to School

Color With Greatness

August 8, 2024August 6, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

This week, we’re putting on our creative hats to make back-to-school designs. Why do I need my creative hat? Well, for me personally, my current stash of products (as in, not retired products) doesn’t make it easy to stick to this week’s theme without a little ingenuity. And today, we’re combining the Trusty Tools set with Filled With Fun to create our desktop of color. Let’s see how we can make this one happen.

We get started with a card base of Crumb Cake cardstock. Our focal panel background consists of two layers of patterned paper — the bottom from Take to the Sky and the top from Nature’s Sweetness — and is cut to leave a very small border of the card base peeking around on each side. We cut a focal point out of the top layer of our background panel with the Spotlight on Nature dies and then adhere our two focal panels together with dimensionals. To create the storage box for our paint brushes, we use the wagon fencing from the Filled With Fun die set to cut Crumb Cake cardstock and then tuck the box in the center of the circle. Our paintbrushes are diecut using the Trusty Tools dies. The handles are cut from textured metallic gold while the bristles are cut from Smoky Slate. A dab of paint is stamped in primary colors on the end of each set of bristles. We tuck our paintbrushes into the storage box and adhere with several layers of dimensionals to give the look of multiple planes of view. Once again, I turned to my trusty printer to provide my custom sentiment and diecut it with the Everyday Essentials die using the extension method. The sentiment is adhered with dimensionals, as well. I added a few splatters of paint that were diecut from Real Red and Daffodil Delight cardstock using the Bright Skies dies. A few dollops of rhinestone jewels add just the right amount of sparkle across the card front to help the eye glide easily across the design.

Tomorrow we’ll be packing up some tools for success. I hope you’ll tag along and check it out!

Products used in today’s card:
Crumb Cake, Smoky Slate, Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Basic White cardstock
Take to the Sky, Nature’s Sweetness, Gold textured metallic DSP
Trusty Tools, Filled with Fun, Bright Skies, Everyday Details, Spotlight on Nature dies
Trusty Tools stamps
Rhinestone jewels
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Product List

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

[120953]

$11.50

Smoky Slate 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[131202]

$11.50

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[159276]

$13.00

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

[102482]

$11.50

Daffodil Delight 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[119683]

$11.50

Take To The Sky 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[163436]

$12.50

Nature's Sweetness 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper

[162616]

$16.50

Textured Metallic 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper

[163772]

$8.50

Trusty Tools Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

[163274]

$24.00

Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad

[147084]

$9.00

Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad

[147110]

$9.00

Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad

[147087]

$9.00

Trusty Tools Dies

[162722]

$37.00

Filled With Fun Dies

[163560]

$32.00

Spotlight On Nature Dies

[163580]

$35.00

Everyday Details Dies

[162864]

$34.00

Bright Skies Dies

[162793]

$34.00

Rhinestone Basic Jewels

[144220]

$6.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Tear & Tape Adhesive

[154031]

$7.00

Add All to Cart

Back to School

To a Sharp Year

August 7, 2024August 6, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome in to this wonderful Wednesday! We’re halfway through this week and about halfway through our back-to-school design series. I hope you’ve been enjoying things thus far. Today, we’re keeping things on the simple side with a design using the Trusty Tools stamps and dies. Let’s dive in and learn more about how this card comes together.

We get started with a card base of Cajun Craze cardstock. Our focal panel is a piece of white cardstock that has been cut down on either side to allow a border of our card base to shine through. Using the Trusty Tools stamps, I stamped a pencil on Crushed Curry cardstock and then diecut with the coordinating die. I colored the erasers with Stampin’ Blends to give a realistic look. Using the smaller heart die from the Friends for Life die set, I drew a heart in the center of the focal panel to serve as a guide while adhering the pencils to the focal panel. Once again, I’ve used my printer to print a sentiment that I created to fit the card theme. The sentiment, and its mat of Peach Pie glimmer paper, is diecut using the Friends for Life die set. A layer of dimensionals behind the sentiment gives it a nice rise above the busy focal panel. And we finish things off with a few shiny sequins.

Of the back-to-school designs thus far, this one is by far the one that has come together the quickest. This would be a super cute card to accompany a small gift to teachers on the first day, don’t you think?

I hope you’ll tune in tomorrow when we paint the halls with greatness!

Products used in today’s card:
Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry, Basic White cardstock
Peach Pie glimmer paper
Trusty Tools stamps & dies
Friends for Life dies
Stampin’ Blends
Shiny sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Product List