You Make Me Smile

January 1, 2025December 31, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy New Year, everyone! We had a delightful evening, enjoying a steak dinner, some s’mores around the firepit, a family movie in our pjs, and some celebratory poppers & bubbles to ring in the new year. What about you? Did you do something fun to ring in the new year?

Today, we’re working with the Beautiful Butterflies bundle that will release on January 7th with the new Stampin’ Up! January Mini Catalog. This bundle includes stamps, dies, and a hybrid embossing folder. And today, the hybrid embossing folder takes center stage in our design, along with the new patterned paper called Beautiful Bokeh.

We start our design today with a backdrop of Fresh Freesia cardstock. I chose a coordinating sheet of Beautiful Bokeh as the focal panel and embossed it using the Beautiful Butterflies embossing folder and, at the same time, I cut the large butterfly from the center of the embossed panel using the coordinating die. To bring out the detail in the embossed butterfly that has been cut from the center, I went over it with my finger and silver ink. I added some pastel ombre wing tips for extra sparkle and color. Both the focal panel and butterfly are adhered to the card base using dimensionals of varying heights. A strip of Fresh Freesia seam binding ribbon behind the butterfly really brings out the purple hues in our backdrop. The sentiment from Hugs for Love is stamped on white cardstock and punched with the coordinating Hugs for Love punch and then adhered in the bottom-right corner of our focal panel. A few purple sequins add that extra touch of sparkle that draws the eye across the card.

I hope you’ll tune in tomorrow as we continue to explore all of the lovely designs we can make using the Beautiful Butterflies bundle.

Products used in today’s design:
Fresh Freesia, Basic White cardstock
Beautiful Bokeh (coming soon), pastel ombre glimmer (coming soon) DSP
Beautiful Butterflies dies & embossing folder (coming soon)
Hugs for Love bundle (coming soon)
Fresh Freesia seam binding ribbon (coming soon)
Purple sequins (coming soon)
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Heartfelt Thanks

December 28, 2024 susanfoxbowen2 Comments

Today we’re rounding out our quick peeks at some of my favorite products from the upcoming Stampin’ Up! January Mini and Sale-a-Bration catalogs. This is a super easy design that uses the new Memories & More kit called Mixed Media Florals and the gorgeous new Plaster Painting embossing folder.

Our design begins today with a base of Petal Pink cardstock. The focal panel backdrop is a piece of Beautiful Bokeh patterned paper that is embossed with the new Plaster Painting embossing folder. I made sure to give the panel a deep impression, which allows the white center of the paper to show through. I really loved this distressed look ad how it brings out the white elements of our focal panel. Our focal panel is one of the smaller cards from the Mixed Media Florals Memories & More kit, along with one of the included sentiments from the same. The focal panel is adhered to the backdrop over the Petal Pink diagonal trim using dimensionals. I added Wink of Stella across the wings of the butterfly and adhered to the corner of the focal panel with dimensionals. A few shiny sequins and foiled gems help draw the eye across our design and settle on the sentiment.

Next week, we’ll be taking more in-depth looks at all of these new products and we’ll be getting started with the Beautiful Butterflies bundle. I hope you’ll come along as we combine a few products from the upcoming catalog to make gorgeous projects!

Products used in today’s design:
Petal Pink cardstock
Beautiful Bokeh DSP (coming soon)
Mixed Media Florals Memories & More (coming soon)
Plaster Painting embossing folder (coming soon)
Petal Pink diagonal ribbon
Petal Pink & Gold foiled gems, shiny sequins
Paper butterfly
Wink of Stella
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Christmas · Coming Soon

Sending Snowy Cheer

December 4, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

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

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

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

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

Product List

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

[102482]

$11.50

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[159276]

$13.00

Gold Foil Sheets

[132622]

$5.00

Sending Love Cling Stamp Set (English)

[162873]

$25.00

Sending Love Dies

[162879]

$35.00

Sophisticated Sled Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

[164340]

$24.00

Sophisticated Sled Dies

[164133]

$35.00

Peaceful Evergreens Dies

[164024]

$40.00

Whisper White Craft Stampin' Ink Refill

[101780]

$7.00

Jet Black Stāzon Ink Pad

[101406]

$10.50

Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin' Pad

[147088]

$9.00

Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad

[147090]

$9.00

Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154882]

$11.00

Shaded Spruce Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154903]

$11.00

Smoky Slate Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154904]

$11.00

Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154880]

$11.00

Old Olive Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154892]

$11.00

Joyful Sayings Mix & Match Ephemera Pack (English)

[164109]

$9.50

Adhesive Backed Snowflake Assortment

[162129]

$8.00

Iridescent Foil Gems

[162842]

$8.00

Real Red & White Baker's Twine

[164051]

$5.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Add All to Cart

Christmas · Holidays

Merry Stockings

December 2, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy December, everyone. I don’t know about you, but I’m over here wondering how I ended up in a time warp! Every year, I feel like the fall months just whiz by and we end up at Christmas in the blink of an eye!

The last quarter of my year has definitely felt like it’s on fast forward after returning to work. I just can’t seem to find a good rhythm to keep all of the balls in the air. Each week, something has to give, it seems. So for those who have been following along for a while and for those who are new here, I’m still working on finding a good balance in order to find time in the craft room.

I was fortunate to have a few days at home over the Thanksgiving holiday and could carve out a little crafty time. I’m still working on Christmas cards and it’s going to be a race to the finish to get enough made to get them all out before Christmas! Today’s card uses the Joyful Ephemera packs to create a super simple and very festive holiday card.

We get started with a base of white cardstock. The focal panel is machine embossed using the Cute Crochet embossing folder that is then matted with some red Festive Glimmer paper. The mantle is a strip of the Take a Bow patterned paper pack that is mounted with dimensionals. The stockings and bows are from the Joyful Images ephemera pack and the banner sentiment is from the Joyful Sayings ephemera. A few iridescent discs finish things off with a twinkle and help the eye pass across the design.

I’ll be bringing you some more holiday designs as the week moves along. Thanks for dropping in!

Product List

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[159276]

$13.00

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

[164106]

$12.00

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

[164309]

$12.50

Joyful Images Mix & Match Specialty Ephemera Pack

[164110]

$9.50

Joyful Sayings Mix & Match Ephemera Pack (English)

[164109]

$9.50

Cute Crochet 3 D Embossing Folder

[163792]

$10.00

Iridescent Adhesive Backed Discs

[161954]

$7.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Add All to Cart

Winter

Loads of Holiday Cheer

November 24, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Well, to say that my week didn’t exactly go as planned is likely obvious to you all by now. I had everything planned out, but when all was said and done, I simply didn’t have the time to execute. I had to travel out of town for work and then had some other obligations that simply overran the time I allotted for them. Such is life sometimes, eh? So today, I’m going to play a little catchup and bring you all the content I had planned for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of this week.

If you’re new here, for the last month or so, I’ve been working with themes to inspire designs. This week, we’re stopping by the woods on a snowy evening. And today’s card was inspired by a design that was recently posted by Stampin’ Up! Artisan crafter the Crafty O’ Ink Pen. When I saw her design, I knew it would be perfect for this week’s theme, and I wanted to do my own take on it. That’s the wonderful thing about design inspiration — you get to make it your own!

So we get started with a base of Night of Navy cardstock. The background panel is a sheet of Pool Party that is machine embossed with the Snowflake Sky embossing folder, which is then lightly inked with a sponge dauber and Pool Party ink to give the look of a cloudy sky. To create the snowdrifts, I tore a quarter panel of white cardstock in half and then very lightly inked the torn edges with the Pool Party ink to give some definition and detail and layered them to the snowdrifts. They’re ultimately adhered to the background panel with dimensionals. Using the Merriest Trees dies, I cut two of the smaller sized trees from Shaded Spruce cardstock and lightly rubbed some craft ink over the tops to give them the look of having a dusting of snow. They’re tucked in and behind the snowdrifts to give depth and dimension to the scene. The sled is diecut with the Sophisticated Sled and Filled With Fun die sets from gold foil and Early Espresso cardstocks and then cut in half to create the side view of our sled. Isn’t this brilliant?! Such a great idea, Crafty O’ Ink Pen! The sled is filled with holiday goodness which has been stamped on white cardstock using the Filled With Cheer stamp set and then colored with Stampin’ Blends. Our sentiment from Filled With Cheer is stamped in Night of Navy on white cardstock and then diecut using the Peaceful Season small banner die and adhered with dimensionals over some gold trim. Adhesives snowflakes finish our snowy scene with a little sparkle.

Check back in a little later in the afternoon for our Sketchy Fridays snowy evening design.

Product List

Night Of Navy 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[100867]

$11.50

Pool Party 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[122924]

$11.50

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

[146981]

$11.50

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

[119686]

$11.50

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[159276]

$13.00

Gold Foil Sheets

[132622]

$5.00

Snowflake Sky 3 D Embossing Folder

[162026]

$11.00

Merriest Trees Dies

[162047]

$37.00

Sophisticated Sled Dies

[164133]

$35.00

Filled With Fun Dies

[163560]

$32.00

Peaceful Season Dies (English)

[164020]

$34.00

Filled With Cheer Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

[164362]

$20.00

Whisper White Craft Stampin' Ink Refill

[101780]

$7.00

Jet Black Stāzon Ink Pad

[101406]

$10.50

Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad

[147110]

$9.00

Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad

[147107]

$9.00

Shaded Spruce Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154903]

$11.00

Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154880]

$11.00

Pumpkin Pie Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154897]

$11.00

Night Of Navy Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154891]

$11.00

Pool Party Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154894]

$11.00

Adhesive Backed Snowflake Assortment

[162129]

$8.00

Gold & Silver 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Trim Combo Pack

[161633]

$9.00

Sponge Daubers

[133773]

$7.50

Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

[144108]

$4.25

Mini Glue Dots

[103683]

$7.25

Add All to Cart

Holidays · Winter

Bright & Beautiful Season

November 14, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

We’re taking a trek in the woods this week, and as much as I love all things autumn, I thought it would be nice to show how a few simple tweaks can yield beautiful winter designs. Today’s card is another clean and simple design, and we’re highlighting the Stampin’ Up! In the Grove dies and the Snowflake Sky embossing folder.

We get started with a card base of Smoky Slate cardstock. A piece of Graceful Greenery vellum serves as a soft base for our focal panel and is diecut using the Deckled Rectangles dies. Our focal panel combines a white background embossed with the Snowflake Sky embossing folder and the trees diecut from the grey woodgrain in the Country Woods patterned paper pack using the In the Grove die. The sentiment from the Peaceful Season stamp set is stamped in Smoky Slate on white cardstock and then diecut using the Radiating Stitches circle die and then matted with a silver foil circle diecut with the Everyday Details dies. A scattering of snowflakes and iridescent faceted gems give the snowy background the perfect amount of twinkle.

Tomorrow we’re going to be pairing our woodsy theme with a sketch from a SU! catalog. I hope you’ll pop in and check it out.

Product List

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

[131202]

$11.50

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[159276]

$13.00

Country Woods 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[163393]

$12.50

Graceful Greenery Vellum 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper

[164118]

$10.00

Silver Foil Sheets

[132178]

$5.00

Peaceful Season Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

[164145]

$24.00

Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad

[147113]

$9.00

Snowflake Sky 3 D Embossing Folder

[162026]

$11.00

In The Grove Dies

[163511]

$31.00

Deckled Rectangles Dies

[159173]

$30.00

Everyday Details Dies

[162864]

$34.00

Radiating Stitches Dies

[161595]

$30.00

Adhesive Backed Snowflake Assortment

[162129]

$8.00

Iridescent Faceted Gems

[163368]

$8.50

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Fine-Tip Glue Pen

[138309]

$7.25

Add All to Cart

Fall · Thankful

Amazing Leaves

November 9, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Fall is my favorite season of the year. Thus far, Texas isn’t really cooperating. It’s unseasonably warm for November and the leaves have only just started to hint at changing color. I’m ready for sweater weather and a big pile of leaves in the yard!

This week, we’re working within the theme of thankfulness. Aside from this time of year lending itself to this type of reflection, it just really feels like we all need a little reminder to slow down and appreciate all of the little things. Even when we don’t have it all, there are so many small ways we are living in the overflow of God’s grace and goodness.

For today’s card design, I took inspiration from the usual color palette of fall foliage that we see in our area. I really love the combination of foliage color and texture in today’s design.

We get started with a base of Early Espresso cardstock. Our leaf patterned focal panel is matted with lots of shimmer between the Oxidized Copper specialty paper and the Old Olive glimmer paper. For the focal panel, I inked the Leaf Collection background stamp with a combination of Blackberry Bliss, Copper Clay, Cherry Cobbler, and Mossy Meadow ink and stamped on Very Vanilla cardstock. I then embossed with the Changing Leaves embossing folder. I used gold ink to bring out the embossing and add a sparkly sheen to the leaves. The sentiment from the Changing Leaves stamp set is heat embossed in gold on a piece of Early Espresso that was embossed with the Leaf Fall embossing folder and then diecut with the Nested Essentials dies. Another rub of some gold ink helps bring out the pattern in the sentiment panel and match the sheen of our focal panel. A twist of the Natural Tones linen thread and some gold Blooming Pearls add the final touches.

Next week we’re going to take a trek through the trees and see what we can find. Hope you will tag along.

Sketchy Fridays · Thankful

Sketchy Fridays: Tweet Thanks

November 8, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

We’ve made it to another Friday, and you know what that means? It’s time for another Sketchy Fridays!

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 in current Stampin’ Up! catalogs.

This week’s card is based on Sketch #22 in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog and features a whole assortment of products. We’re pairing our sketch with the Thoughtful Journey and Nests of Winter papers, the Timber embossing folder, and Simply Said stamps along with our thankfulness theme to create today’s card.

Today, I used our sketch more as a guide than an absolute. That’s the best part about using sketches to design cards—they get you started but don’t have to box you in!

Our card starts with a base of Early Espresso cardstock. The focal panel combines a sheet of Gray Granite embossed with the Birch Wood embossing folder with a mat of Blackberry Bliss. Our two focal panels are cut from a sheet of Thoughtful Journey patterned paper using the Nested Essentials dies. I fussy cut the bird from a sheet of Nests of Winter paper and adhered over the focal panel with dimensionals. The sentiment from Simply Said is heat embossed with gold on a Blackberry Bliss panel diecut using the Peaceful Season dies. A few gold iridescent foil gems and Blackberry Bliss transparent dots finish things off with pops of interest.

We’ll be finishing out our thankfulness theme tomorrow. I hope you’ll pop in.

Products used in today’s card:
Early Espresso, Blackberry Bliss, Gray Granite cardstock
Thoughtful Journey, Nests of Winter DSP
Nested Essentials, Peaceful Season dies
Birch Wood embossing folder
Simply Said stamps
Gold embossing powder
Transparent dots, iridescent foil gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Product List

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

[119686]

$11.50

Blackberry Bliss 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[133675]

$11.50

Gray Granite 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[146983]

$11.50

Thoughtful Journey 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[163303]

$12.50

Nests Of Winter 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[164183]

$12.50

Birch Wood 3 D Embossing Folder

[164069]

$12.00

Nested Essentials Dies

[161597]

$34.00

Peaceful Season Dies (English)

[164020]

$34.00

Simply Said Mix & Match Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

[163756]

$17.00

Versamark Pad

[102283]

$9.50

Metallics Wow! Embossing Powder

[165678]

$21.00

Transparent Adhesive Backed Dots

[163432]

$8.00

Iridescent Foil Gems

[162842]

$8.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Add All to Cart

Thankful

Give Thanks in Everything

November 6, 2024November 7, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Our design theme for this week is thankfulness. And on this post-election day, I can certainly give thanks for the ability to vote. How fortunate we are as Americans to be able to voice our opinions by choosing our leaders on all levels. What a tremendous privilege this is!

Back to the crafty task at hand. This week, my son actually helped me choose a theme. And I think it works perfectly for inspiring designs of all kinds. Today’s card borrows a fall color palette to deliver our message of thanks.

We get started with a base of Early Espresso cardstock. The backdrop for our focal panel is a piece of Cajun Craze diecut with the largest rectangle from the Radiating Stitches dies. I just love the pop the detail in this die lends to this card design. Our focal panel is a sheet of Early Espresso cardstock that has been embossed using the Leaf Fall embossing folder and then cut to fit within the center of the Cajun Craze panel. To add more depth and dimension to the embossing, I rubbed gold ink over the raised portions with my finger and then wiped the excess across the full panel so it has a slight gold sheen all the way across. To really bring this forward, the embossed panel is matted with textured gold specialty paper. The sentiment from the Courage & Faith stamp set is stamped in Copper Clay on Crumb Cake cardstock and then diecut with the Autumn Leaves die using the extension method. A faux bow of Cherry Cobbler & Gold satin ribbon is adhered behind the sentiment panel which is popped up over our focal panel using dimensionals. I added a few Earth Tone shimmer gems on either side of the sentiment to draw the eye and add a little sparkle.

Tune in tomorrow to see where our thankfulness theme takes us.

Products used in today’s card:
Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake cardstock
Textured gold SP
Leaf Fall embossing folder
Courage & Faith stamps
Autumn Leaves, Radiating Stitches dies
Cherry Cobbler & Gold satin ribbon
Natural tones shimmer gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon · Fun Folds

Miss You

October 28, 2024 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Monday, crafty friends! Our weekend turned out to be waaaaaay busier than I anticipated. Between the kiddo’s bowling league and lessons and my own singing engagements, we kinda met each other coming and going this weekend. And that left no time to craft – womp, womp!

But here we are starting a bright, shiny new week and I have some bright & shiny new things to share with you from the upcoming Stampin’ Up! Online Exclusives release that will go live next week! This week, we’re going to pair some gorgeous new patterned paper with all sorts of things from the crafty stash — from other new Online Exclusives to current products. It’s going to be a fun week.

We’re getting started with a really cool fun fold called the Curtain Fold because it really shows off the new Marbled Elegance paper beautifully! Our card starts with a base of Melon Mambo cardstock. The backdrop for our gorgeous curtain fold is a combination of Melon Mambo foil paper (sadly retired) and the creamy Season of Elegance foiled paper that’s been embossed using the Painted Texture embossing folder. The sheet of Marbled Elegance is a combination of pinks, shades of white, and gold foil. Our sentiment from Sending Love is stamped in Melon Mambo on Very Vanilla and then diecut with the Everyday Details circle die. I used the leftover portion of a piece of white glimmer paper cut with Spotlight on Nature dies as the eye-catching border around our sentiment. A strip of iridescent striped trim anchors it against our sparkly background. A few iridescent rhinestones basic jewels and gold hearts finish things off with the perfect amount of twinkle.

The Marbled Elegance paper really is stunning, and I’m looking forward to showing you all the ways you can incorporate it into your everyday designs to give a little extra pop.

Products used in today’s card:
Melon Mambo, Basic White cardstock
Marbled Elegance (coming soon), Season of Elegance, White glimmer, Melon Mambo foil (retired) DSP
Painted Texture embossing folder
Sending Love stamps
Spotlight on Nature, Everyday Details dies
Iridescent striped trim
Iridescent rhinestones basic jewels, gold hearts (coming soon)
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Product List