Tag: embossing

Masculine Designs

Today is Your Day

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Happy midweek, everybody! We are halfway to the weekend already. And it’s definitely the downhill slide to the end of school. The kiddos are counting down the days — T minus 7 now.

And the countdown to school means the countdown to vacations for a lot of folks. And today’s card is a nod in that direction as we continue our card series that’s all about the guys. Even the guys spend time thinking about summer vacay! We’re putting the new Rolling Waves bundle center stage in today’s design.

We get started with a base of Lost Lagoon cardstock. A quarter panel is then embossed with the Soft Waves embossing folder and adhered to our card front to set the stage for our beach scene. Our beach scene is built on a base of Pool Party cardstock cut with the Everyday Arches die. The Rolling Waves stamps allow us to create the look of water as we stamp tone on tone on the panel. The same stamp also allows us to create the look of sand on a panel of Crumb Cake. A smaller detail stamp in the set gives us the darker grains of sand. The sand is cut from the half arch panel and adhered to the ocean backdrop. The foamy water rolling in is created with a die from the Rolling Waves set and then lightly brushed with Pool Party ink and adhered over the sand. The sentiment from the Saying Something ephemera set is adhered with dimensionals at the water’s edge. A bow of Lost Lagoon soft cording is adhered with a glue dot at the op edge of the sentiment panel. We finish things off with some starfish cut from Flirty Flamingo paper and adhered with dimensionals beside the sentiment and a scattering of shimmering dots.

Can you hear the sound of the crashing waves and picture yourself sitting beside the water? And isn’t this the perfect color palette for celebrating a guy in your life?

Product List
Lost Lagoon 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 133679 ]
[133679]
$14.00
Pool Party 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 122924 ]
[122924]
$14.00
Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 120953 ]
[120953]
$14.00
Flirty Flamingo 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 141416 ]
[141416]
$14.00
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166780 ]
[166780]
$14.00
Rolling Waves Bundle (English) [ 167145 ]
[167145]
$51.25
Soft Waves 3 D Embossing Folder [ 164695 ]
[164695]
$11.00
Everyday Arches Dies [ 164629 ]
[164629]
$29.00
Saying Something Mix & Match Ephemera Pack (English) [ 163761 ]
[163761]
$8.00
Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147114 ]
[147114]
$9.00
Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147116 ]
[147116]
$9.00
Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147107 ]
[147107]
$9.00
Lost Lagoon Soft Cording [ 164938 ]
[164938]
$8.00
Shimmering Dots [ 167949 ]
[167949]
$8.50
Small Blending Brushes [ 160518 ]
[160518]
$15.00
Mini Stampin' Dimensionals [ 144108 ]
[144108]
$4.25
Mini Glue Dots [ 103683 ]
[103683]
$7.25
Fine-Tip Glue Pen [ 138309 ]
[138309]
$7.25
Add All to Cart
Patterns

Splendid Texture

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Welcome back! It’s hard to believe but we’re already halfway through this week. Where does the time go? And speaking of stealing some time, today’s card uses a sheet of the Splendid Autumn paper pack that just makes you want to kick back in an easy chair on the breezy porch with a glass of tea and watch the wildflowers dance on the pasture, doesn’t it? Or maybe that’s just me showing my country upbringing.

This week, we’re using pattern and texture to create our card designs. And today is all about adding texture to give that extra pizzazz to a card. We’re combining the Beautiful Pattern embossing folder with the Splendid Autumn paper to create a little side glance out the window.

We get started with a simple base of white cardstock. The background panel is a quarter sheet of white cardstock that’s embossed with the Beautiful Pattern embossing folder. The focal panel is cut from a sheet of the Splendid Autumn paper pack using the Everyday Arches dies and then matted with some pastel pink shimmer paper cut into an arch just a tick bigger. The embossed backdrop is wrapped with some Petunia Pop iridescent ribbon and then adhered to the card base. And then the focal panel is adhered just slightly off-set on top with dimensionals. The sentiment from the stamp set included in the 2025 Advent Calendar is stamped in Fresh Freesia on one of the smaller banner dies from the More Messages set and then adhered with dimensionals onto to the bottom-right corner of the focal panel. A few frosted iridescent dots finish things off with a hint of twinkle.

While this card would be just fine without an embossed background, isn’t it fun to see how much more interesting and eye-catching this card is with that little extra textured detail. I hope you’ll continue to hop along on the patterns & textures design series this week!

Product List
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166780 ]
[166780]
$14.00
Splendid Autumn 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 164173 ]
[164173]
$12.50
Pastels Shimmer 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper [ 167198 ]
[167198]
$10.00
12 Days Of Crafting Advent Calendar (English) [ 167335 ]
[167335]
$99.00
Fresh Freesia Classic Stampin' Pad [ 155611 ]
[155611]
$9.00
Beautiful Pattern 3 D Embossing Folder [ 167097 ]
[167097]
$10.50
Everyday Arches Dies [ 164629 ]
[164629]
$29.00
More Messages Die [ 165472 ]
[165472]
$33.00
Petunia Pop 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Iridescent Ribbon [ 166203 ]
[166203]
$9.50
Frosted Iridescent Dots [ 165766 ]
[165766]
$9.00
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Adventures

Time for Grillin’

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TGIF, everyone! We’re jumping into the springtime spirit as the weather gets more & more perfect for time on the patio. Today we tip our hat to those great backyard BBQs with the new BBQ Master bundle.

We get started with a base of Crumb Cake cardstock. A sheet of the red plaid Regal Distressed Patterned paper gives us that picnic feel. A combination of the thatch pattern from the Delicate Dreams pack and some Secret Sea glimmer paper give us the base for our focal panel. We add some grass to start our scene with the help of the Scenic Adventure dies. The grill is stamped on Cherry Cobbler cardstock and then heat embossed with black. We add some grass fire with a combination of Peach Pie cardstock and an assortment of red, yellow, and orange ink to stamp the image and then cut out with the coordinating die from the BBQ Master bundle. The tongs image is stamped on lunar luster paper and then diecut with the coordinating die before hanging them on the side to be ready for use flipping the food. The sentiment from the BBQ Master set is stamped in Secret Sea ink and then we add a few coordinating moody palette dots to finish things off.

Isn’t this card super fun? This stamp and die bundle has tons of potential, for sure! I hope you’ll drop in tomorrow to see where we wind up on this week’s adventures.

Products used:

Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Peach Pie, Garden Green cardstock

Delicate Dreams, Silver Luster, Peaceful Garden Glimmer, Regal Distressed Patterns DSP

BBQ Master stamps & dies, Scenic Adventure dies

Moody palette dots, Wink of Stella, WOW embossing powder, dimensionals

Adventures

Hang in There

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Easter Monday, friends! Were your kids out of school today? Some years our district is out and some years it isn’t. I think we were one of the few districts who were in this year.

It’s a new week and that means a new design series. And this week, we’re taking things outdoors. We’re getting started with a fun combination of the Gliding Garden Swing stamp & die bundle and the Lovely Stripes embossing folder.

The backdrop of our design is a base of Pool Party cardstock, and we’re embossing just the front panel of the card with the Lovely Stripes embossing folder. Our focal panel is a scene built entirely with the Gliding Garden Swing bundle. We get started by cutting a panel of white cardstock with the Branching Out label die and cut a coordinating mat from Pool Party shimmer paper with the size up die. The backdrop for our scene is brushed with shades of blue, green, and brown to create the sky, grass, and dirt under our park bench. The big oak branch is stamped at the top of the panel and then colored with Stampin’ blends in shades of brown and green. The park bench is diecut from Country Woods woodgrain paper with the bench dies from the Gliding Garden Swing die set. The bush behind the bench are cut with the leaf canopy die from the Gliding Swing set and cut apart to create smaller shrubs. The pink floral pillows are cut from a sheet of paper from the 2025 Advent Calendar and adhered on the bench with dimensionals to give a more realistic look. Our pink sentiment panel is cut with dies from the Advent calendar and then adhered over some gold striped mesh ribbon with dimensionals. We finish it all off with a few green hexagons from the Hues of Green hexagon shapes set.

This week’s theme will take us on many adventures. Where would you like to go next?

Product List
Pool Party 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 122924 ]
[122924]
$14.00
Pretty In Pink 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 163793 ]
[163793]
$14.00
Shaded Spruce 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 146981 ]
[146981]
$14.00
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166780 ]
[166780]
$14.00
Pastels Shimmer 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper [ 167198 ]
[167198]
$10.00
Country Woods 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 163393 ]
[163393]
$12.50
Gliding Garden Swing Bundle (English) [ 167137 ]
[167137]
$50.25
Lovely Stripes 3 D Embossing Folder [ 167179 ]
[167179]
$11.00
Branching Out Dies [ 165775 ]
[165775]
$29.00
Gold Striped 3/8" (1 Cm) Mesh Ribbon [ 165599 ]
[165599]
$8.00
Shades Of Green Hexagons [ 165233 ]
[165233]
$8.00
Mini Stampin' Dimensionals [ 144108 ]
[144108]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Easter

He is Risen! Alleluia!

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Sunday’s here; hope has arrived — Happy Easter! What a blessing to know that we serve a God who walks with us every step of the way — from the highest mountains to the lowest valleys. He knows every joy, every victory, every tragedy, every defeat. And when we don’t have the strength to take another step, God is there to carry us through.

We’re finishing up our Easter-inspired card series this week with another version of the cross fun fold honoring Easter Sunday. We’re pairing the Splendid Autumn paper with the new Easter Joy ephemera to create this stunning Easter sunrise celebration.

To add some detail to the cross, I used the recently retired Distressed Tiles embossing folder. The floral ephemera is layered behind the cross to create a beautiful spray of color. And the sentiment from the Faith Collection stamp set is stamped on a banner cut with the Words for the Season dies.

We’re headed into the great outdoors this week as we explore some nifty new goodies in the crafty stash. I hope you’ll drop in and see where we go on our outdoorsy adventure.

Product List
Very Vanilla 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166784 ]
[166784]
$14.00
Highland Heather 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 146986 ]
[146986]
$14.00
Splendid Autumn 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 164173 ]
[164173]
$12.50
Easter Time Mix & Match Ephemera Pack [ 166984 ]
[166984]
$7.00
Distressed Tile 3 D Embossing Folder [ 162189 ]
[162189]
$10.00
Words For The Season Dies (English) [ 165797 ]
[165797]
$32.00
Faith Collection Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [ 170531 ]
[170531]
$19.00
Fresh Freesia Classic Stampin' Pad [ 155611 ]
[155611]
$9.00
Purple Fine Shimmer Gems [ 162611 ]
[162611]
$8.00
Pearlized Faceted Circles [ 166978 ]
[166978]
$8.00
Mini Stampin' Dimensionals [ 144108 ]
[144108]
$4.25
Mini Glue Dots [ 103683 ]
[103683]
$7.25
Add All to Cart
Easter

Hoppy Easter

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Monday, everyone! We survived our busy weekend of activities and birthday fun. The weather was beautiful and the company was superb. I would have loved a do-over. Anyone else?

But we’re back at it in this shiny new week, and it’s going to be a busy one in the life of this church musician. With rehearsals and services, Holy Week surpasses any other church holiday as the most time-consuming. But when you consider that Holy Week is the turning point of the Christian faith, then it truly makes sense.

So in honor of Holy Week this week, I’ll be bringing you some Easter-inspired designs in fits & spurts between rehearsals & services. Today we’re getting started with a super easy card using the Easter Joy paper and Easter Time ephemera.

We get started with a base of Berry Burst cardstock. I used one of the ready-made panels from the Easter Joy paper pack as the backdrop for our little Easter scene with the ephemera bunny and basket of colored eggs, which are colored with Wink of Stella and gold embossing powder. They’re adhered to the backdrop with dimensionals. The sentiment from the Saying Hey retired stamp set is a combination of two stamps from the set. I used Blackberry Bliss ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. We finish things off with a pink bow and some pink iridescent dots.

This one is so fun and so easy, making it a perfect design for a quick batch of Easter hello cards. I hope you’ll drop back by and see what else we get into this week.

Techniques

Spotlight on Layers

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Whew — we made it to Friday, friends! And what a TGIF feeling it is! It’s gonna be a busy weekend around here but also lots of fun as we celebrate the kiddo’s birthday this weekend. And we have to throw in a few around-the-house projects too. What are you getting up to?

We’re continuing our Spotlight technique series and today is all about layers as we combine the Layers of Beauty and Peace on Earth Stampin sets to create this encouragement card.

We get started with a base of Lost Lagoon cardstock. In opposing corners we stamp portions of the Layers of Beauty image tone on tone with Lost Lagoon ink. Our focal panel is a small piece of Lost Lagoon cut with the Textured Notes dies with the same images stamped in opposing corners. The sentiment from the Peace on Earth stamp set is stamped in Pretty Peacock and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. This panel is adhered over some white with gold ribbon in the center of our card so that our floral images overlap one another. Frosted iridescent dots finish off our card with a touch of whimsy.

I hope you’ll tune in tomorrow to see another Spotlight technique at work!

Product List
Lost Lagoon 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 133679 ]
[133679]
$14.00
Layers Of Beauty Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [ 163514 ]
[163514]
$20.00
Peace On Earth Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [ 165918 ]
[165918]
$19.00
Textured Notes Dies [ 165555 ]
[165555]
$31.00
Lost Lagoon Classic Stampin' Pad [ 161678 ]
[161678]
$9.00
Pretty Peacock Classic Stampin’ Pad [ 150083 ]
[150083]
$9.00
Versamark Pad [ 102283 ]
[102283]
$9.50
Basics Wow! Embossing Powder [ 165679 ]
[165679]
$21.00
White With Gold 3/8" (1 Cm) Ribbon [ 166979 ]
[166979]
$8.50
Frosted Iridescent Dots [ 165766 ]
[165766]
$9.00
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Botanicals · Techniques

Spotlight on Flowers

susanfoxbowen2 Comments

Howdy, friends! Did you miss me? Last week didn’t exactly turn out as I had planned. I had grand plans for all of last week’s posts and then our schedules just kinda imploded. Between a major office furniture swap out and then a home update project, last week was chocked FULL and I didn’t have anything left for crafts.

Sooo here we are in a brand new week and I finally get to bring you all the fun ideas I have for this new design theme — the spotlight technique. Typically, this technique will, in some way, repeat a pattern or an image in a fresh, new way. Today, we’re using the elevated coloring method to spotlight a portion of the Flowers Fair stamped image.

We get started with a background of Blackberry Bliss cardstock. The focal panel backdrop is a quarter panel of white cardstock stamped with the Flowers Fair stamp and then cut to size with the largest Perennial Postage die. A second white quarter panel is also stamped with the identical image and then we use one of 2025 Advent Calendar dies to cut out a small portion of the image and then color it with Stampin Blends. The small colored panel is matted with pink shimmer paper and the two are adhered together with dimensionals. We wrap our background panel with pink ribbon before adhering it to our card front with dimensionals. The spotlight panel is adhered in place with dimensionals so it is just above its uncolored counterpart in the image below. The sentiment from the Rolling Waves stamp set is heat embossed in silver on Blackberry Bliss cardstock and then cut out with the Stylish Shapes banner due. Some pink flat pearls in opposing corners finish things off perfectly.

I hope you’ll drop in again to see what other spotlight methods we’ll be using this week!

Product List
Blackberry Bliss 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 133675 ]
[133675]
$14.00
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166780 ]
[166780]
$14.00
Pastels Shimmer 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper [ 167198 ]
[167198]
$10.00
Flowers Fair Photopolymer Stamp Set [ 167217 ]
[167217]
$23.00
Rolling Waves Photopolymer Stamp Set [ 167142 ]
[167142]
$20.00
Jet Black Stāzon Ink Pad [ 101406 ]
[101406]
$10.50
Versamark Pad [ 102283 ]
[102283]
$9.50
Metallics Wow! Embossing Powder [ 165678 ]
[165678]
$21.00
Perennial Postage Dies [ 162607 ]
[162607]
$33.00
Stylish Shapes Dies [ 159183 ]
[159183]
$30.00
12 Days Of Crafting Advent Calendar (English) [ 167335 ]
[167335]
$99.00
Old Olive Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [ 154892 ]
[154892]
$11.00
Pretty In Pink Stampin’ Blends Combo Pack [ 163824 ]
[163824]
$11.00
Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [ 154883 ]
[154883]
$11.00
2024–2026 In Color™ Shimmer Gems [ 163781 ]
[163781]
$8.50
Bubble Bath 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Faux Linen Ribbon [ 167075 ]
[167075]
$8.00
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Botanicals

Blooming Thanks

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Monday, everybody! I hope your week is off to a good start. I feel like the weekend went by in a flash. Anyone else hate the spring time change as much as I do?? I don’t know what it is about springing forward but it just doesn’t sit well with me. My poor body is doomed to be confused by the whole thing for at least another month. But onward and upward, I guess, right?

This week we are onward & upward to a new design theme. Except I would more call it a repeat theme with a twist. I enjoyed last week’s florals series in honor of spring so much and had many more ideas I didn’t get to that I decided it needed another week. So here we are enjoying another week of spring florals BUT we’re adding the twist of using a different sketch each day to get started. Today we’re pairing up the Lovely & Beautiful paper with Sketch 717 from the folks over at Freshly Made Sketches.

Our beautiful patterned paper is driving the bus on our color scheme today. We get started with a card base of Petal Pink cardstock. Our background is a sheet of the Calypso Coral floral pattern from the Lovely & Beautiful pack. Our front overlay panel is a sheet of vellum that folds over our card front and covers the sentiment panel and has one oversized flower in the center. When the see-through panel is closed, it nicely compliments the smaller foiled floral pattern underneath. We add some metallic gems and gold striped ribbon to this front-facing panel.

The smaller panel is the medium floral pattern with gold foiling and actually serves as our hidden sentiment panel. The sentiment from the With You in Mind stamp set is stamped in Versamark over the center flower in gold and is then heat set. Some pearlized faceted dots are added across the panel to draw the eye down and across.

What do you think of this fun variation on the sketch? I love the breezy feel of this card design. Can’t you just imagine yourself running in a field of wildflowers that are softly blowing in the wind? I hope you’ll drop in tomorrow to see what fun products we put together with our new design sketch!

Product List
Petal Pink 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 146985 ]
[146985]
$14.00
Lovely & Beautiful 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper [ 166957 ]
[166957]
$16.50
Vellum 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper [ 167099 ]
[167099]
$10.00
With You In Mind Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [ 169063 ]
[169063]
$20.00
Versamark Pad [ 102283 ]
[102283]
$9.50
Metallics Wow! Embossing Powder [ 165678 ]
[165678]
$21.00
Adhesive Backed Metallic Gems [ 163780 ]
[163780]
$9.00
Pearlized Faceted Circles [ 166978 ]
[166978]
$8.00
Gold Striped 3/8" (1 Cm) Mesh Ribbon [ 165599 ]
[165599]
$8.00
Mini Glue Dots [ 103683 ]
[103683]
$7.25
Add All to Cart
Botanicals · Online Exclusives

Sending Blossoms of Love

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome to the weekend, everyone! It’s a rainy Saturday here in North Texas. And while I have lots of things on the outside spring to-do list, the indoor activities won out today. I started the day providing music for a funeral and then spent the afternoon at the kiddo’s Academic Pentathlon district meet, where he placed individually in Literature and then took several medals with his team. And before hitting the home to-do list, I’ve stolen a little time in the craft room to bring some of my own sunshine to this overall dreary day.

This week, we’ve been letting spring inspire our designs. And today is all about the gorgeous Lovely & Beautiful patterned paper, along with a few other things from the crafty stash, and a sketch as we create this beautiful encouragement card.

Because I’ve got a list of things to do, I wanted to create a beautiful card but without a lot of time spent on designing from the ground up. And what helps the most in those situations? For me, sketches are a must! So we’re using #719 by the Freshly Made Sketches team to make quick work of today’s card.

We get started with a base of Fresh Freesia cardstock. A sheet of the small floral pattern from the Lovely & Beautiful paper pack serves as our background pattern. A strip of Fresh Freesia helps break up our busy patterned background and we spruce it up just a touch by machine embossing our strip with the Beautiful Patterns embossing folder. From a scrap of one of the larger floral patterned sheets from the Lovely & Beautiful pack, I cut a gorgeous peony and adhered it on the left with dimensionals. The sentiment from the Fabulous Sayings stamp set is stamped in Versamark and then heat embossed in gold before being diecut with the Nested Essentials banner die using the extension method to get it just the right size. The vellum sentiment panel is adhered over the flower with mini glue dots. We finish things off with some pearlized faceted gems for just a touch of twinkle.

There are so many more beautiful spring florals in the current Stampin’ Up! lineup that I think we’re going to continue it for one more week. Do you have any current floral-y favorites you’d like to see? Maybe they’re in my stash. Drop me some suggestions in the comments! Until then, see you next week.

Product List
Fresh Freesia 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 155613 ]
[155613]
$14.00
Lovely & Beautiful 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper [ 166957 ]
[166957]
$16.50
Vellum 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper [ 167099 ]
[167099]
$10.00
Beautiful Pattern 3 D Embossing Folder [ 167097 ]
[167097]
$10.50
Fabulous Sayings Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [ 167972 ]
[167972]
$5.00
Versamark Pad [ 102283 ]
[102283]
$9.50
Metallics Wow! Embossing Powder [ 165678 ]
[165678]
$21.00
Nested Essentials Dies [ 161597 ]
[161597]
$34.00
Pearlized Faceted Circles [ 166978 ]
[166978]
$8.00
Mini Glue Dots [ 103683 ]
[103683]
$7.25
Mini Stampin' Dimensionals [ 144108 ]
[144108]
$4.25
Add All to Cart