Gilded Thoughts

August 10, 2026 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome to a new week, friends! I don’t know about you, but the weekend went by in a blur. And now here we are at the beginning of a brand new school year. It’s a big transition year for us as the kiddo starts his freshman year of high school. When they tell you time flies, they are not kidding!

This week brings about a new design theme as we take things outside. Sometimes I like having a broad, open-ended theme because it leaves a lot of possibilities for inspiration. And today’s card was inspired by the Hot Foil Craft Class. I really loved this card layout and knew it would easily adapt to fit this week’s theme. I loved having the opportunity to play with the new hot foil goodies in my stash this weekend, and today’s design uses the Classic Greetings and Butterfly Flight bundles.

So we get started with a base of Cloud Cover cardstock. The striped pattern from the Everyday Essentials paper pack serves as our backdrop. I chose the sheet of white florals from the Lovely Blossoms paper pack that provided the perfect amount of blue contrast against the striped backdrop. This panel is torn to leave a rough-edged section on the right-hand side. Because I had a particular recipient in mind when making this card, I chose the thinking of you sentiment from the Classic Greetings sentiment set and hot foiled it in gold on white cardstock and then cut it out with the coordinating die. It’s adhered over a double bow of gold & white baker’s twine right over our fissure section. The double-layered butterfly is a combination of a gold gilded wing butterfly and a small butterfly created with the Butterfly Flight masks. I used a sheet of Crushed Curry as the base and then blended a combination of Crushed Curry, Timid Tiger, and Secret Sea inks to create the smaller butterfly. We finish things off with a few metallic gems to give a nice diagonal of gold elements.

I just love the little pop of contrast the butterfly provides. It’s the perfect eye-catcher for the sentiment. This layout is one that can truly be used for a whole host of color and pattern combinations, as well as a myriad of occasions.

Tomorrow’s design might bring in some of our other senses as we continue our trek in the great outdoors. I hope you’ll drop by!

Product List

Cloud Cover 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[165621]

$14.00

Everyday Essentials Mix & Match 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[167702]

$13.00

Lovely Blossoms 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[167168]

$12.50

Butterfly Flight Bundle

[170065]

$45.00

Classic Greetings Hot Foil Dies

[170042]

$36.00

Gold Stampin' Hot Foil Rolls

[170066]

$12.00

Secret Sea Classic Stampin' Pad

[165285]

$11.00

Timid Tiger Classic Stampin' Pad

[165278]

$11.00

Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad

[147087]

$9.00

Small Blending Brushes

[160518]

$15.00

Gilded Wings Accents

[169953]

$10.00

Black & White & Gold Baker's Twine

[166005]

$8.50

Adhesive Backed Metallic Gems

[163780]

$9.50

Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

[144108]

$4.25

Stampin' Hot Foil System Na & Craft Class

[170009]

$160.00

Add All to Cart

Fancy Heartfelt Thanks

August 5, 2026 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Hey, friends, guess what day it is?! We’re halfway through this week already. Whew. Just like that. And we’re also halfway through a week of designs using new products fresh to the crafty stash!

As promised, today we’re getting a sneak peek at a new set of dies that will release with the September holiday catalog — Scalloped Christmas Cheer dies. These scalloped rectangles are the perfect dress-me-up addition to your designs. And we’re pairing it up today with another peek into the new All Wrapped Up paper pack that will also release in the new holiday catalog. I tossed in a few of my current faves, like the Sincerely Noted ephemera, and a couple of my super loved retired goodies, like the butterflies.

We get started with a base of Peaceful Pine cardstock. The foiled backdrop from the All Wrapped Up paper pack coordinates perfectly. The focal panel backdrop is a scalloped rectangle cut from a sheet of the Velvet Meadow paper using the new Scalloped Christmas Cheer dies and adhered over some gold striped sheer ribbon using dimensionals. The sentiment is from the Sincerely Noted ephemera pack — a current go-to of mine for something quick and mess-free — and is mounted on the scalloped panel with dimensionals. We finish things off with a beautiful gold butterfly and a few gold glitter dots from the 2025 Advent calendar.

I’m still in the clean and simple frame of mind, and there are lots of things in the crafty stash that make it a snap to put together a clean and simple card. Tomorrow we’ll preview some Christmas product for grins. I hope you’ll stop by!

Products used in today’s card:
Peaceful Pine CS
Velvet Meadow, All Wrapped Up (coming in Sept) DSP
Scalloped Christmas Cheer dies (coming in Sept)
Sincerely Noted ephemera
Gilded wings butterflies
Gold striped sheer ribbon
Gold glitter pieces (retired)
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Online Exclusives

Birthday Violets

June 19, 2026 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome back, everyone! And TGIF. It’s certainly been quite a day around here as heavy rain on both commutes nearly necessitated a boat. Seriously though, I made it fine, but we got crazy amounts of rain today. I hope you’re dry & cozy wherever you are.

This week we’re getting a sneak peek at the new Violet Dreams suite that will release in just a few weeks. This suite has some gorgeous paper, coordinating specialty paper, a stamp set with coordinating dies, satin ribbon, and gemstone floral embellishments. And for this card, we’re getting a look at almost all of it.

So we get started with a base of Highland Heather cardstock. The background cross-stripe pattern in the background is from the Violet Dreams paper pack and then we use the Shimmering Stripes specialty paper to create a sparkly striped pattern in the center with a little bit of the Highland Heather as a mat. Our focal panel is a combination of images from the Framed Violets stamp set to create our oval frame and violet images and then cut them out with their coordinating dies. Some Granny Apple Green and Pretty in Pink Stampin’ Blends give us the shading on our violet image with a few velveteen pieces for some added texture. We add a bow of Fresh Freesia Satin to finish our violet bouquet. The sentiment from the Rolling Waves stamp set is stamped in Gorgeous Grape on white cardstock and then cut into the banner with the Stylish Shapes dies and affixed under the violet. We finish things off with some pearlized circles and fine purple shimmer gems, along with our little butterfly friend from the Gilded Wings accents pack.

We’ll be finishing up our sneak peek tomorrow. I hope you’ll drop by to see what else this beautiful suite can do!

Products used in today’s design:
Highland Heather, white CS
Violet Dreams, Shimmering Stripes (both releasing in July), velveteen DSP
Framed Violets stamps & dies (releasing in July)
Rolling Waves stamps
Stylish Shapes dies
Fresh Freesia satin ribbon (releasing in July)
Gilded Wings accents (releasing in July)
Stampin’ Blends
Pearlized faceted circles, fine shimmer gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Online Exclusives

Hovering Hello

June 17, 2026 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Howdy, friends! And happy Wednesday. We’re halfway through this week, but it sure feels like it should be Friday already! It’s been a busy one at the office and my tail is just dragging. Ever have weeks like that? Sure felt good to play a little in the craft room this evening though.

And speaking of that, this week we’re going to get a look at some of the new things in my crafty stash that haven’t seen any love yet. And first up, we have a sneak peek at a brand new suite that will launch in just a few short weeks called Violet Dreams. And let me tell you, it is scrumptious! So much beautiful detail in the paper, the stamps, and the dies. You are going to love it!

So our sneak peek card gets started with a base of Gorgeous Grape cardstock. Our backdrop is a sheet of the new Shimmering Stripes specialty paper. The focal panel is a sheet of the new Violet Dreams patterned paper on a mat of Gorgeous Grape. I tied a bow of white & gold ribbon around the bottom. The hello sentiment is from the Saying Something ephemera pack and is coated with Wink of Stella to give the perfect amount of twinkle against the beautiful butterfly from the new Gilded Wings butterfly pack. We finish things off with some of the new adhesive blooms from the Violet Dreams suite.

I can’t wait to show you more of this beautiful suite this week. I hope you’ll drop back by to get some more peeks at all of these wonderful goodies!

Products used in today’s design:
Gorgeous Grape CS
Violet Dreams, Shimmering Stripes DSP (both releasing in July)
Saying Something ephemera
Gilded Wings accents (releasing in July)
White & gold ribbon
Adhesive blooms (releasing in July)
Wink of Stella
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Botanicals · Thankful

Beautiful Thanks

June 6, 2026 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Saturday, friends! I hope you’re enjoying a restful catch-up from the busy week. It’s been a pretty lowkey day around here for us as we putter around with various things on the home to-do list.

This week we’re exploring the new Beautiful Gallery paper pack. And today is all about cutting up that beautiful paper to create some lovely thank-you cards.

Our first card begins with a base of Cloud Cover cardstock. I selected two different patterns from the Beautiful Gallery paper pack — the blue-hued roses and a grayish linen pattern. The rose paper sits most prominent as the focal piece, while the gray linen pattern serves as the backdrop for the sentiment. The sentiment from the Scalloped Blooms stamp set is stamped in Secret Sea. Both panels of patterned paper are mounted on a mat of Lunar Lustre paper, wrapped with Secret Sea ribbon that is tied in a bow, and then the full panel is affixed to the card front with dimensionals. A few In Color flat pearls serve as rose centers and then the sentiment is flanked with some Secret Sea moody palette dots to draw the eye to the sentiment.

The second card is assembled using the Atlantic Hearts Sketch 664 as inspiration for the layout. We get started with a base of Crumb Cake cardstock. I selected two different patterns from the Beautiful Gallery paper pack — a green plaster pattern and a damask sheet. The damask sheet is cut into the half circle and affixed to the green plaster backdrop. The panel is wrapped with gold striped ribbon and then affixed to the card front with dimensionals. The sentiment is cut from Peaceful Pine velveteen paper with the Words & Wishes dies and affixed to the card front with multipurpose glue. The brand NEW Gilded Wings Accents butterfly (set to release in July) along with the drusy embellishments draw the eye to the sentiment and focal section of our card.

As we gear up for Father’s Day, next week is all about dad. I hope you’ll tag along as we use all sorts of goodies from the stash to create some special projects for dad!

Product List Card 1

Cloud Cover 8 1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock

[165621]

$14.00