Tag: paper crafts

Christmas

Wonderful Counselor

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Would you consider yourself to be an adventuresome person? It’s fair to say that I have a particular paper crafting style, but I’d like to think that I can do things differently every now and then. Today’s design is a good example. I love the angled Z-fold. And as a general rule, I would say I turn to this fold more for fun designs rather than more serious or thoughtful ones. But the angled Z-fold really lends itself well to all occasions.

This card begins with a base of Night of Navy cardstock. Shining Brightly designer paper provides the beautiful sparkle on the two front-facing panels. The front focal panel is a piece of vellum diecut using the Deckled Rectangles dies and the sentiment is then heat embossed in gold in the center. I tied a piece of gold twine at the top and adhered the vellum to the front card panel using my adhesive runner, allowing the top of the diecut panel to overhang at the top. I really liked the emphasis I felt this put on the focal sentiment. The inside center panel is left blank for a personal message, while the back panel has a small vellum Deckled Rectangle with a gold heat-embossed sentiment. I created a visual triangle around the sentiment on the bottom base panel with the gold sequins.

Wanna give the angled Z-fold a try? Hop over here for a PDF tutorial.

Products used:
Night of Navy, vellum, white cardstock
Shining Brightly DSP
Night Divine stamps
Gold embossing powder
Gold twine
Adhesive-backed sequins

All ads on this site are posted by WordPress and are based on your personal browsing history. I do not control ad content.

Christmas

Fear Not

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

As I was recently preparing for a craft show, and specifically designing Christmas cards, I realized that I had a few older sets that hadn’t seen any ink yet. Do you ever have that happen, where you purchase a lovely stamp set that somehow gets lost in your stash?

Today’s design began with the stamp set called God’s Peace. Because the image and sentiments are so lovely, I wanted them to take center stage so the overall design of this card is quite simple. The card base is Cherry Cobbler and the sentiment panel is Basic White cardstock. The advent wreath image is stamped in black ink and colored using the Stampin’ Blends markers, and the sentiment is heat embossed in gold. I added Wink of Stella to the glow of the candles and a few sequins in opposing corners for added drama and sparkle. The entire focal panel is elevated on dimensionals to draw the eye and add interest.

I love the simplicity of this design and intend to incorporate it in my personal Christmas card designs this year!

Products used:
Cherry Cobbler, white cardstock
God’s Peace stamps (retired)
Stampin’ Blends markers
Wink of Stella
Adhesive-backed sequins
Dimensionals

All ads on this site are posted by WordPress and are based on your personal browsing history. I do not control ad content.

Christmas

Peace on Earth

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

I love a clean and simple design, and today’s card fits the bill in every way. When preparing for craft shows or even for my own personal mailings, clean and simple designs can help speed production without sacrificing the grace and beauty of handmade designs.

Today’s card showcases another “lost” stamp set I recently found in my craft room. Nature’s Peace is a stunning set, and it’s hard to imagine that it’s gone uninked in my stash! I decided to keep the color palette simple — red and cream. I used Cherry Cobbler cardstock for the card base (scored at the top rather than left) and focal panel base. The focal image of this card design is a single stamp. The stamped image is heat embossed with pearl embossing powder. The focal panel is elevated on dimensionals with natural finish ribbon running behind the focal panel and around the base on the inside. A small piece of Cherry Cobbler twine holds the ribbon together and in place. I finished the design with a shimmer spray so that the entire card front sparkles, which is unfortunately impossible to capture in photos.

I just love how this turned out and am excited to get started on a full set of these for part of my Christmas mailing list this year.

Products used:
Cherry Cobbler cardstock
Nature’s Peace stamps (retired)
Pearl embossing powder
Natural finish trim
Twine
Dimensionals

All ads on this site are posted by WordPress and are based on your personal browsing history. I do not control ad content.

Fall · Fun Folds

Warm Hello

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

We have a beautiful ash tree in our front yard, and just this week it has really begun to turn. This beautiful designer paper from the All About Autumn pack reminds me of our tree right now with the stunning yellow leaves strewn about.

This card design is set atop a piece of Cajun Craze cardstock. The z-fold design allows the use of the entire sheet of DSP, minus a small half-inch strip at the bottom. I kept the front sentiment panel small to ensure the inside message panel is easily accessible. The sentiment from Circle Sayings is stamped on a Very Vanilla panel diecut using the All That dies. To draw the eye, I used a small scrap of the foiled side of the tree sheet leftover from the Fabulous Friend card (see that design here) and added a small twine bow, along with some speckled dots and sequins.

I really wanted the gorgeous designer paper to be center stage, and I think the smaller sentiment panel does the trick. What do you think?

Wanna see how the design came together? Check out the reel over on Instagram.

Products used:
Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla cardstock
All About Autumn DSP
Circle Sayings stamps
All That dies
Adhesive-backed speckled dots, sequins
Linen thread
Dimensionals
Adhesives

All ads on this site are posted by WordPress and are based on your personal browsing history. I do not control ad content.

Fun Folds

So Appreciated

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

I wanted to give a fold-over flap fun fold another try, and I knew that the new Meandering Meadow designer series paper would be the perfect patterned paper to use. This new pack of 6 x 6 designs is set to launch as an Online Exclusive on November 7th and is a beautiful pack full of pastel chalk designs.

We begin with a base of Balmy Blue. I knew I wanted to highlight the bend in the water with the beautiful sunset reflection on the flap, so I chose Bubble Bath as the base for the flap in order to draw out those beautiful, subtle colors of the sunset and delicate flowers. This design calls for 2 sheets of the selected Meandering Meadow pattern. The middle section of the card front is comprised of almost an entire sheet. The flap is approximately 4″ x 3 3/4″ with the patterned panel just 1/8″ smaller all around. (The entirety of the Bubble Bath strip is 4″ x 7 1/2″ and scored in the center.) The front sentiment from the So Sincere stamp set is heat embossed in silver atop a vellum panel diecut using the Nested Essentials dies. A pop of sparkle comes from the tinsel gems nestled around the sentiment panel. For th inside message panel, I elected to use a sheet of cardstock to ensure good coverage over the flap base. I used scraps of the patterned paper to add interest to the message panel and flap inside the card. The inside sentiment is from the So Sincere stamp set.

What do you think of this fun fold? If you hop over to Instagram, you can watch how this whole design came together. It was a lot of fun to put together, even if I did make a boo-boo in my cuts while making it. Can you tell me where things went awry? I decided to leave that mistake in the video so you know that we ALL make them!

Products used:
Balmy Blue, Bubble Bath, Basic White, vellum cardstock
Meandering Meadow DSP (coming soon to Online Exclusives)
So Sincere stamps
Nested Essentials dies
Silver embossing powder
Tinsel gems
Adhesives

All ads on this site are posted by WordPress and are based on your personal browsing history. I do not control ad content.

Fun Folds

So Thankful for You

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

I’m excited to show you a sneak peek of a new designer series paper set to release on November 7th. Meandering Meadow is a gorgeous set of oil pastel designs turned to designer paper. Each of the designs in this pack is simply stunning and a little reminiscent of some of my favorite Renaissance paintings. Monet or Manet anyone?

For today’s card, I tried a new fun fold so that I could retain as much of this beautiful paper in the design as possible. The base of this card is a sheet of Balmy Blue cardstock in the standard 8.5 x 5.5 inch format and scored at the traditional 4 1/4-inch mark. To create the flap, a 1-inch strip is cut from each side of the card front flap. The 6 x 6-inch sheet of designer paper is first cut to 4 1/8 x 6 inches. I next cut 1 3/8″ from each side of the panel to create a 3 1/4 x 4 1/8-inch panel. A plain sheet of white paper serves as the message panel on the inside of the card, and each of the 1 3/8-inch strips are adhered on either side of the inside message panel so that a portion peeks through when the card is closed. The larger patterned paper panel is adhered to the front flap. The sentiment from the So Sincere stamp set is heat embossed on a vellum panel diecut using the Autumm Leaves dies. A strip of silver trim and a few fine sparkle gems draw the eye to the sentiment.

What do you think of this fun fold? You can find the PDF instructions here. And if you hop over to Instagram, you can watch how this whole design came together.

Products used:
Balmy Blue, vellum cardstock
Meandering Meadow DSP (coming soon to Online Exclusives)
So Sincere stamps
Autumn Leaves dies
Silver embossing powder
Silver trim
Fine sparkle gems
Adhesives

All ads on this site are posted by WordPress and are based on your personal browsing history. I do not control ad content.

Fall · Fun Folds

Fabulous Friend

susanfoxbowen1 Comment

It’s really beginning to feel and look like fall here in Texas. Fall is my favorite season. At its peak, the main street to our house is lined with trees that look like fire. I try to run errands often once the trees begin to turn just to be able to watch the progression and transformation into a street lined with the beautiful colors of a warm fire.

And that brings us to today’s design which uses the beautiful All About Autumn designer paper. It has been so popular that it sells out as quickly as Stampin’ Up! can restock the shelves. I was lucky enough to get a sampling and just this week snagged a whole pack!

The card base for today’s card is Mossy Meadow cardstock. The fun fold design begins with the single Z-fold. (Hop over here for a PDF tutorial.) I selected the beautiful grove of trees and the foiled side of the limbs of leaves sheets of DSP. The grove of trees pattern is cut into 2-inch strips and adhered on the left of the outside and inside panels. The foiled sheet is approximately 3 inches wide to allow some overlap with the tree pattern. The inside sentiment from Heartfelt Hexagon is stamped on a 2-inch strip of white paper and the panel is adhered in the center on the left side of the center card fold (at 4 1/4 inches).

The outside sentiment from Bold Bouquet is stamped on a Very Vanilla banner diecut using the Nested Essentials dies. A strip of natural finish ribbon is layered behind the sentiment panel and adhered to the outside tree panel. Because I wanted a large focal point on the front of the card, the z-fold must be modified to a half-barn fold by adhering the two smaller panels together to ensure the sentiment and message panel inside the card are visible and accessible. And I absolutely love the result! If you want to see the evolution of this design, hop on over to Instagram to catch the reel.

TIPS for this design: 1) you can turn a one-line sentiment into a block using a simple masking technique. I inked each word individually and covered the inky words I didn’t want to stamp using a piece a masking tape; 2) you can keep a ribbon in place using staples.

Products used:
Mossy Meadow, Very Vanilla cardstock
All About Autumn DSP
Bold Bouquet, Heartfelt Hexagon stamps
Nested Essentials dies
Adhesive-backed speckled dots
Natural finish ribbon
Adhesives

All ads on this site are posted by WordPress and are based on your personal browsing history. I do not control ad content.

Fun Folds

Clouds of Love

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

I don’t know about you, but I like to keep an assortment of cards on hand that I can tuck into my hubby’s suitcase. As a commercial pilot, my husband is gone fairly often. With modern technology, he never feels very far away, even when he’s halfway across the globe. But even so, it can get a little lonely on the road, so I like to sneak a note in his suitcase every now and then. Do you ever do things like this for your loved ones?

For today’s design, I started with a card base of Cherry Cobbler and paired it with another of the designs from the Country Floral Lane designer paper pack. I decided to do a center barn fold, which simply meant scoring the card base at 2 1/8″ from each edge rather than at 4 1/4″ in the center. The sentiment panel is diecut from Petal Pink cardstock using the PTI Mat Stack 6 die. The hearts are punched from Cherry Cobbler, and the sentiment is diecut from Bubble Bath using a PTI die. I used dimensionals under the sentiment and one heart for a little added interest. The adhesive-backed sequins give a little sparkle and reinforce the center focal point.

Products used:
Cherry Cobbler, Petal Pink, Bubble Bath cardstock
Country Floral Lane DSP (retired)
PTI dies (retired)
Heart punch (retired)
Adhesive-backed sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesives

All ads on this site are posted by WordPress and are based on your personal browsing history. I do not control ad content.

Clean and Simple

Better with You

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

The Country Floral Lane designer paper is so fun to work with. When I saw the sheet of patterned paper used in today’s card design, I knew it needed to become an encouragement card.

A sheet of Blushing Bride cardstock serves as the card base. I used the Playing in the Rain stamps for the sentiment and focal image. The adorable turtle holding the flower is the perfect complement to this designer paper. The sentiment panel base is diecut from Calypso Coral using the Nested Essentials dies. The sentiment is stamped on the panel using the Playing in the Rain stamps. I stamped the turtle in black ink on white cardstock and colored with the Stampin’ Blends markers. Then it’s diecut using the coordinating Playing in the Rain dies and adhered directly to the panel. The panel and turtle are elevated with dimensionals. A few fine sparkle gems add a little touch of twinkle to the design and just that little bloop of happiness.

Products used:
Blushing Bride (retired), Calpypso Coral, white cardstock
Country Floral Lane DSP (retired)
Playing in the Rain stamps & dies
Nested Essentials dies
Fine sparkle gems
Stampin’ Blends markers
Dimensionals
Adhesives

All ads on this site are posted by WordPress and are based on your personal browsing history. I do not control ad content.

Clean and Simple

Riding in With Thanks

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Today’s design features another pattern from the Country Floral Lane designer series paper. All of the designs in this paper pack are fun and happy and lend themselves well to all sorts of occasions — even thinking of you or encouragement cards. In this case, I designed a thank-you card to send to my upline for all of her help with a recent craft fair.

The bicycle design works great for this cute peek-a-boo fun fold design. I started with a base of Blushing Bride cardstock and cut 1″ from the bottom of the front panel to give the peek-through to the bottom of the base panel. To achieve the peek-through with the paper, I separated the designer paper between the bicycle and floral patterns and then adhered the strip of floral pattern to the bottom of the message panel inside the card so that it shows through when the card is closed. The sentiment is stamped on white using the Heartfelt Hexagon and Circle Sayings stamp sets. The sentiment panel is popped up on dimensionsals and is the visual center of the card front. A few sequins add some sparkle and draw the eye to the sentiment. Simple but so cute! Don’t you think?

This is such a fun design and can easily be adapted to use any product you have on hand. If you wanna give a peek-through card a try, feel free to download the PDF tutorial here.

Products used:
Blushing Bride (retired), white cardstock
Country Floral Lane DSP (retired)
Circle Sayings, Heartfelt Hexagon stamps
Heartfelt Hexagon punch
Adhesive-backed sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesives

All ads on this site are posted by WordPress and are based on your personal browsing history. I do not control ad content.