Tag: sketches

Botanicals · SU! Promotions

Best of Luck

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Our product focus this week is Stampin’ Up!’s Inspiring Snapdragons bundle, which includes a coordinating cling stamp and die set. We’ve explored using the stamps and dies together and independently in this week’s designs. Today’s card is pairing a sketch from my sketch book with Inspiring Snapdragons stamps and several of the new In Colors.

We get started with a card base of Summer Splash cardstock. The decorative element behind the focal panel consists of a mat of Petunia Pop In Color glimmer paper and Petunia Pop cardstock that has been machine embossed using the Cute Crochet embossing folder. The focal panel is matted with a trio of Summer Splash cardstock, Summer Splash In Color glimmer paper, and a sheet of Unbounded Beauty designer paper. The focal panel is white cardstock diecut using the Radiating Stitches dies on which I then stamped the smallest snapdragon in a combination of Shy Shamrock and Petunia Pop. The dragonflies are stamped in Smoky Slate on white cardstock and diecut using the coordinating Inspiring Snapdragons dies. I covered the wings in Wink of Stella for a little realistic shimmer. Each dragonfly is suspended in air with a dimensional. The sentiment panel is diecut from Petunia Pop cardstock using the Spotlight on Nature dies and then the sentiment from Unbounded Love is stamped tone-on-tone in the center. I tucked Summer Splash bordered ribbon and white diagonal trim behind the sentiment panel. For some extra pops of sparkly color, I added In Color shimmer gems across the card front.

Don’t forget, TODAY is the last day to take advantage of the fantastic Stampin’ Up! joining special, where for $99 (plus tax) you’ll get
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⭐️5 new In Color Ink Pads for FREE ($40.50 value)
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⭐️An Assorted Pack of In Color Cardstock for FREE ($11.50 Value)
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⭐️FREE shipping on the Starter Kit

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Tomorrow we’re closing out our Inspiring Snapdragons series with a clean and simple design. I hope you’ll pop in and check it out!

Products used in today’s design:
Shy Shamrock, Petunia Pop, Basic White cardstock
Unbounded Beauty, In Color glimmer DSP
Inspiring Snapdragons, Unbounded Love stamps
Inspiring Snapdragons, Radiating Stitches, Spotlight on Nature dies
Cute Crochet embossing folder
Wink of Stella
Bordered ribbon, diagonal trim
In Color shimmer gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Botanicals · sketches

Hi, Friend

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Howdy, friends! Thanks for popping by today for another look at the Inspiring Snapdragons stamps and dies bundle. Snapdragons were one of my Granny’s favorite seasonal flowers. She had the best green thumb when it came to snapdragons. I, however, did not inherit that part of her gardening skills. I have the worst luck with snapdragons, even though I enjoy them a lot. *grin*

We’re revisiting our sketch from yesterday … with a little twist. The fun thing about sketches is that they give you a place to start with design and give you the flexibility to adapt them. And today’s card is a perfect example of adapting, where I scaled down and adjusted the placement of the image panel to allow more of my background panel to show.

So let’s get started on today’s card. We begin with a base of Pretty in Pink cardstock. The background panel is a sheet of Meandering Meadow designer series paper. I chose a sheet that had flowers that, to me, had similar shape and look to snapdragons. I tied silver & white trim around the designer paper panel before adhering to the card base.

The image panel is a base of white cardstock diecut using the Everyday Details dies. I chose to make several snapdragons in the pink color family to really pull the pink blossoms forward in the background paper. I used a combination of cardstock and glimmer paper for the snapdragon blooms, including Berry Burst, Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, white, and Petunia Pop. Each blossom consists of two layers—a base and detail layer. I adhered the snapdragon blossoms to the image panel and varied the height of each using dimensionals. The image panel is adhered to the background layer using dimensionals.

The sentiment panel is cut from white cardstock using the Spotlight on Nature dies. The sentiment from Wonderful Thoughts is stamped in black in the center. The sentiment panel mat is diecut from Pretty in Pink using a larger die from the Spotlight on Nature die set. The layers are adhered using dimensionals and then affixed to the card front using stacked dimensionals to ensure the sentiment panel stands above the layered snapdragons. I added a dragonfly cut from In Color glimmer paper above the snapdragon blossoms and then finished things off with iridescent foil gems.

I hope you’ll pop in tomorrow to see how we can use this fabulous bundle to build a scene! You won’t want to miss it.

Products used in today’s card:
Pretty in Pink, Petunia Pop, Melon Mambo, Basic White cardstock
Meandering Meadow, In Color glimmer DSP
Wonderful Thoughts stamps
Inspiring Snapdragons, Everyday Details, Spotlight on Nature dies
Silver & white trim
Iridescent foil gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Botanicals · sketches

Snapdragon Love

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This week, we’re going to be working with the Inspiring Snapdragons bundle by Stampin’ Up! This bundle includes cling stamps and coordinating dies. We’ll be looking at all of the ways that we can use these stamps and dies, both together and apart, to create beautiful cards.

And today’s card is based on a sketch from my sketch book. When I come across a great card, I typically take a screenshot and add it to my inspiration folder. Sometimes I am saving a card because I’m inspired by product usage, but a lot of times, I’m saving it as inspiration for layout when using products from my own stash. I often share with you guys when I found inspiration for a layout but don’t usually include a sketch. I have begun converting awesome layouts into digital sketches and thought I would begin sharing them with you as I use them. Love a sketch? Please feel free to save it to your own sketch collection.

Today’s card starts with Pretty in Pink cardstock. The patterned background layer is a sheet of the Unbounded Beauty designer series paper. For the image panel, I started with a sheet of white cardstock diecut using the Everyday Details dies. The image panel mat is diecut from Petunia Pop In Color Glimmer paper using the Deckled Rectangles dies. On the white panel, I stamped the two smaller snapdragon images using Bubble Bath, Pretty in Pink, and Petunia Pop ink. I then adhered the two panels together using my adhesive runner.

Next, I diecut the sentiment panel and mat. The sentiment panel mat is diecut from white glimmer paper and the sentiment panel itself is diecut from white cardstock using nesting circles from the Spotlight on Nature dies. The sentiment is from the Country Flowers set. I first stamped the word “sending” in black ink towards the top of the blank sentiment panel. Then I stamped “love” in Petunia Pop underneath, allowing part of the L to overlap the word “sending.” Adhere these two panels together with adhesive. TIP: To prevent stamping any portion of the word “sending” while stamping the remaining portion of your sentiment, I covered it with a piece of tape — any tape will do. I have tried cleaning my stamp in between stamping portions, but I still manage to get a ghost image of the previously inked portion. And I’ve found the taping method to be the most effective way to prevent that.

To finish things off, adhere the image panel on the top-right portion of the card. Tie sheer ribbon around the bottom third of the card, covering the bottom of the image panel. I chose to tie the sheer ribbon in a knot, but a bow could also work. Next, adhere the sentiment panel over the ribbon and bottom-left portion of the image panel using dimensionals. I added a gold glimmer dragonfly and In Color resin dots to finish things off.

Tomorrow, we’re going to take our sketch for another spin with a little variation. I hope you’ll pop in and let me know what you think!

Products used in today’ card:
Pretty in Pink, Basic White cardstock
Unbounded Beauty, In Color Glimmer DSP
Inspiring Snapdragons, Country Flowers stamps
Iridescent striped trim
In Color resin dots
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Mother’s Day

Sure of Things Unseen

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Happy Mother’s Day, everyone!

Faith is being sure of what we cannot see is the theme of today’s card design. As a mom and, in particular, a mom who struggled with infertility, these words resonate a little differently. Faith has to become a part of your inmost being—to simply trust that you will carry a baby to term and hold that precious and healthy part of you in your arms and have the privilege of raising this baby to adulthood.

It is such an honor to be a mom! It teaches you so much about our Creator and His love. And it teaches you a lot about humility and faith.

Today we’re wrapping up a series using a sketch and a small stash of crafty supplies. I loved this sentiment from the Unbounded Love stamp set and thought it was the perfect compliment to Mother’s Day.

We get started on today’s card with a base of Berry Burst cardstock. I also cut a quarter- sheet and embossed it using the Dotted Circles embossing folder. To give a bit more definition to the embossed pattern, I used my finger to spread a very light layer of white craft ink over the panel. Once dry, which didn’t take too long, I cut the embossed panel to be just a smidge smaller than the card base. I cut a small strip of the Thoughtful Journey designer paper so that a small scene would be exposed and then adhered it to the right side of the embossed panel. The embossed panel is adhered to the card base using dimensionals, and the sentiment panel is also adhered using dimensionals. The sentiment from Unbounded Love is stamped on white cardstock that is diecut using the Autumn Leaves die set. I chose to stamp the word faith in Fresh Freesia ink to emphasize the word and draw the eye to the sentiment. I wanted to add a soft eye-catching element behind the sentiment panel and chose to diecut some sprigs of greenery from vellum using the Painted Lavender dies and then added a paper butterfly and some paper white sequins from the Sequins Trio.

I hope that you are able to enjoy this Mother’s Day—whether through a family celebration or a remembrance.

I hope to be able to post a little more regularly in the coming week, assuming we’re able to come home from the hospital.

Products used in this card design:
Berry Burst, Basic White, vellum cardstock
Thoughtful Journey DSP
Unbounded Love stamps
Autumn Leaves, Painted Lavender dies
Dotted Circles embossing folder
Paper butterflies
Sequins trio
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Clean and Simple

True Blessing

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Thus far this week, we’ve been exploring how a sketch and a few supplies can give you to terrific cards in no time flat. Today’s card is a slight variation on yesterday’s card design with a slightly wider designer paper section that begins on the edge of the embossed panel.

I really love this particular sheet of the Thoughtful Journey designer paper pack. The cedars set on the hill with the wildflowers down below reminds me of the prairie that was behind my childhood home.

This card begins with a base of Berry Burst. I cut an additional quarter-panel and embossed with the Eyelet embossing folder then cut the panel down to be one-quarter inch smaller, leaving just a small border behind on the base. I wanted to ensure that the beautiful embossed pattern stood out to compliment the soft white in the patterned paper, so I used my finger to rub a thin layer of silver ink over the top of the pattern. Then I adhered the designer paper panel to the right side of the embossed panel before adhering the full panel to the base using dimensionals. The sentiment from Unbounded Love is stamped on white cardstock diecut using the coordinating Unbounded Love dies. To draw the eye to the sentiment, I finished the card with tinsel gems and silver trim tied in a small bow.

Tomorrow, I’ll be rounding out this series with one final variation. I hope you’ll come check it out!

Products used in this card design:
Berry Burst, Basic White cardstock
Thoughtful Journey DSP
Unbounded Love stamps & dies
Eyelet embossing folder
Tinsel gems
Silver trim
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Luv 2 Stamp Artisan Design Team · sketches

Time to Celebrate

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Preparing for my son’s birthday last week had birthday front and center in the design line-up. And today’s card is a second take on a sketch by Stampin’ Pretty — with a flip of the smaller background panel and a little shift on the position of the decorative element.

This card begins with a base of Night of Navy cardstock. I chose two star patterns from the Bright & Beautiful designer series paper pack to serve as the backdrop. I used a strip of More Dazzle specialty paper and Night of Navy & gold sheer ribbon to bridge the divide between the two patterns. For the decorative element, I chose the balloons from the new Filled with Fun die set and diecut them from all of the shades of the Soft Shimmer specialty paper pack. The sentiment from Filled with Fun is stamped on white shimmer paper and the decorative element is white glimmer paper diecut using the Thoughtful Expressions set. A few Night of Navy tinsel gems finish off this sparkly celebration in an envelope!

This week, we’ll be exploring some botanical designs. I hope you’ll follow along!

Products used in today’s design:
Night of Navy cardstock
Bright & Beautiful, Soft Shimmer, Glimmer, More Dazzle DSP
Filled With Fun stamps
Filled With Fun, Thoughtful Expressions dies
Tinsel gems
Gold cord, Night of Navy & gold sheer ribbon
Dimensionals
Adhesives


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Luv 2 Stamp Artisan Design Team · sketches

Heart Blooms

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Today, we’re taking another look at the Filled With Fun bundle, which includes an adorable photopolymer stamp set and coordinating dies. This Online Exclusive from Stampin’ Up! can be used in so many different ways and will pair with any number of other super cute sets. One of the many things I love about SU! is that they design products to mix and match, which means your stamps and dies can serve you in a LOT of ways. I’m not always the best at thinking of creative or different ways to use my stamp sets, but someone in my great, big world of crafty friends has!

I’ve been coloring a lot outside of my usual design lines lately. And today’s stretch uses patterns. There are some patterned papers that really just stump me. Outside of having them stand alone and take center stage, I’m not sure what to do with them. But one of the things you can learn by following stampers who have completely different styles from your own is how to do things differently and IT WORKS! For today’s card, we’re using two very busy patterns from the Delightfully Eclectic designer series paper pack and they work together beautifully! Sometimes it’s all about figuring out how your patterns can compliment one another and remembering that a pattern doesn’t have to take center stage in a design.

Today, we’re using a sketch from Stampin’ Pretty as the inspiration for our card layout. We start with a base of Fresh Freesia cardstock. I really like how this color brought out the deeper pink tones in both patterns of the Delightfully Eclectic DSP. Rather than using the full wagon image from Filled With Fun, I chose to use a portion of it as a planter for the lovely flowers from the stamp set. Our Stampin’ Blends provide the beautiful flowers with their coordinating color. I love how perfectly the sweet turtle from Playing in the Rain pairs with this scene and sentiment. The sparkle for this design comes compliments of the white and Bubble Bath shimmer papers, along with the Blooming Pearls, adhesive hearts & flowers, and Bubble Bath sequins from Sequins Trio.

Today’s card doesn’t follow the sketch to the letter, but that’s the beauty of inspiration – it’s not your ruler, it’s just your guide!

In honor of my son’s birthday, I will be giving away 3 mystery packets of 6×6 designer series paper – both current and retired designs. To be entered to win, simply comment on any of my social media posts (WordPress, Facebook, Instagram) and tell me your favorite Stampin’ Up! color(s). I’ll have my son draw a winner at 3 PM CST tomorrow (March 29).

Products used in today’s design:
Fresh Freesia, Basic White cardstock
Delightfully Eclectic, Bubble Bath soft shimmer, white shimmer DSP
Filled With Fun, Playing in the Rain stamps & dies
Hearts & flowers, Blooming pearls, Sequins trio
Dimensionals
Adhesives


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Luv 2 Stamp Artisan Design Team · sketches

Celebration Wagon

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

One of the most recent Stampin’ Up! Online Exclusive releases is called Filled With Fun. This bundle includes an adorable wagon-themed set of stamps and dies. There are so many cute possibilities with this set! I’ve had so many ideas swirling in my head ever since I saw it.

So today, we’re pairing this adorable wagon with another sketch by the crew over at Freshly Made Sketches. When I saw this sketch, I was immediately drawn to the scallop element at the bottom of the focal section. I remembered the sheet of paper in the Lighter Than Air paper pack that had the scalloped element and wanted to give it a try as the focal panel for my card design. And it’s worked beautifully!

Our card begins with a base of Highland Heather cardstock. I chose the cross-stripe pattern from the Lighter Than Air designer paper pack as the background. From there, I began building my wagon. I diecut the wagon using the coordinating dies and a sheet of the polka-dotted paper. I used Night of Navy and Lost Lagoon glimmer paper for the wagon wheels and hubcabs of Blooming Pearls for a little extra pizzazz. The wagon handle is diecut from the Holographic Trio specialty paper. I wanted to fully lean into the celebratory theme of this card design, so I diecut the banner from Berry Burst shimmer paper and hung it on the side of the wagon.

The Filled With Fun stamp set includes a birthday-themed stamp with presents and cake, but I wanted to fill the wagon with presents alone without all the fussy cutting. And that’s when I remembered that the Merriest Trees die set included packages! I selected several different patterns from the Lighter Than Air paper pack and began diecutting packages. I chose to use the Rose Gold specialty paper as the bows for a little additional colorful sparkle. The packages are layered on dimensionals to give depth of field to the scene.

This card is finished with a beautiful CELEBRATE banner at the top of the focal panel. The sentiment from Happy Little Things is stamped on Highland Heather and then cut with the paper trimmer. A twist of silver & white trim and a few carefully placed iridescent discs draw the eye across the design and tie everything together.

Tune in tomorrow for another fun design using Filled With Fun and a new sketch plus a GIVEAWAY. You won’t want to miss it!

Products used in today’s design:
Highland Heather cardstock
Lighter Than Air, soft shimmer, Holographic trio, Rose Gold DSP
Filled With Fun, Happy Little Things stamps
Filled With Fun, Merriest Trees dies
Silver trim
Iridescent discs
Blooming Pearls
Dimensionals
Adhesives


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Luv 2 Stamp Artisan Design Team · sketches

Thankful for Everything

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Do you like to find inspiration for your card designs? Or are you able to just start from scratch on your own each time? Every once in a while, I have a concept that comes to me and I’m able to turn out a card from start to finish without any underlying inspiration. But most of the time, I have an inspiration card from a fellow crafter or a sketch that gets everything started. We’re continuing our look into how sketches can be a super useful tool in the craft room.

Today, I have a sketch from Stampin’ Pretty that serves as the layout for my card. My color palette is inspired by several sheets of designer paper from the Hello, Irresistible paper pack. We begin this design with a base of Lost Lagoon cardstock. I chose a cloudy pattern of designer paper to serve as the background for the focal pieces. The rectangle element is a sheet of greenery pattern that is matted with a sheet of Pretty Peacock shimmer paper. I used nesting rectangles from the Deckled Rectangles and Everyday Details die sets to diecut these pieces. The greenery dies are from the Painted Lavender die set. The sentiment from Botanical Layers is stamped in Pretty Peacock on another pattern from Hello, Irresistible and diecut using the *soon-to-be-released* Unbounded Love die set. The Pretty Peacock and gold metallic ribbon, brushed metallic dots, and Pretty Peacock sequins are just the ticket to tie everything together.

This card came together with very little change from the original sketch. There are plenty of times when my finished design might look nothing like the original inspiration by the time I’ve moved elements around to get everything just right. But having a place to start is the key.

Tune in tomorrow to see how I use a NEW Online Exclusive and a sketch!

Products used in today’s design:
Lost Loagoon cardstock
Hello, Irresistible; Pretty Peacock shimmer DSP
Botanical Layers stamps
Deckled Rectangles, Everyday Details, Painted Lavender, Unbounded Love (sneak peek!) dies
Pretty Peacock & gold metallic ribbon
Sequins trio
Brushed metallic dots
Dimensionals
Adhesives


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Luv 2 Stamp Artisan Design Team · sketches

Celebrate Spring

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Sketches are such a great crafting tool. I turn to them often when looking for design inspiration. And you don’t have to follow them to the letter (I often don’t), but they give you a great place to get started. I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of the latest sketch by the crew over at Freshly Made Sketches.

For today’s card, I pulled one of my favorite 6×6 paper packs called Meandering Meadow. This pack is full of beautiful watercolor, impressionistic-looking designs and there’s a color palette for everyone! I decided to get out of my comfort zone and try working with yellow. The sheet of black-eyed Susans in Meandering Meadow serves as the square element in the sketch. And I built the remainder of the design around it. A sheet of Daffodil Delight serves as the card base and as the background panel. The background panel has been machine embossed using the Zinnia embossing folder, which is currently available as an Online Exclusive. For the circle element, I diecut a sheet of the white glimmer paper using the Thoughtful Expressions dies. The sentiment from Happy Little Things is stamped in Crushed Curry on a strip of Daffodil Delight and then cut using the paper trimmer and snips. A strip of silver trim, along with some white sequins, help tie the white and sparkly details together. I finished off the design with a paper butterfly.

I don’t often use yellow as a focal color in my designs because, quite frankly, I find it a little intimidating and often very overwhelming to my eye. But I really love how this design came together. Sometimes you just need the right combination of products to make a “hard color” work for you.

We’re going to continue our look into using sketches as our go-to starting point for our designs this week. I hope you’ll follow along and maybe even give one or two a try!

Products used in today’s design:
Daffodil Delight cardstock
Meandering Meadow, white shimmer DSP
Happy Little Things stamps
Thoughtful Expressions dies
Zinnia embossing folder
Silver trim
Neutrals sequins
Paper butterfly
Dimensionals
Adhesives


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