The Right Words

April 23, 2026 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome back, friends! I’m glad you decided to stop by. Do you ever have days that just get off on the wrong foot — with one snafu after another? It started out as one of those days for me, but thankfully, everything was a bit more uphill after lunch. I’ll definitely be glad to see this week in the rearview!

We’re slowly but surely going to work our way through a patterns & textures design series. And today I’m sharing a sneak peek of some new paper that literally has texture — velvet, to be precise. The new Velvet Meadow patterned (and textured) paper is taking center stage in this fun fold sympathy card, along with a few other new products.

We get started with a base of Berry Burst cardstock. It’s scored to give a standard size panel inside but with offset folding panels for the card front. I really love to use this fun fold with busy patterned papers. It allows the sheet to sit front and center while also breaking up the pattern for some eye relief. The sheet of new Velvet Meadow patterned paper is matted with Pretty in Pink soft shimmer paper, which really helps the softer details in the paper pop. The sentiment from The Right Words stamp set is stamped in Secret Sea on a panel of white cut with the More Messages die. (Hint: I usually cut a quarter sheet of cardstock with the More Messages die to create a stash of sentiment panels for easy grab-and-go sentiments.) its mounted with dimensionals on a sheet of new pink Sunset Shimmer vellum and Berry Burst Garden Textures paper that are both cut with the new Sweet Words & Labels dies. I made a big twist of Berry Burst shiny ribbon and adhered it to the back of the sentiment panels for before adhering it to the left panel of the card front with dimensionals. Pearlized faceted circles and frosted iridescent dots finish things off with pops of color.

Although not pictured (because I completely forgot to photograph it), the inside is decorated with leftover strips of the Velvet Meadow paper. And the message panel includes a coordinating sentiment from The Right Words stamp set.

Sympathy cards are always hard, but combining products in a way that feels like a paper hug is always worth the extra effort!

Products used:

Berry Burst, Basic White cardstock

Garden textures, pastel shimmer DSP

Velvet Meadow DSP, Sunset Shimmer vellum, Sweet Words & Labels dies (May releases)

The Right Words stamps

More Messages dies

Secret Sea ink

Pearlized faceted dots, frosted iridescent dots

Berry Burst shiny ribbon

Dimensionals

Coming Up Flowers

July 21, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks around here in Song Sparrow land. Between completely redecorating my son’s room (minus the paint – that’s still on the to-do list!) and then prepping to go on vacation, let’s just say I was chasing my tail and had zero brain cells left for creative work!

But in the end, the kiddo was over the moon with his new room setup and we had a fabulous time on vacation. The vacation was, of course, the highlight for the adults because we traveled to a place we’ve been to many times (and love) that provides oodles of things for the kiddos to do without a screen. And for people who love to be outside fishing and enjoying the great outdoors, it was heaven! So all in all, I would call the hiatus from designing a win.

I don’t really feel like I did the last design theme a lot of justice with only 3 designs using the Florals in Bloom suite. So this week, we’re going to continue creating with this beautiful combination of products. And to spice things up, because you know that’s how I roll, we’ll be bringing in other sets as we go to keep it all interesting. For today’s design, we’re pairing the Florals in Bloom paper with The Right Words stamp set and the Beautiful Butterflies and Everyday Arches die sets.

We get started with a base of Highland Heather cardstock. The background panel is a combination of the small purple floral pattern from the Florals in Bloom paper pack and a mat of Highland Heather glimmer paper that I’m fortunate enough to still have in my stash. I tied a bit of Petunia Pop iridescent ribbon around the bottom of the background panel to help bring out the subtle shades of pink and lighter shades of purple. The background panel is adhered to the card front with dimensionals. The focal panel is cut from white cardstock using the Everyday Arches dies and turned on its side. I’ve then stamped the sentiment from The Right Words set in Gorgeous Grape on the side up and adhered the panel against the far edge of the background panel. A beautiful, dainty butterfly cut from pastel ombre and silver foil paper using the Beautiful Butterflies dies adds the perfect pop of sparkle and bit of visual interest that draws the eye directly to our focal panel. It’s adhered to our focal panel with a double-dose of dimensionals for an extra boost. A few purple sequins scattered about the card front in strategic places give the bits of sparkly interest so your eye moves across the design.

This design is clean and simple and comes together in a snap but lacks nothing in the drama department – which is just my style!

Product List

Highland Heather 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[146986]

$14.00

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[166780]

$14.00

Florals In Bloom 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[165175]

$12.50

Three Color Glimmer 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper

[162813]

$10.50

Pastel Ombre Glimmer 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper

[164851]

$12.00

Silver Foil 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Pack

[163096]

$10.00

The Right Words Cling Stamp Set (English)

[165316]

$26.00

Gorgeous Grape Classic Stampin' Pad

[147099]

$9.00

Everyday Arches Dies

[164629]

$29.00

Petunia Pop 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Iridescent Ribbon

[166203]

$9.50

Purple Adhesive Backed Sequins

[164970]

$8.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Add All to Cart

Florals in Bloom

The Right Words

July 10, 2025July 10, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Our design spotlight for this week is the Florals in Bloom suite by Stampin’ Up! Aside from the fact that this suite is gorgeous in every conceivable way, it’s been the perfect spot of sunshine in a week that hasn’t been the happiest here in North Texas. Whether you are personally impacted by the flooding in the Texas Hill Country or not, there seems to be a universal feeling of sadness as we all come to grips with the innocent lives lost in the blink of an eye.

Today’s card design is inspired by those difficult moments where we simply don’t have any words to say. We simply hope that a hug will do. And for cardmakers, sometimes we have to send a hug in the mail. This card pairs the Pretty Florals bundle with The Right Words stamp set for the perfect hug in the mail.

We get started with a base of Coastal Cabana cardstock. The focal panel backdrop is a simple piece of white cardstock diecut with one of the larger Textured Notes dies. I wanted to create a window look and so I used the Everyday Arches dies to create a window frame of white cardstock and then cut a backdrop of Pretty Peacock that is machine embossed with the Distressed Tiles embossing folder to give the look of a paneled wall in the background. Our window is mounted over gold striped mesh ribbon for a subtle bit of twinkle that spans the card front. I loved the idea of a flowering fine climbing outside the window to add that touch of happy color. The flowers are stamped in various shades of pink, yellow, orange, and red-orange on white carsdtock using the Pretty Florals stamps and then diecut with the coordinating dies. The vine is cut from a sheet of the green ombre glimmer paper in the pastel ombre paper pack. The vine and flowers are adhered next to the window using a combination of glue dots and dimensionals to create a layered look. We add little pops of sparkle across the card front with a combination of foil gems in a variety of colors.

The dies in the Florals in Bloom suite offer a lot of opportunity for beautiful designs. We’ll explore more of what the dies can do in our next design. I hope you’ll drop by and check it out.

Product List