Thankful

Thanks Abounds

November 10, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you enjoyed your weekend. Although we were on the go most of the weekend doing the usual errands and chores, we got to enjoy some beautiful weather and time together. And sometimes that makes the most mundane of tasks a lot more enjoyable.

We’re on to a new design series this week, and it seems apropos to do some thankful reflection as Thanksgiving is quickly upon us. I don’t know about you, but outside of personal reflection on thankfulness this time of year, I also try to express words of thanks to others — be it friends, family, coworkers, or someone else who just deserves a word of thanks. So we’re getting started today with a lovely book binding fold that combines the Gathering Together paper with the Label Me Grateful dies and With You in Mind sentiment.

This lovely card comes together in a jiffy thanks to a layout that does all the work. We get started with a base of Early Espresso cardstock. Two different patterns from the Gathering Together paper pack serve as our card front and the inspiration for our sentiment panel. The sentiment panel base is a circle of vellum cut using the Spotlight on Nature dies. A variety of foliage is cut with the Label Me Grateful dies using an assortment of cardstock and specialty paper — Cajun Craze, Earthen Toned Metallic, and Country Woods. The sentiment from With You in Mind is heat embossed in copper on Very Vanilla cardstock and then hand cut with paper snips. The foliage and sentiments are layered on dimensionals over a twist of Mossy Meadow & gold trim. And we finish things off with a few green sparkling sequins.

What a perfect little card to tell someone they’re appreciated! I hope you’ll drop in tomorrow to see where our gratitude takes us for tomorrow’s crafty adventures!

Product List

Early Espresso 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[119686]

$14.00

Very Vanilla 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[166784]

$14.00

Cajun Craze 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[119684]

$14.00

Earthen Toned Metallic 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper

[165901]

$7.50

Country Woods 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[163393]

$12.50

Gathering Together 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper

[165969]

$16.50

Vellum 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper

[167099]

$10.00

With You In Mind Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

[164747]

$20.00

Versamark Pad

[102283]

$9.50

Metallics Wow! Embossing Powder

[165678]

$21.00

Label Me Grateful Dies

[166111]

$24.00

Spotlight On Nature Dies

[163580]

$35.00

Mossy Meadow & Gold 1/4" (6.4 Mm)

[166158]

$9.50

Traditional Sparkling Sequins

[165875]

$8.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Add All to Cart

Birthday Cake

June 18, 2025June 16, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome to the midway point of the week. Why does it always seem like the summer goes by in a flash? We’ve had a busy week this week with junior police academy going on, but the kiddo seems to be enjoying it and is learning a lot about what goes in to being a law enforcement officer. I love that he’s finding a new respect for police officers and ALL that they do behind the scenes!

This week, we’re designing our cards around sentiments. And you might be wondering why I chose this particular design theme, and I must admit it’s because I couldn’t choose a bundle or suite to feature. Lol! Seriously though, I find it challenging sometimes to use my sentiments in new or exciting ways and I always find design themes a great way to think outside the box. Today, we’re pairing up the With You in Mind stamps with the Wildflower Birthday pieces and Beautiful Bokeh paper to create this easy z-fold.

We start our card with a base of Sea Foam Green cardstock and score as usual and then score one side in half again to create our Z fold. I chose a sheet of Beautiful Bokeh that has a lot of colors from the Soft Subtles palette as my background. This sheet is cut into 2-inch strips, leaving just a little edge on all sides, and adhered to each of our panels with the inside panel having a base layer of white to which we adhere the Bokeh strip so that it peeks through to the front when the card is closed. Next up, we cut a focal panel from the blue pastel ombre glimmer paper using the Textured Notes dies. I chose a large cake and a few balloons from the Wildflower Birthday paper pack (punched from the tag sheet) as the focal images. The cake is adhered to the focal panel with dimensionals in the center toward the top of the panel. The happy birthday sentiment from With You in Mind is stamped in Versamark and Coastal Cabana on a sheet of Coastal Cabana cardstock. It’s then heat embossed with some glitter embossing powder. I cut around the sentiment with paper snips leaving a nice shaped border on all sides. The sentiment is adhered over the cake stand at the bottom of the sentiment panel on a double layer of dimensionals. I tucked the balloon strings behind the sentiment, adhering the tails with glue dots, and then popped up the balloons themselves on either side of the cake on several layers of dimensionals. The focal panel is adhered to the left panel of the card (when the card is closed), leaving the right side free-floating so that the Z fold opens cleanly. We finish things off with some In Color shimmer gems.

Tomorrow we’re making our own patterned paper to help feature our sentiment. Stop in and check it out!

Product List

Soft Sea Foam 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[146988]

$14.00

Coastal Cabana 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[131297]

$14.00

Beautiful Bokeh 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[164607]

$12.50

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

[164851]

$12.00

Wildflower Birthday 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper

[164591]

$16.50

Textured Notes Dies

[165555]

$31.00

With You In Mind Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

[164747]

$20.00

Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Pad

[147097]

$9.00

Versamark Pad

[102283]

$9.50

2024–2026 In Color™ Shimmer Gems

[163781]

$8.50

Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

[144108]

$4.25

Mini Glue Dots

[103683]

$7.25

Add All to Cart

Everyday Skies

Starry Thoughts

March 1, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Whew, today turned out to be just as busy as I thought it might be, but it was a successful day nonetheless. The kiddo scored an “excellent” on his euphonium solo and bowled above his average for his league games today. We took advantage of the glorious sunshine and perfect temps here in North Texas and rode our bikes around the park and played ball outside. And to top it all off, I got to steal a few moments in the craft room to bring you our last card of our Everyday Skies design series for this week.

We’re keeping things simple with a clean layout using the reverse sides of the Everyday Skies paper, which we have paired with the ever-lovely With You in Mind stamp set. And as a bonus, we’re getting a sneak peek of the new Textured Notes dies that will release next week. If you’re like me, you were crushed when Stampin’ Up! retired the Deckled Rectangles dies and wondered what you would ever do without them. Well, we’re all in luck as this lovely set of textured-edge dies hits the shelves in just a few days!

We get started with a base of Night of Navy cardstock. I chose the navy starry night pattern from the Everyday Skies paper pack and used the Textured Notes dies to cut our panel. I stamped the sentiment from With You in Mind in Misty Moonlight on a coordinating sheet of a lighter blue patterned sheet from the paper pack. I wrapped one end with some Misty Moonlight natural tones linen thread and tied a small bow and affixed the panel to our focal panel before adhering everything to the card base with dimensionals. I added a few silver stars just above and on one end of the sentiment panel. The stars are cut from silver foil using the two small dies from the Merriest Trees stamp set. A few rhinestones add that last little bit of twinkle.

This clean and simple layout is very versatile and allows you to make a whole variety of cards for a number of different occasions in no time. And as you can see, the patterns in the Everyday Skies paper pack allow for a lot of versatility, as well.

Next week, we start a new design series using the brand new Thankful Garden suite. You’re going to love it!

Product List

Night Of Navy 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[100867]

$11.50

Everyday Skies 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[164622]

$12.50

Silver Foil Sheets

[132178]

$5.00

With You In Mind Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

[164747]

$20.00

Misty Moonlight Classic Stampin' Pad

[153118]

$9.00

Merriest Trees Dies

[162047]

$37.00

Natural Tones Linen Thread

[164071]

$9.00

Rhinestone Basic Jewels

[144220]

$6.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Add All to Cart

Inspiration

Patterned Thoughts

February 17, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Monday, everyone! For those in the U.S., happy Presidents’ Day. Did you know that the holiday we commonly call Presidents’ Day was originally established to celebrate George Washington our nation’s founding father’s birthday? It wasn’t until an ad campaign in the 1980s that the 3rd Monday in February came to be known as it is today as Presidents’ Day.

As we do each Monday, we’re introducing a new design theme today. I enjoyed last week’s textures & sentiments so much that I thought we would expand on the theme this week and incorporate patterns. So we’ll be exploring the combination of patterns & textures to highlight some of the wonderful sentiments in the current Stampin’ Up! lineup. Today we’re getting started with a more masculine-feeling design with a combination of the Timeless Plaid paper, Distressed Tiles embossing folder, and With You in Mind stamp set.

Our design gets started with a base of Early Espresso cardstock. I machine embossed a quarter-panel of Early Espresso with the Distressed Tiles embossing folder and then cut it down to serve as the backdrop for this design. I rubbed the panel with some gold ink to highlight the embossing. A strip of the brown Timeless Plaid paper is adhered to a piece of the gold-splattered text sheet from Nature’s Sweetness and adhered over the embossed panel. A 3×3 panel serves as the backdrop for our oversized sentiment. The square of textured gold paper serves as the mat for piece of the gold-splattered text paper that is adhered slightly off-center onto our card front. The sentiment from With You in Mind is stamped in Early Espresso on white cardstock and then diecut with the Countryside Corners dies. The sentiment panel is adhered over gold trim to the backdrop with dimensionals. A few drusy embellishments and low profile dots finish things off with a little sparkly pizzazz.

I love showing how designs can have lots of sparkle and still be more masculine-looking. Never be afraid to add some touches of bling to a masculine card design. Just think of it like the sprinkles on a cupcake! Tune in tomorrow for an “inspiring” design.

Product List

Early Espresso 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[119686]

$11.50

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[159276]

$13.00

Timeless Plaid 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[164678]

$12.50

Nature's Sweetness 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper

[162616]

$16.50

Textured Metallic 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper

[163772]

$8.50

Distressed Tile 3 D Embossing Folder

[162189]

$10.00

Countryside Corners Dies

[161471]

$28.00

With You In Mind Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

[164747]

$20.00

Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad

[147114]

$9.00

Gold & Silver 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Trim Combo Pack

[161633]

$9.00

Drusy Adhesive Backed Embellishments

[164223]

$9.00

Low Profile Dots

[164658]

$7.50

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Add All to Cart

Inspiration

Blissful Thanks

February 12, 2025 susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

This week, our designs feature texture and sentiments. It’s so easy to grab for the pretty paper, but our embossing tools allow us to add texture that can be just as stunning and eye-catching as a beautiful sheet of patterned paper. Today, we’re combining the Distressed Tile embossing folder with the With You in Mind stamp set.

Our design begins with a base of Blackberry Bliss cardstock. I machine embossed a quarter-sheet of Pool Party cardstock with the Distressed Tiles embossing folder and then cut it down to leave about one-third of the base showing at the top. I covered the seam between the two colors with a combination of Very Vanilla satin ribbon and Blackberry Bliss & gold ribbon. The sentiment from With You in Mind is stamped in Blackberry Bliss on Very Vanilla and then diecut using the Something Fancy set. The sentiment mat is cut from pastel ombré glimmer paper. I added some regal foil gems to the sentiment panel for a little sparkle. The sentiment panel is adhered over the ribbon with dimensionals. Some vanilla natural tones shimmer gems across the front finish things off and help the eye move across our design.

A fairly clean and simple design that packs some eye-catching punch, don’t you think? Tune in tomorrow to see where our design theme takes us next!

Product List