Botanicals

Beautiful Gallery Prayer

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Howdy, friends, and happy hump day! We’re halfway through this week already. And honestly, I’m a little bit over it. I’m finding it hard to be the one working while everyone else in the house is enjoying summer break without me. How about that for a little pity party? *snicker* Seriously though, it’s hard being a working mom, feeling like you’re missing all the good stuff. But such is life sometimes and we make the most of the time we have.

I’ve finally landed on a design theme for this week. We’ll be working with the Beautiful Gallery 6×6 papers. This paper pack is so beautiful and offers so many different styles and feels. So we’re going to try all the things this week as we work to show this paper’s versatility. We’re keeping it super simple with an easy home decor project to get started (because all of these papers are so beautiful and hard to cut up!).

We get started with a full sheet of paper. I chose the sheet with the rose limbs that stretch across the paper. Since this is going to sit on our table as our next dinner prayer, I chose a scripture that is fitting for the season and printed it on a quarter sheet of Blushing Bride cardstock (only because I totally boogered up the original sheet of Petal Pink I had chosen). Then I used the smallest Branching Out die to cut out the scripture using the extension method. Using the gold striped mesh ribbon, I created a large bow and affixed it behind the sentiment panel and then affixed the sentiment panel to the patterned paper background with dimensionals. Some drusy embellishments on either side in opposing corners finish things off with the perfect amount of sparkle. I’m using another one of my favorite 6×6 Amazon frames to hold the finished product.

Tomorrow we’re going to create a scene card. I hope you’ll drop in and check it out!

Product List
Blushing Bride 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 131198 ]
[131198]
$9.25
Beautiful Gallery 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 165196 ]
[165196]
$12.50
Branching Out Dies [ 165775 ]
[165775]
$29.00
Gold Striped 3/8" (1 Cm) Mesh Ribbon [ 165599 ]
[165599]
$8.00
Drusy Adhesive Backed Embellishments [ 164223 ]
[164223]
$9.00
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
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Days Spent Together

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Happy Monday, friends! I’m over here wishing it was Friday so I could recover from my weekend. It was a busy with one with a 10-hour vendor fair on Saturday. We had beautiful springlike temps running right up into the latter part of the week last week, but then in true Texas fashion, it went straight to summer flambé with temps in the 90s and humidity about the same on Saturday for the event! Needless to say, the crowd was a bit thinner than we had hoped.

So I’m skidding into this week without a single clue what direction we’re headed. All I know is I have a bunch of new goodies that I haven’t gotten to play with yet because I’ve been in vendor mode. So today we’re going to start with a fun piece of home decor I made for my booth using the new Silly Old Bear suite.

This cute framed piece is 6×6-inches in size. I typically buy my frames on Amazon in a bundle. We get started by cutting down the Pooh & friends sheet from the Silly Old Bear paper pack to serve as the backdrop for our framed piece. The sentiment from the Sweet Words & Labels stamp set is stamped on Very Vanilla in Early Espresso and then diecut with the coordinating frame die. The mat for the sentiment is cut from a piece of Gathering Together patterned paper. A piece of gold & white ribbon is wrapped around the background panel and tied in a knot to the side of the sentiment panel which is adhered over the ribbon with dimensionals. We finish things off with some gold adhesive hearts.

I really love how versatile the Silly Old Bear suite is. It makes adorable cards, gifts, and home decor. And I’ve really only scratched the surface on what it can truly do. I’ll try to get my act together between now and tomorrow evening and see if we can get a design theme going for this week. If you have a suggestion, feel free to send it my way!

Product List
Very Vanilla 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166784 ]
[166784]
$14.00
Silly Old Bear 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 167616 ]
[167616]
$13.00
Gathering Together 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper [ 165969 ]
[165969]
$16.50
Sweet Words & Labels Bundle [ 167628 ]
[167628]
$52.00
Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147114 ]
[147114]
$9.00
White With Gold 3/8" (1 Cm) Ribbon [ 166979 ]
[166979]
$8.50
Adhesive Backed Heart Sequins [ 164920 ]
[164920]
$8.50
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Father's Day · Fun Folds · L2S Group Instahop

You’re the BEST

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome in, everyone! Glad to see you today. We’ve had quite the string of crazy weather this week. We go from sunshine to gully washer in no time flat. Yesterday, we got over 7 inches of rain at our house in about 2 hours! It was crazy and there were all kinds of street and road closures for quite some time as we had to wait for all of that water to dissipate. Thus far, we’re off to a dry start, but we do have more rain in the forecast today.

This week, it’s all about the gifty goodies as I’m preparing for a big craft fair this weekend. And I’m always looking for ways to dress up a gift card gift, aren’t you? Today’s fun fold design comes from our Luv 2 Stamp Group fearless leader, Patty Bennett. I’m calling this the dutch door gift card holder. We’re using the Lovely Blossoms paper and a few new stamp sets to create this fun gift.

We get started with a base of Cloud Cover cardstock. The backdrop is the Secret Sea diamond pattern sheet from the Lovely Blossoms paper pack. And I used a leftover strip of the Cloud Cover striped pattern from the pack to create the accent strip to break up the busy pattern. The sentiment panel is a combination of Cloud Cover and Secret Sea glimmer paper that are cut out with the Branching Out dies. The sentiment is from the new Words & Wishes stamp set. The sentiment panel is wrapped in gold & white baker’s twine. And I added some In Color and Moody Palette dots for pops of color.

The inside of our card has a nice big message panel with a combination of sentiments from the Scalloped Blossoms & BBQ Master stamp sets. I repeated the diamond pattern paper for the small panel and for the gift card pocket. And a few Moody Palette dots tie the outside and inside of the card together. TIP: to make the gift card easier to slip out of the pocket, add a ribbon pull like I did here.

I really love this gift card design because it comes together in a flash. If you’re interested in whipping up a few on your own, you can download the free PDF tutorial here!

Today’s card is a part of the Luv 2 Stamp Group Instagram Hop, which goes live at 9 AM Pacific Time (PST).  Click here to head over to my Instagram feed at 9 AM Pacific/11 AM Central and check out what the other demos in our L2S Group have created for you today! 

Product List
Cloud Cover 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 165621 ]
[165621]
$14.00
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166780 ]
[166780]
$14.00
Peaceful Garden 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Glimmer Paper [ 165929 ]
[165929]
$10.50
Lovely Blossoms 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 167168 ]
[167168]
$12.50
Words & Wishes Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [ 167889 ]
[167889]
$25.00
Scalloped Blooms Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [ 167639 ]
[167639]
$20.00
Branching Out Dies [ 165775 ]
[165775]
$29.00
2025–2027 In Color™ Flat Pearls [ 165192 ]
[165192]
$8.50
Moody Palette Glossy Dots [ 167180 ]
[167180]
$8.00
Black & White & Gold Baker's Twine [ 166005 ]
[166005]
$8.50
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Tear & Tape Adhesive [ 154031 ]
[154031]
$7.00
Add All to Cart
Gifting · Father's Day

Trusty Tools Gift Card Box

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Howdy, crafty friends! It’s hard to believe it’s already Wednesday and we’re halfway through the week. Holiday weeks are always weird because I never know what day it is. Anybody else have that issue?

This week, I’m feverishly working to completely product prep for a craft show this coming weekend. And today I’m giving you a looksy at a new fun fold project that I took for a spin to create a super cute gift card box. I’m using the retired Trusty Toolbox paper and coordinating stamps, along with the Family Ties stamp and Stylish Shapes dies. Let’s take a closer look.

The box is constructed from Gray Granite cardstock. The outside of the box is decorated with several different patterns from the Trusty Toolbox paper pack. The sentiment panel is cut from white cardstock using the circle dies from the Stylish Shapes set and then stamped with the sentiment from the Family Ties stamp set. The banner is cut from Real Red and adhered behind the sentiment. The sentiment panel is popped up with dimensionals and a few Industrial Trinkets are added for a little pizzazz.

The gift card holder is designed as a pop-up so that it recesses into the box when it closes. It looks complicated but it’s quite simple. Again, I used some of the Trusty Toolbox paper to decorate the lid, along with a sentiment from the coordinating stamp set. The Hershey Nugget treats are wrapped in strips of the Trusty Toolbox paper for a cohesive look. There’s even room for a small pocket knife or other clever (but small) gifty insert.

So what do you think? Isn’t this a clever way to gift a gift card and a little treat! You can snag the tutorial here and give it a try yourself!

Product List
Gray Granite 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 146983 ]
[146983]
$14.00
Basic Gray 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 121044 ]
[121044]
$14.00
Real Red 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 102482 ]
[102482]
$14.00
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166780 ]
[166780]
$14.00
Trusty Toolbox 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 162978 ]
[162978]
$12.50
Trusty Tools Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [ 169049 ]
[169049]
$24.00
Family Ties Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [ 166897 ]
[166897]
$18.00
Stylish Shapes Dies [ 159183 ]
[159183]
$30.00
Branching Out Dies [ 165775 ]
[165775]
$29.00
Jet Black Stāzon Ink Pad [ 101406 ]
[101406]
$10.50
Industrial Trinkets [ 163450 ]
[163450]
$8.50
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Tear & Tape Adhesive [ 154031 ]
[154031]
$7.00
Mini Glue Dots [ 103683 ]
[103683]
$7.25
Add All to Cart
Gifting

Hello, Summer!

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Howdy, crafty friends! Thanks for allowing me a little break as we wrapped up the school year and wound down over the holiday weekend.

The kiddo said ADIOS to 8th grade and will be headed off to high school next year. *gulp* Not quite sure how time went by so quickly! This weekend we just enjoyed some down time, and it was nice to get a little breather and enjoy time unhurried as a family.

This week will be a busy one as I fast & furiously work to finish up product and prep for a craft fair this coming weekend. My mom will be joining me again, and we’re looking forward to our first summer event. We typically stick to fall events. So we’re interested to see if we’ve managed to put together a good selection of product based on a different season. What would you be looking for at a summer craft fair?

One of the new products I’ll be offering is the cute little Fun in the Sun gift bag that includes some sunscreen, hydration packets, and some SPF lip balm — a perfect hostess gift for those summer poolside get-togethers! The Notes & Totes die set makes the perfect little bag to hold all of the goodies. I’ve made an assortment of these little gift bags and have pulled all of my favorite (retired) summer-inspired patterns to create the bags. For this bag, I’ve used the retired Bloom Impressions paper and accented with Crumb Cake. For a good hold, I chose narrow tear-and-tape to assemble.

Is this not the cutest? I really hope these sell. What do you think — yay or nay on the idea?

Products used in today’s project:
Crumb Cake cardstock
Bloom Impressions DSP (retired)
Notes & Totes dies
Stuffings: hydration packets, sunscreen, lip balm

Gifting

You Did It, Graduate

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Howdy, everyone! We’re sitting at T minus 1 on middle school. And I just can’t even believe it. Time really does fly!

Speaking of that, I know a lot of parents of graduates who are feeling the same way right now. This week our designs are an ode to this year’s graduating seniors. And today we’re pulling together the school colors of another local high school to create this tassel card using the Diamond Fun Fold tutorial.

We get started with a base of Basic Black cardstock and then use Crushed Curry for our front and side panels. The diamond panel is a small square of black cardstock with a small hole in the center. The tassel is created from gold twine and a goldenrod Brad in the center. I pulled some older Papertrey Ink stamp sets — Wise Owl and Paper Clippings Congratulations — to provide the owl (the school mascot), stars, and the sentiment. We finish things off with a little sparkle from a few foam shimmer stars for the star centers.

The tassel is probably the most time consuming part of this design. And that took just a few minutes. You could easily make several of these in one sitting and even change up the colors to match a different school. Easy peasy!

Gifting

Celebrate, Grad

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Welcome back on this wet and wild Tuesday! It was a stormy commute home for me today and quite the crazy drive. It seems like people forget how to drive in the rain when we haven’t had any for more than a week! But I made it home in one piece, even if it took far longer than it needed to.

We’re continuing our design series that’s all about the grads. And today’s card is a nod to one of the local high schools. One of the fun things we can do as crafters is tailor our designs with things like school colors. in this case, we’re using a combo of navy, white, and orange. And we’re pairing up two retired goodies to make this cutie — the School Days stamps set and the Wanted to Say dies.

We get started with a base of Night of Navy cardstock. a panel of white cardstock serves as the base for the focal panel, where we repeatedly stamp the cap from the School Days stamp set in navy. Our focal panel is matted with Timid Tiger. Then we wrap the panel with Timid Tiger ribbon and tie in a knot to one side. We’re using the Wanted to Say dies to create our celebrate sentiment using a combination of Peach Pie glimmer paper and navy Garden Textures foil paper. The sentiment is adhered above the ribbon with dimensionals. A few Timid Tiger dots finish things off.

I’ll be participating in a craft show the weekend after graduation and I’m hoping there will be some locals who are still on the lookout for graduation cards for parties that weekend. We’ll be continuing our grad theme tomorrow. I hope you’ll drop in and see what’s next.

Gifting

All the Best, Grad

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Monday, friends! I don’t know about you, but I needed double the weekend and half the week! Whew, there’s just too much going on and not enough time to get it all done as we close out the school year. And I ended up taking some extra down time last week and did zero crafting. Not because I didn’t want to but because I simply didn’t have the energy to put into anything. Sometimes we just have to listen to those call for rest.

So here we are at the start of a brand new week and it’s time for a new design theme. And o think you’ll like this one and probably find it as fitting as I do as we stare down the last day of school on the horizon. That’s right, we’re tackling graduation designs this week. And we get started with a really simple one that can honestly serve a whole host of happy celebrations as we pair up the Velvet Meadow paper with the Everyday Arches dies.

We start with a neutral base of Cloud Cover cardstock. A sheet of the light snd bright vine pattern from the Velvet Meadow paper pack is taking center stage here as we prep a quarter panel. I cut a small section from the center with the Everyday Arches dies. We’re matting that small panel with a little larger panel of Elegant Pine shimmer paper. The panel is adhered directly over the area from whence it was cut using dimensionals. The sentiment from the Saying Something ephemera pack is adhered over a bow of white with gold ribbon using dimensionals. A few opal rounds on either side finish things off.

This design is super versatile and could encompass a whole host of celebratory gatherings. It also comes together in about 5 minutes, making it a nice go-to when you’re crunched for time.

Masculine Designs

Today is Your Day

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Happy midweek, everybody! We are halfway to the weekend already. And it’s definitely the downhill slide to the end of school. The kiddos are counting down the days — T minus 7 now.

And the countdown to school means the countdown to vacations for a lot of folks. And today’s card is a nod in that direction as we continue our card series that’s all about the guys. Even the guys spend time thinking about summer vacay! We’re putting the new Rolling Waves bundle center stage in today’s design.

We get started with a base of Lost Lagoon cardstock. A quarter panel is then embossed with the Soft Waves embossing folder and adhered to our card front to set the stage for our beach scene. Our beach scene is built on a base of Pool Party cardstock cut with the Everyday Arches die. The Rolling Waves stamps allow us to create the look of water as we stamp tone on tone on the panel. The same stamp also allows us to create the look of sand on a panel of Crumb Cake. A smaller detail stamp in the set gives us the darker grains of sand. The sand is cut from the half arch panel and adhered to the ocean backdrop. The foamy water rolling in is created with a die from the Rolling Waves set and then lightly brushed with Pool Party ink and adhered over the sand. The sentiment from the Saying Something ephemera set is adhered with dimensionals at the water’s edge. A bow of Lost Lagoon soft cording is adhered with a glue dot at the op edge of the sentiment panel. We finish things off with some starfish cut from Flirty Flamingo paper and adhered with dimensionals beside the sentiment and a scattering of shimmering dots.

Can you hear the sound of the crashing waves and picture yourself sitting beside the water? And isn’t this the perfect color palette for celebrating a guy in your life?

Product List
Lost Lagoon 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 133679 ]
[133679]
$14.00
Pool Party 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 122924 ]
[122924]
$14.00
Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 120953 ]
[120953]
$14.00
Flirty Flamingo 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 141416 ]
[141416]
$14.00
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166780 ]
[166780]
$14.00
Rolling Waves Bundle (English) [ 167145 ]
[167145]
$51.25
Soft Waves 3 D Embossing Folder [ 164695 ]
[164695]
$11.00
Everyday Arches Dies [ 164629 ]
[164629]
$29.00
Saying Something Mix & Match Ephemera Pack (English) [ 163761 ]
[163761]
$8.00
Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147114 ]
[147114]
$9.00
Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147116 ]
[147116]
$9.00
Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147107 ]
[147107]
$9.00
Lost Lagoon Soft Cording [ 164938 ]
[164938]
$8.00
Shimmering Dots [ 167949 ]
[167949]
$8.50
Small Blending Brushes [ 160518 ]
[160518]
$15.00
Mini Stampin' Dimensionals [ 144108 ]
[144108]
$4.25
Mini Glue Dots [ 103683 ]
[103683]
$7.25
Fine-Tip Glue Pen [ 138309 ]
[138309]
$7.25
Add All to Cart
Masculine Designs

Grill Master

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Welcome back, everyone! This week, we’re creating masculine designs. And today we’re using the new BBQ Master stamp and die set and pairing it up with the Pleasing Patterns foil paper.

We get started with a base of Shy Shamrock cardstock and then use the striped pattern from the Pleasing Patterns paper pack as our background. I had a smaller piece that I used to cut the decorative circles using the Stylish Shapes dies. the circles are adhered in each corner of the card with dimensionals and will serve as the backdrop for each of our foodie vignettes. To build each of the vignettes, we select foods and tools from the BBQ Master stamps and dies and get to work cutting and stamping. Using color coordinated cardstock, we cut a variety of vegetables, shrimp, and sausage. The new Lunar Luster paper is the perfect silvery sheen for the bbq skewers. The oven mitts are Night of Navy and hold our teak grill tools. The sentiment from the BBQ Master stamp set is stamped in navy on white cardstock banner cut with the Stylish Shapes dies. Some shimmering dots finish things off with a pop of white across the card front.

Isn’t this one fun.. I love how the slits I. The meat and veggies let us thread them onto the skewers for a more realistic look to our little scenes! I hope you’ll drop back in tomorrow to see what’s up next in our masculine design series.

Product List
Shy Shamrock 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 163795 ]
[163795]
$14.00
Night Of Navy 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 100867 ]
[100867]
$14.00
Highland Heather 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 146986 ]
[146986]
$14.00
Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 120953 ]
[120953]
$14.00
Cajun Craze 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 119684 ]
[119684]
$14.00
Flirty Flamingo 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 141416 ]
[141416]
$14.00
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 166780 ]
[166780]
$14.00
Pleasant Patterns 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper [ 166950 ]
[166950]
$10.00
Country Woods 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 163393 ]
[163393]
$12.50
Lunar Lustre 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper [ 167199 ]
[167199]
$8.00
Stylish Shapes Dies [ 159183 ]
[159183]
$30.00
Bbq Master Bundle (English) [ 167466 ]
[167466]
$39.50
Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147110 ]
[147110]
$9.00
Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147114 ]
[147114]
$9.00
Gray Granite Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147118 ]
[147118]
$9.00
Shimmering Dots [ 167949 ]
[167949]
$8.50
Mini Glue Dots [ 103683 ]
[103683]
$7.25
Fine-Tip Glue Pen [ 138309 ]
[138309]
$7.25
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart