Paper Cuts and Delightful Deals

August 12, 2026August 12, 2026Leave a comment

If you’ve filled your cupboards, drawers, desk and closets with pretty paper, then you understand the passion for paper. It’s not just a flat material, but infinite possibilities when you hold a piece in your hand! “Should I make a card? A gift? Seasonal decor?” are the questions that run through my mind when I open a fresh pack of card stock or patterned designs.

While Stampin’ Up!®️ is hosting a SALE on select DSP and card stock in August, I wanted to share ideas to inspire you to CUT INTO THAT PAPER you love!

Glow of Harvest and Peaceful Garden greeting cards following same sketch

Each of these cards follows the same “sketch” and use different Designer Series Paper. Since the Peaceful Garden (bottom card) paper is part of the sale, we’ll take a closer look at it first:

I used only the Peaceful Garden DSP, card stock (Misty Moonlight & Secret Sea) and a pre-printed sentiment from the Greetings for All Ephemera pack…no stamping required for this card.

Stampin’ Up!®️ Glow of Harvest Keep Looking Up greeting card

The second card follows the same sketch, and shows off the August Product of the Month, the Glow of Harvest Designer Series Paper…

My team had a challenge to use this paper for a project and share it, thus my version does dual duty! It also gives a sneak-peek at a new embossing folder coming in September (Softly Woven). I added a sweet sentiment and acorn accents from the Sweet Words & Labels bundle.

Sketch Details:

Background papers: 1.5″ x 3″ and 3″ x 3″ (optional mat: 3.25″ x 4.75″)
Banner: 2″ x 3-7/8″
DSP strips or labels: approx. 1/2″ tall by however long you’d like.

HEADS UP: The September Paper Share is also OPEN and you can reserve a 6″ x 6″ piece of each NEW design being released next month! It will be shipped to you around September 9th, but you must pay for your share by September 1st.

If you need storage options for your paper, you may check out the deals at Stamp-n-Storage for the next week: Each day is a different daily special and I love their paper storage options (pockets work well for me!):

Will It FOIL? Part 5: Foil on Photos (+Bonus Card)

August 7, 2026August 7, 2026Leave a comment

While we’ve just begun to explore what can be Hot Foiled, today’s medium concludes my initial series based on my LIVE Crafting video from Monday, August 3, 2026. A printed photograph was sitting on my desk as I began experimenting, so naturally, I had to try adding some extra SHINE!

It felt resourceful to small sections from previously used foil to add two colors of butterflies (silver & pink) to the upper corner of this cute photo of my daughter-in-love and granddaughter. Will surely be trying more multi-foiling in the future, and the smooth surface of the photo was ideal for this technique.

Since I was using the Butterfly Flight Hot Foil Dies, here’s some info about the very popular bundle and a bonus project!

The bundle includes the hot foil dies (shown in gold, but they are a matte-gray with a satin finish in actuality), coloring masks (easiest to color the butterflies after foiling and before die cutting out), coordinating cutting dies (don’t worry, it’s easy to tell the difference between the dies!), AND detail dies for extra embellishments.

The coloring masks are numbered 1-4 in the top left corner near a notch to help you line them up easily, and to walk you through each step. You could spritz color over the masks, but I find it works best with blending brushes or even sponge daubers. This shows the butterflies colored with blending brushes and ink pads after foiling or just using the masks to make the winged creatures, both of which are lovely:

And the finished project, with a printable tutorial just for you!

Print Tutorial .pdf

The award for the “Most Versatile Designer Series Paper” goes to the Artisan Sketched Garden DSP, which you can color, blend, spritz, layer, fussy cut and fold…and it’s 15% off during the August Paper Sale! It literally coordinates with so many things that you’ll wonder how you crafted before using this black & white design.

If you print the tutorial, pause to say HI in the comments, please!

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Hope this series of Hot Foil tutorials has been handy ~ scroll back to check out the previous posts if you’ve missed any!

Stampin’ Up!®️ Hot Foil Shaker birthday card featuring Splash of Sparkles Designer Series Paper, Flourish & Frames and Classic Greetings

Will It Foil? Part 4: Window Sheets

August 6, 2026August 6, 2026Leave a comment

Welcome, crafty friends! If this is your first visit or your daily visit, I’d appreciate it if you’d check in and say hello: Tell me what brought you by and if anything I’ve shared is helpful to you. Click on “comments” near the top of the post (by the date) and leave me a message…THANKS!

As the 4th part of the “Will It Foil” series featuring the NEW Stampin’ Up!®️ Hot Foil System, today I’m showing how it works on WINDOW SHEETS.

As Hot Foil works best on smooth surfaces, there is really nothing smoother than a clear piece of plastic. I foiled both the large frame from the Flourish & Frames bundle AND the sentiment from the Classic Greetings AT THE SAME TIME onto a window sheet with Silver Foil.

The Splash of Sparkles specialty Designer Series Paper recently retired, and it had bold swaths of foil that worked well for this design, so I layered it onto Smoky Slate card stock and die cut the large frame from the center then adhered the window sheet behind it. To prepare it for a shaker card, use Foam Adhesive strips on the back side around the opening and toward the outside edges, assuring that it is an enclosed rectangle so that none of the sprinkles can escape. Don’t adhere it to the card base YET…

Next I stamped some “balloons” on the front of the white card base (shhh…don’t tell anyone, but I don’t have a balloon stamp, so I used the solid bee body from Bee My Valentine stamp set and drew ribbons with a marker).

Sprinkle a teaspoon or two of shaker elements (cupcake sprinkles or glitter can also work) onto the card front, then carefully remove the adhesive from the foam strips you enclosed the back of the frame with and attach the framed window sheet layer over the shaker elements onto the card front.

This is a card a granddaughter will LOVE to shake up to celebrate her 10th birthday!

Here’s my tutorial video which inspired this series of posts:

Have you thought of any more mediums to try foiling on? Let me know and I’ll try it if I can! See you tomorrow for Part 5.

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Four days left to get 25% off your first all-inclusive Paper Pumpkin craft kit: Subscribe by August 10th and look forward to a curated creative escape arriving in your mailbox each month!

Skip or cancel anytime after the first month, but I guarantee you won’t want to and they are also unique and thoughtful gifts!

Keep your creative juices flowing! 🍊🧡– Loni Spendlove

Hot Foil Butterfly Flight Arched Easel Card

Will It Foil? Part 3: Foil on Vellum

August 5, 2026August 5, 2026Leave a comment

Another smooth medium for hot foil stamping is Vellum. a translucent paper that exudes elegance.

For this card, I hot foiled the butterflies/moths onto vellum paper with silver foil, then colored them on the BACK side of the vellum with Stampin’ Blends markers.

A card this pretty needs to be displayed, and since it’s also an easel, it can be! To make the base of the card, score an 8.5″ x 11″ card stock at 2-3/4″ and 5-1/2″, then attach the arch ONLY to the lower half of the card front. Remember to “lift” an element (in this case, the “thankful for you” label) inside the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals to give the base something to lean against.

Stampin’ Up!®️ Moonlit Flora and Hot Foil Butterfly Flight Easel Card

While the Moonlight Flora Designer Series Paper is part of the August Paper Sale, it’s currently out of stock, but should be back next week (around August 10th). YOU CAN REQUEST A NOTIFICATION when a product is back in the store and it’s very useful as a reminder to order.

If you haven’t had a chance to view the Hot Foiling video tutorial this blog post is inspired by, here it is:

Card making is more than a hobby, it’s a way to connect with people you care about in a meaningful, beautiful way. Your written love inside a hand-crafted card will encourage, delight, comfort, soothe, reassure, and lift the person you send it to, and often becomes a cherished keepsake. Never underestimate the power of your heART 🧡

Product List

Butterfly Flight Bundle

Everyday Arches Dies

Moonlit Flora 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper

Silver Stampin' Hot Foil Rolls

Silver 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Foil Sheets

Vellum 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

Secret Sea 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

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

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad

Berry Burst Classic Stampin' Pad

Stampin' Hot Foil System Na & Craft Class

Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine

Fern & Flora Bundle (English)

Berry Burst Stampin’ Blends Combo Pack

Night Of Navy Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

Lost Lagoon Stampin’ Blends Combo Pack

Blackberry Bliss Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

Black Stampin' Dimensionals Combo Pack

Mini Glue Dots

We aren’t finished with this series yet, so scroll back to catch the ones you’ve missed and return tomorrow for more!

Hot Foil on Foil Sheets, Winnie-the-Pooh fun fold card

Will It Foil? Part 2: Foil on Foil

August 4, 2026August 4, 2026Leave a comment

Hot Foiling works best on smooth surfaces such as Stampin’ Up!®️ Two-Tone card stock and the Designer Series Paper I showed yesterday, so the next medium I wanted to try was Foil Sheets!

For this sweet fun-fold card with Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet, I layed the frame CUTTING die on the platform and arranged the small flourish HOT FOIL die pieces where I wanted them to be. Then I removed the cutting die and allowed the flourishes to heat. Once it was ready, I added the GOLD foil over each flourish (A GREAT WAY TO USE SMALL SCRAPS OF FOIL) then laid a piece of copper foil sheet over both of them.

Once it was foiled, I die cut out the frame!

Here’s how the card opens:

Foiling on Foil Sheets = ✅

I’ll be mailing this card to one of my favorite people: A grandchild!

Here’s the video tutorial that teaches this series that started yesterday:

We don’t currently have copper foil sheets in our inventory (though we could again in the future) so I’ve included the link for GOLD FOIL SHEETS in the shopping list:

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See you tomorrow for Part 3!

Will it Foil? Part 1: Designer Series Paper

August 3, 2026August 4, 2026Leave a comment

Things have been heating up in my Stampin’ Studio, and today I started exploring what I can add HOT FOIL to! Since the Hot Foil system works best with smooth surfaces, I gathered a handful of different materials and got cookin’. You can watch the video to see all the projects, and I’ll be spotlighting them each one day at a time. First, the VIDEO tutorial:

The first card created was stamping and adding hot foil to a Barely Blush piece of Gingham Gallery Designer Series Paper. The Botanical Glow bundle is simply elegant and since it’s not an exact match of the stamp set, it’s easy to get stunning results:

Barely Blush is tricky to photograph, so trust me when I say that the pink foiling looks perfect!

One isn’t limited to green leaves, either…here’s a fall version in Golden Glow and Cajun Craze, with gold foil:

Hot Foil Stamping on Designer Series Paper is a SUCCESS!

Heads up: Starting Tuesday, August 4th, select card stock and Designer Series Paper will be on sale through the end of the month. I’m not sure if the Gingham Gallery paper or any of the card stock used on these cards will be included, but I’m crossing my fingers for you. Tune in tomorrow to see what else we foiled and start shopping your favorites below:

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Keep your creative juices flowing! 🍊🧡– Loni Spendlove

Your Creative Escape Just Got 25% Sweeter

July 23, 2026July 23, 2026Leave a comment

Every fairy tale has a beginning, and Paper Pumpkin’s story started with one, too.

When Stampin’ Up!® first introduced Paper Pumpkin, it was inspired by Cinderella’s pumpkin… a little reminder that creativity can transform an ordinary day into something special. While I can’t promise a carriage or glass slippers, I can guarantee a creative escape delivered to your mailbox each month! (No fairy godmother required.)

The July “Hooray for Birthdays” Paper Pumpkin kit appeared in my mailbox this week and I went to work creating an alternate project using just the Hooray for Birthdays stamp set, Timid Tiger Ink Spot and the Detailed Flora Add-On Dies. Each month, I help my subscribers extend the use of their kit after the projects are assembled by sharing new ideas in a special newsletter.

Let’s review how to create a perfect layer for the “Hooray”:

Place the stamp flat (face up) on card stock and trace around the photopolymer shape.
Cut out the shape and FLIP IT OVER to stamp the sentiment. If you used a white card stock, it helps to lay it on a darker surface so you can see where to place it.

For crafters who crave convenient and fabulous, August is the perfect time to start creating with Paper Pumpkin because new subscribers can save 25% on their first kit!

Here’s who qualifies:

You haven’t had an active Paper Pumpkin subscription in the past 18 months.
You choose a pay-as-you-go subscription (this offer doesn’t apply to prepaid subscriptions).

Your discounted first kit will be the August 2026 Kindred Greetings Kit: The cards in this kit are all about sharing meaningful messages, with thoughtful sentiments and detailed botanical designs.

Why so many people love Paper Pumpkin

Everything you need in one box (except scissors!)
Precut pieces and step-by-step instructions
An exclusive stamp set and coordinating ink spot
A fun creative break without planning, shopping, or cleaning up a craft room

Whether you’ve never stamped before or you’ve been crafting for years, these kits make it simple to sit down and create something beautiful in about an hour.

Sometimes the best adventures begin with a pumpkin.

Subscribe Today!

New at SU! Violet Dreams Corner Squash Birthday Card

July 15, 2026July 15, 20266 Comments

We know you like fun-fold cards, so the New at SU! Design Team is sharing BIRTHDAY cards you can learn to make and which are delightful to open.

This is a CORNER SQUASH (or Corner Explosion) card, and I crafted it from the Violet Dreams Designer Series Paper, which includes the die frame, flowers and leaves…so the only stamping I did was the sentiments:

Stampin’ Up!®️ Violet Dreams Corner Squash Birthday Card, Creative Juice by Loni

When you lift the label, it opens like this:

Basic card instructions:

Start with a 6-3/4″ x 8″ piece of Designer Series Paper that doesn’t have a direction (no pattern that needs to go up and down in a certain way). On the side you want to be the OUTSIDE of the card, score it on the TOP and RIGHT side at 2-3/4″.
Lay your card down flat with the scored sides still on the top and right side, and take the square you created (should be in the top right corner) and fold it toward you until the score lines match the score line across the top and bottom right. Burnish that diagonal fold well.
Now flip your paper over (so it looks like the open card above) and fold the sides and top into the card, tucking in the diagonal corners and allowing the square to stay on top. Optional: Cut a 2-5/8″ square of a contrasting pattern diagonally to add to the triangles, as shown.
Adhere the back to a 5-1/2″ x 4-1/4″ card stock base to give it a mat/frame around the Designer Series Paper.
Embellish as desired.

To give the label one more “edge” I laid it almost to the corner of a Gorgeous Grape Two Tone card stock and fussy cut a layer about 1/8″ around the edge of the Secret Sea frame, then sandwiched the corner of the Designer Series Paper square between both shapes, so I could stamp a greeting on the purple shape that is revealed when opened.

This lovely suite was released in the July Online Exclusive release.

Remember that you get a FREE VIRTUAL CLASS when you order the Violet Dreams Suite from my Stampin’ Store in July!

Don’t miss the other Fun-Fold Birthday cards these demonstrator artists are sharing:

July 2026 New at SU! Hop: Fun-Folds for Birthdays

Previous Blog Next Blog

1.Stampingscene (UK) – Simple Fancy Fold for Gardeners cards

2.Stamping Flair (AU) – Double Flap Envelope Card

3.The Joy of Stampin’ with Rachael (US)- Words & Wishes Easel Card

4.Did You Stamp Today? (US) – Summer Fun Birthday W-Fold

5.Creative Juice by Loni (US) – Violet Dreams Corner Squash Birthday Ca

6.247 Inkspiration (US) – Begonia Belle

7.Merrick Makings (AUS) – Birthday and fun folds blog hop

8.iHeartCards2 (US) – Lovely Arrangements Double Gatefold Card

9.De Kijkkast (NL) – Sunset Coast Diorama Funfold

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Keep your creative juices flowing! 🍊🧡– Loni Spendlove

Stampin’ Up!®️ Butterfly Flight Hot Foil Watercolor Wash Greeting Card

Watercolor Background Butterflies

July 13, 2026July 14, 2026Leave a comment

Do you ever get the “itch” to create art? I did this morning when I saw Emma Goddard’s card featured on the Global Design Project’s “CASE the Designer” challenge #gdp556

That SPLASH of color on Emma’s card felt like creative juice, so I pulled out the new Butterfly Flight Hot Foil Dies, some watercolor paper and ink to “CASE” (Create And Share Everything) the washes of ink!

I started by making “blobs” of color (the technical term, I’m sure) onto watercolor paper using Water Painters and Timid Tiger, Melon Mambo and Pretty Peacock ink. TIP: If you squeeze your ink pad while it’s closed, some of the ink transfers to the LID of your ink pad and you can pick it up from the lid with a paintbrush so the water doesn’t damage your pad.

The Butterfly Flight Hot Foil dies were foiled in GOLD on Very Vanilla card stock (if you haven’t seen our amazing new Hot Foil system in action, click HERE to learn more) then colored with the coordinating masks. Watch how fun it is to layer on the color with Blending Brushes and the same ink pads used for the background:

The sentiment “Here’s to a new chapter” from the Sending Salutations stamp set feels appropriate for a butterfly card, as the creatures are known for their beautiful transformation from caterpillar to beauty queen! It could be used for a birthday, retirement, new job, new parents, beginning of a school year, or a wedding, don’t you think?

May you capture a moment to create today ~ it will fill your heart with happiness to make something lovely!

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Stampin’ Up!®️ Flourish & Frames Bee Love Card, Hot Foil Tutorial

I’ve Been Foiled & Framed!

July 10, 2026July 10, 20261 Comment

The first time I saw HOT FOIL on a greeting card, I was captivated! That was a few years ago, and I’ve (not-so) patiently waited for Stampin’ Up!®️ to release a version I could use and share, for I knew that they would…it was just too beautiful to resist. The DAY HAS FINALLY COME and you are going to be just as enchanted.

Let’s start with a quick video to show you how, then display a few stunning examples. Make sure you read ALL THE POST for a few tips to make your experience the best! You may want to SAVE or PIN this post to refer to later.

The card I created for the video was a split-image of the breathtaking Garden Silhouette background foil die in Night of Navy Two-Tone card stock and White Willow on a Strawberry Slush Card base (Strawberry Slush seems to be the closest color to the Pink Foil). The sentiment is from the Classic Greetings hot foil dies:

The next card I created was a fun-fold with the Flourish & Frames Bundle and all the supplies for this card will be listed below.

Foiling works best on smooth paper, such as:

Two-Tone Cardstock
Smooth cardstock (Our Basic White Cardstock works great!)
Stampin’ Up! vellum
Designer Series Paper
Window Sheets
Pearlized Specialty Paper

I used our regular milled Basic Black card stock for the frame, and to be honest, it wasn’t quite smooth enough and if I was to make this card again, I’d use Black Two Toned card stock (which I’ll list in the supplies). Too much excess foil stuck to the black. Always test small samples first on other surfaces. Porous or textured papers can yield inconsistent results.

This fun-fold peek-through card design is a surprise to open!

Inside the card, the Vanilla card stock is 4″ x 10.5″, scored at 5.25″ and 7-7/8″

My mother made my sister and me matching gingham rompers for summer when I was a little girl, and perhaps that’s why I’ve been obsessed with the pattern ever since. This new Designer Series Paper has two sizes of Gingham in the 2026-2028 In Colors and the Golden Glow was ideal for my Bee-Love card.

More Hot Foiling FAQ:

Q. How is hot foiling different from regular foiling?

A. Hot foiling involves heat and pressure. It uses heat-reactive foil and special hot foil dies to transfer the foil. Regular foiling is adhesive-based and uses glue, toner, or laminator to bond the foil.

Q. How does hot foiling differ from heat embossing?

A. While both techniques are high on “wow” factor, the hot foil finish is smooth, where heat embossing is slightly raised.

Q. What tools do I need for hot foiling?

A. You’ll need:

Stampin’ Hot Foil System
Specially-made hot foil dies (IMPORTANT NOTE: Cutting dies are not designed to be used with hot foiling. You cannot die cut using foiling dies. Doing so risks damaging the dies and the system.)
Stampin’ Hot Foil Rolls
Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine

Q. How do I avoid over-foiling or patchy results?

A. You can remove over-foiling (extra foil outside the design) by lightly erasing with a clean white eraser. Patchy foiling can result from uneven heat or papers with a texture. Try preheating your hot foil die longer or switching to smoother paper. Clean your hot foil die occasionally to prevent residue buildup.

Two final notes:

When you order the Hot Foil system before January 4, 2027, the Metallic Magic Class is INCLUDED in your purchase, helping you to learn how to use your new tools!
Stampin’ Up!®️ has already placed a second order for the system, but it takes time to manufacture. If they sell out quickly in July, it may not be available until late 2026 when the second shipment arrives, so don’t delay ordering!

Another video tutorial resource:

Hope your summer HEATS UP with HOT FOIL ~ Loni Spendlove 🧡