New Designer Series Papers from Stampin’ Up! – July 2026

I’m a HUGE fan of Designer Series Papers, so I study these papers like there’s going to be a final exam.

Yesterday I shared a look at the new Suite Collections launched with Stampin’ Up!’s July 2026 Online Exclusives. If you missed that post, you can see those suites here.

Today I’m taking a closer look at the Designer Series Papers that were released yesterday. For each collection, I’m sharing every pattern, the coordinating colors, my favorite sheet, and my favorite color combination. Let’s dive in!

Violet Dreams Specialty (#168186)

The Violet Dreams Specialty Designer Series Paper is a whole mood: sweet, airy, and instantly eye-catching. With delicate violet florals, polka dots, soft stripes, and coordinating precut pieces of blooms and leaves to layer on cards, scrapbook pages, and other projects, it brings all the soft, dreamy vibes your crafts crave.

I love the combination of soft pastels with deeper, richer shades. The result feels both delicate and dramatic. This page immediately became one of my favorites:

Here’s my favorite color combination from this pack of papers:

A Stitched Season (#168223)

Christmas comes together beautifully with the A Stitched Season Designer Series Paper, featuring quilt-inspired patterns that feel cozy and classic. Festive designs like Christmas trees, cardinals, quilted stars, and coordinating motifs bring a handcrafted look to cards, scrapbook pages, and holiday paper crafting. It’s a lovely choice for creating seasonal projects that feel warm, nostalgic, and thoughtfully made.

I’m definitely not a quilter, but I’ve always admired the colors and patterns found in beautiful quilts. I knew immediately that my mom would fall in love with this collection. One of my favorite sheets is this page filled with sweet Christmas icons:

Here’s my favorite color combination from this beautiful collection:

Frightfully Fun (#168168)

The Frightfully Fun Designer Series Paper sets the perfect mood for your Halloween paper crafts. Spooky (but cute!) designs featuring spiderwebs, ghosts, cats, and bats add a fun twist to cards, scrapbook pages, and gift tags. Each sheet brings a sprinkle of October magic to your crafting table.

There are so many fun designs in this collection that it was difficult to choose just one favorite. In the end, these big-eyed cats won me over.

How cute are they? For what it’s worth, I also absolutely love the striped pattern on the reverse side of this sheet.

And here’s my favorite color combination from this collection:

Stampin' Up! Color Inspiration - Very Vanilla, Basic Gray, Timid Tiger

Spooktacular 6″ x 6″ (#168219)

Make Halloween crafting easy and fun with the Spooktacular 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper! One side of each sheet is filled with spooky characters—Frankenstein, a vampire, a skeleton, and a pumpkin—while the reverse features a neutral striped pattern. Ideal for scrapbooking, party decorations, or DIY treat packaging like sour cream containers, these sheets bring seasonal charm to every project.

Honestly, I adore every design in this pack. The characters are irresistibly cute, and the stripes are fun enough to stand on their own. I’ve already shared a project featuring this little vampire, so you already know how much I love him!

a design from Spooktacular Designer Series Paper, Stampin' Up! 168219

Here’s my favorite color combination:

Stampin' Up! Color Inspiration - Granny Apple Green, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black

2026-2028 In Color Gingham Gallery (#168218)

Bring timeless charm to your paper crafting with the 2026–2028 In Color Gingham Gallery Designer Series Paper! Each sheet features pretty gingham patterns in soft pastels—sage, periwinkle, pink, peach, and yellow—with a large-scale pattern on one side and a smaller-scale version on the other. Perfect for card making, scrapbooking, and other paper projects, these versatile sheets add a fresh, cheerful touch to any creation.

Gingham never goes out of style, and neither do these fresh new In Colors. I especially love the larger gingham pattern. Since each sheet is monochromatic, I’m skipping my usual favorite color combination for this collection. If I had to guess, I’ll probably reach for the Peaceful Pine sheets most often. I can’t wait to start creating with them!

Last Thoughts

Once again, Stampin’ Up! has given us an incredible variety of Designer Series Papers. Whether your style leans elegant, whimsical, spooky, festive, or classic, there’s something here to inspire your next project. I know I’ll be reaching for every one of these collections over the coming months.

Which Designer Series Paper is your favorite from today’s lineup? I’d love to hear which one caught your eye!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Brian

Join Us for a Summer One-for-One Card Swap

I’m hosting a one-for-one card swap, and I’d love for you to join us! Design a card with current products, send it to me, and I’ll send you someone else’s card in return. What fun!

To learn more about this card swap, click on the image below:

Don’t Miss June’s Product of the Month

When you place a $75 order (before shipping and taxes) in July, you can select the new Product of the Month for just $5. Here’s a look at this sweet Two-Stampin’ stamp set:

To read more about this sweet set and see a collection of Stampin’ Up!-designed samples, CLICK HERE.

One Comment

Dawn Schneider
July 2, 2026 at 7:14 am
Hi Brian
I love when you feature all the new DSP’s !
Your color combinations are so helpful as a great reference when I am looking for ideas!
The Spooktacular 6×6 was in my 1st preorder and is so adorable! I’ll excited to be making cards for the kids in my life! I will be CASING your Dracula card.