This Little Piggy....And This Little Piggy...And That Little Piggy....

Mastering the art of photographing white is a skill I haven't nailed yet, but don't focus on that.  Instead, ooh and aah over these adorably cute and happy pigs!  They all come from This Little Piggy and it's a set that's on the Retirement List.  So if their pink pudginess is one you can't live without, get the set now.

I stamped a variety of pigs on Whisper White cardstock in Sahara Sand ink, then colored them with Petal Pink Stampin' Blends.  Normally, Memento Tuxedo Black ink is what to use when coloring with Blends so that the stamped image doesn't bleed.  Since I wasn't going to be "working" the image with a lot of coloring and blending, though, it was safe to stamp with Sahara Sand.  I wanted the lighter color to add to the sweet fun of the card.

Yes, every pig was cut with a pair of Paper Snips.  Cutting is relaxing and the mind can wander as the task is done, so try it!  Who knows what problems you'll solve while cutting out 6 little pigs (if one of them is how to prevent red ink smudges from mysteriously appearing on envelopes and card elements when red ink wasn't even part of the project, please inform me immediately).

The clouds were filled with Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, also on the Retiring List (now sold out).  To adhere Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, sparsely fill the clouds with Fine-Tip Glue and sprinkle on the glitter.  Shake off the excess and let the piece dry.  Spend the rest of the week finding glitter on your dog, on your bathroom mirror, and in your bra 🤔

Pin or Print the tutorial for this card

Check out another This Little Piggy card using the retiring 2018-2020 In Colors here.

May Reward Code = New In Color Sampler

Use the May Reward Code on orders placed in my store of $50 or more (before shipping and tax) to get a free 2020-2022 New Stampin' Up! In Color sampler!  Sampler packs will be sent out by the end of May PLUS you'll get a new catalog package from me! 

New Catalog Alert: If you have ordered from me since November, you are automatically on my list to receive a new Annual Catalog package next month.  If you'd like one and haven't ordered since November, place an order of any size to be automatically included or email me at nicole@thejoyfulstamper.com.

Email me to order a Card Kit To Go from The Joyful Stamper

What's Included:

• All the supplies to create 12 cards - 3 each of 4 designs
• All kit elements are punched, die-cut, and scored for you
• a bottle of Tombow "green glue"
• 12 envelopes
• full-color photos of each card
• die-cut word sentiments in sticker format - just peel and stick!

Create with your kids!  Make a Mother's Day card!  Celebrate a graduation or birthday!  Tell someone thank you for that nice thing he or she did!  Let a friend or family member know you are thinking of them!

To Get Your Card Kit To Go:

Message me on Facebook or email me at nicole@thejoyfulstamper.com.  Kits are $25 for porch pick-up or add $5 to have the kit shipped to you.  Printed papers may vary slightly from the photo but they will all be from the same pack with the same colors and similar patterns.

Get a kit now!  I have a limited number available. 

If you are enjoying The Joyful Stamper site

• Request a free catalog package by emailing me at nicole@thejoyfulstamper.com or with this form.
• Subscribe to The Joyful Stamper Stampin' News, a weekly email that delivers fun, tips, and specials right to you.  Get a free exclusive Stampin' News Subscriber pdf tutorial as a sign-up thank you!
• Shop my store anytime to give yourself the best crafting experience.  Check out the Clearance Rack and Discounted Bundles while you're there.
• You'll love my crafting videos on The Joyful Stamper YouTube channel!  Subscribe while you're there and click the bell so that you always have fresh inspiration.
• Looking for community, a hobby, or a way to make extra money?  My team of My Joyful Stampers has a place for you!  Read more here.

My customers are the heart of my business and I am so grateful to all of them!  If you're new to me, welcome!  Please let me know how I can help you have your best stamping experience.

Splitcoaststampers Card Sketch 785

Valentine's Day may be my new favorite crafting holiday.  It was Halloween, but the hearts are winning me over.  And there's still chocolate involved 😊  

I have an in-person Valentine's class today and I love to leave a little surprise, or "pillow gift", at each person's spot, so a lot of projects were made for that.  I also sell and donate cards, so many will go into the hands of others as a way to express their affections this February 14.  It's just so stinkin' FUN to create and it's wonderful there are a TON of ways to use this for a purpose.  

So, yes, it's another Valentine's Day card for this week's Splitcoaststampers Sketch Challenge!  If you are a regular reader of my blog or follow me on Facebook, you have an arsenal of ideas by this point.  Time for another!

This is a very simple and straight-forward card.  Fold in half a 5-1/2"x8-1/2" piece of Real Red cardstock.  Glue on (2) 3-1/2"x2" pieces of From My Heart Specialty Designer Series Paper.  Using the Layering Squares dies, cut 2 scalloped squares from Basic Black cardstock and 1 scalloped Square from Real Red cardstock and glue them together.  

Stamp the outline heart from the Heartfelt stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink 3 times on Real Red cardstock.  Stamp the sentiment in Versamark ink on Basic Black cardstock.  Sprinkle with White Stampin' Emboss Powder and melt with a Heat Tool.  Punch out all 4 hearts with the Heart Punch.

Glue everything to the card base as shown.  Add a Clear Faceted Gem to the sentiment heart.  Tie a bow with Black Satin Ribbon and adhere with a Glue Dot.

Download and save or print the free tutorial for this card.

Remember, any order of $35 or more (before shipping and tax) receives the project kits from Tuesday's Live!  Use Host Code 349VN7VY and be sure to place your order by Midnight this Friday!

If you are enjoying The Joyful Stamper site:

• New to stamping?  Welcome!  The Beginner Brochure was designed for you.  Also check out this card for a perfect first dip into cardmaking.  I can mail it to you with a free catalog package - just email me at nicole@thejoyfulstamper.com to request one.
• High-quality stamping products make your crafting experience better so don't cheat yourself!  Shop my store for your crafting supplies!
• You'll love my crafting videos on The Joyful Stamper YouTube channel!  Subscribe while you're there and click the bell so that you always have fresh inspiration.
• Looking for community, a hobby, or a way to make extra money?  My team of My Joyful Stampers has a place for you (and the Starter Kit is the especially ULTIMATE bargain right now)!  Read more here.

Thank you for choosing me as your demonstrator!  I appreciate your business!

Fresh New Color Combination with Breathtaking Bouquet and Blends

Hello, my stamping friends!  I've been doing something different on the weekends lately - watching movies!  Books, not movies, are my thing, but wow!  There have been some fantastic flicks released.  A couple weeks ago I saw Little Women and Spies In Disguise with my daughters and mom.  Then this past weekend, Brian and I viewed 1917.  Just a few hours later, Caitlin introduced us to The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials as we ate pizza.  All 5 of those movies were SO good!  I'm eager to see the third one (The Death Cure) in the series.  No one wanted to stay up until 2 AM watching it with me, so I reluctantly went to bed and will have to wait another day to see it.  What movies have you seen and loved lately?

Another thing I did over the weekend was to scout out stamping challenges.  Handstamped Sentiments is one I've played in before but it's been a long while.  I love this fresh color combination!  

Breathtaking Bouquet is a new background stamp in the Mini Catalog, on page 31 in the top right corner.  It's easy to miss, so keep your eyes open!  A background stamp means it's large enough to cover the entire card front.  This stamp has so many beautiful possibilities!  

 

I stamped Breathtaking Bouquet on 2 pieces of 4"x5-1/4" Thick Whisper White cardstock in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink.  Why 2 pieces?  Because I wanted to color and cut the largest flowers to layer on the originally stamped image.  Lifting them up with Stampin' Dimensionals adds so much interest and it's such a small thing to do.  

I used Stampin' Blends alcohol ink markers to color the image.  Stamping in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink means the image won't smear when using Blends. Stampin' Blends used:

• Light & Dark Flirty Flamingo 
• Light & Dark Mossy Meadow
• Light & Dark Pretty Peacock
• Light Old Olive
• Dark So Saffron

View a photo tutorial on using Stampin' Blends.

The sympathy sentiment is from Itty Bitty Greetings, a great set that has 32 little greetings to cover any occasion.  I used an Embossing Buddy to rub a 6"x5/8" strip of vellum cardstock, stamped the greeting in Versamark, then heat embossed with Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder.  The vellum ends were wrapped around the card and adhered to the back with SNAIL.

Check this out!  I added epoxy droplets to the flowers!  These particular ones are retired (I didn't realize it when I used them) but there are other Epoxy Droplets on page 178 in the Annual Catalog that will work just as good.

This card did take more time because of the coloring and blending, but it was fun and I did it while chatting on the phone with Emma who is back at school.  She could hear the markers squeaking as I worked which made us laugh for some reason.  Do you ever laugh over things that aren't all that funny but they become even funnier the more you giggle over them?  I love those moments!

Shop my store to get the supplies for this card and many more - high quality crafting tools make stamping enjoyable so don't cheat yourself.  

Stampin' Blends

Breathtaking Bouquet - cling mount or wood mount

Itty Bitty Greetings

Memento Tuxedo Black Ink Pad

Frosted & Clear Epoxy Droplets

Vellum cardstock

Thick Whisper White cardstock

Join me Tuesdays at 2 PM ET on The Joyful Stamper Facebook page for my weekly Facebook Live stamping class.  I demo 2 projects and post a project sheet so you can make them, too!

Bonus 6th Way To Use Peaceful Poppies Elements

It's Friday!  Fun things happen on Fridays, right?  When my daughters were little, we called it Fun Friday and planned special things for this day.  It didn't necessarily involve going anywhere - we'd make ice cream sundaes for dinner, or play all their favorite board games.  Other times, we'd get movies from our library and Brian would make his "famous" popcorn.  One Christmas, knowing our Fun Friday tradition, my brother and sister-in-law got us a family scrapbook that had a variety of silly activities and fill-ins we could do together.  It gives us lots of laughs now to page through it and see what the girls recorded 12+ years ago!

In the spirit of Fun Friday, I have a *bonus* sixth way to use the Peaceful Poppies Elements.  

I watercolored three of the pieces from the included pre-printed watercolor sheets, using an Aquapainter, and Blackberry Bliss and Old Olive inks.  The white embossed lines resist the applied ink and really stand out from the watercoloring!  

Tip: to watercolor, squeeze a drop of ink from a bottle of re-inker into the lid of an ink pad.  Fill the barrel of an Aqua Painter with water, then squeeze a few drops into the ink pad lid to dilute the ink.  Pick up color with the Aqua Painter and apply to the Elements piece.  I found it easier to watercolor first, then pop out the pieces.  If you are uncomfortable watercoloring, practice on scrap watercolor paper first.  You'll get more comfortable with it and enjoy the process!

I also used a black embossed circle and black embossed banner from the Elements Pack.  The circle highlights and anchors the boquet of flowers while the banner is the perfect spot for my heat embossed sentiment (from Sending You Thoughts).

What I love about the Peaceful Poppies Elements:

• You get 4 paper mediums to work with (colored printed pieces, black embossed, vellum embossed, and watercolor embossed).  The variety gives you many looks for just $6.50!
• You can use them as is (just punch out and adhere) or try techniques on them (like coloring with Stampin' Blends).  Both ways look pretty!
• You can make a card without any stamping at all.  This option is great when stamping somewhere other than your home (like while waiting for a child's practice to be over, or on vacation).  Just add some card bases, smaller pieces of Desiger Series Paper, a spool of ribbon, and adhesive to a plastic bag - instant DIY stamp kit!

Peaceful Poppies Elements

Peaceful Poppies suite

Aqua Painters

Check out more Elements ideas from this week's Live!

Remember, any order of $35 or more (before shipping and tax) receives the project kits to make both cards demo'd during Tuesday's Live!  Use Host Code 349VN7VY and be sure to place your order by Midnight ET tonight!

You can find the project sheet here.

A Giant Pineapple!

It's amazing what a walk on a sunny day can do to lift one's spirits.  I got up yesterday and was fine really but the need to MOVE was strong!  So I leashed up Lily and off we went, making a pit stop at my parents' home (just over a mile from us).  I talked to my dad and grandmother for a long while.  By the time Lily and I returned home, my mind was energized and I felt like the world was my oyster and anything was possible!  My eyelashes would suddenly be longer, thicker, and darker!  My house would have dusted itself!  Consuming chocolate everyday would turn out to be great for my waistline!

The walk was a good one.  

And so is this card!  But I can't take credit for the original idea.  I found it on page 11 of the Sale-A-Bration brochure, in the bottom right corner.

If you think every project you make has to be 100% your own idea, stop with that thought!  Stampin' Up! packs its catalogs with beautiful samples for all skill levels and styles of stampers.  It's okay - and encouraged - to make something exactly like you see it!  I changed just two things on this card - the sentiment and the color of the flower - and that was only because I needed a "hello" card and I had a Grapefruit Grove ink pad sitting on my desk.  Let's focus on the details and at the end you'll find a tutorial to download for your personal use.

The background is the stunning Coastal Weave 3D Embossing Folder.  Tip: to get a deeper impression, lightly spritz your cardstock with water before running it through a die-cutting machine.  

After it was embossed, I used a Stampin' Sponge to lightly rub Soft Suede ink across it.  The raised parts of the embossed pattern pick up the ink from the sponge while the more recessed areas do not get inked.  It's such a FUN look!

The pineapple top and bottom and flower dies are found in the In The Tropics dies set.  Before die-cutting the flower, I stamped the image from Timeless Tropical in Grapefruit Grove ink.  Tip: use a bone folder to gently curl the pineapple top's leaves to give it more interest.  

I added a striped sequin from the Metallic Baker's Twine & Sequins Combo Pack, a free Sale-A-Bration item.

"Hello" was stamped on So Saffron cardstock in Pear Pizzazz ink, then trimmed with Paper Snips.

Click to download your free tutorial for this Hello, Pineapple! card.

Remember, any order of $35 or more (before shipping and tax) receives the project kits to make both cards demo'd during Tuesday's Live!  Use Host Code 349VN7VY and be sure to place your order by Midnight ET this Friday!

You can find the project sheet here.

5 Ways To Use Peaceful Poppies Elements Facebook Live Projects

I'm making a separate post for today's Facebook Live so that the resources are easily found in one spot.  If you couldn't watch live, I've posted the replay below.  Make sure to follow me on Facebook to get notified when I go live and subscribe to my YouTube channel.

You can find the project sheet here.

Remember, any order of $35 or more (before shipping and tax) receives the project kits to make both cards demonstrated during today's Live!  Use Host Code 349VN7VY and be sure to place your order by Midnight ET this Friday!

Thank you for choosing me as your demonstrator!  I appreciate your business!

In The Christmas Spirit

Enjoying and savoring the moment I'm in has been instrumental in increasing my delight in life.  It also has caused my perception of time's passing to slow.  You'll probably never hear me say, "I can't believe it's December already" or a version of that.  This enjoying of the moment has not come easily to me - I've prayed my way to it for years - nor does it stay without a daily renewing of my mind.  But the joy is worth it!

All that to say, I'm ready to celebrate Christmas.  Yes, I've been making Christmas projects for over a month but that was out of necessity.  Whipping out 60 cards in a day or two isn't happening in my world!  But it's a week before Christmas, which is my signal to wrap gifts and that's what "kicks off" the holidays for me.  I'm all-in now!  Cue the carols!  This Friday, Caitlin and I start our annual 1000-piece Christmas puzzle and I'm really excited about it.  What "kicks off" Christmas for you?  Leave me a comment because I'd love to know.

  

Now that I'm in the Christmas spirit, I thought I'd make a birthday card!  That made no sense at all, except for the fact that each year, I gift my Grandma a stack of birthday cards with a roll of stamps.  She loves mailing out my cards and I love creating them for her.  I used this week's Splitcoaststampers Sketch to make today's project.

Two versatile, go-to sets on my stamp shelf are Birthday Backgrounds and Perennial Birthdays.  Birthday Backgrounds is perfect for creating backgrounds, adding a little something to balance out a card, or to draw the eye to the focal point (as I did in the card above).

Perennial Birthdays has birthday sentiments in my favorite font.  They're also the perfect size - not too big, not too little.  I used the Balloon Bouquet punch with Bird Ballad Designer Series Paper (the stripes are so fun!) to create a celebratory trio.  The strings are handdrawn with a journaling pen.  I love the shape of the Stitched Nested Labels dies - it's so different from the usual circle/square/rectangle.

You can find the supplies for this card in my online store:

Birthday Backgrounds

Perennial Birthdays

Balloon Bouquet Punch

Stitched Nested Labels dies

Bird Ballad Designer Series Paper

Journaling Pen

Also check out the Clearance Rack while you're at my online store.  It is filled to the brim with bargains!

I'm so excited about the January - June 2020 Mini Catalog that I'm devoting an entire day to showing off the stunning projects you can make with its new products!  January 3 is the day it goes live, along with the 2020 Sale-A-Bration catalog.  Follow my Facebook page and set your notifications to alert you when I go live so you don't miss it!

What is Sale-A-Bration? It's a special brochure with tons of fun product that you can earn for free.  Level 1 items are earned with every $50 order and Level 2 items are earned for every $100 order.  There are no limits to what you earn.  

• Order $50-->earn one Level 1 item
• Order $100-->earn two Level 1 items OR one Level 1 item
• Order $150-->earn three Level 1 items OR one Level 1 item plus one Level 2 item PLUS Stampin' Rewards (free product of your choosing)!
• And it just keeps going!

Need your own copy to follow along with during my Catalog Launch Party on January 3?  Request a catalog package here or email me at nicole @thejoyfulstamper.com with your mailing address.

Thank you for choosing me as your demonstrator and giving me the opportunity to earn your business!

OnStage Card Swap Slideshow

Hello, friends!  I'm popping in this Monday to post a short (1-1/2 minutes) slideshow of the gorgeous swaps I received at OnStage in Las Vegas last weekend.  I showed them in my Tuesday weekly Facebook Live, but you'll get a much better, much closer look at them here.  I'd never swapped before and was overwhelmed at the ideas and creativity!  There are a couple gift card holders in here that I want to make, especially since it's the time of year when we're all buying them as gifts.  So, enjoy the slideshow, and if you have any questions on what was used or how something was done, please ask me!  My goal is for you to have your best stamping experience so never be shy about contacting me - nicole@thejoyfulstamper.com  

I'm here for you, friend!

Pick a way to connect with The Joyful Stamper:

• Shop my online store using the host code 7YNXHH3W and receive as my gift to you a 6 Pack of Christmas Card Tutorials ($15 value).  
• Shop the Clearance Rack for fantastic deals.
• Request a catalog, if you are not already working with a demonstrator you love.
• Join My Joyful Stampers team - instant community of people who love stamping as much as you do!
• Subscribe to Paper Pumpkin, the monthly crafting kit for those who like neat, simple solutions to their crafting needs.  As part of your subscription, you'll receive a monthly newsletter with alternate ideas and an instructional video.
• Attend one of my local, in-person classes - laughter is good medicine!
• Follow me on Facebook for more interaction and spontaneous fun!
• Follow me on Pinterest for daily inspiration.
• Subscribe to my YouTube channel to see stamping demonstrations.

  

Thank you for choosing me as your demonstrator!

A Flurry of Snowmen From Snowman Season!

Hello, friends!  How was your weekend?  Friday evening I got to visit with my aunt and uncle whom I haven't seen in 15 years!  They are active people who have many interests, so there is always something to talk about.  My uncle is in his 60s and taught himself to play the ukelele recently.  My aunt loves to read so we talked about books we enjoy.  Then Saturday we got up at 5 AM and drove 3-1/2 hours to watch Emma run her final cross country meet of the season.  It was an important meet, she had a goal for herself, and she crushed it!!  She ran a new PR!  What a way to finish the season, right?  I'm SO proud of her!  

I think this card has to be one of my favorites ever.  I was actually jumping out of my chair as I made it and clapping with glee!  

What I love about this card:

• all the beaming snowmen from Snowman Season (I'm just as happy about the cooler weather as they are 😊)
• the use of a Light Pool Party Stampin' Blend marker and Color Lifter to give a bit of presence to the snowmen
• the random way they are positioned (tucking and layering are techniques I LOVE to do on my projects)
• the bit of snow and sparkle at the top (created with Snowfall Accents Puff Paint and Ice Stampin' Glitter sprinkled in before heating)
• the chubby rhinestones on the sentiment strip

The snowmen are stamped and punched using the Snowman Builder Punch, then adhered with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Don't be afraid to have a bit of fun with your stamping!  Tilt your snowmen, tear your cardstock, add rhinestones where you want some sparkle - there are NO RULES!  That's what is SO amazing about this art!

Here's a neat trick for using a punch that punches out multiple pieces at one time, like the Snowman Builder Punch.  It uses a stamp positioner tool (Stampin' Up!'s Stamparatus is one or I used a Mini MISTI in the photo tutorial below).

Punch into cardstock and keep negative piece.

Place negative piece in stamp positioner.  Lay stamps in punched out spaces (Snowman Season set used here).

Close stamp positioner lid to pick up stamps.  Place blank cardstock in positioner and anchor with magnets (they come with the positioner).  Ink up stamps, then close lid to stamp on cardstock.

Remove stamped cardstock from positioner and insert into punch.  It lines up perfectly!

That little tip makes stamping life easier, doesn't it?  It works for any of our Builder punches.

If you enjoyed this post, pick a way to connect with The Joyful Stamper:

• Shop my online store using the host code 7YNXHH3W and receive as my gift to you a 6 Pack of Christmas Card Tutorials ($15 value).  If you liked the one above, you'll enjoy these!
• Shop the Clearance Rack for fantastic deals.
• Request a catalog, if you are not already working with a demonstrator you love.
• Join My Joyful Stampers team - instant community of people who love stamping as much as you do!
• Subscribe to Paper Pumpkin, the monthly crafting kit for those who like neat, simple solutions to their crafting needs.  As part of your subscription, you'll receive a monthly newsletter with alternate ideas and an instructional video.
• Attend one of my local, in-person classes - laughter is good medicine!
• Follow me on Facebook for more interaction and spontaneous fun!
• Follow me on Pinterest for daily inspiration.
• Subscribe to my YouTube channel to see stamping demonstrations.