Stampin' Up! Color Charts for Mixing and Matching

Color is SO fun to play with, but I really doubt myself when it comes to putting more than two together.  I need help!  Are you with me?  I dug up two color reference charts that I know are going to help ALL of us.  

  

This first chart has color combinations for all 40 of the core Stampin' Up! colors.  There is NO shortage of inspiration in this tool, so print it out and keep it in a page protector on your desk.

This second chart has color combinations for the current 10 In Color shades.  What I love about the In Colors is seeing how they fit in with the 40 core colors.  For example, I love Just Jade and Merry Merlot as Christmas colors! 

Other Printable Resources

Handy Adhesive Chart - tells you which adhesive to use with a variety of materials

Paper, Ink, & Marker Chart - make color swatches of your collection for easy reference while creating

Tip: print out these 3 resources and put in page protectors in a binder that sits on your craft desk or in your craft space.  You can also add the Saturday Sketches I post from Splitcoaststampers to this binder to create an all-in-one reference.

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Joy in being creative, community in sharing a common interest, purpose in what we make - this is stamping at its best!  Thank you, friends, for choosing me as your demonstrator!

Don't Wait to Get the 2018-2020 In Colors!

This is a public service announcement for stampers and papercrafters!  Every year, the first things to sell out when Stampin' Up! publishes its annual retirement list are the In Color products.  These are the 2018-2020 In Colors we'll be saying good-bye to soon:

See the 2018-2020 In Color Product Line here.

Tip: Be the smart shopper early bird that not only gets the worm, but also the biggest bang for the buck.  Stock up on the colors you love now - before everyone else does and they sell out - AND snag those Sale-A-Bration items left on your wish list.

Blueberry Bushel

Call Me Clover

Lovely Lipstick

Pineapple Punch

Grapefruit Grove

I love the bright colors of this group of In Colors and the names are fun to say😄  They've been a ton of fun to play with these past two years and I've used up almost everything I have in these colors (the Stampin' Blends and Stampin' Write Markers are still going strong)! 

If you are enjoying The Joyful Stamper site

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

Try This Dreamy Color Combination

I was feeling fancy on this fun Friday (and apparently alliterative, too), so today's stamped project is multi-layered, dreamy, detailed, heavily embellished, and just over-the-top.  Which is my favorite kind of card!  

What first inspired this card was the color combination of Highland Heather, Mint Macaron, Smoky Slate, and Gorgeous Grape (I made a graphic for you to pin, save, or print at the end of this post).  Since the word "dreamy" immediately came to mind, I reached for the Stargazing set.

I repeatedly stamped the Mint Macaron layers with Mint Macaron ink and the swirl image.  

Two Very Easy Techniques: The top cardstock layer's corners were separated (just use your nail).  The bottom layer of Mint Macaron cardstock was spritzed with water, crumpled in a ball, then flattened and dried with a Heat Tool.  

Nests of ribbon, twine, or thread are popular and for a great reason - the more imperfect and messy they are, the better they look!  I'm pretty good at being imperfect and messy 😁 so this works for me!  I made a Silver Metallic Thread nest on this card. 

To create a nest: run SNAIL adhesive on your cardstock, wrap the ribbon/twine/thread around 3 or 4 of your fingers several times, remove, and press the material to the cardstock where you ran SNAIL.  You can adjust however you like since SNAIL is a forgiving adhesive.

I wanted a bow that was full and shabby, so I cut lengthwise a piece of Mint Macaron Textile Ribbon.  I tied the 2 pieces together in a bow and the nicely frayed edges that resulted was exactly the look I wanted!

Pin, save, or print this color combination!

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 ET tonight!  See the project sheet here.  Click image to watch the replay.

If you are enjoying The Joyful Stamper site

• Want a catalog and don't already work with a demonstrator you love?  Request a free catalog package by emailing me at nicole@thejoyfulstamper.com or via this form.
• High-quality stamping products make your crafting experience better so don't cheat yourself!  Shop my store for your crafting supplies!
• 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.
• 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!

Another TGIF Challenge!

Aren't you in love with these summer colors?!?! They are the challenge colors this week at TGIF Challenges.  I couldn't wait to use them with the Lilypad Lake stamp set.

I stamped the water multiple times with Bermuda Bay ink, overlapping the images.  Then I took a blender pen and colored over it to slightly smear the color.  That's one of my favorite ways to use a blender pen.

I also used the blender pen to fill in my boats, flowers, and sun.  This is a fantastic way to color with a variety of hues without owning markers.  You likely have several colors of ink pads.  One blender pen allows you to use all those ink pads as a marker.  Just dip the tip of the pen into your ink pad to pick up color.  When you want to switch colors, scribble the blender pen on scratch paper until it's clear.  

There's more to this card, though!

I decorated the back of it, too!  What a fun surprise for the recipient!  Doesn't this scene make you long for a sunny day spent on the water or out viewing nature?

To create a hint of a sky, I lightly sponged Pool Party ink on the white base.  Stampin' Up!'s sponges are rather large so here's a tip for you to get the most from the package of three:

Here's my card recipe so you can make it:

• Lilypad Lake stamp set
• Thick Whisper White cardstock (5-1/2 x 8-1/2 card base)
• Melon Mambo cardstock (scrap to stamp heron twice - and is that a heron or flamingo, by the way?)
• Regular Whisper White cardstock (scraps to stamp flowers, boats, and sun)
• Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
• Melon Mambo Ink
• Coastal Cabana Ink (water)
• Pool Party Ink (sky)
• Daffodil Delight Ink (sun)
• Lavendar Lace Ink (retired) or Gorgeous Grape Ink
• Wink of Stella (applied to boats and herons)
• Paper Snips (for fussy cutting the images)
• Blender Pens
• Stampin' Dimensionals
• Mini Stampin' Dimensionals
• Sponge (to lightly apply Pool Party ink for sky)

Psst!!  My Stampin' Up! Holiday catalog order is on its way to me so look for multiple Christmas, Halloween, and Fall Classes To Go from The Joyful Stamper.  I know you are all eager to get started on your holiday projects!  

  

Inspiration From A Store-Bought Card

Did you ever see something and think, "I have to make that into a card!"?  Was it a color combination you spied, or a home decor piece, or a magazine layout?  

Sometimes I get ideas from the graphics at church!  A peek into my sermon journal would show occasional sketches in the margins of those screen graphics that catch my eye. 



Recently my family received a thank you card from my cousin's daughter and I immediately thought, "I have to make this into a card!"  

The colors appealed to me as did the simple prettiness of the one-layer notecard.  I used Perennial Birthday to create my CASE.

The images in that set are SO fun to play with!  They are pretty, fresh, and light-hearted.  I love the font of that "Happy Birthday" on my card.

To apply Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the flowers, I applied a small dot of Tombow Liquid Glue and used my finger to lightly spread it around.  Then I shook the glitter over the flower and let the card sit to dry.  I applied glitter to all the flowers.  Look at them sparkle!

My sentiment sits on an extra layer of Whisper White cardstock because I needed to cut it in half to make it fit the space.  You could cut the stamp itself in half to give yourself more flexibility in using it.  I have done that with other sets.  

To add color to the flowers and leaves, I used sponge daubers to apply color.  It gives such a beautiful, soft look and it's so easy to do!  Just put the sponge dauber on your finger, pick up some ink with it from your ink pad, then gently rub in a circular motion on your cardstock.  So pretty!!

These are the colors I used to create my CASE.  Make sure to click on it to Pin It so you can be inspired next time you make a project!  Matching Stampin' Up! colors to what I want to CASE is easy thanks to all the choices they give us.  I also love that their products coordinate - creating is fun and I know what I make will look nice.  I have other color combinations I'd like to try, so come back to see what those will be!

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