Daisies On The Diagonal

Indulge me a bit today please.  I pulled out some retired Designer Series Paper and used Happiness Blooms Enamel Dots from the catalog just expired.  They just fit so perfectly for this card and I couldn't resist.  I'm SURE you all have Stampin' Up! product you use that is no longer in the catalogs - and it's actually very fun to shop the stash and re-discover what you have!

I designed this card for my monthly team stamping bee for local members.  I design and prep 3-4 projects for us to create as we laugh and catch up.  It's a perk for my downline, but I absolutely LOVE being with them each month.  When the morning is over, everyone has visibly renewed energy plus 4 cute cards to send out!

I realized while taking these photos that the card can be vertical or horizontal.  Happy accident!  

Large and small daisies from Daisy Lane were stamped in Daffodil Delight on Daffodil Delight cardstock, then punched out using the coordinating daisy punches.  I LOVE that "smile" sentiment - it's not too large, not too small, and beautifully scripted in a readable font.

Did you catch the Night Of Navy diagonal strip on the Misty Moonlight card base?  It's 7"x1", glued diagonally, with the overhang trimmed.  It's a great design trick for pulling the eye along the daisy explosion!

The inside is a 4"x5-1/4" piece of Whisper White cardstock with the edges stamped in Daffodil Delight ink and the small daisy stamp.  We leave nothing naked when we stamp!

Card Recipe:

• Misty Moonlight cardstock- 8-1/2"x5-1/2" card base, folded in half at 4-1/4"
• Night Of Navy cardstock- 7"x1" strip
• 4-3/4"x3-3/4" piece of Designer Series Paper in this or this
• Daffodil Delight cardstock - to stamp and punch daisies
• Whisper White cardstock - 5-1/4"x4" for inside; 4"x1" for sentiment
• Night Of Navy ink
• Daffodil Delight ink
• Daisy Punch
• Medium Daisy Punch
• In Color Enamel Dots

Mystery Stamping Hour

Next one is Sunday June 28 at 8 PM (ET)

Open and free to everyone!  Details here.

If you are enjoying The Joyful Stamper site

• Request a catalog package here, if you don't already have a demonstrator you love.
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• Use this month's Reward Code to earn points towards a $50 shopping spree - read the details here.
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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!

Sending Sunshine and Daisies

Did you see yesterday's post about June's Paper Pumpkin Box Of Sunshine kit?  It's a beautiful concept - make the 8 cards in the kit, then decorate the box top with the included sticker label and extra pieces.  Fill the box with yellow items (I included a list of suggestions in my post) and give it to someone who could use a Box Of Sunshine!

My oldest girl Emma did this a month ago for her college roommate.  They were missing each other and Emma decided to cheer her up by mailing her a box of her favorite things.  She asked me to make a card in yellow, her roommate's favorite color, and to make it cheerful.  I think I succeeded!

This yellow is Pineapple Punch, a retiring In Color, and I combined it with Call Me Clover, another retiring In Color.  Tip: when using the Daisy punches, don't stop at just one.  Punch 3, 4, 5 daisies out and layer them.  The full look is beautiful, especially with the added touch of slightly curling up the edges with a bone folder.

The large, thick brush strokes of the sentiments in Seriously The Best are...well.... seriously the best!  My favorite way to use them is to stamp and trim around the image with Paper Snips.  Another tip: the kit associated with Seriously The Best is just $18, marked down from $30!

Don't forget to finish off the card with Happiness Blooms Enamel Dots.  Their bright colors add a lighthearted feel to your card and I think a lot of people could use that feeling right now.  When you shop for the supplies, use the May Reward Code below so I can send you a sampler of the NEW In Colors arriving June 3.  I love thanking my customers who are the heart and soul of my business ♥  

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!

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!
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• 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.

I love stamping and I love Stampin' Up!  Thank you so much for choosing me as your demonstrator.  I am grateful for YOU!

Letting Go

We dropped our oldest child off at college yesterday.  

We have three girls and with my husband often feeling out-numbered and out-talked, I am especially close to them.  Together, we've done quite a bit these last 18+years - shopped, baked, rode bikes, taken walks, played games, had special adventures, laughed until we couldn't breathe, and so much more.  

Being someone who reads anything (I read my husband's Family Handyman magazines when he was a subscriber so I can offer plenty of verbal instructions on building a shed from scratch or rewiring your home; just don't expect me to actually KNOW how to do those things), I soaked up every item pinned to the hall bulletin boards.  College is the most expensive fun a person can have, so I wanted to make sure my oldest knew about it all!  By the time I'd read and shared everything, my husband and I were ready to hand the car keys to her and tell her to head back home while we kept her room and returned to college ourselves!

While I feel an ache in my heart today, I'm also very very excited for her.  What touched me the most - to the point of (hidden) tears - was her anxiousness to quickly find a church.  She told us that she was worried she'd drift from her faith and "get into trouble" if she couldn't find a church to attend regularly.  When I heard that concern, I felt peace wash over me.  To spend 18+ years raising her and hear that her most pressing worry was drifiting from her faith in college gave me confidence to let her go.  I'll pray and lift her up before the Lord, knowing God's doing what I cannot.  

The cards I'm sharing today have nothing to do with my post, but are simply a reflection of the joy I feel in seeing my oldest take her first steps of independence, steps that are following right behind the Lord. My sweet, generous upline Lyssa Zwolanek of Song of My Heart Stampers inspired these cards.  I adore being a part of her team!  They lift my soul and make me happy!  I'll be attending OnStage in November, a Stampin' Up! demo event filled with lots of gifts and peeks of new product from upcoming catalogs.  I am so excited to see this wonderful team there!  We just had a team meeting Monday night on Facebook and I was looking forward to it all day.

I used the Daisy Lane stamp set and Medium Daisy punch to make these cards, along with the Shimmer Detailed Lace Specialty DSP.

Here are some other cards using these products.  Click on the photos to get the details:

What new beginnings do you have in your life?  If Stampin' Up! is something you are interested in beginning, whether as a demonstrator or as a new hobby, contact me.  I'd love to help you make your new beginnings happen!

My Bathroom Wall Made Me Do It

Did you ever see something and feel like you had to drop everything and make it into a card right now?  It doesn't matter whether or not you actually could drop everything and run to your stamp table.  I'm asking if you've ever felt that feeling, that burst of inspiration, that urgency to get the idea out of your head and onto something tangible, that itch to play with colors and shapes and stamps.  At those moments, I'm grateful for the humble pencil and notebook since I usually cannot stamp at the exact moment I have the Greatest Card Idea Ever.  Jotting it down preserves that nugget of creative genius for later.

Here's the card that was the result......

And this is the cause....

It is a wall decor piece that I bought at Hobby Lobby about 4 years ago.  It's rather large and covers one wall of our bathroom (the only one in our home I might add and we have three teenage daughters - sharing is caring!).  I have always loved the colors and when I realized the other day that I have a stamp set and a punch that I could use to recreate this, I was SO excited!  As in, I shouted to my husband, "I can't believe this!  I can actually make that now!" He responded with great enthusiasm, taking the scrub brush from my hand and exclaiming, "Let me finish cleaning the bathroom!  You must go make it now!"

Actually, he didn't.  It would have perfectly finished the scene, though, right?

While making the card, I ran into an overly juicy ink pad that stamped blotchy, so I thought I'd share a tip with you.  Blotchy images are a result of a too-inky pad, so take a plastic spoon and use the back of it to massage the surface of the ink pad.  This pushes the surface ink down into the pad, leaving less on top to make your image blotchy.  And please excuse my chipped self-done manicure.  My house doesn't self-clean, my meals don't self-cook, and my laundry doesn't self-wash and fold.  

The stamped daisy on the left is before using the spoon, the stamped daisy on the right is after using the spoon.  Much better!

And here's what I used to make my card, in addition to the larger Daisy Punch:

 See another card using this bundle here. 

I hope you found that helpful.  I want you to have a fun stamping experience, so I love to pass along what I've learned.  If you have a tip to share, leave it in the comments!  And if you want more tips and project ideas, be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter here.  You'll receive a free Class To Go project instruction sheet as a thank you.  You'll love the card ingredient list and measurements, clear step-by-step instructions, and color photos.  You can stamp with confidence!  Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter here.  Thank you for taking the time to read my blog - I so appreciate you!