The first thing that came to my mind when I thought about my business cards was the leftover, super cute, wood, handmade ladybugs that were going to be part of our wedding favors, but since we decided to go a different route, they were gathering dust in a box. That’s when there was a bright light that went off in my head! I had about 200 tiny ladybugs with double stick tape on the bottom so you can stick them wherever you want.

My next step was to order a few custom stamps from Jessica of JLMould, she made a couple of stamps before so I knew I wanted her to make these ones (If you ever need custom stamps go to her!) I also got a few different shades of turquoise cardboard, glassine envelopes and gathered my puncher and the Japanese tape that inspired the pattern used in my blog design.

My first idea was to make little craft bags the same size as a business card. Even tho to me they looked super cute, it was way too time consuming (the craft paper envelope part), even using a cutting machine. So I only made a few trial ones of those.

I opted for just using glassine bags that were the perfect size. I printed a little greeting explaining that ladybugs are a very popular lucky charm in Chile and punched with a scalloped round punch. Stamped both the card that I cut out of the turquoise cardboard and the front of the glassine bag so I can put one on top of the other and tape the corners.

So in order to get to the ladybug (in the pictures doesn’t really show that you can see the ladybug through the glassine envelope) people have to only un-tape one of the corners, I didn’t tape the glassine bag shut either, because it would have been too much work for the poor people getting the cards hehe. After witnessing people opening the bags and taking the ladybugs out I can say that everyone seemed to enjoy it =] Below you can see what the little envelope contained.

While exchanging business cards at Alt summit, I received very positive feedback and it seemed that everyone loved the fact that it had a goodie in it. And I really loved how the back of the ladybug note has a QR code to howjoyful.com 8] -> Nerd smile!

So there you go! the HowJoyful business cards =]

ps. Amy Butler said that from now on every time she saw a ladybug she was going to remember me – not that she will actually remember me – she will probably think of the crazy girl with the ladybug story that she met at the Alt Summit white party – LOL I think it’s still pretty awesome!

I hope you all have a lovely day!
XO

[ Image by b.a.d photography for Alt Summit 2012 ]

I want to start by saying that the coordination of the event was great, very detail oriented (LOVE!) and well designed (duh =] ). I had very high expectations and I was super excited to get to see/hear some of the Alt speakers I really admire.

I did my homework and researched all of the sessions and classes I wanted to take, so I had my schedule and was able to read about the people speaking in each one of them, that way I had an idea of what to expect, content wise, and let me tell you it did not disappoint, not one little bit. I walked across the street to our Hotel every day with my head spinning with ideas on how to improve this little place and my business. I have a super long to-do list (Yes! I love to-do lists!!) and I have to say that I am still a little overwhelmed by all of the big dreams in my head =]

[ Image by Justin Hackworth for Alt Summit 2012 ]

That’s me in the picture above, front row like the little nerd that I am sometimes =] adding to my notes and getting ready for another fabulous session.

I think one of the highlights of the conference was to get to listen to Ben Silbermann, creator of Pinterest. He gave a very encouraging and powerful speech – He looks so shy, but with a mic in his hand he’s just awesome!

He shared the story of how Pinterest was created and a little bit about his pursuit for doing what he loves and how only 2 years ago he was struggling to get financial support and only had dreams of creating something big.

The other highlight of the conference for me was to be able to chat for a tiny bit with the amazing Amy Butler, she totally made my day after a few very-non-successful encounters with other bloggers.

Here is a picture of her and the rest of the panelists at one of my favorite sessions “From Blog to Book”. After the session ended everyone rushed to ask her for an autograph and to take photos with her, so I decided not to even try =] But later that night, at the Winter Wonderland Party, I got to talk to her for a few minutes, and that little chat made me realize that it seems that when you are very successful/famous, people tend to be super kind/humble/approachable (just like her), but when people are on their way there (popular but not super famous), their heads get way too big.

I have to blame myself for the disappointment tho, because ever since I started blogging, Readers, other Bloggers and Designers I’ve met online have been nothing but nice, super kind and awesome, so that was exactly what I was expecting, especially if they love Design and Blogging. But in the blogosphere, just like in the “real” world, there are all kinds of people! (I know! weird huh? but it was kind of a shocker for me.) I don’t want to get into details but I am sharing this because in one way or another my personal experience at Altitude Summit has helped me realize how I don’t want to be and how I don’t want other people to see/read me.

Being humble is one of the qualities I appreciate the most in people, therefore, it is also one of many that I am constantly working on with my feet on the ground. One very coincidental thing is that the same night after being kind of upset, and still frustrated by some blogger’s attitudes, while networking and run into the below type work by Neil Tasker, a little confirmation that I am not the only one that really appreciate humble people =]

[ Stay humble - type work by Neil Tasker via Dribble ]

Don’t get me wrong, there were a lot of nice people there, I think I just had the bad luck to run into the ones I shouldn’t have. While in the conference I got to meet super nice bloggers and Designers, I actually filled a little clutch with business cards I collected. I think it was an overall amazing experience, super inspiring and eye opening.

On the left: Amy Butler in the panda hat, me, Tab and Rachel – We also had a little Weddingbee Reunion (on the right)

If you are thinking about trying to go next year I’ll tell you now, with no doubt, DO IT! They have awesome sessions, the food is great the Grand Hotel could not be any prettier and the speakers are very talented in all of their fields, all of them are super willing to share and answer your questions.
Plus they give you so many little presents!

[ Image by Justin Hackworth for Alt Summit 2012 ]

And if you are the ones interested, here are 2 really cool links to see what the panelist talked about this year.

• Growing a Readership: Twitter recap of the panel featuring @makingitlovely @jordanferney @maggie and @designcrush
• From Blog to Book: Altitude Design Summit panel with Amy Butler, Grace Bonney, Julia Rothman, Lia Ronnen, and Chronicle Books editor Kate Woodrow.

And as far as our road-trip there and back goes: it was awesome! I do feel kind of bad that I got sick on our way back, so I slept most of the way, but this does not happen all the time and normally I keep Ken company the whole way, so he was OK with it. We stopped and stayed in Provo and Vegas to sleep and rest (yes, I tried to sleep a lot =P)

Even tho we were not totally prepared and forgot our swim suits, we got to play with our feet in the water =]
It was a very cool trip and a super awesome experience, I really hope I can go again next year!

ps. If you go next year, let me know and we can go together! =]
XO

Just like the other ones I glue them to my hand-cut-kraft-paper envelopes with a normal glue stick, but if you really want them super secure I would also recommend you a few drops of hot glue.

This time I prepared a single PDF file with 2 different shades of labels, a light pink and a creme, the page holds 4 labels. Remember to not “Fit to print” because it will make the labels a little bit smaller.

As I mention before this is a PDF file, so in order to preview the file you will need to have Abobe Reader installed on your PC or MAC. Without the program you will not be able to download or preview the file. If you have troubles please visit this link, because each browser works different.

I hope you all enjoy this freebie and make your Valentine’s day more special!
I am trying to catch up with work after a wonderful week in Utah for Altitude Summit, so I will share the details as soon as I can =]
ps. I also want to share my handmade business cards!!
XO

* This printable is provided for personal, non-commercial use only.
Check the Site policy at the bottom for further information, Thank you!

So as soon as the tickets started selling I told Ken about it, he suggested we could turn the trip from California to Utah into a road trip, so that way we could get to spend time together and he could go skiing some Utah mountains while I am in the conference =] I was sold right away!

So we are on our way there and I can’t wait for all of the fun =)there are so many classes I am looking forward to, so of you are going I hope to meet you and if not I will share my experience once we are back next week, so you can have a peek =]
I hope you all have a lovely day!
Xoxo

I wanted to wait a while in order to write this post to see how it worked first, it’s been more than 3 months and it holds the shape and works perfectly, so now that passed the test of time I can share it =]

It was actually pretty simple and if it wasn’t for the dry time of the ModPodge it could be done easily in less than 15 minutes.

THE MATERIALS

• Your fabric of choice in the size you want your mousepad
• A 1 inch bigger than your fabric piece of non-slip shelf liner
• Modpodge
• Paper towel
• Small brush
• Sewing machine, or handstiching

THE PROCESS
Before we get started remember to pre-wash the fabric you are going to use because it can shrink after you get it wet with the Modpodge.

- Cut your fabric in the size you want your mousepad (mine is a 10×10 inch piece), you can get all creative and try different shapes, I just did a square because I don’r have much space in my desk right now and my square fits perfect!

- After you have your fabric, cut a bigger piece of the shelf liner and pin it in place, add a paper towel in the bottom, that way the shelf liner will be in between the fabric and the paper towel to be able to sew it. Otherwise it will get stuck to the foot of the sewing machine, if you plan to hand-stich it, dismiss the paper towel =]

- Sew your mousepad carefully around the edge making sure the fabric and mat do not move

- After you are done sewing, pull the paper towel carefully away from the sewing line (right picture above) after you do all of the edges the center portion will come out very easily.

- Grab a brush and cover the fabric in a thin layer of Modpodge, if you don’t have Modpodge you can use tacky glue and water (just remember to use 2 portions of glue by one of water)

- Let it dry and if necessary put weights on the corners fo the mat so it stays in place while it dry, after is completely dry repeat with another layer. I only did 2 and it works perfectly, but if you have a thinner fabric i would recommend you to use 3 layers.

Let it dry completely and cut the excess of mat on the edges. You are ready to use your fabric moused!

I love this mousepad and the best thing is that I can make them as bigger or smaller I need, with pretty fabrics for a more customized desk look =]
I hope you have a lovely day!
XO

* This tutorial and pattern is provided for personal, non-commercial use only.

Check the Site policy at the bottom for further information, Thank you!

1- Felt monogram pillow by Allison from Little Lovelies via Maybe Matilda
2- Big bow pillow by Liz form Say yes to Hoboken
3- Shag pillow by  Vanessa from V and Co
4- Smock pillow by Fleeting thing

I am super excited to go to Utah and attend Alt summit next week! and to finally have time to craft a little and make some pretty business cards =] I will show you all once I’m done!

I hope you have a lovely day!
XO

♥ First I have to say that I am super happy to see how much this little blog grew in just one year, back in January there were not even 200 RSS subscribers and now it’s pretty close to 2,600! How did that happen? Well, however happen it makes me super happy =] so Thank you [huge wave]

♥ I am also very excited to finally finish the update for my business HowJoyful Design Studio or HJD Studio, it took me a while but finally it’s ready for the new year and I am excited to finish all the current projects so I can start accepting new ones in March.

♥ Last January I jumped and started my very own 101 in 1001 list. I has been very rewarding to cross things off (yeah I am a list maker!) so I hope I can cross off a lot more things in 2012! If you still don’t have a 101 in 1001 list, this is the perfect time to start =P

♥ In 2011 we decided to adopt a little dog, but we only got to enjoy him for a few days =[ We are hoping this new year will be the year to try to get another one.

♥ I was super happy to go visit my family back in September, it was very refreshing to get to spend time with my Mom and sister. Once a year sometimes feels like it's not enough.

♥ I opened a premade template shop, shared free templates and open the shop section of my blog, so now I just have to finish the details of my two first sewing patterns and add them there =]

♥ I was also very excited to open the doors to sponsors in July, thanks to the on growing traffic I felt I could help other blogs and small business to get more views in their sites.

♥ And of course there was a lot of sewing, crafting, upcyling and Inspiration shared this past year, so I can only hope to have more time to dedicate to the things I enjoy doing SO MUCH =]

I had this post almost ready since last month, so I decided to change the end portion of it. Two days a go my grandfather passed away in Chile, so that would definitely be the sad part of 2011 =[

For the past couple of day I’ve been thinking a lot about life and the things I want to do, but most importantly about what my contribution to other people’s life is and I hope will be. This next year I hope to keep growing into a better person, to worry less and love even more. I hope to never take my friends and family for granted and remind them all the time how much they mean to me.

Let’s celebrate life and cherish every moment, always say “I love you” and hold the hands of those who need it, life is too short to worry about silly things. Let’s be playful and smile, laugh and jump. I wish sunny and pretty days for all of us and for those gray and cloudy days warm and tight hugs. Deal?

Thank you for reading and letting me share my life.
Much love, XOXO

I made a PDF file with 4 different buttons patterns that you can use to wrap or embellish packages, I used only one sheet for my 4 sample gift on this post =]

As I mention before this is a PDF file, so in order to preview the file you will need to have Abobe Reader installed on your PC or MAC. Without the program you will not be able to download or preview the file. If you have troubles please visit this link, because each browser works different.

I simply wrapped everything with craft paper (when I ran out of it I always use lunch bags) to embellish the package in this post I did 3 different things.

- I printed and cut stripes of the button paper, and used them as belts for the bigger packages, I glue both ends and finish with a hemp twine wrap and a simple bow =]

- I printed and punched flowers, I think this was by far the easiest one and witha few of them your package just looks adorable =] If you don’t have a flower or shape puncher, just cut some cute shapes and glue them to one side, it will still look very pretty!

- I used the paper to make little bunting details, I cut a 1″ long stripe, then cut 3″ pieces folded them in half and place yarn in the middle. after gluing it, I cut the edges to shape a bunting flag =] I glued the first and last bunting flag to attach to the package

I hope you guys enjoy it and embellish your packages with this simple tips =]
Have a lovely day!
XO

* This printable is provided for personal, non-commercial use only.
Check the Site policy at the bottom for further information, Thank you!

Since I really liked one of the rejected drafts I decided that it would be nice to show you all a little bit of behind the scenes as an excuse for it to get a little exposure, I just feel sad no one got to see it! The least I can do is give it 1 post of fame. So here it is, the poor little How Joyful that went to the trash =[

For this sketch I really liked the idea of making swirls in the shape of hearts with "How Joyful" but then I changed my mind because it seemed too busy and cutesy for my personal taste. So I started exploring other ideas and other kind of typefaces, lines and swirls. I ended up with probably more than 20 different drafts but this one below was the runner up =]

I still think I could do something with this, the one above was the last draft I did in ink and paper, but I also vectorized it. So, I would really like to actually do something with it since I spent so much time on that. I think it could be another print to frame for my office, or maybe print it on fabric? I am not sure.

This was one of my first completely free-hand projects and I loved the process so much! Now I really want to buy a new tablet to draft projects because my old one was only for PC so now I have no way to use it (the only bad thing about only having Mac products now) so hopefully I’ll get to buy one soon. I am also super excited to attend the Calligraphy class by Melissa Esplin next January at Alt Summit, I really want to get back into paper and drawing.

I’ve received a few emails asking me for the font I used in my current header, so I want to show you where it came from. I actually didn’t even have tracing paper that day, so I just started playing with the only sheet of paper I found. After my first sketch I went over to my Mother-in-laws (She does awesome calligraphy) and asked for her advice/opinion, we played with calligraphy pens and had a lot of fun. I was still indecisive over the two sketches because I started with such a different set of concepts for each one. But I decided to work more on my second draft because I thought it was way too rough at first, so with a few line changes and tracing it on Illustrator it ended up just like I wanted =]

Do you have any ideas to use the runner up?
I hope you all have a wonderful day and stay warm!
XO

My first experience with wrap around labels was when I made our wedding invitations and I loved the way they made the envelopes look. So I decided adventure on the envelope labels again and make this labels to send out pretty mail, because who does not like pretty mail huh? – In my 101 list I shared my desire to send out handwrite letters (something I don’t do often enough) so what better way to motivate myself than having pretty envelopes to send out! I used some of my favorite flowers and colors, so I hope you all like them as much as I do =]

I prepared 2 PDF files, one with just one page and all 4 different color labels and another one with 4 pages and one color design in each page, so if you only like one of the colors you can download this file and print only the selected page.

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.

.

As I mention before they are both PDF files, so in order to preview the file you will need to have Abobe Reader installed on your PC or MAC. Without the program you will not be able to download or preview the file. If you have troubles please visit this link, because each browser works different.

I hope you all enjoy this freebie and have a wonderful week, I’ll be back soon with some more goodies =]
XO

* This printable is provided for personal, non-commercial use only.
Check the Site policy at the bottom for further information, Thank you!

1- Ombre Pendant Lampshade by Martha Stewart
2- Faceted pendant lampshade out of fortune tellers by the 3 Rs blog
3- Another faceted pendant lampshade, now in a drum shape by the 3 Rs blog
4- Yarn ombre lampshade by Vintage Revivals

I hope all of you have a lovely weekend and stay warm =]
XO

“Colors make me happy” is a darling set of 6 different 8×11″ printable files in a multi-page PDF doccument. Perfect for an office, craft room, sewing room or nursery, this bundle includes:

- light blue –
- light pink -
- green -
- lavender -
- light gray -
- beige -

After you checkout, the file will be automatically deliver to your email, so make sure you have enough room to receive it. This file is a 8×11″ multipage PDF document, to be able to print the file you will need to have Abobe Reader installed on your PC or MAC. Without the program you will not be able to preview the file for print.

The best part is that you can you can print them as many times as you’d like. In any of the 6 different color choices, for you or to give as presents. Just buy, print and frame!

Just remember that this files are for personal/non-commercial use only, please read the terms before purchasing =]
I hope you all enjoy!
XO

“Colors make me happy” is a darling set of 6 different 8×11″ printable files in a multi-page PDF doccument. Perfect for an office, craft room, sewing room or nursery, this bundle includes:

- Colors make me happy -
- Turquoise make me happy -
- Orange make me happy -
- Pink make me happy -
- Yellow make me happy –
- Green make me happy -

After you checkout, the file will be automatically deliver to your email, so make sure you have enough room to receive it. This file is a 8×11″ multipage PDF document, to be able to print the file you will need to have Abobe Reader installed on your PC or MAC. Without the program you will not be able to preview the file for print.

The best part is that you can you can print them as many times as you’d like. In any of the 6 different color choices, for you or to give as presents. Just buy, print and frame!

Just remember that this files are for personal/non-commercial use only, please read the terms before purchasing =] I hope you all enjoy!
Have a lovely day
XO

I am really excited because now that the tutorial has been shared there, I can also share it here with all of you! I love birdcages, but I don’t like when birds are in them =[ because they belong free and not secluded in a tiny little space, right? so the birdcages I have are just decorative. Because of my love for birdcages I thought that it could be really cute to have one as an ornament =] the best part is that once the holidays are over you can use this little birdcage to hold pens in your office or just to decorate your favorite space!

Materials:

• Galvanized Wire (I used 16 gauge, but you can used a thiner one if you wan it smaller)
• Soldering tool
• Flux core Solder
• Rosin Soldering Flux
• Pliers
• Permanent marker
• Ruler (a cutting mat is perfect to measure)
• A glass cup
• 1 toothpick
• Spray paint or primer (if you want it in color)
• A little piece of paper or cardboard for the bottom
• Optional ribbon for top

How to:
I love to work with wire, but there are some things you should know. Always try to use gloves, your hands will than you because they get really nasty, specially when you work with galvanized wire. Usually when you use flux core solder, you don’t need rosin soldering flux, but in my case I like to place a little bit of paste before soldering on each wire intersection because it makes the soldering a lot easier and the joints cleaner =] I think we all like clean and pretty soldering points. right?

I also wanted to point out that we will be working with rings and wire curves, those are very tricky and even tho we will be measuring, it’s really hard to work on having perfect shapes when you work with curves (specially because we will be making our curves with a glass, so there is no measurement there) So don’t worry if your pieces are not perfect, you can always fix them later on.

Ok so the first step will be to create the rings for our birdcage, and the size will depend on the size of the cup you decide to use, I’ve made birdcages using shoot glasses and also using the smallest glasses I have.You can try and see how big your circle ends up because after you wrap the glass with wire it will loose up, being bigger than the diameter of your cup. So it can be tricky. My cup had 3 inches of diameter and my loops end up being almost 4 inches.

After that we will need to cut the pieces we will be using to assemble our birdcage, you will need:
- 3 circle pieces
- 3 main structure pieces
- 1 toothpick
- Horse shoe shape for the bird hanger

To make the 3 main structure pieces I measured 4 inches in a straight piece, and then bend using the same glass cup until I had te desire shape, I cut the pieces leaving 3 inches on each side after the curve. It’s very easy if you just lay the piece in a mat and mark where the curves start and measure from there. After that you will need to solder the circle pieces to close them.

For the bird hanger, you basically have to first make a loop in the top (to attach this piece to the birdcage) and then, bend the bottom so that you wrap the toothpick, just like shown in the pictures above, you can also see how I measure everything in my cutting mat.

To assemble the birdcage you will need to first mark all of your structural pieces where the curve starts, so that can be your first horizontal ring. I started with one ring and one structure piece. If you have trouble holding the pieces to solder, tape them to the glass. That always helps me =]

After that you will need to visually mark your circle so you can add the other two structures. Here is where you can just mark an approximate, because the exact measure will depend on how big your circle is. And since this is just a little fun project, go with and approximate. Divide the space so the other two fit and your all set. Attaching the other 2 circles is way easier, just measure an inch below the first and solder =]

As you can see here I really liked how my birdcage end up, but I thought that the top was too empty, so what I did was mark 3/4″ up the line and I added another ring, but in this case since I didn’t know the exact measurement for that one, I took a shoot glass and made a smaller one, I left that piece bigger than I needed it so I could cut, once I had the exact piece I wanted. In this case I solder all the piece to my little marks leaving the first and last open to be able to cut. I made sure I was not going to cut too small or too big and the solder the end. I know it sounds complicated, but it was the easiest piece to solder because all the structure is already there =]

After you finish, clean your structure with a paper towel to take all the oil from the soldering and spray paint it if you want. Attache the bird hanger to the inside of your birdcage by making a knot in the ribbon. After that add the piece of paper to the bottom (you can glue it, or you can do what I did and stitch the paper to the wire – I just don’t like hot glue so much)

And there you go, a cute and very long-lasting birdcage! I hope you enjoyXO

* This tutorial and pattern is provided for personal, non-commercial use only.
Check the Site policy at the bottom for further information, Thank you!

We spent the last two Thanksgivings at Kens grandparents’ Ranch with all of his family, they are always such a nice get togethers, and I love that Mimi (Ken’s grandma) has placemats where we all write what we are thankful for every year, and the best part is to read all of the previous years and remember what marked those years. My placemat is one of the emptiest ones but I’s still fun to read. Ken’s family packed and spent the week at the beach. We were’t as lucky because we had to work but we got to spend Thanksgiving day there with all of them and Curly =] I was so happy he got to spend the day playing at the beach, running around and digging in the sand.

This was such an awesome day, there was a lot of paddle games, walks on the beach for me and Curly and the Ventura turkey trot for most of the rest. We all got to eat Deep friend turkey right next to the beach with pie dessert! I call that Thanksgiving mission accomplished!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend full of family, food and laughs =]
XO