HowJoyful is the best place to find tutorials, tips & tricks for creating letters and crafts
I started the HowJoyful blog in 2010 as a place for creatives to not only find inspiration, try new projects and techniques but also:
Offer a way to inspire, learn, and de-stress without the overwhelm that many times we feel when trying something new for the first time.
As an artist myself I’ve struggled to find the best way to learn, without feeling like I was being pulled into 100 different directions.
My goal is to take as much of the guessing and overwhelm off your learning and projects, so you can relax and enjoy making thing the easy way, while also seeing the results as fast as possible ♥
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The Latest Lettering & Calligraphy post
Are you curious about the latest Calligraphy and lettering blog post? Take a look at the latest posts from the blog.
Calligraphy pens: The best brush pens to start with Calligraphy
Procreate Brushes: The best brushes for iPad Lettering + Calligraphy
The Latest craft & tutorials
I also encourage you to check out some of my favorite tutorials and projects — each one is filled with tips, tricks, and FREE files just for you!
About Me
Hola friends! As you can guess by the name of the blog I'm Joy, a Chilean designer that after falling in love, relocated from Santiago, Chile to start a new life in the gorgeous southern California mountains, in a tiny little town called Crestline.
I am not going to lie, moving from the city to the mountains is still something I'm getting used to, having the “city” 40 minutes down the hill is pretty nice, but I still struggle with the snow (even though I love to sit next to the fireplace sipping hot chocolate with my sketchbook –or my boys all over me– on those winter days) and all the other aspects of living in a small mountain community.
I am an Industrial Designer from the Universidad de Chile by trade but I am in love with design in every shape and form.
When I was a little girl my dream was to be a Fashion Designer after watching the telenovela “Simplemente Maria”, and while I was not able to follow that passion, because in Chile Fashion Design was not really a profitable career at that time. I eventually discovered that Industrial design offered a wide variety of implementations and I went for it.
Additionally, while in Design School, I found new and exciting ways to explore letters and create with pen and paper while sneaking into my friend's Graphic design classes, talk about nerdy!.
That is when my full-fledged love for Lettering and Calligraphy originated from.
Random things about me
- My native language is Spanish.
- I have been doing lettering as a full-time job since 2013, but doodling since I could hold a pen.
- I am a self-taught English speaker and I started blogging as a way to learn & improve.
- I am 5′ 11″ tall – a lot bigger than the Chilean average.
- I absolutely love lemon pie, well, just about anything with lemons.
- My husband and I met when I was hitchhiking my way to work, while on an exchange program working at the same ski resort (in the same mountains we now live)
Kenny and Joy wedding
Our Wedding
Our wedding doesn't just mark the beginning of our “happily ever after” but also was the reason I started blogging in the first place.
Back in 2009, I wanted to find a way to learn more & improve my English, (I am self-taught and initially learned using movies and music) while we started the visa process to get married.
After a couple of months, I started a wedding blog & I was so lucky to be selected by a (big at the moment) blog, called WeddingBee to blog for their website (under the alias of Miss Poodle) along with some amazing ladies, that are still part of my life.
After I finished the recaps of our wedding, I decided to start this blog to continue in my journey to improve my English while at the same time share the things I am passionate about =]
What I do now
Today, ten years after my international move, from my home country Chile, I work full time as a lettering artist, I have a physical products shop, a digital product studio, and I do select freelance work whenever my schedule allows me.
I also sell my artwork on other platforms (for the full list and links click here), I teach in-person workshops when I am not too busy, I license my work for big-box companies, and I try to blog as often as possible =]
You can check out my current Studio Tour here and the older version of my sewing room here.
We have three little ones (Conner, Collin, and Cooper – All October babies. They are four, five, and eigth years old!) So you can say I am pretty busy! =]
But spending time with them whenever I want, is what makes the hardship of working from home worth it. Balancing work and family time is always hard, but I would not have it any other way!
My husband Ken is a Firefighter for the City of Rancho Cucamonga in CA, and he is fantastic at helping me with so many aspects of my business, from proofreading my pieces to brainstorming ideas and blog post, he's pretty awesome if I say so myself! he he.
My Shops
Some of the most popular items from my shops:
Merch
Stickers, mugs, tees and much more with cute sayings and puns about calligraphy and crafts.
Zazzle
Hand-lettered home goods, paper products, baby blankets and more with my designs.
Casetify
Phone cases, laptop sleeves & apple watch bands ( Get $10 off your first order)
Spoonflower
Super cute fabrics and wallpapers with letters, patterns, and illustrations by yours truly =]
MY TOOLKIT
Lettering & calligraphy tools
A compilation of everything that is in my toolbox & why I love them
Content creation gear resources
A list of all the gear, tools and gadgets I use to make videos and take pictures
My business resources
A list of all the tools I use to run both my blog and lettering business
If you have questions or if you'd like to know more about this blog, I invite you to check my frequently asked questions or contact me.
And if you like the FREE content I create and would like to receive an encouragement note from me plus exclusive access to free resources, consider subscribing to my newsletter!
Thank you for letting me share my life with you! I hope you enjoy your stay, dig in, and come back soon.