Release #10 Winners!

Happy Sunday!  Time to announce the winners of our Release #10 Blog Candy....


Year of the Snake:  Heidi
Year of the Horse:  Robin

Congratulations!  Please email me at sisterstampsllc@gmail.com.

And thanks to everyone else who left Sister Stamps and the Guest DT some love!

It's Release Day!

Yay!  It's release day!  

The end of the year is coming soon, which is normally my time for reflection.  What better way to reflect than to look at old projects?  I find this sometimes inspires me again either to copy what I did before or to never do it again!! Ha ha ha!  Whatever it is, I reflect to back to evaluate what I've done and see where improvements can be made.  So although this old calendar has some flaws, I've decided to share it with you today.

This is the first calendar I made using the Chinese Zodiac images. Please be aware that some of these images have changed from the ones that will be released, so they are not exactly what you will be able to purchase.

First, let me explain the order that I chose for the calendar... In 2011, it was Year of the Rabbit, so I decided to start with the bunny (my fave) in January.  Then following the Chinese Zodiac order, I added in the next images in the correct order.  Following the rabbit is the dragon, then snake, etc...  See for yourself...

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 All of these images are on separate panels for each month.  Then all the panels were adhered together onto ribbon for a wall calendar.  I was inspired by a sample I saw at Stamps and Memories years ago.  I've modified it over the years, but it's basically the same concept.  The first six months are on one side...

Then you flip the calendar over for the next 6 months.  Yes, people often think I forgot half the year!!  LOL!!

This calendar is much more detailed as it was my first and a gift for my sister for drawing these images for me.  It's now a collectors item since I haven't made one of these in a few years.  You probably noticed that the bunny used on this calendar is different from the bunny that will be released with the rest of the Zodiac image.  Let me also explain that the dragon you see has also been modified, so the dragon featured here will not be available.

Well, hope you enjoyed the projects that everyone came up with for this release.  These gals will be back for every Zodiac image, so we have lots to look forward to!  Many thanks to all of our guest DT who helped out- you guys rock!

Kung Hee Fat Choy!

Before I get into my project, just wanted to check if you guys checked out our Guest Designer's awesome projects yesterday!?  Well, in case you didn't, please go and check them out to see their creativity at work.  Our Guest Designers are:

Laura:  http://bytkg.blogspot.com/

Eunice:  http://astarforchiemi.blogspot.com/

Patti:  http://creationsbypatti.blogspot.com/

Linda:  http://simpleandsassycreations.blogspot.com/

Thanks to them for working hard to come up with some original designs! Now go give them some love and then come back for my post!

OK... did you visit everyone yet?  So I know it's a little early for New Year's, but I couldn't resist making another li see envelope since it matches the Chinese Zodiac theme right? You can find the tutorial on how to make the envelope here...

After making the envelope, I stared at the blank red paper for a few nights.  I guess there's no motivation like a deadline right?  I whipped this up in less than 1/2 hour since I only had a few hours to post it in time! Geez!  Talk about waiting till the last minute!  I guess I work best under pressure...

So I decided to use the horse this time since that snake was stealing all of the attention!!  To help me with this project, I decided to use the sentiment and corners which are laser cuts by Island Scrapbooking.  Added a black oval (cut from my Spellbinders oval set) and mounted the horse on top.  Ha ha ha! I just made a funny... get it.. horse... mounted?  Ok if that wasn't funny to you, then I must have had too much coffee.  

Can you believe release day is tomorrow?  Time sure flies.  OK so that means that you only have until tonight to enter to win some snake and horsey blog candy.  Go back to the introductory posts and leave a comment by 11:59pm HST tonight for a chance to win.  Not many entries so you have good chance this time!!!

And don't forget to go and visit our Guest Designers blogs (see above for addresses).  Stop in tomorrow for one last project share!  See you then!

Sssssssssnakely Samples....

This week is just zooming by!  I can't believe it's already time to share who our Guest DT is for this release!  Since we have so many images in the Chinese Zodiac to release, I solicited the help of several guests to help me with the entire release... so you will see these ladies back each time we release another set of Zodiac images.

Our Guest Designers are:  Laura, Patti, Eunice and Linda!! Please click on their names to visit their blogs to see what they've come up with using our new images.

Some of you may already know that Laura is my cousin.  When we were young, we went to the same school and did pretty much everything together!  After I found out she was paper crafting, I thought she would be the perfect match to help with this release.

Shortly after discovering blogging, I stumbled upon Eunice's blog.  Her projects have such great detail and really caught my eye!  She turned down my offer to be a Guest DT several times before finally agreeing to help with the Zodiac releases.  Thank you Eunice!  She is my idol!

While studying Eunice's blog, I stumbled onto Patti's blog and got hooked instantly.  Not only does Patti have original projects, she also includes instructions on how to re-create them!  No doubt you will love her projects as much as I do.

Last but not least, my Dim Sum Sistah, Linda has agreed to help me out in a pinch... You may notice that my normal CBFF Debi is absent this time around, but hopefully she will be back soon to join us with future releases.  (Miss you Debi!) In the meantime, Linda came to my rescue and will be creating projects using our Zodiac images.  Thank you Linda!

So I finally was able to share my projects with you.... I've been so busy getting ready for a craft fair, I had to re-focus and spend some time creating stuff using the snake and horse.  Since next year is Year of the Snake, I think it's only natural to think calendars.. right?  As I mentioned earlier, I guess Aunty Jan and I had the same idea to use the image on a calendar!  

These are the calendars I made for retailers that will be selling images from this release.  I stared with a chipboard base and covered it with black cardstock.  Then added a washi strip of paper across the base for interest.  Tried to use prints that were less busy so as not to distract from the focal point... the snake!  Added a 2013 title by Island Scrapbooking and the calendar mounted on more gold.  A simple enough design that allows for mass production!  Punched holes at the top and added some ribbon to finish it off....

And a close up of the snake...

Here's a shot showing the different washi paper used...

Do you make calendars to give away as gifts?  I sure do!  Think I'm gonna make a few more of these to give away as Christmas gifts!  Now go check out our Guest DT's blogs and give them some love!!

Year of the Horse

Hi Everyone!  Welcome to our 2nd day of Introductory Posts for Release #10!  Did you get a chance to look up what your Chinese Zodiac sign is?  Well, if you are Year of the Horse, 2014 is your year!  I don't know many horses, but I do know one.. my sister-in-law is born year of the horse.  When I read the characteristics found on this site... I started laughing!  Many of the characteristics they use to describe the horse are not like my sister-in-law at all, but she is extremely intelligent and honest,which are also characteristics of the horse.  Hmmm... maybe I need to find a new site!

OK on to our project!  Aunty Jan made another calender using the Year of the Horse stamp.  I really like that she printed "Year of the Horse" on the computer then stamped the horse over it.  I always forget that I can do that too.  The small piece of washi was just enough of an accent to make the calendar stand out too.  Above the horse she used corners that were cut from an old Sizzix die set.  They look really asian and match the theme perfectly.  And did you notice?  The horse is dressed up too!  She used some baker's twine to make a harness for the horse.  I think if you click on the picture it will enlarge it for you to get a better look.

Are you ready for more candy?  All you have to do is:

1.  Leave a comment on THIS POST by Friday, 11/30/12, 11:59pm HST.
2.  Tell me if your sign is compatible with the Year of the Horse.

Good luck and thanks for stopping by!  Be sure to check in tomorrow to find out who our Guest Designers are!

Year of the Snake

Woo Hoo!  We made it to Release #10!  Amazing!  This release is special since it kicks off our Chinese Zodiac collection.  As explained yesterday, we are releasing two of the animals in the Chinese Zodiac every couple of months.

Here's the release schedule:
12/01/12:  Snake, Horse
02/01/13:  Sheep, Monkey
04/01/13:  Rooster, Dog
06/01/13:  Pig, Rat
08/01/13:  Ox, Tiger
10/01/13:  Rabbit, Dragon

If you are not familiar with the Chinese Zodiac, you can read the history behind the legend here..  It describes the order in which the 12 animals fall in the zodiac. If you snoop around this site, you will also find characteristics about those who are born in the year of each animal.  It is quite interesting and entertaining.  If you are new to this, you will want to take a few minutes to find out what year you were born and see if your personality fits the description of the animal.

Along with each animal are the 5 different elements:  water, fire, earth, wood, and metal.  These elements give one additional traits that then separate those within a group of animal even further.  For example, a metal snake might behave differently from a wood snake.

Our family regularly analyzes the personalities in our family and how it correlates to their sign.  My sister and brother read up on this a lot and are constantly telling me what signs they are compatible with, if its going to be a good year for you, etc.  As for me, I take the whole zodiac thing with a grain of salt, but I do like the animals and the story behind it.

So we start off the release with the Snake since 2013 is the year of the water snake.  It just so happens to be my sister's year as well!  She tried her best to make the snake cute since she says that they are always ugly and evil looking.  I laugh because I feel like my sign is the ugliest, but I guess everyone feels that way about their own.  Luckily, it appears that my sister and I have compatible signs!  She is a snake and I am an ox, which are supposedly compatible.

Today I have a special project to share that I received from Aunty Jan.  She and I both had calendars on the brain when it came to projects for this release!  I'll share my project later this week.

Aunty started with a bamboo mon stencil used for the background.  It might be hard to see because she used a light yellow/brown color so that it created a subtle background.  The 2013 was cut from the Sizzix Endless Love alphabet/numbers set out of gold paper.  She printed "Year of the Snake" along with "Wise, Passionate, and Profound" on the computer and stamped the kanji for snake (Designs in Squares) next to it.  The mini calendar was mounted on lavendar cardstock, and then on gold.  She colored the snake and cut him out and popped him up using pop dots.  She used glitter for some sparkle on the snake.

I just love her design!  I think I'm going to be a little selfish and keep this one for my desk at work! Thank you Aunty!

Wow- this turned out to be a long post!  Now I know the real reason you're here right?  The chance to win some blog candy!?  OK here's how you can enter to win your very own snake stamp:

1.  Leave me a comment on THIS POST (amended to include deadline) by Friday, 11/30/12, 11:59pm HST.
2.  In your comment, tell me what your chinese zodiac sign is.
3.  Tell me if your sign is compatible with the snake!

See you tomorrow with our next introductory post!

Release #10 Coming Soon!

Good Morning!  Wow, it's been awhile since our last release, so I'm extra excited to present our new release images to you today!

Awhile back, I asked my sister to draw me the Chinese Zodiac animals so that I could make a wall calendar featuring all of them and sell them at craft fairs.  I will share this old project with you later this week. 

Check in tomorrow for our introductory posts on these two fellas...

Why just the Snake and Horse you ask?  Well, we are just starting with these two images... 2013 is Year of the Snake and following that is Year of the Horse.  Over the next year, we will be releasing two images every other month beginning in February, so that by the end of next year, you should be able to purchase the whole set!

And for those of you who look forward to our regular images, don't worry... we have lots of new images in store for you in 2013!  Some of the new images will be released with the Zodiac animals and some may be released in between. Check back here or on our facebook page for more updates.  See you tomorrow!

Thanksgiving Blog Candy Winner!

Hi Everyone.. did you spend lots of money yesterday?  I did a LOT of shopping and got some really good deals.. though not sure if they are more for my friends/familly or myself?!  ha ha ha!

Anyway, I didn't forget about our little contest!  Our blog candy winner is....

Miri!!

Congrats girl!  Please email me at sisterstampsllc@gmail.com with your mailing address and the stamp of your choice.  I'll ship it off next week when I return home.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Jenny

Blink Blink, Rub Rub

Did you miss me?  Yes, sorry I've been so MIA recently, but there's a lot going on behind the scenes that I'm working on.  A little bit of Sister Stamps, a little bit of personal, and a little bit of travel!!  I've been so busy that I just noticed now that we've had over 100,000 hits!!!! I seriously can't believe my eyes.. I had to do a double take, blink my eyes and rub them to make sure my eyes were reading the number correctly.  I know my vision is ok since I just got my new glasses... It must be true right?

OK about half of that is probably me, my mom and my sister.  Ha ha ha!  But even if that is correct, that still means there are enough of you checking our blog an awful lot over the last year.  So wanted to THANK all of you for your continued support even though I haven't been actively posting.

Since Thanksgiving is literally right around the corner, I thought I'd express my thanks to all of YOU who have made Sister Stamps possible!  Because of your loyalty to our little company, I'm gonna do a small blog candy here... just leave a comment on this post by Wednesday, November 21st 11:59pm HST to be eligible to win.  I know a lot of you don't know how to follow our blog, so I won't even require that in order to be eligible.  Just leave a comment on this post and tell me which Sister Stamps image is your favorite and why.

And, check back the week after Thanksgiving for our next release previews!

Happy Halloween!

Woah... where have I been yah?  I know, I've been MIA for awhile now, but I've been crazy busy!!  Took a break from cleaning up for Halloween to make this treat bag tutorial for you...

Back in July, I did some make 'n takes around Oahu and Hilo.  One of the make 'n takes we did was an easy peasy treat bag that I learned how to make from my CBFF Debi.  She showed me LOOOOOOONG time ago how to alter a paper bag to be a cute treat bag.  Thanks Debi!  Since I wanted to keep the make 'n takes relatively simple, I thought this would be a good project.

I had these paper bags leftover from the make 'n takes and my attempt at making the paper bag mini album (see my personal blog for that project).  To get the shape I wanted, I simply cut the top of the bag down to 5" high.  This made my bag square looking, but you can choose to cut it down to any length.

After cutting the bag, I cut two pieces of cardstock for each side (Doodlebug).  I cut them about a 1/4" longer than each side- in this case it was 5 1/4" x 5 1/4".  Then I adhered the cardstock to the bag. I think its important to use cardstock since its thicker than regular paper and will make your bag more sturdy.

Now pay attention... this part is important!  I made a few mistakes while coming up with my sample during the make 'n takes, so I thought I'd better let you in on this secret...  See how I pulled the sides of the bag out?  Do this before you punch any holes for the straps, otherwise you will have holes on the side of your bag!!! ha ha ha!  Yes, my first samples did have holes on the side.  So learn from my mistakes and don't do the same.

After pulling out the sides, I marked the bag where I wanted to punch my holes for the straps.  Decided on 1" in on both sides and about 1/2" down from the top.  The Tim Holtz clear ruler is awesome for this since you can see through the ruler.  After you mark where you want your straps, punch holes on the marks.

After punching the holes, I added the ribbon straps.  Be sure to make the ribbon longer than you need so you have enough room to tie knots on the inside of the bag.  After that, you're done!

Then comes the fun part... decorating!  Since its Halloween, I thought I'd alter the BFF image and turn them into witches!  First, I cut out a haunted house from an old Sizzix die.  Added the sentiment (Island Scrapbooking) over the black part so it would show.  Colored up the BFF's with my copics and then added the hats.  I punched the pointed part of the hat using my Stampin Up banner punch.  I ended up trimming off some of it since I didn't want it as wide.  I actually punched it on white and colored in that part of the hat so I could add some shading.  Then I used the Stampin Up oval punch for the base of the hat.  Again, I felt it was too big, so I punched it again using the same punch to make a narrower oval.  Then I just adhered the pointed part to the base and then onto the girl's heads.  Now I wish I didn't spend so much time on their hair!

Well, hope you enjoyed this mini tutorial.  And hope you have a fun and safe Halloween!

Be sure to check back later to find out more on our next release!

Release Day and Blog Candy Winners!

Good Morning!  Welcome to your long weekend!  Hope you have some fun planned for yourself.. maybe some stamping?  Hopefully I will start seeing some Release #9 projects pop up over the weekend.  Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with.

So the real reason why you are here.... to find out if you won our blog candy, right?  Well, wait no longer...

Buddies Winner:  Jenny V.
BFF's:   Creative Grammie

Congratulations ladies!  Please email me your mailing address at sisterstampsllc@gmail.com.

Life Is Sweeter When Shared With Friends

Happy Aloha Friday!  Yay, made it to the end of the week!  I must say,  this has been a looooong week for me.  Just glad the weekend is here!

Before I share my project with you, I wanted to thank Cindy for helping us with this release!  Thanks Cindy! Please check out her blog to see what else she created for Release #9.  And many thanks to Debi for hosting another blog candy and for her awesome samples!  Thanks Debi!  Speaking of candy, you still have time to enter to win all of the candies being offered on this blog and Debi's blog. Good Luck!

I had a hard time getting in the groove of coloring for this release.  I kept putting it off and putting it off.  But now that it's here, I had to scramble and figure out what I wanted to do.  If you visit my personal blog, you'll know I've been into the Shabby Chic groove and can't seem to stop creating projects in this theme.  Most of them don't incorporate stamps, so I found it especially challenging.  I definitely wanted to make a Shabby project for you.  Since Shabby and Buddies don't seem to mix, I decided to save it for my BFF project.  Here's what I came up with....

I made a box card in a 6x6 size.  They are super easy to make and you can find a bunch of tutorials on youtube.  I changed the dimensions of mine so that it was a bit bigger than the ones featured.  Because the BFFs are a wider stamp, wanted to make sure their bodies would fit.  The background paper used is by Prima.  I absolutely love this paper!  It's a very washed out floral background but it comes in other prints that include butterflies!  I think I just like the vintage-y washed out look.

Here's a close up of the two BFF's.  While making the scene, I thought they needed a forest friend, and decided to use the bunny from the Masa stamp.

Don't know if you can tell, but I added a couple of hills cut from kraft cardstock for the girls to run and play on.  To add color and interest, I glued on some flowers by All Natural Accents.

In the background, I cut a tree from Memory Box.  Since the cuts are intricate and flimsy, I ended up gluing the tree to some acetate for stability.  I think you can see the acetate in the pix, but normally, you can't.

And yes, that's a double row bling mesh framing the frame.  I also took a close up of the floral cluster (flowers by I Am Roses and Wild Orchid Crafts).  Added in one of my stickpins- just because!  You can't see in this pix, but the sentiment in the background says "Life is Sweeter When Shared With Friends".. which is so true!  Looking forward to Saturday where I get to see my CBFF Debi!  That sentiment is from one of my favorite Hero Arts sets.

Hope you enjoyed all of our samples for this release!  Only one day left till you can get your stamps!  And don't forget to enter to win our blog candy...  Have a good weekend!

Leap Froggin...

Before I go into my card share today, I just wanted to announce our special guest designer for this release!  She designs for one of our retailers and always created such awesome cards using our images.  I just love how she always seems to use our images in new ways.  She comes up with great out of the box ideas that I just can't seem to get out of my mind!  I've repeatedly asked her to start a blog so I could feature her as our guest designer and she finally did!  Yay!  Please check out her cute samples using our images here... and give her a warm welcome to blogland!

Back to my card.. . I had to give my action wobblers some love again.  The last time I tried to use them on Takeo, I just wasn't happy with the results.  I think the balloon image was much too small, so I decided to give it another try.  What better image to use than our new Buddies image!   Started off by laying some washi over gold cardstock and then onto kraft.  Wanted to keep the background muted since the focus of the card is the action wobblers, so I chose a very dull colored washi paper.   Found some matching cardstock in my stash and cut circles using my Spellbinders.  Colored up the boys using my copics in coordinating colors too.  Added some hemp cord and a button across the circle before adhering the boys using the action wobbler.  Topped it off with a Poppy Stamps "Tomodachi" kanji sentiment. Tomodachi means "friends".  On the wood, the stamp actually says "friend" on it, but for some reason, when you stamp it, they didn't include the translation.  I still like it though since the stamp is solid and is different from my other kanji stamps.

Here's a closer look at the buddies...  BTW- I cut out their froggy friend and moved him to be leapin higher than where he is on the original image.  I think we should name him... what do you think?  Maybe "Bud"?

OK now for the action...  Again, no camera for the live demo....  But I think this photo explains it all.  My husband had to help me by activating the "boing" factor while I took the pix.  Now that's what I call Leap Froggin!

Any other suggestions for froggy's name?  Oh got a little carried away talking about froggy... Don't forget to visit Debi's blog too!  She might just have some candy to give out on her blog.

Meet Our New Buddies

Hi folks!  Back today with the other half of our new release.  Today we are featuring our new Buddies image.  Since we had BFF's, we had to throw in something for the boys right?  Since boy's don't typically hug or hold hands, we thought it would be more fun to have them playing together.  After brainstorming a few ideas, we came up with leapfrog!  I remember playing leapfrog as a kid and how much fun that was.  Now I look back on those days and wonder to myself how I ever leaped over anyone!  Ha ha ha!

This was the other card Aunty Jan sent me for this release.  She actually cut out the title from Sizzix Retro Metro alphabet dies.  I love the little details of bakers twine tied to the B and the froggy eyelet used to dot the "i".   My favorite part of this card, with the exception of the Buddies themselves (of course), is the sentiment!  Aunty tells me that this sentiment is a Hero Arts stamp.  I gotta see if I can find that one.  It's so perfect for both of our images for this release!  I especially love how she lightly colored the background blue behind the sentiment.

Here's a closer look at our buddies...

And the title...don't forget the froggy eyelet!

And don't forget the froggy.. he's so cute.

Time for more candy!  Do you want to win this stamp?  Well, just follow the same rules from yesterday's introductory post and tell me what you look for in a friend!  As for me?  Hmmmm.... someone who's honest, easy to talk to, thinks the same way as me, is NOT a drama queen, and who loves to craft!  Not asking for much right?   Don't forget to post by Friday 11:59pm HST.  And check in tomorrow to find out who our Guest Designer is for this release!

Stamp Aloha Contest

We interrupt our scheduled Release #9 posts to remind you about Ben Franklin's Stamp Aloha Contest!  Sister Stamps is a proud sponsor of this fun contest that allows both keiki and adult stampers to show off their skills featuring local stamp companies.  Sister Stamps joins Dandelion Designs and Rubber Stamp Plantation in sponsoring this fun contest.

Submit your entries to this contest to any of 6 Hawaii Ben Franklin stores or mail your entry to:

Stamp Aloha Card Contest

c/o Ben Franklin Crafts

2810 Paa St., Bldg A

Honolulu, HI 96819

Contest is open now and runs through September 3, 2012.  Each winner will receive stamps from the category they enter (by company) and a $25 Ben Franklin gift card!  Click here for rules and application.

Good luck- let's see what everyone comes up with!  Hope to see some new Sister Stamps creations out there!!

Best Friends Forever

Welcome to our first introductory post for Release #9... Wow... 9 releases already!  Still can't believe how time has flown.  It all started with two sisters who wanted to share our images with you...  Before we even came up with our name, I thought it would be great if we had a logo.  So I asked my sis to design one that we could use on our products that had two sisters in kimonos.  I then came up with the name "Sister Stamps"  since that's basically how our company came to be.  So she ran with the idea and came up with our logo... Denise is on the left (the artist) and I'm on the right (stamper). 

Believe it or not, we got a few requests to make our logo into a stamp... Or something along that lines with two girls.  So I added that to the list of suggestions to my sis and she came up with our next image- BFF's!  Really, this image can be used for many types of relationships like sisters, best friends, cousins and so forth.  I chose the name BFF's since every girl has a BFF right? To me, it will always be me and my sister. :)

On to the card... Aunty Jan saved the day again.  Just as I was starting to think about samples to post for my introductions, a package arrived in the mail with two cards for this release!  Thanks Aunty!   Here Aunty used our BFF's stamp and framed it in a sakura die cut (Lifestyle Crafts).  The smaller sakuras are cut from pink felt and she added some yellow stickles for the middles. The sentiment was by My Sentiment's Exactly and was stamped on vellum. 

This card actually reminds me of me and my cousin- Aunty Jan's daughter (aka Yoshimi).  We were very close as kids since my sister used to watch us every Saturday.  My favorite color used to be yellow and her's pink.  I guess the color combo makes me think of when we were young.  Now my favorite color is far from yellow, but yellow brings back a lot of memories for me of my youth.

Thanks again Aunty for saving the day!

Ok Candy Time!!  While on my round of make 'n takes on Oahu, I discovered that many Hawaii folk who are SS fans don't necessairly follow our blog nor did they even know it existed!!  Boy, I guess I'm not doing my job!  Ha ha ha!  So, I tried to bribe, (ahem) entice them by advertising that our blog gives away a chance to win free stamps during every release!  We'll see if any new friends enter this time around.

Here's the rules:
1)  Please leave a comment on THIS POST and tell me if you would use this stamp for your friend, sister, cousin, co-worker, etc.  Please post by Friday, 8/31/12, 11:59pm HST)
2) Follow this blog publicly if you don't already. (see our sidebar for follow button).
3)  Tell me if this is your first time entering our candy and how you heard about our blog.

Winners will be announced on 9/1/12.  Good Luck!

Ready To Meet Our New Friends?

Wow!  Can't believe it's almost time for our next release!  Just popping in to reveal our Release #9 images...

Please join us this week to meet these cuties and find out who our guest designer is!  See you soon!

Join The Fun!

We are proud to inform you that we are sponsoring a couple of fun events... Please check them out for more information on how to enter to win some of our stamps and a whole bunch of other prizes!

First up is Lollipop Craft's Birthday Blog Hop!  They are turning two this year and we wanted to join in the fun by providing some prizes... click here for more info and to join in the fun!

Next, we were honored to be asked to sponsor Ben Franklin's Stamp Aloha Contest!  Stampers and Keiki stampers can join in the fun by entering a card between 8/17/12-9/3/12 at your local Ben Franklin Crafts store in Hawaii.  For more details, click here for more info...

And don't forget to check out our facebook page for more inspiration!

Last Make 'n Take

Phew!  I'm still recovering from the Oahu rounds, but wanted to let you know that I have one more make 'n take this Saturday at the Hilo Ben Franklin store.  I'll be there from 12-2pm for their "Ben's Bash".  We'll be making this gift card holder tag.

Our make 'n take is free, so please stop by to join in the fun!  See you on Saturday!

Make 'n Take This Saturday!

It's been a couple of days since I've been home and I'm still recovering from last week's round of make 'n takes on Oahu!  I can't tell you how much fun it was to meet stampers from around the island and see the excitement of our new release.  Thank you to everyone who stopped by and said hello or participated in the make 'n take.  My fear was that no one would come to my table, but I was pleasantly surprised at the outpouring of love from everyone.  I am truly humbled by the response and appreciate everyone's positive feedback.  I also wanted to thank all of the stores that hosted the make 'n takes!

So, I didn't forget my Hilo stampers!  Thank you for being so patient while I got through the Oahu rounds.  This Saturday, I'll be at Island Scrapbooking from 10am-12pm for more free make 'n takes.  We will be making this gift card holder....

Hope to see you there!

Last Oahu Make 'n Take

Wow!  My Oahu Make 'n Take tour will be almost over by the time you read this post.  My last stop on the "tour" is Stamps and Memories!  Please join me at Stamps and Memories between 11am-1pm for a free make 'n take.  Today we will be making this mini bag using the new Tim Holtz die.  This cute bag is the perfect size for party favors or small treats.  Decorated this one using a Hero Arts background stamp, then adding Perfect Pearls over it to create the background.  Then colored and cut out Mariko and adhered her to the bag.

Here's a closer look at Mariko!

Just wanted to give a shout out to my dim sum gang Kimmie, Mrs. Lum, and Aunty Jan for your help with these make 'n takes!  Thanks for stopping by to keep me company!

And thank you to all of our retailers who hosted our make 'n takes!

Day 4 Make 'n Takes

Today's Make 'n Takes will be at:

10am-12pm:  J's Knicknacks
2pm-4pm:  Ben Franklin Market City


At J's Knicknacks, we'll be making this money card holder.

As announced yesterday, we will be repeating this gift card tag project at the Market City store.

Please note that papers may vary per project.  Be sure to stop by to say hi!

Day 3 Make 'n Takes

Today I will be at two locations for make 'n takes:

10am-12pm:  Ben Franklin Enchanted Lake

3pm-5pm:  Cute Stuff

At the Enchanted Lake Ben Franklin we will be making this gift card tag.  This project will be repeated tomorrow at the Market City Ben Franklin, so in case you can't make it to Enchanted Lake, you'll have another chance tomorrow.

At Cute Stuff we'll be making a gift card holder.

This is what the card looks like when its opened...

Hope you can make it!