Lucky Magnets

We are nearing the end of our sneak peeks and soon you'll be able to pick them up at your favorite retailer or online.  Just wanted to thank Suilan for an awesome job with our new release.  Please check out her blog and send her some love!  And also give a shout out to the Chinese Zodiac team that has been working hard on samples for that release.  Thanks to Patti, Eunice, Laura and Linda!  I feel so fortunate to have such a talented group of ladies help me out throughout this year!  Thank you for all the great inspiration!  And who can forget Debi!  So glad to have you back girl!

The nice thing about a smaller image is that you can make projects that you can't do when the images are too large.  One of them is marble magnets.  These flat marbles were found at Ben Franklin and are the perfect size to cover the lucky charm images.

After coloring up the images using my copics, I applied a layer of mod podge to the marble (flat side) and then adhered the image to the marble.  Then I punched out a circle using the Graphic 45 paper (can you tell this is one of my favorites!?) and applied another layer of mod podge over the image's backside and affixed the circle to the back of the image.  Here's what they look like when they are dry.

After they are dry, you can glue a magnet to the back and use them on your fridge or other metal surface.  Here's a close up of each image.

Hope you've been inspired throughout the week with all of the projects our team has put together.  Hope to see what you all come up with once you ink these guys up!

Good Luck Li See

So are you enjoying all of the projects so far?  Hopefully you'll find some inspiration along the way... today we have even more samples as the Chinese Zodiac team is back again to share some samples using our new Sheep and Monkey images!  Woo Hoo!  In case you forgot who helped us out last time, here's a list with their blog links so you can be sure to check them out and give them some love...

Patti's blog:  http://creationsbypatti.blogspot.com/

Linda's blog:  http://simpleandsassycreations.blogspot.com/

Eunice's blog:  http://astarforchiemi.blogspot.com/

Laura's blog:  http://bytkg.blogspot.com/

And don't forget to stop by Suilan & Debi's blogs for more Lucky Charm goodness..

For my next project, I wanted to share the samples I made for the retailers.  With every new release, I try to give the stores that will carry the new images a sample that they can use to display one of the images.

I used the Tim Holtz mini envelope (looks like an office envelope) die to cut the base out.  They were much smaller than I had anticipated, but they totally reminded me of the li see packets!  In fact, they are the perfect size for giving gift cards or adding pockets to your smash books!  The possibilities are endless.  

I kept the samples pretty simple this time.  Added a strip of washi paper, punched a 2" circle and added the image along with a good luck sentiment that I picked up at Island Scrapbooking.

Since the theme was "good luck", I thought these would be perfect to give to someone who is going to VEGAS!!  I'll have to remember that next time.

And here's the same sample using the Maneki Neko.

So don't forget to check out the rest of the guest designer's posts!  I can't wait to see them myself!  Stop by tomorrow for more fun...

Release #11 Winners!

Good Morning!  Just a fast note to let you know who won our blog candy giveaways...

Daruma:  Stephanie
Kokeshi:  Michelle Payton
Maneki Neko:  Wongsto
Sheep:  Heidi Brawley
Monkey:  Jenny W

Please email me at sisterstampsllc@gmail.com with your mailing address.  I will be leaving for vacation in the next few days, so I'm hoping to send out your packages before I leave.  For the zodiac winners, I'm out of these stamps for now, but I expect to receive a re-order in the near future.  I will mail out your stamps when I return from my trip.  Congrats to the winners!  And please remember to stop by for the rest of the release project shares!!!

2013 Smash Book

Did you like all the sneak peeks so far?  Well, we have more projects to share over the next few days, so remember to stop by to see all the neat stuff our guest designers have been busy working on...

And now it's time to announce who our guest designer is for this release!  I actually met this talented gal right here in Hilo.  She took a couple of classes for me before and has participated in a couple of my craft fairs.  Any guesses?  I guess you'll have to follow the link to see who I'm talking about...

And more surprises... Debi's back!  Yay!!  She had to take care of business during our last release, but we are soooooo happy to have her back. Things just weren't the same without you girl!  Please visit her here to see what she has up her sleeve....

It's official, my curiosity has gotten the best of me.  I'm finally jumping on the Smash Book bandwagon! I finally committed and bought me a new Fuji Instax camera which is awesome for smash-booking.  No excuses.  Your picture prints out (polaroid style), so you can't say that you need to wait to print up your pictures to start scrapping.  They even have some ca-ute film with borders like Hello Kitty, etc.! Can't wait to bust them open on my trip to Japan!!

So, since I'm getting back into scrapbooking- smash book style, I decided to make my own using our new images.  Here's the cover of my book.  I had two chipboard pieces that I used as my covers and covered them with some Graphic 45 Bird Song paper- my fave!  Decided to model my book like a planner/scrapbook, so I used the date to be my title.  See Maneki Neko and Daruma?  They are small but make such cute accents!

Here's a close up of the two lucky charms..

Oh, and I like it when people add charms to their books, so I attached a few from my stash. Finally putting them to use!

Here's the first page... Since the Daruma is all about goal setting, I thought it might be good to document my goals for 2013.  I distressed the edges with Distress Ink in Vintage Photo and then stamped all images using brown archival ink (by Ranger) .  I also found a kanji stamp for "success", which I thought was very fitting for this layout.  The 2013 stamp was actually individual numbers from a Papertrey ink set.  I just arranged them into a 2013 and stamped it twice on the page.

Here's a close up of the Darumas.....

I thought it would be a good thing to identify my plan for success, so I added another page using Maneki Neko since he's a symbol for good fortune.  The background stamp used was from a Fiskar's set.  I also stamped a kanji for "good fortune".  How fortunate I had it! :)

And here's the kitty's hanging out...

 Finally, I added a page for general "notes" and used the Kokeshi doll for accent.  I don't know if you can see, but I also stamped a "things to do" in the background.  This is also from another Papertrey Ink set.

And here's a close up of the doll...

I love how you can use these images separately or together.  Don't forget to find out who our guest designer is and see what Debi's been up to!

And don't forget to check in tomorrow for more fun!  The Chinese Zodiac team is back with samples using our next two animals, so don't miss out!

Who You Calling A Monkey?

Aahhhhh, our last image... The monkey image is part of the Chinese Zodiac set and one of my faves.  I think it's because Akemi is year of the monkey!  I couldn't resist making a layout with her acting like a monkey.

I don't even know how long ago this picture was taken... I'm thinking she was about 1 1/2 years old?  Don't worry, your eyes are not playing tricks on you.. the picture itself is blurry.  I don't think you can tell, but I distressed the edges of the photo and mat behind it.  Being that it was supposed to be a silly layout, I made the picture crooked.  

 The monkey was the perfect accent to the layout since she looks like she's monkey-ing around!

Just needed a title, so I went through my stash and found some Making Memories black glitter alphas and some of my new Simple Stories red alpha stickers. I like the look of mixing fonts.. especially in this layout!

I also wanted to make a boy birthday card using the monkey, but I ran out of time...  Hopefully someone else will try this idea and share it with us on our facebook page!

So I'm sure you want to know how you can win this little guy...

1.  Leave a comment on THIS POST by 01/28/13 11:59pm HST
2.  Tell me what other ways you would use this monkey in your projects? I can't wait to hear!

And don't forget to check back tomorrow... we reveal who our guest designer is along with sharing projects using these images with you! See ya soon!

Year of the Sheep

Boy, this has been a very busy release week!  We still have a couple more images to share with you...  Next up is our Chinese Zodiac images!  As I shared with you during our last release, we will be releasing two Chinese Zodiac images every other month.  Our next two images are the Sheep and Monkey.  The colored images are the ones that are available.

I know our Chinese Zodiac design team will be coming up with all kinds of asian projects, so I decided to try something different this time... I went through my OLD stash of stuff and found this cute clothes line.  Not even sure what brand it is but I think I bought it to make a scrapbook of Akemi.  Since it was not used, I thought I'd use it for this card instead.  At least I'll have a baby card ready if needed!

So here's the sheep... My mom is year of the sheep, so this image means a lot to me.  My niece was also born year of the sheep too.  Both of them are water sheep, how weird is that?  I wanted to make the sheep look fuzzy, so I looked through my drawer to see what I could come up with.  I remember when I first started stamping, there was a product called liquid applique.  Does anyone remember that?  You could apply it to the image then heat it and it would puff up!  I wish i had that now... Oh well, had to settle for some white flower soft instead.

That cute fence is a Magnolia fence die- my favorite fence!  And the sentiment is an old sticker I found from a Sticko set.

Wanna win this sheep?

1.  Leave a comment on THIS POST by  01/28/13 11:59pm HST.
2.  Tell me what old scrapbooking/stamping product you want to see make a comeback!

Beckoning Kitty

I'm sure you are familiar with our next image... You must've seen them in local businesses (in Hawaii for sure!).  It's Maneki Neko, or the beckoning cat.  This cat is thought to bring good luck to the owner.  There are several types and colors that bring different meanings.. For more info on the Maneki Neko, check out wikipedia here...

Our Maneki Neko has his left paw up, which I guess means he is welcoming in customers.  There are many other versions that you may see, including a black cat (health), gold cat (wealth), right paw up (good luck and wealth). 

I found this cute Maneki Neko figure to go along with my project.  I'm not sure if you can tell, but my project is a checkbook cover.  Before Christmas, my boss asked me to make her a few different checkbook covers since she had multiple checking accounts.  All she asked is that they looked different so that she would know which one was which.

Here's a better look at the cats...

And an even closer look at one of them.

And thought you might want to see the Maneki Neko up close.

Hope you like our version of Maneki Neko!  I am hoping to visit the Imado Shrine to see the huge Maneki Neko's on our upcoming trip.  We totally missed out on it last time!

So do you want to win this charming cat?  Here's what you gotta do:

1.  Leave a comment on THIS POST by Saturday, 1/26/13 11:59pm HST
2.  Tell me what good luck charms you keep... Can't wait to hear what you consider to be "lucky"!

Kokeshi Favor

Welcome to day two of our introductory posts!  Today we are introducing our Kokeshi doll image which makes a great addition to our collection.  

Kokeshi dolls remind me of Girl's Day.  Although they aren't the typical dolls that are displayed during the Girl's Day festivals, they still remind me of that time of year.  You can read more about Kokeshi dolls here..  I guess their main characteristic is that they don't have any limbs, just a head on a cylinder for a body. They come in all shapes and sizes too.

Since I have girl's day on the brain, I guess it inspired me to make a favor instead of a card.  I had bought this die from Papertrey Ink that cuts a fringed circle typically using tissue paper to wrap up goodies to make it look like a flower.  I used this die on a handmade paper I picked up at one of our retailers that has recently closed.  The paper was all white but had a sakura design (also in white) that appeared to be flocked or embossed.  I decided to try out my Lindy's Stamp Gang spray to give it some color.  Love how it turned out!  You can't tell from the photo, but the pink is actually a pearly pink.  It makes the sakura pop!

After wrapping up some candy, i colored up my Kokeshi doll image and adhered her to a punched heart and scallop heart and then to the favor.  So simple but cute for Girl's Day!  I think it would be lovely with some mochi inside... mmmmmmm...

So want to win this doll? Here's the deal:


1.  Leave a comment on THIS POST by Saturday, 1/26/13 11:59pm HST
2.  Tell me what your favorite kind of mochi is... I'm torn. I love the chocolate covered strawberry chocolate mochi (you gotta try it!) and I also love this awesome mochi cake recipe!  I added in some Raspberry flavoring to the pink portion and it was pretty awesome.  If you have any mochi recipes you are willing to share, please email them to me!  :)  I would be ever so grateful!

Oki doki.  Need to get to bed.  Check us out again tomorrow for more intros....

Encouraging Dar

Welcome to the week long festivities for our Release #11 images!  We have more images than normal, in most part because we are releasing 3 new images along with two additional Chinese Zodiac characters.  There's a lot to cover this week, so we need to get an early start in order to get everything covered!

Let me just give you some background to how these images came to be part of the Sister Stamps family... While brainstorming with my sis, we tried to think of "Japanese-y" characters and/or symbols that were identified as being Japanese.  They were initially supposed to be companions or props to the images we've already released.  But we thought they were so darn cute, we decided to release them on their own which would allow you to use them how you wanted.

The first of our lucky charms collection is the Daruma.  It's funny because whenever I hear that name, I always think of my high school friend's dog.  Her name was Daruma too, but they called her Dar.  I guess Daruma was too long to say?  Anyway, I always feel like I should call the Daruma character "Dar" too.  hee hee.

So in case you didn't know much about the Daruma or "Dar" as I'll be referring to him in this post (hee hee), you can read the back story here...  Dar is more commonly known as a gift of encouragement because he's commonly used in setting goals.  When you purchase a Dar from the store, he normally has two "blank" eyes.  When the recipient sets a goal, they fill in one eyeball.  Once the goal is accomplished, they fill in the other eyeball.  Neat yah?  Just thought I'd share that with you.

So on to my project... I recently took a class up in Volcano with a couple of friends.  We had a blast making several different types of boxes that can be used for gifts or favors.  I thought this one was nice, especially when used with this japanese printed wrapping paper.  When I came home from the class, I thought it would look cute with my friend Dar on it.  So I added him onto a black circle and then adhered him to the middle of the box.

Here's the side view.

So now that you have met my new friend Dar and know why he's so popular in Japan, here's your chance to win one of your very own.  All you have to do is:

1.  Leave a comment on THIS POST by Saturday, 1/26/13 11:59pm HST
2.  Tell me what your goal is for 2013.

I will pick one random winner to win Dar.  The deadline is earlier this time since I'm off to Japan soon, so I wanted to mail them out before I leave.  Good Luck!

Release #11 Sneak Peek

Happy New Year Everyone!  2012 was a great year but we are looking forward to what 2013 has in store for us!  We are very excited about all the new images that are scheduled for this year and hope that you will like them too.

To ring in the new year, we have some cute new images to share with you!  Take a look....

Come back tomorrow as we begin our introductory posts... you know what that means right?  Yep.. blog candy!  Woo Hoo!  So stop by to meet these cuties and enter for your chance to win.  See ya tomorrow!

A Wicked Thank You

Everyone in Hawaii has "Wicked" fever right now. I was lucky enough to be invited by Aunty Jan to go for my birthday.  All I knew about the story was that it was about the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch of the North's friendship.  It turned out to be awesome!  If you have the opportunity to go and see this play, don't pass it up!  You won't be disappointed!

My daughter especially loved it!  Awhile back, I made her watch The Wizard of Oz.  She didn't want to, but I made her. I told her that she can't go through life without seeing this movie and that she would be missing out on a lot of famous references if she did not understand the basic story.  She was determined not to enjoy it, but I saw her peeking out from behind her book to watch.

So after we saw Wicked, she is crazy about the story!  I guess it helps that her dance studio has decided to do the Wizard of Oz this year for their big performance.

Since Aunty Jan treated us to the play, I decided to make her a special thank you card.  Kept it simple since it wanted the images to stand out.  Totally had fun with this one!

Oki doki... hope you all have the chance to see this performance!

Oh- and don't forget to check back soon for some sneaky peeks of our next release!