Boy's Day Tags

Welcome back to our release week!  So did you guess that our Guest Designer was Vera Yates!?  How cool is that?  Don't forget to check out another project by Vera by checking out her blog here...

And don't forget the rest of our friends who have been working hard to create projects for this release!  Please visit Eunice, Patti, Laura, and Linda for more inspiration on our Chinese Zodiac series and of course Debi who will feature another boy project.  I'm continuously floored by what everyone comes up with!

On to my project for today... I decided to go back to my distress roots since distress inks makes me think of boys for some reason.  I forgot how fun it was playing with the inks that I decided to make this my project for the retailers.    Here's a few that I came up with using Akira...

Sorry, I think my photo skills are off... or is it my eyes?!  These are kinda blurry....

After distressing all the tags, I stamped Akira on the tag. I didn't think I could successfully cut out that kite string, so I thought this would be easier and less frustrating. Then I stamped him again on my copic paper and colored and cut just him and the kite out. Using the stamped image of Akira on the tag as a guide, I adhered him and the kite to the tag over it.  Then I added the Happy Boy's Day sentiment by Mari & Me stamps.

Before adhering Akira to the next tag, I used a Hero Arts background stamp to give it some interest and texture.  I really like the colors on this one..

And on this tag, I used a Tim Holtz stamp by Stampers Anonymous for the background.

Can't believe tomorrow is release day!  Wow, that sure was fast!  Be sure to check back soon to see if you've won our blog candy!

Happy Anniversary!

Before I get to my post, I just wanted to announce who our guest designer is!!!!  This FAMOUS lady is STAMPING ROYALTY.. any guesses?  Let's just say I was flattered when she found us and thought she'd be a great addition to the SS family!  Please check out her blog here and give her some love... 

And don't forget to check out Debi's blog!  She's been a busy girl and made some neat projects just for you!  And we also have the Chinese Zodiac team back with some neat stuff featuring our year of the dog and year of the rooster stamps.  Please check out Laura, Patti, Eunice and Linda to see what they've come up with this time!

You are probably thinking.. what the heck?  Why is she saying Happy Anniversary?  And why is Miyako on the project? 

You guessed it... it's my anniversary present to my husband.  We've been married 12 years!  Crazy.  Time sure flies and now we are really growing old together!  This box was the wrapping to the present I made for him.  I thought Miyako was fitting since she was holding a heart.  She's not just for Valentine's day! This is a view of the top of the box.

And here's a side view...  I used the Graphic 45 Bird Song paper.  Love it!  And the cherry blossoms are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

Here's what was inside....

It's Yoichi!  I made a film reel using the new Tim Holtz Picture Wheel (viewmaster) die.  This project was totally inspired again by Live Love Scrap.  Check out her video here...

First I cut two of the picture wheel using chipboard and then 4 of the same using more Graphic 45 Bird Song paper.  I love this kanji paper!  I decided to mod podge the paper onto the chipboard, so its a bit glossy. Then I distressed the edges using my distress inks.

Here you see Yoichi that I colored and cut out. What you don't see is that I mounted him on some acetate so he's a bit stronger and will stand up.  Added more cherry blossoms by Wild Orchid Crafts next to him.

Here's a better shot of the film strip.  I cut the border using another Tim Holtz film strip die using more Bird Song paper.  Then I printed up some photos from our recent Japan trip and placed them into the strip.  I also added a strip behind it so that the pictures could be mounted onto the strip.  Sizzix needs to make a coordinating die for the back of the film strip yah?

Here's a close up of the film strip.  Here you can see all the small photos I printed.  I think you might be able to also use photos from an index print?  Not sure though as I haven't tried that.  I only print on my computer.

My husband loved this present.  I'm glad since it's almost like a mini album of our trip to Japan.  We had so much fun that I thought that's what he would like the best.

Hope you are enjoying our release so far! Don't forget to check out our guest designer and the rest of the designers that have prepared special projects just for you!  See you tomorrow!

Miss You!

Do you own a pet?  I have a doggie named Kiki.  It really is true what they say about dogs.. they are loyal and truly man's best friend.  All she wants is to have everyone at home and someone to snuggle with. 

I had Kiki in mind when I made this card.  This doggie is actually part of our Chinese Zodiac set, but as you can see, you can use him for other types of projects.. not just for Chinese New Year.   Although Kiki doesn't look like this dog, he reminds me of her since he looks like he is just waiting for his master to come home.

Keeping this in mind, I used my window die by Memory Box and created a fake window for the doggie to peek out of.  I used some lace to make curtains on the inside and added some acetate behind the window to make it look more realistic.

I also used the Memory Box flower box. I've been meaning to use this die for awhile now to create a window scene, so I thought this was my opportunity to use it. I love how you can pop out the flower box and add in some flowers to make it look even more realistic!

Below the window, I added a Doohickey Dies fence- this is my favorite fence die!  I love that it has hearts cut out at the top of each board.  After I added the fence, I glued on some flowers and a vine along the left side of the card.

To finish it off, I added some alphas by My Little Shoebox for the title... Also used my Doodlebug and Kaisercraft pearls.

 If you would like the chance of winning our Year of the Dog stamp just do the following:
1.  Leave a comment on THIS POST by March 31, 2013 11:59pm HST.
2.  Tell me if you have a pet and what it is you love about them.

Good Luck!  Don't forget to check in tomorrow to find out who our Guest Designer is for this release!!

Cock-A-Doodle-Doo!

Cock-a-doodle-doo!  Good Morning Stampers!  Time to rise and shine and see what new image we are introducing today!  Perhaps I'm high off of just finishing this project in time to post, but I'm super excited to show you this project featuring our Year of the Rooster stamp. 

I have to admit.. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with my rooster friend here.  Maybe cause it's almost Easter... I kept thinking, which did come first?  The chicken or the egg?  Then my husband tried to give me some ideas, but none of them fit what I wanted to do.  So I guess it took procrastinating to the last minute for me to figure out what I wanted to create using this rooster.

Here's what I finally came up with...  a recipe book!

I tried searching YouTube for some ideas and everything that came up was very country looking.  So I got inspired and took this idea and came up with this recipe book.  Because I'm also into mixed media, I thought adding the real chicken wire would be so cool!  I just had to do it!  Luckily I had some pre-painted chicken wire scraps that I was able to use on this project.

I started by adding some lace trim I got at a rummage sale.  Then I laid a strip of October Afternoon paper in gingham.  Adhering the chicken wire was the tricky part... had to hot glue it down and hold it until it set without getting burned.

After the groundwork was laid, I pulled out my Martha Stewart sunflower embellishments. I really liked these flowers and thought they really matched the country theme I was going for.

To finish it off, I added the "recipes" title using Thickers. There was just enough room... good thing I had the smaller sized alphas!

And here's a close up of the rooster.

Want a chance to win this guy?  OK.. here's the rules:
1.  Leave a comment on THIS POST letting me know why you want this rooster stamp.
2.  Leave a comment by March 31, 2013 11:59pm HST.

Now why am I suddenly craving eggs?  See you tomorrow!

Introducing... Yoichi!

Yes, the day has finally come where I can share our Taiko player image!  I think a lot of you probably already know that my husband is a Taiko player and heads the group Puna Taiko here in Hilo... well, actually Puna.  He started off as one of the students in this community group that mostly contained senior citizens that were also church members.  Rev. Ikeda taught the group what he knew, and then he pretty much handed the group over to my husband.  They have been around for about 10 years now and it has evolved to be a youth group and a recreational adult group.  Gee, has it really been almost 10 years?  Time sure flies.

To say that my husband loves taiko is an understatement.  He lives and breathes Taiko.  In fact, he has a bumper sticker on his car that says "Eat, Sleep, Taiko". That pretty much sums it up.  Our neighbors knows us as the Taiko house because our garage becomes a drum building, stand making, skin stretching workshop throughout the year.  Whenever he has a free moment, he is listening to taiko, reading up on taiko, watching taiko videos, chatting with the kids about upcoming performances, etc....  I guess that's how I am with craft stuff, so I can't complain.

On our first trip to Japan, we went to the Miyamoto store in Asakusa.  He was literally a kid in a candy store.. pure heaven!  After we left with several bags of supplies, he turned to me and said... "now I know how you feel when you go craft shopping".   FINALLY!  

I guess you could say my husband was the inspiration for this image.  When my sister sent me this image, he was pretty much drooling over it... so how could I not name the image after him? Yes, Yoichi is my husband's name.  I think it kinda looks like him when he had hair.. HA! (Please note that he is bolo head by choice).

So I turned to my husband for more inspiration when making this project.  We were throwing around ideas of what I could do for a project using Yoichi and it evolved to this....

He told me that the group needed a message board to hang in their store room at the church.  I had bought a bunch of $1 wipe boards from Target when I found them in the dollar bin, but never did anything with them.  So I dug around in my closet and finally found them buried in some boxes.  Yay!  The board is not very big, looks like it's a little bigger than an 8 1/2 x 11" paper.  (Sorry, I didn't measure it).

I decided to keep it simple and added a strip of washi paper to the right and then crossed over it with a red "flag" across the top.  Then I got some foam Thicker letters and spelled "puna taiko".  At first I added Yoichi over the cross section, but Yoichi himself suggested I mount him on a circle. I think he stands out much better now! Thanks Paul!

Here's a better look at Yoichi.

I guess Paul was happy with the sign because before I could even take a photo, he had taken it to the Hongwanji where they practice and mounted it in their storage room.  He had to take these photos for me.

Ok... now for more candy!  If you would like to win Yoichi, just do the following:
1.  Leave a comment below on THIS POST by  March 31, 2013 11:59pm HST.
2.  Tell me what you are passionate about!

Good luck!  Don't forget to stop by tomorrow to check out our next Chinese Zodiac installments!

Meet Akira!

Yes!  We are at release #12!  Can you believe it?  Now we have 38 images available in our line and we have a lot more to come! Later this week I'll be introducing our guest designer for this release, so check back all this week to join in on the fun.

First things first... our first introduction for this release is Akira.  No, he is not named after that popularly epic anime cartoon that everyone talked about in the 80's.  This image is actually named after my friend's (Miyoko) son. (Who knows, maybe that's why they name their son Akira?) He is very active, so I thought this image fit him well.  He is always doing something... baseball, hiking, surfing, paintball... you name it!  So the boy flying the kite was a perfect match if I do say so myself.  

No, on to the project... Recently, all of my internet time has been focused on You Tube.  I'm positively hooked on watching tutorials, project shares, and haul videos from fellow crafters.  My family makes fun of me because they often find me on the couch or in my bed with my ipad open and the tutorial playing while I'm sleeping.  I'm telling ya... if you are having a hard time sleep.. craft videos seem to do the trick.  Even when I want to stay awake to watch them!  

One of my favorite channels (don't worry, it won't put you to sleep) is by LiveLoveScrap.  She has great ideas that just floor me every time.  I was so inspired by this project... that I made this... using the Tim Holtz pocket watch die and circle inserts.  Yes, I'm still on the shabby chic bandwagon, but shabby + boys do not mix, so I had to think of how to incorporate this cool project  using my new boys.....

Then in hit me.....Akira was the perfect stamp to go with this project!  It reminds me of Ben Franklin (no not the store) when he flew his kite... didn't he have a pocket watch too?  Well, if he didn't... let's just pretend that he did.  ha ha ha.  So I decide to use Akira and FINALLY try out Amy's sepia copic techniques.  Not sure if I followed her correctly, but here's my shot at it.  You should really check out Amy's tutorials.. They are awesome! Thanks Amy!  I finally did it!

So I went with a vintage feel- which works nicely with our vintage Japanese images.  I cut several layers of chipboard with the circle die inside the pocket watch to create the layered pieces.  Then I cut one without the circle cut out for the back piece.  On the top layer, I cut another piece of the pocket watch using acetate.  Before adding it to the top, I filled the watch using some trinkets from Prima, a coin from my stash, and the Tim Holtz movers and shapers gears.  Also added in some cherry blossoms and roses from Wild Orchid crafts.  Do you like the bird on the gear?   While we are looking at this photo, I want to point out that I replaced the string on the image with actual twine.

Here's a better look at the kite and the flowers I added. to the top... Oh and the chain you see is really a chain.. I added some gems to the ends of it.  If you scroll up you will see it better.  You can also see the crystal flourish I added by cutting up parts of the prima flower crystal flourish.

This was the first time I made something so vintage looking.  Even though it was a boy project, I couldn't help putting flowers on it.  At least it was brown flowers right?

So do you want a chance to win Akira?  Here's all you gotta do:

1.  Leave a comment on this post and tell me what your favorite You Tube channel is.
2.  Tell me if you've ever watched Akira.  I did when I was in high school, but for the life of me, I can't recall what it was about!
3.  Oh yah.. deadline to post is Sunday, March 31st 11:59 HST.  Good Luck!

Don't forget to check back tomorrow to meet the Taiko Drummer!

Sister Stamps Release #12 Coming Soon!

Well Hello there!  I've been busy getting ready for our next release, which is coming up on April 1st!  We have more boys for you this month to help you prepare for boy's day coming up in May, and we also have a couple more installments of our Chinese Zodiac series.

Here's a sneaky peek of who's coming up....

Couldn't be more excited to bring these images to you as they have been waiting patiently for their time to shine.  Check in tomorrow to meet these guys and a chance to win some candy!

And The Winner Is.....

Before I announce the winner, I just wanted to say... Wowee!  Can't believe how many of you Facebookers saw that post and liked it!  Since the response was overwhelming, I think I'll give away more than one prize!...

Go to our Facebook page to see if you won!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sister-Stamps-LLC/157697090965289

Happy Girl's Day!

Hi Everyone!  Just popping in to let you in on a secret...  Check out the link  below to see what I'm talking about!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sister-Stamps-LLC/157697090965289

Happy Girl's Day!

Miyoko Book Bag and Charm

Happy Aloha Friday!  I'm off today so I thought I'd post something to entertain you...

My sister is the artist, but dabbles in crafting once in awhile.  I guess she got bit by the crafting bug for the holidays and made a bunch of these bags as gifts for family.  She's very well versed on the computer, so all of her work was primarily done there.  She altered Miyoko a bit by taking away her cupcake and added in a parasol.  Love it!  She found some canvas bags while in America, so she printed the image onto some transfers and ironed them onto the bag.

Here's a closer look at Miyoko...

And her real love is beading, so she added a matching charm!  She knows I love hearts, so she used a heart clasp for this one..

And here's a close up of Miyoko.  The charm was made using some heart shaped marbles/glass we found at Ben Franklin here in Hawaii.

She made a few more, so I'll check if she has more photos to share.  I know she gave one to my mom, so I'll try to get a photo the next time I go home.  Until then, wanted to let you know to check our facebook page regularly to see what other Sister Stamp fans come up with!  You can visit our page here...