Do You Filo?

Welcome to the final day of previews!  I hope you've enjoyed seeing all the projects featuring our new images thus far.  Wanted to thank Kerry for all her help and awesome projects!  Thanks Kerry!

And make sure you check out all the featured Zodiac projects... I'm continuously floored by all the creativeness that goes on using our Chinese animals.  Thanks to Laura, Eunice, and Patti for working so hard all year!

And how can I forget Debi, Eva and Linda!  Don't forget to check out their stuff and Linda's You Tube channel.  She's giving away goodies too, so don't miss out on another opportunity to win!

That being said... wanted to share my final project for this release.  Actually, it not only features our turtle set, but I also included some old favorites in my project!  If you are on You Tube, you may have stumbled on all the filofax craze!  I admit... the first time I saw all the hype, I thought, isn't that just another planner?  Why would you want a regular planner when you can use your smartphone?  As I started watching more and more of those videos, I started to understand why it was catching on again.  I remember having planners while in school and even up to a few years ago.  But gave them up when I got my iphone... now that there's all kinds of FUN stuff to decorate your filofax, I'm back on the bandwagon and loving it.  (much thanks to Nadine Tx, OhaiJoy, and Lfundoo for enabling... Bwahahahaha!).  

So the "authentic" type is made by Filofax, but I didn't really want to spend the money on something I wasn't sure I'd be that into.  So I just got a plain one from my Office Max, and I must say I'm pretty happy with it.  Now I understand the washi tape craze too!  OMG, if you aren't decorating your planner, you gotta try it using all your tapes, stickers, and stamps!

Which brings me to my project.  It's actually a present for my sister. She's coming to visit soon, so I thought this would be a fun present for her.  Instead of a Filofax, I got the BoBunny binder and calendar inserts.  The papers are already cute, so I didn't have to add much except our images to personalize it.  The first page I wanted to share features our turtle set from this release.  I love how it has a To Do section, Notes section and a Don't Forget section.  I think this one also has a pocket, so you can stick in tags and other note.

Here's a better look at our turtle friends.. "Beep Beep"

Here's the other pages- see Yoshimi?

Here's a better look...

And here's Ayako! I think I chose her for this page since sh'e holding an umbrella.

 And can't forget Daba!!!

Otsu had to make an appearance too...

Do you like this next layout?  I had fun hand drawing the kite string..

 And since we don't have any Halloween images (yet- hint hint Denise!).. I colored up Miyoko in her best fall attire and gave her a pumpkin by Dandelion Designs (Hi Jean!).

And finally, Santa rounds out December.  Couldn't have a planner without Setsuna right?

 And here he is...

It was so hard choosing which images I wanted to use in the planner.  Hope you decide to start using regular planners again and decorate them with our images!

Don't forget to enter to win our blog candies by leaving a comment on each of the introductory posts.

Accordion Flip Album Card

I thought I'd better schedule this post before our electricity goes out... We are expecting a tropical storm Flossie soon and everyone's kinda bracing themselves for the worst.  Normally, the Hilo seems to somehow escape all the bad storms and other civil defense emergencies untouched, but I think this time we might be feeling some effects.  So thought I'd better get this ready in case that happens.  Oh, and in the event there is no post tomorrow, you'll know why!

Before I share my project, I just wanted to remind everyone to check out our guest DT's blog... Kerry! Thanks Kerry for helping us out this month!  Go check her out here...

And don't forget!  We also have all the Zodiac girls back this time for some all new release samples.  Check them out here:

Laura

Eunice

Patti

Linda

Linda, Debi, Eva, will also share their sea creature projects with you!  I'm so excited to see what everyone does this month!

As for me, I was inspired by Eunice's card featured here... I finally got my hands on that die by Sizzix called the Accordion flip album  or something like that.  Anyway, I love acetate cards and am always intrigued by them.  When I saw Eunice's card, I knew I wanted to try doing the same with the new sea creatures set.  

Remember what I said about the sea creatures being the perfect friends for our mermaids?  Well, I decided to add Eliana to the project so she could hang out with some of them.  Here she is!  Talking to one of the turtles...

I didn't have anything that looked like seaweed, so I just used some of my yellow stickles and made my own.

Here's one of the starfish...

And everyone's favorite Puffer fish...

And the dolphin talking to the...

Octopus!

And here's the other starfish.. decided to color him yellow.

And one more turtle...

Hope you guys are enjoying all the projects so far!  Wish me luck in getting one more post up!

Yay!

Yay!  It's time to see what all of our DT has come up with!  I'm very excited!! But, before I get started on my project, wanted to reveal who our Guest Designer is for this release!!  This lady has been following us from the beginning and has made some really cute samples using our images.  To find out who it is, check out her blog here...

I have another announcement to make!  Linda will be joining Debi, Eva, and me on a regular basis from now on!  Yay!  Thanks Linda!  So don't forget to check out everyone's posts to see how they used our new sea creatures.

I wanted to do something a little different this time.  Decided to mix up the sets a bit to see how well they work together.  That plastic package comes pre-cut and already had that polka dot print on it.  The colors and dot print reminded me of the ocean, so I thought it would be perfect to use with my new friends.

I cut my own flag and made it using a bamboo skewer.  Used some thickers for the sentiment.  My husband thinks that it's funny how I spell Yay.  Is that incorrect?  Oh well, I just spell it how I say it!

I added one of the turtles and the starfish to the flag. The stafish looks like he's saying "Yay!".

On the package itself, I added the puffer fish and one of the dolphins.  I hear the puffer fish is quickly becoming a favorite.

Here you can see the puffer fish up close.

I have a funny puffer fish story for you.  (I just thought of it while I was writing up the rest of this post).  When me and my husband went to Japan for the first time.. we thought about all the things we wanted to do, see, and eat.   One of the things my husband wanted to try was Fugu or blowfish.  I guess you have to clean it really good, otherwise the person eating it can get very sick.  Just before we went on our trip, my husband told me he had a dream about the fugu...

He dreamt we went to a restaurant that served fugu and he ordered it.  Just as he was putting it to his mouth, the sushi chef came running out and saying "no, no, no, no, no... don't eat!".   We took that as a sign not to try it.  So even on our second trip, he still has not tried the fugu.. but I made him take a picture of them- there's tanks outside of all the restaurants that serve them.

Sorry, just had to share the one puffer fish story I had. :)

Don't forget to check out our guest designer and the rest of the DT!  Be back tomorrow!

SORRY!  Forgot to add that you really really should check out Linda's You Tube Channel today... jus' sayin'.

Year of the Tiger

 Any Tigers out there?  Geez, my family is jam packed with Tigers!!  I have my Aunty, my brother, and two cousins, and a second cousin who are all Tigers.  Part of me wishes I were a tiger too.... only because tigers look so much cooler on merchandise!

Since my brother is in my immediate family, I decided to add him to my layout.  I couldn't find any baby pictures of him, so I went with this one.. I think it's so funny!  I never know what to buy him so one year I bought him the Iron Chef's hat and apron!  He thinks he's the best cook in our family- I'm pretty sure he is too, so that's why I gave him that set.

I decided to try something a little different this time... Awhile back Debi made a wall scroll similar to the type you find in Japan.  Her's was so cute using our images. I copied her idea and made a mini one out of some bamboo skewers and vellum. Stamped "perseverance" on top and added some gold twine to the top.  Secured it to the layout using a mini brad.  I like how the tiger stands out cause he's bright orange.  Here's a better look at the Tiger..

Do you want to win this Tiger cub?  Here's all you have to do:

1)  Leave a comment on THIS POST by 07/31/13 11:59pm HST; and

2) Tell me what is the funniest gift you ever gave someone?! 

Year of the Ox

So do you like the previews so far?  Those little sea creatures have totally won my heart!  But wait... there's more!  Remember- we still have the Chinese Zodiac images that are scheduled to release next month too!  First up is our Ox image. 

Remember I told you earlier that I have family members in almost every zodiac sign?  Well, guess who is Year of the Ox in my family?

Yup, you guessed it.. It's ME!  Your's truly.  I found that I don't have very many baby pictures of myself, so I went through some of my sister's photos and found one of her holding me.  I guess that's what happens when you are the youngest child... hardly any pictures of just you.

For some reason I wanted to use my polaroid stamp by Lawn Fawn.  Stamped another one on the kanji paper and then cut out the square so it fit nicely inside the frame.  Then I colored and cut out the ox.

Let me just say a few things about my sign.  It's not my favorite of the zodiac animals.  The only consolation is that it was SUPPOSED to be the first animal on the boat, but the sneaky rat got on first.  Overall, I think its one of the uglier animals... so I asked my sister to try her best to make it cute.  I think she did a good job!  I think this is the first ox that I've ever liked. :)

The sentiment is from Island Scrapbooking. It was originally for "Year of the Snake" but I just cut off the Snake and used some old Doodlebug rub ons to spell Ox.

So any other Ox's out there?  If you would like a chance to win this Ox stamp just do the following:
1) Leave a comment on THIS POST by 07/31/13 11:59pm HST; and
2) Tell me if you like your Chinese Zodiac sign.

Meet the Turtles

Okidoki... We have three more guys for you to meet today!  Shhhh... don't tell the others, but I think these are my favorite!  It's the turtles!!!

There's actually three of them in the set, but not on my cards to share today.  You'll meet the other guy later on.  Not sure why, but in my head they are talking to each other and going "beep beep beep".  

For some reason, I feel like these turtles just scream little boy cards!  I can't wait to make more project using these little guys!

Beep beep beep...

Wanna win these honus?  Here's all you gotta do:
1)  Leave a comment on THIS POST by 07/31/13 11:59pm HST; and
2)  tell me if you've ever seen a sea turtle on the beach or in the ocean before.  Here in Hilo we see the turtles all the time.  They frequently come very close to shore.  In Punalu'u, turtles frequently can be found on the shore of the black sand beaches.  OR if you live on Oahu, you can head to the north shore where the turtles also hang out.

Hope you enjoyed our introductions to the new sea creature sets!  Be back tomorrow with our new zodiac additions!

More Sea Friends!

YES!  We have yet another SET of sea creatures to add to your collection.  Again, these cuties are sized to work with your mermaid stamps and each of the other sets.  

So I have more store samples to share with you today...  Meet our Octopus Set!  Although our octopus is the main attraction, he has some little friends that add just the perfect touch to your project.  I felt that we needed some little guys too.. they help to fill up some space and make things much cuter!

So following the same pattern as the dolphin samples, I sprayed the backgrounds using my Lindy's and embossed the acetate again using my embossing folders.  Then I added in all the sea critters from this set- the octopus, puffer fish, and starfish.

Here's a better look at everyone..

I think this is my favorite- love how the background turned out.

And here's the last one of  the bunch.

For some reason, the microbeads remind me of sand!  I guess that was the look I was going for.

OK Candy Time!  Don't forget to:
1)  leave a comment on THIS POST by 07/31/13 11:59pm HST; and
2)  tell me if you've ever gone snorkling and if you do- do you like it?  I think you probably know my answer.  Yes, I have before, but I don't really like it.  Yes, Yes, you can shake your head at me now!  I remember taking my husband (then boyfriend) to Hanauma Bay before he moved back to the big island.  Let me tell ya, I did not know that those fish would be so plentiful and so big!!  I guess they must know its a sanctuary, so there are so many fish now!  When I was young, they were much smaller and a lot less of them in the bay.  Let me tell ya, I was scared.  My husband rented snorkling gear and I declined.  I decided to ride on his back while he snorkled.  I think I thought if I didn't see them, they wouldn't freak me out as much. I was wrong.. I was still freaked out.  Haven't returned since.

OK enough about that.  Are you done laughing at me yet?!

Meet Our New Friends!

Helloooo Everyone!

It's time again for another release!  Geez, the weeks are just flying by!  Can you believe it's almost August!?  Because it's still summertime, why not beat the heat with some of our new images that know all about keeping cool...

First up is our new Dolphin Set!  Yes, you get two dolphin images in this set!!  Woo Hoo! Here's some samples I made for the stores...

I immediately thought "shaker card" when I started planning my samples for this release.  I guess the microbeads remind me of bubbles and the acetate reminds me of a tank.  You'll be seeing the same type of cards over the next few days.

Ok... i know my flash is distracting in this one.. SORRY!  I need photography lessons.  Anyway, here's one of the first ones I made...

For all of the backgrounds, I used watercolor paper and sprayed them using my Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays.  It was fun playing with all the different colors.  On the next card, I decided to try embossing the acetate to see what type of effect it would give.  I chose the large dots since it also reminded me of bubbles.  It's hard to see with the flash, but I also stamped "You're a great friend" using a Hero Arts stamp.

I guess I feel like these little dolphins are friends and are talking to each other.  Now I'm not one who normally likes dolphins, but I loved this squished down version a lot!  I begged my sister to draw up some sea creatures and was so happy that she made them look like babies!  Here I embossed the acetate using an old favorite. I think it's a cuttlebug waves embossing folder- one of the first ones I ever bought!  All the microbeads are by Martha Stewart Crafts.

Another note about our new friends... I sized them so that you can use them with our mermaid stamps too!  I think ever maid needs friends right?

So do you want a set of your very own?  Well, here's your chance to win one!  Here's the rules:
1)  leave a comment on THIS POST by 07/31/13 11:59pm HST; and
2)  tell me if you have a favorite sea creature.  I'm really not sure if I have one.  Personally I think i would get scared if I got too close!  You would totally laugh at me if you saw me at Hanauma Bay!

Just Around The Corner...

Wow!  Still recovering from all the birthday hoopla last month, but it's time to start preparing for our next release!

Remember a couple of months ago we released our mermaid collection?  Well, we decided to give the girls some companions this month...  Meet all of our new friends!

And don't forget, its time for the next two animals in our Chinese Zodiac collection:

Be back tomorrow to start the introductions!