Silly Rabbit

Yay!  It's release day!  Can you believe we made it through all 12 images?!

For my last project, I got a little playful.  I guess I was in a rascally mood.  The Rabbit image's expression is to straight and stoic and Daba is so silly and playful, I just had to combine the two together.  While brainstorming ideas on projects, I started laughing out loud when I thought of this...

So I started off by stamping the polaroid from the We Click set by Mama Elephant.  Before I say more, I just have to know if you guys have ever used a polaroid camera before? Me and my co-worker were talking about polariod cameras one day and she told me she's never seen or used one before.  Wa-wa-what???!!  How is that possible?  Then I realized just how young she is, or maybe just how old I am.  Sigh....

Ok back to the card...  I stamped the polariod again onto some Doodlebug scrap paper and cut out the inside rectangle to use as the background, then color and cut out the Rabbit image to mount in the polariod.

The We Click set also comes with a few sentiments that fit perfectly on the polariod. I chose the Say Cheese sentiment because I thought it was funny that the Rabbit wasn't smiling.  I'm sure you know people who do that right?  You say- Say Cheese! and no reaction.  Maybe they are thinking they are smiling in their mind?

Got side tracked again.... So then I stamped and cut out Daba.  I think Daba is a real joker and gets a kick out of his own pranks.  He drew a moustache on the Rabbit!  Bwahahahahaha!

The background paper used was one of my favorites by Amy Tangerine.  I love the camera pattern- especially because it has hearts in the lens!

Forgot to take a photo of the inside, but I used the other sentiment from the We Click set that says "Life is like a camera, face it with a smile".  I'm going to try to think of this statement when I'm having a crappy day.

Thank you for joining us for this release!  We have one more release for 2013 that is coming up next month.  Can't wait to share that one with you!

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.

Make'N Take Banner

I'm super excited to go on my make 'n take tour of Oahu soon!  In between all of the Release #8 projects, I couldn't resist making this Sister Stamps banner!  I'm hoping I can make use of it while doing my make 'n takes.  I'm thinking if I don't have a wall behind me, maybe I can hang it from the table?  Oh well, hopefully I'll be able to use it. I even bought clips for the table in hopes that I can clip it on if needed.

So here's what the banner looks like... I decided to go with a traditional red, black and gold look since its very typical asian.

Since there are 12 letters in Sister Stamps, I thought my bunnies would be perfect on the banner!  Each bunny is different so I took photos of each letter to show you each of them. The letters were custom cut for me by Island Scrapbooking- thanks Michele!  All dies used on the banner are from Papertrey Ink.

So do you like all my bunny friends?  I know you already recognize Daba right? Haven't decided yet if the stamping world needs all 12 of these bunnies, so let me know what you think.  Or tell me which ones you are more likely to buy and I'll give it some thought to which ones I'll have made into stamps.

Don't forget to come check me out at any of our upcoming Make 'n Takes!  Even if you don't have time to stay and make a project, please stop by to say hi!  Here's the schedule:


Wednesday- 7/4/12 (Independence Day)
10am-12pm:  Ben Franklin Mapunapuna
2pm-4pm:     Ben Franklin Pearl City

Thursday- 7/5/12
6:30pm-8:30pm:  A Place in Time (Kailua)

Friday- 7/6/12
10am-12pm:  Ben Franklin Enchanted Lake
3pm-5pm:  Cute Stuff (Pucks Alley)

Saturday- 7/7/12
10am-12pm:  J's Knicknacks
2pm-4pm:   Ben Franklin Market City

Sunday:  7/8/12
11am-1pm:  Stamps & Memories (Aiea)

Bunny High

I'm on a bunny high after getting this card from Aunty Jan!  Don't you just love the bunny washi in the background?  I think that is one of my all time favorite washi paper in my collection.  So much so, that I bought several versions of the same washi in different colors while in Japan!

I gotta say though... my favorite thing about this card is the awesome basket!!! Don't you love it?  I was struggling with trying to figure out how to make a basket on a card for this release, and just couldn't do it, so I was floored when I got this card from Aunty.  I love how she used the same paper and cut a thin strip and just wrapped it around the lip and handle of the basket.  She achieved the basket look without actually weaving it! 

Oh.. those chickies are back again!  And here's a close up of Daba.. don't you love how "he" is now a she just by adding that little bow?

Hope you have a happy hump day!

Supplies:
Washi paper- Paper Intelligence
Spring stamp- Hero Arts
Flowers- All Natural Accents
Daba- Sister Stamps

Daba Treats

Ohayogozaimasu!   Welcome to our release week where we share our Release #6 projects with you!  As usual, Debi will be helping me out this release (thanks Debi!) along with our very special guest designer!!  Any guesses?  Well, I'm a HUGE fan of her's and originally asked her to help me out with an earlier release, but it worked out better that she help us with this one.  Here's a hint.... she loves BUNNIES!  Ok... go check her out here... and then come back and read the rest of this post.

BTW- if you haven't entered to win our Release #6 stamps yet, check out our introductory posts for each image and follow the rules on the Akemi post.  I got a kick out of reading everyone's "daba" and Easter stories, so thank you for sharing them!

 I have another Daba story to share... On Akemi's first trip to Disneyland, we allowed her to take Daba with us.  He accompanied her all through the Magic Kingdom and she even figured out how to transport him around without having to really hold onto him.  She zipped up her jacket and kept his head popped out so he could see- just like a baby kangaroo.  Here's my sis w/Akemi- see how Daba's peeking out?

 More evidence... You can see Daba's ear's peeking out of her jacket in this photo w/Minnie.

Well, after all that fun, we were heading home.  I was exhausted and was pretty much falling asleep at the airport.  I guess both me and my husband were not paying attention, cause when we got on the plane, we did a "Daba check" and couldn't find him!  My husband decided to get off the plane and look for Daba.  Luckily he came back w/Daba in hand before the flight took off.  He found Daba at Security.  Good thing no one took him or they didn't throw him away!  What a good Daddy yah?

Ok, enough Daba stories.  You want to see projects! So I was doing a bit of experimenting to see what Easter treats will fit nicely into these candy stick bags.  I LOVE these bags- can you tell?  Easter is particularly fun since the Easter colors are so pleasing to the eye.  Since Daba is smaller than the rest of our stamps, he fits really nicely on top of the stick bags.  Right now I'm liking the Cadbury Mini Eggs the best (mmmmmm... Mini Eggs!) I think it's cause of their color.  I like how the jelly beans fit nicely but I didn't like the colors too much. I think last year's regular M&Ms were the best.  I'll have to go find a bag of those now.

Here's a close up of the Daba's.  I even added in some grass and dot flowers to the scene cause he looked a little lonely.  Do you like my chickies?  I found them at Ben Franklin.  They wanted to jump in the picture... or did they just want the chocolate?

So my best idea that I wasn't able to execute was to put bunny Peeps into the stick bags!  I tried it on the widest bag, but they didn't fit!  Bummer.  I thought I bought a wider one, but couldn't find it.  Hopefully I find them before Easter!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed today's project.  Check back tomorrow and Wednesday on this blog, Debi's blog and our Guest Designer's blog for more Release #6 fun!  Oh...and Debi might have some candy... I'm just sayin.

Here Comes Daba!

 Welcome to our 2nd Introductory Post for Release #6!  Today I want to introduce to you a very special image.  His name is Daba and he has a lot of sentimental meaning to our family.  In the Akemi post, I told you about Akemi's special relationship with Daba, but now I'll tell you a bit more...

"Daba" is what Akemi started referring to her favorite bunny whenever she wanted him.  We sort of figured it out by trial and error. I think she initially referred to him as "Jaba", but later it evolved to Daba somehow.  Everyone in our family knew that Daba was Akemi's bunny, but as our family grew, "Daba" became a term not only for Akemi's bunny, but also for a child's special item that they can't do without.  For Akemi's cousin (Nobu), it's a washcloth- yes, believe it or not it's a washcloth.  I don't know how my sister-in-law trained him to want a washcloth, but it seems to do the trick... and it's any washcloth- so even if they lose one, he'll make do with another.  Lucky yah?  We are not so lucky with Daba- it has to be him or Akemi knows!!!

My niece (Mei Lin) also has a "Daba", which is a stuffed dog.  I think his name was first "Wolf Wolf" but is now "Lacey".  My brother and sister-in-law bought a 2nd Lacey, but Mei Lin knows which one is the real one and which one is the imposter!

So now the term "Daba" is also a generic term for a child's special item.  Amazing how we make up our own language yah?  Ok, enough about Daba... you probably want to see my project right?  Well, today I have some gift tags that I made for each store that ordered Release #6 images from us.  I sort of cheated by buying pre-made tags!  I couldn't resist... Target had a set of tags in 4 patterns that were so cute.  Daba was small enough to fit on the tag, so I thought, Why Not?  Here's a "group shot".  ha ha ha.

Here's the four different colored tags so you can see what I mean. Cute yah?

Ok more details... Added in some punched grass from my MS grass border punch and topped it off with a tiny flower by All Natural Accents and added some Stickles to it to make it sparkle.  Punched a heart using a Paper Shapers Heart punch and stamped the sentiment which was actually one long strip that I cut in half so that it would fit on the heart. Sentiment was by Studio G.  Popped up Daba using pop dots and finished it off with some ribbon.  Here's a close up of one of the tags.

Part of the reason I love this image is the pose!  I have to admit,  Sis gave me 12 bunny images, so I had a hard time choosing which one to release.  She initially gave them to me since it was Year of the Rabbit when I started making calendars, so I have 11 more to share with you at a later date (if you guys like bunnies!).    I think this one was my favorite, so that's how he got picked.  I also love the fact that you can leave them white and just do some minor coloring and you're done!

Sorry, that turned out to be a pretty long post!  You are probably waiting for the freebie right?  OK here's the deal:
1.  Read yesterday's post on the general rules, deadlines, yadda yadda.
2.  In addition to the rules, tell me a brief story about you and your favorite toy.  I have a good one about Akemi and Daba that I'll share later.  Let's just say she has a really great Daddy!

Coming Soon- Release #6!!!

Can you believe that we are at Release #6??!! It seems like we just started selling stamps a month ago, but now we are at our 6th release!  I know we are still around in large part because of all of you out there, so just wanted to say "Arigato" before I show you our Release #6 images...


So I'm sure you have already peeked at these kiddies already no?  Well formal introductions start tomorrow, so check back soon to get the scoop on these characters.

Oh and don't forget... each Introductory post will include some candy, so don't forget to enter!  See you soon!