Smile Li-Li!

Did you have a nice weekend?  I had a blast visiting some crafty friends and catching up.  A much needed mini getaway!

Before I left on my trip, I managed to finish up my Release #13 projects.  I showed this little bag I made out of washi paper that was cut from a Lifestyle Crafts die I picked up at an LSS earlier.  The size is good- enough to slip in some goodies for RAKs. I like the fact that I could cut the bag out of paper of my choice.  Since you never see washi paper mini bags, I love the fact that now I can make my own!  This particular washi paper was given to me by my friend Susan- Thanks Susan!  She brought this all the way back from Japan.  So nice of her to share with me. :)

So After I put the bag together, I thought that it was nice to fold down the top and then punch holes to hold a ribbon.  Since the top of the bag is curved, it looks really finished.

Its hard to tell from the photo, but the heart was cut from a frosted metallic red cardstock ,which goes so nicely with the washi paper.  After coloring and cutting out Li-Li, I added a little pin flag that says "Smile".  I found a bunch of these Bella Blvd flags at my LSS on sale.  Good find!

After I showed this project to my husband, he told me it reminds him of those little jewelry bags his sister used to get all the time. I guess it does sort of remind me of those too!

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to stop in and say hello to Debi and Eva!  Be sure to drop by tomorrow for our last day of sneak peeks before you can pick up your stamps!

Meet Li-Li!

Hi Stampers!  Can't believe it's time for our next release!  So excited to bring you some new images that have been in the works for awhile now.  The next image in our kids with pets series is Li-Li!  Li-Li has been hanging out waiting for her turn to be released for quite some time now, and her turn has finally arrived!

As a kid, I was drawn to pandas... not really sure why I liked them but I recall liking them more than your average bear.  Pandas were not that popular when I was growing up, so I was happy to see them become popular now!  

I was so happy to receive this image from my sis!  Doesn't every girl want her very own panda?  Since this cutie is dressed in Chinese clothes, I decided to give her a Chinese name.  Hmmmm... already named two images after my nieces, so those names were out.  Then it donned on me that my sister-in-law who is Chinese must have a Chinese name right?  So I asked her what her Chinese name is.... to my surprise, her Chinese name is actually her American name!  I totally did not know that "Lilly" was the American version of her real name which is Li-Li.  Love it!  And that's how Li-Li got her name...

Now that you know a little bit more about how Li-Li got her name.. on to the project!  I am still on my You Tube addiction and stumbled on Bona's (Live Love Scrap) innovative use of Tim Holtz dies, or any dies for that matter!  Now when I first saw this "Tick Tock" die by Tim Holtz, I thought to myself... who would want that die?  For one thing, it's big.  Only good for scrapbook layouts.  Secondly, what would I do with an alarm clock?  Then I saw Bona's project that turned the alarm clock into a shaker/shadowbox!  She's so smart yah?  Thanks Bona for all the inspiration!

So I finally got my hands on that alarm clock die and came up with this shaker...

In order to accomplish the deep shaker, I cut multiple layers of chipboard using the Tick Tock die.  Then adhered them together and sealing it off with some acetate.  Before closing it up, I added in some cherry blossoms from Wild Orchid Crafts, gold dew drops and an asian coin from my stash.   The background paper used was from the Graphic 45 Bird Song collection- totally my favorite of the set!

Here's a closer look at Li-Li...

It's giveaway time!!!!  Isn't that the funnest (is that a word) part about our introductions?  Here's the deets:
1.  Leave a comment on THIS POST by 04/30/13 11:59 HST.
2.  Share any innovative way you've used dies or other tools to make a project!  I love hearing new ideas!

Check in tomorrow for more Release #13 fun!

Release #13 Coming Soon!

Wow!  This month has flown by!  Can't believe its time for another release!!  It's been awhile since we released some girls, so I thought I'd sneak this release  in between our Zodiac releases.

Here's a sneak peek at the images scheduled to arrive on 05/01/13...

Be back tomorrow with introductions!!