It's Release Day!

We made it!  It's our 7th Release and I'm so excited to hear back from all of you on how you like our stamps!  Can't wait to see all the samples in blogland too.

First of all, I have to give a BIG mahalo to Kris, our Guest Designer for this release!  Thanks Kris!  And to my girl Debi for always helping me out!  You rock!

Ok on to my last project.  Decided to go all out and make a Waterfall Mini album!  Found many tutorials online and on YouTube, so you can just do a google search for them or on YouTube for the instructions.  For some reason I love this WAAAAAY more than the original Waterfall card.

Here's the cover- honors goes to Katsura.  Do you like my red snapper?  I got it at a local store in downtown Hilo.  They import things from Japan- need to remember to check them out more regularly.  Unfortunately its too soon to get any of the small boy's day koi that comes with candy filled sticks that you can find around boy's day. I know we had a couple from past boy's days but can't seem to find them in my messy house. Thought about buying a regular one that you hang above your house, but those are waaaaay too big to fit in this photo!  So red snapper fish will have to do.

Picked this washi paper as the constant in the album.  Love the masculinity of it (is that a word?)  Next up is Yoshi- posed him in a somersault position so he looks like he's really tumbling!

Page 2 features an old favorite- Nobu! Yes, he snuck into this mini just to say hi!

The next page features Kenichi and his doggie...

And this last page features Keitaro!  He wanted to join in the fun too!

 

There's actually one more page behind Keitaro, but I didn't have any more small boy stamps that would fit!   Anyway, I'm thinking I can add on the photos on the back side of the pages and add journaling to the pages with the boys.  What do you think?

Ok so if you've been reading all of my posts, I didn't really answer the question of how I cheated in cutting out the images right?  You are probably thinking- are you ever going to answer that question?  Well, on the Katsura tag, I didn't cut out the string part of the fish.  It would've been too thin, and since I had placed him on a colored background, it looked funny with the white showing through... So I played around with my copic markers until I found the right color that was the same as the background and colored that space up to match.  I did the same for the area in between Kenichi and the doggie.  There!  Now you know my secret!

So hope you had fun with this release!  Can't wait to see what you all come up with!  Enjoy!  Be back soon with the Release 7 candy winners.

Nobu Notes

For a little change, I decided to try adding in "notes" to the bottom of the magnetic board. That way the recipient will know what its for right? This time used Nobu on some dragonfly washi paper (again from Japan). I'm glad I bought this washi, even though its pastel, I can still use it for boy stuff. Plus I like the look of asian dragonflies. I used use asian dragonfly prints all the time when I used to sew (yes, I used to sew many moons ago).


Anyway, thought I should add in a boy magnetic board in case someone is looking for a boy version.

Peace Man

Sorry about the image quality, but I'm still learning how to use my new camera. Thought I was smart by waking up early to utilize "natural" light, but it's been so darn dark lately, that that plan didn't work and I ended up having to use my flash anyway.

So I fell in love with this background paper and felt it screamed Nobu. I guess it reminds me of bamboo for some reason, so I dressed Nobu in green so that he would match. Embossed the peace kanji in gold on black paper this time and added it next to Nobu for some interest. Sorry, I guess I forgot to take a close up!


Supplies:
Coasters- Papertrey ink
Binder rings- Office Max
ribbon
2012 calendars
Nobu- Sister Stamps
Peace kanji stamp- Fiskars
DP- SEI

Just For You

The last time I went home, Aunty asked me to teach her how to blend using Copics. So we had a play date and I taught her what I know (which isn't much). When I saw this card I was so impressed with her coloring! I love how she colored up Nobu's kimono and hair. I think she did a great job!
We saw this embossing folder while craft shopping together. It didn't catch my eye, but it sure caught Aunty's and now I know why! That folder sure made a cute background for Nobu's playful spirit! And here's a close up of Nobu...


BTW, the sentiment is by Hero Arts and the embossing folder by Darice. Thanks Aunty for this cute sample!

Nobu Treat Bag

Are you ready for some fun? The countdown has begun and you only have to wait 3 more days to get your hands on the new releases! How exciting no? Well, to tide you over until you can get them, I have a surprise for you... My CBFF (crafting BFF) Debi will be sharing a few samples using our new images on her blog AND we have a special GUEST DESIGNER this month who will also be joining us for this release. Click here to see who it is...

And now for my project. Decided to make a treat bag today instead of a regular card. Recently picked up this cool die by Papertrey Ink and wanted to try it out. Since the design was not too girly, I decided to use Nobu on it. Love love love this paper by Creative Imaginations as it uses one of my favorite color combos- light green and light blue in an asian theme!


Still practicing that hair. BTW... our Guest Designer has been a major hair influence on me! I think you know by now right? If not, go back to that link and check out who our mystery designer is.



Don't forget, you still have a few more days to enter our blog candy! Go back to our introduction posts for 4 chances to win! Good Luck and see you right here tomorrow!

Be Happy Everyday!

I was thrilled to see this card in the stack from Aunty. True story... I was at a local craft store with Aunty one day and we were looking at samples. I pointed one out to her with the same look as the bamboo in this card (American Traditional Stencils) and told her how much I liked it. She looked at me and said (very humbly I might add), that she made that card and that she actually taught a class on how to do it! But when she told me that it involved stencils, I cringed since I'm not really a stencil fan. After giving it some thought, I asked Aunty if she would teach me how to do this technique anyway.

So on another visit home, she came to my mom's and brought all her supplies, and taught me how to do this technique. It really wasn't that hard, so I'm not sure why I hesitated so much, but believe me... my card did not come out as nice as her's did. So, I leave this to her and pray she gives me cards using this technique. I guess that all that praying worked cause now I have one! Thanks Aunty! I like the sentiment on this card cause this card makes me Be Happy Everyday! (Hero Arts)

Got one more Aunty Jan card to share tomorrow so stop by to check it out!

Here Comes Nobu!

Hooray! Our first boy image is finally here! Yes, we have our first boy all because of you! On one of our first posts, we asked you what you wanted to see from us and the response was overwhelming! So my sister got to work and produced more y chromosomes just for you. Nobu is the first of our boys and was not originally planned for our 2nd release, but we couldn't wait to introduce him to you, so I slipped him in.

Nobu is named after my only nephew- or "Baby Z" as his Mommy calls him. Its funny, cause whenever I picture someone named Nobu, I picture an old Japanese man, not a toddler. Baby Z was actually named after Grandpa K., so I guess it is a name from an older generation. This image is so fun and carefree, kinda like Baby Z. I like how my sister put that toy in his hand. Did you ever have that drum toy? It looks like the one from Karate Kid 2 (ok if you don't know what I'm referring to, please go netflix that movie and then come back and finish reading this post).
Here's a close up of Nobu. I've been studying the hair on Mei Lin from the card that Mama gave to me. I'm slowly figuring it out, but not quite there yet. This is the first time I'm coloring up Nobu and it was so much fun! Its nice that his hair is short and not so time consuming as some long hair can be. He is making me hungry for some Tomoe Ame candy or Tomoe Arare!



Don't forget to leave a comment on THIS POST for a chance to win Nobu. In addition to the regular rules listed on the Ayako post, tell us what other types of boy images you would want to see.

Supplies:

• Nobu stamp- Sister Stamps
• Washi paper- from Japan
• Circle die- Spellbinders
• Cardstock- Bazzil
• Dew Drops
  

2nd Release Images Revealed...

Hooray! Its time to show you our 2nd release images!! I know a lot of you have already seen 3 of the 4 new releases either on my personal blog or on local retailer blogs, but I thought we should do an official reveal here on the Sister Stamps blog....



I told you there would be a surprise! Yes, it's a boy! You asked, we listened. In fact, my sis got very inspired by all the comments left during our last release, and went right to work on some boy images. (That's right, I said images... plural).

Along with our boy-san, we have three little girls that you've been waiting for! Stay tuned for introductions and samples using our new releases! We have some other surprises along the way so check back for all the fun!