It's Akemi-chan!

As my daughter would say...."FINALLY!"  She has been patiently awaiting this release for months now and the time has finally come for me to introduce Akemi to all of you.  Akemi means something to the effect of bright and beautiful, but according to Reverend, it also meant something about a beautiful child born in the morning?  Well, that's not why we picked that name... Initially, we wanted to name Akemi after my mom (remember Miyono?), but Mom didn't like that idea, so I asked her to pick a name if she didn't want us to name our daughter after her.  Her first suggestion was Kiyomi, but that was my sister's name, so we went with her 2nd choice,which was Akemi.

There is a very special reason why this image was named after her.  You see, I had asked my sister to come up with some images featuring kids with pets, and she took it a step further and transformed this idea and personalized it for Akemi.  My daughter's BFF is her stuffed bunny "Daba".  Daba has been a faithful companion since Akemi's first Easter and they have been inseparable ever since.  I just love how this image features Akemi showing her stuffed bunny to a real bunny... priceless!

 
Here's the very first project I made using Akemi.  I covered a pressboard frame with some of the washi paper I got from Japan.  Added a punched gold strip and then placed Akemi over it. If you are wondering why Daba is plaid looking and is colored pink, you'll see why in the next photo....

 

So here's Akemi with her BFF Daba.  This was shortly after she got Daba- I can tell because he's still pink and still has a nice bow.  Well, the bow is long gone and Daba is now a brownish pink color.  You can barely see his checkerboard pattern anymore, but Akemi can still tell it's him.. She just smells his ears and she can tell.  If you've ever read the story of Knuffle Bunny, you understand the relationship between Akemi and Daba.

Here's Akemi shortly after she turned 1.  Now that she was more mobile, she dragged Daba along wherever she went.  I have more stories about Daba that I'll share a little later.

So even though we are releasing this image at Easter, you don't have to use it just for that.  To me it's something I can use year round and also in my scrapbooking.


So now that you know a little about Akemi and Daba, you'll understand why this is my favorite image!  I want you to have a chance to win this stamp too, so here's all you have to do:

1. Publicly follow this blog if you haven't done so already.
2. Leave a comment on THIS POST by 02/29/12 11:59pm HST.
3. Just for fun, tell me if you had a favorite toy you couldn't live without.

I hope once you get Akemi, she will become your favorite image too!  Good Luck!