Maneki Ornament

I know, Christmas is over, but I just had to share this with you!  My sister showed me this on one of our Skype sessions and I loved it!  She painted the Maneki Neko image on the computer and blew it up so that it would fit in the ornament.  The ornament is a paper mache disc looking shape that she found at Michaels.  My sister is also a beader, so you will notice the beading underneath the base of the ornament...

And check out the side view... Love how she covered the side.  I need to find out from her what she used.

I'm hoping she makes one for me.. (hint hint!)

Lucky Magnets

We are nearing the end of our sneak peeks and soon you'll be able to pick them up at your favorite retailer or online.  Just wanted to thank Suilan for an awesome job with our new release.  Please check out her blog and send her some love!  And also give a shout out to the Chinese Zodiac team that has been working hard on samples for that release.  Thanks to Patti, Eunice, Laura and Linda!  I feel so fortunate to have such a talented group of ladies help me out throughout this year!  Thank you for all the great inspiration!  And who can forget Debi!  So glad to have you back girl!

The nice thing about a smaller image is that you can make projects that you can't do when the images are too large.  One of them is marble magnets.  These flat marbles were found at Ben Franklin and are the perfect size to cover the lucky charm images.

After coloring up the images using my copics, I applied a layer of mod podge to the marble (flat side) and then adhered the image to the marble.  Then I punched out a circle using the Graphic 45 paper (can you tell this is one of my favorites!?) and applied another layer of mod podge over the image's backside and affixed the circle to the back of the image.  Here's what they look like when they are dry.

After they are dry, you can glue a magnet to the back and use them on your fridge or other metal surface.  Here's a close up of each image.

Hope you've been inspired throughout the week with all of the projects our team has put together.  Hope to see what you all come up with once you ink these guys up!

Good Luck Li See

So are you enjoying all of the projects so far?  Hopefully you'll find some inspiration along the way... today we have even more samples as the Chinese Zodiac team is back again to share some samples using our new Sheep and Monkey images!  Woo Hoo!  In case you forgot who helped us out last time, here's a list with their blog links so you can be sure to check them out and give them some love...

Patti's blog:  http://creationsbypatti.blogspot.com/

Linda's blog:  http://simpleandsassycreations.blogspot.com/

Eunice's blog:  http://astarforchiemi.blogspot.com/

Laura's blog:  http://bytkg.blogspot.com/

And don't forget to stop by Suilan & Debi's blogs for more Lucky Charm goodness..

For my next project, I wanted to share the samples I made for the retailers.  With every new release, I try to give the stores that will carry the new images a sample that they can use to display one of the images.

I used the Tim Holtz mini envelope (looks like an office envelope) die to cut the base out.  They were much smaller than I had anticipated, but they totally reminded me of the li see packets!  In fact, they are the perfect size for giving gift cards or adding pockets to your smash books!  The possibilities are endless.  

I kept the samples pretty simple this time.  Added a strip of washi paper, punched a 2" circle and added the image along with a good luck sentiment that I picked up at Island Scrapbooking.

Since the theme was "good luck", I thought these would be perfect to give to someone who is going to VEGAS!!  I'll have to remember that next time.

And here's the same sample using the Maneki Neko.

So don't forget to check out the rest of the guest designer's posts!  I can't wait to see them myself!  Stop by tomorrow for more fun...

2013 Smash Book

Did you like all the sneak peeks so far?  Well, we have more projects to share over the next few days, so remember to stop by to see all the neat stuff our guest designers have been busy working on...

And now it's time to announce who our guest designer is for this release!  I actually met this talented gal right here in Hilo.  She took a couple of classes for me before and has participated in a couple of my craft fairs.  Any guesses?  I guess you'll have to follow the link to see who I'm talking about...

And more surprises... Debi's back!  Yay!!  She had to take care of business during our last release, but we are soooooo happy to have her back. Things just weren't the same without you girl!  Please visit her here to see what she has up her sleeve....

It's official, my curiosity has gotten the best of me.  I'm finally jumping on the Smash Book bandwagon! I finally committed and bought me a new Fuji Instax camera which is awesome for smash-booking.  No excuses.  Your picture prints out (polaroid style), so you can't say that you need to wait to print up your pictures to start scrapping.  They even have some ca-ute film with borders like Hello Kitty, etc.! Can't wait to bust them open on my trip to Japan!!

So, since I'm getting back into scrapbooking- smash book style, I decided to make my own using our new images.  Here's the cover of my book.  I had two chipboard pieces that I used as my covers and covered them with some Graphic 45 Bird Song paper- my fave!  Decided to model my book like a planner/scrapbook, so I used the date to be my title.  See Maneki Neko and Daruma?  They are small but make such cute accents!

Here's a close up of the two lucky charms..

Oh, and I like it when people add charms to their books, so I attached a few from my stash. Finally putting them to use!

Here's the first page... Since the Daruma is all about goal setting, I thought it might be good to document my goals for 2013.  I distressed the edges with Distress Ink in Vintage Photo and then stamped all images using brown archival ink (by Ranger) .  I also found a kanji stamp for "success", which I thought was very fitting for this layout.  The 2013 stamp was actually individual numbers from a Papertrey ink set.  I just arranged them into a 2013 and stamped it twice on the page.

Here's a close up of the Darumas.....

I thought it would be a good thing to identify my plan for success, so I added another page using Maneki Neko since he's a symbol for good fortune.  The background stamp used was from a Fiskar's set.  I also stamped a kanji for "good fortune".  How fortunate I had it! :)

And here's the kitty's hanging out...

 Finally, I added a page for general "notes" and used the Kokeshi doll for accent.  I don't know if you can see, but I also stamped a "things to do" in the background.  This is also from another Papertrey Ink set.

And here's a close up of the doll...

I love how you can use these images separately or together.  Don't forget to find out who our guest designer is and see what Debi's been up to!

And don't forget to check in tomorrow for more fun!  The Chinese Zodiac team is back with samples using our next two animals, so don't miss out!

Beckoning Kitty

I'm sure you are familiar with our next image... You must've seen them in local businesses (in Hawaii for sure!).  It's Maneki Neko, or the beckoning cat.  This cat is thought to bring good luck to the owner.  There are several types and colors that bring different meanings.. For more info on the Maneki Neko, check out wikipedia here...

Our Maneki Neko has his left paw up, which I guess means he is welcoming in customers.  There are many other versions that you may see, including a black cat (health), gold cat (wealth), right paw up (good luck and wealth). 

I found this cute Maneki Neko figure to go along with my project.  I'm not sure if you can tell, but my project is a checkbook cover.  Before Christmas, my boss asked me to make her a few different checkbook covers since she had multiple checking accounts.  All she asked is that they looked different so that she would know which one was which.

Here's a better look at the cats...

And an even closer look at one of them.

And thought you might want to see the Maneki Neko up close.

Hope you like our version of Maneki Neko!  I am hoping to visit the Imado Shrine to see the huge Maneki Neko's on our upcoming trip.  We totally missed out on it last time!

So do you want to win this charming cat?  Here's what you gotta do:

1.  Leave a comment on THIS POST by Saturday, 1/26/13 11:59pm HST
2.  Tell me what good luck charms you keep... Can't wait to hear what you consider to be "lucky"!

Release #11 Sneak Peek

Happy New Year Everyone!  2012 was a great year but we are looking forward to what 2013 has in store for us!  We are very excited about all the new images that are scheduled for this year and hope that you will like them too.

To ring in the new year, we have some cute new images to share with you!  Take a look....

Come back tomorrow as we begin our introductory posts... you know what that means right?  Yep.. blog candy!  Woo Hoo!  So stop by to meet these cuties and enter for your chance to win.  See ya tomorrow!