Meet Sweet Yuki...

This sweet little girl is Yuki. I love Yuki. In fact, I think she just might be my favorite image thus far. You can really tell how much she loves everything she got in her stocking!


Yuki means Blessing/Snow, and I thought that would be an appropriate name for this little girl. Don't you? She really really really reminds me of my sister at Christmas time. My sister LOVED Christmas. I did too, but not as much as she did as a child. Whenever I see this image, it totally reminds me of her and a story I hear almost every year around Christmas time. My mom knew my sister wanted a Barbie dream house for Christmas. Well, times were not so great and back then, and a Barbie dream house cost a pretty penny. If I recall correctly, mom scrimped and saved and finally had enough to get it on Christmas eve. I think it was the last one left at the store too. She told me it was worth every penny to see the look on my sister's face on Christmas morning. Hey... how come I never got that Barbie dream house as a hand me down??? I just realized that... hmmmm....


Anyway, back to the card. As you can see I used my favorite layout of circle, washi strip on the side and sentiment on the bottom. I guess that really is my go-to layout. As you can tell, I colored her up before I got brave enough to try Mama's hair coloring technique.


Now for a closer look at Yuki and what's in her stocking... I LOVE LOVE LOVE that puppy dog. He is just the cutest! And, did anyone have that toy in her stocking? I remember my brother and sister brought that back from Japan . I could never do it back then, but I remember watching my brother play with it a lot. Wish I found one on my trip earlier this year! Guess I have to add that to my list for next trip. Oh yes, and not to forget the sentiment and banner stamps are by Lawn Fawn (my favorite).



Ok, by now you should know the drill right? If not, refer to yesterday's introductory post on Setsuna for the blog candy rules... Oh, and let me know what your favorite Christmas present was as a kid. I'm dying to find out! I remember one year it was a cash register. What does that say about me huh?

Here Comes Setsuna!

Setsuna (or calm snow) is the first of our Release #3 images. He was actually my brain child as I love Santa images and suggested the idea to my sis. I have a soft spot for Santa's and love how she incorporated Santa into our line. I really didn't expect any holiday images for this year, but once she sent them to me, I knew we had to squeeze in an extra unplanned release this year.



Found this washi paper in red and green and thought it would be perfect for a Christmas card! Teamed it up with a laser cut sentiment by Island Scrapbooking and the card was pretty quick to put together.


Can't wait to hear what you think of our little Santa boy, so if you would like to win Setsuna, here's the rules:

• Post a comment on THIS POST by September 30, 2011 11:59pm HST.
• Become a follower if you aren't already- please follow publicly so we can verify you are a follower.
  
• Tell me what your favorite holiday memory is.

Check in tomorrow to meet our next image!

Release #3 Images Revealed...

Wow- September is really flying by! Can't believe it's already time to reveal our next set of images due out on 10/1/11.




My sis sent me these images during the summer and I was so excited, I could hardly contain myself! Maybe it's cause I've been playing with the Release #1 and Release #2 images for about a year now, so these holiday stamps were a breath of fresh air and so exciting to incorporate into holiday projects. Can't wait to start sharing some of the samples with you soon. Please check in for introductions of each image this week.

Coloring Tutorials

I know some of you've been asking me about coloring tutorials for hair, but believe me I'm not an expert. Plus I'm camera shy (I'm more of a behind the camera than on camera personality). So, I asked my dear blogging friend Amy Young if I could refer those of you who want to learn how to color hair with your Copics to her blog(s). She posts fabulous video tutorials on Youtube and the Color Me Copic blog that she regularly contributes to. This blog has great information/suggestions on colors to use for all types of skin, hair and other questions you may have. She also posts great information and projects on her personal blog: A thousand sheets of paper.

She even featured Sister Stamps in a Sepia coloring video and Super Hero black hair video (Thanks Amy!). Check out the card she made using the image from the tutorial here.

I've linked up all these blogs so just click away to see all of her great tutorials. Did I mention that Amy also has her own stamp line called Sweet November Stamps? So not only is she a talented paper crafter, but she is also an artist! You need to check out her new fairwees if you haven't already- they are so cute!

For those of you who live in Hilo, I will probably do a hair coloring class once my schedule frees up (like maybe next year?). In the meantime, enjoy Amy's videos!

Squeezing One In....

I told you we had some surprises in store for you! We are squeezing in an extra release (Release #3) scheduled for October 1st!


Check with your favorite retailer for a sneak peek at our Release #3 images (See sidebar for list of retailers and links to their sites). Be back later this month to tell you more about it!

2nd Release Blog Candy Winners!

Did you get a chance to check out the other eye candy on Debi's and Mama's blogs? If not, please take some time to visit- you won't be disappointed!

And now to take care of some business.. You all want to know who won right? Here's the winner list:

Ayako: Debbie ("Your stamps are beautiful! I have searched for asian stamps for my daughter's adoption albums...")

Yoko: Kate

Nobu: Jeni

Miyono: Allison

Congratulations to all the winners! Please email me your mailing address at sisterstampsllc@gmail.com. I will be traveling this weekend, but I'll get your goodies out early next week.

To everyone else who played... thank you for all your sweet comments! I love getting feedback from all of you- so thanks for taking the time to enter.

And for another surprise... I decided to giveaway a whole set of Release #2 to one lucky random facebook friend! Login to our facebook page to see who won! As a reminder- like us on facebook and you just might be surprised!

Stop by tomorrow for another surprise!

It's Release Day!

Woo hoo! Made it through the week and now you can pick up your Sister Stamps Release #2 images! I have one last sample to share with you today... Used Ayako to try out a new technique. I'm not quite sure if I did it correctly, but thought I'd share it anyway since I was so intrigued when I first saw it... You will notice that Ayako looks like Ayako but somehow looks different... can you guess why?



Here's a close up so you can see her better...


Yes, I stamped her in a light color- I think it was a "sand" color in momento ink before coloring her up. This was a challenge, especially when coloring in her dark hair. I think the effect is neat and reminds me of watercolors. I think I definitely need to practice more though...

I don't know if you can tell, but I used the new Sizzix scallop pop up die and cut it using acetate, so you could still see the washi paper underneath it. Just got these the labels #3 Spellbinder die set recently and used it for the sentiment. The Arigato sentiment is by Island Scrapbooking and matches this card perfectly.


Don't forget to check out my girls Debi and Mama for their last Release #2 projects! Just wanted to thank Mama for being an AWESOME guest designer for us! Thank you so much for all your creative projects and inspiration! And also to Debi for all your help with store samples and blog samples- you rock!

And to all of you bloggers out there... hope you liked our Release #2 images! Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

I will be back later to announce the winners of my blog candy... good luck to you!