Release #19 Winners!

Hi Everyone!

Didn't forget about the blog candy.  And the winners are:

Hideo:  Christine
Mieko:  Leona
Mochi Pounding: Jenny W.

Congratulations Ladies!  Please email me at sisterstampsllc@gmail.com with your mailing address.

Thanks everyone for playing!

Release Day!

Happy Aloha Friday!  Did you have a good Halloween?  I'm still recovering, so I'll be posting the winners of the blog candy later on.

Just wanted to shout out to our design team and guest designer Cyndi for all their hard work!  Love you guys!  Scroll down for links to their posts. Be back soon with the winners.

Mieko Cupcake

Holy Moly... Just realized that tomorrow is November 1st!  It's so crazy how fast this year is racing by. Can't believe it's Halloween already! 

So, before I share my project with you, I'd like to take a few moments to thank all of our designers for their help and creativity over the past year!  You guys are awesome!  Please visit them and show them some love.... We will hear from them again next year!

Cyndi- Guest Designer

Eva

Linda and her YT Channel!

Debi

I had colored up an extra Mieko while preparing for this release and decided to add her to one of my cupcakes.  This is the cupcakes I learned how to make from Vicki (Hi Vicki!).  She makes puffy flowers using shabbies and then makes those into cupcakes!  I just love how they turn out and can't stop making them!  Here Mieko is used as a cupcake topper.

Hope you enjoyed all of our projects for this release!  It sure was fun playing with all the mochi images!  Don't forget to enter our blog candy giveaways on this blog and Linda's You Tube Channel. This gives you up to 6 chances to win a stamp!  Yay!

Sister Stamps will be taking a break for the rest of the year to prepare for the upcoming holidays and craft fairs.  But we'll be back again next year with some brand new images that I'm sure you'll love!    Please check our facebook page from time to time to keep up with what's happening with us and to hear when our next release is scheduled for.  Be back soon to announce the winners, so don't forget to check back soon to see if you won!

Baked With Love

All this mochi talk is making me hungry!  Before I get into my next project, I wanted to remind you all to visit our Design Team's blogs to see what they are up to and give them some love!

Cyndi- Guest Desiger

Eva

Linda

Debi

And don't forget to check out Linda's You Tube Channel for a giveaway!

OK back to the mochi... I recently got my hands on some glassine bags.  Yes, I'm behind the times when it comes to these, but after you see all the cool projects crafters make with them, you'll want some for yourself too.  Debi was the one who actually introduced them to me and has come up with several cute projects using them.  So I took the plunge and picked up some myself to see what I could do with it. 

I think I should have put something into the bag!  LOL!  Oh well, hope you get the idea... I ended up using a sentiment by Island Scrapbooking "Baked with Love".  I can't wait to use this for some Christmas tags this year!  I paper pieced Mieko's kimono again using some washi paper.  This is my lazy way of doing the kimono.

So here's a funny story about glassine bags.  My friend, who shall remain nameless, gave me some glassine bags.  Linda started cracking up and asked my friend where she got them from.  I sat there puzzled because obviously I wasn't in on the joke.  Finally, I found out why Linda was laughing so much.  Apparently my friend had picked up her glassine bags from 7-11!  LOL!    She asked the clerk if she could take some from where you get the donuts.  They told her "no worry Aunty, you can take!".  I swear, us crafters can get very creative and determined when it comes to getting our supplies!

Well, hope you had a good laugh!  I sure did just remembering that story!  Be sure to check us out again tomorrow!

Hideo Ichigo Daifuku

Woo Hoo!  It is time to gather the DT and find out what everyone's been up to!  But before you make your rounds.. don't you want to know who our Guest Designer is for this release?!  I know you do, but you'll have to check out her blog here for the big reveal...

Don't forget to visit our DT members to see what projects they worked on for this release:

Eva

Linda

Debi

If you live in Hilo, odds are you've heard about Two Ladies Kitchen.  It's a small business dedicated to making all different types of yummy mochi.  I think (but don't quote me on this) that they are the ones that started the Ichigo Daifuku craze.  Ichigo (strawberry) Daifuku (mochi) is a very popular treat.  It also contains an or red bean paste.  Two Ladies also makes other funky mochi like grape, candy bar, and brownie mochi.  Yum!

To get me in the mood to color up these mochi images, I bought some strawberry mochi to help inspire me.  Here's what I came up with...

I colored up Hideo and paper pieced his kimono using washi paper.  The flourish you see behind him is a Memory Box die that I added for interest over a large scallop circle.  I adhered the circle to a BBQ skewer thinking I could use it as a dessert pick.  You know.. like the ones they stick in cupcakes?  Why not mochi?

Here's a closer look at Hideo.

So if you ever get the chance, please check out Two Ladies Kitchen to pick up your Strawberry Mochi or maybe be adventurous and get my favorite- Brownie mochi! :)

Don't forget to stop by tomorrow for another mochi-licious post!

Mochi Pounding Calendar

Time for our last introductory post!  Our final image for the year is a New Year's tradition till today.  I'm really not sure if they still actually pound mochi in Japan, but I'm aware of families that still practice this custom here in Hawaii.  I think it's really cool that people will go through all that time and effort to make mochi.  To find out more about mochi pounding check out this link...

Until I moved to Hilo, I never knew anyone that really made mochi.  Even going to my husband's grandmother's house to make mochi using the machine was a big deal to me as I have never made mochi before.  I guess it's not just the mochi itself, it's everything that goes with it.... Going to Bachan's, eating Jook before we start making the mochi.  Now the tradition has moved to my mother-in-law's house, but we pretty much do the same thing.  I remember not knowing "how" to form them correctly, but I guess I've graduated since most of the seasoned mochi makers have moved away.  Luckily my sister-in-law always comes home for New Year's, so we end up forming most of the patties.  See!?

As you can see, we are not mochi pounders...  we cheat and use machines...

We've gotten creative over the years.. not only do we make regular mochi and mochi with an, we've graduated to peanut butter, peanut butter and chocolate, and snickers... I think I see some cookie butter mochi in our future this year.  See how much fun we have?

For all the more traditionalists.. this stamp is for you!  I gotta say, this stamp is quite large, so it will fill up an A2 sized card no problem!  I fussy cut the image, but you could probably separate the two kids if you wanted to.  Decide to turn this card into an easel calendar.  Added a 2014 laser cut by Island Scrapbooking and a mini calendar to hold the easel up.

Here's a closer look at the image.

And of course, after all that hard work, we eat the mochi!  Here's one of the other traditions of New Year's that we follow.  You are supposed to eat Ozoni or mochi soup in the new year.  Many families eat it right at midnight, but we usually wait till the next morning to eat our soup.  Mmmmm....  I guess one of these days I need to find out how to make this.

Now I want some soup!  Want to thank my sister-in-law for taking all of these photos.  Photo credit- Stefanie Sakamoto.

 If you would like a chance to win this image, all you have to do is:
1)  Leave a comment on THIS POST by 11:59pm HST by 10/31/13; and
2)  Tell me if you've ever made mochi... if so, do you pound?

Mieko Chan

Welcome back to our 2nd day of introductions!  Yesterday we introduced Hideo to you and today we have a little girl to add to our collection... Meet Mieko!

Mieko is named after my husband's grandmother.  Grandma K. or as my daughter calls her "Bachan" is just as sweet as this image.  Whenever I think of Grandma, I always think of New Years.  Every new years, we go to her house and make mochi.  (No, we don't pound- but more on that tomorrow!).  My husband's family still follows a bunch of New Year's traditions that I don't remember our family ever following, so when I moved to Hilo, it was all new to me.  I really appreciate that I was able to learn some of the cultural traditions from his family and are able to pass it down to our daughter.

On to my card... This is another sample I made for the retailers.  I really like that you can paper piece the clothes onto the image, so I used one of the Hanko papers again.  I guess you can say I'm on a paper piecing kick!  Followed the same pattern that I used on the Hideo card, but cutting strips of washi and blocked them on the card to make a simple background.  Then added an Island Scrapbooking laser cut sentiment.

Here's a closer look at Mieko.

Want a chance to win Mieko?!  Here's all you ahve to do:

1)  Leave a comment on THIS POST by 11:59pm HST on 10/31/13; and

2)  Tell me what new year's traditions you follow...