Friday, December 6, 2013

Hello Kitty Wall Calendars

Back again with the Hello Kitty version of the hanging wall calendar.  I was lucky enough to get my hands on this Hello Kitty paper pad and chipboard pieces when they debuted at Michaels on the mainland earlier this year.  I like that HK is in kraft colors since it is a new twist on Miss Kitty!





Hmmm, do I have anything else to share?  I need to go check if I have any more photos.

Sister Stamps Wall Calenders

I guess you could say that these hanging wall calenders are my signature calender each year.  But as mentioned before, I try to change them up each time so that customers don't get bored of the same old thing.  This year I decided to make it so that the calender doesn't need to flip over as in year's past... So in order for it not to be too long, I included two months on each panel.  Here's some of my samples...













You get the idea right?  So, the ones below are pretty much the same except that they are not opened up.






Back soon with some Hello Kitty versions of this type of calendar.

Altered clipboards

Decided to try something new this year and alter some clipboards.  I got a good deal on these mini clipboards and decorated them with paper.  

Don't laugh but now I have an over abundance of 2014 mini calendars (after a panic of thinking I might not have enough), so I decided to add some to the clipboard along with a post it note pad.  Then added in an image like Hello Kitty or Sister Stamps images.





I think I might go back and add some flowers to the clip board, so they may look a bit different when you see them!

Sister Stamps 12x12 Calendars

Are you still with me?  Yes, I have lots more to share...

Need to thank my sister who really helped me out this year.. thanks sis!  I don't think I could've cranked out as many calendars this year if not for her.

So I also made some Sister Stamps 12x12 calendars too..  This one is my favorite.  I think it's cause it's a new design that will be released next year (she doesn't even have a name yet!).  For now I call her "crane girl".  Made this one for a special crafty friend who helps me a lot every year for my craft fair.







And here's some Taiko calendars.  Had to make more cause Paul showed them to his Taiko group.  Girl will be a new release for next year too.


Yoshimi is an old favorite, but do you see someone new?


Kiki makes an appearance too!  Miyoko is altered a bit from the original image. She used to be holding a cupcake, but now she's holding an umbrella.


We have another new image here along with Miyono.


Couldn't go without Kiyomi!


Even had some of the critters make an appearance.


Mei Lin is here too along with another newbie.


 If you are interested in these, hopefully you can make it to my fair on Saturday!

Hello Kitty Calendars!

Another new design that I came up with this year was a year-at-a-glance 12x12 calender. I like these a lot too since they are not that much work but people feel like they are getting a good deal.   What is pictured here is not all of the ones I made.. just a sampling.  I wasn't able to get photos of all of them since I sold a lot before I could take photos.  These are the Hello Kitty ones I made.  Love that I could bring them out of storage and give them some love!









Wow- is that enough?  Hoping I have some leftovers for Xmas gifts this year.  More 12x12s to come...

Kokeshi Calendars

As I told you earlier, I try to come up with new ideas each year so that my customers don't get bored (and me too).  While making the animal coaster calenders, I thought I really wanted to make some Japanese girl calenders using the same concepts.    Here's what I came up with...


I think these are my favorite new products this year!  I used coasters as the base and built up from there. It was easier making her into a kokeshi since I wouldn't need to make arms! :)

And here's more of the little girls in different colors.


Putting the finishing touches on all my stuff and getting ready for tomorrow!  Hope to see you there!

Friday, November 29, 2013

Altered Cosmetic Bags and Pencil Cases

Hi!  Back again to share more craft fair items... Susan and I shared a booth a few weeks ago at the Manono Marketplace craft fair.  It was the first time they hosted a craft fair at that location, so we got a good deal on the booth. 

Wanted to test the waters on some new items this year, so I altered a bunch of cosmetic bags and zippered pencil cases this year.  Got me some shabbies and trims and went to town decorating them...



I was surprised how well these sold!  Need to stock up on more for my fair next week!

Monday, November 25, 2013

Here We Go Again!

Did ya miss me?  It's been quite awhile since I last posted, but I have a good excuse!  It's craft fair season again, so I've taken a small break from Sister Stamps to work on some stuff for my upcoming craft fair on December 7th (at my house).  If you would like more information on the location, please email me at sisterstampsllc@gmail.com and I will send you a flyer.

Just wanted to share some of the projects I've been working on.  Every year I make a lot of calenders for the new year.  I try to change them up a bit because 1) I figure shopper don't want to buy the same calenders each year and 2)  I get bored easily.  

I've been making coaster calenders for a few years now, but this year I decided to try something new... Animal coasters!  I've been inspired by the kawaii style and decided to try making some kawaii animal coaster calenders this year.  Here's some pandas.. my favorite!


And penguins...


Can't forget the doggies...


Made a few bunnies and Hello Kittys...


And a polar bear and brown bear.


These were really fun to make!  Wish I had more time to figure out other kinds of kawaii animals to make!

There will be 5 craft booths this year with lots of paper crafts, beaded jewelry, holiday items, and even caramel apples!  Please stop by and say hi!

Monday, October 28, 2013

Christmas Tags Class

Every year, I normally teach a Christmas class of some sorts.  Sometimes I do a whole series of Christmas classes and sometimes it's just one class.  This year, I was only able to do two classes but they were a total of 12 different tags.  I still need to take photos from the first tag class, but I managed to remember to take photos from today's class.

Here's a pix of the 6 we did today...


This first tag was on my mind for quite some time.. I guess you could say it was the inspiration of the class!  Although not illustrated here, you can tie the ends of the banner to a gift bag and let it hang.  You can make it larger or smaller by adding more banners. I used an EK success triangle punch, but there are several companies that make banner punches or dies now.  The letters shown here are by PTI, but in class we used the alphabet dies by Lawn Fawn.  Background paper is by Doodlebug.


This second tag was a last minute change from what was originally submitted.  I really wanted to introduce Inka Gold to the class to see if they liked it. They had a great time trying out the new product and looking at all the color options.  All of the snowflakes were old Martha Stewart punches.  The snowflake border is a memory box die. Added some crystals for embellishments and more bling.


This next tag was the last tag I worked on.  I stayed up pretty late and made more modifications this morning until I was satisfied with it.  Decided to use the new Mama Elephant stamps.  So happy the store now carries Mama Elephant!  I've been waiting for this set for almost a year!  Used the polariod stamp from an old Lawn Fawn set as the base of the tag.  Then aligned the deer from Mama Elephant and speech bubble from Lawn Fawn and stamped it together.  Then stamped the No Peeking sentiment that is also part of the Mama Elephant set.  The Merry Christmas sentiment is by Island Scrapbooking and fits perfectly on the bottom of the polaroid.  Topped it off with a bow.


I think this is my favorite tag of the set.  This was inspired by the cupcake picks you see all over the internet.  By using a BBQ skewer, you can stick the stick into any gift bag and let it pop out!  Love it!  I cut up the flags using a 2 1/2" x 7" strip of Doodlebug paper.  Then folded it around the skewere and taped it together.  You flag will look like a rectangle, but then you cut the points to make it look like a banner.  You can adjust the size of your flag depending on what you want to put on it, but I think this size came out pretty good for a gift bag.  The Santa was actually punched from the back of the scrap paper of the flag.  I used a 1" punch to punch out Santa and then a 1 1/4" white circle behind it.  Finally mounted both on a 1 3/4" scallop circle.

To secure the ribbon/baker's twine so that it doesn't keep falling off, I punched a tiny hole next to the stick on the top of the flag.  Then threaded the ribbon/baker's twine through it before tying a bow.


One of the other tags I wanted to do included a clothes pin.  I thought it would be fun to use the clothespin as an accessory to the tag, but it can also be functional to clip the tag to your gift!

Used a Memory Box tag die as the base out of kraft cardstock.  The holly border die is also by Memory Box- can you tell it's one of my favorite die companies?

The sentiment was from a Paper Smooches set, which was embossed in white to look like icing.  The mini gingerbread man is another Island Scrapbooking laser cut. Topped it off with some red pearls to look like the holly berries.

The clothespin was made by covering each side with 1/4" strip of designer paper. Then I punched a heart using an old Martha Stewart punch and added PTI button and tiny bow.  I thought this would be cute to put on some baked goods for my neighbors or work place.


My last tag was made using the envelope punch board.  If you haven't picked this up yet, you need to.  There are so many amazing projects circulating out there and new ideas are cropping up every day!  I'm amazed how much this new tool has changed how we make paper projects!

This project was inspired by the mini treat holder that is circulating on the internet.  It's meant to hold a mini candy bar and many people are using it for Halloween projects.  Since we often give candy canes at Christmas, I thought I'd adjust it a bit to fit a candy cane or money that you can then hang from a gift bag.

The dimensions are 7 1/2" x 7 1/2" cardstock and punch/score starting at the 2 5/8" mark. Then rotate and line up with the score guide and punch/score again.  After adhering it down, you will get something that looks like this.



I used the Season's Tweeting's stamp set by Lawn Fawn, a Spellbinders heart die and the Memory Box branch die to decorate.

We had a great time in class!  Need to finish up one more class next Saturday then its craft fair prep time!