Crazy for Paper Crafting

Yoshimi Frame

2012-01-21T00:56:00.000-10:00

Hello Everyone! Did you miss me? I've been crazy busy with family matters, another Sister Stamps release, and getting ready to go to CHA!!! Woo hoo! Anyway, just thought I'd pop on in before my upcoming trip to say "hi" and share this project. I don't know if you remember, but I mentioned earlier that I had made some frames using our new images... Here's one of the frames I made... I'm finally able to share it with you since Yoshimi has now been released! Yay! I hope you like her as much as I do. I was so happy my sis decided to make an image using fans.

Well, I'm off to bed, but will be dreaming of what I gotta do for my trip. I'm hoping me and sis can brainstorm some ideas for upcoming releases! Can't wait to spend some sister time together.

Inspired

2012-01-05T00:00:00.000-10:00

One of my friends who participated in my craft fair- Jen, also made calendars this year. This time she made these cute wall calendars. Since they were Sister Stamps, I snatched them up without knowing who to buy them for! Then I remembered that we didn't get anything for Akemi's Sensei's, and I knew these would be perfect! Since Jen only had 2 left and I needed 3, I had to make one more. I wanted each teacher to have the same thing, so I copied her design- thanks Jen for the inspiration! Here's what I came up with.. Such a fast and fun project!

Teacher Gift

2012-01-03T00:00:00.001-10:00

Happy New Year! I know, it's been awhile since my last post. I've been away for a bit taking care of some family business, but I'm back now and wanted to share a few more projects that I worked on for Christmas. Every year, I make Akemi's teacher a calendar for Christmas. I was sorta hoping that I'd have some leftovers from my craft fair, but I didn't, so I had to whip this one up at the very last minute. I mean I did this calendar the night before her last day of school before winter break! Talk about procrastination! Anyway, luckily had had leftover DCWV school stack (4x6 size) paper left, so it didn't take long to choose the papers I wanted to use. Since I kept everything simple this year, it didn't take long to put it together... until I came to the top of the calendar... Hmmmm.... had a hard time figuring out what I was going to do. Think, think, think... what do you think of when you think of teachers or school? Apples of course! Since my last episode with my cricut was still fresh in my mind, I decided to use my handy dandy spellbinder dies instead. Found my old apple set and cut out this apple. Then I make it kawaii-style by adding in a cute face. I couldn't resist making it have a big 'ol smile! Scroll down for the rest of the calendar... I hope Akemi's teacher liked it! Be back soon with more teacher gifts.

Sakura Bunny Calendar

2011-12-13T00:00:00.000-10:00

Here's my last craft fair post for the year. I really wanted to make some pastel japanese calendars, but again wanted to simplify. I brought out my stash of bunny washi I accumulated from Japan and hoped someone would give them a happy home. I originally tried to make my own bunnies, but didn't have time to perfect it, so I just used a sakura at the top instead. Hope you enjoyed all of my craft fair projects!

Asian Calendar

2011-12-12T00:00:00.000-10:00

Wrapping up the craft fair posts with some of my new calendars. At the last minute, I decided to make some asian calendars since I knew Hello Kitty is not for everyone. Wish I had thought of these earlier cause they sold out rather quickly! Since I didn't know what to do for the top, I cut some kanji from my Pagoda cartridge. The diamond looked bare on the happiness kanji, so I added another one to make double happiness. Be back tomorrow with one more calendar to share!

Sister Stamps Release #5 Coming Soon!

2011-12-11T07:06:00.001-10:00

Been working behind the scenes on our next release scheduled for January. Check our Sister Stamps Blog for more updates!

Sister Stamps Frames

2011-12-11T00:00:00.000-10:00

My friend Tracy told me how to cover frames with paper. The first time I made them, I didn't have the technique quite down, but this time they came out much better. Thanks Tracy! It's always a crap shoot at every craft fair. You never know what people will like or want. Last year, I made some Sister Stamps items that didn't sell all that well. This made me hesitant to start the stamp line, but I had confidence in my sister's work, so I still pursued it. While Hello Kitty is still a crowd pleaser, I actually got much more compliments on the Sister Stamps items I made this year. I was kinda hoping some of them wouldn't sell so I'd be able to give some away as gifts, but they all pretty much sold out. Here's some of our oldies but goodies. I made a few using some of our new images that will be coming out next year, but I'm saving those to show you once they are released (I can't wait!). For now, here's some of our favorites... Not sure yet if I'll be doing another craft fair for Girl's Day, but I think these would sell great at that fair too.

Hello Kitty Luggage Tags

2011-12-10T00:00:00.000-10:00

In addition to the Lucky Cat tags, I also made some other kitty tags.. Hello Kitty that is.. She sold out too. Wish I had more time to make more luggage tags! They always do well, so I really should make them all year yah?

Lucky Cat Luggage Tags

2011-12-09T00:00:00.002-10:00

My luggage tags seem to do pretty well during craft fairs, so I decided to make a few this time around. Decided to play around with a new image since all the Vegas goers might like it. Here's a sampling of some of the tags I made using this lucky cat image. He was very popular!

Magnetic Coaster Calendars

2011-12-08T00:00:00.000-10:00

Got this idea from my FB friends... Coaster calendars are inexpensive to make and are good sellers. I attached some strip magnets to the back so you can put them on your refrigerator or filing cabinet, etc. Made some in Chococat and Hello Kitty. I also made these using post it notes. Definitely a crowd pleaser. Thanks Crazy Crafters!

More Gift Card Boxes

2011-12-07T00:00:00.000-10:00

A surprise seller were these gift card boxes. When you open up the box, there's a place for your gift card, so its all ready to go! I love that these were so easy to make too and wish I made more now in retrospect. I'll have to stock up on these for future craft fairs. Here's the Christmas versions... And more all occasion ones..

Hello Kitty and Friends Frames

2011-12-06T00:00:00.000-10:00

Here's some of the Hello Kitty (and other friends) frames I came up with. Thanks to Tracy for helping me figure out an easier way to cover the frames! There's a lot of photos in this post, so bare with me... First up is a frame that was inspired by a fellow crafter- Jen. We are both "Jenny" and hang out at Island Scrapbooking, so to avoid confusion, they call her "Jen" and me "Jenny". Anyway, I knew we'd be friends when I asked her for her email and it referenced Hello Kitty! Anyway, she has 2 daughters, so I totally thought of her when I made this frame... Bow on the left is Mimi and bow on the right is Kitty. I was also inspired by other Hello Kitty friends, and this year came up with Chococat! He's one of my favorite characters. My boss (and friend) has a Chocoate mug at work and I look at it every day I meet with her. This inspired me to make some Chococat stuff this year. Oh yah, I even made that big rose too using the large flower punch and followed various tutorials on you tube. That was a bit challenging for me, but I like the results! Added in "tomodachi" since my daughter is learning Japanese and tries to use it daily. And who doesn't like Princess Kitty? So after I made the "Sisters" version, I decided to make a "BFF" version. If it didn't sell, I thought it would be perfect for my daughter and he BFF. And another friendship frame.. Did a bit of altering again... Used Aloha Kitty die by Sizzix and then covered her sarong by making my own grass skirt! Now she really looks like a hula girl! After covering this frame with ice cream treats, I was a bit stumped on what to accent it with. I finally remembered an old card I made using this HK Sizzlits die and adding in my own ice cream cone by using the Martha Stewart punch. Since the die is smaller, I filled the rest of the area with "Sweet". And I still love cupcakes... I think this might be the last of this favorite Doodlebug Cupcake paper. The Sizzlet die is an old exclusive SU die, but not sure if its available anymore. It's one of my favorites. This frame reminds me of Sweetland Papercrafts! I guess I was inspired by the other girls when I was making my own stuff. Thanks girls for participating in this year's craft fair! Couldn't have done it without you!

Butterfly Calendar

2011-12-05T00:00:00.000-10:00

I know, not everyone likes Hello Kitty right? So I made a few other versions without Hello Kitty. Decided to use my new Lifestyle Crafts butterfly die since its quite large and whimsical. I love black, pink, and white together, and just found some cool new Doodlebug Designs papers that worked well in this theme. I thought some of the comments were funny at the craft fair... many people thought you had to buy 2 calendars in order to get the full year! When I showed them that you turn the calendar around for the other 6 months they went "Ooooohhhhh!". Can you imagine how long that calendar would be if you had all 12 months on one side?

Stick Bag Treats

2011-12-04T00:00:00.000-10:00

Phew! What a crazy week this has been! Between last minute errands, cleaning, and other craziness, I managed to make these last minute stick bag treats for my craft fair. I wanted to make some little goodies in case people had kids with them and wanted to buy them a little treat. I found some of these ideas on other blogs. The Santa was found on Dawn Olchefske's blog. I am so loving all this Christmas punch art! The reindeer was a modification from various blogs. Most of them used the owl SU punch, but since I didn't have that, I used a regular circle punch. For the antlers, I used a snowflake Sizzix die and a heart punch cut in half for the ears. The gingerbread man was an OLD Sizzix die... and the crowd favorite was the Angry bird! Yes, he was not Christmas related, but I had to give it a shot. Found the tutorial on Teri's blog (Thanks Teri!) I didn't have all of those punches either, so I had to improvise a bit to make it work. Here's how they came out... Decided to stuff them with gumballs this time since the colors are so playful. Plus another vendor was doing M&M's, so I didn't want to have the same stuff. I'll post what she came up with cause its so Kawaii! Oh- and saw this idea on Jackie Topa's blog... I thought it was such a cute idea, I improvised it a bit and came up with my own version. Can't forget about the other kids on our life right? My doggie is gonna be so happy with all the leftover treats! Sorry for the bad photos. I guess that's what I get for taking them at 5:00am the morning of my craft fair! Stop by soon for more craft fair projects.

Need Gifts?

2011-12-01T10:27:00.002-10:00

I can't believe that my craft fair is this Saturday! I totally didn't think I'd have time to make anything since I've been so busy with Sister Stamps, but I managed to crank out a lot of stuff in a relatively short amount of time. If you live in the Hilo area and would like to stop by, please email me at midoridew@hotmail.com and I will send you my address. Here's the other info: Date: Saturday, December 3rd Time: 8:00am-1:00pm Joining me this year will be 4 other crafters whom I met while teaching at Island Scrapbooking. The following items will be available for sale:

Papercrafts Ornaments Christmas Pins Calendars Frames Handmade Jewelry Diaper sets/Blankets/Hooded Towels Manicure Kits Gift Card Holders and much more!

Hope to see you there!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T00:00:00.000-10:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! Eat some turkey and see you at the Black Friday sales! Also- you might want to check this out..

Sassy Kitty

2011-11-23T00:00:00.000-10:00

Are you sick of Hello Kitty yet? If so, better not read this post. I found some black, white and hot pink paper in my stash and decided to make a calendar using just these colors. This calendar is a little more funky than my other Kitty calendars. I guess I needed a change and had to jazz it up a bit. I know, you are sick of Hello Kitty already. I'll try to post something non-HKish soon.

More HK Wall Calendars

2011-11-22T00:00:00.000-10:00

Wanted to make a sweet looking HK calendar and decided to go all pink with this one... Found these coordinating papers at the Rubber Stamp Exp in Honolulu- sorry, can't remember what brand it was but the booth carries the same colors but in different prints like polka dots, gingham, etc. I wish I bought more now that I'm making these calendars. Next time I go to one I'll have to load up on different colors.. only got pink and green this time. Have several more HK calendars to share.. Yikes- time is running out yah? Better get cracking!

More Magnetic Boards

2011-11-21T00:00:00.000-10:00

Aunty sent me more magnetic boards- Thanks Aunty! She also sent me some Doodle Pops- I love these Doodlebug Stickers. They are so kawaii! Since I made a dog one earlier, decided to make a cat one for all the cat lovers out there.... One of the Doodle Pops was an owl. I decided to use this cute tree DP I've been hoarding. And here's one with a cupcake.. everyone loves cupcakes right? And more Hello Kitty boards.. Thanks for checking in!

BRAKS from IS Girls

2011-11-20T00:00:00.000-10:00

Michele and Tracy surprised me on my b-day with some b-day balloons and these cute cards! Thanks girls.. I love them! Check out Tracy's neat card- it also houses the gift! Oooohhhh... Aaaaahhhh! Thanks for Holiday Anya! And Michele actually made a card!!! Thanks Michele! Thanks for the GC too! And my CBFF- Debi made this awesome PTI card. I know she's been buying all those flower fusion stamps and made this awesome background herself. Now I'm eyeing up those stamps too! Thanks Debi for being such a great friend! We gotta go out more often... Maybe next time I'll wear the right shoes!!! ha ha ha ha ha!

Tags From Laura

2011-11-19T00:00:00.000-10:00

My cousin Laura and I don't normally exchange gifts, so I was surprised to see a package from her for me. Usually she only give my daughter something, so I was tickled when I got these in the mail!! Who can't use Xmas tags!! Love them all... Thanks Laura! Here's the box it came in... My favorite... Setsuna! I don't think I'll use this one. Or this one!! I like this punch art.. so cute! And I sill haven't used my two tags die yet.. Maybe this will inspire me to do so. A couple more from that two tags die. Thanks again Laura! I love them all!

B-Day Goodies from Karen

2011-11-18T00:00:00.000-10:00

My friend Karen (aka K.I.), always remembers my birthday. She's so thoughtful and loves making little gifts for us whenever we see her. She actually gave me these a month before my b-day and told me not to open it till my b-day. I was so good and didn't open it till then. Yay me! So here's what she made.. she used Kiyomi from Sister Stamps! Here's a close up of the card... And the french fry box... And she even added this fun gift that she made for the girls in our club. On the back is a magnet, so you can leave it on y0ur fridge, etc. How clever yah? I love that paper! Thank you so much Karen for all the goodies! You spoil me!

A Duo Of Blue Calendars

2011-11-17T00:00:00.000-10:00

Do you like my post title? I guess I have too much Top Chef on the brain! Ha ha! So, as crafters, we all know that its much easier to mass produce something right? Well, I cut up several sets of this blue and green combo paper and decided to make two different calendars featuring the same paper/color scheme. Here's the Hello Kitty version.. And here's the butterfly version! I used my new Lifestyle Crafts butterfly die since its quite large and had nice detail. I like it a lot and might go back and get the monarch butterfly die too. Changed up the buttefly when you flip the calendar over... And added some embellies to the bottom for fun... Hope you liked it!

Flower Gift Card Holders

2011-11-16T00:00:00.001-10:00

I totally scored when I found these pre-made gift card holder boxes at Big Island Packaging! Plus I got them on sale, so I bought a whole bunch. Decided to make some Christmas and some any occasion since they also came in my favorite... kraft! Here's the turquoise ones I made... Borrowed Debi's SU flower die and now I need to order one for myself! Here's a shot of the box when its open.. Love it! Here's the pink ones.. And the red.. I am secretly hoping these don't sell so that I have a stash for myself!

Pastel Rainbow HK Calendar

2011-11-15T00:00:00.003-10:00

Hi! I'm back with another version of that Rainbow Hello Kitty calendar I shared with you yesterday. Since most little girls (and some big ones!) like pink, I decided to change it up a bit substituting pink for the red and turquoise for the dark blue. These colors are my favorite! Again.. used all Doodlebug papers and put HK on the top.. OK I know you are sick of these by now, so I'll post something different tomorrow...

Rainbow HK Calendar

2011-11-14T00:00:00.000-10:00

My craft fair is just around the corner and I had to figure out a way to mass produce my wall hanging calendars. I decided that if I am going to do this, I really need to simplify. So here's what I came up with... Add one Hello Kitty on the top and make the rest of the calendar into a rainbow. I've made several versions of this same concept, so I'll only post one. I have another color combo of the same thing that I'll post tomorrow. Here's the full view.. the back looks the same, so I'm not posting a photo here. Here's HK herself... And all the months.. Used my fave Doodlebug Designs paper since they are all the same but just in different colors.. Finished it off with some dangling flowers. Hope you liked it! I will share more calendars and craft fair projects soon. Have a great week!

Sister Stamps Coaster Calendars

2011-11-11T00:00:00.001-10:00

First of all, I'd like to wish my OLDER brother a very Happy Birthday! I think its so cool that today is 11/11/11 and it's his birthday! Happy B-day Dude... see you in a few months! Don't laugh.. I'm still learning how to use my new camera and I'm failing. Woke up early to try to utilize daylight, but it's so darn dark nowdays, it didn't really work and I ended up having to use my flash anyway. So I decided to make a few Sister Stamps coaster calendars too. I'm kinda hoping these don't sell so I can give them away.. Win-Win right? Thanks for stopping by! I have more craft fair stuff up my sleeve to check back soon.

Hello Coaster Calendars!

2011-11-10T00:00:00.000-10:00

So I tapped into my "Crazy Crafters Anonymous" FB group to get some ideas on quick and easy craft fair projects. Coaster calendars was one suggestion I tried and I like how easy it was to crack these babies out. I had bought some inexpensive coasters from Papertrey Ink awhile ago but wasn't sure how I was going to use them. These were the perfect project.. in fact I liked how they came out so much, I ordered a bunch more and can't wait for them to arrive. I'm hoping to have some left overs so I'll have extra xmas gifts. Hello Kitty is always a crowd pleaser, so I made up a bunch with her on it. Be back tomorrow to share more coaster calenders with you.

Happy Birthday Kolby- Kai!

2011-11-06T12:08:00.003-10:00

On our way to a baby luau and had to whip up this card for the birthday boy. I also wanted to try out my new camera!!! Finally got my battery back (thanks Mom!) and was able to play with it a little. Need to get going, so this will be a short post... Decided to use Nobu, just because. Kept it VERY simple as you can see... Inside, I made a pocket for the "gift". Still had to lighten it up a bit, but I'm still learning how to use my camera. So far I'm very happy with the results! Happy Sunday!

Sister Stamps Magnetic Boards

2011-11-03T00:00:00.000-10:00

Decided to make some Sister Stamps magnetic boards too. I used some of my precious washi from my Japan trip for the background. I even added mini marble magnets that match so that they will know its a magnetic board. Even made a Nobu version in case anyone wants to get for a little boy. That's all the boards I have for now. Hopefully I'll be getting more in soon- getting addicted to these!

Let The Craft Fair Craziness Begin!

2011-11-01T00:00:00.000-10:00

I must be crazy right? Last year I made a craft fair at my house just for "fun". We actually got a lot of traffic due to my fellow crafter's amazing marketing talents! Anyway, I've been getting a lot of inquires as to whether or not we are doing another craft fair this year, so I thought I'd better start cracking and get some stuff made. I'm almost positive I won't have a lot of calendars this year since they are so time consuming. Decided to try something new and picked up a bunch of these 6x6 metal sheets and covered them w/paper for a fun magnetic board. Here's some of the designs I came up with... Of course, everyone's favorite Hello Kitty! Snuck in one that I thought could be used for a boy... This little cutie is a Doodle Pop by Doodlebug Designs. I just love this line of stickers!! Sorry, my photos aren't so good right now. Taking them w/my iphone so not always in focus! I ended up buying a very nice Canon, but left the battery in Honolulu!!!!! I'm really sick about it but am hoping my mom is able to mail it to me soon so I can try out my new toy.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T00:00:00.001-10:00

Happy Halloween Everyone! I know, I've been very bad at posting here, but to see what I've been up to, check out the Sister Stamps blog. Today is your last chance to enter to win the new release stamps, so check out this post for more info on how to enter. So here's the Halloween goodies I made for some blogging friends when I visited Honolulu the other weekend. We had so much fun eating and talking that we shut the place down! They were turning off the lights and all! So much fun to see everyone. Can't wait till we can hang out again! Back to the project... Picked up these awesome dies and matching stamps from Papertrey Ink. They are quickly becoming my FAVORITE company! Anyway, I decided to emboss the faces onto the bag die and then added on their "accessories". Everyone seemed to like these cuties and the best part was that they didn't take that long to make! Thank you Cami, Linda and Aunty Jan for all the yummy goodies! See ya next time Kyoko! Hope you have a Happy Halloween!

Release # 4 Candy

2011-10-25T18:58:00.001-10:00

Up for grabs on the Sister Stamps blog! Click here for more details...

Check Out The Release #4 Images...

2011-10-24T06:34:00.001-10:00

Click here to see what's coming up!

Sister Stamp Mobile

2011-10-16T00:00:00.000-10:00

Happy Sunday! Another busy weekend as usual but I actually got to sleep in today! I think the rainy cold weather helped. :) And DH told Akemi not to bother me.. Aaaaaaahhhhh. So, you probably already saw this on the Sister Stamps blog if you are a follower there, but thought I'd share it here again. For more details on how I made this, check out the post here.. I'm always looking for different ways to use stamps and paper and I was due for another mobile. I've made mobiles in the past using Sizzix dies, which are pretty easy since you can just flip the image. Stamping is different since you can't always align the images nicely back to back- depends on the image/pose. So I found a way around that problem by mounting the images onto something- in this case I used two sakura die cuts from my new Lifestlye Crafts sakura set. I only put one image on each sakura, but you could put one on each side so that no matter which way the sakura faces, you'll see one of the girls. Maybe when we have enough boys to make one I'll do a boy one too. So here's the full shot of the mobile.. added in some beads and small sakura in between to help with balancing the mobile out and interest. And here's the close ups of each sakura/girl. Well, hope the rest of your weekend is relaxing!

Giddy Up!

2011-10-15T08:04:00.002-10:00

I know all of you have been eyeing up these stocking turned horsey creations in blogland right? Well, I didn't have that Stampin Up sizzix die at the time I made this fella, so I used the largest stocking die from my Lifestyle crafts set and it worked out nicely. Added some yarn for his hair- just used very strong double stick tape to adhere it down and then slapped on the other half of the horse to keep it in place. The harness was done using ribbon and a mini brad. Eyes were just punched using 3/4" and 1/2" circle punches and the ears were made using my MS heart punch that I folded in half on the wide end and taped it together so that the pointy side was still a little open. He reminded me of those toy horse on a stick that kids play with, so I put him on a candy stick bag filled with pixie sticks. Let me tell ya, pixie sticks are way smaller than before! Look how short the stick is! If you are making this project, you might want to stick with regular m&m's instead since you can make it taller if needed. It's raining today in Hilo, which I would normally love on a Saturday (so I can stay home and craft) but I have class today, so not looking forward to getting wet! I know you are thinking... Hello, its Hilo! It always rains! ha ha ha.

Choochin

2011-10-12T00:00:00.000-10:00

When I think of the word choochin (lantern), I always think of high school when we used to tell our friends we didn't want to hold choochin for them- meaning didn't want to be the 3rd wheel on their date. Remember that Les?? Well, these mini lanterns would not provide enough light for that, but they are pretty darn cute! Made these for the store to showcase some of the new Lifestyle Crafts dies that is now available. I must admit, I first cut them out of a burgandy color but didn't like how it came out. After sleeping on it, I decided to change it up and cut them out of vellum and boy did it look better! After cutting them out of vellum, I stamped them with my cherry blossom Stampendous stamp with black Stazon. Since I used Stazon ink, couldn't use my copics on it, so I decided to color them from the back instead. The red showed through nicely. Added the black trim and handles and I was done. We were discussing the lanterns after they were done and think they would make an awesome table decoration... just add a tea light inside them and they will glow nicely through the vellum!

Stamp Layering Card Class Bonus

2011-10-11T00:00:00.000-10:00

Every now and then I like to treat my students to a bonus project. Its fun to give them something extra when they least expect it. I had bought this new Hero Arts cling set by Basic Gray after the class announcement was made, but I really wanted to use it in a layering card, so I thought it would be nice to feature it in the class. I procrastinated and procrastinated, and finally came up with the design the morning of the class! Yikes- talk about cutting it close! So- here's the card... And here's the close up of the berries I stamped in versamark and added some gold mica powder. Mica powder doesn't seem to photograph well, but I think you can see enough of it here. Supplies:

All stamps- Hero Arts
Cardstock-Bazzil
Mica powder
Distress inks
Brilliance inks

A Swinging Good Time!

2011-10-10T17:41:00.003-10:00

Wow- where did the weekend go? I had another furlough Friday, but even with that, I feel like I didn't have a break. Must've been all that cleaning and other activities that kept me busy busy busy. One of the things that really kept me busy was Island Scrapbooking's 8th Anniversary Party. You already saw my make 'n take that I offered (ghost candy stick bag), but I was also busy making some samples for the store of the new products that came in. Here's a card I managed to make before the sale... It's of one of my favorite Pure Innocence images! And she really swings too! See- now she's swinging back... And forth... So have to share this with you... Debi and Tracy both thought my tree leaves were clouds?!? Oh well, so much for going for that autumn look. They thought she was swinging from the clouds. I guess they didn't see the log I used for the branch either. It's just not as exciting when you have to explain your card to someone. Ha ha ha ha ha! I guess I'd better stick to more traditional colors next time.

Boo!

2011-10-07T18:24:00.003-10:00

Hello Weekend!!! So glad today was a furlough Friday for me. Got TONS of stuff done and about to do more. Cleaned up our living room- and I mean CLEANED UP!!! Woo Hoo! Now I can see my computer desk. Then headed to IS to get the store ready for tomorrow's 8th Anniversary Sale. Stop by if you are in Hilo- you won't want to miss out on the fun. Here's the make 'n take I'll be doing tomorrow morning. Used Lawn Fawn's Halloween set along with some IS lasercuts in "Boo". Cut the flags using the pennant die by Spellbinders. It was rather plain looking until I added in the ribbons and button. Here's a close up of the ghosts... So stop in if you are in Hilo! See you tomorrow!

Happy Birthday Jada!

2011-10-07T00:00:00.001-10:00

A few weeks ago we got invited to a baby luau. Not having seen the invite (yes, DH forgot to bring it home), I was tasked with making the b-day card without knowing if there was any kind of theme, etc. All my DH could tell me was that the invite was pink... so I took a chance and went with an asian theme. Am I glad I did! As soon as we walked in, all we saw was japanese stuff. Here's the centerpiece.. I liked it a lot and took a picture of it. Cute yah? And here's my last minute card. I had bought these large sakura dies by Quickutz and LOVE them! In fact, I have another project using them that I'll share a bit later... still working on that one. Anyway, decided to keep it pink since the invite was pink. Used another sentiment by Island Scrapbooking too since its so easy! Here's a close up.... Hope you have a great weekend! Starting mine early since we are on furlough. Yay!

Holiday Tags!

2011-10-04T00:00:00.000-10:00

As you can see I've been a busy busy girl! Here's one of the classes in my crazy schedule coming up in November. I already shared the snowman with you, but here's the rest. Needed to keep them rather simple since we'll be making a bunch. Also got a fun bonus project planned that I'll share with you after the class so that its a surprise for the students. This tag is very simple- its from the new clear tags set by Hero Arts. After several versions, finally decided on simple embossing in gold. Here's another simple tag... embossed it again in white on kraft and added the punched pointsetta accent. Oh- here's one of my faves... Santa peeking over the tag. Tag is just a spellbinder die folded in half. Santa is made with punches and mittens are from the Spellbinder mitten set. And finally, found my old gingerbread punch and stuck him in this stocking. Gave him a face using my white enamel (used black on Santa's eyes). Oh yes, added pine branches (MS punch) and dew drops for berries. Hope you can join us for this fun class! If now, hopefully this will inspire you to start on your holiday tags.

Luv'n Box of Drawers

2011-10-01T00:00:00.001-10:00

Last month, Mama helped us with the Sister Stamps Release #2 by making samples and posting it on her blog. I've been a big fan of her's for awhile now and actually got to meet Miss Anonymous in person once. Wish I could've chatted with her more, but I was happy to finally meet this mystery woman- kinda reminds me of the Wizard of Oz! So mysterious! One of her projects caught my eye and I had to go investigate further by clicking on all the links till I eventually found the tutorial on how to make this box. It's called Box of Drawers and I actually saw a different version of this at a paper craft store in Honolulu. This version was much easier as it did not require chipboard. The washi paper I used is very busy, so I decided to cut a circle in gold and mounted Kiyomi on it so she wouldn't get lost in the washi. Here's a close up of Kiyomi. And here's the inside of the box. When the box is closed up, the drawers nest nicely and can hold tiny treats. It reminds me of those lacquer chests you see from Japan. Well, my project is not as stunning as Mama's, but I hope it will inspire you to try one yourself. Check out Mama's sample and be prepared to be blown away if you haven't seen it before. Thanks Mama for being a great inspiration! It's release day today for our Release #3 images. That means you can finally get your hands on our holiday images. Enjoy!

My Cup of Tea

2011-09-30T00:00:00.000-10:00

Yay! Finally made it to Friday! Where have you been all week? It's been very busy here at my house... getting ready for next month's classes and the next release for Sister Stamps. I know, you didn't even get Release #3 yet and I'm working on Release #4? Crazy yah? Oh yah, and I work a full time job that has nothing to do with stamping. Needless to say, one of the "regulars" at Island Scrapbooking told me the other day that I looked tired. I guess my lack of sleep is beginning to show. So here's one of the projects that kept me up late this week. Isn't she a cutie? It's one of the new fairwees by Sweet November stamps. I can't remember her name, but she makes me happy. The great thing about smaller stamps is that they always fit on your card! Oh yes, I also stumbled onto this cup of tea stamp set by my other favorite company- Lawn Fawn and knew it would be perfect to use on this box. As you can see I had some issues again with my photo, really need to get my new camera. I know you can't tell, but above the mug I stamped the steam in versamark and coated it with pearl mica powder for a smoky effect. I guess you'll just have to go to the store to see the sample up close. Its so tricky getting mica powder to photo well. And here's the front view of the tea box. I'm thinking these would make cute gifts for our neighbors in case I don't end up baking this year! Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend! (Don't forget to pick up your Sister Stamps tomorrow!)

Telescoping Snowman

2011-09-29T00:00:00.000-10:00

While perusing through the Splitcoast Stampers gallery, I stumbled upon some fun telescoping cards! I knew I had use this technique in one of my upcoming classes, so I searched for good ideas and decided on the telescoping snowman! Awhile back I had bought this snowman face stamp by Dandelion Designs thinking I would need it one day. It came in very handy and was the perfect size for my project! Here he is all bundled up. I like to think of it as looking down at him... And here's what he looks like when he's open! I know I gotta change those brads to white, but I couldn't wait to show him to you, so I just left it gold. This is such a quick and simple card to make and the perfect size for a Christmas tag! I'll be back soon to share the rest of my tag projects for this class. Oh, and did you remember to check out the Sister Stamps blog for all of our blog candy and Debi's blog for more candy? If you haven't already done so, start here... and post on all introductory posts... then check out Debi's blog for Release #3 posts for more chances to win. Oh yes, and don't forget to like Sister Stamps on facebook- you just might be surprised with more candy!

Just Relax!

2011-09-23T00:00:00.000-10:00

Happy Friday! Hooray! The weekend is finally here! I am still getting used to 5 day weeks- when is our next furlough day again? Anyway, as I mentioned in yesterday's post, we have two retirements at the same time in our office, so I volunteered to make the cards. I had this one in mind for quite some time- its kinda the reason why I bought one of these stamps. I didn't know if either of the two girls would like this type of card though, so I took a chance and made it anyway. Started by altering the pleated center pop up card by making it a 6x6 size. Needed to have enough room for everyone to sign it. Once I figured out how to make it bigger, I started decorating it. Although I knew what stamp I wanted to use on the inside of the card, I didn't know what I wanted for the outside. I had bought this stamp at the same time as the one on the inside, and thought they kinda pair up nicely, so I used this one too- both are Penny Black wood stamps. Since the girls' apendeges (spelling?) are stick like and I didn't feel like cutting them out, I decided to stamp the image directly onto the background and paper piece the other parts. This became especially challenging on the scarf! Even though it was a lot of work, I think it looks better than if I had to cut out those stick figures! Added in some flowers for color on the grass and added another Island Scrapbooking laser cut- this time in pink to match the card. Here's a close up of the girl... OK- now for the inside... Ta daaaaaaaa! I thought this image would be so cute for a retiree since I would hope they would take time to relax after working all those years. I really wanted to use this image on this pleated center card so I could make the image pop up when laid flat. Here's what the inside looks like with the background... And here's what it looks like when its open flat. And I found out the recipient loves cats, so I had to add in a little feline companion! Create in Me makes the cutest animal stamps, so I dug in my stash and added this kitty in the grass. Oh yah, also used more Island Scrapbooking laser cuts on the inside- the Best Wishes and mini sakuras are by IS. Hope you have a nice weekend!

Omedeto Gozaimasu!

2011-09-22T00:00:00.000-10:00

We are having a wave of retirements in our department at work and I volunteered to make cards for the two retirees. I really try to match the card to the person, so I asked around to see what they both like, hoping that it would inspire me when making their cards. Here's what I came up with for one of the ladies... She's very sweet and conservative and I just kept envisioning an asian style card for her... This washi paper is very nice and had so much going on, that I didn't want to take away from it's beauty, so I just added my sentiment and a few flowers, and that's it! I just love these sentiment laser cuts from Island Scrapbooking- they are the perfect size for us cardsmakers! Here's a shot of what the card looks like inside. To give it some interest, I added those asian looking photo corners by Sizzix. They really added to the plain inside. I also decided to try something different and place the sentiment on the top of the card instead of centered. In the bottom right corner of the middle section, I stamped my favorite kanji poem (Hero Arts) in versamark and then applied the gold mica powder to it for a more subtle effect. Needed enough room for everyone to sign the card, so had to also add paper to the back so everyone could sign. Hope she likes the card! Be back tomorrow to share the other card I made. Don't forget to check out our new Sister Stamps releases here and here for a chance to win!

Release #3 Is On Its Way!

2011-09-20T06:57:00.002-10:00

Hi Everyone! Just popping in to let you know that we've started introductions of the new releases over at the Sister Stamps blog. Check it out for a chance to enter our new release blog candy!

Happy Hallo"wee"n!

2011-09-17T12:27:00.002-10:00

Finally got to play with my new fairwee stamps by Sweet November. I just love these little fairwees! So small- so its super fast to color! I also found my old set of hats by Lawn Fawn, which contained a witch hat that was the perfect size for this little fairwee! Paired it up with the heebie jeebie's halloween set by Lawn fawn too. Love how the web has the sentiment right in the middle! I must admit, borrowed the idea about using the hat set from my CBFF Debi. She used the Santa hat on one of the fairwees, which totally inspired me to dig up my old set and dress up my fairwees. Background was colored using my distress inks- orange, green and purple. Love how you can blend colors you wouldn't normally be able to blend! Have a great weekend!

Happy Haunting!

2011-09-14T00:00:00.000-10:00

This is probably my all time favorite Lawn Fawn stamp set! I have a soft spot for cute halloween stamps and fell in love with these little ghosts. I was anxious to get my class stuff out of the way so I could play a bit with my new stamps. I had seen this video on Jennifer McGuire's (my hero!) blog on how to make a floating window card. She has some great tips for hiding your adhesive etc. Go check it out and see what you come up with. I love things that hang and look like they are suspended in mid air, so this card really appealed to me. I must credit the black background idea to my DH. At first I just stamped Happy Haunting in black on the kraft background. It looked OK, but didn't make the card stand out. He suggested adding the black background and suddenly my card came alive! The ghosts stood out more and so did the moon. Added the fence punch to give more dimension to the card and left an opening so it wouldn't block the front of the house. Here's a close up of my favorite ghosts! Happy Haunting Everyone! Supplies:

All stamps- Lawn Fawn
Fence punch- Martha Stewart Crafts
Cardstock- Bazzil

Happy Winter!

2011-09-13T00:00:00.001-10:00

Did I tell you how much I'm loving Lawn Fawn? Their stamps just make me happy... especially the new releases! Couldn't wait to get my hands on those cuties. Making Frosty Friends was one that I knew I had to have. I didn't think that I would use it in a stamp layering class though... But as I sat and stared at my messy desk and stamps, I started to visualize what I wanted to do and here's the end result... I love how this came out! So simple too. This Lawn Fawn set actually comes with all the accessories for your snowman too! I can't wait to play with them more. Well, that's the last of my class samples. Hope you enjoyed it! Supplies:

Snowmen, snowflakes and sentiment stamps- Lawn Fawn
Snow background stamp- Hero Arts
pearl mica powder
cardstock- Bazzil

Season's Greetings

2011-09-12T00:00:00.000-10:00

This is actually the first card I came up with for my Christmas stamp layering class. I had seen something similar on the Splitcoast Stampers gallery and put my own spin on it using the layering technique. I think my favorite way to layer is using word background stamps. So simple yah? For your Hilo bloggers out there, if you would like to sign up for this class, please contact Island Scrapbooking. This class was just added and was not advertised through the newsletter. Supplies:

Cardstock- Bazzil
All stamps-Hero Arts
gold twine

Christmas Stamp Layering Class

2011-09-10T00:00:00.001-10:00

Gee, its been awhile since i last made a non-Sister Stamps card! Planning my next Christmas Card class and wanted to incorporate the stamp layering technique- its like taking 2 classes in one. I had a few people ask me to offer the stamp layering class again, so I thought why not combine the two? Here's one of three cards we will make in the class. I decided to try layering on DP instead of just my usual white cardstock. I like to show versatility whenever I teach a technique to show students how to apply what they've learned to make different types of cards. Since the cardstock was already colored, I didn't have to worry about adding in distress ink to the background. Instead I decided to use my favorite music notes background stamp (Hero Arts cling) with versamark and then add my other favorite- gold mica powder to it. Sorry- camera still not working great, but I think this photo kinda captured the gold so you can see how it looks in the light. I know you can't tell, but it also says Merry Christmas above the reindeer's head. If you want a better look, you'll have to stop by Island Scrapbooking. Hopefully I can pick up a new camera soon. I'll post the other two cards I came up with soon. Thanks for stopping by! Oh yah- for those of you who inquired about where we went to eat dim sum... I wonder if I should tell you? Then it might get too crowded for us to enjoy when we go visit!! Nah- only kidding. We ate at Royal Garden at the Ala Moana Hotel. Super yummy! Where is your favorite dim sum place to eat? Supplies:

All stamps- Hero Arts
Corner punch- Martha Stewart Crafts
crystals- Kaisercraft
Mica powder
versamark

Yum Yum Dim Sum!

2011-09-08T21:20:00.002-10:00

I just love dim sum, don't you? Here in Hilo we are seriously lacking in the dim sum department. If you make dim sum and want to make some money, move to Hilo and sell some to me! So my blogging GF Linda keeps posting all of her dim sum lunches on FB and makes me drool when I see them! When I finally told her I could meet her in Honolulu, we decided on some yummy dim sum! Now I'm no dim sum expert, in fact, I never really ate dim sum (excluding manapua and pork hash) until I went with my brother and his wife in the mainland. It was a whole new world of food that I had never experienced! I think it's cause my mom can't eat most Chinese food due to her allergies, so we never really went out to dim sum as a family. So now that you know my dim sum background, you'll understand why I had so much fun... Linda, Kyoko and Cami are dim sum experts! They know the names by the real name, not calling it "the one with shrimp" or "the one with pork and spinach" or whatever it is. So Aunty Jan and I just let them order whatever and we weren't disappointed! Honestly, I don't know what I ate, all I know is that it was ONO! OK- dim sum was not the only reason I had so much fun.. it really was the company. I brought along Aunty Jan this time because we found out they knew who she was but didn't know she was my Aunty Jan! :) Funny yah? All this time they knew her... probably better than they knew me! We had a great time - my cheeks are still sore from all that laughing! Can't wait till our next get together- hopefully it will be sooner than later! Also got the chance to meet up with Eunice! If you have not had a chance to visit her blog yet, you really need to check out her unbelievable creations! We had a nice lunch and got to finally talk story. I felt really bad because the first time I met her I interrupted her Cricut meeting! So rude yah? Wish I remembered to take a picture of us at lunch! Oh well, maybe next time. Thanks ladies for all the RAKs and more importantly- fun times!

Season's Greetings

2011-09-01T00:00:00.000-10:00

Gearing up for another Christmas card class in August at Island Scrapbooking... I really wanted to make a white on white card this time, but somehow my mirrored silver cardstock snuck in. I decided to make a frame using my reverse wonky rectangle dies by Spellbinder and popped it up a bit on the mirrored cardstock. Before doing so, I embossed the frame using a Sizzix embossing folder. Added the Season's Greetings sentiment by Island Scrapbooking and some snowflakes for fun (Martha Stewart). Very simple and easy to put together. I find my students like simple cards in class, no one seems to like coloring all that much, so I try not to do too many cards that require coloring. Thanks for stopping by!

It's Release Week!

2011-08-29T06:34:00.002-10:00

Hi Everyone! It's release week at Sister Stamps and there's a couple of surprises along the way. Check out my post here for more info... Have a great week!

1000 Sheets Of Paper Blogaversary

2011-08-20T08:06:00.002-10:00

Hey Everyone.... Be sure to check out Amy's Blogaversary Candy- its 1000 Sheets of Paper! She's throwing in other goodies too that you won't want to miss out on. So check it out here...

Embossed Tree Christmas

2011-08-13T00:00:00.000-10:00

In between Sister Stamps stuff, I've been working on ideas for my Christmas Card class series. Here's one that I think will be saved until next month's class. I was finally able to use my new Spellbinder frames dies that I love. Decided to go with a cream and gold theme, but you can't really tell from the photo. It looks more like white and silver yah? I guess the lighting was bad at Island Scrapbooking when I took the picture. I love this new cling set by Hero Arts. It also comes with sentiments- I used one on the inside but didn't get a photo. After coming up with the idea, this card came together really quickly. No coloring, just stamp, emboss, cut and you're done! I suppose if you wanted to add some color, you could add some colored crystals to the tree. Personally I like it just using cream and gold. Hope you are having a nice weekend! After having 2 furlough weeks in a row, I feel like the regular weekend is so short! Gotta go get ready for class and the upcoming rummage sale at Island Scrapbooking... need to make room for new supplies! Check it out next Saturday for great deals.

Origami Tree Card

2011-08-12T00:00:00.000-10:00

TGIF! Wow- can you believe it? I actually posted 2 days in a row! Things have gotten pretty hectic with the 2nd release of Sister Stamps approaching soon. I didn't realize my Christmas Card class was this Saturday! I made this sample about a week ago, but forgot to post it. This will be one of the cards we will be making along with the wreath card and the Kiyomi-tree card. I guess besides wreaths, I also love Christmas trees! Found a tutorial on you tube on how to make these easy peasy origami trees that I thought the student would like. Since there's a lot of folding, I recommend using origami or thin paper- not cardstock. Just another good reason to bust out my washi paper! It looked kinda plain, so I punched a hole and added some ribbon in the corner. Now you can also use it as a tag too! Been working on all my Sister Stamps samples for the retailers. Hope they like what I came up with! I'll be posting more on the Sister Stamps blog in the next few weeks. Check out the post here for a chance to win some of our new release stamps!

2nd Release Introductions Begin...

2011-08-11T06:59:00.002-10:00

We are starting the introductions for the 2nd Release of Sister Stamps.... Check out our blog for more info and some candy!

Another Wreath Card

2011-08-04T00:00:00.000-10:00

I didn't realize it until Debi told me the other day... "You like wreaths yah?". I guess I do. I didn't think I did, but I guess I do use them a lot on my projects. Here's another Hero Arts holiday stamp that I picked up and yup... its a wreath! I thought it was more rustic looking and that I could use it for "manly" christmas cards. The challenge was to figure out what color to ink up the image. After discussing it with Debi, I decided it was best to ink it up in brown and add the green to the wreath using my copics. I tried it out on white cardstock, but decided to try it out on kraft- since its all the rage. I liked the results a lot on the kraft, so I stuck with that. To jazz it up a bit, I added some gold stickles to the needles. It reminds me of those fake pines that you can decorate your home with. Love it! Too bad you can't see the glitter in the photos that well. Here's the result... Since it was screaming for a sentiment, I chose a banner from my new favorite stamp set by Lawn Fawn. It is so easy to stamp and cut out and looks really cute. I chose a Hero Arts sentiment from an old clear set. The wreath still needed something, so I used the two doves from the same banner set and cut them out to put on the wreath. For a touch of color, I added a small punched red heart between them. Never thought I'd use those doves, but they came in handy here! Supplies:

Wreath stamp- Hero Arts
Doves and banner stamp- Lawn Fawn
Sentiment- Hero Arts
Heart hand punch
Stickles- red and gold

It's Beginning To Look Like Christmas?

2011-08-03T00:00:00.000-10:00

Well, not really... but I must say that summer is almost over in Hilo- there's been a lot of rain and not that much sunshine considering its the middle of summer! Anyway, I'm gearing up for my upcoming Christmas card class, which I started last year about this time. We had a lot of fun making simple Christmas cards and projects that I decided to do it again this year. Plus, my regular students were all asking me when it was going to start up again and I can't let them down! Here's a card that I don't think we'll do in class, but I thought I'd share it anyway. A bunch of new Hero Arts holiday stamps arrived at Island Scrapbooking and I couldn't wait to start playing with them. I must admit it was a nice break from Sister Stamping. The green came out different from what I visualized, but I like how it came out anyway. This snowman just called to me, so I added him on as the focal point. Here's a close up of Mr. Snowman. Doesn't he look so happy? He made me happy- can't wait for the holidays now! I will share another card that will be in the class soon. Ta ta for now! Supplies:

Snowman- Hero Arts
Dot background- Hero Arts
Border and corner punches- Martha Stewart
Distress Inks- Ranger

Sister Stamps 2nd Release

2011-08-01T19:51:00.003-10:00

Hey Everyone! I know I've been kinda MIA for the past month, but I've been very busy getting ready for our 2nd Release at Sister Stamps! I have some non-Sister Stamps stuff to post in the next few days, so hopefully that will help tide you over until the new release. Keep checking the Sister Stamps blog for more updates on our new release!

My CATS for June

2011-07-15T20:37:00.000-10:00

So hopefully Michelle received my CATS for June before looking at this post. As I told you in my last post, the theme for June was to use flowers on your card/tag. I really wanted to use my new Sister Stamp images, but needed to make sure flowers were included. I settled on some flowers by All Natural Accents found at Photocraft for the card featuring Mei Lin, and mini sakura laser cuts by Island Scrapbooking for the tag. I didn't want the card and tag to be totally matchy matchy, so I used two different girls and the same washi to tie them together. Hope she likes it! Here's a close up of Mei Lin... And a close up of Kiyomi... Other supplies:

Tag die- Papertrey Ink
Girl stamps- Sister Stamps
Sakura- Island Scrapbooking
paper flowers- All Natural Accents
Washi- unknown
Cardstock- Bazzil
Ribbon
Crystal- Kaisercraft

June CATS

2011-07-14T00:00:00.000-10:00

With all that's been happening with Sister Stamps, I haven't been able to work on my CATS for June. I finally finished my card and tag and will be mailing it off tomorrow. Anyway, hopefully my partner Michelle gets it before I post! Sorry Michelle its soooooo late! Hope you like it! This is the card and tag Michelle sent to me (on time of course!). I love it! I love the colors especially. I've always loved the color combo of light blue and light green. Its so easy on the eyes. You can't tell from these photos, but she blinged it up by adding glitter to the butterfly and flowers. Oh yah- this month's theme was to add flowers to your card and tag. I think Michelle did a great job. I don't want to use it! Here's a close up of the card... And a close up of the tag. Thanks again Michelle! Hope you get mine soon. If you want to sign up for the next round (3 month commitment) check out Joy's blog for more info and updates on when you can sign up. As for me, this will be my last swap for awhile. Need to focus on Sister Stamps and wouldn't want to let my partner(s) down! Hopefully I can join in again next year.

Kiyomi Christmas

2011-07-13T00:00:00.000-10:00

Hi there! Just getting in the mood for Christmas! It's Christmas in July afterall, and I know everyone is starting to think about what they are going to do for Christmas cards and gifts this year... Last year, I taught a series of classes called the Christmas Card Club. It was a monthly class beginning in the summer that featured a variety of Christmas or Holiday themed projects. Well, students have been asking if I'll be teaching this class again this year, so I'm busy putting together some ideas for my first class. I always thought Kiyomi's pose looked like she was reaching for something. Well, on the original design, she is reaching for the butterfly, but I changed it up a bit and had Kiyomi reaching to put the star on the top of a Christmas tree. Just wanted to show you the versatility of this stamp- you are only limited by your imagination! To give it some asian flair, I stamped the Lawn Fawn pine tree onto some green washi paper for a fun look. I love how it turned out! Found the stool stamp by CC's Designs and the Merry Christmas sentiment at Island Scrapbooking. Michele is starting to carry various sentiments that are perfectly sized for card makers. Plus they are all one piece, so its easy peasy to adhere to your card. Love it! Here's a close up of Kiyomi... If you live in Hilo and would like to take this class, check out the Island Scrapbooking blog for upcoming class info.

Kiyomi Kick

2011-07-11T19:29:00.002-10:00

I guess I'm on a Kiyomi kick right now. I love how easy she is to color up and cut out! Just thought I'd share the card I made for an upcoming make 'n take at Island Scrapbooking on Saturday. If you are in Hilo, please stop in and join us, or just to say hi! For more information on the make 'n take, click here... Here's a closer look at Kiyomi... Hope to see you there!

Retailer Thank Yous

2011-07-10T08:28:00.004-10:00

Good Morning Everyone! Happy Sunday! It's been awhile since I posted huh? Been very busy with Sister Stamps the last few weeks and things have finally slowed enough for me to post something here. Thank you to all of you who've checked out our Sister Stamps blog and who have purchased our stamps! We are thrilled to get such a great response to our first release! We've also received a lot of support from local Hawaii retailers for our launch, so I wanted to give them a little thank you gift to show my appreciation. These goodies went out to retailers who had our stamps in their stores on 7/1/11. These guys took the leap of faith with us and we are grateful for that they took the risk. Found these gold pillow boxes at Ben Franklin but I think it's a Heiko product. Anyway, added a strip of washi paper around the box for some asian flair. Then colored up a bunch of Kiyomi's and added her along with an Arigato laser cut by Island Scrapbooking. Inside each box was some goodies from the big island. Had fun delivering these after the launch and talking to retailers to see how the stamps were selling. We were surprised to find that many of them had sold out so quickly! Here's a close up of the pillow box. After the Rubber Stamp Expo, Aunty Jan and I headed to some of the retailers to drop off the goodies. We were happy to see some of them on the shelves! Here's me with our stamps at Cute Stuff. Also spotted our stamps at Photocraft... Some of the other retailers had sold out, so we weren't able to get any photos with them. Thanks again to everyone who have made our launch so successful! We are working hard on the 2nd release which is scheduled for 9/1/11. Stay tuned for more information on our next release!

Kiyomi Tri-Easel Card

2011-06-23T06:56:00.002-10:00

Hi Everyone! Thank you so much to all of you who've checked out the Sister Stamps blog! Check out our post on Kiyomi... Don't forget to enter to win the blog candy by going to this post... For those of you who want to learn how to make this card, I will be teaching a class at Island Scrapbooking next month, so check their blog soon for class info. Thanks!

Sister Stamps Blog Candy

2011-06-22T06:50:00.002-10:00

Good Morning! Just a short note to tell you about the blog candy for Sister Stamps first release! To check out the sneak peeks and enter to win, check out the post here... Good Luck!

Are You Ready?

2011-06-21T18:00:00.000-10:00

Things are getting crazy here at Crazy for Papercrafting (no pun intended)!! Yes, I have been keeping a secret from all of you... and I'm DYING to let it out!!! So here goes... You all have been seeing all those images created by my sister Denise (aka "Kiyomi") and some of you have even contacted me to purchase them. Well, due to the great feedback we've been receiving over the past few months, I've decided to take the plunge and start up a new stamp line featuring my sister's designs!! Since she provides the designs and I do everything else, I decided to name the company Sister Stamps since this company would not exist if not due our sisterly relationship. Cute yah? I came up with that all by myself! Even naming the company took months! So after months of hard work, we are ready to launch Sister Stamps' first release on July 1st 2011!! Woo hoo! To celebrate and give you more information about this company, check out our new blog here, and become a follower. I'll be updating you on the latest releases, where you can buy our stamps, and how you can enter to win some blog candy!

May CATS

2011-06-20T00:00:00.000-10:00

What can I say? May and June have been very busy for me! So busy, I was super duper late on getting my CATS out for May... Sorry Berenice! Pls check out Berenice's blog here... she is co-owner of Karber Digital Images. Since Berenice lives in Mexico, I thought I'd send her some Aloha from Hawaii! Love these new CC's images that have a Hawaiian flair. Doesn't she look like she's ready to give you a lei? Since its a Card and Tag Swap (hosted by Joy), I included a matching tag and added a hibiscus from Island Scrapbooking. The die used to cut the tag was an old Sizzix die. I like it cause its flower shaped. Oh yah, forgot to mention that the theme for this month's swap was to use orange, yellow and pink on your projects. Normally I don't put all three of those colors together, but I kinda like the tropical feel of this color combo. Here's a close up of the card... Thanks Joy for coordinating this swap! CATS is open for sign up every three months. So check out Joy's blog for the next sign up. It might be open now, so check her out here... Once you sign up, you will be matched up with a swap partner each month for 3 months.

Stamp Layering Class

2011-06-18T11:45:00.002-10:00

Hope you are having a nice weekend so far. Celebrated my last furlough Friday (for now anyway) by teaching a class on stamp layering. I got inspired by the Hero Arts blog a few months back and have since bought a lot of stamps that are ideal for layering. I also got me some shadow inks to work with my distress inks, along with some mica powder. We had a lot of fun in class yesterday and were able to finish all three cards pretty quickly. If there were more supplies, I think the class would have been done in about an hour. Used the gold mica powder on this one. I think you can kinda see it on the top left corner of the card since the light got to it in the photo. Used this one as a sample- we didn't make it in class, but I always like to show them different ways of applying the same technique. All stamps are by Hero Arts.

Full of Words

2011-06-14T00:00:00.001-10:00

Guess I forgot to post this one... Made this a few weeks ago while getting ready for one of my classes. I really like using words as an accent. This card is just full of examples of how I've used words not only as the sentiment, but also on the background and on the flowers, which are the focal point of the card. My other favorite thing to use lately is kraft cardstock as my background. This card was very simple to put together.. just cut a piece of kraft and punched the corners only using the French Scroll corner punch by Martha Stewart. After I punched it, I thought it was a bit plain, so I stamped it using my Hero Arts background writing stamp in distress ink. I liked how this turned out since it gave it a vintage look. Cut the flowers and leaves using my Spellbinder nesties and used Pearl Brads (American Crafts) and pearl accents (Kaisercraft) for the centers. Topped it off with the Lawn Fawn banners and sentiment sets. Love how they coordinate so well together. The Lawn Fawn banner set is quickly becoming one of my faves. Sometimes a simple card is just as nice as a fancy card!

Piranha Plants

2011-06-13T07:08:00.002-10:00

The last project I have to share from Akemi's b-day party are the goodie bags. After weeks of trying to figure out what to do, I came up with the Piranha Plant. These venus flytrap looking plants are a staple in Mario games and were the perfect accent to the goodie bags. Pictured here is the prototype.... I ended up finishing them off by covering the sticks with green duct tape. Bought some cheap plastic flower pots from Walmart and shoved all the goodies inside. I don't know who loved them more... the kids or the parents!? Here's a close up of the plant. And here's all of them ready to go to the party.. We had so much fun and I'm burnt to a crisp! It was nice to see everyone again- including the Ho family from Honolulu! Need to do this again next year!

Big Island Taiko Festival 2011

2011-06-05T17:36:00.003-10:00

The 2nd Big Island Taiko Festival took place this weekend at the UH Performing Arts Center. Puna Taiko was joined by Hui Okinawa, Kona Daifuku Taiko, and Taishoji Taiko. DH is the Director for Puna Taiko, so a lot of time and effort has been put forth into this concert. Akemi and I went to see them play at today's matinee performance. Here's Akemi with Daddy after the concert. Decided to make a few goodies for the Puna Taiko members for doing a good job. Here's what I came up with... Isn't it fun? It really works too. I just love these stick bags.. Ended up making 16 of them. Ok- the sad thing is that the kids did not know what this was from! They are ALL too young to know what movie featured this drum. Even Lani- the other Director of the group did not know. Sigh, I guess me and DH are so old. I told them to all go home and watch Karate Kid II. If you are reading this and also did not know what movie it was from- please go and watch that movie- it's a classic. And here's the group showing off the goodies... Oh yah- did you know my DH was crafty too?? He's very proud of these Oni masks that were made for the festival. They used them when they were in the Keaau Xmas parade a couple of years ago, but he added hair and made a few more. They were used in one of the songs performed today. Good job Puna Taiko (and all the other Taiko groups performing today!). As for me, gotta start planning for next weekend's activities!

Chain Chomp Invites

2011-06-02T00:00:00.000-10:00

When I asked Akemi what theme she wanted for her b-day party, she told me she really wanted Mario Bros. Yikes! I think she's about 20 years too late! Oh well, there's not much Mario out there right now, so I had to resort to my own creations. She actually said that she wanted a Chain Chomp invitation, so I came up with a flattened version. Isn't he cute? See, he's even smiling at you! Do you like his teeth? His chain on teeth make it pretty impossible to mail this bugger, but I'm lucky there's only one we really needed to mail out. The rest can be hand delivered. When you open his mouth, you can see all the invite info... Made only about 7 of them... Many had to share one invite! Sorry! Just ran out of steam to make more than that! Hope the kids know what this is! Oh well- hopefully my next b-day party project turns out as planned. Stay tuned!

Paper Flower Bouquet

2011-06-01T00:00:00.000-10:00

I'm always looking for new ideas on what to make or buy for Akemi's ballet performances. We normally go 2 nights and I usually pick up fresh flowers for one of the nights. The second night she might get a lei or whatever I'm into at the moment. Recently, I got this new Spellbinder flower die set and I just love it! Had some leftover leaves and floral wire, so I whipped up these paper flowers in about an hour. The paper I used was Doodlebug and they are two sided, so just flipped the middle flower to the other side for contrast. I like it since its still in the same color, so it matches perfectly. Then added heart buttons found in one of the button packs from Ben Franklin, Luckily I was able to find enough for the whole bouquet. I think the heart buttons add something cute an fun to the flower. Ok, please don't judge but I pulled this out of a bag that had been sitting overnight, so my bow is all mangled! It looked nice when I first gave it to her, but you know how it goes after the event... Here's a close up of the flowers. If anyone has good ideas for next year's performance I would love to hear it!

Farewell Sue...

2011-05-31T00:00:00.000-10:00

I volunteered to make a farewell card for a co-worker who is leaving to be a full time grandma! Since I just started at my new job, I didn't know what she liked or didn't like, so I asked around and found out she really likes Halloween and K-drama. Unfortunately, I couldn't find some of my Halloween dies and nothing on K-drama, so I decided to be safe and stick with an asian theme. Here's the inside of the card- you can't see but I stamped some kanji on the right side and covered it with gold mica powder. Hope she likes it!

Ballet Birthday

2011-05-30T00:00:00.001-10:00

Not only was this weekend the big performance, but it was also Akemi's 7th Birthday! Hard to believe its been 7 years already. I can't believe how grown up she is now! After the performance, we went to Grandma's house for some B&R ice cream cake. Akemi picked strawberry ice cream/white cake. Yum! I love this photo of her. Here's the card I made for her. Sorry- blurred out what was on the flags- it was her name, but you get the jist right? I had a vision of doing this awhile ago and finally bought the Lawn Fawn set with the tiny flags I love it! I was also able to get the Harold's ABC's set by Lawn Fawn, which fit perfectly in the flags. I'll try to make another sample un-blurred so you can see it. All stamps used on this card is by Lawn Fawn except the b-day stamp, which is by Dandelion Designs. Akemi still loves her Daba, which is why I used bunnies on the card. She loved it! I can't remember a time when she hugged me so long after getting something from me. I'm glad she liked it so much. Happy Birthday Akemi! You will always be Mommy and Daddy's Daba.

Babes In Toyland- IDA 2011

2011-05-29T07:57:00.002-10:00

Every other year, Island Dance Academy puts on a huge production for all the dancers. This year, Akemi was one of the Old Lady who lived in the shoe kids (what a mouthful yah?) and was the first year she danced tap in the performance. Everyone did a great job! Here she is after opening night... On the 2nd night, we brought goodies for the other girls in her group. Made these flowers using the candy stick bags again and filling them with M&Ms. Someone behind me asked me about them. These bags are surely getting noticed in Hilo! As you can see, I forgot to take a photo before we got there, so this was taken while we were waiting for the show to start. Grandma Kat and Papa Steve came to watch Akemi too... And here's Akemi with Miss Suen, who runs IDA. And here's our happy family with our little shoe girl. Do you like her paper flower bouquet I made for her? Did it in about an hour before we left to drop her off. Why do I always wait till the last minute? Anyway, I'll try to get a better photo of them and re-post. Akemi really enjoyed this year's performance! I guess she'll be continuing on with dance for now... I think DH was getting a little worried when she spotted "hip hop" on the class schedule and asked to take that class too! Sticking with ballet and tap for now.

Happy Birthday Michele!

2011-05-25T00:00:00.000-10:00

We had a night of fun at Michele's not so surprise party last weekend. You can read more about it here... Just wanted to share what I made for Michele. After I made this frame, I thought Michele would like it, so instead of selling it at one of the craft fairs I did last month, I decided to give it to her. This then triggered the butterfly theme used for the rest of the stuff I made, including this matching card. Now, whenever we all get together- which is pretty rare, we can't make a poor showing in the crafty department right? I mean, what do you make for someone who owns a craft store? Gotta do something new, or complex, right? Well, I ran out of time to do complex, so I settled for something new. Saw this triple easel card on youtube and thought it was pretty cool. Of course, measurements were in metric, so I altered it a bit and came up with this... There are several versions out there, so you can check them out all over blogland. Then comes the wrap, which is JUST as important as the gift to all of us crafters.. right? Well, I can't take credit for the bag itself, but I did decorate it. Hope that counts for something. Anyway, whipped this up pretty quickly and slapped on a butterfly so that it all matches. Yay! at least I wasn't shame to give Michele something in a used plastic shopping bag! Happy Birthday Michele! Had so much fun with everyone. Oh- and I'm still waiting to hear when the next party is and who's teaching??!! ha ha ha ha ha!

Have A Whale of A Time!

2011-05-21T00:00:00.000-10:00

I promised you another class sample for my upcoming Copic class right? Well, I decided to keep the card really simple as you can see. The focus is on coloring and blending, so didn't want to much detail and complicated layouts. All stamps featured here are from the Lawn Fawn Critter's in the Sea set. Isn't this whale so cute? I just love how they have the coordinating sentiments in the set. The waves are also a stamp from the set that I stamped on patterned paper (My Mind's Eye). Here's a close up of the whale... Hope you have a great weekend!

If Friends Were Flowers...

2011-05-20T00:00:00.001-10:00

I've been meaning to work on my class samples for my upcoming Copic class at Island Scrapbooking, but didn't get around to it until this week. I normally include a card with a person in it so they can practice coloring hair, clothes, etc. Greeting Farm images work really well since they are pretty large and easier to color and shade than smaller stamps. Decided to go out of my comfort zone and pair up yellow with brown. This Lawn Fawn sentiment is so cute and matched the background paper so nicely. Here's a close up of Flirty Anya... Well, today's another Furlough Friday for me! I am gonna miss these if we have to give them up. I have another class sample to share with you tomorrow- talk to you soon!

May CATS

2011-05-19T00:00:00.000-10:00

So I haven't even started on my CATS swap for May, but I already received it from my partner, Berenice! Yikes- better get cracking! Anyway, wanted to share her card and goodies she sent with it. Thanks Berenice! Go check her and all her creations here.

April CATS

2011-05-18T08:10:00.002-10:00

I guess you can tell how busy I've been since I got this card a few weeks ago and only took the photo last night! This card is from Elena (Bearasaurs) for the April Card and Tag Swap (CATS) hosted by Joy. Our theme this month was to make an Easter card and tag... here's what Elena sent me (along with the goodies). Such a cute card! And I love that cocoa packet holder! Thanks Elena!

Bye Bye DPW!

2011-05-18T08:00:00.002-10:00

As you can tell from lack of posts, I've been extremely busy over the past few weeks.. Not only did I have 2 craft fairs, Easter, Mother's Day and a bunch of classes, I also started a new job! Which means leaving my old one at Public Works. It was sad to say goodbye (even though I'm still in the same building), but I'm ready to move on to new things. At DPW, there were a few of us crafters that would often share our projects with each other for ideas and inspiration. Diane made this farewell card for me and did a fabulous job! She said she was so stressed out making a card for me- funny yah? Not sure why she was stressed out about it- I love it! Check out the waterfall mechanism she included.... And here's the creator of that awesome card! Thanks Diane! And here's me with my team.. Thanks Michelle and Naomi! Miss you guys! OK- don't laugh when you see the cake... some people know that I like Hello Kitty, so they ordered me a Hello Kitty cake! Looks more like a birthday cake yah? Ha ha ha. I'll be back with more to share. Gotta go get ready to watch Akemi's May Day!

More Hello Kitty Frames

2011-05-11T00:00:00.000-10:00

Well, I think I might be finally recovered from this weekend's activities. Had to wake up bright and early on Saturday to finish up some craft fair stuff and drop some of it off at the FCE fair before heading to the Children's Fair at the Japanese Cultural Center. Here's one of the frames I left with the Hoaloha Club... I really wasn't sure how these frames would sell, but they sold really well at the Japanese Cultural Center fair. Happy Wednesday to you!

More Embossed Thank Yous

2011-05-06T00:00:00.000-10:00

Since I had my embossing gun out, decided to get a few more embossed cards done for the fair. I wasn't sure if I could stamp and emboss over already embossed images, but I guess it worked on my first card. I like how the white embossing powder shows up on the kraft cardstock. Kraft is my new favorite card base. This next card was inspired by the Hero Arts blog. I wanted to replicate a similar card but couldn't figure out how they colored in the flowers in red and white. I thought using my trusty white uniball gel pen would work, but I didn't really like the results. I guess I may never know how they did that. I'm guessing some kind of red and white enamel ink? Fabric ink? Anyway, hopefully I figure it out one day. If anyone knows, let me know- here's the link to the card I'm referring to... Don't forget to come and visit me at the Japanese Cultural Center Craft Fair! See you then!

Thanks So Much

2011-05-05T00:00:00.001-10:00

Finally sat my butt down to make some cards for this weekend's craft fairs. Decided to do simple cards so I don't stress myself out... Its all about production, not necessarily details. So I busted out my new Hero Arts cling set and new shadow inks to try them out. I must say I like the subtleness of the shadow inks. It came out nicer than I expected. To give it a more worn vintage look, I added distress Vintage Photo to the ends along with some other distress colors. Since I get bored easily, decided to do them in different colors... Here's the close ups.. Yay! This week is another furlough Friday for us. Teaching a class tomorrow and then 2 craft fairs on Saturday. Please come and visit me if you are in Hilo at the Japanese Cultural Center craft fair. Puna Taiko will also be selling butter mochi for $6 a pan. My other craft fair items will be available at the FCE fair at Aunty Sally's. Hope you can stop by!

Embossed Thank Yous

2011-05-04T00:00:00.000-10:00

While making cards for the craft fair, I decided to make either Birthday or Thank you cards. That way, if they don't sell, I'll have a stash for myself for later. Either way I win... right? Anyway, keeping it simple by embossing in my favorite Queen's Gold embossing powder on this brown metallic cardstock. It has a gold undertone, so the gold embossing really adds to it. All stamps except for the Thank You stamp on the first card are by Hero Arts. The Thank You Stamp at the top is by Paper Inspirations. I have a feeling this company doesn't exist anymore, which makes me sad since they had really nice stamps. I'm glad I picked them up when I did since you can't seem to find them anymore. Hopefully they will start manufacturing again because I know a whole mess of people who want their stamps!

It's Time To Celebrate!

2011-05-03T20:09:00.003-10:00

A few months back, I saw this post on Donna's blog. Since then, I've been totally inspired by her work and have bought many of the stamps she features on her blog. This card is definitely CASEing her work. There's not much deviation from her original design. I guess I couldn't improve on it! I think the main difference is the ribbon and lace punch that I used for the border. Other than that, its pretty much the same. Here's a close up of the image. All stamps are by Hero Arts and lace punch is by EK success. Thanks Donna for such great inspiration!

Happy Belated Birthday Sara!

2011-05-02T00:00:00.000-10:00

I'm really late this year! My niece's b-day was 4/14 and I didn't get this in the mail till this past Monday! Sorry Sara! Hope she gets this card before she sees it here on my blog... I think this will be my last pleated pop up card for awhile. I've been making so many for classes and other stuff that I need a break from it. Since my sister designed these images, I thought it would be nice to use them in the card to my niece. She loves her Auntie Denise and I'm sure she'll recognize her designs. Above is the front cover- kept the design relatively simple since the background is a little busy. Below is what the card looks like when its opened. Its hard to see the butterflies she is chasing, so I took another photo below this one. Aaah- here's a better view... Since my niece is now a tween (or acts like one anyway), I decided to just give her $$. Its getting harder and harder to buy kids presents nowdays, so I thought it would be nice to let her choose her own gift or save it for her trip to Hawaii that's coming up. Thanks for visiting! Its gonna be a busy week- still trying to finish up projects for my 2 craft fairs this weekend!

Gearing Up For Craft Fairs...

2011-04-30T19:42:00.002-10:00

I have a lot more work to do before my 2 craft fairs next Saturday. I have about 20 half done projects that need to be finished up. Had to take a break in order to get the IS newsletter and class samples done... Still have more to do but it'll have to wait until after the fair. Got this washi paper from Ben Franklin. It's one of my favorites! I love the color combo and design, but I did find it a bit busy for this frame. When I placed the girl directly on the washi, she blended into the background. So to make her pop out a bit, I mounted her on a circle and added a border behind her for more contrast. Here's a close up of the image. Back to work!

Felt Flowers

2011-04-26T00:00:00.001-10:00

Hope you are having a great week so far! OK- so its another HK frame.... I know you keep seeing these on my blog, but this time I wanted to point out the felt flower accents I made. At first I thought Debi was crazy to buy that 100% wool felt by PTI, but now I know she is a genius! It cuts so nicely0 even with Spellbinders! Plus the colors they come in are so nice. Now I want it in every color! After I added the flowers, I stuck some buttons in the middle for a home made touch.

Bubbles and Smiles Treat Box Card

2011-04-25T00:00:00.000-10:00

Decided to make another Treat Box Card using this cute Dandelion Designs set. I really like this set as it reminds me of Akemi and her cousin Baby Z cause they LOVE playing with bubbles. Off the subject... I don't recommend those new crayola bubbles. Its not that great in terms of bubble making and its messy. Definitely not going in Akemi's b-day party goodie bags. Plus they cost a small fortune. OK back to the card... I decided to decorate the inside as well as the outside this time... And don't forget the Hershey's Nuggets! Yum!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T00:00:00.002-10:00

Happy Easter! Did the Easter Bunny bring you yummy treats? I remember one Easter I must've been bad cause I didn't get anything from the Easter Bunny! Anyway, came up with this simple treat to give to Akemi's class and my classes this weekend. Debi got the bags for me when she went to Honolulu (Thanks Debi!). Thank goodness cause it sure made these projects easy! To make my life even easier, I just printed up some Easter clipart by Nancy Kubo and Mindy Terasawa and added a sentiment below. Then I punched them out and mounted them on scalloped circles and taped them to the top of the bag. Yay! Easy Peasy! Here's a closer look...

Don't Forget- Easter Sale Today!

2011-04-23T07:12:00.002-10:00

Hi Crafters! Just a reminder that Island Scrapbooking has an Easter Sale going on in-store today. The following are on sale:

Buy 2 paper packs, get 1 free
Buy 2 wood stamps, get 1 free
Additional 50% off all red tagged items.

Sorry, no points on sale items. We close at 2:00pm today- see you soon! Happy Easter!

CATS: Easter Theme

2011-04-23T00:00:00.000-10:00

Happy Easter Everyone! Just wanted to share what I created for the April Card and Tag Swap (CATS) that Joy hosts on her blog... You need to sign up for three consecutive months at a time and Joy will pair you up with three different participants. This month, my partner is the Bearsaurus herself, Elena. Need to make one tag and one card in whatever theme she comes up with... This month's theme was Easter, so I was happy to use my new Verve stamps that just came in. These little chickies are so cute! They come with chickie sentiments too- which I just love! First here's my tag.. now that I look at it, I probably should have used a different color base yah? Oh well. Here's the card I made for her using the same stamps... It's another pleated center pop up card. And here's what it looks like when its opened flat. Do like the butterfly? Here's you can see it fully opened with the sentiment. And here's the close up of the cute chickie! Hope she likes it!

Japanese Girl Frame

2011-04-22T00:00:00.000-10:00

Thought I'd give you a break from HK and share another frame using my sister's designs. I just love this bunny washi paper and use it a lot in my projects. It reminds me of Akemi's Daba- though Daba is not so white these days. I again blew up the image to fill the space better. Since the background is a bit busy, I die cut the large scallop circle and mounted her on top of it. Then added on some flowers by All Natural Accents. You can get them from Photocraft. I'm thinking this one will come with me to the Japanese Cultural Center fair since the focus there is on Japanese stuff. Hope everyone has a Happy Easter!