Clip Board Frame

I like to try out new ideas from time to time.  I found these blank recycled mini clipboards for $1, so I decided to do a bit of altering.  First I painted it with Gesso... do I sound like I know what I'm talking about?  Well, it's all an act.  Truthfully, I have no idea if its better to use Gesso or regular white acrylic paint.  Maybe I'll never know.

After giving it a coat of Gesso, I decided to add some of my treasured Prima DP from the Fairybelle collection.  You  can't see it too good cause I got Akemi's photo over it, but its really pretty!  I adhered it using mod podge instead of just regular adhesive.

Then I started embellishing.  First I chose the large white Prima flower to cover the clip part of the board.  Next to it, I added in some Prima aqua roses w/white tips.  Love those for a shabby look. Then I made another wire heart and added some bling and more roses.    Then I cut a pink mat and clipped the photo over it.  I think I like the fact that you can change out the photo if you like.  Plus, since it's also a clip board, you can easily hang it on the wall!

I've been on you tube a lot recently and found so many amazing projects!  I can't share some of them yet since they are gifts to some special friends...

Oh, and please check out the Sister Stamps blog for our Release #11 Sneak Peeks!  Hope you like them!

And for those of you who followed my Japan adventure a couple of years ago.. we are going again!  This time we are heading to the Snow Festival in Sapporo, so we'll likely freeze our buns off.  I'm hoping to keep a blog diary again of our trip, so you might want to check back if you want to see what we are up to on our next Japan Adventure!

Favorite Frame

I gotta say, I think this is my favorite frame of the bunch.  I love the washi. I love it so much I almost didn't want to use it on the frame.  Then I had such a hard time deciding which image to use, then what embellishments to use with it.  I wanted it to be perfect!

If you look really closely, you'll see that the washi has a subtle pattern to it.  It includes tiny cranes, hexagons, sakura, etc. all in a pale blue color.  This was a paper I got from the Paper Source in LA.  I had initially only bought one sheet, but after using a lot on one project during the Anniversary release, I decided to conserve... Luckily, I was able to replenish my stash when I went back to LA in October.  Yay!

To add interest, I added in a crystal flourish. I think its a Recollections brand, which I got from Michaels.  Finally, added some acrylic flowers that I bought from Etsy and also found some at Craft Supply in Honolulu.

Ended up coloring Miyoko's cupcake light pink.  Somehow I just can't imagine a blue cupcake!?  Weird yah, so even though the rest of the design has blues, I went with a light pink wrapper and cherry.

So in case you come to my craft fair and don't see this frame, it's cause I decided not to sell it!  I'm still debating...

Sweet Miyako

Gee, its been awhile since I used Miyako on anything.  I forgot how to color her!  It was kinda fun using all the old images again.  I need to do that more often and give them some love.

I just love how many uses there are for this image.  I guess even though she was released as a Valentine's Day image, Miyako can be used year round.  I've seen her used a lot on Mother's Day cards and birthday cards.  Love to see all the new ways of using our images.

Since this image is so versatile, I thought it would be perfect on a frame.  I think it would be so cute to use this frame as a gift. I would probably insert a photo of someone's granddaughter and give it to them.

Washi paper was from my Japan stash.  Cherry blossoms are from Wild Orchid Crafts and I believe the flourish is by Recollections.  I seem to be going through those flourishes quite frequently nowadays!

Okidoki... back to crafting!

Sisters or BFF'

I really like this image.  It reminds me of me and my sister.  Originally I was going to name it Sisters instead of BFF, but then I thought that more people would be able to relate to it if it was called BFF's since anyone can have a BFF, but not everyone has a sister.  Either way, I thought every female could appreciate and enjoy this image.

I colored their bow/flower to make it look like they traded.  I remember doing stuff like that with friends when I was little.  Somehow it was always more fun to wear your friends stuff than your own. 

This washi paper was from the Paper Source.  If you live in an area with a Paper Source, you really should check out their paper area.  I found the prettiest washi papers there.  I'm hoping when I go back to Japan I'll find more of the papers they carried.

Can't believe the craft fair is just days away!  If you see me and I don't respond, it could be because of lack of sleep!  Ha ha ha!

Miyono Dances

My mom always liked the song "I hope you dance" and said she identifies with it a lot.  I guess I had that in the back of my mind when I named this image after her.  I feel like the cranes were dancing in the background, so I used Miyono since she's the dancer of the group.  

When I first covered the frame with this crane washi... I admit, I had a hard time parting with it. It has become of of my favorite papers!  But I knew it would make a lovely frame, so I reluctantly used it on this one.  Now I'm glad I did since I really liked how it looks on the frame.  Secretly I am wondering if I should pull this one and keep it for myself?!  We'll see if it makes it to the table.  Ha ha ha!

Found these acrylic flowers at Craft Supply in Honolulu!  So glad I made the time to visit that store.  I used to go all the time when they were located on King Street, but haven't shopped there in years.  Added some crystal bling flourishes for interest.

So what do you think... sell of keep?  I'm on the fence!

Revisiting Ayako

I'm pretty certain that behind Kiyomi, Ayako is the next most popular image.  I'm guessing everyone likes her umbrella?  I guess I can't choose since I like all of them!  I guess I think of them as my children.  Silly yah? It's so weird to think of things that are not even alive as my children.  I guess it's cause I name them and give them some personality when I introduce them to world, so I feel a connection to each and every one of them.  

OK back to the project.. Yes, yet another frame.  If you've been visiting me all week, it's pretty much the same sphiel... enlarged image, colored & cut out and popped up onto a washi covered frame.

Here's a close up of Ayako...

Be back soon with more to share!

Fun With Mei Lin

Sometimes I spend so much time promoting our new Sister Stamps images that I neglect the first releases!  Sorry girls!  Time to give them some love too.  So I decided to enlarge Mei Lin and add her to one of the frames.  Mei Lin was from the first release of Sister Stamps.  I just love her hairdo! I don't think I've ever had that hairdo myself, but its really cute!  And her pinwheel really brings this image to life.  It continues to be one of my favorites!

Here's a close up Mei Lin...

Check back soon for more craft fair samples!

The Countdown Begins!

Woah!  Today is not only release day for the new Sister Stamps images (Release #10), but it's also exactly one week until the craft fair at my house!  OK now I'm panicking!  

Luckily, I had made a bunch of these frames to sell.  Continuing on with the shares... today I have Kiyomi.  Kiyomi is still... without a doubt... the best selling image of Sister Stamps.  I can't get over that no matter how many images we release, she remains our most popular.  And funny how its the image I happen to name after my sister!

The Kiyomi image comes with a butterfly, but I hardly color up the butterfly.  Instead, I opted to punch out a small butterfly using a flat EK success punch and added some crystals.  

Do you like her hair?  It's a lot more work, but I think its worth the time and effort.  It really makes it look like she has bangs and her hair is pulled back into the pigtales.  I saw Amy Young do this on her blog- 1000 sheets of paper. Thanks Amy!

If you are interested in coming to my craft fair, please email me at sisterstampsllc@gmail.com and I will send you the address.  Thanks for stopping by!

It's Nobu's Turn

Nobu was the very first boy that Sister Stamps released, so he'll always hold a special place in my heart!  No matter what new boy images come out, he remains one of our more popular boys.  

I enlarged him on my computer so that he would fit the frame better.    Since the washi paper is pretty busy, I opted for a plain gold circle behind him so that he stands out a bit.  After coloring Nobu, I cut him out and popped him up off the frame to add some dimension...

And here's a close up of the little guy...

Come visit me soon to see another frame using Sister Stamps images!  Don't forget to enter to win some blog candy over at the Sister Stamps blog!

For The Boys...

OK one more post before I go to bed...

I really like this Buddies image that my sister came up with.  They are just so darn cute!  I don't even have boys where I could make use of this frame, but I really like the image, so I'm tempted to keep it for myself!

I used the same design as the Katsura frame I shared yesterday.  I just free hand cut the "hill" and placed the boys on top with pop dots.  I also cut out the froggie and had him playing along with them.  This reminds me of when my cousin and I used to play leap frog in her yard.

Here's a close up of the buddies.

I have more to share with you soon.. Stay tuned!

Craft Fair Frames

So I've been busy making some new frames this year.  I've decided to break down my posts and spread them out since there's a lot to share...  I've even created some new ones using new images, but I'll wait to post them once the images are released.

Until then, I'll be sharing some of our favorite images that were used on these press board frames.  These unfinished frames were purchased from Ben Franklin and covered with washi paper.  At this point, I have so much washi, I can't remember where I got this one from.  I'm guessing it was from Japan since it's pastel green and most of the ones I picked up in Japan were pastel.

While on one of many trips home in November, I took a bunch of images with me that were enlarged on the computer.  This makes a nice size for the frame.  On my down time, I colored in the images so that all I had to do was cut them out when I got home.

Since Katsura looks like he is balancing, I felt like I needed to add in something for him to stand on.  I opted to free hand cut the "hill" out of gold cardstock and then used pop dots to adhere him to the frame.  I think the "hill" was just the added touch needed to accent the boy without competing with the boy or the washi background.  Here's a closer look at Katsura...

Thanks for stopping by!  Can you believe its Wednesday?   See you soon with another frame to share.

More Craft Fair Shares

Can't believe the Pumpkin Patch craft fair has come and gone!  It happened so quickly!  Guess I need to start working on stuff for my Christmas Craft Fair. 

Anyway, just wanted to share some of the shabby things I came up with....  Made a few more of the earring holder/message board frames..  Used some butterfly lace I found at Walmart and added some stickles to make them sparkle.  Picked up this butterfly from Michaels and added on some pearls to the body.

Here's some 3 tiered frames that I tried my hand at.  After painting them, decided on some bling accents.  Kept it very simple....

I think this is a nice frame for wedding photos.

I love the scrabble tile look with my shabby projects.  Had my daughter in mind when I made this one.  She has two BFFs and loves the color blue.  Daisy accents are my favorite- got them from I am Roses.

Did another take on the bling frame.  This time painted it pink and added some black bow accents. Love the parisian look!

This last frame was one of my favorites.  I wanted to use some pearl beaded trim that I found at Walmart.  Sadly, its no longer available there!    Added on more large I am Roses pink roses.

Be back soon to share more projects from the fair!

Attention Hilo Peeps!

It's almost here!  Tomorrow you can find me (and my friend Susan) at the first annual Waiakea Intermediate School Pumpkin Patch event!  There will be food, games, crafts, entertainment, and pumpkins (of course!).  The event starts at 9:00am and runs through 2:00pm.  The craft and food booths will be located around the library, which is located right behind the main office.  

The front lawn will house all the entertainment and the pumpkin patch.  I hear they will also have a petting zoo too, so Hilo folks- bring your family for day full of fun!

I've been busy trying to make some things before the fair.  Here's a sampling of what you can find at my booth. We will also have some fun treats for sale- just in time for Halloween!  Here's what I've been busy working on....

First up is my snowflake ornaments!  I made them in several pastel colors. I love snowflakes and was so happy to find the tutorial on youtube by CynthiaLooWho.

You may remember that I made my friends Linda and Cami  an easel message board/earring holder?  Well, I  modified it a bit based on these frames I found at Walmart.  They were perfect since it didn't contain any glass or acetate.  Now why would someone want an unfinished frame like that?  I guess I did!  Worked out great for me!

Here's the coasters I thought I'd try out.  Just cut up some of my precious washi paper and decoupaged it onto the tiles.  Also added some cork for the bottoms so it won't scratch your table.  Selling them in a set of 4.

Another fun project that I enjoyed making was this mini watering can pin cushion. I added in some of the stickpins I've been working on.  Had to give it a shabby chic touch by adding some beaded trim.

So if you have some time tomorrow- please stop by and say hi!

Sister Stamps Frames

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 and Friends Frames

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!

Happy Birthday Michele!

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!

More Hello Kitty Frames

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!

Gearing Up For Craft Fairs...

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!