Origami Tree Card

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...

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!