Old Favorites and New Additions!

Are you as excited as I am?  With the re-launch of Sister Stamps, we are happy to feature old favorites and new additions to the family!  For everyone who missed out on getting our images when they were originally launched, you are in luck!  Two of our old images are now available in the re-launch!  Do you remember Kiyomi?  Well, she's being released again, but this time as a clear stamp and with extra images that can be used with other Sister Stamps!  

I must admit, I haven't been stamping or coloring images in a long time. In fact, I intentionally tried to not use my copic markers when stamping these images... I thought it would be much easier to stamp on water color and then paint them up using my distress inks.  So the first three cards are just that... I created scenes using the stamps and watercolored them in.  They came out OK, but I felt out of practice and not happy with the end result.  So you may be asking why I'm sharing them here?  I just want to share my journey back to stamping.  Although I've been away from it for a bit, as I went through this process, I discovered that I really do enjoy stamping and coloring and I was able to re-teach myself how to use my pens again!!  Woo Hoo!

So let's take a look at the first card.  It's one of the watercolored ones.  I wanted to feature the cute flying squirrels that are included in the set.  The original cling Kiyomi set included a butterfly, but now you can pair her with the squirrels too!  I added in some flower sequins from my stash to fill in some of the empty space... I think it came out better once I did that.  Sorry, these photos are not great since the weather was pretty dark all day today.  :(

This next card is very similar to the first... I created another scene using Kiyomi, but this time using the bird stamps that came in another set that will be featured soon.  I like that you can mix and match the stamps and they all work well together! It needed someting to fill the blank space, so I added in clear iridescent sequins as accents.

This last watercolor card features the original butterfly that she was with when we released her as a cling stamp.  The set also includes other images you can use for backgrounds.

And now you can see what I was talking about...  Yes, I eventually caved and went back to using my copic markers.  I dont't know why I resisted. I guess I thought I could make the watercolor ones as nice as my sister does when she paints on the computer... but I guess I should stick to what I know works (for me anyway).  In this card, I printed the sentiment on the computer and mounted it on some scrap washi paper.  It was still too much white space for my taste, so I added in the birds (again) from the other set and added a thin line of gold stickles around the border of the white cardstock.  I think that little bit of stickles made a big difference. I don't think you can even see the stickles in this photo, but hopefully you will check out my video where you can see it better!

The hair always takes me the longest to do.  I hope you can see it but when coloring up the hair, I always try to mimic the way the hair grows or the way it is combed.  In this case, I added in lines where her hair is parted and pulled back into pigtails.  I also left some white highlights on her bangs.  Its more work, but I like the results.  

I guess the biggest lesson I learned is that although it may seem like a lot of work in your mind, it really isn't so bad.  And although you may be out of practice, it comes back and is probably not as hard as you think it will be!  So if you are like me and haven't picked up a stamp or a copic in awhile, I encourage you to just do it. Its not as bad as you think!

Please check out my video... I have two sets of the new release to give away to someone in the US!  All you need to do is leave a comment on the videos posted for this release and you'll be entered!  Good Luck!

So if you haven't already ordered your stamps, you can get them here:

Impronte D'Autore

Hanko Designs

And stop by tomorrow to see my other samples!

Last One!

Ok- you must be sick of these magnetic boards by now right? This will be the last one for now... again using some of my new washi from Japan here and added Kiyomi this time. After I made this, I decided to re-do it and add in a strip under Kiyomi and personalized it for a blogging friend. I hope she liked it!



Thanks for sticking with me through all these craft fair posts!

Happiness Coaster

I know Kiyomi is by far everyone's favorite image... I guess its cause she's so cute and easy to cut? Anyway, since she's so popular, I decided to make a coaster calender using her image. These calendars are easy to make and a great gift to give friends. I thought she needed something next to her, so I stamped the happiness kanji and punched it out. This particular kanji stamp is by Fiskars.


Here's a closer look at Kiyomi.



Supplies:
Coasters- Papertrey Ink
Happiness stamp- Fiskars
Kiyomi- Sister Stamps
Washi paper- from Japan
Binder rings- Office Max
Red cardstock- Doodlebug Designs
2012 Calendar

Sister Stamps Mobile

When I got my hands on these awesome Sakura dies by Lifestyle Crafts (formerly Quickutz), I had a vision of this project. Its amazing how sometimes the image in your mind actually comes to life (and sometimes it totally bombs!). Anyway, since the sakura die has 5 petals, I thought I could hang something from each petal.

Here's the result...


My only concern was stability. Because paper is so flimsy, I was worried on how to stabilize the sakura so that it wouldn't bend or curl. Finally I saw this tutorial on the Papertrey ink blog that explains how to layer chipboard. Since the dies are wafer dies, they won't cut through thick chipboard, but they cut fine through my old cereal boxes. So I harvested 2 boxes from our recent shopping trip and they worked perfectly! After cutting several layers, I adhered them together and then cut out a red sakura for each side. Then smaller sized sakura in washi paper to add to the red sakura.

After adding each girl. I decided to add some beads to help with balancing out the mobile. In between the longer strings, I added in the smallest Sakura die cut. I just love how it turned out!

Here's close ups of each girl.








So I hope you enjoyed this project! If you were inspired to make a mobile, let me know so I can check it out!

Washi paper- Hanko designs
Sakura dies- Lifestyle Crafts

A Card From Eunice...

Have you ever visited Eunice's blog? If not, please check it out since she has some wonderful creations. I'm constantly inspired by her creations as they are so detail oriented. I can literally spend days looking at her work. This beauty was mailed to me this past week. I honestly couldn't believe she would give this card away! I think if I worked as hard as she did on this card I'd have keep it! I feel so lucky to be the recipient.


I love how she used both Kiyomi and Mei Lin on the same card. I keep forgetting to try that!


Here's the really really cool thing about this card... Love how the tri fold card has circles that line up! I'm pretty sure she did that on her cricut since she is cricut master.


Thank you Eunice for such a pretty card. I will keep this in my Sister Stamps treasure box to remind me of our first blog candy giveaway.

You Gotta Have Friends...

Everyone knows you gotta have friends right? Well, my CBFF (crafty BFF) Debi is such a great friend.. she made all of these Kiyomi samples to help me out. Although we don't have a Design Team, I guess you could say she is my unofficial Design Team Member. I can't believe she mass produced those cute Kiyomi shadow box cards. Most of them are finding their way to a craft store near you that sells our stamps.

Here's a close up of one of my faves...

Thanks Debi! You are the bestest! Take a break now cause the next release will be here before you know it!

Matching Sisters

A few months ago, I signed up for a card and tag swap hosted by Joy. Every month, there's a theme for your creations that you swap with other paper crafters and last month's theme was flowers. Since my Sister Stamps came in, I decided to do something with our images and here's what I came up with...


I didn't want them to be too matchy matchy, so I tied them together using the same papers. The gold cardstock by Bazzil is a great alternative to the mirrored gold cardstock that we all love. It matches the gold found in most washi papers, which is why I love using it. Here's a close up of Mei Lin...



And here's a close up of Kiyomi...


You guys are really keeping me busy with Sister Stamps, so I think this will be my last swap for now. We are busy working on the new images for the September release, so stay tuned for some sneak peeks next month.

Supplies:

• Mei Lin and Kiyomi- Sister Stamps
• Washi- unknown
• Gold cardstock- Bazzil
• Paper flowers- All Natural Accents
• Sakura- Island Scrapbooking
• flourish punch- EK success
• crystal- Kaisercraft
• Ribbon
  

Kiyomi Christmas

Just thought I'd share this card I made using Kiyomi in a Christmas card. I thought it might be cool to see if I could make Kiyomi trimming a Christmas tree. Fortunately, the size of Kiyomi was perfect to coordinate with this Lawn Fawn pine tree from their Critters in the Woods set. I stamped the tree on washi paper so that it would look more asian since Kiyomi is wearing a kimono. The background paper is also washi/rice paper (not sure which) that has gold flecks in it. I thought it would make a nice background for the image without competing with the washi from the tree too much. Can you come up with other uses for our stamps? If so, we'd love to see them! Email me at sisterstampsllc@gmail.com with a link to your creation. We'll try to link all referals to our Facebook page.


Here's a close up of Kiyomi...

Supplies:

• Kiyomi- Sister Stamps
• Stool stamp- CC's Designs
• Pine Tree stamp- Lawn Fawn
• Cardstock- Bazzil
• Washi paper- Hanko Designs
  
• Merry Christmas sentiment- Island Scrapbooking
  

Join The Fun!

Konbanwa! Just wanted to share with you the project we will be making at the make 'n take this Saturday at Island Scrapbooking in Hilo. The make 'n take is free and will start at 10:30am and last until we run of out of kits. The make 'n take will feature everyone's favorite image- Kiyomi. If you are in the Hilo area, please stop in and join us- or just say hello!



Here's a close up of Kiyomi...

Supplies:

• Kiyomi- Sister Stamps
• Washi paper- Hanko Designs
• Arigato- Island Scrabooking
• Butterflies- Martha Stewart Crafts
• Cardstock- Bazzil
  

Sweet Moments

As promised, here's another sample from Aunty Jan. Have you ever used ribbon as the main print of your card before? I thought this was quite interesting to do. I've never used printed ribbon in this manner, in fact I have a difficult time using printed ribbon, so this really got my attention. Need to remember to try this in the future. It really added a nice accent to the card, without taking anything away from Kiyomi.



We still want to see what everyone does with our images. Please let us know if you've posted a sample on your blog, flicker group, facebook or any other internet resource. We'd love to see what you come up with!

One Day Left!

I feel like it's Christmas Eve! Can't wait till tomorrow to find out how everyone likes our stamps! Just wanted to share one last sample from Aunty Jan that I just love. I guess I never thought of putting Mei Lin and Kiyomi together, but they actually compliment one another really well. It looks like Kiyomi is trying to play with Mei Lin's pinwheel! Aunty cut out Kiyomi so she wouldn't get the butterfly in the scene, but you could also cut out the butterfly from the stamp and use it as a separate stamp so that you can place the butterfly wherever you want it to go. That's the beauty of cling stamps!


Don't forget, today is our last day to enter into all the blog candies! Please post a comment by 11:59pm tonight for your final chance to win! Good Luck! And as a reminder, please let me know if you've posted any creations featuring our stamps on your blog.. we'd love to come and visit and check them out! Happy Stamping!

Meet Kiyomi...

Thought I'd give these girls a proper introduction, so starting off with Kiyomi. Kiyomi is my sister's middle name and she often goes by Kiyomi when signing her artwork. This image comes with a butterfly that Kiyomi is chasing, but is not featured here on this sample. Here's a close up of Kiyomi...




While exploring other blogs, I came across some you tube videos for a triple easel card, which was actually easy to make. Much easier than it looks! The main challenge is finding the right paper and embellishments for the side panels as they will look sideways when card is closed (shown here).

Keeping that in mind, I used my sakura punches by Punch Bunch to decorate the side panels. You can't really decorate using things that have a definite right or wrong way. Here's what the card looks like once you open it up... to keep the card open, I used a bunch of pop dots in strategic paces.



Being that my sister is the talent behind this company, I thought it only fitting to name the first image after her! Thanks Denise for all your hard work! Miss you!

Don't forget to enter into our blog candy for a chance to win all 3 new releases!

Supplies:

• Kiyomi- Sister Stamps
• Banner and sentiment stamp- Lawn Fawn
• Sakura punches- Punch Bunch
• Washi paper- Hanko
• Cardstock-Bazzil
• Gems- Kaisercraft