September SSS - FALL aka...

Hello!

This post is all about Fall which was our theme for the September Secret Sister Swap.

My swap partner was Kathy and the first thing that popped in to my head was how much she loves Starbucks.  It was a no brainer to choose Frappi Anya for my card, but what else could I use?  I found that awesome embossing folder on a trip to Hobby Lobby and I already had the other elements like the awesome MFT coffee cup, MCT doily, MFT banner and letters.  When coming up with the sentiment I wanted it to be different than usual, so choosing the letters "fall aka" I arranged them on the banner which means I needed to have something on the inside...

How about "...pumpkin-spice latte season! Enjoy!"  I stamped Frappi Anya off the bottom of the right side and cut off a scrap of that pretty fall paper.  Then I handwrote the rest of the sentiment.  I added a SBux giftcard to go with the card because it was appropriate.  I also made a tag, that I will be sharing on Monday, and paired it up with a set of fall ribbons I had received from another swap a year ago, but haven't had the opportunity to use, so I thought I would share it with Kathy instead in the hopes that she will be able to use them.

Now that I've share what I sent here's what I received from my buddy Karen...

The absolutely cutest shaker Fall card!!  She is the queen of scenes and this card blew me away.  The colors are so pretty and the details... Beautiful!  She also sent me some fun dies from Memory Box that I'll be able to use to create some fun elements on my cards.  Thank you so much Karen, I love the card and the dies!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a great hump day!!

Sewing Faerie Marci SSS

Hello!

Today I have a fun share.  This is actually for one of my swap partners and it is way overdue!!  I hope she likes it and the goodies I am sending a long with it.

I decided to go with a bright color palette.  Always love the primary colors with the touch of black thrown in.  This is Faerie Sewing Marci from La-La Land Crafts and she is from the February club kit.  I have used all the dies from the kit as well as a couple of the stamps.  I also used some other dies including the flower die from the April club kit, open leaf flourish along with a couple MFT dies.  Each of the dies are really nice quality and the details they create are wonderful!  I love how these dies go so well with each other.  Here's a close up of the bottom part of the card...

I had fun with the button border.  I drew some fun flowers on some of the buttons.  I stamped the sentiment and cut each word then popped them on to the card.  You can still see the details on the buttons.  You'll see I made my own fabric to match the buttons.  The dp is MME 6x6 Happy Day paper.  The rest of the papers are all Neenah brand.

I had a lot of fun coloring her with Copic markers.  She's popped on to the spool of black thread.  Didn't think I'd have so much fun putting this together, but I did.  Well hoping my swap partner already received it and isn't too disappointed or upset that it's super late.  ((eek, no chance!))

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day! 

June Secret Sister Swap

Hello!

Today I wanted to share my June Secret Sister Swap.  The theme was summer fun.  My partner was Cyndi Kim.  I know she's been missing Hawai'i so I thought I'd make her a Hawaiian themed frame.

I was super tempted to keep this one, but I knew Cyndi would love it so off it went.  I broke down and cut in to some hoarded Aloha print patterned paper for this one.  I think next time I won't use the white gesso, it washed out the beautiful colors on the papers too much.  I had pictured something else in my mind, but alas once it went down there was no going back.  Again another learning experience.  The computer generated sentiment was printed on vellum paper and glued down.  It says, "No matter how far you go, Hawai'i will always be in your soul"

The kiddie images are Pua & Kaleo from Sisters Stamps.  I paper pieced their outfits using scraps from one of the orange patterned papers.  Fun cut them out and glued them down flat on to the bottom of the frame.  The hibiscus flowers and leaves were stamped and cut using one of my favorite (sadly discontinued) MFT stamp and die sets.  I finally got to use them.  Yay!  The Aloha is actually a cut up Island Scrapbooking word.  I cut each letter separately and glued them down on top of the flowers.  The flowers were staggered and popped up with pop dots so that I could do a layered effect.  I think I pulled off the vintage look I was going for, but need to figure out something else instead of the white gesso if I'm going to try this one again.

Not only was Cyndi my swap partner, but she was my secret sister!  Here are the adorable altered clothes pins she made for me and some fun RAKs that came with the package...

Funny story, I saw these on IG and told her they were cute and lo and behold they were for me!  hahaha!  She is so darn creative, always altering things into something fun, cute and functional.  Right now these are on the fridge.  Thanks again Cyndi!!

If you're interested in being a part of a fun group of swap sisters just leave a message in the comments section and I'll forward it on to our organizer, Kathy Dinh.  Thanks for stopping by!!

PS - Did you join my 1000th post candy giveaway?  If not click HERE. 

LFF #87 - Sweet Friend

Good morning!

It's been a while since I shared something for Lilo's Fun Friday so today I wanted to share the card I made for my Secret Sister Swap partner.  I haven't mailed it to her yet, so I won't reveal who it is, but I don't think it will hurt any if I share the card.  Here's LFF #87 featuring Ayako from Sister Stamps.

I pulled some reds, whites and that beautiful washi paper my cousin Shar GD sent to me back in March.  Most of this card was put together using MFT dienamics dies, except for the embossing folder on the banner, Ayako, the washi paper and the card stock.  I followed this sketch from MFT for a quick and fun layout:

I have been wanting to use that "Friend" Dienamics die for quite some time and so happy to have found this cool sketch to incorporate it in.  The rest of the Dienamics used include:  Blueprints 6, Blueprints 13, Botanical Beauty, Mini tabs foursome, Tropical Sensations sentiments and the Friends like us stamp set.  The embossing folder is called Oriental Sunshade.  I really enjoyed putting this one together, especially pulling out Ayako and adding her here with pink hair!  She's sweet!

Mahalo for stopping by to see what I've been doing the past couple of days.  It's been fun sharing again and getting to visit some of my favorites blogs.  Until next time, have a wonderful weekend and Happy Aloha Friday!  Happy crafting!

Lilo

Secret Sister Swap - Catching up

Hello!

Man can't believe how fast the weekend has come and gone!  I'm going to make the most of it by getting in more coloring and possibly more calendars made.  I inherited more calendars from my cousin, Sharmaine, but she also sent me an awesome RAK!  I'll share below, but first I wanted to catch up on the latest Secret Sister Swap.  We had a photo inspiration to tackle featuring some interesting color combos! hahaha!  I don't think I would ever think to intentionally use these colors together.  If I can find the picture I'll share it below.  My swap partner was Cyndi Kim.  She's so talented that I knew I wanted to make her something fun.

This is the card I created using all the colors in the photo inspiration.  Pretty wild combinations right?! lol!  I chose La-La Land Crafts Marci with Rose for my image.  She is so sweet!  I die cut the MFT thanks sentiment and left it in white and embossed with Swiss dots.  After completing the card I sent it off with some goodies.  Here is the wonderfully cute swap she sent me including some fun items I can use for Valentine's Day 2016.

Aren't they cute?!  They're magnets!  I knew she was in to cross-stitch, these are awesome!  She is a very talented crafter.  Here is the rest of the RAK she sent including the magnets.  I'm a lucky girl.

I found the photo inspiration!  It's not a great picture but you can see what we were working with. Very bright and fun. I think we both hit it on the head right?!

Before I end this post I wanted to send a big MAHALO shout out to my cousin Sharmaine!  She and I talk pretty often, if we're not on the phone we're texting or IG'ing.  She mentioned that she was sending me something in the mail.  This is what I got:

Several sheets of gorgeous washi paper, Dandelion Designs stamps,  Sister Stamps stamp, and the cutest shave ice earrings.  Oh and there are those calendars I inherited.  I can't believe all that and more were about to be THROWN AWAY!!  No not by my cousin, she would never be so wasteful. She was lucky enough to be messaged by the store manager who said they were about to throw a box full of papercrafting supplies in the trash and if she wanted them to come get them now.  This is only a portion of what was in that box.  Talk about wasteful, but with a silver lining.  Mucho Mahalo cousin for thinking of me and sharing your amazing haul!  It will take me quite some time to get through them. Hmmm... might be time for a give-a-way!

Well I think this is as good a time as any to stop and say how thankful I am to give and receive in these swaps.  Again if you're interested in joining the next Secret Sister Swap leave me a message in the comments with your email address and I'll forward it on to Kathy who is the organizer.  The next swap is Anything Goes for March/April and your swap must be mailed out by mid-April.  Enjoy the rest of your Sunday cause Monday will come way too soon! 

Secret Sister Swaps - Catching up!

Hello!!

I'm back to share some swaps & RAKS that a couple of friends made for me for our Secret Sister Swap.  So glad that Kathy resurrected it, it's a small group, but because we know each other it's all the more fun to not only give but receive.  If you're interested in joining the group leave me a comment with your email address and I'll ask her to add you to the one for January.

This post is gonna be choke full of pictures.  First up is my swap from Colleen Kwan.

The theme was Fall and boy did she nail it or what?!!  Loved her bright adorable card and the extras she included.  You can read all the details on her blog post here.  Thank you so much Colleen for the perfect Fall swap!!  I'm so glad we're reconnecting after not seeing each other for so long.  I see you're still busy, but glad you are still cranking out some amazing crafts.

This next one is going to be full of pictures with some commentation.  Karen Inouye was my secret swap partner for November and OMG she went totally nuts!!  hahaha!  She spoiled me rotten with all the beautiful handmade RAKs she sent.  It was like opening a Christmas gift that was never ending.  The pictures are of course in the order that I opened the box, which incidentally was a sweatshirt sized box from Pacsun!!  She recently posted HERE, so please go over and leave her some love.

PACSUN sweatshirt box

Inside what do I see, but an Island Scrapbooking canvas tote, sqweeeeee!!

Underneath the newspaper was another handmade canvas tote from a familiar site!!

First I opened the IS mini tote to see what was inside....

Inside was an adorable RAK, some gems, ribbon, a zipper pull die and some handmade HK items Karen purchased from Jenny Sakamoto from Sister Stamps.  Jenny was selling these handmade altered HK compacts and I believe the clothes pins, although they might have been made by someone else.  I honestly don't remember if Jenny made them or not.  But WOW right?!  And noooo it doesn't stop there...  Check out this amazingly altered mini canvas bag which Karen bought at one of Jenny's craft fairs.  It's gorgeous!!  I know Jenny posted a video of it, so please go check out Jenny's YT channel here if you're not a subscriber then your missing out.  You can also drop by her blog or Sister Stamps blog which is also where she's been posting her vids.

Handmade/Altered canvas bag by Jenny (OMG!!)

Close up of the bag, Look at that gorgeous flower she made and that lace trim!!

Always a professional touch, the lace goes all the way around. Beautiful

Inside the bag was an altered notebook and some pens.  This is the perfect gift for anyone, I'm so lucky that it came to me!! :) 

Next up was the Macy's box.  I honestly didn't think there was anything more, but I was wrong!

As soon as I opened the package I saw Karen's adorable card featuring a LMM stamped image.  It is sooo super cute and I loved her message.

Inside the Macy's box...

Here is the card up close.

Adorable Thanksgiving card featuring a LMM image. Love it!

Isn't it gorgeous?!  She is probably one of the only ones I know who has a ton of dies, definitely I think more than me.  We've joked that between the two of us we could open our own store! hahaha... Loved her card and all the details.  And look she added frantage!!  hehehe, sorry I am easily excited to see that. hehehe..

Close-up of LMM Image and the frantage!! 

Just underneath, packaged oh so carefully, was this beautiful calendar that I recognized.

I opened it to find this beautiful 2015 calendar.  Another creation by Jenny which was sold at one of her craft fairs.  Wow, it's beautiful!!  She has taken shabby chic to another level.  Glad I get to enjoy it. :)  And I know exactly where I will put it up at work.  She really outdid herself here.

2015 Shabby Chic calendar by Jenny

And so did Karen!  Wow, I am beyond overwhelmed with happiness!!  Karen is not only a very talented crafter, she's also a wonderful person, and I'm not just saying that because of this amazing swap.  She is truly a gem.  I was fortunate enough to meet her via blogland and then had the pleasure of meeting her in person last year on my trip to the Big Island.  She's so funny and sweet and super super generous.  You should definitely visit her blog daily, she's always posting something fun that she created or sharing yummy pictures of food.  So happy to call her friend.
 
Thank you soooo much Karen for the wonderful goodies!!  The fact that they are all mostly handmade/altered make them even more special.  When you give handmade items, even though you didn't make them, you give them from the heart, and for that I am very thankful.  Thanks again my fun-cutting & sale swap sister!!  (hahaha)

Okie dokes, better get going, I have to get to work, but I wanted to share this awesome post with beautiful gifts from Colleen, Karen and indirectly Jenny.  Hope you all have a wonderful day!!

Fall Secret Sister Swap

Hey!

Today's card is for my November secret sister swap.  Our theme was Fall and I think I nailed it!

I chose to ink up Swiss Pixie Rainy Day Birgitta.  She seemed like the perfect image for my card.  I added some die cuts in both paper and burlap to give it more of a rustic feel.  I found the papers in my stash and thought the colors were also a perfect match for Fall.   The dark green was something I wanted to add for a bit of contrast.

Dies used;
Spellbinders, Label Four | CC Cutters: Acorn set & mushroom border | Taylored Expressions: Mini leaves | La-La Land Crafts: Heart banner & Lattice doily border | MFT: Dienamics High Rise Alphabets.

For the inside of the card I added some of the autumn paper and left over mushrooms, acorn and leaf die cuts to the bottom.  I left the sentiment off, thinking my swap partner could add whatever she wanted to add.  Since I hardly add anything to the inside but a stamped or computer generated sentiment it was a lot of fun to add something more.

Swiss Pixie Rainy Day Birgitta

I'm going to include some other crafty goodies for my swap partner, which I hope she'll be able to use for any upcoming projects.  If any of you would like to participate in this resurrected monthly Secret Sister Swap please leave a message in the comments section with your email address and I'll pass it on to our coordinator.  Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great day!!