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Thursday, December 16, 2010

3D Poinsettia

For my Christmas printers tray, I made a 3D poinsettia that I also used in this card.  The poinsettia was adapted from a tutorial by valita.  She is a talented Stampin' Up! demonstrator who lives in Australia.  I also cased the card layout from another demonstrator.  I love the way that the card looks like a gift wrapped package.

For the poinsettia, start by using the Leaves #2 die (113459) to cut 6 leaves:  5 are Real Red and 1 is Old Olive.  I then embossed the red leaves using the Finial Press embossing folder (115963) and the green leaf using the Elegant Lines embossing folder (119277).

Cut the stem off of each leaf.  Then cut the leaf into 3 pieces as shown.  You'll also want to punch out a 1/2"circle (119869) to use as the base for the poinsettia.  Sponge each leaf using Cherry Cobbler for the real red leaves and Always Artichoke for the old olive leaf.

Curl each leaf as shown.  I held the tip of the leaf in my right hand and pulled up with my left hand to curl the leaf.


Attach the five long leaves to the ½”circle.   


Then add the smaller leaves.   


After everything is dry, add the green leaves to the flower.

When you are done, finish off poinsettia flower with a brad in the middle.  

For the card, I used Stampin’ Up!’s Build-A-Brad (109128).  The Build-A-Brads can be customized with any insert that you can punch out with your ½” circle punch (119869).

For the center of the flower in the Christmas tray, I used a gold glitter brad (121003). 



I hope you enjoy making this flower!

Sharon Cheng
Richland Hills, TX
My Website
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Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Art-To-Go Printer's Tray - Christmas Joy


This is the Christmas version I made for my Art-To-Go Printer's Tray series. 

I had so much fun making the 3D tree in the bottom left hand corner of my Christmas tray that I used the same technique on this card. 


The idea for this tree came from the fact that I couldn’t follow the directions for a different 3D tree!  This tree is relatively quick to make when you use the Big Shot and a punch to cut your scallop circles.
 
For this tree, I used the following dies and punch. 

Scallop Circle Die (113468)
Scallop Circle #2 Die (113469) I used the largest circle
2 3/8" Scallop Circle Punch (118874) 


Cut one of each scallop circle and then cut each one in half.  Because you cut all three pieces in half, you’ll get two trees from the three circles!  I embossed the half circles using my Big Shot (113439) and the Final Press embossing folder (115963).  Then I used a dauber to add Frost White Shimmering Ink (116854) to the paper.  


Form a cone with the first circle and glue in place by overlapping one scallop as shown here.  Repeat with the other two half circles.
 

Press the cones until they are almost flat.  Then glue one to the other as shown here.
 
When you have all three parts glued together, you have your tree.  I added the bird from the Merry Details Sizzlit (116823).
 
For the card, the tag is made with the following items.

Teeny Tiny Wishes Stamp Set (115370)
Modern Label Punch (119849)
Tags til Christmas Stamp Set (121169)
Decorative Label Punch  (120907)

Visit my online store to get your supplies for this project.  Remember that when you purchase $25 or more in product, you are eligible for my Rewards Program.
 
Creatively yours, 


Sharon Cheng
Richland Hills, TX


My Online Store 

 

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Skinny Santa Tutorial


This Skinny Santa punch art treat holder is so popular that I've had several requests for a tutorial on how to make this Santa.  Here is a quick list of the parts you need.

Real Red card stock:
Punch one Full Heart (Item #119883 $16.95)
Cut one piece that is 1 3/4 x 4 1/4"

Whisper White card stock:
Punch two 2 3/8" Scallop Circles (Item #118874 $16.95)
Punch one 5-Petal Flower (Item#119880 $16.95)
Punch two 1/4" circles

Pink Pirouette card stock (or Blush Blossom which has retired)
Punch one 1 3/4 x 7/8" Oval (Item
Punch one 1/4" circle

Daffodil Delight card stock
Cut one piece that is 3/4 x 3/4"

Basic Black card stock
Cut one piece that is 1 3/4 x 1/2"
Cut one piece that is 1/2 x 1/2"

One pair of googly eyes (or you can use circle punches)
Three 1 x 8 skinny bags. (Item #124134  $2.50)
Candy to fill the bags.  I used Smarties, but other small candies will work.

Instructions
Body, Arms and Legs
Fill the bags with candy.  For the legs, the candy goes to the bottom of the bag.  Leave an empty section at the top to attach to the Santa body.

For the arms, the candy is at the top and bottom of the bag with an empty space in the middle to attach to the Santa body.

Fold the 1 3/4 x 4 1/4" piece of Real Red card stock in half to form the body.  The small square of black goes inside the Daffodil Delight square to form the buckle.  Attach the belt and buckle.

Attach the skinny bags to form the rest of the body.  You may find it easier to attach the bags with Sticky Strip or Mini Glue Dots.

Hat and Face
Score and fold one of the scallop circles so that 4 of the scallops fold over to form the brim of Santa's hat. 

Cut two of the petals from the 5-petal flower punch to form Santa's beard.

Assemble the rest of the face using the large oval, googly eyes, 1/4" circle for the nose.

Attach the full heart upside down to form the top of Santa's hat.  Add the 1/4" Whisper White circles to the front and back of the top of the hat.

Attach Santa's face to the front of the body.  Add the last scallop circle to the back of the body.  You'll line this up with the scallop circle on the front.  You'll have to trim off a little of the circle where it shows behind Santa's hat. 

Enjoy making your Santas.  I've used this same idea to make a Pumpkin Man and Scarecrow. 


Visit my online store to get your supplies for this project.  Remember that when you purchase $25 or more in product, you are eligible for my Rewards Program.

Creatively yours,

Sharon Cheng
Richland Hills, TX
My Online Store

Monday, November 29, 2010

Christmas on a Budget Workshop and Sale

Calendar kit includes Post-It Notes, Pen and calendar.  $5

Are you still looking for those last minute stocking stuffers and Secret Santa gifts? Come to our Christmas on a Budget Workshop and Sale to find those last few items. We have items to make and a limited number of finished items and retired stamp sets to sell.
 
Date:  Saturday, December 4
Time:  1 to 4 p.m.
Where:  Hurst, TX

Class Fee:  $5 workshop fee* + cost per item

*You do not have to pay the workshop fee to shop our finished items and retired stamps sale. 

These pictures show the items that you can make.  You choose the projects you want and let us know how many kits you want of each item. 
  
Joy blocks, XL Paper Clip, Candy Wrapper and Milk Carton
Skinny Santa, Purse, Peppermint Patties

Projects You Can Make


Calendar with Post-It Notes:  $5
Joy Blocks:  $2
XL Paper Clip:  $1
Milk Carton and Candy Wrapper:  Two for $1
Skinny Santa (Smarties included):  $2
Purse (Chocolate Nugget included):  $1
Peppermint Patties (Candy included):  Two for $1

Please contact me to register at sharon@sharoncheng.com

Monday, November 15, 2010

Art-To-Go Printer's Tray - Fall Fun

This is the fall version of my Art-to-Go Printer's Tray series. There are a limited number of seats left in this class.

Date: Thursday, November 18th
Time: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: North Richland Hills
Class Fee: $20, includes kit. There is an additional fee for the tray.

These inserts are removable so you can change out the tray to fit the season. Here is a picture of the Spooky Friends version that we made for Halloween.


You can see the other projects I designed for this tray on my June 13, 2010 post. Please click here to see those projects.

To sign up for the class, please call 817-503-0777 or e-mail me at sharon@sharoncheng.com.

Sharon Cheng
Richland Hills, TX

Friday, November 12, 2010

Skinny Santa

This Skinny Santa is one of the projects I'll have at a craft show this Saturday. Check out the gifts and cards that my Stampin' Up! demonstrators and I will be selling.

Saturday, November 13, 2010
10 am to 6 pm
5501 North Haltom Road
Haltom City, TX 76137

Click here for the map

Creatively yours,

Sharon Cheng
Richland Hills, TX

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Coffee Filter Jack-O-Lantern


I have a Halloween workshop coming up next Sunday afternoon and decided to convert the Vintage Pumpkin into a Jack-O-Lantern.  Click here to see the exact same pumpkin without its Halloween outfit.  I used removable adhesive on all of the Halloween parts.  That way the same pumpkin can be used for the rest of the fall season.

For the eyes and nose, use the star punch.  Cut off the tips of the star to make the eyes and nose.
For the mouth, I used a piece of the skinny rick rack from the Tasteful Trim die.
For the bat, I used the Spooky stamp from the Wicked Cool stamp set and the bat punch. 

This little Jack-O-Lantern is really too cute to be spooky.

The class will be in south Fort Worth on Sunday, Sept. 19th from 2 - 5 pm.  You can make this pumpkin and other Halloween projects.  Please contact me for more information about the class.

Creatively yours,

Sharon Cheng
Richland Hills, TX

Coffee Filter Frosty



This is the third project that I showed as a Workshop Wow at Stampin' Up!'s Regional in Fort Worth on Friday.  Click here to see the other projects.  After making the pumpkin, my friend, Mary, and I were brainstorming on Christmas projects that we could make.  That's when I realized that I could make two pumpkin shapes into a snowman.  That's how I came up with Frosty.  Mary, thank you for your inspiration!

I used two different white coffee filters for this project.  One is 9 ¾” and the other is 7 ¾” in diameter.  Yet both say they are for 8-12 cup coffee pots.  The bigger one is for a commercial size coffee makers. The key thing is that you want one circle that is 2 – 2 ½ inches smaller than the other one.  So if you have one size of coffee filter, you can cut it down. Or wait and see what I did instead!

Supplies

Card Stock:  Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White
Candy Cane Christmas Designer Series Paper and Fabric
Punches:  1 ¾” Circle, Heart to Heart XL
Bitty Buttons
Crop-A-Dile
Big Shot:  Scallop Circle #2 Bigz Die, Merry Details Sizzlit
Classic Ink Pads:  Pumpkin Pie
Vanilla Shimmer Smooth Spritz
Color Catcher
Glue Dots
Multipurpose Liquid Glue
Toothpick
1 1/2” Washer
Needle and Thread
Polyester Fiberfill

Body

Spritz both filters with Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz and let dry.  You only need to cover what will be the outside of the Frosty.

 
Glue a washer (I used one that is 1 ¼ inch in diameter) to the center of the bottom circle on the inside.  The washer helps keep Frosty from falling over.  Because the filter paper is so thin, you may want to glue a piece of white card stock between the washer and filter. I used my 1 1/4" circle punch to make the circle.  If you don't have the right size punch, it's easy to use your scissors to trim the card stock to fit.  This really is a white filter.  The color didn't come out correctly.

Using needle and thread, baste around the edge of the circle.  Be sure to start and end on the outside of the circle (the part with the shimmer smooch).  I basted a little more than 1/4” from the edge.  

Place fiberfill in center of the circle.  Carefully gather the paper around it by tightening the thread.  Tie off the threads. You can see how this is done on the pumpkin tutorial.
 

Repeat for the smaller circle.  You won’t need the washer in the center. Notice the top knot on the head?  That’s because I didn’t cut off the excess even though the circle was too big.  I just basted about an inch away from the edge.  At this stage, Frosty's head reminds me of a head of garlic.  Did you know that Frosty usually wears a hat to hide when he is having a bad hair day?

  
Glue the head on the body.  You’ll need something like hot glue or lots of glue dots. I used a thick fabric glue.

Cut a scarf from the Candy Cane Christmas Designer Fabric and tie around Frosty’s neck. The scarf is 1 x 12".  I actually tore the fabric instead of cutting it so it would have a frayed edge.

For the heart, punch a small heart and attach to a bitty button.  Add a knot from the Candy Cane Christmas Designer Fabric and use a mini glue dot to attach Frosty's heart.

Hat

The hat takes a little bit of patience.  Please adjust these sizes if you make a different size Frosty.

 
Using scrap card stock, cut a template using the 1 ¾” circle punch.
Basic Black:  cut a strip that is 5 ¾ x 1 ¾, punch out a 1 ¾” circle, and die cut a 3 ½” scalloped circle.
Candy Cane Christmas Designer Series Paper:  cut a strip that is 5 ¾” x ½”.
Cherry Cobbler:  die cut the bird from Merry Details


Hat Brim:  With a pencil, mark the center of the scalloped circle.  Use this mark to center and draw a 1 ¾” circle.  Cut out the center of the circle leaving a ½” margin.   Clip to the line to form small tabs.  Fold back the tabs.


 Side Band:  Mark ½’ on the Basic Black strip.  Score and clip to the score line.  Cut off the last tab.


It’s easiest to do this next step if you have a round object that is about 1 ¾” around.  I used a bottle. 

Put the brim on the bottle, adhere the black strip to the brim tabs and form the ring at the same time.  It’s a little tricky to do both steps at the same time. 


Glue the hat brim tabs to the 1 3/4" circle to form the top of the hat or crown.  To do this, I put glue on the tabs, place the circle on the top of the hat and then used the bottle to add light pressure.

Glue Frosty's hat on with the same glue you used to attach the two snowballs.
  
Face

For the face, out of Basic Black cardstock, punch 2 large circles and 5 small ones.  I used the large and small hole punches on the Crop-A-Dile. 

Color one end of a toothpick with Pumpkin Pie craft ink for the nose. The classic ink can run if you use a liquid glue to hold the toothpick in place, so you'll be happier using the craft ink.  I used the entire toothpick because I thought the length would help hold Frosty's nose in one place. 

And Frosty is now ready for winter!


Have fun making your snowmen.

Visit my online store to get your supplies for this project.  Remember that when you purchase $25 or more in product, you are eligible for my Rewards Program.

Creatively yours,

Sharon Cheng
Richland Hills, TX
My Online Store

Coffee Filter Fall Frame


This was the fourth project that I showed as a Workshop Wow at Stampin' Up!'s Fort Worth Regional on September 10th.  Click here to see the other projects.  If you read my original post, you know that this project started out as a mistake.  In fixing the problems (which you'll see), I ended up liking the final version better.


I started out with this inexpensive frame made of MDF.  My original idea was to cover the frame with distressed coffee filter paper and then add fall colored leaves for a country or rustic look.  As you can tell, this frame decided it wanted to be a little more special.  However, the first steps are still the same.

Supplies 

Four 8 - 12 cup coffee filters (7 ¾” diameter):  3 unbleached and 1 white
Stamp Set:  French Foliage
Classic Ink Pads:  Soft Suede, Early Espresso, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Not Quite Navy, Elegant Eggplant
StazOn:  Black
Stampin' Sponges
Unfinished frame.  This one is made from MDF.
Clear water-based varnish.  While I used J.W's Right-Step Water-Base Clear Varnish in a Matte Finish, other clear varnishes should work too.  Test your varnish on a piece of scrap to make sure that it works.

Distressing Coffee Filter Paper

While this technique has been around for some time, here are the steps and the colors that I used.


First crumple the paper and open it back up leaving in most of the wrinkles.


Run the Soft Suede Classic Ink Pad directly across the filter paper.


Spritz with water and let dry.


Repeat the inking and spritzing with Early Espresso.

Covering the Frame


Cover the front and sides of the frame with the distressed coffee filters.  I used three coffee filters to cover this frame.  I recommend using the same clear varnish that you will use to decoupage the leaves on for this step.  Avoid getting the varnish or glue onto the back of the frame. 


On the back, I used the flat edge file from Stampin' Up!'s distressing kit to sand off the excess paper.  Since it's not glued down, it will tear off with a clean edge as you can see here.

This is the stage where I decided the project wasn't working out the way I expected.  It didn't look like fall and adding leaves wasn't going to help.  So I decided to go in a different direction and started sponging on color.  The colors I used were More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Not Quite Navy, Elegant Eggplant.  Go from the light colors to the dark ones, which is how the colors are listed.  As the colors get darker, sponge in smaller areas.  Otherwise you won't be able to see the lighter colors.


I started with More Mustard. 


Here it is after I added the Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive.


This is how the frame looked with all of the colors sponged on.  It will get quite a bit darker when you varnish the frame so don't go too dark.  Even after you varnish, you can add more ink if you wish.  If you look carefully, you can see where I randomly stamped the script from the French Foliage stamp set with Black StazOn.

Leaves


Your eyes are not going bad.  The picture looks that way because I die cut 4 layers at the same time.  I used a white coffee filter so the leaves would show up against the frame a little better.


Flip over some of the leaves so you have more leaf shapes.  I stamped each leaf with Black StazOn and French Foliage.  Don't worry about the leaf parts not lining up exactly.  Sponge on the same colors as you used on the frame.  I used 4 oak leaves and 3 maple leaves on my frame. 


I decoupaged the leaves on by painting varnish on the frame and laying the leaf in the position that I wanted.  If you want to sponge on more color to your frame, this is the time to do it.  I then added a final coat of varnish over the entire frame. I loved how the varnish made some of the leaves look like they were blending right into the frame. 


Here is a close up of the leaf near the bottom right hand corner.  You can barely see the French Foliage script on the right hand side between the two leaves.

I hope you enjoy making this project.  I'm looking forward to trying this technique using other themes and colors.

Creatively yours,

Sharon Cheng
Richland Hills, TX