Christmas Classes

Can you believe that Christmas is less than 2 months away? I have several classes to help you get ready for Christmas.


Christmas Garland (or Wreath)
Create a beautiful holiday paper garland using assorted Christmas paper and ribbon. This project is a perfect combination of quick, simple, and gorgeous. This festive garland is will dress up any mantel or Christmas tree or it can be used as a wreath. The picture above shows the garland as a wreath.

Date: Thursday, Nov. 12th
Time: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Where: North Richland Hills
Class fee: $30, includes all supplies


Christmas Stocking Make and Take
Another quick project using Christmas paper. Once you make one, you'll want to make more for the special people on your Christmas list. It's a decoration that can be used to hold a gift card or other small treasures. This is a come and go project. Plan on about 20 minutes to complete your stocking.

Date: Saturday, Nov. 21
Time: 1 - 3 p.m.
Where: North Richland Hills
Project fee: $4, includes all supplies.

Stocking Stuffers and More
These quick and easy projects are perfect for your Secret Santa gifts and stocking stuffers. Choose your projects and how many of each you want to make. You'll be able to complete these last minute gifts in one afternoon!

Date: December 5, 2009
Time: 1 to 5 p.m.
Where: St. Michael's Anglican Church in Richland Hills
Fee: $5 plus project fees

Projects
Please notice that for several of the projects, additional kits are discounted.


Envelope Book $6, additional kits for $4
We have had several requests to repeat this fun project. Add your own photos to make this a one-of-a-kind gift.


Etched Glass Candle Votive $2
This is for everyone who has been asking for another etched glass project. Turn a plain glass votive into a snowflake sampler. Learn a quick technique to etch glass that you can use again and again


Felt Snowflake Purse $3, additional kits for $2
I saw a similar gift card holder and just had to make this one out of felt. The scallop edges are a snap to make with the Big Shot scallop square die.


Reindeer Box $5 additional ones for $3
This has to be one of the cutest reindeer boxes that I have seen. You can fill the box with goodies for gift giving. It can also be used to hold Christmas tags.


Travel Mug $5, additional ones for $4
each kit includes a travel mug
This travel mug is decorated with paper using the Joseph’s Coat technique. This technique can be used with many other projects. You’ll leave with scraps to make a coordinating card or gift tags.


Triangle Box $2 for 3 boxes
The triangle box is a quick and easy way to make a box that you can fill with treats or small gifts.

To register for any of these classes, contact Sharon Cheng at cheng1170@sbcglobal.net.

My Digital Studio

This is my first card using My Digital Studio. I'm finally getting through some of the learning curve for this program. After making the card, I was inspired to make a new banner for my blog. You'll notice that I used some of the same colors and elements.

One of my favorite things about My Digital Studio is that you can use images from rub-on's, retired In Colors and designer series papers without worrying about running out of anything.

For those of you who have other digital crafting programs, you can download Stampin' Up! images as long as your program can use JPG's. The easiest way to see the downloads is to go online via my website. They just added some new items last week including two of my current favorites, the Medallion stamp and the Night and Day designer series paper.

Sharon Cheng
www.sharoncheng.stampinup.net
http://scandcompany.blogspot.com/

Holiday Hoopla

Holiday Hoopla is a day when you can make multiple holiday gifts and cards. You pay $5 to come to the event and choose your project(s) for the additional fees listed. You’ll receive your supply list when you register. Deadline for registration is October 17.

Saturday, October 24
1 to 5 pm
St. Michael’s Church, 3800 Popplewell St, Richland Hills, TX 76118

Holiday Projects
Gratitude Wreath: $20
Joy Blocks: $25
Christmas Travel Mug: $7 (optional Décor Elements is extra)
Envelope Book: $6 (pictured below)
Christmas Cards: $2 each


Christmas Stamp-A-Stack
Saturday, October 17th
1 – 5 p.m.
South Ft. Worth
You will create 16 wonderful Christmas cards (4 each of 4 designs). All you need to bring is your adhesive.
Class Fee: $25 when you register by October 10th. $30 after October 10th.

This is a great time to order your Christmas cards and gifts and let us do the cutting for you!

To register for either event or to see more pictures of the projects, please contact me at cheng1170@sbcglobal.net.

Sharon Cheng
Richland Hills, TX

Crop for a Cure

Yesterday was a great day at the Crop for a Cure. There were over 75 women at this event to help raise funds for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The event was well organized and a great time was had by all.

This is the 6 x 6 scrapbook page that I taught at the event. I’ll be teaching the companion page at Take A Break craft night on Friday, Sept. 11. It was ironic that when I was designing the two pages, I was torn between helping raise funds for Susan G. Komen and the American Heart Association. My subconscious brain must have worked it out. I realized this morning that I have a butterfly on the page I designed for the Crop for a Cure and a heart on the page that I will use to help raise funds for the American Heart Association. Both causes are near and dear to my heart as my mother is a 17-year breast cancer survivor and my dad is a stroke survivor (the American Heart Association also supports stroke research).

Both pages will also be available at Scrapper’s Boutique.

Happy stamping,

Sharon Cheng
www.sharoncheng.stampinup.net
http://scandcompany.blogspot.com/

Baroque Twill Ribbon

One of the things I enjoy most about rubber stamping is its versatility. For the most part, you can stamp just about anything if you can get ink to stick to it.

I'm in the middle of prepping the ribbon for a Crop for A Cure 6 x 6 scrapbook page. Here is a picture of the twill ribbon that I am wheeling with Melon Mambo ink and the Baroque Border Wheel. The ribbon on top is how it looks when you get it. The next strip is how the ribbon looks when it is stamped. The third strip is a piece of paper that I wheeled with the same Baroque Border and ink. You can see how the image is softer and lighter on the ribbon since the fabric soaks up some of the ink.

Time to get back to "making baroque ribbon". I'll post a picture of the scrapbook page tomorrow.

Here is the supply list if you would like to try this technique. Please share how it works for you.

Item Description Price
105245 Twill Tape $5.95
109675 Wheel Baroque Border $6.50
102971 Stampin Around Handle $3.95
101529 Stampin Around Cartridge Un-Inked $5.25
115662 Classic Ink Refill Melon Mambo $2.95

Happy stamping,

Sharon Cheng
www.sharoncheng.stampinup.net
http://scandcompany.blogspot.com/

Faux Metal Embossing Tutorial

One of my customers, Irma, does beautiful metal embossing using traditional methods. This involves working a sheet of metal using specialty tools. She makes wonderful, one-of-kind treasures that take time and patience. I wanted to make something that had the flavor of metal embossing using Stampin' Up! tools. This notebook is what I designed for my downline who went to Stampin' Up!'s convention in Salt Lake City. It uses a faux metal embossing technique that is easier and faster than traditional metal embossing.


Step 1. Stamp your image with Versamark and heat emboss with embossing powder. Since these pieces will be covered, it's a great way to use up your scrap cardstock. I have no idea why I ever bought lavender embossing powder! I used the background stamp, Tres Chic for this project.

Step 2. Use your Big Shot, textured cardstock and the Serif Essentials Alphabet die to make the monogram. Adhere your monogram to the embossed cardstock.


Step 3. Cover the entire piece with aluminum tape that you can purchase at a hardware store. I found 3 in. wide aluminum tape at Harbor Freight if you have that store in your area. The project doesn't look so great at this point.


Step 4. Run the piece through the Big Shot similar to how you would use a texture plate. Going from bottom to top, make your stack using the following items: Multipurpose Platform on Tab 2, one Standard cutting pad, the piece of cardstock with tape side up, Silicone Rubber pad and then the Texturz Impressions Pad. You could stop here if you didn't want to add paint for more dimension.


Step 5. Cover the entire piece with acrylic paint. This is another one of those steps that doesn't look too good at first.

I used white acrylic paint that I dyed with Classic Rose Red ink. Add a few drops at a time. You don't need a lot of paint or ink. Once the paint is dry, you can rub off most of it with a paper towel. That's how I ended up with the piece that I used for the notebook pictured at the top of this tutorial.


This is the card that I made for my convention swap using this technique. I simplified it by skipping Steps 2 and 5. Because I made about 50 cards, for Step 1 I baked the cardstock in my craft oven instead of using the heat tool. Things went much faster that way.

Being able to use stamps to get a variety of images is what I like most about this technique. Stamps with thin or really bold images don't seem to work as well with this technique.

Questions? Please leave a comment and I'll post the answer for everyone since more than one person may have the same question.

Happy stamping,

Sharon Cheng
www.sharoncheng.stampinup.net
http://scandcompany.blogspot.com/

Stampin' Up! Convention

Kathryn and I have been doing so much at the Stampin' Up! convention, we're feeling a little fuzzy headed. Do you like our new stamp?

Sharon Cheng
www.sharoncheng.stampinup.net
http://scandcompany.blogspot.com/