Best of Flowers Tutorial

You will be surprised at how quickly you can color the hydrangea flower from Stampin' Up!'s Best of Flower stamp set using sponge daubers and blender pens with this tutorial.  The key to success is to use a light touch and to remember that you can always go darker, but you can't go lighter.  Don't try to get all of the dark areas filled in at the beginning.  You can always go back and add more color.

Note:  This hydrangea is from the retired Stampin' Up! hostess stamp set, Just Because.  Find out more about how I got my images mixed up and see the REAL Best of Flowers Hydrangea card.  The good good news is the the tutorial works for both cards.

Here are the sizes for the card stock.

Very Vanilla:  2 5/8" x 3 7/8" (You know how I love those thin mats!)
Early Espresso:  2 3/4" by 4"
Perfect Plum:  8 1/2" x 5 1/2"

Stamp the flower on the Very Vanilla card stock with Early Espresso and set it aside to dry for at least 20 minutes.  You want the ink to be completely dry before you start adding other colors with the sponge daubers and blender pens.  Remember to use a light hand.  You aren't trying to "scrub in" the colors on the paper.  You're putting them on lightly like you would put make up on your face. If you have a heavy hand, try embossing the flower with Early Espresso embossing powder on watercolor paper.  That will make it easier to blend Baja Breeze, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive and Perfect Plum while leaving all of the details of the flower in Early Espresso.

This picture shows the four steps to color in the hydrangea. Click on the picture for a close up view.

1. Use a sponge dauber to add Baja Breeze.  Notice that I didn't color in anything solidly.  You want the colors to blend just like they do in a real hydrangea. 

2.  Use a sponge dauber to add Rich Razzleberry.  Use a light hand!

3.  Use a blender pen to add Old Olive to the leaves and small areas of the flower.

4.  Use a blender pen to add Rich Razzleberry and Perfect Plum to the outer edges of the flower.

To color the ribbon, dampen the Baja Breeze Seam Binding ribbon with water.  Use the sponge dauber to brush on Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry in different places on the ribbon.  Be sure to allow some of the Baja Breeze to show.  To attach the ribbon, I put a strip of snail directly on the Very Vanilla card stock and scrunch the ribbon as I stick it to the card stock.

While you can use any sentiment, I used "Just for You" from the Pop-Up Posies Designer Kit. I also cut one of our paper doilies into 4 pieces and used two of them for this card.

Revisiting some cards from the first time around...

I really liked this image the first time when it was in the hostess set, Just Because.  Here are some of the cards I made or received in swaps back in 2010 and 2011.  While some of the elements are retired, you can see how versatile this hydrangea can be.  For this first card, I used pastel chalks to get the soft colors.  You could get a similar effect by coloring directly on the stamp with Stampin' Up!'s Watercolor Wonder Crayons, spritzing it with water and then stamping on card stock.

I loved this card that I received in a swap from Gail Yanker and CASEd it for a class.  River Rock and Basic Black make a stunning color combination.

Here's another card I made where I used the hydrangea for the focal point and the background.

I CASEd this card made by Marilyn Young.  She made the background by using a clear acrylic mount.  She stamped the block on the ink pad and then on the card stock.  With our new firm foam ink pads, you may have to stamp off once on a scrap piece of paper before stamping on the card stock. 

Here are all of the images in the Best of Flowers stamp set.  I'm glad that Stampin' Up! is celebrating its 25th Anniversary in such a fun way by bringing back some great images along with new ones.  The flower on the lower right can be punched out with our 1 1/4" Scallop Circle Punch.  I hope you've enjoyed this trip down memory lane along with the tutorial for my new card.

Stampin' Supplies for Just For You Card

Item	Description	Price
133342	Best of Flowers	$14.95
131395	Pop-Up Posies Designer Kit	$12.95
119855	Large Oval Punch	$15.95
119856	Scallop Oval Punch	$16.95
129399	Paper Doilies (24 in pkg)	$2.95
122331	Baja Breeze Seam Binding Ribbon	$6.95

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.

Sale-A-Bration goes through March 22nd.  When you purchase $50 in products, you can pick a free item from the Sale-A-Bration catalog.

Creatively yours,

Sharon Cheng
Richland Hills, TX

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Paper Pumpkin Monthly Kits

Paper Pumpkin by Stampin' Up! is a new monthly kit program that anyone (even you) can enjoy! It comes in a sweet box, but you'll really love what you find on the inside:  All the stamps, ink, paper, and accessories to create pinable projects. Create stuff like cards, journals, décor, and more!

It's so easy to get started. Simply sign up for the program by visiting www.mypaperpumpkin.com and click Get it.  Every month a new, surprise project kit arrives at your doorstep. Just think of the anticipation of creating a fun project to pin, show off, and share with your friends and family-every month!

Of course, you'll want to know more. So here's the nitty gritty:

• Each month we send you a unique, surprise kit with a project-cards, journals, décor, and more! (We've even color-coordinated, measured, and cut everything for you!)
• Each kit includes stamps, ink, paper, and accessories-everything but adhesive.
• Each kit gives you a 30-minute creativity escape.
• We will ship your Paper Pumpkin on or around the 15th of the month.  
• You need to sign up for a kit by the 10th of the month to get that month's kit. If you sign up on the 11th of the month, your first kit will come the next month. (Let's say you sign up on May 10th, we'll send your kit around May 15th. If you sign up on May 11th, we'll send your first kit around June 15th.)
• A Paper Pumpkin membership is $19.95 per month (and shipping is included!)
• There's no commitment, you can cancel your monthly Paper Pumpkin at anytime. You can also skip a month if you want.
• Starting in early March, we'll offer a Try-It kit if you'd like to try Paper Pumpkin for one month.

Here's How You Order

Sign up for your monthly Paper Pumpkin by visiting www.mypaperpumpkin.com and click Get it. Please be sure to select Sharon Cheng as your demonstrator when you're asked during the registration process.

  A Free Gift in Your Very First Kit

The Welcome Kit is the very first Paper Pumpkin you will receive in your first month of membership. The Welcome Kit includes a free gift-a clear acrylic block!  This is the welcome kit we received at Stampin' Up!'s Leadership Conference.

Creatively yours,

Sharon Cheng
Richland Hills, TX

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Easter (and More) Clothespin Wreath

This Easter clothespin wreath can be ready for Mother's Day or Spring by changing out a few clothespins. While they take a little bit of time, these wreaths are easy to make.  Once you've covered the clothespins, you can flip them over or change some of them to be ready for a different holiday.

I made this wreath for Easter, Mother's Day and Spring.  Notice that the colors in Stampin' Up!'s Sycamore Street Designer Series Paper fit all three occasions.  The Easter banner is attached to two clothespins.  You can change them out to fit other holidays.

The Christmas version of this clothespin wreath is one of my most popular posts and has been repinned many times on Pinterest.  You can also see the Halloween and Valentine versions on the same post.

Stampin' Supplies

Item	Description	Price
126592	Morning Post Alphabet Stamp Set	$34.95
129654	Blooming Marvelous Stamp Set	SAB
127540	Sycamore Street Designer Series Paper	SAB
130812	Sycamore Street Ribbon and Button Pack	SAB
119851	Curly Label Punch	$16.95
119855	Large Oval Punch	$15.95
119856	Scallop Oval Punch	$16.95
118309	Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack	$16.95
129404	7/8 inch Scallop Circle Punch	$12.95
129406	Bitty Butterfly Punch	$15.95
119246	Basic Rhinestones	$4.95
129324	Large Rhinestones	$4.95

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

Creatively yours,

Sharon Cheng
Richland Hills, TX

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Sealed With a Kiss Card Scrapbook Expo

This Sealed With a Kiss card is easy to make thanks to Stampin' Up!'s Blossom Petals Builder and the 7/8" Scallop Circle Punches.  Christi Beck and I decided to use this card as our Stampin' Up! Take and Make at the Scrapbook Expo at the Gaylord Texan.  It's a Take and Make because after you stamp and punch the items, you can take it home to assemble.

Here are the instructions for the card.  If you didn't get one of our kits, cut Whisper White card stock to 8 1/2" by 5 1/2" and fold.  Cut Early Espresso card stock to 2 3/4" x 4".  Cut Wisteria Wonder card stock to 2 1/2" x 3 3/4" and emboss using the honeycomb embossing folder.  The Early Espresso Bakers Twine is cut 10".  Note, Christi and I designed this card together and each cut half of the kits.  The funny thing was that she cut her Wisteria Wonder and Early Espresso a slightly different size.  So we each put our personal touch on our kits!  They look the same at the end.

Punch the kiss out of silver glimmer paper using the largest petal in the Blossom Petals Builder Punch.  When you cut a 1 1/2" strip of silver glimmer paper, you can line up the paper in the punch to make the kiss by leaving out the scalloped end of the petal.  "For You" comes from the Itty Bitty Banners stamp set and "Sealed with a Kiss" comes from the new Sent With Love stamp set.

Put your adhesive on the back, fold the bakers twine in half and fold to the back. 

When you turn it over, it will look like this.

Add adhesive to the other items, including a Stampin' Dimensional on the Sealed with a Kiss scallop circle.
Assemble and enjoy your Sealed with a Kiss card.

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

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Easter and Dress Up Cards

This Easter Egg card was made using Stampin' Up!'s Oval Framelits. Several of the people in my stamp club picked this as their favorite project because it was quick, easy and different from a traditional card. To make the card, I first cut an oval from the Sycamore Street Designer Series Paper in the Sale-A-Bration catalog.

The card body was cut using the same oval framelit (largest one without the scalloped edge).  To make the card, cut and fold a piece of Whisper White card stock.  Line up the framelit so that one part of the folded edge is inside the oval so it won't be cut.  When you run it through the Big Shot, you'll end up with an oval card.

Decorate your designer series paper egg and adhere to the card body.  The flower comes from Stampin' Up!'s Pop-Up Posies kit in the Spring catalog.

This second card was my personal favorite.  It's mostly because I love those little bunnies!  The Ears To You  stamp (132659  $6.95) is one of several single stamps that Stampin' Up! is offering.  The bunnies are heat embossed with white embossing powder on Stampin' Up!'s Twitterpated Designer Series Paper.  When you sponge on Pool Party and Wisteria Wonder, the bunnies stand out from the pink background.

One of the things that I like about clear mount stamps is that you can cut them apart and space them out on a clear block.  You can see how I cut the sentiment apart from the rest of the stamp to make room for the ribbon.

The last card for my February stamp club was inspired by a swap card that I got at Stampin' Up!'s Dallas Regional event.  Based on the swap cards I have seen, the Dress Up Framelits have been the most popular framelits from the Spring catalog.  I've seen many different versions of the dresses.  Everyone in club had fun decorating the dress they way they liked it using the rhinestone jewels.  Several people decorated the neckline and one person made a rhinestone belt.  That is why little black dresses are so popular.  They look different based on the accessories you use!  And this is one of my favorite quotes from the Feel Goods stamp set.

Stampin' Supplies

Item	Description	Price
122652	Delightful Dozen Stamp Set (Card 1)	$24.95
129381	Ovals Framelits (Card 1)	$26.95
120893	Tasteful Trim Bigz XL (Card 1)	$42.95
131395	Pop-Up Posies Designer Kit (Card 1)	$12.95
119246	Rhinestones (Card 1 and 3)	$4.95
126846	Summer Starfruit Satin Ribbon (Card 1)	$8.95
127540	Sycamore Street Designer Paper (Card 1)	SAB
130812	Sycamore Ribbon & Buttons (Card 1 & 2)	SAB
132659	Ears to You Stamp (Card 2)	$6.95
127819	Lacy Embossing Folder (Card 2 and 3)	$7.95
125406	Twitterpated Designer Series Paper (Card 2)	$10.95
129684	Feel Goods Stamp Set (Card 3)	$18.95
130101	Dress Up Framelits (Card 3)	$24.95
127003	Apothecary Accents Framelits (Card 3)	$24.95

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

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Custom Color Your Glimmer Paper for Valentine's Day

Did you know that you can color Stampin' Up!'s silver glimmer paper?  It's a snap with rubbing alcohol,  Stampin' Up! reinkers and a spritzer.  For a Valentine's Day project, my friend, Rose, asked if we could decorate a charger.  It was a lot of fun designing this project.

The problem was that Stampin' Up! only sells three colors of Glimmer Paper and I wanted some pink paper.  While we have several different colors of pink card stock, I really wanted something blingy.  That's when I decided to try coloring Stampin' Up!'s silver glimmer paper.  Because I didn't want to spend a lot of time waiting for things to dry, I decided to use rubbing alcohol instead of water.  In one of Stampin' Up!'s spritzer's, I added enough rubbing alcohol to fill the bottle about 1 inch from the bottom.  Then I added 6 - 8 drops of Cherry Cobbler reinker.  I covered some silver glimmer paper with the alcohol mix, dabbed most of it off with a paper towel and voila, some of the prettiest pink glimmer paper.

I plan to play with this technique for some Easter projects.  I think it will be easy to get different pastel colors for Easter.  I imagine this alcohol technique won't work as well for dark colors.  Stay tuned for more projects using dyed glimmer paper.

Another thing that I "re-colored" was the Antique Brad.  Compare the brad with the leaves on the left hand side in this picture with the brad on the right in the first picture.  Notice how much whiter it looks?  That's because I put a couple of drops of white acrylic paint on the top of the brad and then wiped it off with a paper towel.  The white paint stays in the crevices and you have a light-colored brad instead of a dark one.

Here is the complete charger.  While I thought about making the leaves green, I decided to keep it white-on- white so you would see the texture more than the leaves.   

Stampin' Supplies

Item	Description	Price
123779	You Are Loved Stamp Set	$23.95
126367	Flowering Flourishes Stamp Set	$17.95
123759	Papillon Potpourri Stamp Set	$14.95
126185	Stampin' Spritzer (2 spritzers)	$2.95
119788	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin Ink Refill	$2.95
119854	1 3/4 in Scallop Circle Punch	$16.95
127811	1 1/4 in Scallop Circle Punch	$15.95
120404	7/8 in Scallop Circle Punch	$12.95
129406	Bitty Butterfly Punch	$15.95
127526	Elegant Butterfly Punch	$15.95
119246	Rhinestone Basic Jewels	$4.95
129406	Bitty Butterfly Punch	$15.95
114511	Little Leaves Sizzlits	$5.50
120893	Tasteful Trim Bigz Die	$42.95
117273	Antique Brads	$5.95
127555	Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons	$5.95

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

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Fast and Fun Valentine's Day Cards

Using Stampin' Up! products and these 4 fast and fun designs, Girl Scout Troop 1302 made 90 Valentine's Day cards in 50 minutes for Meals on Wheels recipients.  At the meeting, we had 17 excited and enthusiastic Brownies and 5 adults, including me.  We had 4 tables with one adult at each table guiding the girls through how to make the card featured at their table.  Every Brownie made one card of each design to give to Meals on Wheels.  After they completed their four cards, they got to pick their favorite card to make one more to give to someone else.  Completing a card for Meals on Wheels included writing a personal note to the recipient and letting them know the card was made especially for them by Girl Scout Troop 1302.

This first card went the fastest.  Everything was pre-cut and stamped, so the girls only had to assemble the card and then they could write their personal note.

To add to their personal notes, we had the Creatively Yours stamp set (122612  $14.95) available for the girls to use on the back.  Well, several of them used it on the inside and back of the card--many times.  :)  I love enthusiastic stampers who are willing to explore their creativity!

This card was probably redesigned the most.  The girls did not limit themselves to lining up the hearts.  They put them together in so many different ways.  Sometimes the sentiment was at the top of the card and sometimes at the bottom.  I loved how the Brownies came up with so many ways to use the hearts on this card.

This card went quickly because the four stamps were all clear mount and on one block.  You stamped the four images at one time and then added the ribbon.  I pre-tied the ribbon so all they had to do was stick it on the card.

There were a couple of times when I called this the chocolate candy card during our class.  The Brownies were quick to remind me that this was a chocolate kiss card.  Melody Smith made a more complex version of this card for our January demonstrator swap.  I CASED her card and simplified it for the Meals on Wheels project. Using the Blossom Petals punch to make the kiss make this card go very fast.  I pre-punched the kisses and stamped the sentiment.  All the girls had to do was trim the sentiment and assemble the card.  I should have taken a picture of one of the variations that was made with this card.  One of the Brownies drew hearts all the way around in the white border.  It looked wonderful!

Some quick tips if you are planning something similar where you will make a lot of cards very quickly with beginner stampers.  Notice that all 4 cards are on a white base and that cards 2 and 3 use pieces of card stock that are cut the same size.  That made cutting for these projects go very quickly.  I used the Big Shot and punches as much as possible to make it easy to make the design elements.  I pre-stamped and embossed where possible.  It was also helpful to pack the card parts for each card into one envelope.  That way everything the girls needed was at the table or in the envelope.

At each table, I only had one color of ink pad.  That way I didn't have to worry about ink pad colors getting mixed up.  By the way, Stampin' Up!'s new firm foam ink pads held up very well with some enthusiastic and more firm stamping than what would be recommended.  :)  Some of the clear blocks were covered with ink after our fast and furious stamping.  It was such a snap to clean the clear mount stamps and then rinse the clear blocks with water.  Everything looks good as new.  I would not be able to say that if I had used wood-mounted stamps.

I have been wanting to work with the Girl Scouts for some time now.  I love the look on children's faces (and adults too) when they look at something that they made by hand and are so happy and content with their creativity.  Andrea, the troop leader, was AMAZING.  She had 17 Brownies quiet and focused when she needed them to listen.  When it was their time to enjoy and create, they were laughing, giggling, (and wiggly), but consistently polite, making sure they shared their supplies and waited their turn.  She and the other parents made it look easy when we know it takes a lot of patience, consistency and work.

Thanks for listening to me babble on about how much fun I had with the Brownies of Girl Scout Troop 1302.  Stampin' Up! is about so much more than rubber stamping and making fun projects.  Hopefully, if you have the desire, you will also find a way to give back to your community that is meaningful to you.

Stampin' Supplies

Item	Description	Price
126412	Wacky Wishes Stamp Set (Card 1)	Hostess
130733	Oh, Hello Stamp Set (Card 1)	$18.95
126916	Patio Party Designer Series Paper (Card 1)	$10.95
124005	Silver Glimmer Paper (Card 1, 3 and 4)	$4.95
129406	Bitty Butterfly Punch (Card 1)	$15.95
119859	XL Oval Punch (Card  1)	$16.95
125596	Fashionable Hearts Embosslit (Card 1 and 2)	$11.95
129636	Vintage Verses (Card 2)	SAB
119246	Rhinestone Basic Jewels (Card 2)	$4.95
129252	Hearts a Flutter Stamp Set (Card 3)	$18.95
127802	Teeny Tiny Wishes Stamp Set (Card 3)	$26.95
118074	Owl Punch (Card 3)	$16.95
126257	Itty Bitty Banners Stamp Set (Card 4)	$11.95
121790	Red Glimmer Paper (Card 4)	$4.95
129378	Honeycomb Embossing Folder (Card 4)	$7.95
121808	Blossom Petals Punch (Card 4)	$16.95

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

Creatively yours,

Sharon Cheng
Richland Hills, TX

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