Top Ten Cards From 2012

Happy New Year! Stamping has helped me connect to so many new friends.  I'm looking forward to another great year of creating and sharing.  Many thanks to Operation Write Home for suggesting this fun post.

These are my top 10 cards from 2012. It was harder to pick my favorite cards than I expected.   French Foliage Triple Stamping with a Twist is my favorite 2012 card. I combined triple stamping with sponging to make this card.  It's much easier to make than it looks!

I loved using the Blossom Punch and Modern Label punch to make this layered Easter cross. 

This Summer Smooches birthday card was one of my swap cards for convention.  I did several different versions of this card that uses small strips of paper. It's a great way to use up scraps!

This Bold Blossom card comes from the OWH Memorial Day blog hop.  It was fun using a sketch to design this card.

This Apothecary Art birthday card also uses up scraps of Stampin' Up!'s Twitterpated designer series paper.  Notice that it is the same basic sketch as the card above from the OWH Memorial Day bloghop.

This Birthday Candle card is quick and easy to make.  I used the Blossom Petals Builder punch to make the candle flames.

This little punch art chick was a favorite with my customers.  This is a 3 x 3 card.

Greeting Card Kids is one of my favorite stamp sets.  This Christmas card uses the digital version of this stamp set.

My most popular post in 2012 was my Thanksgiving Quirky Turkey.  I liked him so much that I used a picture of that project on this digital Thanksgiving card. 

And last, but not least, is this digital Flower card using Summer Smooches designer series paper.  If you are looking for something bright and cheery, the Summer Smooches collection is what you want!

Thanks for looking at my top 10 cards from 2012.  I'm looking forward to seeing what 2013 brings!


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.

Have fun visiting other OWH friends.

Creatively yours,

Sharon Cheng
Richland Hills, TX

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White Christmas in Richland Hills, Texas

We had a white Christmas in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.  I walked around our neighborhood and took pictures of our winter wonderland.  This is a picture of a path a block away from our home through a wooded area.

I was inspired to make this card using My Digital Studio 2.  It's a great way to remember a wonderful Christmas Day.

If you're not familiar with the weather in this area, it rarely snows (except during Super Bowl!)  Most of the snow melted away yesterday and now the high is 41 degrees today. 

Stampin' Supplies

Item	Description	Price
130644	My Digital Studio 2 Download	$39.95
127756	Very Merry Twenty-Five Designer Tags - Digital Download	$3.95
125785	Flag Punch	$ .95
118853	Scallop Circle Punch (from Punch Shapes Collection)	$3.95

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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My Digital Studio Christmas Card

I used the Greeting Card Kids stamp brush set for this Christmas card using Stampin' Up!'s My Digital Studio 2.  While I have been wanting to use the images in this set for a long time, I wanted to color in the images.  I just figured out how to color in the image using Photoshop Elements.  If you know of an easier way, please let me know!

I started by making this image in MDS2 and saved it as a JPEG.  Then I loaded the image into Photoshop Elements and used the quick selection tool to select the different areas to fill with color.  The only problem was that using color fill also filled in the lines that gave detail to the image.  This Greeting Card Christmas Girl looked very sad without a face.

Hmmm, I was stuck for a few minutes on what to do.  My solution was to finish coloring in the areas even though I lost the details.  I saved the JPEG and uploaded it into MDS2 as a photo.  I made the photo the same size as an A2 card.  I then "restamped" the Greeting Card Christmas Girl on top of the JPEG.  It took a little bit of time to realign the images so they were exactly the same size and in the same place.  Thank goodness for the arrow keys.  My friend, Christi, showed me how to use the arrow keys to fine tune the placement of any digital images.

After that, it was relatively easy to add the sentiment and ribbon.  I love how MDS2 allows you to color parts of the stamped image and recolor the ribbon.  Now you can have ribbon and other embellishments in any color that you want!  I originally used Old Olive ribbon and changed the color to Always Artichoke.

Have a Merry Christmas!  Enjoy your time with family and friends.

Stampin' Supplies

Item	Description	Price
130644	My Digital Studio 2 Download	$39.95
123961	Greeting Card Kids Stamp Brush Set - Digital Download	$3.95
127756	Very Merry Twenty-Five Designer Tags - Digital Download	$3.95
128872	Holiday Harmony II Kit - Digital Download	$7.95
122156	Taffeta Ribbon Color Pack - Digital Download	$4.95

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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More Christmas Treats

Here are more treats from our Stampin' Up! demonstrator Christmas party. This canning jar filled with chocolate comes from the Holiday catalog. Melody used the Perfectly Preserved stamp set (126692 $20.95) and Cannery Set Framelits (127822 $24.95) to make this box.  Save 15% when you buy the Perfectly Preserved Bundle (129944) with the stamp set and coordinating framelits for $38.95.  Wouldn't this be a fun Valentine's Day treat if you changed the paper and colors a little?

Janet shared this hot chocolate treat that looks like a snowman. It uses the Snow Flurry Bigz Die (127813 $21.95) and silver glimmer paper (124005  $4.95).  There are so many great projects that use this die.  Check out the reindeer and Christmas card.

Kim made this Christmas gum wrapper that uses the Ornament Keepsakes Framelits (127816 $24.95), the Itty Bitty Banners stamp set (126257  $11.95) and the Bitty Banners Framelits (129267  $14.95).  This treat could also be changed to one for Valentine's Day using some of our heart-shaped punches or dies.

If you are looking for other ways to package your treats, here are some other posts with different ideas.

Hot chocolate with candy cane 

Skinny Santa

Santa Bag

Reindeer bag topper

When I went to meet my friend at Starbucks, the parking lot was filled with shoppers so it took longer than expected to get out of the lot.  Another one of advantages of making these Christmas treats is that you get to avoid the Christmas crowds!  Have fun making your Christmas treats.

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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Clearance Rack Blitz

Stampin' Up! has added new items to their clearance rack.  Take advantage of the huge savings because once these items are gone, they're gone!  Here are some of the items that have been popular.

126154 Everyday Enchantment 12 x 12 paper  $2.19

This was a Sale-A-Bration item and one of the prettiest paper packs.  Here is an angel I made with this paper.

113490 Baroque Motifs stamp set $16.79

Baroque Motifs is one of my favorite stamp sets of all time.  The designs are so versatile. 

108362 Crop-A-Dile  $11.99.  One of my most popular posts is the one with instructions for the Crop-A-Dile.

109857 Mini Library Clips $5.19

Mini Library Clips are so cute!  They're a great embellishment to add to your scrapbook pages and cards. 

These are just a few of the items that were added to the Clearance Rack.  The popular items can sell out in less than 24 hours, so order from my online store now for the best selection.

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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Christmas Angel, Reindeer and Necklace

Some of the most popular items that everyone wants are Christmas-themed little somethings.  At our Stampin' Up! demonstrator Christmas party, we exchange stocking stuffer little somethings.  We started the tradition just for the fun of sharing. It's always been a fun way to get great ideas for teacher or Secret Santa gifts. Here are some of the gifts that we exchanged last week.

This little Christmas angel was made using the scallop circle die (113468 $19.95), 2 3/8" scallop circle punch (118874 $16.95) and  Be of Good Cheer designer series paper (126896 $10.95). The die cut scallop circle cut in half makes the dress and the wings. The smaller scallop circle cut in half makes the sleeves.

We also made this Christmas angel in my stamp club. I cased this project and adapted it so that it can be used as shown here or hang as an ornament on your Christmas tree.

Christi Beck made this reindeer using the Snow Flurry die (127813 $21.95) and top note die (113463 $21.95). She said that we needed to eat the pretzels because they were really yummy, so that's the next step after I'm done taking these photos! :)

Cindy Peterson made this necklace out of a metal washer. She covered it with paper from the Be of Good Cheer designer series paper (126896 $10.95) and sealed it with crystal effects.

There was a time when gifts were not given Christmas.  Early church leaders even tried to outlaw the custom. There are many stories about how the tradition of gift giving at Christmas started.   Most of them agree that gift giving was a way to show your friendship and kindness.  And that is one of the many reasons why I enjoy making little somethings.  It's more about the value of someone's friendship than the actual value of the gift.

If you have been following my blog for awhile, then you know that I'm blessed to have such creative and talented friends. It's such a treat to see the projects that these women bring to share with the rest of our group.  I'll be posting more of the stocking stuffer gifts from our demonstrator Christmas party later.

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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Trimmings and Tags Bundle

Looking for cute ways to package little treats and gifts for co-workers, teachers, neighbors, and friends? Holiday packaging bundles are an affordable and adorable solution. Simply add a treat or gift and assemble.

The Trimmings & Tags Bundle includes Gusseted Cellophane Bags (25 bags; 5" x 3" x 11-1/2"), Snow Festival Designer Printed Tags (25 double-sided tags; 4-1/2" x 3-1/8"), and Cherry Cobbler 1/4" Sweater Trim (10 yards)--buy as a bundle and save 20%.  Regularly $16.85, you can get it on sale for $13.50.

Go to my online store now!  And while you're there, get this free digital download too.

Creatively yours,

Sharon Cheng
Richland Hills, TX

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