Friday Card Day

It's our last day for our guest blogger.....I have sure enjoyed seeing her creations and I hope that you have been inspired to create something beautiful.  Here are a few more card creations that Lynda has created.... I hope you enjoy.  If you are interested in purchasing cards from Lynda please contact her at Lynda.benden@yahoo.com

                                        These cards are all created using Stampin Up  products

A huge thank you to Lynda for being the first of our guest bloggers....I certainly appreciate it.. I know that I have been inspired to create something beautiful.  Share what you love with the world, because it makes us all better.  Until next time....Stephanie

Creative Cricut Work

 Lynda stated in her biography that she loves making things with the Cricut and Vinyl.  She seems to have mastered this beautifully.  She has created shirts for her grandchildren, family and friends.  I love how clean and crisp they are and the possibilities are endless.  This is one area I haven't really broken into yet....I have the cricut and I have vinyl.....however I still worry about messing up.  Maybe I need to hit Lynda up for some lessons.  LOL

  Lynda uses Gildan shirts to make her creations and Cricut brand vinyl to make her shirts

 I love the caption on this one......even if I don't drink wine!!!

She has also created things that are not just shirts.......

What beautiful trays these are!!! One is great to give as a gift or use as a game day treat holder and the other is just beautiful.... One of my favorite verses. 

Look at these precious Halloween trick or treat bags that she created for her grandchildren....I love them...
Obviously the Cricut and Vinyl give you lots of options and endless possibilities of things that you can create....leaving the ends only to your imagination....and sense of humor......
Thank you Lynda for sharing these wonderful creations with us and we can't wait to see what Friday holds.....Remember to share what you love with the world because it makes us all better.  Until next time.....Stephanie

Lovely Card Creations Part 1

Just as a reminder we have a guest blogger this week from Taylors, SC, Lynda Benden.  Lynda has been crafting for many years and loves putting together scrapbooks for her children and grandchildren, making cards and creating with vinyl.
Today I am going to showcase some cards she has made for us.  The bottom set is using the Beautiful You stamp Set by Stampin Up.  I love the softness of the cards, these are so very pretty and feminine.

 Although Lynda is not a Stampin Up representative, she does primarily use their product.  She like me loves the way the papers and inks match up and they offer tons of stamps with coordinating dies.  She participates in classes with her local stampin up rep.  The Bottom set is Cake Crazy by Stampin Up.  What a fun and different take on birthday cards. 

Thank you Lynda for sharing these fun and fantastic cards with us.  I feel inspired to go out and create something unique and fun.  I can't wait to see what Thursday hold.  Remember to share what you love with the world because it makes us all better.  Until then....Stephanie

Meet our guest Blogger

This week's guest blogger is someone who I am excited that I get to call my friend.  Not only are we friends in the crafting world (because that is where we met) but we are also friends in the real world.
Here is a little interview that I did with her to introduce her to you a bit.......

Tell us about yourself (Where you are from, married, children, grandchildren)

Okay, I am married (39 yrs this yr.) have two children and 6 grandchildren. I attend Brushy Creek Baptist Church in Taylors, SC. Love crafting and spending time with my family and riding our Harley Davidson with my husband (Eddie)

How often do you get to craft?

Craft at least once a week.

What is your favorite thing to craft?

I love to create anything that has to do with paper(scrapbooks, cards anything), and vinyl.

What is your Go to tool to use for crafting ?

I always have my Stampin Up trimmer at hand.

Do you prefer to craft alone or with friends?

I love to craft alone and with friends.

How long have you been crafting? 

I have been crafting for as long as I can remember. It all started when I went to a Creative Memories class yrs ago and then I got into stamping.

Who do you like to craft for?

I love to make scrapbooks for my children and grand children and my favorite thing to make are things for my grandchildren. I also make vinyl tee shirts and party decorations for my grands.

Here is a sneek peek at what you will see from Lynda this week.....

A huge advance thank you to Lynda for sharing what she loves with us because it makes us all better... can't wait to see what she has in store for us this week.....Until next time.....Stephanie

Guest Blogger this week!!!

I am so excited to have the first of a series of guest bloggers this week.  Each month I will feature a talented crafter sharing with us what they love to do. This week our guest is Lynda Benden.  Please join us this week as she shares with us her crafting passion .

Valentine treat boxes

Happy Valentine's Day eveyone!!! I can't say that I am a fan of this holiday.....being single and all but hey I got kiddos to love on.  I made these little boxes

in under 10 minutes a piece.  I didn't spend a lot of time decorating them because I know my big kids really don't get into all of that.  

Starting with a 12x12 paper

Score at 3 and 9

turn the paper 1 time on the score pad

Score at 1, 3.5, 6.5, and 9

Fold your score lines and cut down to the 3 score line starting on the side with the 1" score

Then cut into the first score intersection on the opposite side.  This creates your sides.  

Add your tape and put the sides together ..... VOILA!! You are done.  These are so simple and cute and I can assure you that I will be making them again for other occasions.  

I hope you enjoy these and thank you for letting me share what I love because it makes us all better.

Until next time........ Stephanie

Night to Shine Recap

If you missed my post from Friday you might be a little confused but for the last 3 years my kids have attended a special needs prom put on by the Tim Tebow Foundation.  It is held at locations around the world.  This dance is held every year the Friday night before Valentine's Day.  It's a night for them to shine and for everyone to show them just how special they are to us and to God.  Get ready for some serious photo overload (sorry, NOT sorry).
I must first say that my son Ray and his wife Shelby came and helped me get all 3 of them ready and as you will see....they turned out GREAT!! I certainly couldn't have done it without them.

                                                     Angel and I ready to load up and Go

                                                       Shelby working her magic on Angel

                                                    Brotherly Love--who knew he could do hair?

                                                   Makeup Magic with Sarah

                                                                 Getting Josh tuxed up

                                                       Model Behavior by Sarah

                                                      Angel and her friends crew

                                                     Josh and his "date buddy" Nell

                                                       Angel and I  (I think she was resting her feet)

                                                  Angel, one of her school teachers and I

                                                  "I've had so much fun but I am so tired"

                                                       Buddy, Josh, Angel and Sarah  all danced out

                                                     Sarah and a friend she met tonight

                                                  Making Silly Faces Before we go

Sarah and I ready to Go

Thank you for letting me share this special evening with you.  Each year they need hundreds of volunteers to make this night happen.  It is so rewarding to volunteer and watch and participate with these special needs kids and adults have the night of their lives.  I am sharing what I love because it makes us all better.  Until next time.....Stephanie

A Coloring We Go

I LOVE to color (not all that good at it) but I find it very relaxing.  I have colored pencils, gel pens but my GO TO coloring medium is copic markers.  I love these... I am sure that there are newer better products on the market but i have gotten comfortable using these marker (FINALLY).
I tend to be very heavy handed which is bad when coloring or writing with pencils because you wear down the lead quickly, but I don't seem to ruin the marker.  Here are 2 cards that I made using a stamp that required lots of coloring.  
I find that I do more images of people or cute little animals but I love this stamp (penny black I think) and it's perfect for special occasions like new house or even sympathy.

What is your go to coloring medium?  Do you like cards with colored images or are you strictly paper and embellishments?  Would love to see or hear your comments......
Remember to share what you love with the world because it makes us all better....until next time.... Stephanie

Monday one sheet wonder

Today I am featuring a video from Jessica Taylor a Stampin Up demonstrator.  She has a One sheet wonder club that you can join for a nominal fee and each month you can get access to multiple different directions for One Sheet wonder cards.  Here is the information.  Ink it up with Jessica  This one sheet wonder video shows you quickly how you can make a stack of cards to wow anyone with very little cutting involved. 
Have you tried One Sheet Wonder yet?? Do you have a favorite way of doing them??? Let me see what you have created......
Remember to share what you love with the world, it makes us all better!!

Night to Shine

Today is the day..... Night to Shine special needs prom put on all across the country by the Tim Tebow foundation.  This will be the 3r year that my kids have participated and I tell you that as a mother of special needs kids it's a beautiful thing.  They dress up get treated with red carpet treatment and dance their hearts out all to be crowned King/Queen at the end of the night.  What a beautiful way to show these guys how much they are loved by God and everyone else that has worked tirelessly to put this production on.  

This will be our first year to attend one in South Carolina so we are excited to see how it differs from the ones that we have attended in Alabama.  My card today is themed under the Big Top.  I was inspired by the Sparkle and Shine of the night to create something with some shine and sparkle.  I haven't added a sentiment yet because I don't know yet how I will use this card... I used the glitter gel pen on the hat, bowtie and unitard as well as glitter designer paper to add some accent.  

Enjoy some pics of my kids from last year getting ready for Prom.. Will share more pics of this year next week.

Alabama football player Jalen Hurts Volunteering  

Ready to Go!!! (Angel, Josh &Sarah) 

Feeling like a princess 

 

All decked out and ready to go 

My sweet daddy helping Johsua get dressed 

  If you haven't had an opportunity to learn about this event I encourage you to check it out on the TimTebowfoundation.com.  Remember to share what you love with the world...it makes us all better.  Until next time...Stephanie

Monochromatic Static

I think today's title is simply because my son Joshua is walking around shocking everyone with static cling from his jacket and thinks it's the funniest thing.... (me not so much) .but today I was kind of in a blah mood and decided to play with same color inks and paper.  I love companies like Stampin Up and Fun Stampers Journey that allow you to purchase coordinating paper and inks so you don't have to guess when putting a card together. ( I don't represent either)  I am pretty good with matching color however sometimes I like to keep things simple.
Today I used several stamp sets to create my background paper, used scraps as embellishments and punches to accentuate the card.....Hope you enjoy

 This first card I used a background stamp (that I rarely remember to use to create the monochromatic background using Primrose Petals ink on Primrose Petals paper.  The stamp is a Magenta stamp from Canada I love the detail on it....

The second card I made was using Stampin Up Coastal Cabana Ink and Paper.  I used Mixed Bunch Stamp Set to create the background paper.  This is one of my favorite stamp sets because I can do so much with it.  I finsished it up with The Petal Punch from Stampin Up with a Stampin Up Sentiment  from the stamp set Blessing From Heaven

 The Last card I created was using Coastal Cabana again (I think I like the pastel color although usually I am drawn to brights). I used Stampin Up Six-Sided Sampler stamp set to create the backgound paper and the sentiment.  I used the hexagon punch that goes along with this set to create a simple one of a kind card.  I finished it off with 3 basic bling from The paper studio (Hobby Lobby's line).

I love how simple it is to create beautiful  one of a kind cards using only one color....sometimes I look at my cards and see just how many colors I have chosen to use and am overwhelmed....but sometimes understated is better!!! 
Have you tried monochromatic cards?  Is it something you think you might try?  I would love to see your creations!!!! 
Keeping things simple sometimes forces us to slow down and love each little thing!  Remember to share what you love with the world because it makes us all better.  Until next time....Stephanie

Ta Da it's Tuesday

 Yesterday I posted a video that I did on creating your own paper for one sheet wonder.  Somehow in my haste to post I didn't add any up close pics of the actual cards.... We are all human right??? 
So here are some of the cards created in that video.... Thank you by the way for watching that all the way through..... I know it was a little rough around the edges.  I do love how the paper shows differently in each card depending on how you cut the paper.... The possibilities are endless  Your color choices and designs are only limited to your imagination.

Today I am showing you 2 different ways that I used a flag or tag on my card.  By cutting a single strip at the bottom into a V you can create a paper ribbon.  You can turn them sideways, upside down, together, separate whichever you choose...... So easy to add a little extra to your card or pages.  
Here are my samples 

 You see how it's a great space taker on the card, while adding some character and texture as well....These can be solid, printed, embellished or not  totally up to you.  Whether you create your own embellishment or use some that are pre-made is totally ok...But DON'T be afraid to embellish it!!
Share what you love with the world, it makes us all better....Until next time....Stephanie