'Tis the Season

 

I love chevrons and flair and faux stitching.  So I took all three and made a card.  I used a sentiment from SRM stickers....I LOVE their stickers and I am almost out of them.  I used this sketch from Seize the Sketch:

 

 

I am also entering this card at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge

 

Thanks for stopping in and checking out my blog.  I will be back tomorrow with a Project Life page.

 

~~Sandi~~



Secret Santa Gift Box and Card

I am in a Secret Santa gift exchange on one of my Design Teams.  I wanted to make a special gift box and matching card for the gift so this is what I came up with.  I used nearly the last of my beautiful Bo Bunny holiday collection from a few years ago.  Sniff, sniff......I am literally down to just scraps now.

 

For the card, I used the current sketch from Freshly Made Sketches:

 

I am also entering this project in Paper Issues Christmas Theme: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas and

Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes Challenge

 

Happy Black Friday!  I am headed out to Walgreen's and Michael's and I will be back tomorrow with some more pages.

 

~~Sandi~~

 

You Go Girl -- Artful Delight Card Kit

I just absolutely loved working with this month's Artful Delight card kit. This is my 4th card and I barely put a dent in the kit.  I made a gatefold card and then I cut a window in the front of the card with my Cuttlebug and Spellbinders.  That was a brand new technique for me.  It was a little tough turning the handle of the Cuttlebug and I was afraid I was going to break it but it is good and sturdy and it didn't nreak and I LOVE the result.  This is definitely something I will do again and again.

 

Check out the Artful Delight blog today -- there is an awesome giveaway that Leanne is sponsoring.

I am entering this card at the Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes Challenge.

 

Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving to all!

 

~~Sandi~~

Selfie

The news last week included the little blurb that the word "selfie" has been named the word of the year by Oxford Disctionary.  So I decided to use that to title this page of me.   I rarely do pages of myself but decided to because it is important to include ourselves in our scrapbooks.

  

I used this sketch from The Memory Nest and the twist was to use a selfie. 

 

 

I am also entering this page in Scrap Our Stash challenge to use only paper from 6x6 paper pads. And to include 6 of something on your page.  I have 6 enamel dots on my page and all the papers (except the aqua cardstock) are from Dear Lizzy's Polka Dot Party which I have had for sometime and never used.  The enamel dots have been living in my drawer for awhile also.

Edited 8/13/15 to add:  I am linking this page up to the current issue at Paper Issues -- It's All About the Face

 

Thanks for checking out my blog....I have several other projects to share with you this week.  I am on vacation  (staycation, actually) this week with the hubby.  He just got the new Xbox One and is breaking that in so I get plenty of time this week to be creative.

 

~~Sandi~~

Seasons Tweetings

I love my Lawn Fawn stamps and I LOVE to participate in Lawnscaping's Challenges.  This challenge to use polka dots is right up my alley.  I wanted to use my new set of stamps that feature these cute little birdies and awesome punny sentiment so I whipped up this card for the polka dot challenge.  The brown polka dot paper (from Lawn Fawn's Dewey Decimal System paper collection) is my attempt at a tree trunk and the clouds were also paper punched from the same collection.  My hubby and I share our home with three tropical birds -- Max, Eko and Lola so this is going to be a favorite stamp of mine for a long time.

 

 

Thanks for stopping blog today.....my vacation this week is in full swing so I will have plenty of projects to share with you.

 

~~Sandi~~



Use-It Tuesday Guest Designer

I am thrilled today to be the guest designer for the Use-It Tuesday Anything Goes challenge.  I used all scraps of paper on this Thanksgiving card for family in North Carolina.  I punched the branches with my Martha Stewart branch punch.  The leaves are punched with a little tiny oak leaf punch that I have owned for 6-7 years.  It was one of my first acquistions when I started scrapping.  The twine has also been in my stash since I picked a big ball of it up at a thrift store a couple of years ago.  I found the sentiment in with my fall stash and it is from a stamp set that I do not even own anymore!!.

 

 

Why don't you get out some items that you have had in your stash awhile and link up a project?  You could be the next guest designer.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

~~Sandi~~

Whimsical Twist Photo Challenge

I am busy these days making Christmas cards.  Just when I thought I was done with all the cards, my Christmas list grew!  My husband has "found" several old friends from Facebook so the list keeps growing.  But I love making Christmas cards so when I heard that the new Whimsical Twist challenge was going to be to create a project with an odd sized picture....something other than the normal 4x6 that most of us use in our scrapping......I decided to make a photo Christmas card.  I usually make a few of these fun cards every Christmas.

 

The picture was taken of my hubby and I on one of our recent trips to the Florida Keys.  On this card I even included the year on my little wooden banner.  I used the sketch over at Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge blog:

 

 

The "Warm Thoughts" sentiment is from a new stamp set of mine from Simon Says Stamp called Handwritten Sentiments.

 

I hope you will enter the challenge and break out of the 4x6 habit......try an new size picture on your project and link it up HERE.....you could win a $15 credit to the Whimsical Twist shop!  AND there is a sale going on in the shop right now:

 

So hop on over and get some goodies for yourself or as a Secret Santa gift.

I am linking up this project to Paper Issues My Happy Place challenge.  The picture on this card was taken in the Florida Keys which is definitely one of my happy places and I am next to my wonderful hubby which is my happiest place of all.

 



 

Baby It's Cold Outside

I spent a good portion of the day today making cards.  I completed 4 and this is one of them.  I love the big glittery snowflake and used my new stamps from A Muse Studio.  The set is called "It's a Wonderful Life" and I heat embossed the sentiment with silver embossing powder.  That just might be my new favorite powder to emboss sentiments with.  It is lovely.

 

I am entering this card in Festive Friday's last challenge for this year.  It is a choose your own challenge and I chose a color challenge of red, silver and white.  Those are also the colors that I decorate inside my house with at Christmas.

 

 I am also linking this up to Paper Issues's Christmas theme -- It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.

 

Thanks for stopping by my blog....I will be back tomorrow perhaps with another project.  Have a wonderful Sunday.

 

~~Sandi~~



First Day of Kindergarten

 

My granddaughter Abby started kindergarten a couple of months ago and doesn't she look thrilled in this picture???  LOL  We have a real family where the kids don't always smile and aren't exactly thrilled about the first day of school or getting her picture taken!!  It took her awhile to get acclimated but she is doing well now in school and getting into the swing of things.

 

I used Echo Park's Paper & Glue Collection and this sketch from My Scraps and More Sketches:

 

 

I am also entering this page in Frosted Designs 11 challenge -- I used 4 of the 11 embellishments:

a star (on top of the schoolhouse)

a circle (the cork under the owl)

stitching (around the outer edge)

and

the banner (under the photos)

 

Thanks for checking out my blog....I am on vacation for the next 8 days so I hope to be sharing plenty of projects with you.

 

~~Sandi~~

Thank You (to a wonderful co-worker)

 

I have had the same day job (kind of) for 15 years.  I have worked in 3 different states and 2 different positions.  I have been through a buy-out of the original company that I worked for by our largest competitor.  But one thing has remained the same....I work with ALL MEN.  Well, I had one lady that I worked with for a year or so in South Carolina before we transferred to Florida.  But I added them up recently and in 15 years I have worked with 63 men and one woman.  However I do have contact with other women in the company (in our branches and in corporate)  One woman, Jane, has always been extremely helpful to me and so I wanted to send her this card.

 

When I make cards, I ususally always make them FOR someone.  It is just more personal that way.  I knew this card was for Jane as I was making it and I got an email from her yesterday that it brightened her day.  Mission accomplished.

 

I used my awesome November card kit from Artful Delight for this card and I even adapted their layout sketch to fit this card.

 

 

I believe that there are still a few card kits left....if you hurry, you can grab one!!  Get all the details HERE.

 

~~Sandi~~

Happy Belated Birthday

I am a bad aunt....I totally spaced on my neice Reyna's 7th bithday earlier this month.  But I wanted to make her a car and tuck a little gift inside so I whipped up this card for her Sunday night using some scraps form another card that I had made.  Don't you love being resourceful like that?

 

I used this sketch from Seize the Sketch:

 

 

Thanks for checking out my blog.

 

~~Sandi~~

Believe in the Magic

I had a very nice Sunday "crafternoon" today and made a couple of Christmas cards.  A couple of weeks ago, I won a stamp set from Purple Onion and this Charlie Brown-style Christmas tree stamp was included.  It is destined to be a favorite of mine as I just LOVE it.  I stamped the falling snow with a stamp from a Stampin' Up 1997 stamp set that I scored recently at my LSS (local scrapbook store) yard sale for $2.....what a deal!  The snow is of course Stickles and the sentiment is from Paper Smooches. I used 4 different colors of ink on this card and for the exception of the Stickles and the rhinestones & wood veneer star on the tree, this card is just all stamped on bright white cardstock....very economical.

 

Cas-ual Fridays has teamed up with Curtain Call for their challenge this week.  This was the inspirational photo:

 

 

I took my inspiration from the Christmas tree and the silver-y looking lights and trimmings on it.  The really cool thing is that I can enter this card in both of their challenges....gotta love that.

 

Since the card is all stamping, I am also entering it in Simon Says Stamp's Monday Ink Challenge.

 

Thanks for stopping by my blog today....I hope your weekend was wonderful!

 

~~Sandi~~

Ho Ho Ho

 

I LOVE my Paper Smooches stamps.  Slowly but surely I think I am collecting all of them.  This card uses 2 sets.....Joyful Greetings and Santa Paws.  I also used their Sparks Challenge sketch:

 

 

I am also entering this card in the Festive Friday Color Challenge

 

 

Thank you for stopping by my blog tonight. :)

 

~~Sandi~~

Awesome Giveaway at Pink Paislee

 

Check out the awesome giveaway at Pink Paislee today!!



Week #31

 

 

Slowly but surely I am catching up a bit on my weekly pages.  I am now on week #31.  It was my MIL's birthday and our birthday celebration.....her birthday is just 5 days before mine so we usually celebrate together.  Other than that it was a fairly uneventful week so on Sunday (which is the last day of my week) I took a picture of our home after Dave finished the yard work.  Walgreen's had a deal a few weeks ago for a free 8x10 so I got this shot enclarged and used it for my 2nd page.  If only you could have seen what our home looked like when we bought it nearly 4 years ago.  It was a very neglected foreclosure.  We (well Dave mostly) put a great deal of hard work into sprucing up the place and now I think we have the prettiest house on the block.  Here is a close-up of page 2:

 

 

And here is page 1:

 

 

I am entering this weekly spread into Stuck on U Sketches for their PL challenge to use a shaped tag

and

Use It Tuesday' Stick It Challenge -- The pelican and sea gull stickers are from a 3 or 4 year old collection from October Afternoon's Seaside collection.

 

I am already working on weeks #32 and #33 and hope to unveil them soon.

 

Love is Rare.....Artful Delight Card Kit

 

I am soooo loving my November card kit from Artful Delight.  The papers are so beautiful and all coordinate so wonderfully it makes card making an extremely enjoyable past time. The evening I made this card I had a very aggravating day at work but time getting creative with this kit was so relaxing for me.  And after all, isn't that the way a hobby should be?  I do believe there are a few card and scrapbook kits left...I would suggest you pick one up today.  Check out the shop HERE and the blog HERE.

 

I made this card for my brother-in-law and sister-in-law Aaron and Cheri in North Carolina for their anniversary this week.  When I saw that "Love is Rare" card I thought it would make a nice focal point for an anniversary card.

 

Thanks for stopping by my blog today....hang on -- it is almost Friday.

Grateful to Be Your Grandma

 

I cherish the time I get to spend with my grandchildren.  I usually only get to see them once a year for a couple of days. AND I am so busy enjoying the time with them that I often forget to get pictures of me with them.  Luckily last March when we were visiting, my husband asked me if I wanted a picture with my grandsons.  SMH.....of course I do and he took this picture.  It is not a great picture....my battery on my big camera had died so all I had was my cell phone with the cracked camera lens but I cherish the picture and of course I had to put it on a page for the boys' scrapbook.

 

I used this sketch from Creative Scrappers:

 

 

I am entering it in the November 1st challenge at My Mind's Eye Gratitude Challenge.  Everything on the page is from My Mind's Eye with the exception of the alphas.  I just love this Collectible collection!!

 

I am also linking it up to the Paper Issues current Grateful theme.

 

Thank you for stopping by my blog.

 

Let Your Smile Change the World

 

I love school pictures.  This is Abby's pre-school picture from last April.   I just saw her kindergarten picture and it is awesome.  I cannot wait to get my copy of it in the mail.

 

For this layout I used the October kit from The Scrapbook Circle.  I added a couple of things from my stash but I love the kits from The Scrapbook Circle because everything is so coordinated and it really makes making projects easy-peasy.  I also used the November sketch from the scrapbook Circle which was created by Diana Fisher.  I just *love* her sketches.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by my blog tonight....I hope you had a wonderful, productive weekend.  I sure did....I just wish it wasn't over yet. The weekends are never long enough.

Jillibean Soup Thanksgiving card

I thought it was about time that I start on my Thanksgiving cards.  I do not have a lot of them to make but I want to get them out of the way so I can continue to make my Christmas cards.

 

For this card I used papers from Jillibean Soup.  The pretty little plastic maple leaf was actually a 25 cent lapel pin that I picked up at a resale shop.  I pulled off the pin and attached it to my card and it added the perfect pop of color.  I also used this sketch from Mojo Monday:

 

 

Thank you for checking out my blog....I will be back soon to show you a scrapbook page that I did this weekend.

 

Hello.....Get "Whale" Soon

 

My sister recently had surgery on her shoulder and her knee at the same time.  Whew!  I am not sure I would be that brave!  I am sure the recovery period is stressful for her so I made this little card for her to put a smile on her face.

 

I used the current sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch:

 

 

I am also entering this card into Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Clean & Simple (CAS) challenge 

 

Thanks for checking out my blog....I will be back a little later with another project.  Right now we are off to the gym.



Whimsical Twist 5 Favorites Blog Hop

 

 

Welcome to the Whimsical Twist Favorite Blog Hop! Hopefully you reached me from Sharm’s blog, but if not head back to Whimsical Twist and start the hop from there!

Today I am sharing a favorite project and 5 of my favorite items in the Whimsical Twist Shop.

One of my very favorite recent releases is Hello Again from Carta Bella.  It is still available from the shop and you can see it HERE.  Here is a page I did with a sweet little picture of my adorable and fiercely independent granddaughter Abby:

I just love the csoft colors of this collection and the thick high quality of Carta Bella papers are second to none.

Here are a four more of my favorites from the shop:

1. Printshop by Studio Calico 6x6 paper pad......I love using a 6x6 paper pad to make my own 3x4 and 4x6 journal cards for my pocket page life pages.

2. These Maple Syrup Sequins----are they not the most beautiful color you have ever seen?  They are perfect for fall and Thanksgiving projects and priced so economically at $1.00 for a teaspoon.  that's a lot of sequins for not a lot of money.

3.  These Whimsical Twist exclusive Krafty Kringle Flair Badges.  These match our Krafty Kringle December Days Kits but I think I am going to get a couple extra sets just to use on gift tags and Christmas cards....they are awesome!

 

 

4.  Studio Calico Printshop Wood Veneer Stars.....are these not the awesomest stars ever???!!  I do a lot of boy pages and boy cards and stars are one of my go to embellishments.  Plus one of these would look so cool on the top of a funky Christmas tree on a card or gift tag..

 



I could go on and on because I love so many of the items in the shop but we were to limit our post to 5 favorites.  Check out my other design team mates for their favorites.

All blog hops should have a giveaway and this is no exception! At each stop along the hop, make sure that you leave a comment so you can be entered to win a $20 gift card to the Whimsical Twist shop! One random commenter who has commented on ALL of the blogs will win!

Your next top will be: The talented and beautiful Alexandra!!

Here is the complete hop in order, just in case you get lost along the way!
Whimsical Twist - http://whimsicaltwist.com/blog/
Carrie - http://carrieshappyscrappin.blogspot.com/
Ashley - http://marklandandmain.blogspot.com/
Lisa - http://lisascreativeniche.blogspot.com/
Laurie - http://lauriedanielle.com
Sharm- http://craftyliciousme.blogspot.com
Sandi- http://lifeatthebeach51.blogspot.com/ (That's me!)
Alexandra- http://avc-creations.blogspot.gr/
Kristin- http://memoriesbythepageful-kristin.blogspot.com/
Charissa- http://www.akihasmommascraps.com



Artful Delight

A couple of weeks ago I shared my excitement with you on being asked to join the Artful Delight Design Team for the next term.  I had applied for a spot on the team several times and I guess my persistence paid off.  You should have heard me squeal when I read Leeanne's email!!!

 

Last week I received my first card kit to work with and I couldn't wait to dig into it.  I laid in bed at night designing cards in my head....c'mon am I the only one that plans out projects as I am falling asleep?  I also do a great deal of creative planning while on the treadmill at the gym!!

 

Here is my first card that I put together with my kit:

 

 

Don't you just love that blackboard frame?  And those polka dots? {{swoon}}

 

I used the November sketch which my good friend Suzanne designed:

 

Isn't this a great sketch?  I encourage you to create a card with this sketch and link it up.  Go HERE for all the details.  You could win this:

 

Good luck and thanks for stopping by my blog!

 



Winners, Winners....We Have Winners!!

 

Today I would like to announce the winners of the BIG Whimsical Twist December Days Class giveaway!!! Every design team member was able to give away a spot to one lucky winner, Is your name on the list? Check it out!

Jill T.
Keath Horner Steigert
Amber Sheaves
Nicole McNamara
Fleur Smith
Janet Zeppa
Jessica Esch
Ruth Suttie Gauss
Valerie Dietz
Amanda Case
Laura Turcotte
Nicole Radawetz
Amanda Rhodes
Marilla
Lisa Mc
Me-Ma Kim

If you are one of our lucky winners Please email your Kimmie@whimsicalTwist.com with your name and email address you would like to use for class registration!

Thanks for all that entered! See you in Class!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

I am still making Christmas cards.  I made nearly 30 in July and have about 20 more to go.  I used the sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch for this cute little Santa card today:

 

 

I am also entering it into Merry Monday's Santa challenge.

 

 

 

Back to work in my craft room....I have a number of projects that I am working on today.