Our Graduate

This is another page for my scrapbook album....most of my pages get put in scrapbooks and given to the person who is the subject of the scrapbook....my grandsons, granddaughters, my sons....they all have a scrapbook in progress. When it gets full, I give it to them and start another. But this page is mine, all mine. What an awesome picture this is of the whole Farley family....even my ex-husband is in the photo. It was a great day to get together and celebrate Jacob's 8th grade graduation.

I used this awesome sketch from Freckled Fawn:

 I used lots of Freckled Fawns fun embellishments: the big YAY, the silver puffy stars and the aqua washi tape at the bottom of the page. I am entering it in their April Sketch Challenge

Thanks for stopping by...ugh it is Monday tomorrow.  Not my favorite day but after work I think I will make a fun birthday card for my brother-in-law. A little crafting always makes a Monday better.


~~Sandi~~

Looking Good

I love this selfie of Dave and I from last December when we got our new glasses. (He wears glasses all the time while I only wear mine for reading.) I saw this sketch from Sketch-n-Scrap and knew that this picture was perfect for this sketch.

I am so proud of myself that I used all four of the sketches from Sketch-n-Scrap this month. They have an awesome prize from PinkFresh this month which would be great to win, but more importantly I got 2 pages done and cards made and sent out. Yay! I feel very accomplished.

I am also entering this page in Elle's Studio Challenge Day Work An Angle Challenge. Everything on this page is from Elle's Studio.  Another accomplishment is that I was able to enter 3 out of 4 Elle's Studio challenges this month....go me!!

Well I have a little free time this evening and I just might see if I can put together another challenge layout. I hope you are enjoying your weekend....I am.

~~Sandi~~



Thanks Mary Kay

Recently an online acquaintance sent me something I really wanted and was having trouble finding. I thought that was so sweet of her that I wanted to make her a thank you card and I finally got to it.  This is just a clean and simple little card but I hope it will put a smile on her face.

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

TGIF!!!  Bring on the weekend!

~~Sandi~~

Every Good and Perfect Gift.....

I am part of a small community of online friends who craft together and share our lives together.  One of the ladies has been a tremendous encourager of me recently and I wanted to send her a card and a few little goodies to thank her. I found this sticker in my stash and knew it would make the perfect focal point on a card for her.

I am entering this card in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge

Thanks for stopping by....only one more work day and then it is the weekend....YAY!!

~~Sandi~~

You Are Braver....

My husband and I work with a man who has been on leave fighting head and neck cancer.  It has been rather rough for him lately so I wanted to send him a card with some encouragement.  I whipped up this simple card for him and mailed it off a few days ago.

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

I will be right back with another blog post and another card to share.  Thanks for popping in.

~~Sandi~~

I'm So Lucky

If there is anything that I love as much as coffee it is making coffee themed cards.  Here is another card from my card making marathon last Saturday.  And this card came together quite easily.  The sentiment and coffee cup image is from a from free digital printable from Julee Tilman of Verve stamps. The polka dot washi is old and from my stash and the coffee themed washi is a new purchase I just picked up at a recent shopping spree at Whim-So-Doodle in St. Petersburg. What an awesome store that is and I am not ashamed to say that I dropped a good sized chunk of change there.  Good thing I live 3 hours away! I also used the awesome and fun sketch from Kerry Urbatch for the Coffee Lovers Blog Sunday Sip and Share feature:

I am also entering this card in Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge

That's it for tonight....I will be back tomorrow to share some more.

~~Sandi~~

So Egg-cited!

My daughter-in-law, Amy texted this picture to me on Easter morning of my youngest granddaughter Izzy and her excitement at the goodies in her East basket. I just love big sister Abby in the background looking on in amusement at her sister's excitement. I hate living 1000 miles away sometimes and always missing the little celebrations of life.  But when I get a cute picture like this it helps me deal with it better.

I used this fun sketch from Sketch-n-Scrap.

With this layout, I have used all but one of  the sketches from Sketch and Scrap this month and entered their challenges. And I have the last sketch laid out on my desk to get to before the deadline this month hopefully. They really knocked it outta the park this month with inspiring sketches!

I am also entering this page in Another Freaking Scrappy Challenge which for April was a Spring or Easter theme.

Thanks for stopping by tonight.  I will be back soon with another project to share.

~~Sandi~~



A Simple Thank You



I don't know about you, but I can never have enough thank you cards. So in my marathon card making session last Saturday I made a couple and this was one of them.

I used this perfect card sketch from Sketch-n-Scrap:

I am entering this card in the Sketch-n-Scrap April card sketch challenge

and

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Showers and/or Flowers Challenge

Thanks for taking a peek at what I have been up to.

~~Sandi~~

Be The Reason....

I have had this card on my desk in my scraproom for months. I knew I wanted to use it to make a card and finally on Saturday, I had a card making marathon and this was one of the 10 cards that I made.

I am entering it in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Showers and/or Flowers Challenge.

Thanks for stopping by tonight.  I hope your week is going well.

~~Sandi~~

My Kind of Town

I was born and raised in Chicago and lived there over 40 years before moving 14 years ago first to South Carolina and then to Florida 10 years ago. My sons and their families, including my 4 grandchildren and many friends still live in the Chicago area.  We visit at least once a year and I must admit I miss my hometown nearly every day.

Recently I saw a wooden block rubber stamp (I LOVE those....don't you?) with the Chicago skyline made by Hero Arts and I just had to buy it.  I absolutely love the crisp clear image I get when I stamp with a rubber stamp. Hero Arts is one of the leaders of the industry and is currently celebrating their blog's 5th anniversary. The challenge this month is Anything Goes.

I inked up my stamp for the first time and made this card. I am going to send it to my friend Renata who is a fellow transplanted Chicagoan residing here in Florida. She was my maid of honor 40 years at my first wedding (how could that be 40 years ago????). 

I added just the tiniest bit of Copic coloring and a few small puffy clouds from my stash.  I think I need to make one of these and frame it for myself.  There is still time to enter the challenge yourself....just make sure to use Hero Arts products.  You can see all the details by clicking HERE

Thanks for stopping by.  I will be back shortly with more projects to share.

~~Sandi~~

Hello --- MFT Color Challenge

I am not usually one to enter color challenges.  I find them difficult to enter. I wish I had more of an assortment of inks but I do not, so I rely on my ability to put together papers and embellishments that match the colors in the challenge.  This time....they fell into place quite easily. I am entering the

MFT Color Challenge. And I am entering the sketch challenge since  I am using this sketch from Sketch-n-Scrap:

Here is my card.  The sentiment is from my new MY Favorite Things Stamp set You Give Me Butterflies.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today.  I will be back tomorrow with another card to share.

~~Sandi~~



Oh Joy....It's Your Birthday

I have always love pigs. So when I saw this set by My Favorite Things, I had to have it.  And then I won a $25 gift card to their shop....guess what I bought? Yep, the adorable pig set.  This is the first card that I made with is. I am very new at coloring with Copics and I am not happy with the pig....I wanted to make her a much more muted color.  But it takes practice to get better and now next time, I know what NOT to do. I may not know what TO do but I sure do know what NOT to do...lol!

I used this sketch from My Favorite Things

There are still a few more days to enter the sketch challenge....for all the details, go HERE

Thanks for stopping by. I just came from the gym and grocery store so I am going to shower and head out to spend the day with my in-laws.  It has been far too long since we got together.

~~Sandi~~

37

Where does the time go? 37 years ago this week, I was in the hospital 37 weeks pregnant with a bad case of pre-eclampsia. But thankfully to a wonderful team of doctors and an awesome hospital, my oldest son Matthew was born completely healthy and weighing 7 lbs 12 oz. And I survived the ordeal also. Fast forward to 2017 and that little tiny baby boy has a wife and two pretty little strawberry blonde haired girls, two dogs and are looking to buy a bigger house. Wasn't this little boy who's hand I held just yesterday and took him to kindergarten?? Life goes by in a blur sometimes and birthdays remind us just how fast life is.

This is my son's birthday card that I made the other night. It is already on its way to the Midwest along with a couple of gifts that I think he will like. I will get to see him in June and I can't wait.  I hate missing life's little celebrations like birthdays. :(

I am entering this card in the Challenge Day Card Challenge at Elle's Studio.  Everything on this card is from Elle's Studio with the exception of the card base and the navy cardstock for the background.  The challenge was to use a tag on the card and I actually have 2 tags layered on here and plenty of little snippets. So I am also entering this card in the Pixie's Snippets Playground.

I have been busy creating lately and today I sat down and in a few hours created 10 cards so I will have lots of upcoming posts to share them.  Thanks for always stopping in to see what I am up to.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

~~Sandi~~

Behind Every Successful Woman....

Have I ever mentioned that I love coffee? I can actually function and think clearly before 9am because of coffee. I have only been drinking coffee for about 5 years but I cannot imagine functioning on a daily basis without it.  So to show my love, I collect coffee mugs from places we have been...especially the Starbucks mugs from cities and states and I make lots of coffee themed cards.  Here is a card I whipped up because I saw an awesome sketch on Sunday from Kerry Urbatch and wanted to play with it. Here is the sketch:

I am entering this card in the Coffee Loving Cardmakers sketch challenge.

Well....that is about it for tonight. I have a busy day tomorrow...12 hours of work/commuting, a visit with my Dad in the rehab facility he is in currently and then game 4 for my Blackhawks. It could possible be the end of my hockey season tomorrow night if my boys don't get it together...you can be sure I will be sitting on the edge of the couch and screaming tomorrow evening. I wonder what the neighbors think???? LOL

Thanks for stopping by.

~~Sandi~~



Love These Shoes

I really miss my family up north. It has been nearly a year since I last saw them. When I start missing them really bad, I will start scrapping up a storm. It helps me feel like I am part of their lives when I scrap the pictures of them and their activities....even I was not there to witness them.  This is Abby right after her 9th birthday in March.  We sent her the outfit she is wearing and a $50 bill.  She was ecstatic over a $50 bill and after much deliberation decided on these shoes and a mosaic art kit. She really takes after her grandma...shoes and crafts!!  I used this fun sketch from Stuck Sketches:

I am also entering this in the Elles's Studio Challenge Day Recipe Challenge. The recipe was to use:

1. A vertical photo

2. Patterned paper for the background

3. Wood veneers

4. Stamp on a Tag (I stamped "You Are Awesome" on the tag on the upper left)

5. Journal on a tag (My typed journaling is on the tag in the lower right of the page)

Most everything on this page is from Elle's Studio except the stamp and the twine.

Finally, I am also entering this page in Clique Kits April challenge to stamp on a layout.

That is it for tonight.  Tomorrow night I have to work on a card for my son who is turning 37 at the end of the month. Where did the time go????

~~Sandi~~



Our Buddy Banjo

I am going through a very stressful time right now with my father's health quickly deteriorating and taking care of him, his finances and finding a nice assisted living place for him, it can be really overwhelming.  Especially since I am still working 50 hours a week with another 10 hours per week of commuting. But I have read about the importance of taking time for myself and that is just what I did this weekend.  I worked on this layout and for about 90 minutes on Saturday, I was just concentrating on being creative.  It helped me tremendously the rest of the weekend feel a lot less stress.

I used this awesome sketch from Kristine Davidson for Clique Kits:

I stayed pretty true to the sketch and the other part of the challenge was to include stamping on my layout.  I stamped and heat embossed the quote "All this world needs is more wagging and less barking".....Amen to that!  I am entering it in the April challenge at Clique Kits.


That is about it for tonight.  I am going to watch a little hockey before I go to bed.
Thanks for stopping by my blog.
~~Sandi~~

Never Give Up Hope

Just a quick blog post to remind all my friends and family out there to do a breast self-exam today and/or make your mammogram appointment today....it IS the 17th of the month you know. A routine screening mammogram saved my life last year and it could save yours too.  Above is the card I made to encourage a friend battling cancer.

Michelle from CAS-ual Fridays has a on her blog today.  Click HERE to check it out!

~~Sandi~

One More Easter Card

Here my final Easter card to share and the third card I made with this stamp set from Reverse Confetti and their April Sketch which you can see HERE

I am also entering this card in the Simon Says Stamp Monday Hip Hop challenge.

Have a wonderful Bunny Day!

~~Sandi~~



Too Hip to Hop

I have never really struggled much with making masculine cards or boy/masculine pages. But it is a struggle to continue to make cards for my 15 year grandson.  I definitely have to ditch the cute-sy factor.  So I went for something funny with this card and I hope he likes it.

The bunny is from my stash and I am not sure where it came from. The sentiment I stamped on the bunny is from Lil' Inker. I am entering this card in the Monday Simon Says Stamp Hip Hop Challenge.

Thanks for stopping by tonight.  I will be back tomorrow for another card to share.

~~Sandi~~ 

Happy Bunny Day

Here is version #2 of this card that I made.  I really love this stamp set from Reverse Confetti and their awesome April sketch:

There is still plenty of time to play along.  And there is an awesome prize too.  For all the details go HERE

I am also entering this card in the Monday Simon Says Stamp Hip Hop challenge.

Thanks for stopping by...I love reading your comments.

~~Sandi~~



Happy Easter to You

Lil Inker stamps had a recent release that I absolutely fell in love with. I HAD to have this stamp. I just love the image of this hipster bunny and knew I would use it for Easter for my 11 year old grandson, Cole.  It is also perfect for birthday cards for my nephews and will even work for cards for my granddaughters.

I used the DCWV April Sketch-aholics card sketch for this card which you can see on the DCWV Facebook page HERE.

In addition to the DCWV April card sketch challenge I am also entering this card in the Simon Says Stamp Monday Hip Hop Challenge.

Well now that Monday is in the books...I can look forward to Tuesday. Thanks for taking time out of your day to stop by. I will be back tomorrow with another Easter card to share.

~~Sandi~~

Love You More Than Jellybeans



I am getting down to the wire on making my Easter cards and getting the packages put together for the post office to deliver them this week to the Midwest.  So I have been hard at work this weekend in between visiting my Dad who has been in the hospital and laundry, grocery shopping and oh yeah, just for fun I threw in a dentist appointment.

I made three different versions of this card.  I used the awesome April sketch from Reverse Confetti and that adorable bunny with the sentiment is also one of their stamp sets. This is the first one....I will share the other two (which I like better than this one) later this week. Here is the sketch:

I am also entering this in Darnell's NBUS (never-before-used-schtuff) challenge because this was the first time I inked up this stamp. I am finding out that I have a great deal of unused stuff in my stash.

Thanks for stopping by my blog....I will be back every day this week sharing some fun Easter projects with you.

~~Sandi~~

A Cherry Hello

Scrapbook Circle has a fun challenge up this month to create a project with a fruity pun and I have just the stamps to enter.  I used this SU stamp that had been in my stash FOREVER and never inked up.  I made a sweet little card with lots of white space.  The cute little cherry patterned paper is from Authentique's Fabulous Collection....I had just few snippets of it left....perfect to make banners.. I used this sketch from Sketch-n-Scrap:

I am also entering this card in Darnell's NBUS Challenge (Never-Before-Used-Schtuff)

and

Pixie's Crafty Workshop Snippet Challenge

Well that is it for right now....I am going to make some blueberry healthy clean pancakes for Dave and I for breakfast....they are full of protein which I am going to need on this busy Sunday. I will be back later to start sharing my Easter cards that I am working on.

~~Sandi~~

Sorry I'm Late

One of my favorite challenges is going on again....the NBUS Challenge (never-before-used-schtuff). But this time, the hostess, Darnell has also thrown on optional twist into the challenge: Boo-Boo's. We all know whar a boo-boo is: adhering paper upside down or when we experience a stamping fail. I have had several of them. If I knew I could use them someday for a challenge, I would have kept/photographed them. I usually always tossed them in the wastebasket in a fit of frustration.

I may not have any boo-boo cards but I do have a stamp set that I inked up for the first time and used on this card so it is definitely NBUS.

The image and sentiment is from Avery Elle and this little card is on it's way down to Miami to brighten the day for my sister from another mister...Patty.

The NBUS challenge runs through April 11th which is PLENTY of time to enter.  Let's see your boo-boo's (or NBUS)

~~Sandi~~