School Notes (Scrappin Patch)

Today is my final post for Scrappin Patch.  I have enjoyed being a part of this group and showing you all kinds of fun things to with what the Scrappin Patch Store has to offer.

In my stash of goodies from Scrappin Patch was this extra long brown envelope.  I decided this would be a great place to keep some keep sake papers from Cole's school year.  I took advantages of all the great embellishments in the School Spirit line and gave this plain old envelope a face lift!

Awww, Its A Puppy! (Scrapy Land)

Puppies make my heart melt and make my words come out like baby-talk. 
When I saw this die from Sizzix Bigz Die Scrapy Land I knew I had to take him home!

I wanted to give my new found puppy some real life texture so I decided to make him out of felt.  I was in luck because Scrapy Land carries a TON of high quality felt in a variety of colors!

Here is my cute felt puppy!  I used a liqued adhesive to put him together and I choose to put googley eyes on him - just for fun!  I added this to a decorative peices of chipboard and turned it in to a sign for our dog, Bauer's new room (aka 10x10 kennel).

Thanks for taking a peak and dont forget to stop over to Scrapy Land and see what dies you cant live with out!

Teacher Gift (Paper Issues)

Its that time of year, time for School!  I love shopping for school supplies and putting all away into a back pack ready to start a whole new school year - for my son anyway! 

Today we went to visit his school to see where his 3rd grade class room is.  He is like his mother, a planner and he likes to know whats going on before hand.  We found he class room and peered through the door window and saw lots of cool things!  He gave me a high-five as we left and said hew as really excited for school to start!

I want to start things off with a little teacher gift this year.  I know how important reading is in elementary and teachers read as well as kids so I thought I would make a book mark for his teacher.

 I made this out of heave smooth card stock and just emeblished it with scrapbook and a cute apple die.  The real fun part is that I used 2 square magnets on each inside of the book mark so that it stays put int he book.  Goodness knows in a room full of 3rd graders a book mark is bound to come falling out!

This was simple and fun!  I actualy have a few more ideas for these in mind - I will be back to show you more.

If you have a great idea for a Teacher Gift you should pop over to Paper Issues to share it!  This is there current them and they are offering up a great prize!

52 Weeks 52 Recipes

It was a really busy week at the Zenger house so not a whole lot of time for new recipes but I did squeeze in one and I have a few 'quick foods' I wanted to share with you as well.

 BLT Pasta Salad

This was made for a pot-luck meal and it was really good. I was worried about the lettuce being soggy but it was great - even leftover the next day as a side with dinner!  Its nice to have a new salad to add to my list of dishes!

I know most of you are like me and have several nights a week where you have to have a quick meal ready to go so I wanted to share 2 products I have recently fell in love with for those easy meal night.

I have bought a few of these new Fresh Take packs from Kraft.  I was able to use coupons so I only spent $1.00 on each pack!  These are basically a glorified shake and bake. They contain lots of seasoning and a cheese mixture.   They are found in the cheese isle.  I love both the Italian Parmesan and the Cheddar Jack with Bacon!  Makes an easy meal out of chicken!

I just love McCormick!  They have some very tasty slow cooker packets out there.  Get the packet, get the meat and add a few pantry ingredients and then let it cook while your at work - it does not get easier than that!  This BBQ Pulled Pork is my favorite but last week I tried the Italian Herb Chicken and it was wonderful!

I hope these quick fixes can help you get dinner on the table on a crazy night this week.

ScrapFIT Meets Sketchy Thursday (CK & Everyday Miracles))

I had a chance to create a few scrappy items just for fun yesterday and I knew exactly what I wanted to do!  I have been wanting to scrap some very special photos from our summer vacation and I have have had this great sketch printed out sitting on my craft desk for over a week - so it was time to put it all together!

This summer we took a 4 day vacation to Rochester NY to visit a few places, take in a baseball game and meet up with my sweet online friend Diana Fisher and her family!  Diana and I have been online friends for a while now, we have even joined forces with our 2 challenge sites (ScrapFIT & Sketch Thursdays).  I was looking forward to meeting her (and honestly a bit nervouse) but I soon found out there was nothing to be nervouse about she is just as wonderful in person! We hit it off and so did our boys!  I can see a yearly baseball game get together for years to come! Its was really nice to know that this paper crafting we all love can lead to real life friendships!

The Sketch I have been dying to use if by Ashley Horton over at Club CK! You can find the sketch HERE and play along yourself. 

It just so happens that Scrappin Everyday Miracles is hosting a challenge right now to scrap a memorable vacation and to use a misting mask on your layout!  I am so happy I found this challenge because I have had this great chevron misting mask that I have been dying to use and it I finally did!  I use a mixture of white and pink mist to great a great shimmery chevron background.

By the way if you like the paper you will LOVE the September FITkit from ScrapFIT - just saying!

Thanks for stopping by!

Fun With Quick Cuts Dies (Scrapy Land)

Its getting close to the end of summer but I am keeping the summer feeling alive with the new Pool Party Dies from Quick Cuts available for a great price at Scrapy Land!

I received the new little lemon die and after discussing how cute this new die was with my friend Diana Fisher she said it would be cute to make a cup of lemonade and she was right!  These little lemon slices are adorable and I can think of so many other things I want to do with them -maybe a margarita cup!

Nest up from the Pool Party dies was what the call a flower die but I see so many other uses for it!  I cut out 3 of them from a 6x6 paper pad by Authentique that I got from Scrapy Land (its a must paper pad if you have a boy!) and then I layered them and held them together with a brad.  They made the perfect emblishment to these little mini gift bags I have then I like to use as gift card holders!  I know of a new lucky little boys that will be gettng one of these in the near future!

Thanks for taking a peak and my newest creations.  Be sure to stop by Scrapy Land to fill our cart with some great new products at a great price!

School Spirit - Tutorial (Scrappin Patch)

Today I am going to share with you a tutorial and a layout made with the School Spirit line from Crate Paper.  This is bar far one of my all time favorite lines from Crate Paper because its can be use for so many other things that just school.

Lets get started!  I have seen lot of triangles these day and I love them!  Today I am going to show you how to make the triangle pattern on the left side of this layout. 

(Please forgive the very bad lighting in my craft room!)

I cut the back ground sheet of white paper the size I want it to be.  I decided on wanted my triangles to the left of my photo and to take the whole pace.  I used a ruler and drew the 3 triangles. Notice they are all going in a different direction but the sides all line up to give it an even look. 

Next I used my craft knife and ruler to carefully cut the triangles out. 

Now we have 3 negative triangles on our background sheet.

 Next I carefully cut 3 sheet of paper to fit behind my negative triangles. 

Then adhere those papers to the back side.  

Now our triangles are complete!

Like what you see?  Get your own School Spirit now from the Scrappin Patch Store!

Crop Til You Drop Retreat - REGISTER NOW!

I wanted to put out a reminder that here is only about 4 weeks left to register for the October Retreat! 

 Seats are filling up fast and the deadline to register is September 25th!

You can view the Brochure HERE and the Registration Form HERE

Dont delay get your registration in today! 

Want to win a free retreat t-shirt?  

One lucky fan of our Retreat Facebook Page will get a free retreat t-shirt if we reach 100 follower by September 25th - Like our page now!

Negative Space (Birds of a Feather)

I am happy to be here today to showcase my first project with the September kit from Birds of a Feather!

I don't know about you but every where I look I see lots of use of negative space.  Many titles and captions are done with the negative today - its a fun new look that I love!

With this layout I created a block patter with a mixture of the stunning papers in the kit! I then added the cluster of embellishments. The large cream flower is actually made with a ribbon and a gluber from the kit!  These are great for creating your own flower!

When it came to my title I know I wanted it take up more space that the letters in the kit would so I decided to go with a negative space title.  Its so easy!

Now we also have the positive of the title left over so we might as well put it to good use!

I took the same idea of blocking with this card and topped it with the positive from my title!

I hope you have enjoyed these projects.  Dont forget to get your September kit before they are all gone!

Good Old Chap (Scrappin Patch)

Hi everyone I am back again today with another layout from the fabulous American Crafts Chap line!

I could not wait to get to work with this line. Its one of my newest favorite 'boy' lines.  For this layout I paired up a 'solid print' paper with another paper that showcased the entire collections colors. I love doing this because they I feel its easy to pull in other colors.

I added lots of the coordinating embellishments to this layout such as the journaling card, fan fold flower and chipboard bracket.  


I then choose the accent color and that is the pop of red!  This line like many others from American Crafts come with the fun strip of paper at the bottom of each sheet that on side tells you the line, manufacture and name of the sheet.  The other side is a fun pattered strip - I love putting these to good use.  I did that here with the strip of red to separate my 2 papers.

If you have a boy in your love this is a must have line!  Head on over to the Scrappin Patch Store to get yours today!

See you soon!

Mini Album & Card (Birds Of A Feather)

I am back today with my final post with the August kit.  I hope you have already snagged up your August kit!

I printed off a 8x11 sheet of mini photos from my sons baseball season.  I knew I wanted to make him a keep sake of his first baseball season and I thought mini photos would be good for this.


I took the 2 sheets of paper that had all the same little cards on them but each one was a different color/ pattern.  I cut them a part an used these for the base of the mini album.


I used several of the boarder strips from for the August kits cut in to a verity of lengths to add some flair to the book.


The little while journaling spots on each card were perfect for writing a little something!


There you have a simple little keepsake album!  Cole has already brought this to show some of his friends - too cute!:)



My final project with the August kit is this simple little card.  I am a timid card maker - not my strong suit so I tend to go simple.  I just loved the washi tape that came in the kit and this was the perfect time to use it!

See you again soon with some more fun ideas!

Sketch (ScrapFIT)

ScrapFIT Workout #74 – A Sketch By Diana

Its time for another Workout with our Diana the Creative Trainer at ScrapFIT! She has carefully laid out this Workout for you to get the best results possible!

 

 I had these photos of Tim and I and my Mom and I from a recent wedding we attended, this sketch was perfect for them!

ScrapFIT offering up a real treat for this Workout Prize!  Its our very first LowCal FITkit - All the fun of a big kit but done of the fat! 

This fabulous kit of embellishments is also available to you NOW in the Paper Issues Store and if you use the code FITKIT at checkout you will get 20% off! 

52 Week 52 Recipes

It was a good week to eat at our house!  We had a weird week where Tim was working from home but yet not available to join us at the dinner table.  He had some free times in the mornings so it was a great week to use the crock pot and make the most of leftovers!  We tried 3 new recipes this week!

*Click Titles to View Recipes*

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

This was a wonderful chicken dish!  It was easy to prepare and had great flavor!  There is a good chance you already have everything you need in your pantry.  I did not have sesame seeds so I just went with out - it was fine!  Its also a nice dish to make double of to plan for left overs or share with a friend who has a busy week ahead.  I find making a meal for someone can be such a relief for them. 

Crock Pot Nacho Cheeseburger Macaroni

If you are a fan of tex-mex type food this will be for you.  It was easy to make and a bit hit! Tim and I were both surprised how much better it was when you added broken up tortia chips to it!  Yummy! 

Ice Cream Cupcakes

I made these on Saturday night when we had friends over for dinner. My friend was in charge of bringing dessert but I called her and told her she was no longer allowed to bring anything I wanted to make these!  OMG these were easy and delicious!  I used vanilla cake mix, vanilla oreo ice cream. When they were being served I put a layer of chocolate sauce on top then used canned whipped cream for the frosting look then topped with sprinkles!  These would be fun to do at a kids party.  We still have 6 left in our freezer I think we may have those for dessert tonight! 

Enjoy!

Summer Something (Paper Issues)

We are having a fun little celebration of Summer over at Paper Issues!  We have a 2 week blog hop and challenge entitled 'Summer Something'. You got it, all it has to be is summer related!

Here is a layout I made with the August FITkit (available at The Paper Issues Store).  This layout is dedicated to the fun we have at the pool in the summer!  We are lucky to be in walking distance of my parents pool.  Its a perfect place to spend hot afternoons! 

There are a lot more fun Summer themed layouts from the other girls at Paper Issues- hop on over to visit them!

1. Susan T http://www.susanscrapbooker.blogspot.com

2. Bethany http://ribbonglitterandglue.blogspot.com/

3. Melissa www.melissapriest.com

 Your already here! --4. Sara Z http://www.sarazenger.blogspot.com/

5. Wendy A  http://antenucci.blogspot.com

6. Amy T http://tsurutadesigns.blogspot.com/

But dont forget to link up your own Summer Themed layout or project to the Paper Issues blog for a chance to win this amazing prize!  Deadline is August 24th.

 Join in the Summer FUN!

Cards (ScrapFIT -FITkit)

I am do not consider myself a strong card maker (unlike my dear crafty friend, Diana Fisher - she is an amazing card maker - check out her blog for a few recent cards!). 

However, I was inspired with the August FITkit from ScrapFIT to create some cards with one of the sheets of paper that came in with adorable 2x2 little blocks with sayings on them!  I dug deep in to my scraps to find bits of kraft cardstock and whipped up 10 of these little note cards.

I also had some ribbon and buttons left over from the kit so I made this fun little card! I hope it looks like a spool of thread and button back to everyone else - thats what I was going for!

There is still time to snag your FITkit but they are going fast!  We will have our first LowCal FITkit available on August 15th - if you like embellishments your going to love this kit!


Dont forget to join in the Workouts and Warm -Ups this month at ScrapFIT!

Just You (Birds Of A Feather)

I know we are usually the ones behind the camera but that is no reason to do not scrap yourself from time to time!  You are just as important as the rest of your family and deserve to create some special and meaningful layouts that showcase you!

I did just that is in this layout with the August kit from Birds Of A Feather!

 

We are our biggest critics and I dont often have a photo of myself that I love but I love this one!  There was nothing 'special' about this photo other than I took it of myself!  I took the opportunity to take a photo of myself (that I love) and journal about the fact that I used to not want to tell people that I loved to play with paper and glue!  Many people do not understand anything about scrapbooking and paper crafts and I would get funny looks and chuckles when I told them about it.  I have come to realize that it really makes no difference what they thing because I LOVE doing and it makes me happy!

 

One of my favorite embellishments in the August is is the beautiful glittery flowers!  This are just awesome!

Thanks for taking a peak!  I hope you think about scrapping yourself soon!

Lego Club (Scrappin Patch)

 I am so happy to be back at Scrappin Patch for another month as their Guest Designer!  This month I was able to work with the amazing new line CHAP from American Crafts!

I started this layout with a whole new perspective - its 8 1/2 X 11!  Its been years since I did a layout of this size but after visiting with by dear friend Diana Fisher (Yes Mrs. Sketchy Thursday herself!) I was inspired by her lovely layouts done in the smaller size. 

I started off with this photo from Instragram on my phone of Cole enjoying the newest edition of his Lego Club magazine. He will take a week to devour the whole thing!  I used small bits and pieces of the CHAP paper collection and its coordinating cut-outs.  I m huge fan of buttons and twine - so happy they came in my kit!

Give this smaller size a try when your up form something new and different I think you will be pleasantly surprised!

Be sure to check out the Scrappin Patch Store to view the entire collection of the CHAP line!

I will be back with more soon!

52 Weeks 52 Recipes

Please forgive me for not posting new recipes in a while!  I promise I have been trying lots but just have not had the time to post.  Shame on me!!!!

Today I am going to share with you the new recipes that are must have!

Here we go!

**Click on photo to view recipe**

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

Oh this are so simple and so yummy! These remind you of a peanut butter cookie but its all one dish and easy to take to a gathering.  Its a must!

Crock Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes

This are the most amazing potatoes I have ever had!  My husband requests them regularly.  I made them once in the crock pot and they were a bit 'soupy' but just perfect left over. 

I have made them since on the stove.  The only thing I do different is boil the potatoes in the chicken broth and then all the other ingredients they list. I promise you this will be a big hit with your family! 

 

 

Crock Pot Apple Butter Pork Loin 

I just cant express how tasty this is!  Its a perfect wholesome week night meal.  I know the recipe says to do it on the oven but I have cooked twice and both times in the crock pot! I would recommend using a bit less apple juice than they say, other wise its right on the spot!  Enjoy! 

Apple Cake

Can you tell I am in a yank for fall to come to enjoy those flavorful and filling fall foods?  I made this cake one evening and put it in a bunt pan for looks and then topped it off with a cream cheese glaze.  It was a big hit with us and our guests. 

I hope you enjoy these great new recipes!  I will be back soon with a few more! 

Nautical Dies (Scrappy Land)

I have been busy playing around with my new set of dies from Scrappy Land!  I am in love with these Nautical dies!  I admit I was nervous at first about what I would make with them but I am moving right along.

I decorate this adroable kraft box with a boarder die from QuickCutz - it looks like lovely ribbon!

I adore these little anchors - so cute! The chain boarder die is one of my favoirts, so many possiblities for this die! Now I just need a little boy with a birthday and a love for the seas! :)

If you like your dies be sure to head over to Scrappy Land as they have a large supply from a verity of companies!  I know my online cart is full!