One Day at a Time

NEW Dessert Recipe!

2012-03-16T03:29:00.002-07:00

A picture is worth a thousand words and maybe even a thousand calories! :)

You do NOT want to over look this recipe! This Oreo Ice Cream Dessert was the best dessert every! It was easy and I even went low budged and bought Wal-Mart brand Oreo's, ice cream and cool whip - Save about $5 by using generic brands.

This was a huge it with my crafty friends at a recent scrapbook day and my family devoured the rest over the next few nights.

Get this recipe HERE, right now!

ENJOY!

52 Week 52 Recipe Challenge

See more recipes HERE

ScrapFIT & The Paper Variety

2012-03-15T01:00:00.000-07:00

We have a special Workout for you today! ScrapFIT has teamed up with The Paper Variety to offer you 2 challenges in one!

ScrapFIT has offered up a jounaling challenge and The Paper Variety has created a sketch challenge. Put them together and you will get an awesome layout and a chance to WIN a prize from both places!

Workout #64- Its Easy as 1, 2, 3...

The 'Its Easy as 1, 2, 3..' Workout is here and all you have to do is list out numerically your journaling on your layout! This could be a list of your Top 10 favorite moments from last year, a list of goals for the new year or the countless reason you love ScrapFIT (Just kidding!). Show us your numbered list!

Be sure to incorporate this journaling workout with the Sketch below from The Paper Variety so you can enter you layout at both places!

Here is my layout using both the sketch and the journaling

ScrapFIT Sponor for Workout #64 is

Paper Quirk / http://www.etsy.com/shop/PaperQuirks

This is a special kind of workout and we want to offer up a second prize!

ScrapFIT is offering up this prize to a random person that leaves a comment on this post!

Now hop on over to ScrapFIT and The Paper Variety to see how their Teams worked this Workout and enter you layout for a chance to win lots of Prizes!!

Make Your Own Misting Mask With Your Cricut

2012-03-12T01:00:00.000-07:00

I am big of using mist on my layouts and I really love the masks out there that you can use with mists. Masks are meant to create a design on your layout by only allowing the color mists to fall on open areas. The problem I have is there are so many I like but I only want to use a mask a few times and then I tend not to use it much again - no very cost effective. I have started use my Cricut to create my own masks these days! Here is a how it works.

First I found the image I wanted to use. This layout I choose a cluster of hearts. Then put a piece of scrap paper on your Cricut mat - you will be getting this paper a messy and it will have no actual use on your layout.

Here is the paper with the heart shapes cut out of it and I have placed it on top of my back ground sheet for my layout. I gathered 3 different colored mists that work with my layout.

Before you start misting you must get other scrap paper to cover up the rest of your back ground paper. Mist has a tendency to spray all over so you will want to be sure cover up the rest of your paper so you do not get mist where you dont want it.

Then spray your masked area until you are happy with the saturation.

Once you are happy with the way it looks remove the mask and the other papers and your misted image will be revealed.

Here is the finished layout! I think the misted hearts add a nice touch to the layout!

I hope this makes you think of new ways to use your Cricut and create your own misting masks!

Scrapbook Circle

2012-03-11T10:01:00.000-07:00

I have been giddy with excitement this month! I am the Guest Designer at Scrapbook Circle! I have had the privilege to create with their current kit

Best. Day. Ever Kit

This kit has so much scrappy goodness from the recent CHA releases! The colors just scream spring and give you such a good vibe! The embellishments are my favorite, I also got the add-on kit and it will knock your socks off!

I have lots of creations from this kit to share with!

Here are few...

I wanted to use the stencil sheet but was not exactly sure what to do with it but thanks to a little inspirational help from Artful Delights current sketch I found the perfect use for it! I put paper behind the 'I' and the 'U' to make them stand out among the rest of the letters. The Alpha sheet that comes with this kit is awesome, so many letters, so many colors, so many uses!

This is my first layout using some new family photos from a recent in the snow photo shoot! I could not wait to use these pics with this kit! I love love love the wooden baseboard paper, it was perfect for my 'cozy cabin' photo shoot.

Thanks for taking a peak at my work! I will have more to share with you soon! If you think you like this kit be sure to snatch it up ASAP - they go fast!

Gift Tags!

2012-03-11T06:32:00.000-07:00

I have up to my eyeballs in scrappy goodness from Scrapbook Circle recently - I LOVE IT!

Today I wanted to share with you what I did with my left overs from their Be Mine Mini Kit - this kit is still available in their shop, get yours now!

I started with some left over papers and embellishments from the kit.

I cut the each paper with the same die on my sizzx and put an eyelet in to create a hole for ribbon.

Then I just had fun layering different embellishments and papers to create 6 unique gift tags!

I just love these! They will look great on gifts! Dont forget you can still get your own Be Mine Mine Kit!

Thanks for stopping by!

2 New Recipe Reviews

2012-03-01T17:30:00.001-08:00

I created a new dish this week that I love to eat when I go to a restaurant but I have never made myself - Chicken Cordon Bleu! I was a bit overwhelmed when I started to look for a recipe there were so many but I knew I needed one that was simple, that I could made after my 9 hour work day and while helping Cole with his home work and playing with the dog - yup simple it is!

Click the photos for the full recipe

Chicken Cordon Bleu

This was yummy and simple. I love the one dish meal idea. Both my husband and I loved the cheese sauce, I could put that on anything! This gets my simple seal of approval!

Broccoli with Garlic Butter and Cashews

I love broccoli and I was looking for away to change it up a bit. So I found two recipes and let my husband decide which I would try, this was his choice. This was easy to make with things you already have in your kitchen. This was not a bit hit with me because it had a very strong oriental food taste to it and that is just not my thing. However, my husband at it ALL! If you like Chinese food this recipe is for you!

Thanks for popping in to see my newest recipe adventures!

Here is a glimpse at what is to come next week....

Enjoy!

Fun Challenge at The Paper Variety

2012-03-01T17:10:00.000-08:00

Join us over at The Paper Variety for a FUN challenge!

I chose the bottom row for my challenge!

A layout with stitching and a die cut!

This is a photo of my mother, my sister and myself. It was taken the day of my grandmothers funeral, so it has a bit of sadness to it, however I love that I have this photo of the three of us.

That's right! You pick the 3 criteria for your paper project :) A quick reminder of our rules, you must post a NEW blog post or gallery link that is dated March 1st or later. Link back to The Paper Variety in your description, with your "tic tac toe" combination to qualify for the prize.

We welcome back a fabulous sponsor, Crop Chocolate!

At CropChocolate.com™, we sell all-things scrapbook. But here's the catch, we only sell one item at a time – at a delicious price. Every day several items will be posted – so act fast – a limited quantity will be sold at deeply discounted prices. No time to let it temper.

They are offering a $20 gift certificate to one lucky winner.

We can't wait to see your projects with our "tic tac toe" gameboard. Link up HERE before March 13th midnight EST time :)

ScrapFIT Workout #63 and More From Paper Lovelies

2012-03-01T01:30:00.000-08:00

Workout #63- Sketch Workout With Our Creative Trainer

As our in house Create Trainer, Diana has drawn out this workout with your best fitness results in mind! She knows the importance of inspiration when it comes to working out and that was her goal when she created this sketch for you! Join in the fun with us by creating a layout based on this sketch!

I used the Each Park Kit from Paper Lovelies to create this layout.

We are happy to have

as our Workout Sponsor

My name is Steph and I am the oh so busy SAHM of two kids - Abbie is 20 years old, and Jack is 2 years old (yes, he was quite the surprise!). I love working with paper and experimenting with all the different ways it can be manipulated, worked, twisted and formed. I don't believe there is any "right" way to scrapbook or create and this has given me a no limit's way of working. I started my Etsy shop 2 years ago after my son was born, I wanted to be able to do something creative that wouldn't interfere with my family. This was the perfect solution! I made over 3000 paper flowers in one single month and love to see the pictures of how my creations are being used. I am constantly surprised with how something as simple as a journaling spot can be transformed into a wonderful part of someones wedding, baby shower or other life event.

Don't ever underestimate your abilities, creativity or ingenuity!

Paper Quirks is offering up this Prize to the winner of this workout!

Head on over to ScrapFIT to join in our Workout!

Bags and Tags

2012-02-28T01:00:00.000-08:00

While enjoying time in my craft room recently I was able to break in some new dies for my sizzix! I good friend gave me this gift bag die (I love making gift bags) as a birthday gift and with my room being all torn a part for most of February I had not had a chance to use it yet.

I created 4 of this bags by using the die to create a front and a back and then adhering them to a cut down paper bag. These will make great treat bags!

I also use for the first time a little match box card die with scraps from my current Paper Lovelies Kit.

These were make with circle and start burst dies - they will make great gift tags.

Thanks for stopping by!

Puppy Love Layout

2012-02-26T12:42:00.002-08:00

It was a wonderful Sunday for many reason, one being I was able to work in my new craft room! Here is a layout I created with an adorable photo of Bauer (he is getting so big).

I was inspired by this sketch from Creative Scrappers when creating this layout.

I also used up remnants of old kit from Burlap and Buttercups who also challenged me to use layers and layers of paper with my border punches - boy I put those to good use!

Thanks for taking a peak!

New Kit at Paper Lovelies

2012-02-24T13:05:00.001-08:00

Its time for a new kit release at Paper Lovelies! I was so excited to work with this kit! Its filled with A Boys Life paper from Echo Park but many unique embellishments are paired with the paper.

Here is one of my layouts. I was inspired to create this layout with a sketch from Creative Scrappers.

If you like what you see dont wait to long to snag your kit - they sell out fast! I will be back with another layout soon!

Scrap N Chat Day Reminder

2012-02-22T15:20:00.000-08:00

Every month I host 'Scrap N Chat Days' at my home. This is chance girls to get away to enjoy a whole day dedicated to scrapbooking/ paper crafting with others who share the same enjoyment! You can expect a fun time, good food and to learn something new! Below is the list of my upcoming Scarp N Chat Days. Lunch is provided. You must RSVP to me at szenger@twcny.rr.com 3 days prior to the event. RSVP early there are only 24 seats available.

Saturday, March 3rd - 9am-5pm, Cost $10

--------------------------------

Saturday, March 31st - 9am-5pm, Cost $10

Hope to see you there!!!

Lego Birthday Party

2012-02-20T09:36:00.001-08:00

Well, Cole finally got the Lego themed birthday party he has been asking for. He tunred 8 over the weekend and it was a great birthday! I thought I was in trouble when I first started looking for Lego Party supplies. All I could find was printable item, which I was not thrilled about using ink up on or Lego Star Wars supplies and that was not what we wanted. I thought I would share some of my ideas for the Lego themed party.

Goodie Bags:

I found these little bags at Wal-Mart for .25 cents each. I bought extra and punched out circles and pop-dotted them to make it look like a lego brick. I purchased lego reading books for the kids and Cole made each of his guests a unique lego creation. The goodie bags were a bit hit!

Decorations:

This is a candle holder that I filled with legos and then made a few lego flags out of cardstock and BBQ skewers!

This is a banner I made out card stock- so easy!

I had more banner bricks than I needed so I tied them on the back of the chairs.

Lots of balloos and bring table clothes and its a PARTY!

The Cake:

A dear friend of our who has only made one other 'real' cake made this for Cole's party!!! It tasted as awesome as it looks!!!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope these might give you some ideas for your next party.

Craft Room Reveal

2012-02-19T16:00:00.000-08:00

It has been a 3 week processes but craft room makeover is finally finished! I must say THANK YOU to my husband, Tim. He put in many hours and lots of labor into creating the craft room I have dreamed of. He also had to deal with bossy and sometimes over dramatic me during the process. :) I am so thankful for him, his handwork and his understanding for my love of being crafty! Ok, on to the pics!

My before pics are from a few years ago but the layout was basically the same a few weeks ago. My goal for the new room was to make it a placed I loved to be in, make it simpler and use stuff I already have.

I used the same desks (that my husband built for me a several years ago) and just painted them for a new look.

I added long shelves and Tim made me a framed in peg board!

I have put a lot of thought in to creating this room for over 8 months when I first bought the entire bolt of fabric that inspired my colors for the room. My mother in law and her talented sewing skills created the curtains and recovered a the wicker chair cushion for me. I also bought the 3 wooded wall decorations about 5 months ago knowing exactly where I wanted them to go. Lastly was being brave picking a bold paint color and picking out the new light fixture - I love them both!

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

2 New Recipes This Week

2012-02-17T13:45:00.002-08:00

I have been busy in the kitchen this week! I have found 2 new recipes that I LOVE ! I think your going to like them too, they are easy and so yummy.

Price Chopper has been offering pizza dough by 1 get 3 free - how do you say no to that! So I have an endless supply of pizza dough in my freezer. We can only eat so much pizza so I was hunting around for something new to make with the dough and I found this! The recipe has you make your own dough but I just used what I had in the freezer.

Philly Cheesesteak Calzones

(Click on the title for full recipe)

This was so easy to make and you can add and omit veggies depending upon your tastes! Best part for me is dinner was ready in less than 40 mins! A great week night recipe to try. I will defiantly make again.

Next up on the menu was

Twice Baked Potato Casserole

I love twice baked potatoes but I often dont think about them until its just about dinner time and they take quite a bit of prep work and time. This recipe is my new best friend! It was easy to prepare and to cut down on the time I put my potatoes in the microwave for 6 mins (they were small) to 'bake them' vs an hour in the oven. I paired this new recipe with an old favorite that you might like, Brown Sugar Meatloaf - its a nice twist on a family favorite comfort food.

I hope you and your family enjoy these new recipes! Thanks for stopping by!

ScrapFIT Workout #62 and New Challenge at The Paper Variety

2012-02-15T01:00:00.000-08:00

Workout #62- XOXO

February is the month of love and every love note should be signed with XOXO so on this Workout we want to see some love by putting some 'X's and 'O's on it! They can be big, small, glittery or grungy, any way you want to show us some love!

Our Sponsor for this Workout (as well as Workout #61) is KStudio. They offer up a variety of scrapbook and craft supplies through an Etsy Shop.

This prize pack will go to the lucky winner!

I created some great goodie bags for this Workout.

These bags were fun to make. They came in a special kit from Scrapbook Circle. These were great to fill will sweet treats for my valentines.

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The Paper Variety is offing up a fun new challenge!

2012 is a "Leap Year".. let's end February with a photo inspiration challenge! Please include in your challenge post what inspired you from the movie poster to create your project. Some ideas:

-green/grey/white color palette
-engagement theme (she's holding a ring)
-project featuring a couple
-include a froggy ("leap")
-use a popular movie title

Sponsor
Apron Strings Designs
www.apronstringsdesigns.com

Prize

I created a layout for this challenge that I LOVE however I had to with draw it from the challenge because it is

This was so exciting for me! I am thrilled to have a layout out for publication!

My 52 Week 52 Recipe Challenge

2012-02-11T03:37:00.003-08:00

52 Weeks 52 Recipes

In 2012 I am challenging myself to try one to recipe each week! This means 52 weeks of 52 new recipes! I am about 6 weeks in to my challenge so far and I thought I would like to keep track off all the new recipes I try throughout the year. So here you will find a links to all the recipes and sometimes even some feed back about the recipe.

You will be able to view this growing list all year long by clicking the icon on the right side of my blog or the page at the top of my blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheeseburger Salad - YUMMY, you must make the croutons!

Chocolate Fudge Cookies - soooo easy!

Parmesan Chicken Bake - only dirty 1 dish!

Gobble Up Granola - I subbed honey for the corn syrup. It was more of a granola mix rather than a bar but the taste was just the same - great snack!

Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread - So yummy! I made them in to muffins and froze them.

Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup - My husband loved this but it was a bit salty for me.

Birthday Giveaway Winners!

2012-02-10T03:20:00.000-08:00

Thank you for all the wonderful Birthday wishes! My craft room make over is coming along nicely - the flooring is going to down today! I hope to move back in by the end of the weekend.

Here is a glimpse at the new look.

More to pics to come!!!

Now on to my Birthday Giveaway Winners!!!

I love all the new recipes and I have them saved for future use.

The random winner of the flowers is:

Brandi Akins

The random winner of the $15 gift certificate to Design By Diana is:

Nancy Hammill

Thank you again to everyone! Enjoy you day!

A Simple Sketch Can Go A Long Way!

2012-02-10T01:00:00.000-08:00

I am a big fan of simple things (in fact Simplify is my OLW for 2012) and I like simple design. Today I am here to show you a super simple card design and 3 different cards created with the the design.

Simple card design, huh! To me a sketch or design is just a starting point. Its not meant to be copied identically, it servers more as and aid to your creative style. We are going to take the sketch and change the size and style, here we go! Oh, one more thing this sketch the best for using up your scraps!!!!

This cars is pretty strait forward from the sketch. Four coordinating papers cut down to fit the card size and adhered side by side. I added a simple cream strip with a sentiment and cork star with a stamped image layered on top. Simple.

Here is card #2. I selected a more pastel color pallet out of my scrap bucket for this card. I also embossed the pink card stock paper to give it a 'pop' and rounded the corners of the 2 outside paper strips for a softer look. Topped it off with a pretty pike and a hand made banner - up, the post of the banner is a tooth pic!

I went to a square 6x6 card therefor changing my size of my strips of paper. I also decided to make the strips in to flag and over lap them just a bit. I added the decorative boarder to the top and some embellishments and its done!

Lets recap the things to change to make this card different:

*Card Size

*Paper Colors

*Paper Strip Size

*Alter Paper Strips (flag bottom, rounded corner, border punch the bottom or sides, so many options)

*Number Of Paper Strips (only use 3 or 2 and leave part of the card showing!)

*Embellishment and sentiments to keep the card unique

Enjoy

Kids Valentines Day Idea

2012-02-09T01:00:00.002-08:00

Its almost Valentines Day and that means your little one's will need to have a stash of valentines to hand out to their friends at school. I have never sent Cole with a box of valentines from the store, he says he prefers the ones we make.

This year I wanted to give something besides candy with their valentines, here is what I came up with.

These are so easy to whip up of you have a cricut!

Here is what you need to make your own. I found a heart shape I like in my library of cricut cartridges and cut it at 3 1/4 inch out of red cardstock. Then I typed the sentiment up on word and changed the font to something I like and the font color to red. Then I cut them out and put little angled cuts on the ends to make them look like a banner. You will need to get pencils and a large size hole punch.

Punch two holes for on opposite corner for the pencil to slide through.

Push the pencil through the holes. My holes were smaller than the pencil so I had to be careful not to rip the heart but It worked!

Lastly attached the sentiment banner to the front! There is plenty of room on the back side to write the To & From info.

Very easy! Enjoy!

Stay FIT with ScrapFIT!

2012-02-08T14:15:00.000-08:00

We are really kicking things up a notch at ScrapFIT this month! You want to be activly scrapping then just come on by for one or more of these amazing activies!!!

Workout #61 - Blank Canvas

Warm Up #24 - Use Clusters

*NEW* Step Class #1 - Cover Chipboard with Fabric

Dont miss out on the fun!!!!

Its My Birthday & I Have 2 Giveaways!

2012-02-04T01:30:00.000-08:00

Well, another year has gone by and I am now 32 (well actually will be on Sunday February 5th). I am still loving my 30's - no complaints here. Year 31 was a good year in so many ways it was also a sad year for me. I am back this year with to answer the same prompts as I did a on my last Birthday (it was really fun and interesting to read my post from last year.).

Be sure to keep reading all the way to the end of this lengthy post there are several links to some amazing places and 2 giveaways that you do not want to miss!!!

Today I am....

Reading: Blogs, blogs and more blogs! There are so many types of blog out there with all kinds of great information! I love craft blogs, cooking blogs, decoration blog, organizing blogs and the list goes on. I check my blogs daily (unless there is a natural disaster) so I dont miss out on something I must know about! Here are a few of my favorite blogs -

All For The Boys - great blog about activities and fun stuff for boys.

Mama Loves Food - great food blog with realistic recipes!

You, Me & Crazy - this blog belongs to my crafty friend Corrie. She is a great self-taught photographer with and amazing eye! I love her style and when I grow up I want to be like her! Thanks for being someone to inspire to be like!

eighteen25 - this blog has all kinds of craft ideas, food ideas, home decor ideas - just a fun place to poke around!

Frugal Living & Having Fun - a great blog for finding coupons and good deals on groceries and other stuff.

Looking Forward To: Attending a formal ball with my husband. In my world I do not get to dress up often and I miss that. I have always loved to wear pretty clothes and look fashionable. During high school I only owed one pair of sneaker for 4 years - I only used those for gym class! I was also voted best dressed in my class. I recently went dress shopping with a friend who is also attending the formal, we had the best time! I found the perfect dress and even a second dress! The second dress was just a must have in my wardrobe for those special occasions that pop up! My friend forced me to try it on, I would never have given it a second look because for one its purple (not something I would normally wear) and second it is very form fitting. I figured I would try it on first and get it out of the way, well to my surprise I loved it! Here is what the purple dress looks like!

I cant find a pictures on line of the formal dress so you will just have to wait to see pictures from the formal to see what the dress looks like :)

Obsessed With: Pinterest. A one little word obsession! This was a great idea, I would love to kiss the person who created Pinterest. I now have one online location to find all the things I want to make or use as inspiration while scouring blogs and online forums! Its a must have for today's online world! I am doing less and less of the paper and pen style and gradually transitioning to electronic-ville.

Thinking About: Family. Over the past year I lost 2 very important women in my life, my grandmother and my great grandmother (mother and daughter). It great grandmother (Hazel Durant) was a wonderful woman who was always know to use grand-kids as 'Big Grandma'. She was a heavy set woman but that simply to accommodate her extra large heart. She was smart as whip until her final days, should could recall any one's birth date at will (and with more than 100 children, grandchildren and great grandchildren this was no easy feat!), she listened - really listened and always offered up good advise. One of the most important things I learned from her was the value of dollar and how to stretch it with coupons. Her family would mail her coupons booklets from where they lived and she would cut each one out, weather she was going to use it or not. She would figure out her shopping trip by store and have an envelope for each store with the list and coupons and the cash to cover the cost, down to the penny! I am so grateful for her and all she taught me and always sharing her coupons stash with me.

My grandmother (Jean Cole) passed away just this fall. I think about her every day and how much I miss her. She was a phenomenal grandmother. She would open her door to anytime you stopped by. I enjoyed having lunch at her house everyday for more than a year when I worked at a phone company only half a mile from her home. On my lunch breaks I quickly scarf down my lunch and then she would help me get to work on a quilt she was helping me make. She was an amazing quilter. The quilt was nothing fancy just simple squares make out of her left over scraps. I would get down on her living room floor in my skirt and so would she and we would pin the quilt together and then she would do most of the sewing but she was always encouraging me to do it - I would try but I sure did not have the same strait stitching line as she did. I love this quilt to this day. It was something her and I did together. Most of my favorite food to this day came from her kitchen - home made dill pickles, molasses cookies and side pork with milk gravy. She was an amazing cook.

I miss them so much. I wish I could talk to them and tell them how much I love them. I know they are well taken care of now but it still leaves a void for me.

This photo is a picture of Cole when he was just about a week old, me (top right) my mother (Molly top left, my grandmother (Jean bottom left) and my great grandmother (Hazel bottom right). 5 generations of mother and child. So lucky to have had these relationship for as long as I did.

Planning To: Live Simpler. My word of the year is Simplify. Life is simple, we dont 'need' a lot in life. The more we have, the more we do, the more we want really only complicates our life. Often time my wants out weigh my needs and I am taking a step back when making decision and purchases to be sure this is a need not just a want. Would I love a new dining room table or sofa - yes but are the ones I have in good condition and server their purpose - yes, therefore I do not need new ones.

I recently went through a de-cluttering spree in my house. To many nick-nacks and things that hand to mean other than to collect dust. I love this simpler look. I have also switched over to a electronic datebook (no more paper and pen). I am using Cozi, this allows me to have my families calendars, dinner menu, shopping lists and even to-do lists in one spot that is easily accessible to everyone. You can even put stuff on other peoples to-do list (great way to get your husband to read your mind)!

To continue this throughout my year I have a few plans. I want to do more for myself. By this I mean learn how to do things myself versus having other people do them for me. This will allow me to do things at my leisure and also in the long run be more cost effective (I have already started to color my own hair). I am also putting a ton of effort into doing more rather than having more. I want to do more activities with Cole and Tim (like building things at Lowes, rock wall climbing at the local college, family bowling night) rather than buy them more things. I enjoy my family and the best gift is spending time with them whether its at home watching a good movie, heading over to my husband family camp to ride the 4-wheeler, having an early morning trip to go sledding or simply playing a board game - I have all I really need right here at home.

Dreaming Of: Taking Cole to Lego Land (Florida). I know I just talked about a simpler life but we all deserve a vacation from time to time. Tim and I never went on a honeymoon nor have we ever been any place for more than 4 days and within just a few hours drive from home. There really has never been a big vacation for us. Cole as most you know is a lego master and I would love for him to get to enjoy Lego Land. We have thought about Disney but honestly I think for the cost and all things considered Cole would enjoy Lego Land over Disney. I would love to just wake him one morning with bags packed and whisk him off to the place of his dreams. I am big planner and also very big on not going in debt for something like this. So, we are looking at costs and time frames and hopefully we can make this happen in a year or so. A family vacation is always something to dream about.

Enjoying: The new healthier and more active me! I have struggled with weight my whole life (its a struggle for many) but by the time I graduated high school I was in the best shape of my life and very happy with myself - this continued for many year. Then I had a baby and my whole world changed (sound familiar) and so my good eating and exercise took the back seat. But when I turned 30 I said I had to change it, I did not want to go through the next 30 year of my life feeling that way. So its been a full 2 years now since I started my new healthier life and I am NOW in the BEST shape of my life. I am not big on numbers more about how I feel. I am back to a realistic size 6 (the dresses I bought for the formal were size 4!) and I have more muscle and strength than ever before. I started off slow with Jillian Michaels videos and they were great! But I need to go the next step and with some encouragement from Missy I did just that with P90X workout videos. I also have changed my eating quite a bit, I DO NOT deprive myself of the meals I love like side pork and milk gravy or lemon pie - just in moderation, thats all. I feel comfortable in my skin and I have more energy than before. The best part is my husband has done the same! I am proud of both of us!

Vowing To: Try a new recipe each week this year! I love food, always have :) My family does not eat out often, maybe once a month or so. A few months back Tim and I went out to a local Italian restaurant for dinner and I had such guilt for paying $47 for us to eat out. I know how many groceries I can buy and how many meals I can make with $47! So to help keep the menu fresh and interesting I am trying new things! Here are a few of my favorite new recipes so far!

Cheeseburger Salad - YUMMY, you must make the croutons!

Chocolate Fudge Cookies - soooo easy!

Parmesan Chicken Bake - only dirty 1 dish!

Gobble Up Granola - I subbed honey for the corn syrup. It was more of a granola mix rather than a bar but the taste was just the same - great snack!

Here is a few I am going to try!

Chicken Cordon Blue - I have always wanted to make this.

CinnamonSwirl Banana Bread - I always have rotten bananas in my freezer begging to be used up!

Pasta Pie - Looks amazing!

Working On: Giving my craft room a make over! This is my birthday gift. I have asked members of my family for their time towards helping me in the remodel whether it be sewing new a new cushion or drapes, taking down wall paper, staining the desk, painting or organizing. I am really excited to have the room take on a new look that I love and can enjoy for years to come. I will share pictures as soon as its done.

Birthday Giveaway

Whew! You made it to the end and now its time tell you about a my little birthday giveaway!

1) In the process of organizing my craft room I realized these flowers needed a good home!

I am giving all of these flower to one lucky winner of my Birthday Giveaway!

2) My dear friend Diana has an amazing little Etsy shop!

She sells her hand made cards, scrapbook goodies and adorable handmade flower pins/ clips!

She is offering up a $15.00 give certificate for her store to one lucky winner of my Birthday giveaway!

Diana also has a special offer to all my blog readers!

Use coupon code BIRTHDAY20 for 20% off purchase in her Etsy Store!

HOW TO WIN!

All you need to do for a chance to win either the bowl of flower or the $15 gift certificate to Design By Diana is simply leave a comment on this post with a link to one of your favorite recipes!!

This give away is open through February 9th! Winners will be announce on February 10th.

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Diana is currently offering a giveaway of her own handmade ruffled bloom flower pins!

CLICK on the picture to view her giveaway!

The Paper Variety

2012-02-01T12:25:00.000-08:00

We have a new challenge up at The Paper Variety! Its time for a sketch Challenge!

Here is my take on the sketch (I love the starts!)

Join us at The Paper Variety for this Challenge and you will have a chance at winning this prize kit from My Scrap & More

Join in the FUN!

A Little More from Boys Rule

2012-01-30T17:03:00.000-08:00

Well I was able to finish up using my Boys Rule kit and WOW! I just loved the amount of boy goodies that came in the kit!

These cute little pockets that came in the kit were perfect for this layout. I gave Cole a 2011 Interview sheet that I found at All For The Boys Blog (free printable) to fill out. It was so interesting to see how he answered the questions. I used the pockets that came with my kit to hold his interview. I also photo copied his interview on to the blue back ground sheet (its hard to see in the photo) and again on to a yellow paper so I could us the title on my layout.

I a fan of having tags on hand for bday bags an other gifts! I was able to use left over embellishments, stamps and stickers from my kit to create this 2 tags.

It was such an honor to be the January Guest Designer for Boys Rule Kit Club! I am so thankful for the opportunity!

New Kit from Paper Lovelies

2012-01-27T03:54:00.000-08:00

Here is the new Kit from Paper Lovelies! I just adore this kit. I was a bit nervous about using it as it was very 'pretty' but it made the best Valentines gifts! Here are my creations with Kit.

This was FUN!!! I wanted to make some decor to hang up on my bedroom so I took a shoebox cover and decorated it with the amazing products from this kit! I just love how it looks on my wall! No one would ever know its a shoebox cover now - sshhhh, dont tell :)

I used my newest Circut cartridge to create this bag- Art Philosophy. It has the most amazing 3D flower patters!

The kit had this cute little ruler that I just had to use. My bag says ' Our Love Measures Up'!

I love these little wooden spools and they make great photo holders!

Be sure to head over to Paper Lovelies now to get your kit they will not last long at the low price of $15!!!

All In A Creative Day

2012-01-22T06:39:00.000-08:00

I spent my entire day yesterday crafting with a group of friends. It was a great day with lots of laughs! Here are few of my creations from the day.

This layout was created through inspirations from this Page Maps Sketch and its also up for a challenge at Crop Stop and the prompt at Burlap and Buttercups to showcase a layout as year in review. I really loved this idea of a year in a review! It really made me think back how my year went. The there many butterflies on my layout to represent the loss of my grandmother in 2011 (she loved butterflies). On an happy note I was able to achieve my weight loss goal in 2011!

This photo just cracks me up! Cole created his own Angry Bird display with Lego pieces and play dough birds and pigs! It really show cases his imagination at the best!

I was driven to create this layout by an amazing sketch from Kristine Davidson. I was a little worried about scrapping with this photo because it has so many colors and it not my usual style picture but Kristine's sketch pulled it all together for me!

Thanks for taking a peak!

Friday Favorites

2012-01-20T03:37:00.000-08:00

Its a Friday and I have another Friday Favorite post for you! I found so many things online I like this week it was hard to narrow it down!

1) I found this site All For the Boys its dedicated to ALL boy crafts, experiments and anything else boy related! These little lunch box jokes are a must print! If you have a little guy in the family this sight is a must follow!

2) My dear scrappy friend Missy Whidden created this stunning layout with an amazing tree and adorable pictures of her little girl! For those of us who craft we understand the time and details Missy spent creating this layout. Its so creative and inspiring!

3) I am not the most creative card maker, I enjoy the simple design of these cards!

4) I am all about using what you have! I have to many scraps and odd embellishments that I need to use up and this layout showcases a great way to do that! LOVE IT - Use what we have!

5) I am still going strong with my one new recipe each week! This week its a sweet treat recipe! These cookies are super simple and super yummy!

6) Oh, I just think this layout will all the mini pics by Cassie of her creations is stunning! So cleaver and a great way to showcase her talents! She has a style that just ROCKS!

Happy Friday Everyone!

A Boys Valentines Card

2012-01-19T01:00:00.000-08:00

I have been back in my Boys Rule Scrapbook Kit and this time I have created a Valentines Day card for Cole.

(Sorry had some issues with the coloring of this photo)

I used a smash book pocket that came in the kit as the 'envelop'. Cole's picture is attached to a peice of paper that has his V-Day message writen on. I just loved the 'U R So cute I wanna put you in my pocket' phase on this pocket!!! I was never sure what I was going to do this photo of Cole, it was meant for this card!

I will be back again next week with more from my Boys Rule Kit!

Boys Rule!

2012-01-16T01:00:00.000-08:00

Boys Rule and I have the kit to prove it!

I am the current Guest Designer at Boys Rule Scrapbook Kits! I can not express how much is in my kit!!! I am not sure I have even found the bottom of the box yet! :)

Today I am sharing one of the layouts I made with this kit.

I could not wait to use the record this this kit! I think I am going to have to search for vintage records at garage sales now! The kit was focused around the new Vintage T collection from We R Memory keepers.

I was inspired by this sketch from Frosted Designs to create this layout. Its a wonderful sketch that left lots of room your own creativity!

I will be back later this week with more from this kit!

Stay tuned!

A Pretty Little Sketch From Pretty Little Studio

2012-01-15T15:37:00.000-08:00

I put this sketch on my to-do list for the weekend! I love both Kerri, the sketch creator and Pretty Little Studio (they have the cutest products!) So it was a must make for me! I hit my scraps and created a card that I needed.

I have been waiting to use these cute little swim wear die cut and this was the perfect card!

Thanks for stopping by!

ScrapFIT Workout & The Paper Variety Challenge

2012-01-15T04:33:00.000-08:00

I have lots of challenges for you today!

Our next challenge at The Paper Variety is another fun one! Don't you love fun prompts? We all do! :)

There are so many pretty embellishments that you can buy to adorn your paper projects but it's so much nicer when you can make them yourself! :)

We'd love to see your fan fold embellishments!

Here is my fan fold embellishment card

The Paper Variety is honored to team up with a fabulous new sponsor for this challenge!

Check out their website to see all their beautiful collections.. then visit their blog for endless inspiration, challenges and latest Bo Bunny news!

Megan from Bo Bunny has generously donated the Bo Bunny "Enchanted" collection for the winner of our challenge! Isn't it gorgeous!?!!

This collection includes 10 BEAUTIFUL patterned papers (most glittered) along with 12x12 chipboard shapes, cut-outs, combo stickers and layered chipboard!

Head on over to The Paper Variety to join in the challenge!

Its also time for a new Workout at ScrapFIT!

Workout #60- It’s The Simple Things

Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that mean the most! Show us what simple little thing means so very much to you! Is it a picture your child drew, a family heirloom, a special recipe, a book, - We are dying to know!

This workout is being sponsored by

Boys Rule Scrapbooks kits is a monthly scrapbook kit club for those of us who love to paper craft boy subjects. Care and consideration is key as each kit is assembled for the boys. Cool embellies are paired with handsome papers you will love to play with each month.
Boys Rule Scrapbook kits also has exclusive embellies with each kit....they are all different and very unique, and are included each month just for you.

It's fun to create when you have a complete kit that is designed for the memories of dirt, grunge and smelly things!

The winner of this Workout will receive this amazing collection of goodies!

Lego Workbench Love

2012-01-14T04:39:00.000-08:00

Santa brought Cole a Lego Workbench from Christmas and it has been a big hit! When you cant find Cole he is often at his workbench (behind the couch) building away. I have to clear off a few of my book shelves for Cole to keep his built creations on. I am not exactly sure where he gets his creative ideas from but he is full of them!

'Santa' aka my husband built this. We bought 3, 2 foot shelves from Lowes and a large piece of lumber for the top. We painted the top and adhered 3 15x15inch lego mats to the top. I added the clip lights to finish it off. I found these totes on sale to sort is legos in to, which by the way was a VERY long process.

This has been the best gift!

Scrap N Chat Day Reminder

2012-01-13T15:16:00.001-08:00

My next Scrap N Chat Day is this coming Saturday, January 21st 9am-9pm $20 1/2 Day $10

Lunch & Dinner provided

RSVP by January 18th.

Hope you see you there!

Friday Favorites

2012-01-13T04:23:00.000-08:00

Its Friday! Its been a while since I have posted some Friday Favorites but here I am! To view each item in more detail click the link in the line that corresponds with the number.

1 If you have little kids you will need to have valentines for their class. I love this idea- so simple yet so useful!

2 If you have a cricut imagine the great little gift this would make! Could be great for boys too!

3 Cole's bday is coming up and its going to be lego themed. I think these bags would be the cutest favor bags!

4 I am trying one new recipe each week this year! This is going to be dinner tonight! Looks easy and yummy!

5 This card caught my eye, it incorporates my two most recent craft obsession - stars and kraft paper!

6 Not to toot my own horn but the ScrapFIT blog make over is pretty stunning - Thanks Kristine for all the work you did to make it look so amazing! My challenge site need a new look for a new year!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

2012 One Little Word

2012-01-08T04:37:00.000-08:00

This is my One Little Word for 2012.

I am not big on New Years resolutions because I think they can often times turn around to bite you and make you feel like you failed. I much prefer my One Little Word option. I select a word and try to incorporate it into all part of my life.

I have decided I want to continue to Simplify my life. We have done a few things over the years like turn off our cable, switch our work schedule so we dont have to relay on daycare as much and other things. My doing some of these things I realize how enjoyable life can be when its simplified.

Here are few ways I want to continue Simplifying in 2012

*Make more meals on the weekends to make the week night less hectic

*Use my phone as my date book and list maker

*Find more ways to have family fun with out spending money

*Spend more time in my craft room - I simply enjoy it in there!

*Adapt the 'Less is More' idea to my household belongings

These are few that are just ideas at the start of the year. I am already working on the meal prep for the last week as well as using my phone as my single solution!

Have you picked your One Little Word?

Scrap N Chat Day Reminder

2012-01-04T12:36:00.000-08:00

**For my local Scrapbookers**

Up coming Scrap N Chat Days

Every month I host 'Scrap N Chat Days' at my home. This is chance girls to get away to enjoy a whole day dedicated to scrapbooking/ paper crafting with others who share the same enjoyment! You can expect a fun time, good food and to learn something new! Below is the list of my upcoming Scarp N Chat Days. You must RSVP to me at szenger@twcny.rr.com 3 days prior to the event. RSVP early there are only 24 seats available.

Saturday, January 21st - 9am-9pm, Cost $20 1/2 Day $10 - Need to know if you are full day or 1/2 day for food prep.
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Saturday, March 3rd - 9am-5pm, Cost $10

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Saturday, March 31st - 9am-5pm, Cost $10

Hope to see you there!!!

ScrapFIT Workout #60

2012-01-01T02:00:00.001-08:00

ScrapFIT Workout #60 -Inspired By The Music!

I love 80’s music and we are working out with Pat Benatar this week! Her song ‘Love Is A Battlefiled ‘ is your inspiration for this workout! I cant wait to see how this makes you move! You can find the lyrics here-
http://www.lyrics007.com/Pat%20Benatar%20Lyrics/Love%20Is%20A%20Battlefield%20Lyrics.html

This workout is being sponsored by

The winner of this Workout will receive this amazing collection of goodies!

The FITgirls really busted a move on this Workout - head over to ScrapFIT to see their work and play along!

The Paper Variety - New Challenge

2012-01-01T02:00:00.000-08:00

Here I am with my first challenge as part of The Paper Variety team!

I really love this challenge and I know you will too!

I had this great picture of Bauer and this was the perfect challenge for the photo! I choose yellow as my kiss of color because its warm and happy color. I used yellow glimmer mist to enhance the white background, added some yellow/gold rubons and finished off with a few yellow accents like the flower an bling. My favorite find in my stash was the black doily overlays - these were meant for this layout!

And of course for playing along you have a chance at winning this prize!

Be sure to head on over to The Paper Variety to join in the fun!

Valentines Goodie Bag

2011-12-31T08:11:00.000-08:00

I know I might be a bit ahead of myself but holidays sure do sneak up on us. I had some time in my craft room last night and I whipped up this little goodie bag for Valentines day! I used this months sketch from The Paper Bakery for my inspiration! It was just perfect my bag!

I am not sure which lucky love will get this bag but its sure to be filled with lots of sweet treats!

Thanks for stopping by!

Paper Lovelies

2011-12-26T17:11:00.000-08:00

First I must appologize this post did not go live on the correct date, my mistake when putting the schdule date in.

Unfortunately because of my mistake you will not have a chance at getting the newest Paper Lovelies kit because they SOLD out so fast!!!! These are hot little kit and the get snatch up fast!

I used this kit to make a very special Christmas Gift for my mom.

I took a large peice of chipboard and decorated with this wonderful like from Websters! The photo is of my mother and her mother. My Grandmother passed away this summer so I wanted to give my mom something she could look at each day to remember her mom.

Here are few cards created out of the same kit. I love mini cards!

I am The Newest Member Of The Paper Variety!

2011-12-22T17:26:00.000-08:00

I am really excited that I can now officaly announce that I am one of the newest members of The Paper Variety!

Here I will join them in their bi-monthly challenges to help give you inspiration to participate in their challenges! They offer up some great prizes! Be sure to visit The Paper Variety to see what the currently have going on!

Here is a full list of the new team:

**Introducing**

Kate Vickers, Ontario, Canada

Theresa Neubaum, Texas

Carolina Schultz, Chile

Marcia Dehn-Nix, Minnesota

Sandi Pressley, Florida

Sara Zenger, New York

Holly Gagnon, Nevada

Jenifer Evans, Nebraska

and your founders ;)

Abby Laubenstein, Illinois

Suzanne Spokus, Pennsylvania

My love of paper bags and a question for my crafty friends!

2011-12-18T05:13:00.000-08:00

I just love paper bags of any size. The kraft color is so appealing to me and so versatile. I spent sometimes with a crafting with a friend on Friday night and I made a few new gift bags!

My question that I need an HONEST answer to:

Would people buy these if I sold sets of gift /goodie bags possibly with a coordinating card or tag?

Opinions please!!!

These little lunch sacks make a great treat bag to send someone special a little something special!

I embossed bags for the first time - LOVE IT! I cut them down to a smaller size because everything is cutter in a smaller size :)

This one is my favorite! A bag for the season!

Thanks for stopping by to take a look and if you left me some feedback to my question, I really appreciate it!!!

ScrapFIT Workout #58- Mini Pics

2011-12-15T01:00:00.000-08:00

Its time for Workout #58- Mini Pics at ScrapFIT

It seems when something is smaller than normal size it makes it better or cuter! For this Workout you will need to work with Mini Pictures! They need to be wallet size or smaller – you can have any many or as few as you would like.

We are blessed again to have

as our sponsor for Workout #58!

Paper Lovelies is an online paper crafting site filled with all that is good in the scrapbooking industry.
Our monthly scrapbooking kits are hand-picked from some of the best retailers with you in mind so you won't miss out on the newest releases from your favorite manufacturers.

Our promise to you is to provide quality scrapbooking kits at an affordable cost. You'll love the flexibility of our kit club as you purchase just the kit you want, when you want it, all without the hassle of a subscription. Our kits are 15.00 each and every month!

The winner for Workout #58 will receive this WONDERFUL 'Old School' kit by Pink Paislee!!

I had a lot of fun with this Workout! I has some great pics of Cole & Tim printed in a wallet size (which is great because I got 4 of each picture this way and used most of them for other things!).

Head on over to ScrapFIT and join us for this Workout! We want to keep you actively Scrappin!

Dont forget ScrapFIT is looking for some new FITgirls - be sure to check out the DT Call!

Up Coming Scrap N Chat Days - For my local Scrapbook Friends

2011-12-14T13:18:00.000-08:00

Every month I host 'Scrap N Chat Days' at my home. This is chance girls to get away to enjoy a whole day dedicated to scrapbooking/ paper crafting with others who share the same enjoyment! You can expect a fun time, good food and to learn something new! Below is the list of my upcoming Scarp N Chat Days. You must RSVP to me at szenger@twcny.rr.com 3 days prior to the event. RSVP early there are only 24 seats available.

Saturday, January 21st - 9am-9pm, Cost $20 1/2 Day $10

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Saturday, March 3rd - 9am-5pm, Cost $10

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Saturday, March 31st - 9am-5pm, Cost $10

Hope to see you there!!!

Recent Photos

2011-12-09T04:18:00.001-08:00

Just a post with some recent photos that I love! Cant scrapbook with out photos!

He getting sooooo Big!

Just me.

He is sooooo cute!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins I made for a fun girls night. I have always wanted to have tooth-pic banners in my cupcakes!

Our tree..... does not look like this anymore. Bauer (our dog) thinks the decorations were put on to keep him occupied while we are at work. So only the top part of our tree is now decorated.

LOVE my front door!!!!!

I cant get enough bristle trees!

Zenger Family Thanksgiving.

Gift Banners

2011-12-09T03:15:00.001-08:00

Well, its official I am addicted to making banners :) I am running out of ideas for making banners for myself (at least for piratical purposes) so I decided to make a few as Christmas gifts!

This is not exactly a banner but more of a sign but who is counting. I made this sign for my sons teacher! I just LOVE it! I used 2 sheets of heavy cardboard and glued them together to give make it sturdy. I used the the Hometown Summer collection from Pink Paislee to make this sign. I just adore these little kids.

These two banners were made for some special little girls that are friends of our family. It was really fun to go all girly on some banners!

Its not to late if you need a quick crafty gift someone special!

Happy Crafting!

New Work With The Newest Kit From Sweet Peach!

2011-12-06T16:26:00.001-08:00

Its December and Sweet Peach Crop Shop is out with 2 wonderful new kits!


Sweet Kit

Juicy Kit

I have been busy playing and creating with the Sweet Kit this month and here is what I have made!

I just adore this kraft paper collection! So many options with kraft!

This last one was a gift for my husbands office - again the kraft paper was perfect!

Head on over to Sweet Peach to pick your kit today - they go fast!!!

ScrapFIT Is Looking For The Next Round Of FITgirls!

2011-12-05T15:38:00.001-08:00

ScrapFIT Design Team Call

February 2012 – July 2012

Submission Deadline – January 1st

ScrapFIT(www.scrapfit.blogspot.com) is a growing scrapbook challenge blog that will give you areal workout! We have 2 workouts(challenges) per month and they are sure to push you out of your comfort zoneand inspire you to try something new! We are looking for 10 fun and creative designers(aka -FITgirls!) for our next term!

FITgirl Requirements:

*You musthave an active blog
*You must be commit to 2 layouts per month based on our challenges
*A person who enjoys inspiring others
*Someone who is committed and turns in projects on time
*Someone with enthusiasm about ScrapFIT and their challenges and the dedicationto help promote ScrapFIT throughtheir own blog and other site they participate in.

What To Expect From ScrapFIT

*Althoughthis is not a paying gig we can help spread the word about your scrapbookingawesomeness!

*Aspecial FITgirl blinki for your blog

*Yourphoto, name and link to your personal blog on the main ScrapFIT webpage!

*A greataddition to your scrapbook resume

*All ofthe challenges will be giving to you at the start of your term so that you haveplenty of time to work on them when you have the chance.

*A funand relaxed group to work with.

To apply please send the fallowing information to scrapfit@twcny.rr.comby January 1st:

Please put ScrapFIT DTCall in the subject line

1) Name
2) Address
3)Email Address
4) Link to your blog and/or online gallery
5)List of other Design Teams past and current
6)3 examples of your best work. Let us see your style!
7)Tell us why you would be a good fit for our team!

8)A little bio about your –if you are chosen this would beyour introduction bio.

Winners will beannounced on January 6th.GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!

Attitude of Gratitude Day 24-30

2011-11-30T12:13:00.001-08:00

Here I am for my final Attitude of Gratitude post. I have really enjoyed doing this all month long. I have realized that there is something to be grateful for in each day!

Day 24

Today I enjoyed the sights and sounds of kids playing just becuse they can! It is Thanksgiving and there is lots to be thankful for today but above all today I loved that Cole and his cousins (of all ages and near and far) got to spend the day together playing! I wish this could happen more often becuase they will all grow up to fast!

Day 25

Online shopping!!! I have dont 90% of my Christmas shopping online and I just LOVE this! I feel so much less stress by staying home in my warm home and shopping at my leisure. Now to wrap it all! :)

Day 26

I am big on saving money where I can, especially on necessities like food! I really hate seeing food go to waste therefore I am always trying to find way to make multiple meals out of what meat or differnt way to use leftovers. Today I used my stock pile of frozen rotten bananas to make 18 loafs of banana bread - up 18!!! These will make great gifts for co works, friends and neighbors once I tie a home made holiday tag on them!

I also have a second thing to be grateful for today. I am grateful for the early evening hockey game that Cole and I got to watch Tim play in. He is a great hockey player and back in our days of just dating I just loved how he looked in his hockey uniform and I still get that same loving feeling today - 15 years later! He had a magnificent game!

Day 27

This is going to be a love/hate for many people but I am loving listening to Christmas music! Its really puts me in a good mood :)

Day 28

A good laugh. We always need a good laugh and when I need it the most I can always count on my dad!

Day 29

I am so grateful for Cole. Today he says to me

"Mom, I always want you to be happy and I know how to make you happy"

I said " you do, how?"

He replise " When your mad, I will fix it so you will be happy. Your happy when I give you something. Your happy when I do something with you"

Sometimes he just melts my heart.

Day 30

My life. I have had so many blessing from the very beginning of my life. I need to remember to not take everything I have for granted. Its about time spend together not things gathered and I believe in these 3 words, patience, priorities and perspective.

Thank you Precocious Paper for this wonderful month long challenge!

Attitude of Gratitude - Day 20-23

2011-11-23T12:17:00.001-08:00

Day 20

Today I am grateful for my home. I just love to be home. I like to travel but only for a few days at a time. I love the comforting feeling and relaxing vibes my home gives me. Home has its own smell and sounds that you can not get any places else. There is nothing better than have a clean home at that! I have worked very hard and getting my boys to understand that everything in our house has a home and that were it belongs when they are done with it.

Day 21

I am soooo grateful for online shopping! Seriously! Were I love our big stores are Walmart and Home-Depot so the choices are slim. I love being able to order Christmas gifts at any hour of the day and having them brought right to my door step!

Day 22

Netflix. We gave up cable over 3 years ago and honestly dont miss it (or the expence of it). Since winter is settleing in I look forward to more time in my craft room and when I like to watch TV shows or movies on Netflix through my laptop. Right now I have a slight addiction to Army Wives.

Day 23

(Hugs) They just make everything better!

ScrapFIT Giveaway

2011-11-21T16:29:00.001-08:00

ScrapFIT is

For its Fans!

This week we are here to tell all our Fans, the people who look forward to our workouts each month and join us in staying actively scrapping!

To celebrate our fans we are giving way some FREE goodies!

This is a a lot of loot including stamps, stickles, glitter, ribbon, odd embellishments and a chipboard album! (Colors and designs of some items will vary)

We have 3 of these goodie lots to give away!

Visit the ScrapFIT Blog to enter!!

Giveaway ends November 30th

I also want to say THANK YOU to all the FITgirls past and present, so thankful to have been graced with their talents!

A special THANK YOU goes to Missy Widden for saying yes to me when I asked for her help! I could not maintain ScrapFIT without her, she is talented scrapbooker and she is an amazing Weekend Warm Up Coach. Thanks for all you do Missy!

Lastly, Thank you to ALL of our Supports & Sponsors! I appreciate every donation and every shout out about ScrapFIT!

Thanks for making this a FUN thing to do!

Crafting With My Cricut - Wall Decor

2011-11-20T13:45:00.001-08:00

I love my cricut but I do not use it as often as I should! I have a hand full of cartridges and plenty of paper but I am more apt to reach for a punch then use the cricut. I am really trying to use it more because the possibilities are endless! I was inspired my a scrappy friend Diana at Designs By Diana with a post about using your circut to update your home decor.

I purchased this frame at Wal-mart for $8 and made these three inserts for it!

This one will be displayed during the non-holiday seasons. I used the Sans Serif Font Cricut Cartridge to create this saying.

This one will be for Christmas time! The paper already had this lovely tree on it and I new I wanted to use it as a display piece for the holidays so I added the Merry Christmas using the Story Book Font Cricut Cartridge.

This one is currently on display! I used the Plattin School Book Font Cricut Cartridge and the Gypsy Wanderings for the pumpkin.

I just love how this turned out and I think I have a new love for my cricut!

Attitude of Gratitude

2011-11-19T04:07:00.001-08:00

Day 15

I am grateful for my Mom! I come home from work and not only has she stopped down twice to check on our dog Bauer but she has spent 2 hours of her day with him! While she is here is has done a full load of laundry and another is drying. She has put away the dishes in the dishwasher and wiped off the counters morning breakfast crumbs! It just makes me smile to some home to these piles of neatly folded laundry on my bed sorted out by whom they belong to. My mom is wonderful, kind, caring and I am so thankful for every little thing she does for me and my family.

Day 16

Long walks and talks! Its been over a year since a friend and I have started doing about 4 mile walk a few times a week. We both have full schedules so we plan week by week but those walks are greatly appreciated! They are good for the body and good for the soul! Thanks Cindy!

Day 17

Today I am grateful Cole is doing well in School. I had his first parent teacher conference for second grade and he is doing wonderful! He is an amazing speller - he does NOT get this from me! He is now a 'helping hand', one of the kids that gets paired to sit with another kid that needs some help with their reading and math facts. I am so proud of Cole for doing his best and always wanting to go to school everyday!

Day 18

Friends! I had the best time last night with my girlfriends! When we get together you are sure to have a good time! We are never short on new stories to share about parenthood, you are sure to laughing until you cry at least once and when you leave we are already planning the next time we will get together! Thanks for being great friends!

Day 19

Today I am grateful to be able to give the gift of giving. I feel very fortunate that I can donate to the food pantry, hand off Cole's toys to a local charity, donate clothes to the salvation army, buy cookies from kids raising money for school and take a few kids off the Christmas giving tree to give a special gift to. Its not always financially easy for people to give but if you have a giving heart you will do what you can so that you can spread that joy.

New Paper Lovelies Kit!

2011-11-19T03:32:00.001-08:00

Paper Lovelies newest kit is availible today!

This kit is packed full of stunning Prima Holiday paper and embellishments! I new exactly what I wanted to do with this kit! Home Decor!!!

This is an advent banner for the 12 day of Christmas. I had these little paper bags left over from my Christmas Card project and I use some wonderful new dies to create the lovely circles for the bags. I put binder clips on the banner to easily get the bags on and off so that I can reuse this. I cant wait to fill this with a few mini lego people, arcade tokens and candy for Cole!

I have had this bare wooden birdhouses for a while now and I new I wanted to decorate them for the Holidays and this Prima line was just right! I painted the small edges first and then decorated the sides and roof with the paper. It was fun to accent them with the garland, flower and blue gems that came in the kit. This will be a great addition to my Holiday decorations.

Be sure to to check out what the other DT members created with their kits here

Do not hesitate to get your kit as the low price of $15.00 these kits will go fast!

Happy Scrappin!

Weekend Work

2011-11-15T12:29:00.001-08:00

While I was away at a scrapbook retreat over the weekend to teach a class I was able to get a little work done for myself! This was the first time I enjoyed a weekend long retreat for myself vs putting one on! I had a great time with a good friend and met lots of new friends! I am so grateful for Kathy and Pam at We B Scrappin for putting the retreat on - it was a nice break.

So, I had some new kits on my hands and sketches to create with. Here is what I came up with.

This layout was actually a sketch challenge at the retreat. I loved the sketch so I thought I would give it a try and I WON! I was so shocked and thrilled to win as it was a viewers choice! Most of my papers and embellishments came from this months Scrapbook Circle Kit - love this one! I also was able to play around with some new dies to create the circles and scallops.

Before I went to the retreat I looked online for a few sketches to save to my favoites on my phone so I would have them when I needed them. I just fell in love with this sketch from Sketchy Thursday!

Its so simple and can take you anywhere, and it took me to creating this layout.

I just love this picture of Cole. He looks so grown up and I have no idea why he decided to throw me the peace sign but I love it! Thanks for another great sketch, Sketch Thursdays!

Attitude of Gratitude Day 7-14

2011-11-14T16:03:00.001-08:00

Wow, its been a busy week but I have been keeping track of my gratitude daily and I finally have a bit of time to write it down.

Day 7

Today I want to say how thankful I am to have a job. I really love my job. I enjoy my early hours, the people I work with and for, I grateful to have the opportunity to work a 4 day work week and I love seeing all the different people that come in to where I work. I know how lucky I am!

Day 8

This may sound a bit crazy but today I need to say how grateful I am for exercises. It have battled with my weight my whole life but today I feel comfortable in my body. When I was 29 I promised myself that I would not go in to my 30's feeling uncomfortable and unhappy - not how I look but how I feel. I wanted to feel better. Its been almost 3 years now since I started 'eating better to feel better' (a motto that has been so good for me) and I started off with some simple 30 minute Jillian Micheal's videos. Now (with a BIG push and a BIG THANK YOU to Missy) I am doing P90X workouts and feeling wonderful. This is the first time I have gone back to look at pics as a before and after and I am so proud and grateful to have come so far.

2009

2011

Day 9

Music, I love music! When you come to my house you will most often find music playing vs the TV on. I love all kinds of music but my favorites are 80's songs! I love to crank up my 80's play list or Pandora's 80's play list while cooking or cleaning - music really puts me in a good mood!

Day 10

Today I sat down to create a grocery list for next week and with doing that I went through my massive pile of coupons. I just LOVE coupons! Using coupons to create a stock pile of foods my family uses all time really helps to keep money in our wallets. Keeping our food bill down means we have extra cash for fun family activities! I am grateful to help my family by using coupons to stretch our dollar.

Day 11

Today I was thankful for a long ride with a good friend. We enjoy these long rides to chat and talk about life without any outside interruptions. Thanks for a great time Sheila!

Day 12

Coffee. Oh I love thee! I am grateful for all kinds of coffee and all the magnificent flavored creamers out there. I just adore my morning cup of coffee in my small little cup that fits my hand perfectly filled just half way with coffee (so I can drink it all before it cools off to much) and blended perfectly with my cinnamon vanilla creamer. Really its just such a simple pleasure.

Day 13

I was lucky to get away for 3 days to enjoy a scrapbook retreat for myself this past weekend. I did teach a class but other than that I was crafty for myself the whole time! I am very grateful to have time to be crafty. Crafty time is peaceful, relaxing and time that keeps me balanced in the rest of my busy life.

Day 14

Today I am grateful that we are still enjoying fall type weather. Its so often that winter is upon us in October but today it was a wonderful 60 degrees with a nice a warm wind! I spent the entire afternoon until dark outside with Bauer and Cole. I hope we can get another week of this weather!

Scrap N Chat Date

2011-11-09T14:52:00.000-08:00

**For all my local Scrapbookers**

The Holidays are quickly approching and the calendar is already filling up! Normaly I do not do a Scarp N Chat Day in December however, I am not able to host one in November so, December it is!

Scrap N Chat Day

Saturday, December 3rd 9am-5pm - Cost $10

At my home. Lunch will be provided. Its a great chance to finish up Christmas Cards or gifts! Please RSVP no later than 3 days prior to date.

Hope to see you there!

A Banner For Cole

2011-11-06T15:14:00.000-08:00

While I was away at my Scrapbook Retreat I was able to get a little crafting done for myself, well actually for Cole. I really do enjoy making banners and I had told Cole I would be making a 'space' themed on for his bedroom door. So here you have it! I just love these papers - thanks to a great kit from Scrapbook Circle.

Thanks for stopping by!

Attitude of Gratitude - Day 5 & 6

2011-11-06T15:08:00.000-08:00

Day 5

Tim, my husband. Today I am grateful for the evening spend with just him. Its not often in our busy day to day lives we get to enjoy time when it just the two of us. I always know how important he is to me but tonight we were able to cook dinner together while listening to our favorite play list and talking about life. These are times that bring us closer together as a couple so that we can be better parents and improve as a family. Its good to take a time-out with your spouse.

Day 6

I have a lot of gratitude to express to the many Kit Clubs, Etsy Shops and Design Teams that have given me the privilege of being a part of their team. Only a little over a year ago did I only 'wish' I could be on a Design Team. Its truly an honor to be chosen to create with these amazing products that the owners have so carefully made or put together. Then to have my work shown as a representation of what the Kit Club, Etsy Shop or Store has to over is really an honor. I love being crafty and being part of a verity of Design Teams really helps me put bring crafty on the top of my to-do list. So thank you to the following places for giving me a chance.

Practical Scrappers / ScrapFIT / A Few Of My Favorite Things / Ideas For Scrapbookers / The Scrappiest / Sweet Peach Crop Shop / Scrap It With A Song / Paper Lovlies / The Paper Trail / Scrapbook Circle / Paper Issues / Perfectly Precocious / Flamingo Scraps

New Sweet Peach Kit Kits!

2011-11-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

Its a new month and that means new kits from

Here is the Sweet Kit

The Juicey Kit (this the one I got to play with this month)

And The Add Ons

I received the Juice Kit this month which contains a mini album! Since I am participating in the Attitude of Gratitude challenge this month I thought what a great way to capture all my gratitude in this mini album!

Here is a few of my mini album pages already for me to document in!

BTW the adorable butterfly and some of the fabric embellishments on the inside of album came from Tessa's amazing Etsy Shop !

Be sure to get your Sweet Peach Kits soon - they are almost gone!

Attitude of Gratitude - Day 1-4

2011-11-04T03:59:00.000-07:00

Its November and I have my showing my Attitude of Gratitude. I am very excited about doing this all month long because its important to remember all the little things in life that can easily be taken for granted.

Day 1

Today I realized how grateful I am to have our dog, Bauer. I love dogs and its had been 2 years since our family included a dog and I have to admit I was hesitent about getting another becuse I had grown acustom to the freedom of not having a dog.

With that said it has been an adjustment to our family schedules having a dog but the amount of love, laughter and happiness Bauer has brought to our house out weights everything else!

Bauer does not even know it but he has not so much for our family.

*He has helped me to let go of my list of things I 'have to do right now' and just step away to play with him!

*He has given Cole a friend to play with at all times! Those two have a play time routine that only they understand- it includes a lot of running, rolling around and laughing.

*He has forced us to take more time to be outside as a family! We take time to visit a near my nature trail 4-5 times a week, we take some toys and ball and go play around at the school soccer field on the weekends.

*He has won Tim's heart with just his pure cuteness!

Thanks Bauer!

Day 2

I am so grateful Cole has the need to be creative! I am not sure if this is something he was born with or we were able to instill in him, either way its something Tim and I encourage it! There are so many gadgets and gizmos today that are meant to entertain kids (and I am not opposed to them and we own a few of them!) that kids forget to create their own entertainment.

Cole will spend the better part of his days dressing up and reenacting as a pirate, ninja, or a superhero, building a track for his hot wheels cars or Thomas train or most of all building and creating with his massive pile of Legos!

Keep being creative, Cole!

Day 3

Happy

1. delighted, pleased, or glad, as over a particular thing: to be happy to see a person.

2. characterized by or indicative of pleasure, contentment, or joy: a happy mood; a happy frame of mind.

Today is a day to be Thankful for my ability to be 'Happy'. I arrive at work at 5am and work with the public all day long and so many people comment to me (especially early) how 'Happy' I am, EVERDAY! It is true that I get up with a spring in my step and song in my heart most days! I dont know why this is but I am thankful to be cheerful, positive and happy - its just my nature.

Day 4

Today is Friday and its the start of my 3 day weekend! I am so very very lucky to have 3 day weekends, every week! These weekend are therapeutic for me. I have a very structured week, work, dog, cole, workout, dinner, bed - Repeat. But the weekends are where I get to be creative, productive at home and spend time doing things I enjoy with people I love. Thank you to my employers for giving me the privilege of 3 day weekends!

ScrapFIT Workout #55 - Tis' The Season

2011-11-01T00:30:00.000-07:00

Workout #55 - Tis' The Season

We know Christmas will be here before we know it so lets start spreading ideas for Christmas Cards and Tags! Show us what your putting in the mail or attaching to a gift this year!

This year I have gotten a good jump on my Chrstimas cards! I have made these little little tag bags to give out and enclosed will be a wallet size family picture.

This ideas was great for my scrap paper and scads of ribbon and buttons! I found these adorable little bags (and others) at Endless Inkabilities

We are thrilled to have our newest sponsor!

Burlap & Buttercups is a monthly kit club delivering beautifully coordinating scrapbooking supplies. Every month we provide our subscribers with a generous assortment of patterned paper, cardstock, stickers, ribbon, and many other fun embellishments – enough to create a number of layouts and projects. Each of our scrapbook kits puts inspiration at the fingertips of those seeking to preserve treasured memories. We continuously browse the manufacturers' latest offerings, selecting some of the hottest new products to hit the market… so our members can simply open their boxes when they arrive and begin creating!

Burlap & Buttercups are offering up this AMAZING Kit to winner of Workout #55!!! WOW!

Head on over to ScrapFIT and to join in on this Workout!

Attitude of Gratitude

2011-10-29T04:49:00.000-07:00

Its almost November and I am very excited to be joining Tessa at Precocious Papers and many others in this amazing month long event.

I am a big believer in enjoying the simple things in life and with this project I am going to make a commitment to express my gratitude on a daily basics through my blog and in a mini album. I am going to be using this months Juicy Kit from Sweet Peach Crop Shop for this project! Its an adroable mini album!

I hope you will take the time to join me and the rest of the girls for this meaningful month long challenge - you will be grateful you did!

2011 Retreat Round Up & Goodie Bag Winner

2011-10-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

I am finally starting to recuperate from hosting my 8th weekend long retreat! It was another great year with 78 guests! I really enjoy doing this each year and I am so touched by all the kind words from the guests. Here are a few pictures of the weekend!

The whole group!

All the prizes!!

A group of girls that come to scrapbook book in my garage regularly!

I have also started a facebook page for the retreat so you can keep up on next years retreat. Be sure to 'like' the page!

Also congrats to

Christine America Real said...

Hi, I wish I could have attended the retreat! I am a new follower and would love to win the "mystery bag"

You are the winner of the mystery goodie bag!!! Send me and email szenger@twcny.rr.com with your mailing address and I will get your prize out to you!

The next retreat is planned for October 19-21, 2012! More info to come!

Deveolop Your Own Polorid

2011-10-26T12:17:00.000-07:00

Before I give my demo I wanted to tell you about an awesome deal going on at Sweet Peach Crop Shop right now! They are offering grab bags of establishments valued at $25 for $5!!!!! These ship free with any order! Pop on over to snag yours before they are gone!!!

As I promised a week ago, I am here today to show you how to make your own fake Polaroid pictures! I remember growing up we only had a Polaroid camera and then as year went by and Polaroid became a think of the past. But now the fake Polaroid look is very popular on our layouts.

I used the October Sweet Kit from Sweet Peach Crop Shop to create my layout.

Start by cutting your photos so they are square or just about square (mine are off my my 1/4 inch). Then adhere them on white or cream cardstock paper as I have above. You want to be sure the left edge of the paper is a thin boarder and the bottom is wide border.

Cut off the top of the paper leaving the same thin boarder as you did on the left side.

Repeat the same thin boarder by cutting the right side.

Lastly, because I was doing 2 photos at once I has to cut them apart leaving the same thin boarder on each of them and now you have 2 Polaroid photos!

Here are my 2 Polaroids in action! These were so easy to make and give such a fun look to any layout. Keep in mind these can be any size, I think mini Polaroids would be adorable!

Happy Scrappin!

Paper Lovelies Kit Release

2011-10-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

The November Paper Lovelies Kit is now available! I was a little intimated by this kit at first because of its many pastel colors and I have so many 'boy' photos but I was amazing at what I could come up with!

My first layout is my favorite! It was easy and fun to make! I cut a verity of width strips of paper and glued them on. Then I cut a large heart on my cricut out of cardstock. I placed the heart over the strips and used a few colors of glimmer mist, then removed the heart! I also stitched the heart outline to give it more visibility on the page. like I said, easy and fun! BTW this it the first photo of my son and I that I can see our resemblance!

I just adored the many veritys of brown that game in this kit! I used these to create a layout of my husband. I am not usualy a monochromatic type scrapper but this really worked!

Dont wait to long to get your Paper Lovelies Kit - they go fast!

Goodie Bag Giveaway!

2011-10-21T01:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday everyone! Its the Friday many scrapbook girls in Northern NY have been waiting for... its the first day of my

This is 3 days of scrapbook fun for the 80 people attending!

Each guest will enjoy the opportunity to win multiple prizes from the 'Prize Buffet' throughout the weekend. Several of this prizes came from the following amazingly generouse online sponsors!

I cant express my how grateful I am for the kindness these online vendors offered!

Thank you so much!!

I always want to say a special Thank You to my friend Sheila at Part-Time Pretties for all her help and offering some of her handmade goodies for an extra special touch! She is so talented!

Goodie Bag Giveaway!

Guests of the retreat will also receive a goodie bag filled with scrapbook goodies valued at $30!!!

I want to offer up one of these amazing goodie bags to one lucky winner here on my blog!

I am sorry but I cant give away exactly what is in the goodie bags because I dont retreat goers to know what they will be getting this weekend! So it will be a surprise to the lucky winner as well!

For a chance to win one of these $30 goodie bags all you need is one or more of the follower. You get one entry for each thing you do:

*Leave a comment on this post telling me what you do while you scrapbook/craft. Do you watch TV, listen to music, chat with friends??

*Be a Follower on this blog

*Share this Blog Post on your blog (please let me know if you comment you did this)

*Share this Blog Post on Facebook (please let me know if you comment you did this)

The lucky winner will be announce on Tuesday, October 25th.

Best of lucky to everyone!

Its been a good day!

2011-10-16T15:41:00.000-07:00

I have had a very productive and therapeutic day of crafting! I was able to do many things I wanted to do!

First up are 2 more layouts with my October Sweet Kit from Sweet Peach Crop Shop. This kit is the kit that just keeps giving! I feel like I still have so much left I could make a dozen more layouts!

I was totally inspired by this weeks sketch from Sketchy Thursday to create this layout! I just adore the Polaroid photo look and its so easy to do (stay tuned to for a tutorial!) I was able to use so many great pieces from the kits in unique ways. Such as the kraft doilies as a mask for for my misting. But I used them so the mist would get on the back side so that I could still use the front side and it would like just like new! If you want to play along with Sketchy Thursday, here it the sketch.

Next up, is layout I created with inspiration from Get Picky's Blog Hop Challenge. I like this site because I am a scrapper that gravitates towards one photo per layout and they force me to use more than one photo!! Its good to be outside of my box.

This is another layout form my Sweet Peach kit and again I had to use the Polaroid photo look. This sketch kept me thinking and trying new things. I loved being able to use the white transparency on this dark brown paper. Now to hop around and see all great work by their DT!

Last up for my day of creativity is Cole's Halloween treats for his class party!

These are fruit roll-up wrapped in orange tissue paper an d tied off at each end with back ribbon and I tied on these eye ball rings that Cole wanted to get for his class. I am very happy with how these turned out! I hope the kids like them!

Whew! That was my day of creativity! I hope you had a great day too!

Filter Paper Fun!

2011-10-14T03:18:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Today I want to share with you a way to get a new look out of the Fancy Pants Filter Paper Embellishments in the Sweet Peach Crop Shop October Sweet Kit. This is a simple little flower that only take a few minutes!

All you need to get started is a filter paper, a needle and thread.

With your needle and thread start half way in and stitch a complete circle. As you stitch pull the thread tight so that the paper gathers.

This is how your flower will look after. Pull tighter on the thread for a more gathered look. Once you are happy with the look tie off the thread cut off the tails.

Now to top if off with a embellished middle. Be creative, use a button, a flower, a brad or create your own. I simply added a die cut paper circle with a glue dot.

Here is how it looks on my layout! Very simple to make!

These were so easy to make I made two for my layout! Have fun with this and even try a regular coffee filter or tissue paper! Enjoy!

Retreat Remider

2011-10-13T16:53:00.000-07:00

For all of you who have signed up for next weekend Crop Till You Drop Retreat - (yeah, its almost here!) I just wanted to remind you that payment is due in full prior to the retreat.

I have been busy getting everything ready for the big weekend! I am looking forward to seeing everyone and having a great time!

Winner - Sweet Peach Blog Hop Giveaway!

2011-10-05T16:44:00.000-07:00

The Sweet Peach Crop Shop Blog Hop was a ton of fun! Thank you so very much to everyone who joined in!

The winner of my give away of the adorable wooden astericks is

Manda

That photo is adorable! It really is a beautiful layout. I am totally loving this months kit now I have been on the blog hop.

Congrats Manda! Please email me at szenger@twcny.rr.com with your mailing address.

Sweet Peach Crop Shop - Blog Hop

2011-10-01T02:51:00.000-07:00

This is the last stop in the Sweet Peach Crop Shop Hop - if you need to start at the beginning click HERE

Welcome!!! We are haveing a 'hoping' good time this weekend at Sweet Peach Crop Shop! The shop is filled with a amazingly talented design team and we are each hear to show case the October Kits and GIVEAWAY our favorite products from this months kit!!!!

Here are the October Kits! To purchase one click on the picture - they are going fast!

I was lucky enough to work with the Sweet Kit this month and here is my first layout! I just love the bright papers with the kraft!

I was inspired by this weeks Sketchy Thursday sketch when creating this layout.

This kit has so many great products like pins, the craft doilies, beautiful papers but
my favorite is the wooden asterisks!

Because I love these little wooden asterisks so much I want to give away a bag of them to one lucky winner! All you need to do is be a follower of my blog and leave a comment on this post.

I will pick a lucky winner on October 5th!!

Thanks for hoping with Sweet Peach!!!!

Sweet Peach Online Crop

2011-09-25T05:59:00.000-07:00

Join us over at the Sweet Peach Blog for 2 weeks worth of AMAZING challenges! You have till Wednesday Oct. 5, 2011 to complete any of the challenges. You can take on just one challenge during the crop or all 10. You will get an entry for every challenge you complete.

You are playing for a 3 Month Subscription to Sweet Peach Crop Shop!! Any supplies can be used in the challenges. To participate, simply link your newly created project in the comments below. We can’t wait to see what you create!

Here are some things I created this with the September Juicy Kit

Paper Lovelies - NEW KIT

2011-09-25T05:53:00.000-07:00

Paper Lovelies is has it newest 'Lovely' Kit up for Sale! I was a bit intimidated by this kit! It has a lot of vintage/school theme to it but once I started to dig in I LOVE what I created

This kit is only $15!!! They sell out fast so dont delay!

Happy Scrappin!

ScrapFIT Workout #52 - Speical Workout with Sketchy Thursday!

2011-09-15T12:32:00.000-07:00

Workout #52- 'F' is for Friendship with Sketchy Thursday!

Welcome to the ScrapFIT & Sketchy Thursday Blog Hop! We have joined up with Sketch Thursday this week to offer you a tough workout!

You will need to use this amazing sketch from Sketchy Thursday

and combined it with our Workout #52 - F is for Friendship -Friends are the family members we pick out by hand. Lets dedicated this weeks layout to a special friend(s).

Since this is a special joint workout there are a few prizes up for grabs!

You can win this Haunting Halloween kit from our ScrapFIT sponsor Paper Issues

by linking your layout to the Mr Linky at ScrapFIT

Be sure to visit all of the FITgirls blog and comment on their Workout because one lucky random winner that leaves on comment on every FITgirls Workout #52 blog post will be get this prize kit! You can get to each girls blog by clicking on their photo at ScrapFIT.

Once you do that be sure to head on over to

Sketchy Thursday

for a chance at winning a prize from their sponsor and another chance at a prize from commenting on the Design Team blogs!

Here is what I came up with for this amazing workout!

Scrap N Chat Day Reminder

2011-09-13T16:26:00.001-07:00

For all my local scrapbooking friends, here is my next Scrap N Chat Day info.

Saturday, September 24th - 9am-5pm, Cost $10

Be sure to RSVP no later than 3 days prior. Held at my home in Winthrop.

Hope to see you there!!!

Retreat Sign Ups - Only 2 week left!

2011-09-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

Time is flying by this year! There is only 2 week left to sign up for my up coming Crop Til' You Drop Retreat! All registration forms and deposits must be in by October 1st!

Here are links for the brochure and registration form! Dont delay!!! Seats are filling up fast!

Brochure

Registration Form

Hope to see you there! Please be sure to forward to this information to your friends!

Friday Afternoon Photos

2011-09-05T16:36:00.000-07:00

Last week was a crazy busy week for me. But I spent Friday afternoon hanging out with my 2 boys (Cole the human kid and Bauer the puppy) and of course I had my camera ready! I just love shots that are not posed or planned - real life at its best! Here are few shots form our afternoon of fun together.

This is my favorite random shot photo!!! They were playing away and I just happened to snag this shot moments before Bauer leaped on to Cole.

I am entering this photo into the the Simple Things Challenge at Simple As That

Bauer at 3 months old!

They were having so much fun together!

I never thought we looked much a like but I see it in this picture!!!

Cute dog!

This picture made me notice how big Coles feet have gotten an how long his lets are! I remember when he could not touch the foot rest while on the seat!

Have a great week and remember to snap a few of your own simple shots!

Sisters & ScrapFIT

2011-09-02T16:41:00.000-07:00

This is one of the only photos I have of me and my sister - especialy a recent picture. I am generaly the one with the camera so its hard to be in the picture sometimes. I had my mom take this pictures of us with my phone while at a summer festival. We had a good day, the 3 of us (and Cole). I hope we have more days like that together. Sam is 12 years younger than I and its been tough to grow up 'together' because of our age difference but as we are both adults now we seem to be getting a long great! She is the only sibling I have and she is important to me. I really liked this photo and could not wait to scrap it. I used the Neighborhood collection from Create Paper and I used the Sew Easy Tool from We R Memory Keepers on this layout. You can purchase the products the products I used at The Paper Trail as well as a tutorial I made how to use the Sew Easy Tool!

Its also time for out next Workout at ScrapFIT!

Workout #51 Salt & Pepper

Its time to show some Salt & Pepper on your layout or card! By this I mean Black & White as your main colors. You can use all ranges of Black & White and only 1 other color (in as many hues as you want). Do you like a little salt or are more of a pepper fan – lets see your tastes!

This workout is being sponsored my ScrapFIT its self! We are offing up this fun FITkit to a lucky winner!

This was a fun challenge to do!!! I love love love the layout I created!

Happy Scrappin!

Precocious Paper Birthday Blog Hop

2011-08-29T02:37:00.000-07:00

Good Morning! Today I am here to share in an exciting Birthday Blog Hop sponsored by Precocious Paper. Tessa the owner of Precocious Paper is celebrating her 30th birthday by giving away over $100.00 in product and 20 designers are sharing fabulous projects in her honor. You don’t want to miss this! You can join us by starting at Tessa’s blog here. If you’ve been hopping along and just came from Mandy Koeppen's blog, you are in the right place.

I’ve had the opportunity to design with some of Tessa’s products and have a project I’d like to share….

I received a package will filled with these incredible flowers from Tessa! I just love the blue and yellow roses - these are my favorite! The layered canvas flower is to die for - how can you go wrong with this clean and simple design!

I had two flowers left to use so I made a few cards and these flower were the perfect embelishments! Not mention the coordinating ribbon that came with in my pacakge! These are incredible products made with the highest quality!

Would you like some Precocious Paper goodies to work with? If you complete the entire hop, leaving a comment on every designer’s post, you will be entered to win the grand prize – the September, October, November and December Samplers! That’s a $54.00 value and dozens upon dozens of hand-crafted scrapbooking embellishments. Follow Tessa’s blog to be entered to win a $20.00 credit to the shop, and if you follow Precocious Paper on Facebook, you could win another $20.00 credit. Tessa is also giving away surprise credits to blog hop participants, so be sure to leave a comment on this post!

Tessa has added many new things to her shop as part of the celebration, so be sure to stop by and take a peek. If you use this code during check out SZBBHFREE you will receive free shipping and a free thank you gift. Click HERE to get your goodies before they are gone!

Thank you for stopping by and happy hopping - next your on to visit Windy Robinson

Summer Picnic

2011-08-28T07:44:00.000-07:00

Cole and I enjoyed our annual summer picnic durring out towns weekend carnival. We have done this for 4 years now and I love it every year! We start by enjoying the books in the park where kids gather and listen to stories read by teachers and parents. Then the kids get a hay ride to the school where their is an ice cream social waiting for them (and the parents to!). I took this photos of us as we were sitting under a shady tree eating ice cream.

I worked on this layout yesterday during the last hour of a 12 hours crop! I was in need of inspiration so I turned to one of my favorite places - Scrapbook Circle! I used their Garden Party Kit that I had with me and I found their most recent challenge of a summer memory - a perfect challenge for this photo! Lastly I was inspired by a sketch my friend had with her from Sassy Lil Sketches!

Thanks for visiting! I hope you get a chance to scrapbook some of your summer memories soon!

Paper Lovelies Kit & Sketch Thursday Sketch

2011-08-28T07:29:00.000-07:00

If you have not seen the current kit from Paper Lovelies you are missing out! I just adore this kit packed full of Jillie Bean Soup products! The colors are bright and fun! I created to layouts out of this kit and still have a TON of products left to use! The best part is the kit is only $15!!!!

I was so very happy with how my first layout turned out!! I was so stuck on what to do with this photo of my husband and I. I love the pic but was not sure what to do with it! Thanks this amazing kit and the help of an inspiring sketch from Sketchy Thursday I was able to make a layout I love!

New Sweet Peach Crop Shop Kits!!!

2011-08-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

Its my favorite time - new kits from Sweet Peach Crop Shop!!!! I cant wait to share with you my work with this months amazing kit! But you dont have to wait to get a kit for yourself - you have 2 amazing kits to choose from plus the add-on bundle!

Some new challenges!

2011-08-14T23:00:00.000-07:00

Today I am sharing with you my first challenge over at The Trail Makers!

The challenge is to create a birthday card out of NON birthday themed supplies!

This was fun!

I don't know about you but I never have enough cards on hand, so I was really excited when I found out about my first challenge! We needed to make a birthday card out of non birthday themed products - this is what makes it challenging! But I love a challenge! I started with the Basic Grey 'Out of Print' paper collection and since these were double sided papers I had so many beautiful designs to work with. I started with a large square card and cut paper just 1/4 inch shorter than the card and inked the edges. I then cut another square 1/2 inch shorter than the last and inked the edges. Next I created a boarder out of paper and a large scallop punch. Before I adhered the boarder I wrapped some twine around it. Then I added the Basic Greg Pop-Sticker to the center of the boarder. Of course then I need a sentiment. With coordination Basic Grey alpha stickers I wrote "Happy Day' and outlined it with black maker to make it sound out just a bit more. You can find these awesome Basic Grey products in the store!

Go HERE to link your card for a chance to win a great prize from The Paper Trail!

Workout #50- Be Inspired By A Book!

Ilove books, especially kids books! They are great for little minds and they can also be great to spark yourcrafty creativity! Use the bookcover below to inspire your next layout! Use the design of the cover, the color or the vintage vibe – becreative!

And of course the very talented and amazing Tessa at Precocious Paper has created another beautiful sampler to offer as this workouts prize!

Summer Twilight Sampler

I just love the diversity and creativity that the FITgirls used when coming up their layouts based on this book cover! Some used the color combo, the layout of the photos, the title and some even researched the meaning of the title and went on that!
Check them out HERE!

Fabric Fun

2011-08-14T06:12:00.000-07:00

I have had a itch to play with fabric latley so when I saw a turorial on how to make this little bag I knew I had to try it!

Now I like to sew but I am a bit of a perfectionist and I get easily frustrated when something does not work out well. When it comes to sewing if your half 1/4 inch it can mess the whole thing up!

I had my very talented mother in-law come over to supervise the construction of the first one and then the next day I made the second one myself. They are not as perfect as the one in the turorial but I am happy!

The one with the white button is the 1st one and the yellow button is the second one that I created on my own. After I made the first one with my mother in-law she recomended I make the outside pocket smaller on the next one and I agree with her, it looks better. Thanks for the help Jo!

Here is the next bag I want to make!

Speaking of Fabric........

I am lucky enough to get to be part of this fun event! Click the logo for info!

Recent Activity

2011-08-14T04:57:00.000-07:00

Its been a whirl wind kind of week! I have not made here for a post even though it was on my to do list all week. The biggest reason for not getting here is our new puppy!

Our new Puppy - Bauer

8 week old Boxer

We have talked about a dog for a while now and about a month ago Cole have us a BIG sob story! In a nut shell he told us that if he had a dog to play with he would not be so lonely! So we decided to keep our eye out for a puppy. Last Friday I say and ad in the paper for 8 week old boxer puppies (which is the kind of dog we wanted) and called and made a trip the next day to pick him up. We did not tell Cole where we were going and he was SO SURPRISED when we got their and I told him that puppy was coming home to be part of our family! So its been a week now and I had forgotten how much of your time puppies need. Bauer is a good boy and I am training him to come to my craft room with me when its 'Craft Time' - so far he likes to sleep under my desk while I work.

Before Bauer came a long I had time to play with my August 'Sweet' Kit from Sweet Peach Crop Shop. I am really in to yellow right now and this kit is packed full of sunshine yellow and its coordinated with bits of gray and pink - Stunning together!

Here are my layouts

This is one of my favorites. I just loved the vintage circus sticker that were in the kit an wanted to create a tent scene with them. I free hand cut paper and then made it temp with a baby whip so I could wrinkle and distress it. I then brushed each piece with brown ink and then build my tent around my photo. I love the look!

This layout is based on off of one of Keri's sketches - our amazing sketch artist at Sweet Peach! I had these mini pics of myself on a day I felt really good about myself! You know we all have days where we feel great an others where we feel blah. This layout is about how I hard I have worked over that past year and a half to exercise regularly and push myself to be in good shape (thanks for the encouragement Missy!). I was excited to use the gold rub-ons here - I wanted to order like 10 more sheet and decorate my walls with them!

I love these photos of Cole in the ferns that were taken during our family photo shoot. He was talking about how much he loves ferns because they were around when dinosaurs were alive. He has said he wants to be a paleontologist when he grows up! I free cut all the flowers out of a sheet a paper in the kit and layered them and added bling. One of my favorite parts of the kit are the chip board butterflies!

Click HERE to see a tutorial on my butterfly.

Head over to Sweet Peach to get your hand out this months kits!

Scrap N Chat Day & Retreat Reminder

2011-08-14T04:21:00.000-07:00

***This is for all my local scrapbookers***

Scrap N Chat Days

Every month I host 'Scrap N Chat Days' at my home. This is chance girls to get away to enjoy a whole day dedicated to scrapbooking/ paper crafting with others who share the same enjoyment! You can expect a fun time, good food and to learn something new! Below is the list of my upcoming Scarp N Chat Days. You must RSVP to me at szenger@twcny.rr.com 3 days prior to the event. RSVP early there are only 24 seats available.

Saturday, August 27th - 9am-9pm, Cost $20 1/2 Day $10 - RSVP Soon!

Saturday, September 24th - 9am-5pm, Cost $10

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Crop 'Til You Drop Retreat

October 21^nd- 23^th

2011

I am happy to be hosting my 8th 'Crop 'Til You Drop Retreat'! This is an entire weekend for you to work on your scrapbook album and other projects. You will also have access to scrapbooking tools, classes and vendors.

Registration forms are coming in daily with many friends returning and lots of new faces!!! Over half of the seats are already filled so do not delay send your registration form in today!!!

Click the links below for the full Brochure and Registration Form.

Brochure

Registration Form

Up Coming Scrap N Chat Days

2011-08-04T16:44:00.001-07:00

For all my local scrapbookers!

Every month I host 'Scrap N Chat Days' at my home. This is chance girls to get away to enjoy a whole day dedicated to scrapbooking/ paper crafting with others who share the same enjoyment! You can expect a fun time, good food and to learn something new! Below is the list of my upcoming Scarp N Chat Days. You must RSVP to me at szenger@twcny.rr.com 3 days prior to the event. RSVP early there are only 24 seats available.

Saturday, August 27th - 9am-9pm, Cost $20 1/2 Day $10

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Saturday, September 24th - 9am-5pm, Cost $10

Sneak Peaks From Sweet Peach Crop Shop

2011-08-03T16:53:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I shared a layout with you that I made with the latest kit from Sweet Peach. Well, I just cant help myself - here are some more sneak peaks of layout to come!!!

YUMMY!!! I just love this kit!

I know its going fast to dont wait any longer, visit Sweet Peach Crop Shop today!

First Layout For The Paper Trail Store

2011-08-02T15:24:00.000-07:00

Today I want to share with you a layout I made with some new products from The Paper Trail Store.

I am very excite to be getting a little box of goodies each month from them to create with.

I used the Orbit paper collection from Crate Paper, which was great because it was double sided so I had lots of options. I also used coordinating alpha stickers for my title.

Be sure to check out this collection and more at The Paper Trail Store and for some fun ideas and up coming challenge check out the Trail Makers Blog.

New Workout At ScrapFIT & A New Kit At Sweet Peach!

2011-08-01T14:12:00.000-07:00

Its the first of a new month and you know that means, new stuff!!! Its time for our next Workout over at ScrapFIT!

Workout #49 ' Put A Banner On It'

Banners of all kinds have become popular in the scrapbooking world. They can be pre-made or hand made, big or small. You can show case your title on it or just decorate it to go with your layout. Lets see how you showcase your banner creativity!

I am so very pleased to have our this months sponsor!! She is a very very talented lady and has an incredible Etsy store filled with her hand made goodies! Please welcome Tessa from

Tessa creates new a 'sampler' of product each month! Each sampler has is own unique flower, ribbon and colors! For this workout she offering one lucky winner this sampler!

Pink Limeade Sampler

What an amazing prize!!! Those colors are so bright and vibrant and the work impeccable!

I had fun creating my banner!

I am really enjoying scrapping my family photo shoot pics! This is one of my favorites!

I also want to let all you Sweet Peach Crop Shop Fans know that I used the newest Kit to create this layout!

I am in LOVE with this kit! So many wonderful paper and I have hug thing for yellow right now so it came at a good time! Dont delay if you want a kit of your own! Head on over to Sweet Peach now!

I will have more layouts to come through out the month!