Friday Funny

Okay, this had me crying.  It is TOTALLY silly for sure and actually sort of dumb but it made me laugh-if you are a Star Wars fan you may just enjoy this one:

Merry Christmas

Traditions.

Today I was thinking on traditions for Christmas we have a few.

My husband's family grew up going to grandma's house for Christmas eve dinner--they ALWAYS had Hawaiian Haystacks.  Our family has them on the EVE of Christmas eve.   On Christmas eve we have a family party (my side)-exchange gifts and have a white elephant exchange.  My kids look forward to it and it's a good time with great food.
Another tradition my brothers and I did was to all sleep in the same room on Christmas eve--my kids have carried this one on--they just visit and giggle and have fun.
We also read from Luke 2 and watch this video:

Traditionally Christmas day my parents also drive to where the grandkids are to see their new "treasures".  It's nice because then the kids can show off and visit with their grandparents.

For New Years it's a bit different.  A few years in a row we had a Lord of the Ring marathon-eating food and watching the movies together.  Last year we missed out for different reasons, my 14 year old is trying to convince the older two it would be FUN! ;)

What are some of your traditions?  It's never to late to start one or change one up!

happy new year

I can't believe we are almost at the end of another year!  SERIOUSLY-time has flown and a lot has happened in our household, many changes.  Graduation, college, school teams, growth...the normal stuff that happens.  I remember this night like it was yesterday-it also helps that I made a little video and shared it on Instagram-the giggling was the best, my daughter and I had the most fun with the sparklers, just she and I.  She actually came back from her bonfire early so we could celebrate the New Year together, my picture is a screen shot of that video printed out with my Instax printer:

closer to the title:

The creative process of this layout was really a lot of fun and I am pleased with the results.  

For the exclusive digital cut INCLUDED in the Everyday Moments kit, I used white card stock, I then misted with color shine; Gold and Navy Blue.  In real life it REALLY pops--I wanted to mimic the light in the picture.  I decided I wanted the letters to stand out a bit so I put pop dots on the back of each of the letters.

family.

I've noticed that I use this title quite a bit, but most of my layouts are about my family!  This one was a simple bit of layering:

a closeups:

I cut the back piece 8.5 x 4, I then hand cut the lighter brown pieces and layered them carefully on top of the first piece.  EASY-PEASY!

loved.

So a little over a year ago was the last time my girl played soccer for her high school-weird to think that as she played soccer since the age of 4.  ANYWAY, she and her friend wanted me to take pictures of them in their varsity uniforms.  These three pictures are just three I took:

LOVED that she found these poses on Pinterest and wanted me to recreate them, it was a SUPER fun challenge to figure out how to do it!  Here is a closeup of the layered title:

My focus was using the embellishments included in the Everyday Stories kit.  I had to be creative because where we live we don't get snow--I LOVED the colors in the tags, and stickers-I'm really pleased with this layered affect.

Friday Funnies-7 deadly sins

This is pretty cheesy but it made me laugh-and what's even funnier is that my son and his friends were over and for English they just got through reading Dante's Inferno:

taking a second look. Cold

For my layout today the challenge I had at the Scrapbook Circle blog was to take a previous layout I had made and make another inspired by it!
Here is the original:

And here is the take on it:

This time around the elements that inspired me from the original were the black in the background and the bow–I also enjoyed recreating the wood veneer pieces with what was included in the Everyday Story kit.

I think the thing that I enjoy the most is that even though you “lift” a layout it becomes something on it’s own because the products are different.

Have you ever lifted yourself? It sure is FUN!  I hope that you are taking the time to be in the pictures you are taking this time of year and making the moments, MEMORIES!  Have a GREAT day!

The Second Season.

are you looking for an entertaining fun book to read?  I really enjoyed this, it's a mix of Pride and Prejudice and awesome! ;)  Here is a short clip of the read and a link:

The Second Season

Dec. 25th

Crazy town!  Tomorrow is DECEMBER?!  Time has just flown by and I can totally see it in this fun picture of my kiddos!  I seriously love that I took this picture, it is one of the only times we handmade cards and everyone pitched in--now we just print them out! ;)
For this layout my focus was using the washi tape that can be found in the Wonderland kit.

I actually used the backing from the packaging and carefully created this sheet of washi--it was fun and challenging to get everything matching up the way I wanted.  Once that was done I added some simple embellishments.
Happy LAST day of November to ya!

Presents.

oh how I love these boys!  They have both grown up to be such good kids-funny thing was when I got this page done and they looked at it they knew EXACTLY what my younger son was opening.  Cars from the Dukes of Hazzard!  They loved watching the original, in fact my younger son is going through the seasons again--they LOVED and LOVE cars!
For this layout I was challenged to just use the Hot Cocoa add on, which sadly is SOLD out, it was a challenge because I had less product to work with but I loved making the page smaller to work with the 6" square paper!
Thanks for the visit today!!

pinterest food find, lemonade.

oh, now I LOVE lemonade!  I'm not much of a soda drinker, but when I can get some fresh, delicious lemonade-my tummy is happy!

recipe and picture credit: Simple Recipes

For more intense lemon flavor, grate the zest from one fresh lemon and add the zest to the simple syrup as you are making it. Once the sugar has dissolved in the water remove from heat and let the zest seep in the simple syrup for several minutes, then strain out the zest when you add the simple syrup to the lemon juice.

Ingredients

• 1 cup white, granulated sugar (can reduce to 3/4 cup)
• 1 cup water (for the simple syrup)
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 2 to 3 cups cold water (to dilute)

First make a "simple syrup". Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Stir so that the sugar dissolves completely and remove from heat.

While the water is heating for the simple syrup, juice your lemons. Depending on the size of the lemons, 4 to 6 of them should be enough for one cup of juice.

Pour the juice and the simple syrup sugar water into a serving pitcher. Add 2 to 3 cups of cold water and taste. Add more water if you would like it to be more diluted (though note that when you add ice, it will melt and naturally dilute the lemonade). If the lemonade is a little sweet for your taste, add a little more straight lemon juice to it.

Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes.

Celebrate.

I remember this day!  I remember finding this FANTASTIC deal on a very cool hoodie-this girl wore the TAR out of this and now she is in college at a rival school to NAU (my alma mater), same conference though.  Funny how time and experience change where you think you want to go in your life! ;)

 closeup:

For this layout I used the Wonderland kit from Scrapbook Circle, this layout was actually very simple.  Simple in the fact I just layered things on top of each other.  I even embraced the fact that my sewing machine ran out of thread!  I really liked the look and kept it! 

Snow.

In my part of Arizona we don't get much snow-but it has happened!  We have to travel to far away locations like Utah to find it! ;)  This picture was taken back in 2008, CRAZY how fast time flies!

 closeup of the title work:

For this layout I used the Wonderland kit by Scrapbook Circle--the background was done with only two sheets of pattern paper!

Younique Black Friday!

Holiday deals start TODAY noon MST!! 7 bundles-7 days!  Each bundle will be available for 24 hours or while supplies last; there are NO limits.  Each deal is a full eye or lip look at 30% off--sweet!  Can't wait!!  You can order HERE.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Joy.

Today marks the day we have internet after 5 days of not having it.  Sometimes that would be a way good thing, except we use it for homework, communication, and other stuff--it's crazy!  While I was away from the net I created this fun little Joy sign:

 I ended up wrapping the wires that connected the letters, it also doubled to help hang the sign.  I just used things I already I had on hand.
Here are some closeups of the embellishments:

 thanks for the visit today!  FYI I purchased my letters at Michaels.

Younique.

So last week I became a Younique presenter.  What is Younique is a unique makeup company with a
mission to:

Uplift

Empower

Validate

and ultimately build self-esteem in 

Women

Around the World

They also have a foundation which has a mission in fighting sexual abuse, healing the one, protecting the many and defending innocence. 

Not only do they have powerful mission statements and an empowering foundation they have really GREAT makeup!  I currently have a virtual party open the link is HERE. They stand behind their products, if you would like to order something the end of the party says the 14th but you can order before then! If you have any questions please feel free to ask!  They ship world wide and just opened in Italy--pretty sweet!

Thanks for letting me share my happy news with you today!

Preview of Wonderland by Scrapbook Circle

Today I wanted to share a short video I put together featuring my layout for the month of November using the kits from Scrapbook Circle:

Nov. 1-Hello Wonderland!

Okay-so time just keeps ZIPPING by!  At my house we just finished swim season, and are still in the beginning of Lacrosse for the fall.  We are always hopping-but I wouldn't have it ANY other way!  I wanted to quickly share with you the AMAZING kits over at Scrapbook Circle for the month of November:

The Main kit is called Wonderland--super fun mix of colors (traditional and non traditional for Christmas, if you click on the red link there are MORE pictures and details!):

One of the addons is Wishlist (again for more description and detail click the highlighted red link):

One last add on I would like to share is the paper add-on, do you ever find yourself not wanting to cut a pattern paper up because you LOVE it SO much!  This would solve that problem!!  This kit includes 9 patterned papers plus one red corrugated cardstock!  The link is HERE:

I can tell you that I have MORE than enough to create my layouts, cards, and creations with these kits--they are PACKED!!

As a reminder, with your main kit you get a digital cut EXCLUSIVE to Scrapbook Circle AND digital print files also EXCLUSIVE to Scrapbook Circle. 

Pinterest food find--all bran muffins.

A favorite childhood memory of mine is when my mom made these:

I was wondering if I could even find the ingredients and I DID at Winco!  The key ingredient is the All-Bran cereal, so if you can find that you are GOLDEN.  I found some alternate ways of making this more healthy--looks like this picture was ripped right from one of the boxes (the current box does NOT have the recipe on it):

I haven't tried the alternate recipes yet but the original was a HIT with orange juice and served warm!

Beautiful.

I haven't shared this layout yet because I had a plan, a REALLY good one...I filmed my process video-the quality of the video was so disappointing that I didn't even try to edit it--but I WILL try again!  So here for your viewing pleasure is my layout I made in August with the September kit, Shine Bright by Scrapbook Circle.

 Closeups:

 Thanks for letting me share one of my new favorite layouts with you!

fun capture.

all I gotta say is SERIOUSLY people!  It's not that hard to stand still and get your picture taken...That being said I dislike getting my picture taken but I know that my family will want SOMETHING of me without making a weird/crazy face...

 closeup:

one side note, I was glad for this impromptu family pic and for the friend who just kept taking the pictures!

fabulous smile.

The Weekender kit by Scrapbook Circle is full of FUN colors and embellishments--I probably sound like a broken record but I'm serious when I say it! ;)
This picture was taken this year on Mother's Day--she enjoyed taking her picture with the grandkids that could be there--love that their clothes were all so colorful--made using more papers from the kit EASY!

hey you!

For my layout today I used The Weekender kit by Scrapbook Circle.  The embellishments in this kit are FABULOUS!

 Yes, that is Ella.  This picture is older but I still remember what I was doing...taking pictures of layouts from a higher vantage point.  She was upstairs and ran downstairs because she could hear the camera working.  She loves to get her picture taken--seriously a WEIRDO!

I loved being able to use a more bold background cardstock--it's a stretch for me BUT I am also using up my stash of product!

Pinterest Food find, overnight oats.

Okay so cooked oatmeal is NOT my favorite--REALLY not my favorite.  But I thought I would give oats another try, my grandpa would make his own version of overnight oats, it intrigued/grossed me out...So as an adult I decided to see if I could palette it.  GUESS what?!  I found a recipe I really enjoy.  When I make this recipe I usually split it in half because one "serving" seems to be to much for me.  here is the base recipe and then there are different recipes for flavored, I have added the two that I've tried:

Recipe and photo credits: Wholefully

Ingredients:

     ⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt (I use Fage)
     ½ cup (heaping) rolled oats
     ⅔ cup unsweetened milk of choice
     1 tablespoon chia seeds or ground flaxmeal (I've only used Chia seeds)
     ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
     Pinch of salt
     0-2 tablespoons honey or coconut syrup

Instructions:

Whisk together all ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Spoon into a jar with a tight-fitting lid.

Close and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight before eating.

Strawberry Cheesecake:

1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt

½ cup (heaping) rolled oats

⅔ cup unsweetened milk of choice

1 tablespoon chia seeds or ground flax meal

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

0-2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup

¼ cup chopped fresh strawberries

3 tablespoons softened cream cheese

Zest and juice of ½ lemon

Chocolate Peanut Butter:

⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt

½ cup (heaping) rolled oats

⅔ cup unsweetened milk of choice

1 tablespoon chia seeds or ground flaxmeal

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons natural peanut butter

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Pinch of salt

0-2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup

I currently store these in old canning jars, they have glass lids.  But you can also store these in any airtight container you have.

Etsy shop.

So recently I have reopened my etsy shop to sell some handcrafted items, stamps, dies, and other crafting items.  The items in my shop come from my mother's craft room, she donated items to my daughter for her college fund.  So the proceeds go to help a hard working college student!  Some of these items are new and some are lightly loved-I list every week please check out my shop--and thanks for the support!  ScrappyWonderWoman (click on the name for a direct link or at the top)

loved.

I recently found this picture in my stash of pictures and I REMEMBER this night, mostly because my sweet 80's hair was blowing as one unit and I was concerned that my aqua net quaffed hair would be messed up!  Consequently convertibles aren't necessarily my favorite- I have long hair and I don't like the idea of it blowing in my face or having to tie it down to "enjoy" the ride-guess it's just not my thing...
Closeup:

I loved the embellishments in the The Weekender kit by Scrapbook Circle, so fun!

Jillibean Soup! Happy.

I'm so excited to share that I have been invited to be a guest designer for Jillibean Soup!  There are some INCREDIBLY talented ladies on their new team, and I feel so honored!  I wanted to quickly share with you one of the pages that I made for my design team entry:

These are just some of the pictures I took for my daughter's senior photo shoot--love that we have a Riparian Preserve just down the street, made for some pretty backgrounds without having to drive to far away!

For this layout I used the Healthy Hello Soup collection, Adhesive sequins, cardstock tags, and Foil Tags-Hello.  

My favorites about his layout:

*I love the foiled Happy Tag--pop of gold!

*I love that I got to use an unusual colored cardstock as the background--this happens to be my girl's favorite color!

*the off set paper on the background.

*sequins

*and FOUR pictures!

Thanks for the visit today and letting me share my happy news!