Grandmas's Recipe - Challenge Yourself #17

Hey guys.  Spring has sprung and I'm finding myself outside more and more...  which is why I'm a day late on this post.  I got caught up with yard work yesterday and lost track of time.

Today, it's raining, so I'm inside working.

Be sure to check out the latest challenge at

Challenge YOUrself #17: Around Here

Record some of your daily blessings (snippets of your normal day)

Remember to include YOU in the photo :)

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I love to cook, but I especially love to reinvent recipes with healthier ingredients and fewer calories.

I'm fortunate enough that I don't have picky eaters in my house.  They are willing to try just about anything.

I was really drawn to the BG paper.  The big gray and white stripes yelled to me.  Then, I was flipping through a new paper pack I found at Michael's, the sunburst was screaming too.  I thought maybe I should just combine the two.

So, I cut out some of the sunburst and voila...

I mention all the time that I love to search through my scrap bin and this page is no different.  The layers under the photo is all from scraps.

I've gotten away from journaling, but not on this one.  How could I?  The story behind my grandma's cookbook is a must tell.

Thanks for stopping by!

My Crop Weekend #3

Let's continue on with the pages that I completed on my scrap weekend a few weeks back.

 If you've noticed, I do not scrap in chronological order?  Do you?

I think it all depends on what inspires me at the time.  Sometimes, I first dig through my scraps box and find a color combination that I want to work with.  There has been times I've designed pages with no picture in mind figuring I would find the perfect match later.

As a matter of fact, I attended an crop for an entire weekend with NO pictures.  I forgot them at home.  Most of the pages that were completed that weekend mainly consisted of only 1 photo.

It was difficult, but not impossible.  And to be honest, once I got over the shock of not having photos, it was downright fun.  Everyone should give it a try!

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As for these pages, I had photos...

This was last summer.  My brother has a powerboat and belongs to LEOPA (Lake Erie Offshore Performance Association).  Each year, they have a poker run on there boats...  It's truly quite amazing to see that many boats literally fly (at times) across the lake.  And yes, we really went 90 MPH on the water!  Yikes!

I knew I wanted to do a strip of embellies up the page and last time I tried this, I was not thrilled with the outcome.  This one on the other hand turned out better.  Also, go me!  I used pink!

Let me just say, I LOVE this color combo.  I wasn't positive it would work, but I feel that the black really grounds this page.  And as I type this out and look at the page, I realize I forgot to add a title.  OOPS.

Are you in love with that huge hounds tooth or what?

I have those pages every now and again that just feel so amateur looking.  That is how I feel about the next one.  I'm not sure what it is, maybe the red, white, and blue is just so predictable.  Either way, here it is!

This is my son Sawyer, I am so proud of him.  These pictures were taken last year at the State Meet, which is just a couple weeks away.  He works year around for this moment.  We have other meets, but according to him, they are just practice meets preparing him for this meet.  It's amazing to see the improvement!

Thanks for stopping by!

My Crop Weekend... #2

Okay folks, I'm back with more of my pages that I completed...

Sometimes, you just can't love ALL of your pages... which is the case with this next one.  We traveled to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan last summer.  I hadn't been there since my college days over 20 years ago.  We used to cliff dive into Lake Superior and I wanted to show my son where we used to do that (if I could remember how to get there).  You never know what the weather will give you in Michigan, so be prepared for anything.  Middle of July and the temperature of the lake was 46 degrees and the wind was whipping like it was a blizzard.

My youngest son, Sawyer, is quite adventurous.  He is game for anything you through at him.  Looking at this, I wish I had lightened up the photo before scrapping it.  Sometimes, you just have to glue it and move on.

I love layering and to be honest, frames over pictures seems to be my new thing.  I love the way they add dimension to the page.

This is our new puppy.  His name is Knox.

I love how simple this page is.  Very few layers and very few colors.  I think the photo speaks for itself.

Thanks for stopping by...

Bucket List - Challenge Yourself #16

It's that time again!  I love it when it is time to reveal a new challenge.  Your creative wheels really start to churn and your excited to lock yourself away to create some goodness.

I am fortunate enough to be a SAHM and I have time during the week to be creative, but I know others only have a few minutes to themselves.  I hope you find time to participate in this month's challenge at Challenge YOUrself.  You'll be glad that you did.

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Challenge YOUrself #16:  Your Bucket List 

What are some of the things you want to do in your life?   Have you recently achieved something on you bucket list?
Tell us about it.

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My bucket list seems to be forever growing, and if I included that list, there would be no room for a picture of me.  And since a requirement of this challenge is to include a photo of yourself, I decided to create a...

Travel Bucket List for 2015.



What is really cool about this photo is that I am standing in front of a vintage map that used to belong to my Aunt Oda and Uncle Al.  They did not have children and were able to travel the world.  This map contains pins of every location they had been...  Let me just say that the map is covered with them.

I am continuing the tradition with my family.

Tons of layers on this page.  My go to spot is my scraps bin.  I love digging through and finding bits and pieces that just fit together.  I don't work from kits often.  I prefer to create my own kit.

I usually start with a pile of scraps and embellies on my table that "might" fit.  I piece them together until I'm satisfied with the look.

Our big trip of the year is a 2-week trip to Yellowstone National Park.  This has always been a dream of my husbands.  We will be pulling our camper from Michigan.  Should be quite a road trip!

A little closer look at what landed on the page.

Thanks for stopping by.

My Crop Weekend...

Oh boy, have I been buy or what?  I was super excited to host my first Girls' Weekend at our new cabin.  We've been working on it for a year now trying to get it ready for guests... since it was vacant for 20 years when we bought it, there was a TON to do.  If you are interested in seeing what we've done, you can check out my other blog of the before and afters at Style for Your Home.  I know that I need to update that blog too, so that will be next... LOL

Anyway, I managed 27 pages over the weekend, so I took a few snapshots of them and will be posting them throughout the week, so sit back and enjoy my labor of love!

This photos of this first page were taken somewhere in Michigan.  My mother-in-law and I rode our bikes across the state a couple of years ago and came across this cemetery.  I didn't want the page to appear creepy, so I lightened everything up.

One of the headstones was from 1894, hence, the title...

My son was being promoted from Cub Scouts into Boy Scouts along with the rest of his troop. But couldn't manage a decent photo of them, just silliness!

I love when you search through your "scrap" box of papers and find the perfect leftover piece and it just seems to fit perfectly.  This is what happened with the blue and white paper with the circles cut out.  Had to find a home for it on this page.

This photo is of our old dog, Dakota.  We had to put him down some time ago, but I'm slowly working on an album of him.  It makes my sad, so I can only do a page every so often.  His is missed so much my our family.  Here, he is hiking with us through the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee.

Not only is the dog old, but the BG paper must be close to vintage.  My paper supply is ridiculous.  I think I have a hoarding problem with paper.  Just saying...  I thought it fit perfectly for this page.

To add a little dimension, I added the wood chippies, the corrugated clouds, and the frame over the picture.  You can't tell, but I used liquid glass on some of the dots on the BG.

Hope you enjoyed...  come back again soon.

I AM - Challenge YOUself # 15

Oooh, how I love me some color challenges...  until I saw PINK...  I'll be the first to admit that I am not a pink kinda girl, but I really loved taking part in the challenge.  I love the deep, saturated colors in this challenge.  It was muted and full of pastels. (Which, BTW, I have very few of.)

Stop on over at Challenge YOUrself, and check it out for yourself.

Here is what I came up with...

I'll be the first to admit, the BG paper looks a little crazy on my computer screen.  Don't stare at it too long, it will appear to be moving on you.  Yikes!  It's really not that bad in person! LOL.  And because of that, it's difficult to see the work "CRAZY", which is exactly what this page is.  My husband and I were at a wedding and had a couple cocktails...

This is what happens when you have a photo booth! Ha.

My pinks are a bit lighter in the picture than what is really on the page...  odd how that works, isn't it? Or, should I say "crazy"?

I love Heidi Swapp stuff!  The "favorite" is hers!

Thanks for stopping by!

Unplug - Challenge Yourself #14

My One Little Word (OLW) is just like a New Year's resolution, except so much easier to keep.

This year, I choose UNPLUG.  This is something my entire family struggles with, so moving into 2015, we have time restrictions in place for all screen time.  Of course, there are exceptions to the rule, but everyone is aware of how much time we spend in front of a screen and what that can do to your brain.

What is your OLW?  Join us at Challenge YOUrself and discover what it is and how it can improve your year!

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Challenge YOUrself #14: One Little Word

Choose a word that you will focus on and reflect upon all through the year and create a layout that celebrates your chosen word.  

One Little Word was created by Ali Edwards and is defined as a word that you invite into your life and let it speak to YOU.  You focus on and reflect upon this word as you go about your daily life.  There’s no right or wrong word. The main thing to remember is that this is YOUr word.

If you are new too this, you can learn more about Ali Edward's One Little Word concept HERE.

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Take a look at my page for inspiration.

Here in Michigan, our winters are dark and gloomy, so I decided to play in lighter, brighter colors.  After choosing my photo, I searched for a BG paper.  That's usually my jumping off point.  My next stop is my paper scraps bin.  I'm not one to waste, so I have bits and pieces of paper that I would almost consider vintage... you never know when they could come into play.

I found the flower paper and the paper from the circle in my scraps. I don't have much pink in my collection, so I had to dig deep to find the big flowers, which I believe came in a pack I purchased from Peachy Cheap. (Slight addiction there, so I had to stop receiving their daily emails).

A few little enamel dots and a Thickers title and fabric brads and voila, done.

The "stitching" is actually rub-ons.

Are you wondering about the "Beach Bum".  Well, in Traverse City, Michigan, they have a minor league baseball team called the Beach Bums, which is kinda funny since we they are in the snow belt.

I'd love to see what you create!