Fitness Planning for Dec. 12- 25.

So I have missed a week of showing you my fitness for the week, but you didn't miss much on either week. Seems the cold weather and tons of snow liked to take a hold of my plans! But I did manage to get some work outs in even with it all plus the holidays! 

Still keeping the same routine so it's not too exciting but alternating arm/leg work outs with a run and cardio warm up! :) I just like decorating each week so at least something looks different even if it isn't the work out! Ha!  

I also have been posting some pictures of my work out on Instagram ( Welcome new followers! ) - loving playing with the photo editing apps. I think this new one I've been trying is called PicsArt. Awesome fun filters- makes my work out photos look more exciting, bahaha. 

Don't ask about the face, I have no idea! It's hard to plank and take timer selfies :) But I love the photo, just makes me smile for some ungodly reason! I end each work out with planks and other core work outs.  This week I ran a total of 7 miles, which I thought wasn't too bad with missing a few days due to weather. 

We won't talk much about this week, a whole lot of not feeling good, and Christmas got me some itty bitty work outs. I just ran a total of 4.25 miles but it's better than nothing. I'm hoping to step it up more this week but I still have been having some tummy issues and so I've been doing small work outs.  Hopefully by time the New Years comes, I'll be feeling fresh and rejuvenated.  

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!  This is also my 100th entry!! Too bad it wasn't more exciting but I have great news and plans for the new years coming up soon so stay tuned!! :)

xo. Renee

Happy Holidays.

I'm always inspired by people on Instagram but lord if I ever write down who it is so I can give them credit, I promise this wasn't my idea. Although- I would love to say I was that creative first. The tree. That is the creative genius of some amazing scrapbooker on Instagram that I lifted.  

I took one of my favorite new papers that I got at Paper Issues by Photo Play. It has all different forms of pretty christmas trees .. can't get enough! I cut it up in strips, than cut in to the paper just a little bit to create some fringe look on the bottom. I also had bought a bunch of different colors of this adhesive fringe banner from Michaels. So I did every other one the paper as well as the green banner every other on to a scrap piece of paper-which I then cut out in a shape of a tree. ( Did any of that make sense? ) Wham! 

So while creating this said tree, I thought it would go perfect with a picture of my sweet kitty I took next to the tree. We have a dog, so we've resorted to a small tree in which we sit on a card table in front of the window. We. are. classy.  Anyways, it had snowed the night before so I woke up to my cat admiring the world outdoors from the card table.

The rest of the embellishments are literally a hodge podge of past christmas goodies I had compiled in a box. I was excited to be able to use up a bunch of the past stuff but of course, I have a ton more I could use. WHO CANT LET GO OF CHRISTMAS STUFF?!  Me. That's whom. It'll probably be doing a whole lot of Christmas layouts to come in this month (aka week.)- whew thank goodness it's December and acceptable :D

I do hope though, if I don't blog before Christmas- that you all have a blessed holiday- however you choose to celebrate. <3 p="">
xo.

Renee

Fitness Planning from Dec.5-11

Well I'm a couple days late then I wanted to be with this post! But with the weather blistering cold and my car not starting-my trip to the gym was cancelled so blogging it will be!  I have been doing a great job keeping up with my work outs- and thankful for my new Happy Planner Mini to log all my work outs in!  I think the mini is more my style - it's small, to the point. Also not going to lie- I've been kind of obsessed with decorating it :) I'm a nerd.

This week was very similar to last week- in which I started each day- alternating between riding the bike or elliptical for 15 minutes for a warm up.   

Monday - I did an arm work out that I found on Pinterest, I think I touched base on that last week. I'm a Pinterest stalker and find random work outs and save them to a folder to try later.  Followed by a 1.5 mile run. 

Tuesday - Leg work out (Again, the Pinterest thing.) with a 1.25 run afterwards.

Wednesday - I just did my cardio warm up and 1.75 mile run.

Thursday - Arm work out and a two mile run. It's been so long since I've ran 2 miles straight, it felt so needed.  I'm taking things slow- trying to not to injure myself and find my running again. Sometimes it sucks to take time off, but sometimes it just makes things exciting again. 

Friday- took a rest day :)

Saturday-  did a leg work out  along with a 1.25 mile run.

Sunday- 1.5 run and an arm work out.

Also each day, I do 30 second planks- side, elbow, and full plank. Sometimes also some russian twist with a kettlebell. I'm working it up slowly with the planks, I've always been horrible with them!! But momma needs some abs. 

Total miles : 9.25 miles

I love using the bright color stickers as well as all the fitness stickers! I 'm also trying to keep track of various things I need to do also- but that part is somewhat hard. Don't ask why. I'm a huge list person- I make them all the time at work to take home. (Always remember stuff when I'm doing something else, logical.) I'm just so excited that so far it's been working really well on both the fitness and planner front! This week has been a bit of a hassle but I'll tell you about it next post!!

xo. Renee

Autumn Drinks.

I love me all things fall, it's my favorite season! I'm sure you've caught on to that, maybe not! But I love all the pumpkin things, all the orange colors. What's not to love? So when I found this Hello Fall line from Simple Stories- I milk it til the last scrap is left.  Just like every drop of both of my favorite fall drinks! 

For this challenge at the Paper Issues Fall Crop, we had to make a page based off a mood  board designed by one of their fabulous ladies. Of course, it was all things fall so I couldn't wait to get down with these last fall photos. 

Being I was running low on what's left of this line, I fussy cut things out of the pocket page papers to use as embellishments. Love using each bit of the papers that I can, which makes my scrap pile look crazy huge as I can't let anything go! I love how it turned out even with little bits and pieces! 

I'm also having a hard time letting go of all these things fall but the snow has fallen today so I know I need to move on to my Christmas drinks that I'm sure I'll be showing you in a great page soon! 

xo. Renee

Winter.

Back in November, gosh- has it literally been a month since the Fall Crop? Okay, So I'm drastically behind on getting these pages up for you to look at but being this one is winter- maybe its perfect? 

This challenge was called "Don't Fall off the Edge..." where you had to focus on the center of the page for your layout / design. 

I can't get enough of the new line from Crate Paper called Cocoa and Snow. It's so dang cute and the colors are just fun for the wintertime instead of the normal darker shades. I don't have a ton of pictures from the wintertime so I went trolling on to my sister's facebook page and saw this cute picture of her with her husband. I thought it would work perfectly for this line!  

I loved the challenge of trying to not use the edge- I got a little close but I have a tendency to use the edge in a lot of my pages so it was something new for me. I used the middle for the photo and cluster I built with the embellishments. Than built the up and down with word stickers from the collection. I had to add the little girl and boy - they are just precious stickers with falling snow. 

I hope you enjoy this page! I just love this collection and can't get enough of it- expect it to pop up again, or a lot :P Also, take the time to challenge yourself in creating a page that's unusual for your style, never know- may become your new favorite! 

xo. Renee

Momma's Girls.

When I saw one of the girls do a page similar for one of the challenges ... yes, on the Paper Issues Fall Crop ; I had to lift it. Which I did for the challenge : I'll have what she's having.  It was a challenge where you lifted someone's page that you've seen through out the weekend crop.  

I love the Maggie Holmes' Gather Collection. It has one sheet with what looks like little bits of paper lined up, so I cut out some of the strips of paper  and layered them up along the side of my 12x12 paper. Tried to make a straight line to stitch across. Judge if you must, but that's my great sewing job! I liked how it turned out though, pulled up some of the edges to make it look like it's layered up messier. 

I layered behind on the left side of the photo with some of the ephemera and built a cluster at the bottom with some of the chipboard pieces as well. I love this photo of my sister and my momma with me when I was in the hospital as a beeb.  I actually forgot that I had scrapped this photo before but this one I just happen to enjoy better! The colors just go well with the vintage look of the photo, I think. 

I'm so glad I caught that girl's page for one of the challenges that inspired this page! This page turned out just beautiful in my opinion!  Again, as always, join us at Paper Issues'  Facebook page for more fun or get these supplies from her store @ Paper Issues.  

xo. Renee

Sweet Family Hugs.

Can't stop, won't stop.....with my endless post from the Paper Issue's Fall Crop. I really should've spread these out all month long, but my head has been in a hundred other places than the blog. It's really a goal I want to work on in the coming new year to blog on a more respectful schedule. But back to the topic at hand, everything Paper Issues, as always. I really should.... stop being addicted but I have issues.  

This challenge was the Fan Favorite; all items that the group had picked in various polls were selection to be put together in one page. White cardstock, one photo, ephemera, color blue, something striped, gold accents, and >10 words in journaling.  Okay, I'm on it Kelly.

I again, went digging in my scraps and stash for something I could use together. I found what I had left of the Amy Tangerine's Better Together line- perfect for this picture of my sister and her daughter!  I never know how to use rub-ons, but I get them everytime- you never know when you'll make a layout that needs rub-ons. In this case, I found a layout on pinterest that had a design similar to this using rub-ons- so I lifted the idea for this page! I built foundation for the picture to be on the bottom,  outlined the edge softly with a pencil- than proceeded to basically "rub on vomit" all over the page focusing on the center.  I think it turned out pretty awesome!

I journaled along the outer edge of the paper about the great relationship of my sister and her daughter. They go on girl dates all the time, it makes this aunt a bit jealous!! I would love to join them!! This was right before they went to a Meghan Trainor concert... my niece knows so much popular music. I must have been seriously deprived as a child.

This page turned out so fun and colorful, I love it! Come join me on the Paper Issues Facebook page!!

<3 p="" renee="">

Adorable Halloween.

I know I have been gone for a while, I'm sorry for that! But I have been scrapping up a storm. Paper Issues had their Fall Crop earlier this month, and why yes- I am a little late showing you all my pages that I had completed. I hope you enjoy them nonetheless and join Paper Issues on their monthly challenges that are posted in their Facebook group! 

One of the challenges was 50 Shades of Fall which we were challenged to pick one color and stick to it! Use your color in various shades as well as black and white.  I picked the color pink, clearly but maybe you missed it, I'm not sure :-P. 

I loved these Halloween photos of my sister's sweet kiddos! They both happen to dress in pink costumes, so I decided to work with that! I dug through my scraps and put together a bunch of pink items- which was great for me- I always need that stash to shrink. One of these days, it'll be gone.. yeah, right. But either way, I also used to color gold which was tied in from the paper- also was on a lot of my pink embellishments.

I loved how this page turned out, it was one of my favorites from the crop! I wouldn't have thought to do this before and have it turn out as well as it did!! Also for a Halloween layout, I never would have thought I would have had a pink layout! But my nephew just loves his piggies, he'll be a pig til he can't! Too bad he wasn't here in Iowa, I would love to have a pet pig! He's just so cute!! Also, I'm just thinking I want my niece's outfit as an outfit, forget a costume- it's so pretty! Maybe I'm out of the loop, I 'm not even sure what she is!! But she makes it look adorable!! 

Don't forget to join the challenges at Paper Issues' Facebook page, even though the crop is over- they have challenges and projects all month long to join in on ! Or just go ahead and shop at her online store- great service and tons of the newest products!! 

Home Is Where The Heart Is.

I was inspired by a great scrapbook page I saw on a blog showing how to make these frames in to little houses! What a great idea - I never know how to use that many frames from the scrapbook paper but I love them so much and always get suckered in to buying them!  I also fell in love with the Gather Collection by Maggie Holmes- so many pretty elements- I can't get enough of using it. 

I had this sweet picture of my sister and her husband to use - I don't scrap them very often so I was excited to use it! I first was thinking of doing a black and white photo but I just didn't like how it looked so I used it as a layering piece. 

I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to use that marbling like sheet of paper very well but I think it worked on this page! I always love forming clusters of embellishments! On the bottom, I used two of the frames as "houses" while using scraps of the collection to make the roof.  I loved being able to use also one of the word stickers as part of the title.  

Throughout their marriage they've moved multiple times , chasing all their dreams and goals. I imagine each time they "start" in a new city they remind themselves... Home is where their heart is. Both of their hearts are filled with love, for each other and for their sweet amazing children.  No house could be a home without them all together.  I can't wait to even have a love that is half as amazing as theirs.  Thank you both for being amazing role models. 

xo. Renee

Girls Night Out.

I think this will be my last scrapbook page from my 30th birthday. I swear I'm done talking about it!

After shopping with my family for the day, I ended the night with a few drinks with my best friend. Gosh, I can't even begin to explain what this girl means to me! She has gone through so many trials in her life and finally some of her dreams are coming true! I can't even begin to explain how happy I am for her! If anyone deserves life to go right, it's her!

I was able to finally use these stickers which I was so excited about! I've been needing a girl's night out to finally be able to use them! I love the vintage soda bottles and such- the balloon in the corner - my absolute favorite sticker from the sheet! I had to fit it in some how :) With this collection, I just bought the cut apart sheet as well as the pattern one in the back- now I wish I maybe had bought more. An excuse for more girls night out right?? 

But I love that I was able to utilize so much of the cut apart sheet and embellishments - I didn't need to really have any more of the other paper. I was also able to include some scraps I had laying around as well as other stickers that matched perfectly with this collection! 

It's unfortunate that our lives have been so busy lately between work and family lives; we're both in dire need of some girl time - hopefully sometime very soon! 

x.o. Renee

Ready Set Go.

So I may or may not have continued to make pages for Paper Issues Challenges again! Okay, who am I kidding? I'm addicted! And you all are coming to know that! This one was for their Pawsitively Pets challenge that is all about the animals in your life!

This is fairly easy because - well, I kind of attack my poor sweet boy with my camera in his face quite frequently.

I actually was excited to use scraps up that I had that matched perfectly with pieces of Cool Kid by Crate Paper. Although I was dying to use some of the cute kitty stuff from the Cute Girl line - I just couldn't- I'm weird. My cat is 100% boy and I can't put that in the back of my head. So boy stuff barfed on my page instead.  

I used some mixed media such as watercolor to create the "mess" in the background. Made the page look a little dirty like all boys are! Added some thread behind bits of the embellishment clusters. I loved how this page came together! Also- I had to include the boy sticker- "a noise with dirt on it."- my cat meows all the time. Works perfectly!  

Love how this page came together! I hope I inspired you also to get a little dirty and scrap your cute pets!  Also join the Paper Issues Facebook Group as always for great challenges!! 

xo. Renee

Happy Birthday.

Oh you all know that a few weeks ago was my 30th birthday! While a lot of my plans failed,  I definitely had a wonderful day with my family! I am so blessed with a family that loves me immensely.

I love this page that I threw together so much! Maggie Holmes knocks it out of the park every time with her new lines. Yes, some say they look relatively the same- but really, if it works- why change it?! I always end up using every piece of the collection! I used pieces from her new line Gather which worked really well with the MAMBI birthday stickers I had that I wanted to use as well!

Also a great thing about the American Craft company ( who owns Crate Paper / Maggie Holmes ) is their awesome customer service! When I received my Gather 6x12 sticker sheet, I saw that they weren't cut directly through so I could peel them up with ease. Instead, they were ripping from the paper as well as leaving the sticky behind. I contacted them about the problem and they have sent me a replacement!  Fantastic! I would have hated to buy another one, although- as much as I love this collection- I would have ;)  Also noted, I still used the stickers from the defective sheet- thank goodness for good ol'  Tombow mono glue! - Seriously, couldn't wait til I received the functional stickers! 

My favorite picture from the day. I spent all day with my parents as Iowa was mostly under water- we decided to go to our neighbor up north - Minnesota for a day of shopping and food! I was decked in my 30th  birthday gear- stash and crown. Apparently the manager at Buffalo Wild Wings thought I needed an added crown. Or maybe I was acting already goofy- that Party Buffalo crown would be better? 

Hope you enjoyed this page! 

xo. Renee

30th Birthday!

Finally my birthday has came! I finally joined the Dirty Thirty club!  Okay, let's face it- I've always been dirty but I'm now thirty!  I literally couldn't wait to scrap about it - that I did this page the next morning all excited! 

I had so many different plans for the day but of course, making plans is never good- they all seemed to fail. I thought maybe I'd be spending the day shopping in a near by town and drinking with friends. Seems September is a busy month because no one was available when my birthday actually fell on a weekend! ( Except my bestie because she's literally the best person in the world.)  

Also, who knew it could flood in September? Isn't that a spring gig when all the snow melts? But Iowa has been flooding on and off all September- literally kids have been having no school days - so unheard of at this time of the year! So with that happening, major roads have been closed and flooding all over towns that are major in the state of Iowa.  We decided to bail Iowa and head north to Minnesota to spend the day shopping. 

I spent most of the day using my free stuff coupons. Got to love that perk of a birthday! Free coffees, free drinks, free food.. give me! My sister lives on the east coast but never fails to deliver silliness for my birthday!  She sent me a  30's stash and 30's ears to wear as well as a mug. She told me I had to wear it all day- so I did. Live it up, you're only 30 once! Dad sent pictures to her all day to prove I was wearing it- didn't happen if you don't see it right?  At B-Dubs, they provided me also with a "party buffalo" crown. I slid that bad boy right on top of my 30's ears and rocked it.

I ended the night with drinks with my best friend. A great way to start my 30's with deep conversation. She just had a baby and I can't believe she still made the time to sit with me for a while. It was her first time really away from him, so hopefully her night was well spent! Because I'm so thankful for her time with me!  I think I spent my day just out right- with people who mean the world to me and made me feel loved all day. 

xo. Renee 

Supplies included items from A Beautiful Mess Messy Box, Studio Calico Documenter Kits, Joilee Stickers and Crate Paper Maggie Holmes Confetti Stickers. 

Gracie Selfies.

Again, I'm back with another layout I made for the Paper Issues Friends and Fan's Facebook Group. Seriously, went balls to the walls with the challenges this last month! I'm so excited about all the work I was able to get done!  Now that it's October- they're starting to list their challenges for this month- I can't wait to get started on those!!

For this challenge you had to scraplift one of the design teams' pages they had shown, I thought it was perfect for a selfie I took with Gracie.  Than it dawned on me- being they showed 3 photos in the page- I should also use selfies from throughout the years!  It also was a perfect excuse to use the Cute Girl line by Crate Paper! 

It's so cute to see the photos of Gracie from the time I knew her, although I wish I was able to find something from when she was even younger. I've been watching her and her siblings off and on since she was nearly 9 months old! And she's always loved to sit on my lap - and I've apparently always loved to take selfies! Even though she's 8 years old- gosh that's crazy- she still wanted to sit on my lap this last time I watched her and we watched all the things going on at the park. I am glad I was able to capture these memories of us on this page!  She's such a sweetie and I love our little bond we have together!! 

I hope you check out the Paper Issues' shop as well as Facebook group! There's so much inspiration and her service is outstanding!! 

xo. Renee

Kiddos.

I love that my scrap stash is dwindling; this month- I've took off the ground running with all these challenges from Paper Issues. I know, I know- I've told you a thousand times but I still have to show you all the pages because I simply love them!

For this challenge, we had to pick 5 from the list of items that were provided for us. I'm not sure if it's just that I love pink/teal a lot or I literally have a ton of that color left in my scraps but they have been showing up in a lot of my pages lately. To tell you the truth- I'm completely okay with it. I also was able to use some random embellishments I've been hoarding that aren't from any collection in particular. I think they all ended up working really well together! 

I love these photos of the kiddos I watch. We were playing in the backyard where they were showing me every trick up their little sleeves but once one kid got in the tree, they all had to be in the tree! So I spent a lot of the afternoon lifting children up in to a tree and I felt it in every muscle the next day! But it made for perfect pictures. Too bad the littlest one was on the tree swing, so she didn't make it in to the pictures but the older ones were so goofy- I couldn't put my camera down. 

I hope you enjoy this page of adventure! If only I had their carefree sense of wonder! 

xo. Renee

Scrap Our Stash September Sketch.

Today is an exciting day, not only do I get to share my Scrap Our Stash page but it's also my 30th birthday!! So I did a great twist on the challenge, and combined the two events! 

Scrap Our Stash is a site/group that inspires you to use your stash and supplies. They do 2 challenges a month - one is a stash challenge (1st of the month) and one is a sketch challenge with a stash prompt (15th of the month).  The Design Team examples are shown everyday to inspire you to put together a great page!  To learn more you'll have to check out their site at http://scrapourstash.blogspot.com/

For this sketch and pick 3, I picked Azure, Buttons and Crate Paper. 

So like I said earlier, today is my birthday! I was super excited right when I became a member of SOS and find out my reveal would be on the 24th of every month. I was sneaky and knew that would fall right on my birthday! Right when they presented the challenge, I went right to work on making this a page that would be throwback to my 29th birthday! I also love this challenge because one of the options was Crate Paper- I automatically knew that would be the one I'd choose off the list! I have a ton of Crate Paper scraps - especially in the pink color that's in my shirt!  This page turned out just fabulous and I love how everything worked out perfectly! 

I hope you all come join us at Scrap Our Stash- connect your page to our challenges and have a chance to win the prize as well as be featured on our site!  Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some celebrating to do!!! 

xo. Renee

Young and Brave.

Seriously, I'm not sure what it is but I have found my scrappy mojo! I've been on a roll knocking one challenge at a time from the Paper Issues' September Album on their Facebook page.  I just love the inspiration they provide there as well as the friendships I've formed.  This page I made was for one of their Sunday Scraplift - every Sunday they take a different layout from the group/Design Team and put the group to the test to scraplift it however they see fit! 

I decided I need to do a page on this sweet boy. My best friend has been having fertility problems for nearly 10 years - finally with the grace of God and great doctors - she was able to have this sweet little boy! I think everyone has been waiting for him for so long, and that's probably an understatement. I got to meet him at the hospital but the pictures I got of him there weren't the ones I wanted to document, its when I finally got to hold the sweetie.  Yes, I'm the nerd that takes pictures of the baby, while holding the baby. 

I used the Cool Kid collection by Crate Paper- which I think they absolutely knocked out of the ballpark. I've already made a few pages using this collection ad I cant get enough. It's perfect for the adventurous little boys out there. Seems that so many times, scrapbook companies focus on the girls but how could you not scrap those silly boys? This collection makes it literally so easy. 

Hope you enjoy my take on their challenge! You should check out their Facebook page as well as her store! Paper Issues is a one woman show who literally has the fastest service I've ever came across!  Okay, maybe being like less than 6 hours away helps but I wouldn't go anywhere else! 

Xo. Renee 

Fall Adventures.

Don't get me wrong, I love summer. The heat, the water, - the delicious foods. But I can't get over everything of the fall. I may be a little bias because the greatest thing about the fall is my birthday :) Fall definitely came a little bit early for me in my project life.  Maybe because everything pumpkin has magically appeared everywhere! Yes, I am that basic girl that gets excited about pumpkin.

I documented my first Leinie's Harvest Shandy of the season- I love them- I may have gotten a little excited when I saw them in the store. The plus/con of working in a grocery store- when you see new items come in- you have to buy like, yesterday. I really am not sure why I get a paycheck, a good chunk of it just goes right back to them.  I also had my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season, oh how tasty. I tried it iced for the first time; and it wasn't so bad! It was like in the 80's that day- I couldn't say no but I wasn't in the mood for a hot drink. 

Then of course, I had to document my favorite little (not-so-little) kiddos go to school! They are getting so big it's so crazy! Addison also got glasses, makes her look so much older!! QUIT IT!  For this spread, I used various cards from Studio Calico as well as MAMBI pocket page cards. I also did some stamping which I haven't really done so it was fun to see how I could throw that in to my embellishing.  

I hope to take more adventures this fall - I want to soak up everything I can. Also, my birthday is coming up! I can't wait to document that! There's so many ideas in my head!! 

xo. Renee

In A Tree.

A few years ago I used to be a nanny to this wonderful family and every so often I still get the privilege to babysit them. Each time it always takes them a few moments to warm back up to me and then it's a crazy adventure just as before.  

I had to scrap book this adventure. They have this amazing playset in their yard and we spent forever outside as they showed me every trick they had up their little sleeves.  Including all of them all in a tree! They're so crazy and goofy!

I included a few close ups of the clusters of embellishments I had on the pictures. I used most up last month's messy box which had an adventure theme. I loved it with this page! 

My favorite parts were the cork embellishments I used! I hardly use cork but I thought it went perfect with the outdoorsy theme. 

If you haven't noticed my other vice with project life is using staples! I am not sure what it is but I can't get enough! I was hoping though that the letters were more opaque but it is what it is and once it was on- no go peeling off. 

 I hope you enjoyed my page! I loved watching the kiddos and they make me so happy. I know back then I was frustrated often which made times with them hard to enjoy. Now I just love feeling like a child with them and enjoying their personalities.  Glad I get to make these memories with them again. 

Xo. Renee

Fly Fishing Vacation.

I told you I would be back to show you what I had up my sleeve for this month's Paper Issues challenges! So I'm going to show you what I threw together for the Sketchy Saturday. 

I don't know about you but I absolutely fell in love with Carta Bella's collection "Great Outdoors."  I know, I'm not a huge outdoors person. I always give it a good try when I can but I really don't have a lot of opportunities to do anything too exciting anymore!  But I couldn't turn this collection down when I had the chance to have it. It's so bold and colorful, and very vintage.

So this is where I had to think of where I was going to go with this, I know- I actually didn't have to think too hard. But was I at the point where I couldn't scrap these type of memories as we're no longer together? I just thought - even though we aren't together- and haven't been for a year ( again, if you've been following, you'd already know this.) that these were still great memories of one of my favorite vacations.   I had other paper I thought at one point I would use for this photo ( yes, it was already printed but I put it aside for obvious reasons ) but I couldn't pass up the perfect collision of the two.

I took the sketch as it was, didn't really do much of my own interpretation on it.  Used papers from the collection as well as a few from my stash to build the layers. I did have the stickers for this collection so between the cut apart paper and stickers, I built the embellishment clusters on both sides of the picture. 

I'm so excited that I got to use this collection and had the perfect picture for it! Sometimes it's hard to scrap pictures of the past but just have to remember, that they are still memories and even though it may be sore right now- it may be something great to look back on in the future when it's not so tender. 

xo. Renee

Puppy Swim

I absolutely love how this page turned out and I'm sorry I took a while to show you! 

I was scrolling around my favorite facebook group- Paper Issues (Friends and Fans) and came across this sketch challenge! I couldn't resist taking a shot at it. Love the diagonal aspect of the sketch- makes for something unique and different! 

Being I had a 3x3 picture of Sienna and I from this year's puppy swim printed out already, it was a perfect way to use this sketch. I did some digging in my stash, found some last pieces of Crate Paper's Poolside collection as well as odd and ends that matched the colors. I love that I was able to use a lot up of my stash with all the clusters of embellishments and layers! Always makes me feel proud of myself, HAHA! But it turned out bright and colorful, makes my heart so happy! Especially knowing I was able to capture this moment with my Sienna. The puppy swims are the highlight of her summer and she can't stop wagging her tail the entire time. 

I know this is from last month's Paper Issues challenges but join in on their Facebook page for this month's challenges. I've already took a shot at a few of them that I can't wait to show you soon! 

Scrap Our Stash September Stash.

Scrap Our Stash is a site/group that inspires you to use your stash and supplies. They do 2 challenges a month - one is a stash challenge (1st of the month) and one is a sketch challenge with a stash prompt (15th of the month).  The Design Team examples are shown everyday to inspire you to put together a great page!  To learn more you'll have to check out their site at http://scrapourstash.blogspot.com/

Here I am at the beginning of the month with my example of the first challenge!! 

At this time of the year, this was the perfect inspiration! Everyone is heading back to school and all the craziness is usually captured on film in some form. Being I don't have kids, and no- I don't want to scrap my crazy past school photos. ( No one wants to see that! )  So - I waited til my favorite two little kiddos went to school! My niece and nephew live on the east coast ( as I always tell you! ) but my sister always keeps us in the loop- so I knew this would be a jackpot shot I needed for this challenge! 

I used Dear Lizzy's Saturday collection which has an adventurous theme. I fussy cut one of her sheets of paper that had the buildings on it using it as a bottom boarder. Then building on top of that with the photo and embellishments. How perfect that it had backpacks, glasses, and apples!  Okay, that stuff reminds me of school! They live in a big town, granted  they don't take the taxi to school; but how could I not add that to the bottom of the page.  I also added some embellishments that were on a ledger/number paper to meet that detail of the challenge to my cluster on the one side of the picture. 

I can't wait to see your guys' take on this first challenge of the month!!  I also encourage everyone to join us at Scrap Our Stash (link @ top) - top picks could win a prize and a badge for your blog! 

xo. Renee

Dog Days of Summer.

I am here with another peek at my Project Life.

The July Messy Box ( a pocket scrabook subscription kit) was perfect for this spread's photos! 

I wanted to capture the memories of the puppy swim at our local pool - they always have the last night that it's open for the dogs and Sienna can't get enough of it every year she goes. I swear its the highlight of her summer! 

I also love swimming laps during the summer at the pool during Adult Hour - then lounge in the best chair before all the children come running loose. A great way to get my tan on and my laps in! 

Now if I could only manage to use my roller stamps better, if you guys have tips for that- let me know... that hot mess is driving me bananas!!!

xo. Renee

Here comes September!

It's September!! Bust out everything Pumpkin 🎃. Okay- maybe not quite yet but it is a brand new month! Which means I want to show you the monthly spread at the beginning. 

Oh did I mention my birthday is this month?? I absolutely love gold and pink. So I was ecstatic to see in the MAMBI new season sticker book- which is jammed packed with amazing stickers for all year to jazz up your planners- that the stickers for birthdays were all sorts of pink and gold. I didn't hesitate to plaster the whole month with every sticker. 

I also took one of the list pad sheets and decorated it a little with the birthday stickers. I wanted a place I could write down all the present emails I would receive so I'd remember to use them all! Give me all the free foods! 😝 ( please tell me I'm not the only one who gets excited about these things! ) 

Did I mention I'm turning 30? Let the craziness begin! September will be a crazy month!! 

Xo. Renee

Project Life Catch up!

Here I am with another update on my Project Life.  Still working with my 6x12 size book but with this sleeve, I cut off the bottom pocket to create some variation.  
 

Once again I'm showing my garden and the delicious veggies that it's given me. Sort- of.  Using cards and embellishments from both Messy Box and Studio Calico. 

I found in my stash of Studio Calico a few cards from Beckys Happy line and remembered my friend had sent me a few of her cards from that collection. So I was able to make some stuff together with both stashes as well as embellishments from Studio Calico. 

Even with my mom out of the hospital, we've been giving her IV treatments at home for the last month. So glad to be seeing her on the mend. I also ran for the first time in just a sport bra and shorts. It felt refreshing and boosting to my self- confidence.  

 

I love how my page turned out and I can't wait to show you some of the others I have done- you'll love them!! 

Xo. Renee  

Scrap Our Stash August Sketch.

Scrap Our Stash is a site/group that inspires you to use your stash and supplies. They do 2 challenges a month - one is a stash challenge (1st of the month) and one is a sketch challenge with a stash prompt (15th of the month).  The Design Team examples are shown everyday to inspire you to put together a great page!  To learn more you'll have to check out their site at http://scrapourstash.blogspot.com/

It's the 24th of the month which means it's my turn to show you my layout based on the August Sketch!  I know I say it every month- but seriously, this month's sketch is a personal favorite! I've been excited to show you also what I came up with!! 

With my layout I chose 3 Various Mfgs ( Manufacturers ), washi tape and the letter X.  

I decided to scrapbook this awesome picture of my nephew, Alex. How cool does he look in his catcher gear? He's 8 but I swear, I see him as a varsity 18 year old already. QUIT GROWING PLEASE!  I knew that the new Cool Kid line by Crate Paper would be perfect for this page! I found some other papers in my stash that worked well with the collection. I always love watching my stash shrink down- too bad it wasn't faster.  My favorite part of this layout is the picture itself. Instead of using three separate pictures, I thought it would be a great variation to just divide up the picture! I just love this page so much! I love scrapbooking my sweet nephew - even with him being far away, his mom does a great job of making us feel like we're right there with them. Makes my heart so happy.

I hope this page inspired you to take a shot at our challenges over at Scrap Our Stash! Can't wait to see what you come up with!!

xo. Renee

Weekly Wednesday .04

I can't even begin to explain that I'm excited to see July out the window.  The month was filled with so much hectic family crisis' and I'm happy to say we're on the positive side - I'm hoping- of all the situations that we've encountered. 

So when I flip back to my planner, I got right down to decorating August proudly. I sort of let go of July when it came to my planner as well. I didn't want to document the events, nor what I ate. Plainly because I didn't want to remember- nor was I eating/exercising much at all. 

I love the bright colors. I had to make it fun and happy! Granted not a lot is happening this month- but at this point, that's completely okay with me! So I've been doodling my mileage on the dates  as well as other appointments. It's seeming to be rather blank so far. But I'm hoping by the end of the month- maybe it'll look a little different! I'll have to post comparing shots. Or maybe not. 

Also along the side, I like to post what bills I have to pay as well as goals I have to accomplish. I know if I check them off I'll remember to do it.  Kind of. 

This is a sample of what my week looks like. I like to write down what I eat all day, to hopefully hold myself accountable to eat better. Plus if I write it down, and I eat badly- I tend to eat better the next day because I remember writing how crappy I ate. I also split the last box of the day in to two- top which I put my work out and the box under- I put my hours.  At the end of the week- I am able to see how many hours I worked as well as how many miles I ran all together.  Which I total as well on the side. 

I love having my planner... It's letting me see my life spread out in front of me. Holding me accountable for so many things I have going on.  I'm hoping this continues strongly for the rest of the month! 

I also have cute list and layout coming for my planner next time! You'll love it! Well- at least I do!! :) 

xo. Renee

Do you guys use a planner? How do you utilize it?! 

Scrap Our Stash August Stash.

For some reason this post didn't post on August 10th. I apologize for this inconvenience. 

I'm excited to show you this month's first challenge for Scrap Our Stash! 

Scrap Our Stash is a site/group that inspires you to use your stash and supplies. They do 2 challenges a month - one is a stash challenge (1st of the month) and one is a sketch challenge with a stash prompt (15th of the month).  The Design Team examples are shown everyday to inspire you to put together a great page!  To learn more you'll have to check out their site at http://scrapourstash.blogspot.com/

For the first challenge, you are to be inspired by a chosen book cover. And this month's cover threw me for a loop. I haven't traveled in a while and with the pictures I have from traveling, I've already scrapped them recently. Gosh, what am I going to do? But while flipping through my papers, I came across  a perfect map in vibrant colors that I had to use.  Which happened to match Fancy Free perfectly, I think I need to put that line away by the way. I have scrapped so much with it. I swear, I'll get to my regularly scheduled lines soon.   Also I had to include a decorative paper clip- now that part- I also realize I have very little selection of paper clips! ( You'll see it's almost not noticeable.)

This page inspired me to scrap the picture of an Old Stone Church that is literally in the middle of nowhere in north east Iowa. It's a very special place to me, everytime I go - I'm literally taken back by how simple and how peaceful it is. Not only that, but one of my great great grandfather's was the stonesman for the construction of this church.  Some of my family members are also buried in the small cemetery by the church. It's my happy place.  I can't wait to be married there someday.  

I can't wait to see what you all come up with based on this challenge! 

xo. Renee