About Me

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Texas, United States
Hello! Welcome to my blog! I'm Jennifer, but most people call me Jenny. I'm a small town Texas girl, born again Christian, mommy to 2 beautiful boys, wife to my high school sweetheart, scrapbook supply junkie, and occasional paper sniffer. :) Here you will find bits and pieces of my scrapbooking projects, daily thoughts, and just general randomness. Enjoy and thanks for reading!

Blog Archive

Friday, December 30, 2011

January 2012 Sneak Peek Time!

Wow....2011 is almost over. Hard to believe, isn't it? What a fast year!

If you are looking for a way to get tons of pages done this year with the latest and greatest scrapbooking products, look no further than The Scrap Room! I endorse this kit club because I fully believe in the club's motto..."Get more pages done!" I have completed around 150 layouts this year, and most of them are layouts done with this kit club's products. No lie!

I got to play with October Afternoon's new "Farmhouse" collection for my sneak peek. Love the colors in this part of the kit! Enjoy...and GET MORE PAGES DONE in 2012! :)

Friday, December 23, 2011

12 Days of Christmas Layouts - #12

Last but not least, here is the final "12 Days of Christmas Layouts" post. As a grand finale, I have not 1 but 2 layouts for you today. :) I hope you have enjoyed my Christmas layouts, and I wish you and your family and friends a very Merry Christmas and a BLESSED New Year!!



Be inspired. CREATE!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

12 Days of Christmas Layouts - #11

Oh Santa....what's not to love? :) This layout was based on a sketch from Sketch Inspiration. Sketch Inspiration is my sister's weekly sketch site. Every week (on Sunday), she posts a new sketch. If you do that sketch and enter into the online gallery on her site, you will have a chance at a great weekly prize! There's a new sketch and a new prize every week...and she is also selling her new Volume 2 sketch book! Check out the site for details. ;)


Happy Holidays!!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

12 Days of Christmas Layouts - #10

In 2009, my family and I went to "Holiday in the Park" at Six Flags Over Texas with some tickets I had won. The boys loved it! Especially all the cool lights and rides, and of course the cotton candy! ;)

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

12 Days of Christmas Layouts - #9

It truly is the most wonderful time of the year! :) I love watching my children open presents on Christmas morning. These pics are of my oldest son and a few of his new gifts during Christmas morning. So fun!


Are you finished with all of your Christmas shopping yet???

Monday, December 19, 2011

12 Days of Christmas Layouts - #8

I love snow pictures! :) In 2009, we actually had a white Christmas here in Texas. On the day after Christmas, we were visiting at my parents' house, and my dad took the kids outside and made this cute snowman. They used a cornucopia for the hat. LOL!


Here's wishing you a Merry WHITE Christmas! :)

Supplies: December monthly kit from The Scrap Room.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

12 Days of Christmas Layouts - #7

Does your town have Christmas traditions? Our little town has a downtown Christmas parade each year. We live in a small town...about 5,000-6,000 people...so almost all of the town comes out to watch things like this.


Thanks for taking a look!

Supplies: December monthly kit from The Scrap Room.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

12 Days of Christmas Layouts - #6

Every year before we open presents at my in-laws' house, we take a family photo. I love looking back on these over the past years. :) I treasure them. We have lost a couple of family members in the past few years, but I love that we have all the holiday photos of everyone together. Celebrate your family this year! :)


P.S....I LOVE comments! ;)

Supplies: All products from the December kit by The Scrap Room; sketch by Aphra Bolyer

Friday, December 16, 2011

12 Days of Christmas Layouts - #5

One of my youngest son's favorite things about Christmas is when the puppet/marionette show comes to our local Art Center. These pictures were taken in 2009, when my husband was the administrator of the Art Center. We got a little "backstage pass," and Aaron was able to play with the marionettes on the stage. Totally made his day! :)


All products from the December monthly kit from The Scrap Room.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

12 Days of Christmas Layouts - #4

How's your Christmas shopping going? Got everyone checked off the list yet? I sure don't! I still have 5 gifts to buy for people on the list, plus a few little things for my youngest son. Hope to get that taken care of this weekend...hopefully.

Today's layout is about our Childrens' Christmas Program at our church. My youngest was a donkey for this program in 2009...how cute is he?! LOL I took a few pictures of him with some of the other kids in the play, one being my niece Brooklyn, who was cast as Mary. They did such a great job! Can't wait for this year's program. :)


This 2-pager was also made with the December kit from The Scrap Room, featuring Jillibean Soup "Christmas Eve Chowder" collection.

Merry Christmas!!! xoxoxo

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

12 Days of Christmas Layouts - #3

Today's layout is all about those cute little Christmas crafts with the kiddos! The boys loved putting together this little "Santa's Workshop" with a kit I had bought at Target. MUCH less mess than a gingerbread house. I loved watching them CREATE! :)


Thanks for looking!!!!

Supplies used: We R Memory Keepers "Peppermint Twist" collection

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

12 Days of Christmas Layouts - #2

For my second layout, I again used the December monthly kit from The Scrap Room. If you are looking for an awesome Christmas kit, TSR is the way to go! ;)


I love these pics of my little boy waving at Santa and Santa waving in return at our little town's downtown Christmas parade. We missed this year's parade because we were out of town, but I'm glad I got these pics from a couple years ago...and glad that I finally got them scrapped! LOL

Monday, December 12, 2011

12 Days of Christmas Layouts - #1

Hi friends!
Yeah, I know....blogging has not been my strong point lately! Honestly, I have just been really busy, and even when I've had the time to blog, I just really haven't had anything very interesting to say. LOL!

So, I decided to jump out of my blogging rut and try my hand at posting a few Christmas layouts I've been working on. I will post one (or 2) a day for the next 12 days...ending right before Christmas. I hope my pages will inspire you to get some of your own Christmas pictures scrapped and put into albums.

I LOVE Christmas products and pages, but it seems that this is the holiday I am never EVER caught up on scrappy-wise! In fact, I haven't even PRINTED OUT pics from 2010..GASP! Can you believe that?! **hanging head in shame** I have, however, caught up a bit on Christmas pics from 2009, so that's starting to make me feel a little bit better. I think the problem is that I just take WAAAAAYYYY too many pics at Christmastime. But that's not really a "problem," is it? ;)

Anyway, moving on....

Here is layout #1 for my "12 Days of Christmas Layouts" series...and it's a 2-pager!:


These pics are of my youngest son at his preschool Christmas program. How cute are all those little kiddos?! They sang several cute little songs, and since I teach at this preschool, I got to have a front-row seat for the performance. So cute! :)

All products are part of the December monthly kit from The Scrap Room!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Favorite Christmas Tradition?

To read mine, please visit The Scrap Room blog. I hope you take the time to read it. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

November Full Reveal for The Scrap Room!

Who has 2 thumbs and fell off the blogging bandwagon?? THIS GIRL! Wow...I haven't blogged in nearly a whole month....and what a crazy month October was! Like I said in a previous post, I coordinate our church's annual pumpkin patch, and I was literally at the patch just about every single day during the month of October. I am pretty sure the color orange was the only color I'd see from now own, but now things are getting back to normal. ;) Whatever that is.

The good news is....I've scrapped a LOT of my photos from this year's pumpkin patch already! Thanks to the November kit from The Scrap Room, scrapping these pics was a breeze. And it feel so great to get these scrapped so soon, which is highly unlikely for me.

Without further ado, a little Fall inspiration:








Thanks for looking! :)

Saturday, October 8, 2011

October FULL Reveal from TSR!

Has this month been as crazy for you as it is for me already?? Seriously! For the whole month of October, my husband and I are in charge of our church's annual Pumpkin Patch and Fall Festival, and I have been so crazy busy with all of that. It's soooo much work, but it's always so worth it. We donate all the money we make to local, national, and world-wide missions....so hearing from our missionary friends when they receive a nice check from us always makes all the work worth it. :)

So for busy months like this one, I'm always super grateful for my monthly scrapbooking kit from The Scrap Room! Without it, I wouldn't get 1 page done.

Here are my projects using October's fabulous kit:








Thanks for looking! :)

Friday, September 30, 2011

October Sneak Peek Time! :)

Hello blog readers! Wow, I haven't blogged in....well, quite a while.

Never fear! It's October Sneak Peek time over at The Scrap Room, and I got to work with the FABULOUS new line by Simple Stories called "Happy Day." Birthday papers and embellishments just make me happy! I LOVE the colors and patterns in the Happy Day collection...so perfectly festive! I was able to scrap some older birthday pics from my youngest son's 4th birthday party:


The best thing about this layout? It was practically all done for me already! I just added my photos, a few of the included embellies, journaling strips, and a title. So simple! :) Thanks for looking.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Sketch #236 from Sketch Inspiration

Have you entered your layout at Sketch Inspiration yet this week? It's a 2-PAGER! And, of course, there is a great weekly prize up for grabs. Here's my interpretation of the sketch, made with Bella Blvd.'s "Mr. Boy" collection:


Don't forget to enter yours...a new sketch will be posted on Sunday! :)

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

September Scrap Room Reveal

Hey everyone!
Busy, busy around here, but I wanted to share my layouts and cards from the September kit from The Scrap Room! I already got 1 school page done for this year's pics, so I'm pretty happy about that! lol








Don't forget to check out The Scrap Room Blog for some fun updates, tutorials, and challenges! :) Thanks for looking.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

A Special Cause for a Special Friend

You see this lady right here? Her name is Rita. She is the most kind-hearted, precious soul and such a wonderful mother.


She is a dear friend of mine who is also a fellow scrapper. Rita's adorable son (in the picture with her) was diagnosed with autism last March. This is where your help is needed.

Rita is walking in an Austism Awareness Walk on September 17th. If you can, please consider sponsoring my dear friend in this walk. I know it would mean the world to her and her precious son.

Please contact Rita at ritamilligan1@yahoo.com if you are interested in sponsoring her in this walk. No amount is too small...even $1 would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your generous heart!

Monday, August 22, 2011

To My Kindergartener


He started school this morning,
And he seemed so very small.
As I walked there beside him
In the Kindergarten hall.

And as he took his place beside
the others in the class,
I realized how all too soon
Those first few years can pass.

Remembering, I saw him as
he first learned how to walk.
The words that we alone made out
When he began to talk.

This little boy so much absorbed
In learning how to write.
It seems as though he must have grown
To boyhood overnight.

My eyes were blurred by hastily
I brushed the tears away
Lest by some word or sign of mine
I mar his first big day.

Oh how I longed to stay with him
And keep him by the hand
To lead him through the places
That he couldn't understand.

And something closely kin to fear
Was mingled with my pride.
I knew he would no longer be
A baby by my side.

But he must have his chance to live,
To work his problems out,
The privilege to grow and learn
What life is all about.

And I must share my little boy
With friends and work and play;
He's not a baby anymore --
He's in Kindergarten today.

To My 3rd Grader


You were six months old and full of fun
With a blink of my eye, you were suddenly one.
There were so many things we were going to do,
But I turned my head and you were two.

At two you were very dependent on me,
But independence took over when you turned three.
Your third birthday, another year I tried to ignore,
But when I lit the candles, there weren't three, but four.

Four was the year that you really strived,
Why, look at you now, you're already five.
Now you are ready for books and for rules.
This is the year that you go to school.

The big day came, you were anxious to go.
We walked to the bus, going oh, so slow.
As you climbed aboard and waved goodbye,
I felt a lump in my throat and tears stung my eyes.

Time goes so fast, it's hard to believe
that just yesterday you were home here with me.
And tomorrow when the bus brings you home
and you jump to the ground,
You'll be wearing your cap and graduation gown.

So I'm holding to these moments as hard as I can,
Because the next time I look, I'll be seeing a man.

(author unknown)

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Snack Caddy

Well, school starts here on Monday (wahhhhhh). This year, BOTH boys will be in school from 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Yeah...mama's not handling that well. For the past almost decade, my life has been all about being a stay-at-home mom and having a little one here for me to take care of. It's going to be eerily quiet on Monday once the boys are off to school. I don't like change. And I'm not handling this very well. Especially the part about my baby (BABY!) starting Kindergarten. Where did the time go?!! *sniff

Anyway, I decided that today (Saturday) would be a great day to try and get some things around the house organized for the upcoming whirlwind that is known as.....School.

First on the list, washing all the new school clothes! I've got that going right now.

Secondly, I cleaned out my fridge and made a "snack caddy" for the boys. I found this idea on Pinterest and knew I had to do this! (btw, if you haven't joined Pinterest yet, DO IT!)

I made some little snack baggies of fruit and other snacks and put them in the shower caddy I found in the Target $1 section. I also put snacks that were already in the fridge into the caddy. This way, when it's time to pack a lunchbox, I can just grab and go! Also, when the boys get home from school, they will no doubt immediately want a snack...so, instead of having to fix something, I can just tell them to go pick something out of the snack caddy! :)


Some of the things I included are:
Strawberry banana applesauce
Fruit cups
Bags of grapes
Bags of pretzel sticks
Bags of Cheez-it snack mix
Ritz cracker snack mix
Chocolate Chex mix snack bars
Peanut butter crackers
Fruit snacks
Rice Crispie treats
Applesauce squeeze pouches


Sooo simple, yet such a time saver! I will change out snacks and add new stuff in every now and then just to give a variety. As you can see, there is plenty variety for right now, even for picky eaters. ;) I put the caddy on the bottom shelf of the fridge, so it is easily accessible for the kiddos.

So...there's my attempt at being organized in the snack department. :) Now, back to washing school clothes!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Summertime 2-Pager

If you haven't checked out this month's kit from The Scrap Room, you really must head over there and see it! One of my favorite lines from this kit was the "Sweet Summertime" collection by Little Yellow Bicycle. LOVED the bold, bright colors! They matched my park pictures perfectly. :) Love it when that happens. Here is my 2-pager featuring that collection:


Hope you are enjoying the rest of your summer...what's left of it, anyway! Thanks for looking. :)

Sunday, August 14, 2011

A couple of new summer layouts :)

Another quick post today just to share a couple of summer-themed layouts I've done recently. Summer's almost over, but I still have plenty of summer pages to do!

First up, my youngest son's silly grin on his last day of preschool. They had an outdoor "Splash Day" party, and I finally got him to be still for a second to snap this pic. I lifted this page from a page I had saved to my computer a long time ago...I don't know who the original artist was for this page, but I loved how the page was laid out, so I lifted it:


My husband designed these t-shirts for my family for the 4th of July. They say, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom":


More pages to come later! :) Thanks for looking.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

School Layouts

Just a quick post today to share a couple of school-related layouts I've done recently. I guess all this back-to-school talk (boo!) has me thinking of all the school pages I need to get done! ;)

First up, my oldest son's 1st grade recycling project. He took a cracker box, a macaroni box, and an egg carton and created this adorable alligator:


Secondly, my oldest son's 2nd grade Valentine party this past school year. I love getting a good group shot of all the kids in his class. That will be fun to look back on in years to come. :)


Yep, it's definitely almost back-to-school time. This year is especially difficult for me because my youngest son starts Kindergarten. My BABY!!! I have cried so much over this already. It's just hard letting your babies grow up. :( For the past decade of my life, I've been taking care of a kid at home...and now they will both be gone to school full-time during the day. Makes me sad....but I know they will both love school this year. :)

Now, finishing up my back-to-school shopping....that's another story........

Friday, August 5, 2011

Guest Designer at Pebbles Inc. Blog! :)

Hey readers! I've got some exciting news to share today....


I am this week's Guest Designer over at the Pebbles Inc. blog! Wow, what an honor. I have loved Pebbles products ever since I started scrapping, and they just keep on getting better and better.

I was given a big box full of Floral Lane and Ever After collections to work with, and I had a blast! Be sure and leave a comment on the Pebbles blog for your chance to win a giveaway from one of the most generous scrapbooking companies out there! ;)

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

August TSR Reveal!

Wow, wow, wow. I say it every month, but this month's kit from The Scrap Room is awesome! As always, there are 4 fun, new collections to work with, so here are my projects:

American Crafts "Campy Trails" collection:

My Mind's Eye "Hattie" collection:


Simple Stories "100 Days of Summer" collection:

Little Yellow Bicycle "Sweet Summertime" collection:


*PLUS* A 2-pager with the Little Yellow Bicycle "Sweet Summertime" collection!! Can't reveal that one just yet! ;)

So hurry over to TSR and order your kit today! Thanks for looking.