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Simple Things Sunday Photo Link Party No. 126

We spent some time camping in the Tonto National Forest this weekend with our church group. The kids had been looking forward to this trip for weeks and were so excited to break in the new tent. It got a little chilly at night – in AZ, who would have guessed – but other than that it was such a fun trip.

Addie was the official fire wood gatherer and she did such a great job!  Roasting marshmallows, cooking over a campfire, shooting BB guns, exploring nature and getting absolutely filthy! That’s what camping is all about and you better believe we did all of the above!

Wish I would have see these cool tips and tricks before we went on our trip – some brilliant ideas here!

7 Camping Hacks that are Borderline Genius

We love camping and spending time outdoors as a family and we look forward to many more adventures to come as we explore the beautiful State of Arizona. You can follow our family adventures on instagram + facebook using hashtag #outdoorfamilyadventures and see some of the fun we’ve had in the past right here. Tag your photos too – we’d love to see how you’re enjoying the great outdoors as a family!

 

Now it’s your turn to share what simple moments you’ve been celebrating this week! Join Stacy of KSW and I for Simple things Sunday! You can share your photos on both of our blogs using the linky tool below or  join us on instagram using hashtag #SimpleThingsSunday.

Stacy on Instagram // Rebecca on Instagram If you’re new to Simple as That I’d love for you join us in this weekly tradition! 

What is Simple things Sunday?

 
This weekly photo share is all about taking time to photograph the everyday details that make your life unique, beautiful, and special. Each Sunday we gather here to share our photos with each other. To enjoy the beauty that can be found in the ordinary and to be reminded of just how important the simple things are. 
 
Just a few quick rules to play:
1. Grab a Simple things Sunday button and include it in your simple things post. 2. Link back directly to your simple things post not your blog/website.
No links to other linky parties, giveaways or craft projects pretty please. 
This linky is all about the photos. 3. Be sure to pop by and visit at least 3 other links and leave a comment.
Leave as many as you can.

 

Saturday Share No. 4 – Featuring You!

Welcome to another Saturday Share everyone!

Saturday Share is all about sharing Project Life® inspired ideas! Each weekend you can visit Pebbles, My Sister’s Suitcase, Sweet Rose Studio, Balancing Home, Snap, Imaginisce + my blog, where you’ll find plenty of photo pocket page layouts and/or tips each Saturday.

We’d like to invite you + your friends to stop by on the weekend to link up and share your photo pocket style layouts too! Share your tried and true tips, link a related blog post, photos you’ve uploaded to Pinterest, whatever works for you.

Today I wanted to feature some really fun layouts that YOU have linked up since Saturday Share started! I’ve been pinning some of your pages to our collective Saturday Share Pinboard and here are just a few that caught my eye…

I love this simple and elegant B+W page shared by Laura

Bright, cheerful + colorful are all words I’d use to describe Kristina’s style! 

Check out the pages that Patti shared a few weeks ago! So many fun details documented!

I love what Vanessa did with the new 5th & Frolic Line + how cute are those photos!?

Check back next week when I’ll be sharing a Halloween mini album I’ve been putting together using my new Retro Halloween Photo overlays, some fun goodies from Pebbles Inc. + the new Halloween Themed Project Life® mini kit. Here’s a tiny sneak peek…

Don’t forget to check out the other bloggers that are posting each Saturday! 

Click on the images below to go to each of their sites! 

End of Summer One Day Sale!

We’re saying goodbye to Summer with a flash 50% off sale!!
Take 50% off my entire Summer Lovin’ Collection. One day only!
Offer ends tonight at midnight!
Applicable to purchase of the entire Summer Lovin’ Collection only, not individually priced items. Collection includes 12 journaling + filler cards, 10 collage templates + 6 PNG photo overlays for just $3.75!!

Retro Halloween Photo Overlays

Halloween is one of my favourite holidays and because of this, I’ve amassed quite the collection of Halloween photos through the years. I’ve been working on a Project Life® album to compile all of our Halloween memories and couldn’t help fancying up a few of our photos while I was at it.  I love combining my obsession for typography with my photo projects + I had a lot of fun with these!

These photo overlays are perfect for adding a little bit of retro flair to your Halloween photos. I’m sharing a few examples of how I’ve used them on my photos and will be revealing more of how I’ve put them to use in my Project Life® Halloween album next week, so watch for that!

These overlays are perfect for 3×4 and 4×6 photos and are all in PNG format so you can use them as is, or customize the color + opacity however you’d like.

Included in the set are 13 overlays in total. Detail photos are included below. Overlay No. 6 comes in horizontal and vertical format along with four different versions with text for years 2010 – 2013. These overlays are seriously so fun + I love the simple touch they add to my photos!

Purchase my Retro Halloween Photo Overlays set 
before October 1st and get it for $1 off!

How to use these overlays:
-Once you’ve purchased the set you will be emailed a download link to your zipped file within 48hrs.
-Download and unzip the overlays folder.
-Open the overlay and the photo you’d like to add them to in the photo editing program
of your choice.
-Select the overlay file then copy and paste onto your photo.
-In PS/PSE use the cntrl-T command and while holding down the shift key {this prevents distortion} resize the overlay however you’d like.
-If you’d like to change the color of the overlay, in PS/PSE go to SELECT –> LOAD SELECTION –> OK. Once the overlay is selected then go to EDIT –> FILL and select your color.
-You can also play around with the opacity of the overlay to vary the effect.
I hope you enjoy creating with these fun overlays + I can’t wait to share more about my Halloween Project Life® album. It’s simple and no-fuss but it’s filled with lots of fun family memories! 🙂

Simple Things Sunday Photo Link Party No. 125

Every September I snap the kids school photos and we finally got around to taking this years photos over the weekend. I always look forward to taking these photos of the kids. Documenting how much they grow and change from year to year is what it’s all about – no fancy backgrounds or elaborate poses required. I like to find a nice shaded area with pretty trees to use as a neutral backdrop. This year I brought a little chalkboard along on our photoshoot for the kids to write their names on and it was a lot of fun! I can’t wait to do this every year!
Our back-to-school photoshoots don’t last long, maybe a half an hour or so. I snap a few quick individual photo of the kids along with a group shot – cause you know, if they’re all dressed up and their faces are clean we might as well! 😉
This is just a quick peek at this years school photos – I can’t wait to get the rest edited and swap out last years photos with new ones in our living room frames!

 



Now it’s your turn! We’d love to see what simple things you’ve been celebrating this week. Join Stacy of KSW and I for Simple things Sunday! You can share your photos on both of our blogs using the linky tool below or  join us on instagram using hashtag #SimpleThingsSunday.

Stacy on Instagram // Rebecca on Instagram

If you’re new to Simple as That I’d love for you join us in this weekly tradition! 

What is Simple things Sunday?

This weekly photo share is all about taking time to photograph the everyday details that make your life unique, beautiful, and special. Each Sunday we gather here to share our photos with each other. To enjoy the beauty that can be found in the ordinary and to be reminded of just how important the simple things are. 

Just a few quick rules to play:
1. Grab a Simple things Sunday button and include it in your simple things post.

2. Link back directly to your simple things post not your blog/website.

No links to other linky parties, giveaways or craft projects pretty please. 
This linky is all about the photos.

3. Be sure to pop by and visit at least 3 other links and leave a comment.

Leave as many as you can.

Saturday Share No. 3 – Favorite Quotes Mini

Welcome to our third weekend of Saturday Share! This fun new link party that I’m hosting along with Pebbles, My Sister’s Suitcase, Sweet Rose Studio, Balancing Home, Snap and Imaginisce is all about sharing Project Life® inspired ideas!

Image Map
I’m excited to be a part of this fun new series and can’t wait to see what projects you’ve been working on this week!  Stop by each Saturday to link up and share your photo pocket style layouts with us! Share your tried and true tips, link a related blog post, photos you’ve uploaded to Pinterest, whatever works for you. 🙂

Keep an eye on the official Saturday Share pinterest board where we’ll be pinning some of your ideas throughout the week! You’ll find all kinds of Project Life® inspiration over there so make sure you’re following! 🙂

Earlier this week I shared some new pages that I added to my Favorite Quotes mini album. This has to be one of my all time favourite Project Life® albums that I’ve put together so far!! I’m an avid quote collector and this fun little mini album has been the perfect place for me to keep some of my favorite quotes.

The album is filled with a mixture of printed cards that I created, along with handwritten quotes that I’ve jotted down on leftover journaling cards from a variety of Project Life® editions.

Both of my sets of printable quote cards are available for purchase in the Simple as That Digital Shop here. My brand new Be Happy set is on sale for $1 off until Monday Sept. 23rd!

This has been such a fun little album to put together and is truly an inspiration to look through! To see more of the inside pages you can go here and here. 

Thanks so much for stopping by this weekend! Don’t forget to check out the other bloggers that are sharing even more Project Life® inspiration! Click on the images below to go to each of their sites.

Favorite Quotes Mini Album : Be Happy Collection

A few months ago I began putting together a Project Life® mini album filled with some of my favorite quotes. I needed a place to keep my ever-growing collection and this has been the perfect solution. This little mini album has become one of my favorite projects, I love it so much! You can read more about it here.
I created a few more printable quotes to add to my album that I wanted to share today. I’m calling this my Be Happy Collection and its full of inspirational quotes all about happiness! 🙂 There are nine cards plus you’ll find a fun freebie that coordinates with the set to download below. I just love reading these particular quotes over and over –  they make me smile, even if I’m having a hard day.
I’ve already got them printed + in my album along with a couple of cards that I hand wrote some quotes on. My favorite cards to journal on lately are these 4×6 ledger cards – I hope they’ll be back in stock soon because they’re so great! It seems like they work with any Project Life® spread I’m working on. They’re simple + super versatile! Here’s how I used them in my daughter’s Kindergarten mini album recently.
Get the collection for $1 off until Monday September 23rd. Once purchased you’ll be emailed your digital files within 48 hours. Files include JPEG’s of each quote card and a PDF document containing all of the quotes. I’ve included some handy printable version of the 3×4 cards – two of them on a 4×6 size page so they can easily be uploaded to your favorite photo lab and printed. 
I stumbled upon this quote by Katrina Mayer on Pinterest the other day and it really struck a cord with me. I created this quick 4×6 card that coordinates with the rest of the Be Happy collection. I plan to print it out and hang it on the fridge as a daily reminder. You can download this printable for free right here. I shared some other freebies last Sunday that include a few of my favorite quotes about finding joy in simple things, you’ll find the download link here.
I hope you enjoy this collection of quotes as much as I do and they inspire you to find happiness
in the everyday.
I will be adding more to my album through the year and am always on the hunt for new quotes that I can turn into cute printables. I’d love for you to share your favorite quote in the comments and who knows, they may be included in my next set of printables. 🙂

Applesauce Muffins : A Favourite Family Recipe

Applesauce muffins – these muffins are my kids most requested after school snack. They’re delicious – that cinnamon sugar topping is just the right touch. Bonus: they’re so easy that my kids can help make them.

 
I love baking with my kids! I have so many special memories of time spent in the kitchen with my family growing up and I love creating those same memories with my own children. Whether we’re making dinner or baking a batch of our favorite muffins – working together in the kitchen helps foster connections, build memories and teach valuable life skills.
 
Cooking with kids can be fun and rewarding. Of course, it can also be messy and usually takes a little longer than doing it yourself – but in the end, the benefits of connecting, teaching and enjoying time together are totally worth the spilled flour or the slightly burnt batch of cookies.

Today I’m sharing one of my favourite, kid-friendly recipes. I loved it when my mom would make these applesauce muffins for us as kids and now they’ve become one of my kids favourites. They’re yummy and it’s so easy to keep all the ingredients for these muffins stocked in my pantry. They’re super simple, with plenty of steps that my kids can help with, which makes them the perfect thing for us to bake together. You can download a printer friendly version of the recipe here.

Ingredients:
 
½ cup butter
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 ¾ cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp Salt
 
Topping:
 
¼ cup butter, melted
½ cup sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon
 
Steps:
 
Cream butter and sugar.
Beat in eggs one at a time until fluffy.
Add applesauce and mix.
Sift in dry ingredients.
Place in muffin tins and bake at 350 F until golden.
While the muffins are still warm dip in melted butter and then in cinnamon sugar mixture.
Quick Tips to Keep in Mind When Baking with Kids.
 
1. Give them a job. Even the littlest helpers can put muffin liners in a muffin tin, mix ingredients or push the button to start the timer, etc. Get the kids involved by giving them specific tasks that are at their ability level to avoid unnecessary frustration.
 
 
Speaking of muffin liners, I tried out these parchment baking cups for the first time with this recipe and I really loved them. Have you tried them before? They peeled away so easily, without leaving half the muffin behind. They’re available on Amazon, but I purchased mine at a local Fry’s grocery store.
 
2. Plan ahead. A little bit of planning can help things run much smoother when you’re baking with kids. I really like to have ingredients measured ahead of time. This makes it easy for little hands to pour and takes less time once your helper is in the kitchen with you – which does wonders for short attention spans.
3. Expect a mess. Don’t be surprised if there is a spill or clothes get dirty – because it will happen. 😉 If you’re concerned about messes, have your child wear an apron or older clothes and keep a wash cloth handy. Relax. Have fun. Allow your child to explore and just embrace the mess. 🙂
4. Teach while you bake. I love the simple lessons that can be reinforced while creating in the kitchen. My kids like counting out cups of flour, singing silly songs as we mix, practising the letter sounds that correspond with each ingredient. If you have an emergent reader, put them in charge of reading the recipe to everyone.
 
5. Make it fun. Keeping things relaxed and fun will help you create lasting memories in the kitchen with your kids. I find I’m able to relax when we can take our time and don’t have anywhere to be. It also helps when I choose simple and inexpensive recipes to explore with the kids. That way, if things don’t turn out quite how we would have expected, it’s not a big deal.
 
ETA: I’ve had a few people asking what mixer I use. It’s a Bosch Universal Mixer. I’ve had it for several years and absolutely love it! Growing up, my Mom had a Bosch and if you can believe it, it’s still going strong, 20+ years later!
 
I hope you enjoy these simple and delicious applesauce muffins. We sure had fun making them and eating them too! They make a great afterschool snack and also freeze well. I typically freeze them without the topping + add it later, once the muffins are defrosted. 
applesauce-muffins
 

Simple Things Sunday Photo Link Party No.124

We spent some time in the kitchen this week baking muffins. Applesauce muffins to be exact – the recipe is coming  your way soon – they’re a family favourite that I remember enjoying as a child. I have fond memories of time spent in the kitchen making meals and baking yummy treats with my family + creating those same special memories with my own kiddos means so much to me.


Now it’s your turn to join Stacy of KSW and I for Simple things Sunday! You can share your photos on both of our blogs using the linky tool below or  join us on instagram using hashtag #SimpleThingsSunday.

Stacy on Instagram // Rebecca on Instagram

If you’re new to Simple as That I’d love for you join us in this weekly tradition! 

What is Simple things Sunday?

This weekly photo share is all about taking time to photograph the everyday details that make your life unique, beautiful, and special. Each Sunday we gather here to share our photos with each other. To enjoy the beauty that can be found in the ordinary and to be reminded of just how important the simple things are. 

Just a few quick rules to play:
1. Grab a button below and include it in your simple things post.

2. Link back directly to your simple things post not your blog/website.

No links to other linky parties, giveaways or craft projects pretty please. 
This linky is all about the photos.

3. Be sure to pop by and visit at least 3 other links and leave a comment.

Leave as many as you can.


 


By linking up to the Simple things Sunday party you hereby give us permission to feature your photos + tell the world about your amazing photography talents. We’d love to showcase your work via social media and acknowledge what you’re doing each week to capture the simple things!

Saturday Share No. 2 – School Memories

Image Map
Welcome to the first official Saturday Share link party everyone!

For those of you who missed it last week, I introduced this fun new series that I’m excited to be a part of with an amazing group of bloggers! 

 It’s all about sharing Project Life® inspired ideas! Each week you can visit Pebbles, My Sister’s Suitcase, Sweet Rose Studio, Balancing Home, Snap + my blog, where you’ll find plenty of photo pocket page layouts and/or tips each Saturday.

and

You can stop by on the weekend to link up and share your photo pocket style layouts too! Share your tried and true tips, link a related blog post, photos you’ve uploaded to Pinterest, whatever works for you. I can’t wait to see what you’ve been working on this week! 🙂

At the beginning of the school year my daughter and I started to put together a Project Life® mini album to document her kindergarten year. It’s been so fun to work on together! You can see more from the album here.

This week we added another page spread to the album + had a lot of fun with it. Can I just say that working on this album with Addie + the memories we’re creating while doing this together are just as precious as the memories we’re recording inside the album! It is so special to see how excited she is to write on the journaling cards, slip photos into the pockets and share details about who she is and what she loves at this darling age!

We decided it would be fun to include one of Addie’s handprints in her mini album so we did that this week using craft paint + these 4×6 ledger cards. Her hands were a bit too big to fit on one 4×6 card so I taped two together lightly on the back and did the handprint on both of them. Next, we removed the tape and slipped the two cards into their spots in the album, one on top of the other.

We then took some of the 3×4 cards included in the Mayfield Childhood mini kit and simply filled in the blanks. I love all the journaling prompts on the cards in this colorful kit, it makes it so easy to record the little details about your child!

We included a photo along with a little picture Addie drew on one of the 4×6 ledger cards and that was that. We worked on it for probably 1/2 an hour afterschool the other day and I’m thrilled with how much we were able to record on this one little page!

Don’t forget to check out the other bloggers that are posting each Saturday! 
Click on the images below to go to each of their sites! 


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