Croissant Breakfast Bake

I recently spent the weekend in Asheville, North Carolina with nine ladies from the Alpha Omega Alumni Chapter. We had our first ever Alumni Retreat. It went so well and we had a fantastic time! We stayed in a cabin which allowed us to cook a few of our meals. 

For breakfast, I made a variety of muffins, but I also wanted something savory. I searched Pinterest and was originally going to make an egg casserole. Then I stumbled upon a recipe using croissants. Automatic winner! It was easy to make and everyone loved it! The original recipe is from Just a Pinch Recipes.

Design: Summer Dinner

Do you ever feel stressed out and tense and you're not entirely sure why? I have been feeling that way lately. My jaw has been really tight and I have to keep reminding myself to relax. The worst part is that I do not really have that much to be stressed about. I have a few events coming up, but nothing I really need to be overly stressed about. On the plus side, it has made me get down and do some yoga. I have been so slack about working out lately (hmm...that probably has something to do with my stress level). I found a new yoga channel through a Pinterest post; it's called Yoga with Kassandra. She has a lot of Yin Yoga videos which focuses on holding poses for a few minutes so you get a nice, deep stretch. I thought these videos would help me de-stress a little bit. I've been enjoying them so far.

One of the events I have coming up is a dinner with my Alumni Chapter. Really it's an excuse to have dinner with my friend, Cheryl. She might be the only one RSVPed so far, anyway. But that's OK! I used to stress out about lack of participation from people in the group. But I have learned (and still have to remind myself of this from time to time) that it doesn't matter who actually comes. All that matters is that I give them the opportunity to build and develop relationships. Only they can choose to use the opportunity.

For the dinner, I created a simple invitation. It follows the template I've been using for these types of events. But I do love the background I found on Shutterstock. It's perfect for summer!

Fonts Used
KG Hard Candy Solid
Cursif
Bell MT

Design: Summer Retreat

One event that has been on my mind since helping create the Alpha Omega Alumni Chapter is a retreat. However, since the start of the chapter I have lived out of state. This makes planning a trip of this nature hard to execute. Now that I am back in the state, this was one of my priorities for this summer.

We are doing some fundraisers to help bring the cost down. Our first was a flower fundraiser through Flower Power. It was not hugely successful, but I like to try things out to see how well they do. That way we know if it's worthwhile to do again in the future. It was really easy to organize. I highly recommend it if you have a fundraising need and have some gardeners in your group.

Our group was interested in going to the mountains for a retreat. Originally I was planning on Hendersonville, North Carolina. Charles worked at a summer camp up there and we have been several times. It is a cute town, but a little off the beaten path so it isn't too busy or crowded with tourists. However, a couple of the other ladies suggested Asheville. I have only been there once, but it was at the tail end of winter. So I am looking forward to experiencing it in another season.

We will be discussing topics from the book Messy Beautiful Friendship by Christine Hoover. I just started the book and am really enjoying it. It addresses a lot of issues that I struggle with. And it sounds like most, if not all, women struggle with the exact same things. It should provide some good discussion in our group.

Fonts used:
Just Realize
Parisienne
Quicksand

Design: Beach Day

I absolutely love being back in South Carolina! One of the best things is the ability to plan get-togethers for the alumni of Alpha Omega. While living out of state, I was able to plan or help plan the annual Alumni Weekend, but a lot of ladies find it hard to attend. We have folks living all over the state and I like to encourage people in the various areas to meet together. Being back allows me to facilitate these gatherings.

Currently I'm about 2 hours from the beach and it has been calling me. I thought it would be fun to organize a beach day with the Alpha Omega Alumni. Summer is always busy with people traveling, so I am not sure how many will be able to come. But I figure I have to at least try.

Fonts used:
Hawaiian Punk
Meganhand

Design: Alpha Omega Alumni Brunch

I can't believe we are already a week into February! My birthday was last week. It was a weird birthday. Part of the reason was because so much has been going on lately that I did not have time to really think about it. Plus, I started a new job the day before and I hate working on my birthday. It's such a grown-up, responsible, boring thing to do on a day that should be filled with fun. But they did know it was my birthday and wished me a happy one. And the lady I've been working with from the temp agency called to wish me a happy birthday which I thought was extremely thoughtful and kind.

Now that is is February it also means I am closer to one of my favorite annual events, the Alpha Omega Alumni Weekend! We always have a brunch with the active sisters. It's a nice time to meet them and remember our college days.

The flier is pretty much comparable to the Alumni Dinner flier. I wanted to make it a similar style since the events are for the same weekend. But I did use a different background. It reminds me of Chinese lanterns. 

Fonts Used
Cursif
KG Hard Candy Solid
Vingy

Design: Alpha Omega Alumni Dinner 2017

My life is slowly returning to normal. We closed on our house this past week and have been unpacking boxes and putting things away. It is HARD work! Most everything is put away and unpacked. I am loving my new house and the huge kitchen island I have now. Yesterday our fridge was finally delivered and we could buy groceries. That first grocery trip after you move is always massive (and expensive). The first thing I made in my new kitchen? Brownies, of course!

Part of getting back to normal is my upcoming Alpha Omega Alumni Weekend! Usually this is at the very top of my priority list this time of year, but I haven't been thinking so much about it yet. I did make time to create a flier for our Alumni dinner which is always the first event of the weekend.

Fonts used:
Cursif
KG Hard Candy Solid
Vingy

Design: Columbia Dinner

It has been awhile! We made it to the East coast and are awaiting the closing of our house. I am so ready to be out of the hotel room.

Being back in South Carolina has given me a chance to plan some events for my college sorority's alumni chapter of which I am president. The first event was a dinner in Columbia. And naturally, I had to make a flier to promote it. I miss being the Publicity chair for the Officer Spouse Club in California. It gave me a lot of opportunities to create fliers. Now I am going to have to make up my own excuses.

Fonts used:
Cursif
KG Hard Candy Solid
Bell MT

Design: Brunch Invitation

For the Alpha Omega Alumni weekend, I love creating invitations to share in an email. With so many alumni, it is not cost effective to send paper invitations each year. We reserve mailed invitations for our Reunion every five years. I will often use the same design for several years and then when I get tired of it, I'll create something new. For this year's Alumni Weekend I created a couple new designs. One was for the Alumni Brunch.

The actives usually have a theme for the brunch, but we don't typically find out until the event itself. So I tend to keep the design of the invitation pretty general and brunch-like. I found this great sunrise (or sunset?) image somewhere and thought it would be fun.

Fonts used:
Cursif
Modern No. 20

Dressember

My good friend, Ciara, shared a video on Facebook from the creator of Dressember. To be honest, I hardly ever watch videos people share on Facebook. But I actually watched this one and it inspired me.

Dressember is a campaign that takes place during the month of December. Participants wear a dress every day that month to raise awareness and money for charities working to fight human trafficking.

As you know, in college I was in a sorority called Alpha Omega. After I graduated, they adopted the organization Project Rescue as their philanthropy. Project Rescue works to fight sex trafficking.

After watching the video, a light clicked on in my head. I'll participate in Dressember to bring awareness and raise money for Project Rescue! My idea was to challenge my Alpha Omega Alumni sisters to wear dresses, too. For each dress they wore, they could post a photo to our Facebook group. For each photo, I donated $1 to Project Rescue.

It was a lot of fun to challenge myself to wear a dress every day. I was surprised by how many dresses I own. I also enjoyed seeing my friends who participated. They all have such a unique style and it was fun to see the dresses and outfits they shared.

By the end of the month, I had worn a dress 30 of the 31 days. I donated $100 to Project Rescue. I look forward to participating in Dressember again!

Too long

Wow! It's been awhile since I have posted anything. This does not mean I have been up to nothing. On the contrary, I have been fairly busy.

One of my biggest projects recently was the Alpha Omega Reunion. It happened at the beginning of October and it went really well. I was a little anxious about it, but it was a great time spent with friends! One of the Alpha Omega founders attended and she was so touched to see how Alpha Omega has grown and what it means to all of us. In turn, it meant a lot to me that I was able to put the Reunion together (with help from my committee, of course).

Here are some pictures:

Alumni Dinner Group

We participated in a fingerprint art project.

Alumni and Actives

Flowers for our Celebration Ceremony

Celebration Ceremony group

Some of my favorites and me

Reunion Weekend roommates!

Spring flowers

Shameless plug for a fundraiser I am participating in....

The Alpha Omega Alumni Chapter is fundraising with Dutch Mill Bulbs to earn money for our upcoming twenty year reunion! All items are guaranteed to grow and bloom, and our group earns 50% profit on every sale. I hope you will be able to help.

It’s easy! Make your selections, provide billing and shipping information, and choose a secure method of payment (credit card or PayPal). A shipping fee of $4.00 will be applied to orders 24 packages or less, free shipping on orders 25 packages or more.

Please click on http://groups.dutchmillbulbs.com/alphaomegaalumnichapter.php and you’ll be directed to our custom page.  Items you select will be sent directly to the shipping address you provide. 

If you are typing the link into your computer rather than clicking on the link, be sure to enter the information in the “URL” field (starts with Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.) not the search box.

For me to receive credit for the sale, please include my name during the check-out procedure. On the top front of our web page is the following information:

Please Note

Please be sure to add the Student’s and Teacher's name or Group Member's name in "Add special instructions to the seller" field providedduring the checkout process as shown.  By clicking "add", a message box will appear to enter the information. 

This box is located on the page after the credit card or PayPal information has been entered and cannot be accessed from the example image on the front page.  

Page 1 Items available to purchase

Page 2 Your shopping cart

Page 3 Enter billing information / shipping information

Page 4 Enter credit card / PayPal information

Page 5 Summary of the order – Enter sellers name here (Kristen Thoennes)

Page 6 Confirmation of the order - Sellers name is viewed on confirmation page

Page 7 Receipt of Order

Please place your order by April 15, 2015.

Thank you for your support!

Alumni Weekend

A couple weekends ago was one that I look forward to every year...the annual Alpha Omega Alumni Weekend! Each year we all get together for food and fun. It is especially nice to have this each year since I live so far away from everyone. It gives me a chance to catch up and reconnect.

On Friday night we enjoyed Mexican food and bowling. It was a blast!

On Saturday we had brunch with the current sisters and then our chapter meeting. I was nominated yet again for alumni chapter president.

Later that day a couple of us painted some pottery. A couple months ago Charles accidentally broke a bowl he had painted. I decided to make him a new one. I can't wait to see it finished.

We finished the weekend with dinner and game night. It was incredibly hard to leave the next day. I desperately wanted to stay. Maybe one day we'll live close again.

Something I love

One thing I love doing is creating invitations or fliers for events I am hosting. For my sorority alumni chapter, I am able to create lots of invitations for our annual Alumni Weekend events. I also create the monthly newsletter. I just finished making a few things and wanted to share my designs. I draw a lot of inspiration by perusing Google images. Sometimes I "steal" ideas and put my own twist on them.

I saw the line "Spare the Excuses...Join Us" on anther invitation/flier for bowling and loved it! Sometimes it is hard to get a group of people together because everyone is so busy with their own lives. But that line makes you think about what you have going on in your life.

I love the nautical style and wanted to incorporate this theme into something. The brunch probably won't be nautical theme, but who cares! I'm not in charge of planning this event because it is hosted by the current sisters of Alpha Omega so I can design whatever kind of invitation I want, right?

I loved my invitation for the last few years, but knew I should mix it up a little. This design is very simple, but I'm really feelin' it.

Mini hat

My annual get-together with my college sorority sisters is THIS weekend! I am making the long journey from California this year and I am not looking forward to a long afternoon/evening in the air. But I will get to see my friends and my real sisters while in town, so it should be worth it.

Each year there is a brunch and the theme for this year's event is hats. I own baseball caps and that is it. I figured wearing a baseball cap to a brunch would not be very cute. And being unemployed at the moment I did not want to go out an buy a hat to wear once. Pinterest to the rescue! I found a tutorial for a fun little hat that I can pin in my hair. The tutorial and pattern are on FleeceFun.com.

If you are doing the no-sew option, the directions called for spray adhesive. I did not have any, so I used scrapbook adhesive. I didn't know if it would work, but it worked out alright. The tutorial also calls for fleece, but I used regular fabric.

I realized after I finished that my middle section is upside down. Ever since I have considered making a new one, but have not done so yet. It still looks like a hat and I would probably be the only one to know. The hat isn't perfect, but it is good enough and it was FREE! I already had all the supplies I needed.

Necklace making

If you follow my blog, you might remember my monogram necklace post. In that post I mentioned making an Alpha Omega necklace with the same kit. I finally got around to it! The tutorial for this kit is so easy to follow. You can whip out necklaces so quickly.

I used my Silhouette to cut out the Alpha and Omega symbols. I have never cut anything so tiny so I wasn't sure if it would work. But it turned out perfectly!

I will be raffling off this necklace at our annual Alpha Omega Alumni Weekend, so I'll probably have to make another one for myself.

I still have a few more pieces in the kit so I have to think of a few more necklace ideas.

Finally finished!

Way back in February (almost a year ago...wow!), I set out some goals to accomplish while Charles was off at training (The Long Morrow). I did not accomplish as much as I wanted to, but I am happy to report that I finally finished one of those projects...my t-shirt blanket!

The front features t-shirts from college, including some of my Alpha Omega shirts. Each of those shirts reminds me of a specific time and place in my life. I love having those memories!

The back features some of Charles' shirts that he was willing to part with. He has a very large t-shirt collection. And I mean literally a whole dresser full of t-shirts. Originally the back was going to be polka dot fabric in various colors. Now I have to figure out what to do with that fabric.

I am happy with my t-shirt blanket, but I probably did it all wrong according to experienced blanket/quilt makers. With that said, if you have a desire to make your own just do it! You can find lots of tutorials on Pinterest. My friend, Jenilyn, over at Grits and Giggles also has a quilt tutorial she posted recently.

Blessings Monday

Some of my sorority sisters--Jenilyn, Morgan and Cheryl

I do not have a best friend that I grew up with. Moving around about every 3 years as a kid kind of messes up with making long-term friends. In college, I was in a sorority and have a good group of friends from that. It's fun to see all the different personalities and how we interact with each other. There can be drama at times, but it keeps like interesting. I was sad that not everyone from our group could come to the Alumni weekend, but I'm hoping to convince at least some of them to come up and visit soon.

One of my sisters, Cheryl, was kind of in my circle of friends in college, but for some reason we weren't very close. About a year or so after graduation, Charles and I moved back to SC and I started hanging out with Cheryl more often. I am so grateful that we did! I love hanging out with her. I would consider Cheryl to be one of my blessings. Last fall we were both going through some hard stuff and when I came down to visit, we both had some break downs and it was comforting knowing that I wasn't the only person that just broke down in tears over stuff. And she has asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding in December. I am super excited!

Cookbook Fundraiser... HELP!

For my Alumni chapter of Alpha Omega, I am trying to think of fun fundraising ideas for everyone to participate in even though we're all so spread out. One of my recent ideas was to do a cookbook fundraiser. However, I am reaching out to all my followers and visitors to find out if you have done this type of project before and where are some good places to get cookbooks published. I've done a little bit of searching just to get a rough idea, but I would love any and all suggestions.

Reunion

Handmade invitations

In college, I was in a Christian sorority called Alpha Omega. Last fall, Alpha Omega celebrated its 15 year reunion. I was lucky enough to be able to plan the reunion weekend festivities. I thought I would share what we did.

I handmade all the  50+ invitations. I had found an invitation online that had the really cute paper doll girls on it, but the colors were all wrong. I design-plagiarized and copied the paper doll girls. As you can see, there are 4 paper doll girls on each invitation, so that was a lot of paper doll girls to cut out and glue. It took what seemed like a million years. Afterwards, I figured out how to get my Silhouette machine to do it. Even though it was so time consuming, I am really happy with how they turned out.
On the first night, we had an Alumni Dinner. We had it catered with various finger foods, which were absolutely amazing! One thing was a bacon dip. I recently found a recipe that sounds similar--I just need an excuse to make it. We played a bunch of ice breaker games that I found online...gotta love Google.

Centerpieces

The next day was the Reunion Brunch, the big event! The theme for the reunion was Brought Together by Sisterhood and Kept by God. I used Paper Dolls to symbolize that theme. My budget was SUPER tight, so I couldn't do all the decorating things that I wanted to do.

For the table centerpieces at the brunch, I used large paper dolls. I found some big cutouts of paper dolls at Michael's. They were plain white, so I got some 12x12 scrapbook paper in pink, teal and yellow and traced the paper dolls and cut out the shape in the cardstock. I had to figure out a way to get them to stand up together, so I fashioned supports using small craft sticks. It wasn't the most stable...but it worked out long enough.

Cupcakes arranged in our Greek letters...not my idea, but everyone loved it! The cupcakes and icing were homemade the night before the brunch. Everyone who stayed with me helped make them which was fun!

Once I figured out how to cut the paper dolls with my Silhouette, I cut out larger girls to use as name tags. I glued pins on the back of each so everyone could wear them. They made for a cute keepsake for the event.
The other activities from the weekend included a really awesome picture scavenger hunt around town. The 100 point bonus picture was for a team member getting into the fountain at Winthrop (totally frowned upon by the higher-ups at the campus). Two of my teammates did it and we won! That evening, we had a praise and worship ceremony which was really amazing. And after that, we had a pizza & movie night and watched Steel Magnolias.

It was such a fun weekend. I hope I can help plan the  next one!

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