this is me

2.02.2018

Heidi Swapp Lightbox Time To Move Forward by Jamie Pate | @jamiepate for @heidiswapp

Hello friends.



It is February 1. 2018.

January 2018 is now part of our past.

I still sort of feel like the year has just begun.

Perhaps that is because I have been sick for more than half the month.
Was gone to Phoenix to Creativation with Team Heidi right as I was starting to feel human again.
And then came home to several of my children getting this horrible flu that is moving through our state.

All those plans and dreams and ideas that I had brainstormed at the beginning of the year? Yep. You guessed it. They did not happen. I have been completely MIA from this space. From my Facebook Design page. And somewhat from IG.

So I say let's have a do-over!

I'm also going to learn to EXHALE all of this.
See this post by Heidi Swapp to get all the details on what I mean.

I am vowing that whatever is in the past is in the past.
Now starts right now!
Do I hear an amen?

Begin. Start Where You Are. Heidi Swapp Letterboard. Styling by Jamie Pate | @jamiepate for @heidiswapp

I am going to just draw a proverbial line in the sand and start over.
As my friend Lindsay reminds us. Start Where You Are.
Not only is that wise. But it's doable.

Let me introduce myself. Because remember. We are starting over.

Photography by PhotographyByCristy in Colorado Springs

My name is Jamie Pate. I currently hail from Colorado just east of the Springs. I am wife to one man for 28 years now. We have 5 in our tribe. They range in age from 22 down to 7. Yep. We like it like that.


We are a busy household. Four kids at home. One on his own. With kids in three different schools across town. Dance lessons. Skate lessons. Bible club. Volunteer work. Oh. And the occasional family social outing keeps our weeks very very busy. We must like it like that.

Heidi Swapp Media Team | Jamie Pate @jamiepate


I am a content creator for Heidi Swapp brand. That means I get to take her products and make pretty stuff. This makes me a blessed person. My work includes being on her Media Team with some of the most delightful creatives I have ever known. Real people. I'm tellin' ya. If you don't already, get to know them.

Project Life Albums | @JamiePate

In addition. I am a story teller. I utilize the idea behind Project Life to curate family photo albums yearly. While this is a labor of love. And even though I have fallen off a bit the past two years, I am renewing my commitment to the story telling process. It's that important to me. There is no emotion than the emotion of opening up an album from a few years (or even a decade) back and being immersed in what was then. It brings amazing perspective to my right now.

Heidi Swapp Storyline Collection. Layout by Jamie Pate | @jamiepate for @heidiswapp

This includes keeping photo albums for each of my kids as best as I can. I use Heidi Swapp's Storyline collection to inspire that activity.

As Ali Edwards recently relayed on her blog, she tells these stories and lays out these photos for her. She has a great article HERE about her process for the new year. Ya need to read it.

I have decided to do the same. These albums are for me. The by-product is that my kids have a well documented history of them. How this has impacted me the 20 years I have been scrapbooking and telling stories is monumental. It's huge. And priceless.
I can't encourage you enough to tell your story! It matters.

There is another creative outlet I have been thinking about. And I am renewing my commitment to it as well. Read that to say: finding the time.

Creative Play. Make Time For Your Art  | Jamie Pate @jamiepate

It's what we creatives often call creative play. My objective will be to keep an art journal. To explore paint mediums and texture paste and art screens and ink. To just play. No one has to see. And this is truly for me. Ideas come to me when I play and exercise the creative with no pressure. This is gonna be good. I want to encourage you to find time to just play.

Heidi Swapp Memory Planner by Jamie Pate | @jamiepate @heidiswapp

One more creative and memory keeping medium in my life is the Memory Planner. I. Love. My. Planner. Again. A memory keeping exercise I keep for me. A little more personal than my albums. Very often a launching place for the stories that I do tell in more detail. I took the time to create a Memory Planner class over at Big Pictures Classes. ( I have another planner class currently in the works.) To say this is an important place for my photos, quotes, thoughts, and even a daily log is an understatement. It's HUGE in my life.

That is just a little bit about me and my creative endeavors. My husband and I have some big dreams forming in our hearts. I am so eager to see where this will take us. To be willing to say yes to scary ideas. To practice a greater faith in our God. I'll let you know what happens.

All this to say hi! And that if you are a creative, a story teller, or even a dreamer, I would love to hear from you. Tell me. What is big on your heart right now? What is it you want to accomplish better this year. I would love to hear your story.

OK.
Last thing.
I would love to hear from you where ever you are most apt to linger.
Find me here:
Instagram: @jamiepate
Facebook: Jamie Pate Designs
Twitter: @jmpgirl
YouTube: JamiePateDesigns
BigPictureClasses: Jamie Pate

And please. If there is any creative project you would like to see more of here, please share that with me. I would love to oblige.

Thank you for saying hi. Looking forward to a exceptional new year!














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