sei poppy

as august comes to a close, it was a personal challenge to use up august's wip kit as much as i could before affording myself the luxury of moving on to the september kit. primarily because the september kit is so very beautifully autumunal, and i am just not really ready for that kind of weather yet. everyone i run into loves fall...it has many positive attributes, but it is so much cooler than summer, obviously, and i love the warmth of summer and the freedom that evokes.

so...i have a few more layouts in my head with this kit, and just a few more days...but here are seven that are worked up so far.

except for the mushy last layout, the above photos are from a wonderful family reunion back in june. i have an awesome family and that was an awesome way to start of this ever so busy summer.

thanks for stopping by...will be back with more...

have a fabulous saturday!

quote...unquote...

this little album has been brewing for months!!! had been adding to this since april and finally put it together. it came pretty close to what i wanted, and enjoyable to put together. a collection of quotes, mostly spiritual in nature. and still a bit of room to add a few more.

the mini chipboard book is the 5x5 art journal from stampin up. the products include mostly teresa collins journal-it and some travelogue (that from june wip kit). there is a bit of scenic route graph patterned paper, some hambly clear (very, very pretty), scenic route stamps, as well as chipboard from stampin up, and making memories, some bling, and stampin up stamps. if you need any specifics i am happy to get those to you.

thanks for looking. have a wonderful afternooon.

card album.

had a girlfriend give me a couple sets of boxed note cards by we r memory keepers. they are 5.5 inches square with some fun patterns. i decided to turn some into an album. i will use the box to to house the album, and send them to my girlfriend to highlight some of the photos she took of the kids while she was visiting.

so the above is how the project started. 6 assorted patterns, and solid colors on the back. and don't forget the envelopes. made use of one of those as well.
to form the page, i taped the card closed, and used the folded edge as the outside edge of the album, to keep a clean look about the pages. the outer cover is not taped, but rather is kept as a regular card, and houses the other pages inside. i then used two small book rings to keep it all together.

here's the finished project:

this last page using the envelope with a photo slipped inside of it.

that's it for today. have some other posts waiting in the wings...they will just have to wait until after the closing ceremonies for tonights olympics...

have a wonderful evening...

47 degrees....

...either i am living in the southern hemisphere...or the twilight zone...or both!!!! it is 47 flippin' degress here this morning, foggy....raining...grey...and did i mention cold? argh! i am not in good frame of mind here...i hate this! sigh...not to mention possible flash floods to go along with all this lovely weather. we needed the rain and all...it was the dryest year on record up to about 3 weeks ago...but seriously...it is really very unseasonable here and i must learn to endure...


on a much better lighter note...i, and my family, like so many others, are into the olympics...it's been a fun week and now our new household name is michael phelps...and then did you watch torres last night...i know it was only prelim..but the women's my age...and kicking it!!! i love it. and did you watch her concern last night for her fellow swimmers, lane two was having trouble with her swim gear and not at the block when it was time to race. torres sort of took over and made sure all waited for her...i love that! that is what it is all about. it was just fun to watch.


almost two weeks ago the kids and my friend and i went to the olympic training center in colorado springs. it was a great way to get in the mood and mindset for these games. all the athletes, of course, were already in beijing, but it was still great to see where the indoor games were trained and see all the great quotes everywhere. think i am inspired to do a book with all the quotes i picked up that day. these athletes are amazing to me the way they dedicate so much of their entire lives to these few two weeks of competition against the world. very inspiring.

for those of you in the northern hemisphere...have a wonderful summery day!

i'm back....

whew...i made it...three days and no modem...and i made it. it was a strange good break, however. but now i am back, and lots to do.

been gettin' scrappy with some cards. you know, i really started this hobby way back in the dark ages by stamping and making cards. i still love to do this. it is immediate gratification to make up a simple little card. getting to use some of my fav papers and then passing them on to someone else is many things. it gets me creative. i make myself use up scraps of kits and such. and to pass it on via snail mail is a lost art to many, and such a huge blessing to the recipient. we all love mail. and i have a few cards here that were easy to put together. they are all, what i call, scrappy goodness. literally scraps of this and that lying on my (always in a state of chaos) table. i sometimes use the last layout as a sketch scheme and that makes the process even quicker.

the other day, my girlfriend who was visiting for a week was so proud of me. we took off for the day and shopped for almost 12 hours! that might not be a big deal to anyone...but for this post-retail manager...it is a deal! i do not enjoy shopping...unless it is for scrappy goodness...i am good for quick little spirts and then let's get on to somethin' else. however, this day was different as she was visiting, and my husband took the day off to stay with the kids so i could go unfettered (how great is that?) anyway, we stumbled upon some great antique-y and cottage-y shops just about an hour from home. i came across this little sweet shutter. as my creative loft is a bit in shambles (basement is getting finished and then the upstairs room will be all mine...smiles!) the shutter will have to wait for a very special place in my space. so the question is...should i just clean it up and leave as is...? or do a bit of painting and distress it more? hmmm...anyone?

came upon this little find in the dollar spot at target for $2.50 (since when did they start putting things more expensive than a dollar in the dollar spot?). anyway, i am going to have to be inspired by emily over at 3peas design with her creative altering of a similar product. school is about to start, and routine and orgainization are desperately needed in the pate household once again. and if it can be cute and beautiful at the same time, it makes me smile.

have a most wonderful sunday...thanks for stopping by.

blow out.

no pics today. modem was blown by lightning yesterday...big bummer let me tell ya. am over at my sisters taking care of a little business, and wanted to post my latest woes. i have a couple of things to get on here too, but will have to wait for a new router and modem to arrive before i am back in the world of blogosphering...is that a word?
hope to be back soon.

have a wonderful wednesday!!

she did it!!!

so proud of my girl...she is officially on two wheels by herself!!! what fun it was for me to give her that big push, and find myself running beside her as she slowly realized she was solo on her bike. her eyes became as big as saucers, and her smile generously grew from grin to an expression of confidence at her new feat. pure joy...that's what it was, pure joy. the whole street was rejoicing with her. and i am as proud as a mamma could be.
the summer has been extra hot these past weeks, so getting out on our bikes has not been a priority. the evening was calm and beautiful a few ago, and we dragged all the bikes out and just hung around the front of the house. my friend, bren, practiced with her a few times up and down. (the altitude was getting to her, so we tag teamed and i took over). i sensed that she knew what and how to do it, she just needed to get going. that's when i decided to just give her a push from behind, and let go...and sure enough...that was all that was needed.
it was a good evening!

this is a blog i stumbled across in my travels, there is even a give away on there. april has a fun style about her by way of a cute project down on a post made july 11. i need to step into studio calico some day and actually buy and not just stalk...someday...

have a wonderful tuesday...