random me

4.30.2011


As instructed by Trish {wink} i today shall share a tad of my wee little self.
the random me.
trish did this on her blog and incited the design team to go forth and do the same.
then....debbi did just that...shared some of her random self.
so. here i am. just incase you might vaguely be interested.

food:: i love food. i enjoy cooking. i would rather bake. although my oldest daughter is starting to take that over. but what i love to eat are things like cashew chicken, shrimp fettucini, polla rosa maria. i am a huge fan of good mexican food. as found in the southern portions of california. (have not found it here in colorado.) i am thankful i have my paternal grandmother's metabolism. i can eat pretty much what i want. but i don't.

color:: black. i like black. grey. brown. charcoal. i have always tended to these safe and sure colors. i do have hints of gold and red in my home. but if burlap were a color, that would be my favorite current color.

animals:: currently we have a miniature, black, lopped-ear bunny. and an african water frog. he is kind of freaky. he always watches us.

dessert:: my newest, favoritist dessert right now are the cake pops at starbucks. i love those. but mostly give me a brownie with something mixed in. or better yet a brownie with homemade vanilla ice cream and my husbands dark chocolate sauce on top. yum-o.

artist.:: i swoon to norah jones. i jam to tobey mac. i rock to u2 (going to their concert in 3 weeks). falling for milt buckner. throw in some lenka, and mozart, and boston and i am a little schizo.

pair of shoes:: i wish i was one of those mom's that could wear her strappy heels all day. but my slip on black born's are what suit me and my daily tasks.

outfit:: mostly you will find me in 'my favorite tee' by gap either layered over a lacy tank or under a cardigan. some comfy jeans and my born's.

skinny jeans:: just bought some! and their too big!! in gray no less.

brand:: LOFT. anthro. TARGET. old navy.

perfume:: it's not a perfume, but rather body lotion: sensual amber from Bath&Body Works.

accessory. Brighton. Brighton. Brighton. Did I say I like Brighton?

city:: near colorado springs because no one knows where peyton, colorado is.

hobbies:: paper art. photography. reading. baking. keeping my families memories.

beauty products:: been using Artistry cosmetics for over 20 years. i am loyal if i am anything.

holiday:: thanksgiving.

snack:: popcorn actually popped in oil on the stove.

movie:: Philadelphia Story~Cary Grant & Kathryn Hepburn. love!

song:: today? The Beast by Milt Buckner

guilty pleasure:: being in the house all by myself.

Seven things you may or may not know about me...

1.i began to pursue modeling way back in the day. did a little. too intimidating.
2.met my husband when i was 13 years old.
3.rode horseback in a rodeo when i was 10.
4.i live next door to my parents who live next door to my sister. there are no fences in our backyard between the houses. the greatest gift i could have ever given to my kids.
5. i have 5 children and i home school 4 of them. and yes, i color my hair.
6. my husband is a store manager for Bed Bath & Beyond, and i NEVER shop there.
7. took a trip to Paris a couple years back with my girlfriends. sigh!



tomorrow i will be making a rare Sunday blog post as there is another One Little Word  blog hop for May. hope you drop by!

a little friendly peek

4.28.2011


a whole lot of creating has been going on here lately.

finishing up may's work in progress.

today i share a few peeks with you.

gallery is live and kickin' on sunday, may 1st.

may 1st? seriously?

yikes.

life is busy.busy.busy.

how about you?




hope you enjoyed the tease.
had fun with this kit.
there might even be another mini included this month.
who knows.

oh! and thank you all for your sweet.sweet comments of late.
you bless me.

the journal continues

4.26.2011

those of you who know me even a little know i journal.
everyday.
i keep a daily journal 90 days at a time.
for a couple of reasons.
90 days at a time helps me keep track of my year.
90 days at a time gives me an excuse to be artsy with paper and paint and stamps and what not.
90 days at a time is just a perfect size for me.

this is my cover. the blue and brown paper is from a gift bag that contained a birthday gift from my sister. i covered it with a sheet of vellum. i made a large tag from ledger paper from the girls paperie on holiday. the edges are painted with pink acrylic from my stash. the seam binding in pink is from inspire lovely. the paper punch label is punched from daily junque patterned paper. the butterfly peeking from behind is vellum as is the punched flower under the felt flower from stampin up. just layer away until you like the look. that easy.


the inner cover is painted in the same pink acrylic paint that has a chipboard butterfly attached. i painted over that as well as the 'journey' letters from basic grey. i will use this technique again and again.



i just realized i missed a page. hmm...i shall go on and have to let it go. this is another page inside the book on a clear overlay. there are elements on the other side that you will just have to muse about. i folded a doily (wilton) around the page. the library card is from Ho3 (may it rest in peace). again we have layering with the label paper punch and daily junque paper and old stampin up felt flower. can you tell i dug into my stash? the ticket is also daily junque cut from 12x12 pattern paper. i LOVE this collection. i am hoarding it just a tad. the flowers are from the fabulous debee over at inspire lovely.


the study flash card is another favorite from Ho3. the fall junque collection. it is 50% off this week before they close their cyber doors. I stitched it onto the pink graph paper from daily junque. the april letters are from jillibean soup painted in pink. i'm scrappy like that.

thank you for letting me share with you today.

project weekend

4.25.2011


some mother's day prettiness to share with you my friends.
by way of Mouse Paper Scissors over at Jessica Sprague.
in love with this project.

 mother's day book for mom...


 inspiring me in technical ways that are new to me.
i love this project for causing me to venture into these creative mediums.


i love this project for the pockets and tags and text, oh my!


this is my favorite::flags and sentiments peeking out from in between beautiful papers.

i love this project for the hidden mini file folders full of love and sentiment.


i love this project for it will go farther than just for a mom or two in my life...i can use it over and over again and show my love to all who receive.

wishing you a creative way into someone's heart today.
easter in the rockies

hello again.

4.14.2011

just a quick post.
still trying to feel better.
in the mean time i am thinking about this:

Talking about all these over here today.

today...

4.13.2011

spring fever

4.11.2011


spring is springing actually in these parts. anyway as i write this it is. we have had more mild temps this week, and it does something to me.
i want to crochet...


and so i did. {another curly scarf for a girly birthday gift}


and i want to sew. and i am going to start with these skirts. they look easy. there is no pattern. only a tutorial and photos. my kind of sewing.

so what is spring doing to you creatively?

friday already?

4.08.2011

i can have so many ambitions to start the week off with.
posts i want to posts.
projects i want to create.
and then all of a sudden it's friday.
someone recently asked me if i am up all hours of the night accomplishing my 'to do' list...
or if i just turn it off.
good or bad, i just turn it off.
i have created a margin of routine for my evenings when the kiddos are in bed.
and it is helping to take care of me and make sure i am well rested and ready for the next day.


but some things are falling off.
like finding time to nurture daily creativity.
and then posting my thoughts on it.
and visiting all you wonderful visitors and friends.


so i have yet to find a solid niche for that in my current schedule.
and would love input and hearing what works for you.
cause i know i am not the only busy mama.

as the above layout suggests, what is vital in my life right now, and will continue to be, are my quiet mornings. in the WORD. journaling. drinking that first cup of coffee. alone. that is the basis to my day. everyday. and it is indeed vital.

the other vital activity in my life right now is of course the little mr. He is seven and a half months today. his little life is flying past my heart and eyes.



the activity which swirls around within our walls seems to never let up. Mr. Pate and i made the mistake yesterday of mentally walking through the next 10 days or so, and realizing we will only be home as a family for dinner one night next week. (i should do a layout/story on how vital regular family dinners are to us.)
this layout is just one of those recent activities::


 the older ones and friends off to a weekend retreat in the mountains.

so what is vital in your life right now?
all layouts created for April's Work In Progress gallery.

"my friend'

4.05.2011

 
A little mini using coaster's as covers celebrating girlfriend from California's visit to my house a few weeks back.


I posted this over at Work In Progress over the weekend.  Lot's more photos and details there.


This of course uses mostly April's kit with a few papers from a previous kit.


Having a new love affair with vellum.


Been playing a lot with clear overlays.


Had fun making pattern paper look like little sweet swatches of tape.


Now I know girlfriend from California lurks in here every once in a while. And if she is thinking she would like this mini in her own lovely hands, then she might need to think about leaving me an actual comment.


Thank you sweet ladies for all your wonderful comments last week for the current activity in my OLW album. It has indeed become a most cherished project of my year. I am so thankful that is it having the impact on me that it is. And your encouraging words are so appreciated.

OLW Blog Hop

4.01.2011


Welcome to April's One Little Word blog hop. I am happy to be apart of this group of blogger's committed to working their word throughout the year, one month at a time.

First up is a review of the first month.

self-portrait


title page

definition page


closeup of my olw


february
February's prompt was to watch and observe the way my word works in the world around me. This is my interpretation of that prompt.


 March's prompt was one little action. I was encouraged to come up with an action statement. Then I was to mark a date on the calendar card when that action was to take place. Well, my version went further than that. By virtue of my olw: pray, I believe my word requires action every day. And so for almost everyday of the month, I had a word of action that chose me how to live in that day.

I say it chose me as I did not look for the action, it came to me daily. And daily I attempted to live out loud the olw.

Now I invite you to 'hop' on over to Nikki's blog for the next installment of today's OLW blog hop.

And if you would like to start from the beginning, Margie is the one to thank for putting this into action this month, and every month.

Here is a list of all bloggers participating today:

Margie http://xnomads.typepad.com/blog
Amanda http://scrappnbee.blogspot.com
Donna http://donnabryantdurand.blogspot.com
Joy www.undiscoveredjoy.blogspot.com
Jan http://mysimplelittlelife.typepad.com
Jamie http://jmpgirl.blogspot.com/
Nikki http://www.inkyart.com.au
Monica B2 www.questtoperfectimperfection.blogspot.com
Cindy http://seriousplay.typepad.com
Stacey http://www.TheAcornGarden.com/blog
Katrina http://k84mansramblings.blogspot.com/
Rebekah http://istampscrapcraft.blogspot.com/
Monica http://scraplifters.blogspot.com/
Chrissy http://getcraftywithchrissy.blogspot.com/
Jill http://jillconyers.typepad.com/
Lisa http://makeyourownescape.blogspot.com
Kathryn www.katlodesigns.com
Jennifer www.studiojenn.blogspot.com
Jen www.byjen.com
Sam http://learncreatedo.wordpress.com/
Miranda http://mirandasscrapsite.blogspot.com
Lynn www.crafty-creativity.blogspot.com
Cynthia http://paperpapereverywhere.blogspot.com/
Cheri A http://cheriandrews.blogspot.com
Deb http://blakleyhomeplace.blogspot.com
Nicky www.seejanebake.blogspot.com
Karen D http://womenontractors.blogspot.com/
Tina http://ryzmomplus2.typepad.com/my_weblog/
Kimberly http://foreverdaisies.blogspot.com/
Abbey http://athomewiththerichardsfamily.blogspot.com/
Julie Ann http://julieannshahin2.blogspot.com