observe then serve

every day i wake with renewed desires.
renewed dreams.
renewed energy.

and often i take too much on and become frustrated with my lack of accomplishment.
so i start over again the next day...
renewed.

but i really adore Rhonna's approach today over on her blog...





this is her art work.
this is her heart.
this is her inspiration.
and you can read more of her words about it here...as she says it so perfectly.

today...
i really want to take a different approach...
to slow down...
to think...
to observe what is needed...
and then to serve that need.

and then also to remember...
"it is God who works in me both to will and to do for His good pleasure."

Rhonna's blog today is one of 31 host  Laura's Pink Cake Plate.
I have met Laura and she is a gorgeous and wonderful lady inside and out...
and she has a heart for Breast Cancer Awareness...
plus a heart-felt story to go with that.
As a daughter of a BreastCancer survivor myself, it is close to my heart as well.
So I invite you to Laura's place...
catch up with her posts.
and then serve.

won't you join me?

wish

it has been a full week of celebrations this past week in the Pate household...
and i have one to share today...
and it was a good excuse to use the SundaySketch from StudioCalico to show off the first celebrant.

 

my youngest daughter turned 9 this past week...
the vivacious thing that she is has been pretty much celebrating ever since.

i adored this weeks Sketch challenge...
well, frankly...i simply adore sketches.
i love having a template of opportunity set in front of me waiting to be filled with my creativity.
i find it such a great creative exercise...
and this week's was no different.

I used an add-on from October called Couple's Skate...
it is just so pretty...
and there are still more elements I cannot wait to use and show off.
and even though the hues of her photo was a bit more earthy with the grey top...
i think the peach and tangerine from the papers really picked up her skin tones...
and i think it is part of what allows the layout to 'pop'.

the 'wish' cut file is from the Pop Off the Page class extra's. But that would be so easy to make yourself if you wanted to.
I also added some of the coveted veneer hearts and arrows...because these days i simply need to have an arrow on my page somewhere. (Adrienne...you know what i mean.)


Before I go...remember there is the {mo}tography class giveaway over here on my blog...
still time for a chance to win.

{mo}tography giveaway

JessicaSprague is giving away several spots for her and Heidi's {Mo}tography Rock Your Camera Phone class.

What???
Did you say five chances to win a spot in Jessica and Heidi's class???
Yes I did!
Each of the HeidiSwapp Media Team Members is giving away a class.




As may or may not know, Jessica and Heidi are teaming up to show us how to get the best out of our camera phones! There are lots more details here on Jessica's blog.
PLUS....
PLUS... she has a very fun phone background to remind you to take more pictures!!!



and...
and...she has a blog badge for you to add to your blog as well!!!!



This class is for both iPhone and Android users...yep. that's right!!!

So...how can you be  entered to win?
well...since you asked...there are three ways...

1. leave me a comment telling me what your current fav photo app is. and please...let me know how i can contact you.

2. pin one of the images from this website on to pinterest. and let me know in your comment that you did.

3. add one of the blog badges to your blog and link it back here to me in the comments so that i know that you did.

AND...
don't forget my lovely TeamMembers will be having giveaways on their blogs too!!!!
Jen (she is doing a giveaway for Lindsay too.)
Kim
and Maggie.

I will pick a winner Sunday, Nov4. Be sure to check back.

meet you in class!!!

september october project life

Welcome to projectLIFE::

For those of you that follow this blog at all know I love projectLife.
Today I have a detailed post over at HeidiSwapp's blog.
I use her VintageChic and digital and other products to show how I simply use 'everyday' scrapbook items to make up my layouts.

Part of doing this assignment helped me to get caught up.
I had let a lot of LIFE get in the way of keeping these weeks going.
I love the sense of accomplishment of having them caught up.
I love looking at these pages.
I really do love my family's reaction to this album.

I am really really in love with my Cameo of late.
Love that I have figured out it's basic operation.
Love the detail cuts.
Love the added detail it adds to my projectLife.

Hope you will go and visit Heidi's today for lots more details on these pages.

everday

 Remember when I celebrated my 1000th gift a couple of weeks back???

Well I had to signify it even more with a layout to celebrate that feat.
The Weekly Designer Challenge by Maggie Holmes at StudioCalico was to create a layout based on a daily routine.
This for me is a fairly important daily routine.
So the layout was a real breeze.

I am trying to finish up the CentralHigh kit from September. I loved how these colors pulled out the tones from my Instagram pic.
I love using Instagram pics on my layouts.
Heck...I love creating layouts.

You can also see a few peeks for some HeidiSwapp product too. The 'b' side to BeautifulSongs is that great teal and cream polka dot. And then I am always reaching for MiniTags as well.

Is there a daily routine you need to create by way of words.photos.and pretty paper?

Well then go...
create!

happy birthday rhonna!!!

Rhonna is truly one of the most amazing woman I have ever met! She is blessed with so much creativity in every aspect of her life. She exudes love and joy as wife, mother, daughter, sister & friend. She gives and gives and gives and is truly an inspiration to us all. I feel so blessed to be able to fall under the sparkle of her unending inspiration. Happy Birthday, Rhonna...May the LORD continue to bless and keep you always!

And for you my friends...

I certainly hope you receive the newsletter from RhonnaDesigns...
as she LOVES to give away prezzies on her special day...
and she did just that today!!!

But here's another thing...



over on her blog today she is giving away this free halloween download...
because she also loves halloween...
and wants to share with YOU!

So join in on the

 

celebration!

and #spreadthelove today.

project life sneak

As I posted over at the StudioCalico gallery, I have to find ways to embrace fall. While it is a beautiful season indeed, it tells me that winter is just around the corner. And me and winter...well, we just don't see eye to eye very well. Thus the need to embrace the beauty found in my every day and go from there.

I followed the SundaySketch for 10.14...

 

And this is what I came up with...

This layout too is sort of a peek into a project life assignment I am in the middle of working on. As you shall see on occassion I like to add a month/title page to my new month pages. I used a lot of the VintageChic line as well as lots of layers to make this soft and subtle piece.

Love the digital files over at HeidiSwapp's shop. They cut so beautifully. As I have shared before, I love to cut on textured card stock, and then mist to the appropriate color. I am currently (read 'today') in love with the Bronzer color and that is what the ColorMagic paper and the 'october' cut is misted with. Then the 'hello' negative has a few spritz of GoldLame (now there's a surprise).

Now go...create a layout embracing something beautiful today.

rock your camera phone

 

This class is on sale now over at JessicaSprague.com.

Wanna amp up your mobile photography skills?

Wanna know more about Instagram?

Wanna get exclusive frames and filters and more...oh my?

Then sign up today and let me know if you are going to class too!

home decor meets color shine

This week and last we are talking ColorShine over at Heidi's blog.
Have you tried it yet? oh...you HAVE to. It is an amazing product.
Here is my little project for that.
A very inexpensive shadow box made pretty with ColorShine and all things VintageChic.

This project also let me play with my Cameo and cut out grateful from the digital Gratitude kit in Heidi's shop.

I really have a place in my heart for dimensional home decor/word art pieces.
You have seen me do them before.
This time I kept it really simple by letting 'gratitude' take center stage and be the only word one reads on this piece.

The GoldLame ColorShine is one of my absolute favorites of the line.
It is an amazing embellishment/art medium. You have to have it in your stash. You have to!
You can see here up close how it stays very metallic, yet adds such a sheen and sophistication to a project too.

These little scallop flowers of mine are showing up everywhere in my craft of late.
They are super super easy.
And they are so much fun to add as accessories to many different projects.

The bottom piece of this sort of happened 'junque bow' style. I gathered one of the flowers from the FlowerTrimmings as the base. Then added seam binding that I dyed with the GoldLame and some in the Tinsel ColorShine. I added leaves cut from the VintageChic pattern paper along with some notched pattern paper as well as packaging. Topped it off with layers of scallop punched pattern paper made into a flower and am really pleased how it all turned out.

Don't you just love a handmade piece in your home that makes you happy?
Don't you love simple words of reminders to keep your life focused right?
Don't you love that ColorShine?

Now go...create something that makes you happy...
and visit Heidi's blog for even more details on this project.

31 days of halloween

Rhonna continues to share 31HalloweenIdeas over on her blog this month. You may have seen these CandyCones highlighted last week. This is a simple, simple idea that is always so happily received as a quick and easy gift no matter the season.

And while I used the printables from the SpookyJunqueCandyCones kit, and while there are some specific halloween themes found on those printables, the cones are so versatile for any occasion and season. Dress them up with scallop punches and seam binding, and pearl brads and book paper strips and...oh my...however you would like.

Today I wanted to take a look at some wearable art made for My Lady Eve...

Lady Eve is part of my front room decor.
She is an altered dress form.
I think I should post about that some day...
But I have been adding and changing her up a bit from season to season.
I think everyone needs an altered dress form to play dress up with.

For her necklace I took the WireFence pattern from the SpookyPrintableBackground kit.
I printed the pattern out on dictionary paper.
Then I punched several scallop shapes and made layered and scrunched up flowers.
Having made three flowers they were then attached to black and gold sheer ribbon and added to Lady Eve's neck.

Her chocker was made by printing the BlackStripe pattern onto a dictionary page.
That is the part actually wrapped around her neck, the actual chocker part.
Then I die cut a large label shape from the WireFence that was left over printed on the dictionary paper.
Then I printed a silhouette from the SpookySilhouettesBrush kit onto vellum.
This was fancy cut out and then layered atop the WireFence pattern label shape and then adhered to the BlackStripe chocker part.

and oh how I love this layered look.
and how festive she looks for the month.

and now off to think how to dress her for her next seasonal debut.

now go...dress up your space with fun and spooky designs.

one thousand gifts found

if you have followed me for a little bit you may know about this very important book in my life...

not only am i a profound enabler when it comes to this book by Ann Voskamp, 1000 Gifts...
but I took up the dare as well.
i took the dare to live fully right where i am.

now while i did not always do this as well as i should...
and while there were times i struggled with seeing the gifts in my life...
and while i know there will still be days that are ugly and need extra work...
that said...this book has actually changed my life.
my outlook.
my approach.
my gratefulness...

and today i did this::

i wrote my 1000th gift in my journal...
and it fills me with great emotion...
as a matter of fact it fills me with great emotion as i continue to think on it this day.

and i just wanted to share this with you my readers.
you have seen glimpses of this journey along the way...
well...the parts i let you see...
and there have been a few of you tell me that you too have picked up a copy for yourself.
that REALLY fills me with emotion.

and so today i start another journey...
the next 1000...
my goal. desire. want. is to find 1000 more gifts in the next calendar year...
and then see how that then changes me.

thank you so much for letting me share this with you today.
you have no idea.

sunday sketch

What a hoot!
being asked to do the SundaySketch for StudioCalico this week!
how fun was that!

no pressure...right?
no...not at all...
just creating a layout based on a sketch drawn from one of the many amazing designers over at StudioCalico.
nah!!! no presh at all!!!

Lucky for me when I saw the sketch all I saw was a grid.
And I love to work in grids.
I am sort of linear anyway with my layouts...
so I just went with it...
did not want to over think it at all.

And then I went with extra photos too.
I very often have to go with more than a single photo on my layouts...
I just like telling a bigger story.
I know the trend is a single photo...
but I sort of buck trends too...

And it was a great opportunity to use more of StudioC's kit from last month, CentralHigh.
Plus I added a cut file from October's digital files.
Plus some of the freebies with the TrendSpotting class.
Not to mention ColorShine here as well as there...
oh...and utilizing Pop Off the Page techniques too!
sheesh...alot went into this for not over thinking it, didn't it?

Thanks for visiting.
Hope you will play along this week with the sketch.
Would LOVE to see what you come up with.