art of observation ~ believe

hello friends...

i am over at heidiswapp.com  today sharing this project based on the art of observation prompte: BELIEVE...

i am sure you are as busy as i am today...
but hope you are able to slow down and take note and observe all that is around you...
what you believe...
what you think...
and then how you live that out...

Merry Christmas Eve...

believe photo file...

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...
everywhere you turn...
and my work table is no exception.

photos are big gifts from our family to distant family this time of year.
not only do i create albums full of pictures of the kids to share with loved ones,
but it's the time of year i share the kids portraits as well.

and since i ship them mostly, they need to be sent safely.

cue the memory file...

i wish i would of thought of this idea last year...
but i am very happy with the look this year...
making pretty photo files to send and give our photos...

i loved dressing these up and making them extra festive and fun.
i can't help myself...
it's like a sickness...

inside i decked the file out a bit more, and added a pocket to the right side in which the photos are tucked behind...

i could of gone way over the top embellishing these inside and out...
or kept them real simple...

i just love the memory files and either way, they sort of decorate themselves and are now my new favorite way to send photos.

i have more to share...
till then...

day eleven ~ #heidiholidayfotofind

Hello friends...
today is Day11, that is the 11th day of December and time is ticking away.
I am sharing my #heidiholidayfotofind over at heidiswapp.com...

and i would love to be able to share with you what is added to the Believe Memory File Mini Album since last weeks installment...

 Day6 was elf...and like many of you, I had to add a pic of our only elf in the house...the movie...

 

Opposite that page is #crowd...I added my crowd of Christmas brunchers under the printable from Heidi...

and then also placed december 8's card right under that one as it is shared on the next page...

  Day8 is #reindeer...kept this layout very very simple as I thought the edit on the photo was enough.

Next is Dec9 with lots of the fun smaller die cut pages that I added my printable cards too...

turn the previous page over and on the back I added 'celebrate' from the Black and White Friends stickers with some Believe Banner Delights...

then under the fold over page and peeking through the window is my #christmascard page and photo...

 Day10's card...but no page added yet as it just was not ready when I photo'd these pages.

The next page spread of the Believe Mini was assigned to me to share my clue #wrappingpaper.
Are you even there yet?
Wrapping gifts?
I just grabbed what I had and realized...I need more.
Only one gift is wrapped so far...but ya gotta start somewhere...

so here are some detail shots of those pages, and a few details can be found today on heidiswapp.com.

 hey...are you adding to your pages in your Believe album?
i would LOVE to see them...
tag me on instagram @jamiepate and share them...
and continue to enjoy this photo scavenger hunt with us all...

till then...

december daily 2-7

we all know how busy december can be.
it's quite the juggle balancing what is needful versus what we can get caught up in.
the activity of december daily seems to keep me mindful of that balance.
especially if i have the time to stay caught up,
yet mindful to take the photos i want to remember.

today i am sharing pages 2-7.
these pages were done early leaving me only to need to add photos and words as i was able.
the left upper card is a home made journal card using Gold Lame' Color Shine, the 6x6 stencil and then a word die cut. liked how that turned out.
the kids tree is highlighted on this page and is layered over a piece of Believe from the 6x6 pad.
on the right is a Color Magic Page Tab that you should still be able to find at Michaels. I made a card that holds more photos the same as the home made journal card. I like to repeat elements on a layout as it gives cohesiveness to the page.

A tab page in the Chipboard album was covered with the music side of Jingle All the Way . The rest of the page is made of up my stash. I appreciated Maggie sharing the 1 inch circle elements here and I will be adding them throughout my book.

As you know I am also playing along with the #heidiholidayfotofind scavenger hunt. I am finding some of those photos making their way in to my album as well. Which is fine. Some days I only get a single photo and moment captured, and that is what I will go with for the December Daily as well.

Day 4 is pretty simply arranged. The opposite side of the tab page is covered in a sheet of Luxe from Pink Paislee. The right side is a fold over flap of a page that hides another photo and journaling. I designed the notched number banners for the Sizzix eClips machine and love how those are working out.

Day 5 is home to one of my favorite pages to play with, and that is the photo page protector that is already included in the Chipboard Album. I added 3 photos of what I titled "around here'. Seems I always forget how I decorated around the house, so I wanted to add those.

There is a pocket of confetti and found objects, and a space for the day and then a vellum pocket with the die cut.

Day6 is on the opposite side.

My past books always have pamplets and flyers and invitations and church bulletins included. 

Day7 shares my Christmas brunch I had with friends recently that our church hosted.

So I added several of the elements from that morning as well as a photo of the 'crowd' as that happened to be that days #heidiholidayfotofind.

Now off to find more memories to share.

Will be back with more December Daily next week.

till then...

moto photo scavenger hunt...

hello friends...
have you been playing along with the #heidiholidayfotofind?

i have been having fun seeing all the posts on instagram with that tag sharing your scavenger hunt finds. it is so festive and fun and i feel like sometimes i am a guest in your own home as you share your stories about your finds.

today i share my find for today, december 5... #tree.

but let me back up a bit...
heidi's media team has taken to challenge everyone a little further with this scavenger hunt...
and that is to take those finds...
print them out...
and document the story.

i have been playing along with the rest of the team and using the Believe Memory File Mini Album (o.k...can we say stinkin' adorable?) documenting my finds.

would you like a peek?

i adore the different size pages and die cuts found in this book.
the first tags start with my day one. the numbered die cut stars from the Believe Ephemera pack will designate each day.

for the most part my photos will really be moto photos...or pictures taken on my phone.
that is what i did for the first days clue...'so it begins'... sharing this year's advent boxes that we open up every day with an activity or treat. again, a fun fun family tradition.

heidi is sharing some printables you can find here and i am adding those to my book too!

here is day two's clue...red...sharing the tradition of my mugs i receive for Christmas. you can see jen's share of this clue right here (december 2: something red).

as of this post i have not updated dec. 3 or 4 yet...that is on the to do list for today...
but you can find december 3: cozy with lindsay here...
and december 4: stockings with kim from down under here.

so let's just skip to december 5: tree...shall we?

you can see all the details on these pages of the Believe Mini Album here today on heidi's blog.

i will simply share some close ups of my take on this clue.

this mini album is a great canvas for your mixed media touches. since i seem to be obsessed with gold right now, i went for the gold stencil and edging technique on these pages.

and since it is so true that each little thing in life has a story behind it...

i was sure to tell the story about this particular tree and just journaled right on the page.

i know it's a busy time of year...
but there are so many rich stories to be told...
so many traditions to be shared...
and plenty of beautiful ways in which to do it...

say hi on instagram if you are playing along...
and i will be back next week with the next installment of this project.

till then...

supplies: Believe Memory File Mini Album. Believe Ephemera. Believe Banner Delights. Believe Buzz Words. Believe 6x6 pad. Color Shine: Gold Lame'. Chartreuse. seam binding.

xyron and heidi swapp

the heidi swapp media team is blog hopping this week with xyron...
because their products totally rock.
yesterday maridette shared this fabulous ornament using the creative station. i really want to try this.
and kim shares a cool tip with sequins and the xyron sticker maker with a video too.

on heidi's blog today i share how the fabulous Double Sided High Tack tape was so useful to make sure this hidden binding memory file album is sure to stay together. you can go there for those details.

here today i hope to inspire you to make fabulous memory file albums for your gift giving this year.
i mean seriously...mother's and mother in laws love them!
they do.

so this is a gift for my mother in law and is chock full of photos of her grand babies.
TIP: we took family photos in the fall. and i will be doing that again! i have loved having those photos available early for gifts and calendar making not to mention actually having a family christmas card to send.

today i want simply to show you the details and pages of this album.
it is my new favorite. i will have a hard time giving it away.
i am sure to be making another for me...
after i make one for my mom that is.

so grab a cuppa and enjoy...

as

as always, lots of layers are incorporated. a clear page with different textures and page sizes behind. love it when peeks invite you into an album.

i simply printed lots of the photo shoot in sizes from 6x4 to about 4x3. this album holds about 40 photos total.

as always, lots of Heidi Swapp products both past and present. color shine makes it so easy to add colors and hues to the pinks, coral and gold that makes up these pages. and i adore mixing all her products up...here you see some color magic, vintage chic (still my all time favorite collection) and serendipity all mixed in together in what i think is a beautiful book.

i stole an idea from heidi of fancy cutting one of the patterns from the 12x12 color magic paper and making it an additional element.

i created a series of pages for each member of the family...mr. pate and i having our own page. i included a page protector page that i cut up and inserted a pocket of confetti pieces, a pocket that includes the word quotes printed on vellum, and then a few more photos.

on the other side are a few candids of us too. i did this for each one of us. as well as included a journal flap that is a sort of biography of our year to share with my mother in law.

the rest of the pages are of the kids:

i had to share an extra page of the little guy...these photos just kill me of him!!!

time flies.
the years are fading away.
creating these albums for gifts as well as myself slows time down just a bit.
causes a pause.
a reflection.
thank you for letting me share this project with you. hoping it brought some inspiration to you today.

until next time...