..::..:.:: Week In The Life ::.:..::..

monday :: photos and words

>>> photo heavy post <<<

My alarm goes off at six AM. I almost always hit snooze. At least once.  Yep, I still use my old school alarm clock from the 80s.  It makes an absolutely annoying sound. I'm certain this is one of those things on 'the list' that My Soul Mate puts up with because he loves me, but cannot stand.  I do know that it's 2014, and most people use their phone as an alarm clock. I just don't think I can do that. Ever. Or at least until this clock dies. When I hit snooze, it makes the horribly annoying sound again in nine minutes. So, 6:09, 6:18, 6:27, etc.  I'm pretty sure it's the only way I learned multiples of nine when I was in Jr. High (yes, I've had it that long).  I really don't like to wake up on a schedule. I long for weekends of sleeping in.  This is especially true on Mondays. See the little dot on the right? That means my alarm was still "on" when I took this photo. I had two minutes until it would go off again. Every minute counts at 6:07.

B. sleeps with me. Every. Night.  Yes, that's a batman pillow. I don't mind the snuggles, but I would rather be snuggling with My One True Love.  I have a lifetime with him, and she will only snuggle me for a few more years.  Lifetime for the win.

This morning, I figured out why the little holes in my blanket, keep getting bigger and bigger.



Breakfast = Pink Cereal + milk + iPad. (Of course pink cereal is strawberry frosted wheat).



An experiment in shoe tying.



These days it's just about sunrise when B. and C. leave for work and school. She is getting so much more independent these days. I am working on embracing this.



As they leave, it's time for me to finish up my hair and make-up, make myself lunch and breakfast (almost never enough time), and get myself off to work.  This morning I lingered at the door a bit longer as B and C left, the sky was so beautiful.  I tried to capture it in a photograph, but it wasn't in the cards for me this morning. I have lots of beautiful sunrise and sunset photos. I love them.

My on-the-go breakfast is a Vegan Chocolate Shakeology Shake. I take it with me when I leave -- and then I sometimes leave the empty at work.  Especially on Mondays. Grrr...

Because I have such a fantastic partner, he took photos of the morning routine for me.  And he took a minute or two to appreciate the sunrise. I love him so.



Her school. Brand spanking new. First year it opened, and it was barely done on time.  It's beautiful.

It's Monday. Monday = paying daycare.

My One True Love gets to walk B. in to school each morning. I love that she holds his hand. I love that he does this. He is such a wonderful father. She loves him so.

The fun has arrived! (She makes an entrance).

Meanwhile, I'm at work, and finally it's coffee time. Today I drank nearly a pot by myself. I'm the coffee maker at work.  I have a coffee pot in my office, and I share.  It's nice to have my office be a gathering place for some of my colleagues. 

When B. gets home from school, she almost immediately needs food.  We've started just giving her supper at that point, and then when we eat together, she will often eat again! During her first round of eating tonight, I was able to play with a little paper, while sitting at the table with her.

Her favorite was the pie.  It's always whatever has sugar.

Mommy, will you color with me? Yes ma'm!  Tonight as we were coloring she realized that the coloring book is also a story. So we did a little coloring and a lot of reading. It is so much fun to watch her grow and learn. No matter how many times I question myself, our decision, to send her to Alternative Kindergarten instead of Kindergarten this year, all the doubt melts away as I see her learn and grow.  That's really what it's all about.

B. was extra tired tonight.  It was beautiful outside and she wanted to be inside. She wanted to do more quiet activities than her usual dancing, climbing, jumping and running. She also had more than one accident today, and says she isn't feeling well. So we just kept it lo-key, played a game or two on my phone, and then we listened to some music.

FInally, we headed upstairs for a snack and her most recent movie obsession: Daddy Daycare.  It's a horrible movie, but I can also see why she loves the silliness.  She lays in the most awkward positions while she is watching TV. This is one way I know she is still just a baby, even though her legs keep getting longer. 

Daddy's turn for a book and bedtime tonight (this is what we call a 'green' night). While they were going through the nighttime routine, I was editing photos and working on some things for work. When he was free, we spent some time just snuggling and talking.  Something we sometimes forget to do.

There were so many photos and stories I missed today!  But it's OK. I was able to get a few more in than yesterday, and that's success in my book.

Thank you for reading!

:: halloween cards ::

Cards?  Did I say cards??  Yep. Outta my comfort zone for today!

There's a new issue up at Paper Issues this week -- "Witchin' You a Happy Halloween", sponsored by SRM stickers.  One of the things that I love about Paper Issues link parties is that they really are open.  You can get the details for this link up here.  You will see that it doesn't even have to be about witches or Halloween -- so many options!

I'm not a theme-y kinda gearle when it comes to scrapbooking, and I am certainly not a card maker.  But when I saw this awesome collection by Simple Stories called Frankie and Friends, I had to have it all (well, most of it anyway).  I may not be a theme-y gearle, but I do have Paper Issues, yo!

I started by cutting one 12x12 piece of kraft card stock into 4x6 inch strips.  I used these for my base.  Then I grabbed my Halloween Swag Bag (from Paper Issues) and the Frankie and Friends collection and got to work.

The 3x4 cards that come on a 12x12 sheet in the collection are so cute and simply perfect for what I was going for.

I think this one is my favorite:

If you want to grab the Frankie and Friends collection, or anything else, don't forget to use the code 'orangegearle' to get 20% off your entire purchase!

I'm working on Week in the Life this week (my first attempt)!  More on that one coming soon!

:: it's a horse of a different color ::

It's Pinspire Me Monday over at the paper issues blog!  Corri found this great color palette on Pinterest, and asked us to use it as inspiration for a project!  I took on the challenge.

Not only do I love these colors together, I also love that water color look.  So I grabbed a white piece of card stock and my gelatos and got busy:

I started with the background.  First I slathered a bit of gesso on the white card stock to prep it a bit.  I only put it through the center of the page, where I knew the gelatos were going to go.  This helps the color move across the page a bit easier.  If you are interested I did do a video showing a few techniques I use often with gelatos (it also talks a bit about gesso).  I created a bit of texture by not smoothing the gesso out when applying. After it dried, I applied the gelatos, and moved and blended the colors with a water brush.

While that was drying, I grabbed some patterned papers from Heidi Swapp's September Skies collection (they go PERFECTLY with the color palette).

As you can see, this paper is a lovely blue, with white (and black) flowers of various sizes.  It's beautiful on it's own.  But I wanted to add a bit of color.  So I grabbed the above gelatos and painted some of them with a water brush!  I think you can see it in this photo (along with the texture created with the gesso under the color on the white card stock).

I was going for the look that Amy Tangerine has in some of her watercolor inspired patterned papers, so I didn't really "stay in the lines" while I was painting, I got a bit messy with it.

While that was drying, I grabbed another piece of white card stock and added some color with more gelatos and a water brush.  I used this piece of paper to cut out (freehand) the letters for the word "COLOR".

Finally I used a few more scraps of that same paper and made the triangles.  Of course I had to add some stitching and pop dots.  ;-)

If you'd like to play along with us over at the Paper Issues blog, click here for details.

If you are interested in gelatos, Heidi Swapp's September Skies, a water brush, or anything else that suits your fancy, check out the Paper Issues Store.  Don't forget to use the code 'orangegearle' to receive 20% off your order!

Did you see the Cut It Out Saturday link party????  It's a new feature at Paper Issues -- and Jennifer Chapin created an awesome FREE cut file!  AND if you participate and win -- you could snag the November Swag Bag!   I hope to be back soon with a layout to share that I made with this file, it's a great one!

See you again soon!

..:: and…she's off : woodn't you know it ::..

September was a big month for B.  She learned to ride her bike! I decided to document the occasion using a little Heidi Swapp -- September Skies --  available in the Paper Issues store here.

Don't you just love that title font??  It's a cut by Ashley Horton, available in The Cut Shoppe.

 

I used these awesome wood veneers from Pinkfresh Studio (who just happens to be sponsoring the Current Issue @ Paper Issues) as kind of an anchor for my journaling.  There were several stages of learning to ride her bike, so I wrote a little about each stage.
 

These Pinkfresh Studios wood veneers were perfect paired with the September Skies collection.

I'm linking this up with Paper Issue's Current Issue ::  woodn't you know it.  You still have another week to join the linky party!  Don't forget to link back to Paper Issues to be eligible for some goodies from Pinkfresh Studios.

And don't forget!  If you use the code 'orangegearle', you'll get 20% off your order!

..:: new issue @ paper issues ::..

There is a new issue up at Paper Issues and it's all about one of my favorite things -- FALL.

I took this photo with my iPhone on the way to work one morning.  The colors were lovely and there was a bit of mist, and I couldn't resist trying to capture it.  It was much more beautiful than the photo could capture, but I still love the photo, and thought it was perfect for this issue.  No fall leaves, but man does it look like fall in Iowa!

The issue is officially called "Woodn't You Know, it's Fall.  Some suggestions are to use wood veneer, fall papers, woodgrain paper, etc.  I used fall colors (which are pretty much my favorite), and I thought this bit of flair was perfect for the theme, and the whole idea of this layout.  Also, my alphas are kinda woodgrain-y if you look closely below!

This issue is sponsored by Pinkfresh Studio.  And Oh. Em. Gee, I totally love these new Wood Drop Chevron stickers!  They are perfection, if you ask me! They also completely fit the 'wood' part of the theme, of course!

I always have a difficult time deciding how to adhere those plastic letters!  I love them, but what it the world do you do to make them stick, without being able to see the adhesive??  Well, this time, I think I totally figured it out.  I put them where I wanted them and used a bit of washi tape across the top of the letters.  Then I sewed one line with the sewing machine, took off the washi (carefully) and sewed the second line.  It was easy and totally worked.

Check out the latest issue at Paper Issues and link up!!  Don't forget to link back to PI to be eligible for the awesome prize from Pinkfresh Studio!  And while you are at the PI blog, click on over to the store ( you probably need something). Don't forget to use the code 'orangegearle' for 20% off your order!

See you again soon!

:: and…..GO! ::

Hi friends!  I'm up on the Paper Issues Blog today with a new layout spotlighting one of my favorite things -- the Swag Bag!  Have you subscribed yet?

The journaling (around the page in white) reads: "go, beatrice, go. you are always on the go and often in costume. your energy is endless and your imagination runs wild."

A bunch of golden deliciousness in the August Swag Bag!  I paired it with a bit of yumminess from the September Swag Bag and some Glitter Alphas from the Shimelle collection.

It's kinda funny.  I keep thinking I'm going to use the Swag Bag for Project Life, (which would be AWESOME), but as soon as I see it all, a layout comes to mind!  I love layering all of the cards, and fun papers!

I sewed a bunch of the stars included in the swag bag together -- gold and maps (cuz she's going places, yo)! 

I have been receiving lots of goodies in the mail from Paper Issues lately.  You can too! If you'd like to receive a 20% discount, use my code (orangegearle)!  :-)

I'm also linking up this layout with our current issue -- You're Sew Cute, You Keep Me In Stitches! 

..:: sketchy saturday @ paper issues : there's an app for that? ::..

No, there isn't a Paper Issues App (but that's an awesome idea)!  However, there is a new feature at Paper Issues: Sketchy Saturday! You can see the awesome sketch by Jen Chapin on the blog here.  Have I mentioned there is a prize involved????

For this layout I used some awesome papers from We R Memory Keepers : The It Factor, available in the store here.  I cut out some of the speech bubbles from the patterned paper to add a few of the comments that the girls were making while I was taking these papers. I popped them up a bit with pop dots.

I also used these awesome wood drop chevron stickers from Pinkfresh Studio (also in the store).

There are fabulous new things in the store nearly every day (at least that's what it seems like)! Don't forget to use the code 'orangegearle' at checkout to receive 20% off your order at Paper Issues.

I am linking this up with our Current Issue as well -- You're sew cute, you keep me in stitches.  So many chances to win these days at Paper Issues -- and so much inspiration!  

..:: hello october ::..

Hello October.
Hello orange, brown, yellow, and deep green.
Hello falling leaves.

Hello chilly nights.
Hello misty mornings.

Hello football.

Hello walking at almost one.
Hello first birthday!

Hello Layout A Day.
Hello Week In the Life.

Hello forty-four -
I'm totally owning you.