Some things that have been keeping me busy...

My December daily. I have had it finished for a little while but am just now getting around to posting it. This was a lot of fun and I am really glad I did it. The only thing I would probably do differently next year would be to have it assembled in advance.







This represents the past 16 years of my life in photos. I recently finished putting them into chronological order and putting them into albums. The photos are also backed up onto CD for safe keeping. No more guilt about pictures that haven't been scrapped yet or worry about my hard drive crashing. Ahhhhh, the freedom.


This is a little something that took 10 years to complete! My parents gave me two maps to collect the newly issued state quarters as they came out for my children. So, for the past 10 years I have been scrutinizing my change to see if it contained a coin I needed. I even enlisted the assistance of my husbands bookkeeper once! At long last it is done, complete, finished. I have told my mother to never, ever give me a gift that requires a 10 commitment.


Last weekend we painted my daughters room.
This weekend it is my sons turn! I will share pictures of the before and after once both rooms are complete.

We are growing a bacteria farm for fun! We have collected 5 samples from around the house and will have to wait 12 days to see the final results. It has several days and the results thus far are quite alarming! We check on them every night and document our results. The kids think it's pretty cool.
The dog pictured above is the "farmer". He oversees the growth of our crops.
This is one of the germ discs that we use to cover the top and make sure the environment is dark. I think he's kinda cute!

So, that it about it. I gotta go complete some more projects.
Tricia

Wrapping up 2008 with these...

I have been meaning to make this post for a while. I wanted to share the last few layouts from 2008 and a few other things that I have been up to.

First off is this little beauty.

I am very proud of this design and I will tell you why. My husband asked me to design a logo for his store and their 2009 catch phrase. The design above is what I came up with. It is nothing spectacular in and of itself, but prior to 2008 I had absolutely NO Photoshop knowledge. But wait, that isn't even the best part. The best part is that he loved it so much that he had T-shirts printed up for over 200 associates to wear on Fridays instead of their regular uniform! The response has been amazing and I couldn't be more proud.

In this layout the page on the left is an actual photo we took when we where at Patrick's point in 2007. I enlarged it to 8 1/2 x 11 and put the text directly onto the photo in Photoshop then printed it out. Cool huh?
Here is one of me and my sweet boy.
These two kids are as goofy as they get! Here P & T are muggin' for the camera.
I took this photo in early 2008 when we were in San Francisco. We were walking downtown when I spotted this beautiful wall of graffiti and thought it would be the perfect backdrop to take a pic of my peeps. They are doing their best to look tough, can you tell?
These photos I took of my daughter in December. I was in my bedroom and the lighting was awsome, so I called her in so I could snap some shots. The layout lists some things she likes to do everyday. I realized once I printed up the journaling that I had omitted a word. I wrote it in and decided to just leave it at that.

I have a few more things that I wanted to share, but I just didn't have a chance to take pictures of them today. I am hoping to do that tomorrow and will get those posted. So, stay tuned. There is more to come!

xo
Tricia

And a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Have a wonderful, blessed day!

xo
Tricia

Eye "candy"

I just wanted to share some sweet, Christmas cuteness. We will be decorating our Gingerbread house today, so I was inspired by some of these.


Thanks all for now.
xo
Tricia

For your viewing pleasure...

Here's some layouts I recently finished for Design you Life @ BPS. They are all pretty simple, but I was primarily focusing on the design principles of line and color. The journaling is a little hard to read, but if you are interested click on the image and it should open in a larger format.






I am working on a few other projects and will hopefully have something to share in a day or two.

xo
Tricia

I've got a crush...

On the magnificent photographer who took these magical, evocative, inspirational shots.






The photographers name is Tim Walker. He is a London base fashion photographer. I just love his captivating whimsical style! He had an exhibition earlier this year at London's Design Museum. He has an awesome 363 page coffee table book called Tim Walker Pictures that I am lusting after. This book is full of more than just pictures, it is full of art. Art created and captured through the lens of a photographic genius.

Special Delivery

Remember this?



Well I am happy to say that at long last I am holding this in my hands! I had no idea that one little piece of paper would be so difficult to come by. I supposed I underestimated it's popularity. I have waited so long for it that now that I have it I am not sure what to do with it. It is almost like the Holy Grail of scrapbooking paper. Maybe I should build a special shelf for it and display it for all to see. Should I hold on to it like some special cargo or actually use it? Of course I will use it, but I will definitely have a plan in mind before I start cutting it up. I am not going to hunt this little baby down again, so I am going to make darn sure I maximize the heck out of it.

That is all I really wanted to say today, just share the good news about my "special delivery"! Have a great day!
xo
Tricia

Catching up...

I have been a bad, bad blogger as of late. I keep meaning to post, I'm just not sure if I have anything worth blogging about going on.
Since my last post we celebrated a quiet Thanksgiving here at home. It was very nice and relaxing. Everyone helps to prepare a little part of our meal.
We have decorated the house for Christmas already, with the exception of the tree. That will come this weekend.
We celebrated my husbands birthday on Monday. It was very mellow and low key. The next day he left for a work "retreat" up in Tahoe.
I have been gathering items to donate for the kids' school silent auction on Friday and have successfully mailed out our Christmas cards for this year! WooHoo! I have many gifts already purchased and a check list of those left to buy.
We will be going to a performance of "The Singing Christmas Tree" this weekend. I am excited about that! I have also decided to do a December daily album inspired by Ali Edwards' project on her blog. I am enjoying the process so far.
I will be wrapping up my class at BPS with Cathy Zielske at the end of this month. It has been a wonderful class and I am so glad that I took it. ALSO, I just learned that I won a free spot in another class at BPS called "The Gift of Words". I was so excited when I found out!!!!!
So there is a SMALL glimpse into my life and why I have been on a bit of a blogging hiatus. I promise to try to be a bit more consistent in the future.

xo
Tricia

Scrap-tastic!

I've been a little busy! I've been scrappin' and organizing a veritable sea of photos! Over 16 years of photos. Can I just say that is a lot of photo's people? It feels very rewarding for this goal oriented girl to check this major task off her list! Now if I could tackle my closet!

Here are some of the layouts that I have done lately:
Sleepy, happy love
Sing, make a joyful noise
Stolen Moments

Today..........
Lego Lovin'
Back 2 school
Thanks for coming by!
~Tricia

Be an Angel

I came across this article and wanted to share it. I hope you enjoy it.


Beings of Light, Human Angels

"During each of our journeys, there are those inevitable moments when someone comes into our life at precisely the right time and says or does precisely the right thing. Their words or actions may help us perceive ourselves more clearly, remind us that everything will turn out for the best, help us cope, or see us through difficult situations. These people are human angels – individuals designated by the God to be of service to those in need at specific points in time. All human angels come into our lives when we least expect them and when we can most benefit from their presence.

A few of the human angels we may encounter are in professions where helping others is an everyday occurrence. But most of them are regular people, going about their daily lives until called upon to be in the right place at the right time to bring peace, joy, help, or heal someone when they most need it. You may have met a human angel in the form of a teacher who gave you a piece of advice that touched your soul and influenced your path. The person that momentarily stopped you to say hello on the street, delaying you long enough to avoid an oncoming car or a collision, is also a human angel. They may offer nothing more than a kind word or a smile, but they will offer it when you can draw the most strength and support from their simple action.Human angels give of their inner light to all who need it, coming into our lives and often changing us forever."



This poem that I have kept for many years sums it up nicely:

Be a torch or be a spark,
Be a candle in the dark.
Be a sunbeam, be a star,
Be the shining light you are.


Be salt, be light..........In short, be an Angel.

Thank you!

Today we observe and honor the 24.9 million military veterans who have served and continue to serve out country. Thank you for you service and your sacrifice.