Diary of a Renegade Scrapbooker

hello there.

it's been a while! a lot has happened since my last post. my dad was in a pretty bad motorcycle accident. had the family shook up for a bit. he is doing better now. thankfully!

fall has settled in here in the great Northwest. the leaves are changing colors quickly and everything is so so so beautiful! we have a trip planned for this next week to go to the arboretum. i can't wait! i got some great shots there this time last year. and since this will be my last time to experience an entire fall in Seattle, i am taking advantage of it! there are so many neat things to see here. 

 andrew and i finally finished a garland. he likes helping me make stuff! when we both finally get home from work, late at night, we will spread out on the floor in front of the tv, eat dinner and make stuff together. i find it adorable and endearing that he enjoys my hobby with me. 

we actually made two garlands for our place. one is about halfway to the floor and the other one is ceiling to floor. i love them. absolutely love. however, they are quite time consuming. hours and hours. but well worth the effort. 

i also went around the place and took photos of our little corner of the world. i want to make a mini book with the pics. when we get to chicago i will make a mini with photos of our new place there too. i think it will be neat to have little books to look back on the different places we lived.

i love our little space! but also feel very very anxious and ready for the move. time can't pass quickly enough it seems. and that frustrates me. because i have a really hard time not constantly thinking of the goal. and often forgetting to stop and experience the in between.

some days are easier than others. but i am thankful for a lot of things. phone calls with my mom, my sweet daughter's voice, elliott's laugh, my mom uploading photos of my nephews on facebook so even though i can't see them in person i can look at their sweet faces via my computer, my job, and this man....

i couldn't ask for a better best friend or life companion. we have had our rough patches. our relationship has not been easy. i come along with a lot of baggage. ya know? but this man supports me, encourages me, and loves me unconditionally. he tells me i am beautiful countless times a day, texts me throughout the day to just say hi and call me hot stuff, he believes in me more than i believe in myself some days. he tells me i deserve to be loved more than anyone. and love me he does very very well. we have come a long way. instead of giving up when the hard times came, we worked through them and are working through them because we know, what we have is so worth the fight. and we have grown so much as a couple because of those struggles and hardships. this relationship is making us better people. and that's what it should be about!! so just a quick ode to my man. and all he has done for me these past few weeks.

this is a random post! ;) the best kind!

i have been working on a "book of truth part two". it's been sitting on my desk for a while so i will get some good photos and share the rest of the book this week. but here are a few photos of it so far. i made my first "book of truth" back in 2008. i thought it was time for a new one! the last one was so therapeutic to make. i might continue with them every two years. that would be neat!

here are the two side by side...

just a few pages. the entire thing is huge. i will share all of it this week.

i can't believe tomorrow is halloween! we are carving pumpkins tonight and watching favorite scary movies! i love halloween. wish i could have had more time this year to get into the season. what are you up to for halloween this year? 

thanks for reading my randomness! have a great halloween!

peace,

kate

 

 

summer

sitting outside tonight. with the laptop and coffee. enjoying a beautiful summer night in the pacific northwest. summer here is completely different than anything i am used to. i miss the constant sunshine like we had in louisiana. but it is still so darn beautiful here. the weather is very mild. and tonight it's simply perfect. i haven't gotten many summer nights like this....warm enough to sit outside in a tank top. so i am enjoying it. 

i had such a nice day today. i had the day off and i spent a lot of it perusing websites and collecting more photos of decor ideas i like. scrapbooking a little. 

and spent a lot of time reflecting and centering myself before i start a busy few days of work. i can't believe we are already halfway through this year. time flies that's for sure. i find myself making lists and trying to really study my priorities and my goals and see what changes need to be made to keep myself on a positive track. i have a lot of things i am striving for right now. mainly trying to find my niche in life. i am trying to look at the big picture. where it is i want to be in five years. what is is i want to accomplish. i am feeling very optimistic about everything these days. and that's a good thing. but i could use a little more self discipline in a few areas. always room for improvement. there is this line in a brother ali song i love....."if i don't like my life i gut it and rebuild it. fuck it. keep nothing but God and my children." we have that power. to change our life whenever we are unhappy with the way we are living. it's when we realize that power and utilize it that our lives are transformed. when we take responsibility. and strive to be better each and every day.

ok that was a ramble! i have a few photos of projects to share. just the covers of a few mini books. i will share the insides whenever i get around to photographing and editing all of those photos. last time i shared photos of projects i decided not to edit and just upload them as is to save time. they are all dark and now i wish i would have taken the time to edit them. maybe i need to learn to use my camera better! that's on my to-do list. 

anyhoo....

here's the first one. it's my road trip book. i had a lot of mistakes when making these books. but i just kinda go with them and don't freak out too much. these books are for me and my family so little mess ups really don't bother me. 

on the cover of this one the holes were punched on the wrong side of the cover!!! :( we saved it and i found the little circles we punched out and glued them back in. you almost can't tell. lol! this book came out really cute. i kept the book simple and focused on my journaling and the great photos we got. 

these photos are all phone pics so they aren't the best. 

those pictures suck! i will take better ones with my camera when i photograph the whole things.

here is the date book. this thing is huge! i used 4x6 chipboard sheets for each month. the idea for the book is that each month has a little section for me to write down birthdays and anniversaries and i made a section in the back for contact info. i have been wanting to do this forever and i made it so it is decorative. i plan to put it out on the coffee table or something. i am going to add photographs of everyone on their birthday page. 

i haven't added rings yet. that black and white tape is 7gypsies and i am in love with it. seriously. love. i used a cork sheet for the back page of the book.   

 

it's huge. but i love it.

and lastly my book of lists. it's just a little book. i put lists of all my favorite stuff inside. movies, food, celebrities and stuff like that. something cool for the kids to look back on one day. and i made that label myself! 

and i am going to leave you with a few of my favorite photos i found today of some cool home decor ideas. oh and i love this etsy shop.....milk&cookies. i love all of her pillows. i am planning to do my living room in a red, grey, black and yellow color scheme and i already have some pillows collected but i have been looking for some more yellow and grey ones. she has some neat ones in her shop.

i especially love this one..

oh and this one...

 

isn't this cool?!? i want to do one or two over my scrap area. i love that idea.

 

i love how the green chairs and the orange jack on the table really pop in this room. i love little splashes of color like that with neutral furniture.

 

and i am in love with this. and that light?!? amazing. i am definitely doing something like this. i see so many cool colored glassware pieces in thrift stores around here.

  

and this would be my ideal scrapspace. i am so so so doing that bulletin board thing covered in fabric. so doing that. i love the large scale of it. and the overall simpleness of the space.

 

that was fun. gosh i get sucked into those decor blogs. next thing i know hours have passed and i feel like going immediately to the thrift store when i am done. they have awesome ones here in the seattle area. 

well that's it for now. hope your week is going fabulously! 

peace,

kate

ps....make sure to leave a comment if you stop by so that i can visit your blog. i have been trying to visit everyone who visits me! :)