Swaps, Back to School and workspace organization

I cannot believe it is September...thank God. When I was a kid, summer meant freedom, adventure and fun in the sun. As an adult, it meant keeping the kids busy so they don't fight, layers and layers of sunblock and hot, hot evenings with nothing but fans, open windows and the neighbors barking dog. Fall brings cool breezes, changing colors and lots of structure which is really important to everyone in my home.


I just finished making ATC cards for another UGRA swap. This time we only had to make 10 copies of one design. The theme was "In the Garden". I toiled over this because I had recently did a set of garden pages in an explosion book UGRA project so I wanted to do something different. I finally committed to the above design after many experiments. Sometimes I just don't feel the creative spark you know? As I look at the cards now, I wonder if I need to play with them a little more. Maybe some clouds??

I also finished my music mix for the WASSIMA CD Scavenger hunt SWAP.

We needed to make a mix CD that had songs for at least 15 of the following categories:

1 A song from the year you were born

2 A song with a one word title

3 A song with a number in the title

4 A silly song

5 A song that makes you cry

6 A song that makes you laugh

7 A song that makes you want to dance

8 A song that describes one of your philosophies of life

9 A good wake-up song

10 A song sung by or about children

11 A song you relate to someone you love

12 A holiday song. Any holiday.

13 A song from a movie or play

14 An instrumental

15 A song about a season

16 A naughty song (interpret as you will)

17 A song about a place far away from you

18 A song from another culture

19 A song about an animal or other creature besides people

20 A song that makes you wonder why it was ever recorded

21 A song that commonly gets stuck in your head

22 A song that gets you feeling romantic. Define romantic as you will.

23 A song that gets you worked up about something

24 A song that gets you daydreaming

25 A song about a place

I wanted to create a playlist to post on my blog but most of the songs are not available on Deezer yet.


In other news.... Aidan started Kindergarten last Thursday! I was one of those magical memories that I'll treasure for the rest of my life. I couldn't have been more proud of him or more grateful to St. Timothy's for the amazing program they provide for the kids.
Eva starts preschool at St. Tim's tomorrow but had her orientation last Thursday. She was so excited to be there and was crushed when it was time to go home.


These are the experiences that make life's struggles worth the trouble. I could never have imagined the gamete of joyous feelings that come from watching my children grow up.

I also start school tomorrow so my husband, Tim, has helped me transform my workspace from the mess it was into a student's dream! What a nice honey he is!

He installed peg board so I can keep all my tools out in the open and I moved a bunch of my scrapbooking supplies into the studio (which is an absolute disaster I might add).

My materials arrived last week from Ulrecht which was such a treat. I've got my art board covered and my charcoal sharpened so I'm totally ready to dive into learning!

I've been very busy with my client's project. I've spent the last couple of weeks in Europe - not really- but through scanning in her slides from a childhood trip, I feel as though I've just taken a time machine to visit Florence and Rome and in about 30 minutes, I'll be off to Venice, 1976. I also have a new client I may start working with very soon. I just love my job and the incredible people I get to work with. It is such an honor to help celebrate their life memories through archiving and scrapbooking their photos and memorabilia.

Well that is it for now friends...
...more to come...
...Happy September!