There's something in the air.

It's September. Which means that all things autumnal and 'back to school' are in the air and I'm ambivalent about that.

For a start, there's the fact that I much prefer warmth and sunshine to ....well, to just about anything else. That crispness which has crept into the air in the last few weeks - while it has it's own fresh charm - brings with it flashbacks [or maybe flashforwards!] to dark evenings where I never feel like sitting and creating as much as I do while it's still light outside.

Don't get me wrong, there are lots of things I do like about the Autumn such as: settling down in front of Sunday night comfort-TV-dramas and having an almost legitimate reason to buy new boots! Until those events are well and truly upon us [OK, OK, so I admit that I've already begun trying on boots ...it's never too early to equip oneself sartorially appropriately for an impending meteorological shift! Never.] Until those events are upon us, I'm going to just hang on to every last possible 't-shirt-but-no-cardigan' moment that I can.

And as those colder days advance ....I'll be turning to photographs like these to bring a summery cheer to my days:

Eating an icecream, in Whitby, in July is the epitome of a traditional English summertime activity and therefore deserves to be scrapped!

It's another layout for my mini-album recording the giddy adventures embarked upon by Hannah and I. I used a vintage magazine article [from my Gauche Alchemy 'Ball & Chain' kit] as the backdrop - mainly because the colours matched those in the photos. My journalling block was from the same kit.

Lots of the embellishments [the pearls, gems, pins, play money] came from my Gauche Alchemy pink mixed-media colour kit.

Sometimes, in scrapping / art / choosing an outfit / cooking, you need to know when to stop adding ingredients before you spoil what it is you've just spent precious energy putting together Equally, there are times when you need to ignore your inner minimalist and just keep adding more and more until the thing finally comes to life. At least that's how I felt while making this page as I sat adding another element, another patterned paper, another rub-on etc etc. I'm really pleased that I ended up liking it rather than wishing I'd stopped several embellishments back.

However, I had started the day by proclaiming 'I think I've forgotten how to scrap' .... so there was nowhere for my artistic self-esteem to go but 'up' after that or else I'd have been hanging up my craft knife and seeking out another less-scrapbooking-shaped hobby!!!

I hope that today is the start of a month of new beginnings, new opportunities, new projects, new attitudes or new whatever-it-is-you're-all-wishing-fors. If not ..... there's always new boots to look forward to.

Always!

:)