Weekend with friends | December Daily: Days 15-19

Happy Monday!

I spent Saturday with my scrappy friends celebrating Barb's birthday. We had a great time as always even though I barely scrapped! LOL! And the best part is that I get to see most of these wonderful ladies again on Wednesday night!



Here are a few more pages from my December Daily album.

For Day 15, I mounted our annual photo card on patterned paper and used my NEW apron lace punch that I love so much along the edge of the paper!



On the back I started Day 16. I used the Designer Digitals Ali Edwards Days of December overlay on the photo and added a green bow for a pop of color.



The opposite page has a postcard from the boutique hotel I stayed at in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Once you lift the card, there are two more photos inside.




For Day 17, I used two photos printed on my little Epson printer and mounted them on a sheet of Making Memories spiral notebook paper.



Day 18: Here I incorporated another trading card holder trimmed to fit inside my page protector just like Ali has done. I used photos of my egg nog shakes and Richard whistling to Christmas music while filling out holidays cards. I journaled all about our very own private Christmas party inside the red pocket. I also inserted my handwritten Christmas gift lift in one of the clear pockets.



And finally, Day 19: Here I used Making Memories Tinsel paper and adhered it back to back with another sheet of the same paper. I added photos on the front and my journaling on the back.




That's all for now. More photos to come later this week. Also, I'll share my thoughts on my one little word for 2010: CREATE.

Peace and happy scrapping!
Vanessa

RAK winner | December Daily: Days 11-14

First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I hope your year is off to a good start. I was sick this week with a cold, but I'm better now... Not the best way to spend your week off from work, but at least I was able to rest.

Now I am looking forward to a happy and healthy 2010! I've even thought about what my one little word will be this year so I'll share my thoughts on that in an upcoming post. Have you thought about what your word will be? If you have no idea what I am talking about, stay tuned! I will explain.

First things first... the winner of my mini album giveaway is... IVY!

Ivy said...
I love the mini album. Creating my first mini album this end of the year as a gift for my titi. My most cherished gift...my brother, who I had not spoken to in six months. Family is always the greatest gift.

Congrats Ivy! Please email me at mvmolina[at]aol[dot]com with your complete mailing address and I'll send you your album next week.

Being home this week meant that I got to finish up my 2009 December Daily album. Whoohoo!



For Day 11, I created a two-page spread with a few photos of our weekend in Philly. The first page is simple with three photos and some red trim stapled from top to bottom.



The opposite page is a canvas page that I painted with acrylic paint (I first coated each page with white paint so that the color pops more against the canvas). Then I adhered my photo and embellies. I used my new Martha Stewart snowflake punch, which I love, and some Stickles to accent the stars and buttons on the little trees.



Day 12 is another two-page spread (what can I say? I took a lot of photos in Philly!). I used green and blue Glimmer Mist on the first page and a Heidi Swapp mask to create the branches. Then, I adhered my photo and added a felt flower from my stash and a cool snowflake pin that Damaris gave me. (I also stuck that pin into my thumb in the process - ouch!)



The opposite page is a green envelope from Archiver's that has this glittery finish. I adhered my photos to it and placed my journaling inside.




For Day 13, I used a Christmas card that I received at work. It has a simple wreath on it with red foil berries. I adhered an epoxy sticker to the middle of the wreath and added a photo of Valley Forge to the back.




Finally, Day 14. Here I used some adhesive fabric paper from Love, Elsie that I've had for a long time. I added a photo of our decorated Christmas tree and a little journaling pocket I picked up in Ohio last year.




On the back I used a sheet of canvas paper from Prima (adhered directly to the Love, Elsie fabric paper) and added little photos of ornaments and other decorations throughout my home. I love that my Epson printer can print these small photos. I printed 6 photos on one 4x6 sheet! Also, please note my very first foray into sewing! Yes, I sewed that red thread onto the page. I have NEVER sewed anything in my life and lately I had been wanting to try it!



And what did I sew with, you ask? This little craft sewing machine that my BFF gave me for Christmas. It's awesome. I don't know if I'll ever do much more than basic stitching, but I love the look that it gives my scrapbook layouts. :)



That's all I have for today. I'll be back soon to share more of my Dec Daily album with you.

I hope the New Year brings you much peace, health, love and happiness. May you live each day to the fullest and appreciate all the things life has to offer all of us!

Merry wishes and joyful dreams,
Vanessa

Christmas Memories (and a RAK!)

I hope you had a wonderfully merry Christmas with your loved ones. This year, it seemed like I had much less time to prepare and it was down to the wire, but it all worked out okay!

I was quite a busy bee. First, I baked some goodies for the folks at work. Thank goodness for this yummy Gingerbread Hug Cookie recipe from Ronda. It was a huge hit!



Richard and I made a little gingerbread tree on Christmas Eve... He helped me decorate it because I was making a mess!



We celebrated with Richard's family...



We enjoyed our holiday traditions... My family always gets together on Christmas morning for a delicious breakfast.




We opened gifts... I received some wonderful presents from family and friends. My favorite gift was a sentimental one from my Mami who passed away last year. She had saved a gold butterfly charm holder to give to me and my aunt wrapped it up for me and put it under the tree... I couldn't hold back my tears! I miss my Mami so much.




We visited my sister-in-law, Roxana, at the convent...



We attended a wedding the day after Christmas...



And we hung out at Jungle Island with our BFF's on Sunday...



Today I woke up with a sore throat! Still, I took down the Christmas decorations and straightened up the house. Now, if I could just get my scrap room in order, I'll be happy. That way, I can start scrapping and finishing up my December Daily :)

Ready for a giveaway!?

To celebrate 2009, I'm giving away an album! This is a 6x6 mini album inspired by one of Jenny Bowlin's project kits this year. It would make a great "2009 Year in Review" album. All you have to do is add your photos and some embellies and journaling. The rest is already done for you! To be entered to win, please leave a comment telling me what your favorite (or most cherished) present was this year. Be sure to sign up to be a follower on my blog if you haven't already done so. I'll pick a winner on New Year's Day (January 1).



Each month of the year has its own spread. Here's a peek at some of the inside pages.





Merry wishes and joyful dreams,
Vanessa

The Magic of Christmas

I just want to wish you all a beautiful and magical Christmas! Thank you so much for visiting my blog throughout the year and leaving me some sweet comments. They make me very happy :)

I truly believe that this is the most magical time of the year, the most wonderful time, a time to celebrate and be with loved ones. I miss my parents and grandparents so, so much right now. But through the sadness and the tears, I know they're with me right now... and I know God is caring for them (and for us!)

Merry wishes and joyful dreams!
Vanessa

Mexico pics | Weekend with friends

Hi my friends!

How are those Christmas preparations going? I'm just about done with my Christmas shopping. Hooray! I only buy gifts for the people that I actually get to see on Christmas Day so that keeps my list pretty manageable. I do go to a few houses that day though, but I love house hopping. In fact, I look forward to it every year! :) We start at my family's home early in the morning, then we head to Richard's parents house around 1 pm, sometimes we visit his cousins next since the whole family ends up there in the evening (but we don't exchange gifts... we just eat! LOL!). At the end of the day, we head to our BFF's house. After all that, we're tired and we usually have a lot of presents to bring back with us. So the next day we rest and clean up the mess that's left behind...

Anyway, let me stop my rambling to show you some photos of my recent work trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. We were there to launch one of our newest publications, Experience Riviera Maya, an in-room destination guide for the hotel association.

The trip started with us getting pulled over by the national military. They looked a bit intimidating with big machine guns. They asked us to get out and searched the truck. After a few minutes we were on our way and, thankfully, everything was okay. We learned they usually pull over locals at these checkpoints to look for illegal weapons and such.




Later that day, we attended our event...



After the event, someone in the group got an urge for Häagen-Dazs so guess where we ended up after midnight?! I have never seen such a fancy Häagen-Dazs joint. We sat down, we were handed a huge menu with tons of ice cream, shakes and even fondue options, and a waiter came up and took our order. Pretty cool, huh?



And here are a couple of destination shots I took while on a fast-paced walking tour...




Overall, it was a successful and productive trip.

This past weekend, I spent the afternoon at Damaris' house. Her home is decorated so beautifully for the holidays. This is just one wall in her house!



I got to see some sweet friends, including Maritza. It was so much fun to meet her daughter and see her adorable grandson for the first time. He's such a good baby!




And this is the BEST belated birthday present I have ever received!!! Look at this beautiful throw pillow she made me with my initial on it! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! I showed it to Richard and he liked it, too. He said to me, "Where's my pillow? We need one with my initial on it to match!" LOL! He's too much!




I'm working on Days 11-13 of my December Daily album so I'll post pics of these pages soon. Also, I'm giving away a Jenny Bowlin 2009 Year in Review mini album. Check back soon to enter the giveaway!

Merry wishes and joyful dreams!
Vanessa