Happy Easter!

Well, I finished my first week of Karen Russell's Photography Workshop (just 9 more weeks to go!). The first week gave us a chance to learn all about the course, upcoming lessons, message boards, etc. Now the real work begins and boy is it a LOT of information... But I hope to learn TONS by the end of the class. Wish me luck! :)

Last week, we celebrated my mother-in-law's 65th birthday. Her birthday happens to fall on the same day as Mami's birthday so it's a little bit bittersweet for me. I love birthdays and celebrating with my loved ones, but of course I miss my Mami.

First, we went out to a local restaurant.



These are my in-laws...



And then we went to their house to sing happy birthday and cut a cake. It was a BIG cake made by a family friend (but the filling was a mystery to us!). It turned out to have a little taste of guava and some coconut.



Here are some layouts that I hadn't posted made with the February Cocoa Daisy kit. A couple of these were inspired by the design team.





I just started playing with my March Cocoa Daisy kit so I'll have more projects to share soon... I also received my delicious AC Dear Lizzy goodies. Wow. This collection is beautiful and perfect for spring!

Before I go, I want to wish you a Happy Easter holiday! Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving me comments. I LOVE reading them. You all are the best!!!

Peace and happy scrapping,
Vanessa

Spring Banner | Photographer's Workshop

Hi my friends,

Sorry I've been missing in action! It's been a bit crazy lately and I have been wanting to blog but life gets in the way. I'm sure you can relate. :)

Anyhow, there's sooooooo much I want to share, but in order to NOT overwhelm you, I will just pick TWO things for today. Gee, how considerate of me! Teehee!

So this morning I finished my beautiful Spring banner project from Studio Calico. I bought this add-on kit and I think they still have some left in case you want one! I'm such an enabler!



After pondering (and pondering some more) about what to do with my banner, I finally decided against using photos of people and instead I opted to use destination shots from my unforgettable trip to my island of enchantment, Puerto Rico. That way, I could keep this banner for a long time and it won't seem dated after a while. Also, it's a reminder of a place that I will always hold close to my heart (even if I'm a Miami girl now).

I found LOTS of great ideas on the Studio Calico website, but in the end I loved what Celine Navarro did so I used hers as my inspiration. I mean, that girl is super talented. If only she could bottle up an ounce of her creativity, I'd buy it for sure! LOL!

Here's my completed Spring banner (sorry for the bad photos, but it was difficult to photograph) For the iron-ons, I used photos of my childhood home, El Morro and Flamenco Beach. I also incorporated Davinie Fiero's misting idea for the edges of the pennants (using a border punch) because I loved that detail and wanted to use it somehow.








Did you notice that I made a cute little twisted fabric flower on the fifth pennant? In the end, the banner made its home in my bedroom and it's hanging from my dresser mirror.



Since I was so inspired to keep sewing (hand stitching that is! My sewing machine and I had a little spat last night and we haven't made up yet! It might take a while...), I found a tutorial here (thanks to Trish from Work in Progress for sharing the link) and I made this cute little flower using five different patterns of fabric. Isn't it cute? It's perfect for a layout or a mini album cover.



This Monday, I begin my Photographer's Workshop with Karen Russell and I am REALLY excited! :) I received this beautiful binder and a personal note from Karen (sure makes me feel special). I bought my recommended 50mm lens a couple of weeks ago and I am now ready to learn all about photography... yippee!




If you've taken the class, please let me know how it went!

I have lots more to share, including my completed 2009 Puerto Rico vacation album and more layouts, but I'll save it for a later post!

Have a wonderful weekend! My honey bunny returned from a work trip to Philly last night so we're heading out soon for some quality time together :)

Peace and happy scrapping,
Vanessa

Birthday wishes

I hope you all are having a wonderful week... Unfortunately, my week has been filled with 2010 budget reforecasts and client proposals. Plus, this time change is just not agreeing with me. No, not at all. I'm a morning person, but I don't like having to get up when it's still dark outside. It just doesn't feel right. Between work and the dreaded time change, I'm feeling gloomy this week. And it doesn't help that my poor honey bunny is working loooong hours on a big project and he'll be off to Philadelphia soon.

I sure hope my creative juices kick into high gear because I want to create with my new kit. I can't wait!

Last night, we celebrated Richard's grandma's 83rd birthday. She is such a blessing. What a special lady. I love her so much! She makes me miss my Mami even more, but she's always looking out for us. She jokes that I have saved her life because I am always worrying about her. I did save her at least once though. We were at the beach last year when she was hit by a wave and she panicked and went under water. She was yelling for Mari (Richard's mom), but nobody noticed except me and I ran over and pulled her up out of the water. Pobrecita. I really do love her as if she was my grandma, too.

Here are some photos from last night. I captured this photo of her and Richard and a close-up of them holding hands. So sweet.




This is my mother-in-law, her aunt Felina, Richard's uncle and grandma.



And here she is blowing out her candles...



Toward the end of the night, Richard was holding his cousin's baby and I snapped a few photos. The funny thing is that Richard is terrified of holding little babies. He won't do it. Ever. This is the very first time I've seen him hold a baby. He is afraid to hold other people's babies, but yet he is so awesome with kids. How cute is this?



I leave you with a layout using February's Cocoa Daisy kit. This photo cracks me up. It was taken on our anniversary and we were at South Pointe Park in Miami Beach. It was REALLY windy and we were on top of a hill so we are taking a self-portrait while the wind is hitting us directly in the face. :) Good times.



Enjoy the rest of your week!

Peace and happy scrapping,
Vanessa

I'm tired (yawn)

Hi my friends,

I had a crazy week with some wild travel schedule, work deadlines, and other stuff. I was in Los Cabos meeting with a client and we were rewarded with great weather and -- to my surprise -- some whale watching!

Here are some iPhone photos of the marina and a Cabo Dolphins water attraction, taken from the famed Hotel Finisterra, which also boasts the Whale Watcher Bar.



From my hotel, the Marquis Los Cabos, I could see and hear the crashing waves outside my room. The next morning, I watched the sunrise and caught some huge gray whales from my balcony. It was beautiful! Too bad that we had to make a mad dash to the meeting and then head to the airport for a stay in Dallas.





Anyway, this morning I woke up and I thought I was okay, but then it hit me. A sudden tired feeling and a headache. So I went back to bed around noon and didn't wake up till 3 pm. My DH has been working here in his home office all day on a big project so I took advantage of the time and got some needed rest.

Here are some more layouts I made a couple of weeks ago using the Studio Calico February kit, Baker's Dozen (some were inspired by the DT gallery). Did I mention that this was my fave kit... EVER? Teeheee! I probably did. :)





Thanks for stopping by and leaving me your comments! :) I hope you are having a fantastic weekend! The weather here in Miami is just perfect so I hope to be outdoors tomorrow...

Peace and happy scrapping!
Vanessa

The start of a new week...

... is upon us and with that comes lots and lots of work, a business trip to Los Cabos early tomorrow morning, welcoming back a new senior editor, and more.

This weekend I've worked a bit and I visited my lovely friends at Barb's house yesterday (Boy was that fun! I missed them!). I also helped my Titi Mae move into a new house today. I was kind of sad because I had to say goodbye to "Mami's room," where she lived, where we shared many laughs and good talks, where I visited with her and where she passed away in 2008. I miss her every single day.

On the scrappy front, I received my order of doilies and handmade vintage flowers all the way from Australia. It was well worth it though. Look at these beauties... If you're interested, check out this Etsy shop.


Here are a couple of more layouts I completed last week with the Studio Calico February kit, Baker's Dozen. LOVE that kit! One of my faves by far... These are scrap lifts from the design team's galleries.




DON'T FORGET!!! You know how I love Lily Bee! Well, they have formed a new fan page on Facebook. Please join and comment on the giveaway (third post down on the fan page - currently has 276 comments). If you tell them that I sent you, BOTH of us can win an entire collection of Hello Sunshine!! Yippee!!! Two winners will be chosen by March 9th. :)

I have many more layouts to share, but I need to finish getting ready for tomorrow. I'll be back soon!

Peace and happy scrapping,
Vanessa

Studio Calico Sketch

Thanks to all of you for your comments! I'm glad you liked my Jenni Bowlin layouts. They were so much fun to put together.

This week, I am letting go of daily stress (and trust me, I've had a lot of work stress this week!) by working on layouts with my Feb Studio Calico kit, Baker's Dozen. Creative therapy is the best! This has honestly been one of my favorite kits ever! I just love the incredible mix of goodies, the embellies, the bright, fun colors... Plus, the designers' galleries have such awesome inspiration.

This week, they posted a gorgeous Stephanie Howell layout and sketch that I lifted. I love the way it turned out! Those doilies are beautiful! :)



That's all I have right now, but I'll post more layouts later. I already have seven layouts that I have created with this kit and I am working on two more.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the week!

EDITED TO ADD: You know how I love Lily Bee! Well, they have formed a new fan page on Facebook. Please join and comment on the giveaway (second post down on the fan page). If you tell them that I sent you, BOTH of us can win an entire collection of Hello Sunshine!! Yippee!!! Two winners will be chosen by March 9th. :)

Peace and happy scrapping,
Vanessa

I'm back (with layouts to share)

Hi my friends!

I hope you had a great weekend! The past week has been a bit crazy, filled with LOTS and LOTS of work, a business trip to Mexico City, and a girlfriends weekend! I'm home for now, but I may be traveling again for work next week.

On the scrappy front, I created three more layouts with my Jenny Bowlin Homespun kit. I really LOVE the new Jenni Bowlin Studio (JBS) releases, especially those butterflies and the vintage buttons. The bright-colored papers are so yummy and those banner stickers... okay, I love it all! LOL!

This layout was inspired by Doris Sander from the JBS Design Team. I love all the flowers she cut up and how they frame the photo. I didn't have any bingo cards so I improvised and made my own using patterned paper. I like the way this came out. The title (in case you cannot read the banner stickers) is "Girl Crush" and of course this is all about Donna Downey. Teeheee!



Next up is a layout I created using mostly JBS and a few other bits and pieces. I got the butterfly banner idea (which I love by the way!) from the JBS gallery. So simple and yummy! The photo looks washed out... sorry about that!



Finally, this was my own creation using leftover JBS papers, journaling card and alpha stickers. I also incorporated one of my vintage milk caps from Mount Dora. So fun!



I love it when I use up all my goodies! Now I am playing with my February Studio Calico kit, Baker's Dozen.



I am in LOVE with this kit. The bright colors are so ME! I have already made five layouts with it and I expect to create a couple more. I am so inspired by their design team! For March, I didn't buy their kit, but I did get this Patchwork banner project kit and I cannot wait to play with it! I'm giddy! It comes with iron-on printer paper so you can print photos on the banner...



This Saturday, I get to see my scrappy friends at Barb's house. I'm looking forward to spending the day with them and getting crafty! :)

Now I am off to register for Karen Russell's Photography Workshop... I have been on the wait list forever and I hope to finally start the class in late March. Yeah!

Peace and happy scrapping!
Vanessa