Playing Along With LGS Team B

Actually got my layout and post ready on time this week! Shocking, I know!! The girls are on Spring Break so I've taken full advantage of the extra free time to get slightly ahead with my DT commitments. We have another week to go so I hope to make a serious dent in April's assignments too!!

But back to today's challenge at Let's Get Sketchy. Here is the sketch Team B was given as well as their Colour Combo Twist.

If it looks familiar to this one, it is. Slight changes but ideal for more Christmas memories. As I did with the last colour combination twist we were given, I chose not to take it in a holiday direction and instead scrap some photos from our recent trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Here's my layout this week.

I have decided to keep Kraft as a common element on all my layouts for this trip. It's a great way to keep some continuity through an entire album or story within an album. You can vary the embellishments and other papers all you want, but ensuring that all of your layouts about a certain trip/event/story have some bit of Kraft on it (or whatever uniting element you choose) keeps the album cohesive. That way, even if you add a forgotten story many months or years after the original ones were completed, it will still flow nicely because it shares a common element with all the earlier layouts.

This particular layout is about Greg and my trip into Puerto Vallarta (sans children - thanks Grandma and Grandpa!) for a date at Pipi's. The sketch was great as it gave me a lot of room to journal (once I flipped it) and I was able to tell the back story to our pilgrimage to Pipi's. 

I also dug deep into my stash and found these glitter chipboard letters for my title. They are popped up with foam adhesive and layered over strips of washi tape. When I laid them down initially (without the washi tape) they seemed to float a bit. Adding the tape behind grounded them and gave me another opportunity to introduce the colours from the inspiration picture. The flowers were also found in my stash during a recent sort/reorganization and I'd pulled them out knowing they would be perfect for this colour scheme too. 

And finally my journaling. I know that as long as we continue to visit Puerto Vallarta (as often as we can afford to take the family - so every 5 years or so!! LOL!) we will seek out Pipi's. I hope it stays in business long enough for us to take the girls there one day!

Thanks for stopping by today. Make sure you head over to the Let's Get Sketchy blog to see the beautiful layouts Team B has created for your inspiration. This is the last sketch for March which means that if you are interested in the prize this month you've got until Sunday to get your submissions linked up. You are playing for a $10 Gift Certificate to The Paper Bakery so get those layouts in! Good luck to you all!!

New Sketch up at Let's Get Sketchy!

It's Monday again and the Let's Get Sketchy team has got a new sketch for you. What do you think?

I liked the distressed background and figured it was a perfect chance to play with my new Heidi Swapp products. Um, yeah, I said new. I may have fallen off the wagon a tiny bit. I got a bug in my head about her Color Shine products and so when I was in Michael's looking for yellow gems (didn't find any I liked) and saw an entire display of Heidi Swapp ... well ... I just wasn't strong enough to pass them by!

(Insert sheepish grin here.)

Have you ever tried Heidi's Color Shine products? They are white with black patterns printed on them and if you twist them in the light you can see areas of gloss as well as matte that create a pattern. When you applied the spray to it, the matte parts soak up the colour and you can use a cloth (I used a baby wipe) to remove the spray from the glossy parts. When you're done you have the original pattern plus a new pattern of colour and gloss. Pretty cool, eh?

I had chosen the photos long before I got the paper and just knew the Tropical Teal mist would be perfect. As my daughter Paige pointed out, the arched pattern in the paper mimics the arches in the picture. Huh. Totally unintentional but I guess somewhere in my brain I knew that too!

Okay, here are your detail shots. 

I am a tiny bit addicted to these little rose buds Michael's sells too. (Yes, this may have been a part of my falling off the wagon thing too!) If you find yourself with little flowers but you need to create more presence on your page, try layering them over larger flat flowers. Either punched flowers or the type you can buy intended for layers. These brown ones are of that latter type - old Making Memories ones from my stash.

Using up my letter stickers still (managed to win THAT temptation battle yesterday) - these glossy ones are fun and the perfect hot pink!

A journaling tag tucked into the pictures keeps the design cohesive.

The bottom of the larger photo needed a larger cluster so I mixed in one larger rose from my stash and some pearls. Using the same washi tape and word stickers keeps the two embellishment clusters cohesive.

I also purchased a package of Color Shine arrows and used 3 on this layout. Two I sprayed in the same blue as the background paper, the third I sprayed in pink. They have a very subtle grid pattern on them that becomes visible once you spray them. Not sure if you can totally see that in this picture though.

I was trying to show off the shine quality of the spray. Can you see it on this arrow? Again, not sure!

Well, that's all for this week's sketch. Can't wait to see what you do with it!

Have a great week everyone!

First March Monday Reveal ... And A New Twist!

Welcome back! It's Monday again and time for another new sketch over at Let's Get Sketchy. Since this is the first Monday in March everything resets. We had a TON of participants last month. I love checking out how everyone interprets the sketches! It was great to see some new faces playing along. Keep up the great work! 

Hope you're looking forward to 4 brand new sketch challenges (one with a new twist!) and a new sponsor too. At time of publication I don't have details on who our sponsor is for March but check back with the Let's Get Sketchy blog for more details. And don't forget about our Birthday Bash Blog Hop! It's still going on - you've got until March 8th at midnight CST (that's 10 PM PST) to submit a challenge entry based on one of our Birthday Inspired Projects and be entered to win the grand prize. Just not able to get to your scrap space this week to create something birthday inspired? Don't despair! There will be plenty of other opportunities to win RAK's this month as we are celebrating ALL MONTH with prizes. Make sure you you're a follower of the blog and check back often for those extra chances to win!

And now for our sketch this week - which comes with that twist I was talking about ... a colour combo!

As you can see from our colour inspiration picture we thought maybe you'd have some Christmas photos needing scrapping but ... I took it in a very different direction!

As we had just come back from Mexico and the colours were showing up in my pictures a lot, I decided to use them to create a tropical feel. I'd also been sent a couple sets of rub-ons that contained the colours I needed so I decided to use them.

Here are my detail shots.

The blue isn't in the inspiration picture but as Greg was wearing a blue shirt I thought that adding a few touches here and there would help tie everything together.

Here are those rub-ons I was talking about. I am not the biggest rub-on user out there (they kind of scare me to be honest!!) but I'm pretty pleased with how these turned out. I was also able to journal right over them which was great!

The doily was also part of the same prize pack I won. I liked how it was square! Using it on an angle gives the layout some movement and energy.

The little red flower was from the same rub-on pack and the brad and the dahlia are from my Stampin' Up stash. 

Another look at those big flower rub-ons and my white Mister Huey splatters. Marley had suggested mists for another layout (this one) and I liked it so much I duplicated it here. This may have to become my unifying thing for all my Mexico layouts. That and the kraft card stock. Thanks Marley!

Now it's your turn. How will you interpret the sketch and colour challenge? Can't wait to see! Be sure to upload your layout on the Let's Get Sketchy site by the end of March. Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great week!

Family Friday Update - Mexico Part II

Before I get to that though, here are some shots of what Valentine's Day looked like around here yesterday last Thursday.

As you can see, I started this last week and then ... hmmm ... what DID happen last Friday? Oh yes. It was a "district wide closure day" or, as I like to call them "we're trying to save money and closing the school for one day every few months seems to work even though it ends up costing family's more in day care and schedule disruptions"! I would have been less bitter about this particular day off school if the district had got its act together and coordinated it with the new Family Day the Monday before. A 4 day weekend would have been more tolerable than 2 3-day weekends with a 3 day week in the middle!

But I digress. Last Friday was also the day I finally picked up my laptop. Since it was like a brand new computer I spent the rest of the day transferring what data I had back onto it and trying to get it back to where I had it before. This blog post got put on the back burner and then forgotten about. Sorry!

Back to last week and Valentine's Day ...

Greg came home Wednesday night with the roses so our table looked very festive first thing in the morning.

Inside the girls Valentines buckets this year were some jelly beans, a Barbie Kinder Surprise egg, a heart shaped York peppermint patty, a cupcake lip gloss from Pier1 and a Valentine's bracelet also from Pier1 (gotta love the staff discount!) Their cards were shared in this post but I didn't show you what I made for Greg. Here it is.

I found my inspiration for this also on Pinterest - you can see it here. I wanted to try and find something more masculine than all the red and pink I'd been collecting before. The original card was in shades of blue but I stuck with traditional red. 

I don't make a ton of cards now that I am no longer selling Stampin' Up products so I've kind of forgotten how fun it can be. And satisfying to get a project done in 30 minutes! Anyway, Thanks for letting me share these with you.

My post title hinted at more Mexico pictures so get ready, get comfy, get a cup of tea ...

In my Mexico Part I post I got through the first half of our vacation, here are some highlights from Days 5 - 8.

Greg took Marley and LC boogie boarding while Paige and I stayed at the kids pool. If I remember correctly, they had been gone a long time so I finally convinced Paige to go down to the beach with me to see what was happening and this is what we found! LC was doing pretty well! I have a couple of short videos that I'll upload to my YouTube channel for you to see.

Marley really has the surfer girl look down pat!

Once they returned the boards we went for a walk along the beach. Greg had a very specific destination in mind but when we were still only half way to it the girls started complaining of being tired so I took them back. Greg kept going - for another hour! The girls had fun trying to find treasures. At one point they found a coconut and Paige gave it a good try to carry it all the way back but it got too heavy in the end and was left behind. 

That night was another beautiful sunset which I finally remembered to grab a picture of! This is the pathway in front of our room. The hut you see is where you can rent the boogie boards and other beach equipment and in front of that there were two petanque pits and two shuffle board mats.

After dinner Marley challenged Greg to a game of Ping Pong and while in the Games Room getting the paddles and ball, an impromptu game of fooze ball was played.

Um, yes. Paige IS a teensy bit sun burnt!! She had pretty much refused to get out of the pool that day except when I dragged her down to the beach. Insistence that she reapply sunscreen was generally met with groans, pouts and sometimes even tears. Sigh. I do believe she learned her lesson though! Us too!! Hats, hats, hats!!

LC and Griffin found a new way to play pool.

Greg and Marley playing ping pong.

Day 6 was Greg and my "day out". Grandma and Grandpa came out to the resort to look after the girls while we headed into Puerto Vallarta for some time alone.

We took the bus into town - it was only 140 pesos (or something like that - I can't remember exactly!)

Here's Greg standing on the Malecon (wide pedestrian path along the beach) looking towards Nuevo Vallarta.

And me on the Malecon, looking up the Malecon. It was a really pretty area with lots of sculptures and the requisite tourist stores and chain restaurants!

After a long HOT walk down the Malecon, over the bridge to this little island in the middle of the city and back again, we made for our lunch destination - Pipi's. Greg's family found this restaurant on their first visit to Puerto Vallarta in the late 90's and have gone there every trip since. When we were there in 2007 Greg and I had a lunch out here after which I managed to get Greg to agree to buy me a $100 serving bowl. Something he doesn't let me forget!! It had a lot to do with the fact that we had two of these margaritas last time!! We learned our lesson and only had one on this trip!!

They are the size of a small lake afterall!!

Another thing we love about Pipi's is the freshly made guacamole. It's made table side and to order! Gotta love that!!

The final thing that we love at Pipi's are the Shrimp fajitas.

I think this picture speaks for itself, no?

Not a cheap lunch but definitely a feast to remember!!

This is Pipi's.

We were all pretty sunburned by this point but the girls had great fun putting aloe on Greg and myself. 

This is our little patio and here the girls are modelling the new dresses I picked up for them in Puerto Vallarta. Not a $100 dollar plate!!

We took the girls out for a "fancy" dinner - a reservation needed, sit down affair at one of the restaurants on the resort instead of the usual buffet affair. Since the girls were all dressed up and Greg had to wear pants, I decided to get dressed up too. Makes for a nice family shot!!

Day 7 - our last full day at the resort.

We decided to take full advantage of the amenities available at the resort so while I kept our reserved chairs company at the kids pool (i.e. sat in the sun and read my book all morning) Greg hung out with the girls at the Kids Club. Because LC isn't 4 yet we weren't able to leave her without parental supervision so we hadn't used the Kids Club much. Next time! On this morning it was Pirate Day so first they painted swords ...

then there was a bit of play time ...

then they got dressed up for their treasure hunt. Paige looks pretty fierce here doesn't she?

Cutest pirate ever!

Our three Buccaneers!!

The treasure hunt led them all through the Club building (even weaving through tables in the main restaurant while people were trying to finish breakfast!)

Once outside they had to find the flags and follow the clues.

Marley led the charge carrying the Jolly Roger!

Reading a clue.

At the main pool they put on a bit of a show for everyone including shuttling the kids across the pool on that dingy.

LC's turn.

Paige making it safely to the other side.

Hello Nielsen's!! They were getting ready to go that day so didn't participate in the fun but did stop by to see what all the noise was about.

Down on the beach the buried treasure was finally discovered.

Chocolate coins!!

After a bit of lunch it was pool time - with new friends.

Paige joined in the kids water aerobics. Greg was more than happy to take pictures of this. I wonder why?!

Marley and I were hanging out in the main pool.

Cheers!

That night the girls "had" to go to the evening show as there was going to be a special kids show before the main performance. In true fashion, our girls were up on stage before things got going dancing and showing off!

Paige is really developing this goofy side!

The girls had been making friends all week and knowing that this was our last night they had exchanged addresses with one particular set of girls. Here is was all about the goodbye hugs! 

And then the festivities got going. Captain Hook (minus his hook!) had lost his hat so the children ran through the theatre trying to find it and then chasing the pirate who had it. The fun ended with a game like "pass the parcel" except it was "pass the hat" to the tune of the Mexican Hat Dance. Our girls didn't win. :(

Once the children's program finished the entertainment troupe put on a pretty spectacular dance show.  

Marley and LC got their picture taken with the dancers at the end but Paige ...

Paige had fallen asleep! Aw!!

Day 8 - Homeward bound ... eventually!

Marley woke up with the nasty cold that had been plaguing the Nielsen's so she spent the morning chilling on the couch (and hiding from the camera) while I packed and Paige and LC went to the Kids Club. 

I tagged Greg off so he could pack and got pictures of the Iron Chef portion of the activities. Here's LC concentrating on painting her chef's hat - I'm assuming she had fun on the playground before this as her nose is one big dirt smudge!!

Paige takes her art very seriously!!

Getting ready to cook!

LC too - after they all washed their hands first though!

Lining up to make their Iron Chef creations.

Admiring her handiwork!

Pretty soon it was time to leave the Kids Club, have a quick shower and check out of our room.

Paige sitting pretty on the front desk counter!

This was too cute not to photograph. We took the bus into Puerto Vallarta for one last visit with Grandma and Grandpa Day and at one point LC was laying on Paige's lap trying to take a nap. Paige can be very maternal to her sometimes!

Once there we quickly met up with Greg's folks and strolled down the Malecon. Some locals create elaborate sand castles on the beach beneath the Malecon (jars are put out for tips) and this one seemed appropriate to take a picture of. Plus I was in a giving mood - a getting rid of my last pesos mood!

Another frequent sight in Puerto Vallarta was these guys. They are everywhere!

Strolling down the Malecon.

There were plenty of photo ops along the way.

We wanted to get a shot of all three girls - one in each arch - but ... Paige was hungry and tired and in a non-cooperative mood!

This is the whole sculpture. Wouldn't it have been cool with a girl in each arch? Well, 3 out of the 4 arches anyway. Maybe next time!

 

Grandma put her Spanish and bargaining skills to work in buying each grand daughter a silver bracelet.

Got all 3 to cooperate for this one!!

Wow! Two family shots in one trip! That's pretty amazing!

Well, thanks for hanging in there. We've been back for 2 and a half weeks now and it's starting to feel like a nice dream. Life rapidly returned to normal. School routines. Activity routines. Job juggling. Sigh. I need a holiday! LOL!!

I shared my big news the other day that I am now a Staffer at an online magazine called Scrapbook News and Review. Just to clarify one point - this is not a job that pays me money. I'd love it if it were but I am happy with the recognition, exposure and experience it will give me plus the opportunity to play with new products on occasion. It's still a HUGE deal and I appreciate all the lovely comments from my friends congratulating me. 

Well, this is stacking up to be a busier weekend than normal. Tomorrow means LC's swim lesson, Marley's jazz and a shift for me at Pier1 but it also brings a birthday party for Paige and the PAC Parent Dance. Seeing as I have to be at work for 8:30 on Sunday morning I don't anticipate having as much fun as I did at the Parent dance 2 years ago! Probably a good thing!! Sunday is the usual double soccer game and a shift for me at Pier1 plus we will be taking Marley out for her birthday dinner a couple nights early as Greg is planning on taking her to the Canucks game on Tuesday (her birthday).  See what I mean? Busy, busy, busy!!

Hope your weekend is filled with family and fun too. See you on Monday!