Back to the beach

Another Hawaii page. There will be quite a few more before the album is done. I'm really enjoying this book. It's the first theme book I've done for myself, believe it or not!

So--for this page I used three different fonts for the title -- Tangerine and Tangerine Shadows, Sonja Classic, and Aquarius mini. Also used the hibiscus, jungle leaf, rev sun, shells, pail and shovel, raindrops and small waves border. Inking, stickles, doodling, and foam tape give lots of dimension.

Monkey Girl

Title is QK Exotic Island and Aquarius; hibiscus, jungle leaf, and campsite; Archiver's exclusive tropical leaves, monkey and pattern arrow.


Monkey charm from Oriental Trading Company.

C is for Cookie

This page is all about leftovers. LOL I used a bunch of leftover pictures that didn't fit on pages of their own, and a few leftover goodies from a kit. The filmstrip is made from the QK squares border--love this!

Lots of fun things here. Felt flowers, ribbon, bling flower, rolling pin, timer, cookie, recipe card, C monogram, cc nesting flowers/scallops, Studio skinny mini, Aquarius and Dragonfly 4x8 alphas. Cookie monster image found online.

Baking Together QuicKitz Kit, more projects

I don't have an apron die (yet) so this one I cut by hand and made to match Gracie's apron. Also used a scallop oval die to cut a "bite" out of the cookie.



A hello/how are ya/whatcha been up to card.

Baking Together QuicKitz Kit

Let's Make Cookies -- The papers and colors in this kit are gorgeous. The scans just can't do them justice. For the sugar in the measuring cup and on the cookies, I used glitter, which looks awesome IRL but again, doesn't translate in the scan, unfortunately. I actually printed a recipe on the recipe card this time too. The cookie dough on the spoon and in the mixing bowl journaling block I cut by hand and accented with doodles and ink.

Journaling reads:
Silly Gracie! We need to bake the cookies before we eat them!

Happy Baking QuicKitz, Layout #2

When dd, Cyndi and her dh bought this house, the kitchen was a complete disaster. And by disaster I mean it was non-livable, except maybe for critters and bugs! They completely gutted it to the studs and started from scratch. Once it was ready, she and I painted it and put together the cabinets ourselves. It was a fun project and the end result was so worth all the time and effort of everyone involved -- and even worth all those weeks of washing dishes in the bathtub!

Journaling reads:

Cyndi has every reason to sing in her new kitchen. Boy, what a mess it was when she and Pat first bought the house! We sure had fun giving it a new coat of paint and putting together her new cabinets. Here it is nearly done. What a transformation!

First Scrapbuggy QuicKitz, Happy Baking

In case you didn't already know how much I love QuicKutz, I LOVE QUICKUTZ! ;)

How exciting to get to play with...er, I mean, WORK with...the newest releases. The new cooking dies are the cutest things and I'm having so much fun with them. In the layout below, I used the first Scrapbuggy QuicKitz, Happy Baking, utilizing the dies that are included in the kit. Yes, you heard me right. All Scrapbuggy QuicKitz will include QK dies!! What an incredible value! If you are a QK fan, you really need to check them out. There will be two kits offered each month, you can purchase at any time but do not have to subscribe to a monthly club, and you will receive a free kit after you've purchased 10 kits. Can't beat that!

Chatterbox, Happy Day - love this line! It really is happy, isn't it? LOL QK Chemistry alphabet for the title, Recipe Card QK club die for the journaling, timer (so cute!), rolling pin, cookies all included in the kit.


Kits are limited, so hurry and check them out now before they are gone!

Hawaii #4

Mom, dad, and my sisters enjoying the waters of Waikiki Beach. Lots of fun summer dies and sparkly stickles.


To minimize distracting objects in your photos, add stickers or embellishments over the area you wish to detract. This will bring more attention to the focal point of your photo and you won't have to explain why that's someone you don't know in the shot. LOL

Hawaii album, continued

Page 2:
Lobby of the Outrigger Waikiki. My sisters, Kath & Sue. The pics aren't as dark in person, sorry they are difficult to see in the scans. The bottom two photos are the 100 year old outrigger and the huge wall mural in the lobby of the hotel. Embellishments are the room key and a coaster. Hibiscus and leaves are, of course, QuicKutz.


Page 3:
This page is so much prettier IRL. The pinks are softer, the stickles actually twinkle, and the ribbons are pretty orange that coordinate perfectly. Hrumph. Title is QuicKutz Fiesta and Chocolate mini; shells, leaves and hibiscus are also QK; palm tree is Jolee's.

Journaling on the small tag:
The Royal Hawaiian Hotel, known worldwide as the Pink Palace of the Pacific, has been visited by Presidents, Royalty, and Hollywood stars since it first opened its doors in February, 1927.


Bottom photo caption tag:
Diamondhead - from our beach chairs

Journaling at the bottom of the page:
With its backdrop of Diamondhead and Waikiki Beach, The Royal Hawaiian hotel is still the icon of luxury.

Fun Facts:
In the 1930s, The Royal Hawaiian hotel invented the non-alcoholic drink, the Shirley Temple, when the star visited there as a child.

We also have the The Royal Hawaiian to thank for making the Mai Tai so popular.

*****
Remember you can click on any of the images to view them clearer in a larger size.

Aloha!

Finally! The first page of my Hawaii album. The background paper is one of the newsletters we received each day under the door. To tone down the busyness, I covered it with vellum. Accents are QK hibiscus, leaf, shells, and A's exclusive tropical leaves. The journaling block is note paper from the hotel and I matched the font to the letterhead logo. The pages following will reflect more of the journaling as there are more pics to go with these.

Journaling reads:
What a view we had from our balcony! Right outside was the beautiful old Pink Palace of the Pacific, The Royal Hawaiian hotel, and to the left, gorgeous Waikiki Beach and the beautiful blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. We rented chairs and umbrellas every day and sat on the beach enjoying the sun every morning.

In the lobby are rare Hawaiian artifacts, a beautifully restored 100-year old koa outrigger canoe, kahili -- royal feather wands used in ceremonial dances -- and murals depicting early ocean voyages in outrigger canoes.

Wow! Three times this has been featured *Ü*

What an honor to have this page featured a third time in the Scrapbooks Etc. Newsletter. I must admit, it is one of my favorites and the look of awe and wonder and eager anticipation on Gracie's face really makes the page. Great photography by my daughter, Cyndi.

Altered wine carrier

While on vacation, I was lucky enough to drag my sister to Michael's (she's NOT a crafter of any sort, so this type of store is somewhat foreign to her LOL) where I found many fun things to spend my gift card on. One of them was a wine carrier. I had been thinking about what to use for storage for the QK 12 inch border dies and was not thrilled with the new system they came out with, so the hunt was on for something else. This is it! Just look how much room there is for expansion--a QK addict's dream!!! ;) I'm sorry I forgot to get a 'before' pic, but here are the after altering photos.


Papers are Autumn Leaves, Smitten; border punch is Martha Stewart doily lace; cardstock is Doodlebug Bazzill; pink ink by Colorbox; letters are QK Chocolate mini; pink grosgrain ribbon by Offray, green/dot grosgrain ribbon by Michael's.

Home from sunny SoCal!

Not all of the pictures below are mine, but none of them are professional. These were all taken by family members. Can't wait to get the professional pictures!

Whew! What a fabulous trip. I'm so glad to be home, but had such wonderful time with my family, my sister, and of course, at the most beautiful wedding I've ever seen. Seriously, it was beyond gorgeous and I'm not just saying that because it was my niece's wedding. And meeting my new nephew was such fun. He is not only easy on the eyes--LOL--but is just as beautiful on the inside. He couldn't be anymore right for Ali and we are all more than happy to have him as the newest member of our family.

Tommy & Ali

Friday we went to pick up Ali's dress which had been at the bridal shop all week to be steamed. We got there and first they couldn't find the dress and when they finally did almost 30 minutes later, it hadn't been touched!!!!! Ali was livid, of course, and had to turn into bridezilla to get the woman to take it in the back and steam it. In the meantime, we all went across the plaza to Chili's to have a drink and regroup. Then we get back to pick it up and they have the wrong petticoat there for her, so we have to wait again while they round up the right one--it was the only one in the entire store that fit Ali, so it wasn't like she could just pick a different one. UGH. They finally got everything together and we left, never to return. Obviously they don't count on repeat business or they'd have been shut down long ago.

Saturday evening was the wedding rehearsal at the Hilton San Diego Resort & Spa. It was a blast and the rehearsal dinner afterward was phenomenal. There were 44 in attendance, including the wedding party and out of town family who came in from all across the country. After rehearsal, we all headed to Buca di Beppo Italian Restaurant in San Diego where we had mixed green salad, garlic bread, lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, and for dessert, homemade cheesecake with raspberry sauce and hazelnuts. The food was fabulous...and the cheesecake -- OMG to die for!!

Wedding rehearsal

Saturday was a zoo trying to get everyone and everything situated for the wedding. My sister had booked two ro0ms at the hotel; one for the bridesmaids to get ready in, and one for the rest of us to use for whatever, if we needed to crash or take a break during the reception, or whatever.

We all managed to get ready on time and everyone found a car to pile into and headed for the gazebo on the grounds at the resort. The ceremony itself was really nice--quite traditional, short and sweet--and it all went off without a hitch (except for getting quite a late start due to something beyond the control of the wedding party), then we all hung out on the grounds for cocktails and appetizers before the reception while pictures were taken.

Ceremony

Mr. & Mrs. Azzarella




Sweet kiss



Mother of the bride, my sister

Ring bearer

The dinner and reception was held in the Grand Ballroom. Dinner was delicious, the wine was good (I'm not a fan of wine--it was probably fabulous, I just don't know LOL), and the music and dancing were great fun.

First dance for the newlyweds

Bride and dad dance


Removal of the garter

On Sunday, the day after the wedding, the newlyweds relaxed at home as much as they could before leaving Monday for their honeymoon in Aruba, and the rest of us went to the ballpark to watch the Padres beat the Giants 4 to 1. We took the trolley from Santee to Petco Field--a pleasant ride and long enough for my sister to wake up some and get over her hangover a bit from the wedding the night before. LOL Sidenote: my sister is one of the owners of the Trolley Center since its conception. After the game we had lunch across the street from Jack Murphy (Qualcomm) Stadium. I can't, for the life of me, remember the name of the place, but the fish and chips were great.

Petco Field

The next morning dad, my other sis and her two boys, all headed home. Later, my brother and sister-in-law also hit the road. They had all driven down. Mom stayed a few more days so she, me and my sis were able visit in a little more relaxing setting for a bit before her flight back home.

After mom left, Kath and I just hung out, played yahtzee and Mexican Train dominoes, went out to eat every night and watched a few movies we hadn't yet seen. We also went to see Costner in Swing Vote. Cute movie, great ending.

We left my sister's at about 4 a.m. yesterday for the airport and I reached Spokane at about 1:30 p.m. Still in vacation mode today, but should be back in the swing again tomorrow. I hope to do some scrapping this weekend so we'll see how that goes.

I'm so glad to be home!!

Missing my scrap room like you can't believe!!!

Hello all.
I'm having a fab time with my sis in SoCal, but ready to be home again. Flight home is early tomorrow morning with a couple of connections before I'm finally home, but no layovers to speak of, so hopefully it won't be too taxing a trip. I do have a long 2 1/2 hour drive home from the airport, but it will give me time to unwind and relax by the time I get home. Ahhhh......home. Sounds awesome!

Wow. I am so anxious to get back to my favorite place and start creating again. I am soooo jazzed about scrapping the wedding pics of my niece and adorable new nephew. They are the cutest couple ever and two of the most photogenic people I've ever seen. You're in for a treat, I guarantee.

Much love to you all. Thank you for being faithful readers of my blog and very much appreciated fans of my work. I promise my upcoming projects will be worth the wait. :)