scrappassion

Bubbles

Un'altro layout seguendo gli sketch di Inspired Blueprints. Questo è il numero 32.

I created this layout following Inspired Blueprints sketch # 32

e questa è la mia interpretazione.

This is my interpretation.

Last port-of-call Cabo San Lucas

Il porto che mi è piaciuto più di tutti. Venerdì mattina quando siamo attraccati questa è la vista che ci offriva Cabo San Lucas.

This was by far the best port-of-call for me. This is how Cabo San Lucas welcomed us on Friday morning.

These are the tenders which transport cruisers back and forth.

Just a fun and colorful ad at port.

Our excursion was Sun & Fun Snorkel Cruise and this was our cruise boat.

First we cruised along the shoreline of Baja California Sur to Playa del Amor, Lover's Beach, which is on the Sea of Cortez side. Here you can swim and snorkel. On the opposite side (on the Pacific Ocean) is the Playa del Divorcio, where it's strongly advised against swimming and snorkeling due to the waves and currents.

Landìs End (Finisterra) is the southernmost point of the Baja California. Its rock formation is quite unique.

The Arch (El Arco) is the passage to the Pacific. On this side is the Sea of Cortez and on the other side is the Pacific Ocean.

Land's End from the Pacific side. On the background Playa El Médano, the most popular beach on the Baja California, right beside the harbor.

Getting near Chileno Bay

Snorkeling at Chileno Bay

Playa Chileno

First time snorkeling for Giulia, Valentina and Martha. I tried it for the second time and didn't like it any better than the first time. It's just not for me!

This was more me: free margaritas onboard :)

Valentina and Martha ended up dancing onboard.

Last glance at Cabo.

And this is my last update on the Artful Voyage to Mexico. What a cruise!!!!!

Inspired by Wendy + other projects

La domenica scorsa la figlia dei nostri amici si è laureata. Le ho fatto una card prendendo ispirazione da  Wendy Vecchi. Ho usato i suoi timbri favolosi di Studio 490 by Stampers Anonymous,  il grungepaper di Tim Holtz, Distress Inks, cardstock nero e kraft ed un pezzettino di merletto.

Last Sunday our friends' daughter graduated from university. The card I created for her was inspired by Wendy Vecchi. I used her fabulous stamps Studio 490 by Stampers Anonymous and some grungepaper from Tim Holtz,Distress Inks, some black and kraft cardstock and a piece of lace.

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Ho prodotto altri 3 layout questi giorni: 2 sono per l'album del 2007 (mesi gennaio ed ottobre) e l'ultimo è un layout su Andrea che si sta divertendo con i pantaloni del padre. Ho timbrato il titolo "enjoy the journey" con il timbro di Tim Holtz, che ho comprato al Market place sulla nave, direttamente sulla foto usando lo staz-on nero.

I've created 2 layouts for my 2007  year-in-a-review album (January and October) and the last layout is of Andrea who is goofing around in his dad's jeans. I stamped the title with Tim Holtz's stamp "enjoy the journey" which I bought at the Market place on the ship, directly on the photo with black staz-on.

 
Valentina, Andrea and I have all our birthday in January.

 
One of the scariest moments of my life when Kristina had a motor scooter accident which could have been fatal.

Puerto Vallarta

Che avventura! Avevamo scelto l'escursione Jeep Safari and Beach adventure e lo era davvero!

What an adventure! We had chosen Jeep Safari and Beach adventure and we had the time of our lives!

We started out by admiring on the dock Rosita, the parakeet. Here Rosita is with Martha.

Here Rosita is with Elina. I think they didn't click - or at least Rosita didn't: she pooped on Elina! Bad Bird!

Our jeep

  and our fearless driver Elina!

and our tour guide Pepè

 

We went off-road to go into the mountains of Sierra Madre and we were given bandanas.(could keep them as souvenirs!) The dust was everywhere.

We visited a village where the ninos offered us yarn bracelets made by them.

On the way back we stopped at a tequila factory and learned how tequila is made. This is blue agave, the plant out of which tequila is made.

Only the core or the fruit, the pina, which resembles a giant pineapple is used for tequila.

After the process of shredding, crushing, pressing the juice and letting it ferment, the tequila is distilled for the first time. After the second time it is diluted and bottled and we have Silver tequila. Reposado is obtained from tequila which has aged in an oak barrell minimum 2 months but less than a year. Anejo has aged from 1 to 3 years in an oak barrell. You could tell the difference in taste!

 

Arriva, abajo, al centro, para dentro!

My first margarita ever! It does have a smoky taste. Not bad but I didn't fall in love with it:)

Back to the city and the waterfront.

The beach was beautiful

Hand painted ceramic plates. Why didn't I buy one?? I bought a suitcase in Puerto Vallarta, I could have bought a plate!

 

Just passed by la Catédral Basìlica de la Inmaculada Concepcion

It's a long way to home from there!

Loved Puerto Vallarta.

Tomorrow Cabo San Lucas.

When did THIS happen?

Questo layout l'ho fatto per la sfida di scraplift su Cocoa Daisy

La prima foto è della fine di 1998 quando Kristina aveva 15 anni, Andrea solo 11 mesi e Valentina 13 anni. La seconda è stata scattata all'inizio di settembre di questo anno appena prima che Kristina partisse per la Nuova Zelanda. Hanno rispettivamente 26, 11 e 24 anni. Io mi chiedo dove è volato tutto questo tempo??

I made this layout for the Oct scraplift on Cocoa Daisy

The first photo was taken at the end of 1998 when Kristina was 15 years old, Andrea only 11 months and Valentina 13 years old. I took the second shot at the beginning of September of this year, right before Kristina moved to New Zealand. They are 26, 11 and 24 years old. I wonder where the time went???

and a detail of the layout

Registration open

for the exclusive scrapbooking event in Greece,
Cocoa Daisy Destinations MYKONOS 2010

more info here

First port-of-call Mazatlán

Cabo San Lucas doveva essere il primo porto dove attraccavamo ma la tempesta Patricia ha cambiato tutto e siamo arrivati per prima in Mazatlán. Il nome Mazatlán significa Il paese del capriolo. Come escursione avevamo scelto Show, sightseeing and shopping nella Zona Dorada. Lo show e sightseeing erano belli, lo shopping un po' meno. Almeno qui ho risparmiato:)

The Storm Patricia made the captain change the order of our ports-of-call so instead of going first to Cabo San Lucas we went to Mazatlán. The name Mazatlán means the Land of the Deer. For our excursion we chose Show, sightseeing and shopping at the Golden Zone. The Mexican show and the sightseeing tour were nice, the shopping a little less. At least I didn't spend anything there:)

Artwork at the port of Mazatlán.

goofing around

El Faro sulla montagna è il faro posizionato più in alto al mondo dopo quello di Gibilterra.

El Faro on top of the mountain is the second highest working lighthouse in the world after that of Gibraltar.

Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe - The Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Inside the Cathedral

La Continuidad de la Vida - una delle statue più belle su Malecón, il lungomare, che rappresenta la continuità della vita in armonia con la natura.

La Continuidad de la Vida is one of the most beautiful statues on the Malecón, the waterfront. It represents the continuity of life in harmony with the nature.

La Mujer Mazatleca - un'altra statua importante. Rappresenta la bellezza delle donne mazatleche.

La Mujer Mazatleca - The Mazatlecan Woman is another important statue. It represents the beauty of the Mazatlecan women.

Questo invece è un venditore ambulante.

A street vendor.

Siamo andati a vedere i tuffatori dalle rocce - clavadista - aspettano l'onda giusta per tuffarsi dall'altezza di 45 piedi (ca 15 mt) in un mare che è profondo solo 5-6 piedi (ca 1,50 - 1,80 mt).

We went to see the cliff divers - clavadistas - who wait for the right wave to dive from 45 ft into the sea where it's very shallow, only 5-6 ft.

la Caverna de Diablo - Devil's Cave where ice used to be stored.

The Mexican show

Pulmonia - the typical taxi of Mazatlán.

 

Shopping, goodies and prizes

Che cosa sarebbe una crociera scrap (o qualsiasi evento scrap se vogliamo proprio dirlo) senza fare un po' di acquisti???

In questa fantasmagorica crociera OLTRE che a fare shopping al Market Place = una sala adibita solo alla vendita di tantissimi prodotti di Tim, timbri di Wendy ed alcuni prodotti di 7 gypsies e Jenni Bowlin, abbiamo ricevuto oltre ai kit ricchissimi anche tanti regalini e come ciliegina sulla torta, l'ultimo giorno sono stati dati via decine e decine di premi uno più bello dell'altro. Dopo c'è la foto anche del mio premio. Però a noi non è bastato lo shopping a bordo. La domenica siamo riuscite ad andare a fare shopping in 4 negozi di scrapbooking e arts & crafts a Los Angeles - addirittura con l'autista - prima di imbarcare definitivamente sull'aereo per tornare a casa.

What would a scrapbooking/arts&crafts cruise be without shopping or for that matter, what would ANY scrap/craft event be without shopping?

In this magnificent cruise other than do lots and lots of shopping at the Market Place = a whole room full of Tim's products, Wendy's stamps and a few products from 7 gypsies and Jenni Bowlin, we received kits full of products AND a lot of freebies and giveaways and a lot of prizes on the last day of the cruise. But that's not all. We, Elina, Martha, Maria Chiara and me,  went shopping in Los Angeles while Valentina and Giulia took a last excursion in Hollywood. We went to Torrence and hit Michaels, JoAnn's superstore, A to Z scrapbooking and Scampers!! Thanks Pam for the info. We even had a driver... can you believe?? Doing scrapbooking shopping with a driver! We are a bunch of crazy scrapbookers!

This is market place shopping. I left a fortune at Mario's!!I'm sure some of this stuff has to be my daughter's, I mean I can not possibly have bought all of this (and more)... or can I????

Some of the kit contents, freebies and giveaways - there was A LOT!

I won this set from Fiskars!!!!!!!

Scrap/craft shopping in Los Angeles (some of the Ranger stuff I "forgot" to buy at the Market Place so I bought it outside - smart me. Not!)

As the last giveaway we received this stamp with the Artful Journey logo in its own wonderful case. So cooooooool!!!

To be continued with the excursions...

My Artful Voyage

Non ci posso credere, ma a 5 gg dalla fine della crociera ho finito tutti i progetti cominciati in crociera. Anzi, un paio avevo finito già sulla nave. Sono 6 in tutto, 3 con Tim e 3 con Wendy.

I can't believe it but I've finished all the projects of the Artful Voyage. Actually a couple of them I finished already on the ship, but still it's a big achievement for me. We had 3 classes both with Tim and Wendy.

Durante il primo corso di Tim abbiamo fatto un grungeboard minialbum del viaggio. Per le copertine abbiamo usato il sticky back canvas di Claudine Hellmuth, un materiale bellissimo che puoi stampare e poi essendo adesivo, lo incolli direttamente sul supporto. Tanto Distress Ink, abbellimenti di metallo di Ranger, transparencies, masks, paper bags e timbri. In classe abbiamo usato 7 gypsies Binderie per fare i buchi senza fatica :) Mi mancano da aggiungere solo delle foto.

During Tim's first class we made a grungeboard minialbum of the trip. For the covers we used Claudine Hellmuth's sticky-back canvas: it's fabulous, you can print it and then adhere it directly to the base because it's adhesive. We used also a lot of Distress Inks, masks, metal embellies from Ranger, transparencies, paper bags and stamps. In class we used the 7 gypsies Binderie machine to make holes. I just have to add the photos to the album and it's completely finished.

I added a tiny Mexican pot I got from Elina and a maraca from Tiffany.

Some of the inner pages. I added some postcards because I needed more space to journal the excursions we did on the ports of Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas.

 

 

 

The second class was with Wendy and we made Apron art with flowers stamped on grungepaper and made in pins so they can be removed when we wash the apron. Grungepaper is thinner than grungeboard and can be curled and shaped to give dimension. It can be stamped, inked, painted and sanded like grungeboard. The only downfall is its particular odor: that of wet, old shoes :)))

Il secondo corso era con Wendy. Abbiamo abbellito un grembiule con dei fiori stampati su grungepaper. I fiori sono delle spille che possono essere tolte prima di lavare il grembiule. Grungepaper è più fina rispetto a grungeboard e può essere maneggiata e "arrotolata" per dare dimensione oltre che timbrata, pitturata con acrilici e scartavetrata come il grungeboard. L'unico neo è il suo odore particolare: tipo scarpe vecchie bagnate :))

 

Nel corso di un'ora "Charming Intrigue" con Tim abbiamo fatto una catenina ed una spilla di "arte metallica". Mi piace particolarmente la spilla e sono contenta di aver visto usare questi oggettini in un modo insolito.

Con Wendy nel corso "Fragment art" invece abbiamo fatto una collana di charms con dei pezzi di fragments, Glossy accents, carta, perline e la penna Glaze.

Poi ai progetti più tecnici e complicati: con Tim nel corso "Flight of creativity" abbiamo fatto una shadow box usando vari oggetti, tecniche e materiali: Distress Inks, Dabbers, la cera, perfect pearls, mini canvas, multi-medium collage ecc. Questo progetto era diverso da qualsiasi altra cosa abbia mai fatta. Mi è piaciuto da morire imparare cose nuove che spero di utilizzare nei miei lavori in futuro visto che ho comprato questo e quell'altro mondo da Mario nel Market place, lol!

Now to the two big projects: during Tim's course we created a wonderful shadow box using different materials and techniques such as Distress inks, Dabbers, beeswax, perfect pearls, mini canvas, multi-medium collage etc. This project was completely out of my confort zone, but I loved learning new techniques which I hope to use in my future projects since I bought practically everything there was in the Market place. *wink* And I have to say I love my "Birdie".

some details:

 

 

 

During our last class was with Wendy we made a bulletin board using sewing/dress pattern paper, multi-medium, grungepaper flowers and leaves, grungeboard letters, dabber, rock candy crackle paint, and various embellies. Of course a lot of stamping going on here. I love how my Inspiration Station turned out. I really loved all the classes and I'm super happy about all my artwork! Thank you Tim and Wendy from the bottom of my heart!!!!

Il nostro ultimo corso era con Wendy. Abbiamo fatto una bacheca usando cartamodelli per sarte, multi-medium, grungepaper flowers and leaves, grungeboard letters, dabber, rock candy crackle paint e vari abbellimenti. E naturalmente abbiamo timbrato parecchio qui. Sono contentissima del risultato. Anzi sono arci-contenta di TUTTI i corsi e di tutti i miei lavori.

Mingling with creative minds

I corsi sono cominciati lunedì mattina. Eravamo divisi in 4 gruppi, noi eravamo nel gruppo B che aveva il primo corso con Tim. Durante il corso di 1 ora e mezza abbiamo preparato la base dell'album del voyage da poi completare durante il viaggio nelle ore libere. Avevamo a disposizione il crop room 24 ore su 24 e anche tantissimi materiali dalla riserva personale di Tim. Durante i corsi ci davano tutto il necessario per completare i progetti e in più tantissimi regali e giveaways. Durante i corsi di Tim quando sentivamo che partiva la musichetta del Mexican Hat Dance sapevamo che c'era un regalo in arrivo. Invece quando Wendy diceva: "Vi piacerebbe avere questo?" urlavamo sììììììììì e Rick, il marito di Wendy che faceva da assistente a Wendy, ci distribuiva prontamente i regali.

The classes started Monday morning. We were divided in 4 groups, we were group B and had the first class with Tim. In an hour and a half we prepared the base of the Voyage album which we were to complete during the free hours. We had access to a wonderful Art studio aka crop room 24/7 with a lot of tools and stamps and inks from Tim's personal stash. During Tim's classes as soon as we heard the first notes of the Mexican Hat Dance, we knew it was a giveaway time. When Wendy asked us: "Would you like to have one of these?" we shouted Yeeeeeesss and Rick, Wendy's husband and her valuable assistent started distributing the giveaways.

Tim Holtz, truly one of the best people I've ever met: his undeniable creative and artistic talent apart, he is such a nice guy, kind and funny, demanding but encouraging at the same time and always ready to help and share his knowledge with everyone. I'm honored to know him and will be waiting for the next opportunity to learn from him.

Tim's Artful Voyage grungeboard album

This is where the classes were held and where we had the Art studio and also the Market place.

Valentina, Mario and me.

Me and Wendy. I had never taken classes from her before but I am ever so happy to have had this opportunity. Her artwork is amazing and I loooooooove her stamps: ended up buying SIX of them!!

That's the smile which announces something nice is going to happen...

 

                      Tim's assistants Michele and Keychain

Our crazy group with Tim.

My new apron I made before the cruise. The fabric is from Ikea.

More tomorrow...