Stamping & Scrapping with Jen

Scottsdale State of Mind

I had the very fortunate opportunity to spend last weekend in sunny Scottsdale, AZ.  I decided (sort of last minute) to go out & visit my friend (and downline) Jen and her family.  They just moved there from New Jersey on January 1, and I wanted to come help her unpack and see her beautiful new house.  Plus I thought I would add Arizona to my list of states that I have gone running in!!!

While I was there, I took full advantage of the fact that I have so many other friends there.  I was able to see four other friends who have relocated here from New Jersey, all either high school or college friends.

Here are some pictures; they'll be coming to a My Digital Studio scrapbook page soon!!

I didn't do any sightseeing, so I only have pictures of people from this trip. I am absolutely going back again soon, and hope to do some hiking and some other fun stuff while I am there.  Look for some "back to some regular stamping" tomorrow.

 

 

 

I'm Back and a Sunday Scrapbooking Sketch

Okay, so I didn't end up posting like I thought from Puerto Rico.  And actually, it wasn't because I was spending lots of time by the pool or on the beach - it was kind of the opposite.  After the flight there I was a little queasy and just didn't do much for the first 36 hours of the trip other than rest in bed.  I didn't even eat any of the yummy food those first 2 days.  However, I did take the opportunity to catch up on some MUCH needed sleep!!

But by day 3 (yesterday), I did feel better and we split the day between the pool and the beach.  Since I wasn't really tired, I read a lot of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  I also finally got to enjoy some of the local cuisine, which I was happy to find was largely gluten free!!!  I'm thinking of changing my diet to all seafood, rice & beans. :)

In case you are wondering, some traditional Puerto Rican gluten free dishes are: mofongo, rice & beans, flan, and lots of seafood.  There are lots more, and lots of variations on these, but these are the things we sampled and liked.  Places we ate at were: El Jibarito in Old San Juan, Cafe de Angel on Ashford in San Juan, and Ropa Vieja also on Ashford in San Juan.  I would recommend any and all of them for your gluten-free or not gluten-free appetite.  oh, and DEFINITELY try the sangria!!  We had it at all 3 places and it was yummy.  I think El Jibarito had our favorite!!

Because I didn't feel well, my high hopes for a nice, long run were squashed.  I did manage to run a very boring and torturous 3 miles on a treadmill at the resort.  Even the view of the beach & ocean weren't exciting enough to distract me from my misery.  But I did it.  We've been home for about 4 hours and I've already got another easy 3 in despite the fact that it's raining here.  It felt good to get back on the road again!

Without any further ado, here is this week's scrapbook sketch/inspiration for you!!!  I hope you can use it to create something great!

If you are able to create a layout based on this sketch, send it to me!  I'd love to see what you come up with!  And if you are a fan of sketches, you have several choices on how you can get more:

• the eBook, Scrapbookers' Shortcuts
• Kindle Books, Scrapbook Sketches by Jen Peel

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Heading Back to Cali...

I'll be heading back out to Santa Monica to visit my High School friends again this weekend.  Our plan is to get lots done on the invitations for our 20th Reunion.  I'm excited to work on them - they are so cool!!!  I'll be sure to post pictures of them when they are done and everyone has received them in the mail.  (I don't want to ruin the surprise for anyone by showing them too soon!!)

In addition to the work we have to do while I'm out there, we're also planning another trip north to the vineyards in the Central Coast and I hope to take a nice long run on the beach, and maybe if it's nice enough, we'll spend some time on the beach just relaxing.

I wonder what scrapbook pages will come of this weekend!!! :)

Home Again

I'm home again - safe and sound - and cold!!!!

Since I haven't had the chance to stamp anything yet, I thought I'd post a few photos of the gifts Stampin' Up! left in our rooms while we were in Hawaii.  This week, I'll get back to some regular posts.

Here was the fabulous bag that we got on Monday night.  Jeff also got a bag that was red & black - a great gym bag.  I think he'll actually use it!!!

Here was the basket our make & take supplies came in.  I didn't take a photo of the inside, but there were 6 or 7 ink pads, a marker, a roll of sticky strip, a container of 5/16" brads (which is great, since mine are almost gone!), and a brand new stamp set!!

On Tuesday night, we had another surprise, and inside was FOOD!!!  Here it was all wrapped up, and then opened up.

 

And of course, there was more, but I didn't take photos of it all.  On Wednesday night, we all got sarongs made by a local Hawaiian, and on Thursday (our last night) we all got silver necklaces that read "aloha" that was also made by a local Hawaiian.

All in all it was a great trip!!  Thanks to all my awesome customers and thanks to Stampin' Up!  (And I hope everyone enjoyed the little special while I was gone!!!)

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Make & Takes and Whale Watching

This morning we did make & takes, and I'm not sure if I'm allowed to show what we made, so you'll have to check back for that, but here is a picture of me, my upline, Tina, and my sideline friends, Amy & Diana getting ready to stamp our hearts out.

I have "mastered" a way of getting my make & takes done at Stampin' Up! events (which I may have shared before), but what I like to do is divide all the projects up so that each person just creates several of the same project - this way it all gets done.  Well, it usually works out great, but this time one project was so involved, I gave up!  (And yes, it was the one I was working on!!)  But anyway, it was fun!!

After make & takes, Jeff & I ordered some gluten free pizzas and enjoyed a very yummy lunch at the Orchid Marketplace.  (Last night at dinner, we called ahead and got gluten-free bread, too!!!  I love when I can feel "human.")

Then as we were reading our books between the ocean and the pool, we saw all these whales performing for us.  Here are two pictures, although the scene was way more spectacular than these pictures show.

It was a pretty awesome sight.  I only had my little point & shoot camera, so I probably could have gotten a closer shot with my other one, but oh well.  And what I really should have done is have my camera on video.  Well, maybe next time...  By the way, I think that island you can faintly see in the distance would be Maui.

A New Day - A New Island, and a Trip to the Circus

We arrived on the Big Island yesterday, and enjoyed a fun Stampin' Up! reception last night.  We ran into lots of old friends from all over the country and it's great to see them!!!  That's one of the weird things about being a demo - some of your best Stampin' Up! friends live hours & hours away, so I do enjoy spending time with them on these trips.  I took a couple photos last night, but none came out too well.

But this morning, I was up early enough to take this photo:

We don't have an ocen view room this time (and I thought we were supposed to, but it's okay - we really don't spend much ANY time in our room anyway), but we do have a great view of the mountains, and we just watched the sunrise while laying in bed.  So, all in all, it's not too bad!!!!  :)

So, as soon as we got on the plane last Thursday, I started to miss my kids.  It's better now, I think, but I still think about them every single minute.  So, here is a scrapbook page I completed recently from when we surprised the kids with a trip to the local circus.  They were SO excited and can't wait to go back next year!!

Hope you enjoyed today's sample!!  I'll be back to post more in a day or 2 (or 3)!!!

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Aloha & a Big, Bold Birthday Card

Aloha!!  I'm sitting in my hotel room in Maui right now!!  Here is a photo of the view out our window.

Nice, huh?  This morning we saw some whales swimming around in the ocean, too.  It was very cool!!

If you are on my mailing list, you already know I am in Hawaii and I hope you enjoy and are able to take advantage of the special I sent out.  If you aren't on my list, you should go sign up now, so you can check it out.  I'll send a reminder out next week, so you can ALL be in the loop - but you have to be on my list to be in the know!!!

So, while we are away both our girls got invited to a collective FIVE birthday parties.  The night before I left, I made up a few of these cards for the girls.

I had to make it super simple, but I of course wanted it to be girly, so I used the Big, Bold Birthday Stamp set, and the popular combo of Pretty in Pink & Chocolate Chip, and of course threw in a little Dazzling Diamonds, because even as young as 4 years old, a girl likes diamonds!!!  I guess I probably could have used a Stamp-a-ma-jig to make the cupcake a little straighter, but I don't think anyone will mind.  (I know I wouldn't mind if my real cupcake was a little lopsided!!)

Hope you enjoyed today's sample!!  Come back often during the next week.  I'll be posting more pictures from Hawaii, the Stampin' Up! Incentive Trip, and some more scrapbook samples, too!!!  Ahola!!

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Melissa & Eric

When we were down in Turks & Caicos, I checked out the website of the photographer that Melissa & Eric used and noticed they had a blog.  It looked like they would post a few pictures on it after an event that they had photographed. So when I got home, I added their blog to my bloglines list, so I would get the update when they had a new post.

So, today there was an update and I went to check it out.  It wasn't wedding pictures, but it was of Melissa & Eric.  I didn't know this, but I guess a few days before the rest of the family flew down, they met up with the photographer for a photo shoot.  My favorite is the one above, but there's more (a lot more!).  Here is the link to check out them out.  From a wanna-be photographer's point of view, I have total artistic photography/camera envy.  Plus Melissa & Eric are so darn cute, their pictures of course are awesome!!!  (Okay, some are kind of funny - I think Eric secretly wants to be an Abercrombie model.  Just kidding!!!)  I really can't wait to see the wedding ones now!!!!  I hope they post one with my girls in it!!

So, in short, if you are planning a wedding in Turks & Caicos, I would contact Tropical Imaging for your photography!!  I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed!

Some Wedding Pictures

The wedding yesterday was so amazing.  The bride & groom looked gorgeous.  Here are a few pictures.  I cannot wait to scrapbook this!!

I'm Off Again...

I'm off on vacation again.  My brother-in-law Eric is getting married.  He & his fiancee Melissa selected a destination wedding in Turks & Caicos, so we are off!!!  I'll be back Sunday but of course I had to post a "While I'm Away" Special!!  So if you are not on my mailing list, go & sign up now, so you can see what the special is!!!