Wordless Wednesday - Doggy Barky Beach!

This last weekend was Labor Day Weekend!

Traditionally, we go to the beach on the Sunday before the actual Labor Day itself...

But this year, we had an additional family member and had to change our plans... just a little!

For our first excursion like this... We all did pretty good. It was a big bark in the park!

Just as a reminder, if you'd like to join in the fun of Wordless Wednesday, please go to Two of a Kind Working on a Full House and link up there AND! the HQ of Wordless Wednesday!!! And don't forget to comment. As much as we love for you to look at the shtuffs we share... we also like to know you were here and what you have to say! Share your thoughts... we LOVE it!

Back Again!

First, let me say that I've worked hard trying out new techniques and reading a lot... as you can see in this photo of my latest page. True... Labor Day 2007 was quite a long time ago... but I finally got it into my book.

These next two are "closer-ups" of the double-page layout.

Here, I did an accordion-style technique that allowed me to incorporate several more photos. There are photos on each side of the accordion.

Then, I used a photo for a pocket and added hidden "pull-out" journaling.

Also, on the first page, there are tags with several "faces". This allowed me to showcase the "flip-side" of things (Jr. made some really funny faces, that I put onto the tags) and do some more hidden journaling.

The letters and numbers are punch outs, sprayed with adhesive, coated with sand, then applied with "Crystal Lacquer" to make it shiny and raised. The letters ended up being pretty heavy, so I adhered them to the pages with with "red tape."

The papers, I cut and tore, to resemble the many layers of the beach and the beautiful day that we experienced. I'm very proud of these pages... However, I am for now on ordering my prints online, as I don't particularly care for the glossy and would rather get the matte finish. The glossy is just way too difficult to keep fingerprints off of.

This layout took quite a while for me, as there were several new techniques. I didn't want to do too many pages for the one event, so I explored my options so that I could do as many photos as I wanted without using a lot of space. This was very successful (at least I think so). The pictures of the pages do not do it justice. I also wanted the viewer to experience the pics, so I made it as interactive as possible, and added the pull-outs and flips.

Also, the use of Crystal Lacquer was something I've wanted to do since I saw the stuff at the the EXPO. The company who makes it, though will for sure be getting a letter from me. Although I love the final result, this was an extremely messy thing. Mess, I don't mind, but the product leaked from the bottle when pressure was applied. It also took much longer to dry than the instructions said. 15-45 minutes my foot! It took almost 24 hours! So... needless to say, I wasn't able to finish it when I thought I would be able to.

Oh yeah! I got to use the Crop-a-Dile Big Bite... now I really want one! The eyelet and brads were set through it. Gotta love that! Works like a dream!!!

I did another couple of layouts from the Butterfly Exhibit, but they are done. I need to finish off the titles and journaling, so my Cricut will be whipped out tomorrow, and I'm hoping to complete them.

I've been trying to not think about my beloved car so much, as it will be another 2-3 weeks. We'll see... for now gotta go! Today is "family day" as Juan's home and so is his daughter. I was hoping the sun would peek out so we could go bike riding, but so far, it is still gloomy and chilly. Yuck! Toodles for now! lisa

Fresh Start (again) Anyone?

OK... here we go again. Sometimes, you get caught up in the business of things and other things slip right by you. This is going to be a week of starting over...

So... I've sent some of you my digi-scrapbook pages from Sunday (hoped you like it... if you haven't seen your e-mail or didn't get one, check it out at http://www.smilebox.com/playBlog/4d5445334d546b344f513d3d0d0a) Enjoy the photos and the fun!

We went to the OC! It wasn't like on TV or in the movies... we stayed away from the pier, where it was TOTALLY chaotic (extreme sports contests and other Labor Day weekend fare were there). We secluded ourselves between Tower 10 and 11, and got there REALLY early! Our hot butts were out the door before 7:30am on Sunday! Yikes!

Miss Marissa was wild about it! She kept running around in circles, having a good time. We built sandcastles and made sand angels (no I didn't get pics of all that... didn't think to bring out the camera until later!). She tuckered her little self out, so she fell asleep in my arms around 7pm. What a day!

And while she slept, the rest of our group, minus the Kahuna (Juan), dug a LARGE hole. Everyone took turns getting in and taking pics, then the Jr. Kahuna (Junior... lol!), wrapped himself up, mummy-style and jumped in! The beach bums (Jolene & Ariel, Efren & Diana, Stacy and Rey-Rey) buried him alive (pics are in the scrapbook link)! He finally couldn't take the pressure of the weight and the wet sand... Breathe, Jr., Breathe!

Anyway... we closed the beach and moved on out... back to 110 degree weather in the Inland Empire.

Yesterday, it was cooler, but still hot! I have lots to show you from our trip to the Museum of Natural History on Saturday... the Butterfly Pavilion was beautiful... until later... lisa