Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Monday, March 10, 2014

Mexico Photos and Thanks to All the Linky Entries and Congrats to #2 the $50.00 Gift Card Winner!

Hi Everyone, 

I wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who entered our March Linky Party, all of the samples people entered were really wonderful and everyone will receive a $6.00 Crafty Secrets Gift Card and Alicia was the #2 random.org lucky winner this month and wins a $50.00 Gift Certificate.

I also have photos from our recent trip to  San Jose del Cabo Mexico and some handy links and tips if you ever get a chance to visit this pretty place.  We found www.tripadvisor.com to be the most helpful site to check out the reviews on accommodations, restaurants, beaches and fun things to do.   You can also read my 10 Best Best Budget and Travel Tips from when we went to France. My husband Scott has been retired for 3 years now and his goal is to travel and see as many places as possible so we try and save where ever we can! This is out by the marina, we were heading to Flora's Farm and I'm so sad it was closed!


We rented a house so we could save some money, do some patio dinners and relax by our own pool and found Villa de la Torre a wonderful 2 bedroom house  with a guest house you can add on and it was less than $100.00 a night per bedroom when we divided it and nicer than a hotel room! This photo is coming through the gate. VRBO also rents houses around the world by owners and has reviews. You can also house swap (haven't tried yet)


 The gardens on the property were amazing and our friend who stayed in the guest house was 'seriously blown away' as she put it.You can see it at the back of the property.

Here's a photo of her bedroom in the guest house and it had a cute little kitchen and big bathroom and shower.


This was our bedroom off the pool.  One of my favorite things were the huge wood doors and wood detail around all the windows in the house.


Okay, I also liked this patio and we all worked out here in the mornings on our computers.


This was our favorite beach Santa Maria about a 10 minute drive from the house we rented. Our rental car came to about $425.00 for 9 days and them we split the cost so it seemed like a deal to have the freedom to come and go were we wanted but there are buses that run all day along the highway.

This was taken in the downtown area of San Jose del Cabo in the art gallery area where they have an art walk every Thursday evening.  I liked this town more than Cabo, it's more quaint but I was surprised the prices at most resturants and stores were not less than at home. The Mega store was the best place to get groceries and it has a great bakery.



I fell in love with this piece and would have loved to bring it home!

We drove into Cabo San Lucas 1 day and paid $12.00 each to go out on a glass bottom boat and the 2 person crew were great guys and took us all around the coves and dropped us at Lovers Beach for a couple of hours and came back to get us.



 I wish we had brought our snorkel gear as there were so many fish you can see at the side of our boat.  I think the crew threw some bread in the water and now I've read that it isn't good for the fish - who then don't eat up the algae. 

 We went up close to visit these lazy sea lions enjoying the sun on the rocks



Here we all are on the boat. The next day we were hit with a Canadian flu bug (yep - it came all the way from Canada) that made half of us sick for a few days. I'm so happy I only had it for 1 day but I was very dramatic and had a projectile puke that covered a tiny bathroom at a cute little restaurant. I was so embarrassed I spent 40 minutes cleaning it all up. Gross!



 This was one of the coolest photos I took. There was a giant flock of seagulls on the beach and they all took off and I managed to get this photo. Look at the one in the middle, doesn't it look like he has angel wings?


 Everyone felt better and we went for BBQ ribs at a place on the beach called Zippers our last night.



Maybe a house isn't for you if you have a large group but no one wants to help cook or clean up after. Then I would look for a package at an all inclusive and we did one last Christmas and it was one of the best family vacations we've ever done.  This time we wanted to go on an adventure everyday and see something new. We all love cooking and spending the evening enjoying dinner and wine and not worrying about driving so the house was a good fit.  The cleaning lady came 3 times during our 9 day stay and made everything look perfect each time. 

Do you like to travel and have any favorite place you've been to?
 

I will be back this week with some great projects from our DT ladies, plus I feel a little crafty and need to make something!

We have so many NEW items in our Crafty Vintage Girl Store you should check out

Also, see all the ideas and samples on Pintrest!   

Hope you are having a great start to the week
Sandy



Sandy Redburn




Visit us on Facebook with over 5500 Fans!  






Toll Free Phone or Fax 1-888 597-8898


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Friday, September 27, 2013

Our Trip Photos - Barcelona Spain (part 1 of 3)

Hi Everyone,

Hi Everyone,  I have so many photos from our trip I had to divide them into 3 posts and I came back and added links.  This post is about our 3 days in Barcelona Spain.  Part 2 is the Costa Brava area of Spain (and some Halloween samples), Part 3 is on Provence France Markets and Shopping.    Also, here's the link to my Post-it Note Tutorial and FREE Template to create a 6 fun custom Post-it Notes

 I was lucky to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary with my honey traveling through Spain and Provence France. We went with 2 old friends and met 2 of our daughters in Barcelona for 3 nights.

One of our favorite places was the giant market called La Boqueria which is on the most famous boulevards in the city, Rambla. The market place is packed with fresh fruit stalls, colorful produce, delis, seafood, candy, spices and a dozen bars serving tapas. You can get any fruit cup or fruit smoothie flavor for 1 Euro if you shop around.This is me and daughter Holly.


Catalan food is tasty but I'm not really into sausages or cured meats much. Boy - they really love their cured hams - jamón Ibérico is their specialty.  You can buy snack bags filled with thin slices and it's the most popular appetizer in restaurants. You could buy skewers of meat and bread here for 1 Euro




Look at this cool old dragon sign below outside of a Chinese Food restaurant


Both of these building were along the famous boulevard Rambla. I have a passion for old architecture so I was in heaven. It's the detail that is so amazing.


Below is a photo of architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926) who is one of Spain's most famous people and his  Modernista architectural style is showcased in buildings around the city, often incorporating his love for nature with talents in mosaic, stained glass, woodworking and other arts.

One of Gaudi's most famous houses Casa Batllo (in middle) he built between 1904 -1906.  The best way to see the city is to buy tickets for the Hop On and Hop Off Bus, or their competition Bus Turistic.  They run often and you can ride up top and hop on and off anytime.

Here it is at night. It seems like he was born born before his time as his style is so quirky

Sagrada Família church is Gaudi's most famous work and and it's still unfinished but is expected to be completed in 2025. My regret is we didn't make it inside this church and Casa Batllo as they are both supposed to be amazing.

We went to the Park Güell where Gaudi began building a subdivision of designer homes in early 1900's but after the 3 houses he built didn't sell he moved into one of the houses and the property was given to the city as a park.

We toured the inside of the house that Gaudi lived in at the park.  
He designed and built the furniture to match his funky house.


We went down to the harbor and watched cruise ships arriving and leaving. There are great seaside cafes and bars where you can sip some famous Cava Sangria and enjoy the views.


I thought they was such a cool lighting idea with all the jars

There were so many beautiful old buildings, amazing doors and woodwork! Below is my friend Mariana, husband Scott, youngest daughter Chelsea and good friend Dennis.


Here is Part 2 of vacation photos from the Costa Brava area of Spain we explored with it's medieval villages and beautiful coastline.  Plus there are some fun Halloween and Fall samples by our talented Design Team ladies.

 Wishing you joy and creativity
Sandy  

See Our  CraftyVintageGirl.com Store
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Toll Free Phone or Fax 1-888 597-8898
Local Phone 604 597-8817

 
 Crafty Secrets Head Office
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Surrey, BC V3S 8R4


USA Warehouse
250 H. Street, #436
Blaine,WA 98230
Friday, August 24, 2012

Altered Halloween Spoons, Art Journal, Banner, Travel and Fun Stamped Cards!

Hi Everyone,
I have some fun projects to share today and a special free gift to tell you about when you scroll down below to see the Art Journal.  
Read Vicki's blog post to see how she altered these fun Halloween spoons using a variety of images from our Halloween Cuts, Double Sided Scraps and new Jolly Halloween Stamp Set and you can see all of our Halloween theme stuff here

We have a bunch of our Wood Clip Board Albums on SALE for $1.95 to clear them out - but you will receive a FREE Wood Album as an EXTRA GIFT if you purchase CD # 3 or our Art Studio set until Oct 1/12.  They are basically a 6" x 8.5" wood front and back cover and 2 binder rings.  This was a fun Art Journal DT leader Vicki Chrisman designed using paper and images from CD #3.  The magnify glass and ART word are PNG files on the CD layered over the script paper with the bird.  Vicki used Glimmer Mist to spray white cardstock for the inside pages and stamped them using our Art Studio Set. Click image to see pages big.  Also see Vicki's 'Love Vintage' Banner on Scrapbook Adhesives Blog
 
DT Member Julie Campbell was dreaming of places she would love to travel to and created this fun card and a cute travel Tag you can see on her blog.  The tag would be great to stick in a plastic luggage tag holder with contact info on the other side. 


Julie is a wonderful story teller with an amazing collection of family photos she's been scrapbooking like this one of her great-great-great grandmother she created using papers from CD #1.  You can read about her families journey in the mid 1800's here on Julie's Blog.


Great coloring job Marie!

Sophie la Fontaine has a wonderful knack of coming different stamp sets to create unique whimsical scenes like this adorable one she designed using the Mouse from Cutie Cats , the Mushroom from Fairyland , Postal cancellation from Artsy Banner , "For You" from our Animal Party set and the flock of birds are from Bird Notes. Also see Sophie's cute Puppy Pals card here.

We are trying to wrap up a cool Halloween Digital Kit I will show you next week.    Have a fun and fabulous weekend!

Sandy Redburn  
Crafty Secrets

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This Blog: http://heartwarmingvintage.blogspot.com
Our Website: http://www.craftysecrets.com

 
Toll Free Phone or Fax 1-888 597-8898

Local Phone 604 597-8817

 
Crafty Secrets Head Office
15430 78 A Ave.,
Surrey, BC V3S 8R4


USA Warehouse
250 H. Street, #436
Blaine,WA 9823