Thursday, October 21, 2010

Creative Exploration to Canada & New England - Last Sea Day/Farewell/Odds & Ends

It is Saturday, October 8th, our last day at sea.  Sigh.....one last class, our farewell cocktail party, packing (yuck!), goodbyes, and lots of "keep in touch," and "see you next year."
My group had our class at 8am.  
Tim calls it Shabby Patchwork, and it consists of a medium sized rectangular canvas and three smaller ones.  We created grids and covered the sections with a variety of papers.
The areas with the  X  are where the smaller canvases will eventually be attached.
At times this project seemed like a geometry lesson!
This was another one that I finished at home.  We received plenty of doo-dads to complete it, but I had some things at home that I knew would be perfect with my color palette.
Here's the finished piece with close-ups of each section.

Tim referred to the technique below as a fossil.  We glued a plastic butterfly to one of the smaller canvases, covered the whole thing with a lot of multi medium, then adhered a dictionary page, pressing the paper into the details of the butterfly.  When dry we highlighted the raised areas with ink.  Very cool.

Tim showed us how to define the edges of each grid with graphite pencil and bling.


The optical piece is one I added at home:

This is one of my favorite sections.  The UTEE heart was in our class kit, but when we received it, it was black.  Back home I covered it with white gesso, then aqua paint.  The same paint went on the flower button on the bottom left.
 We received a whole pack of prima flowers, and I altered them all a bit with tumbled glass distress ink.  The pearl centers were also in our class kit.
Another great class, another wonderful piece of art!
Had a fab lunch in the dining room with Pat, Lori, Maurene and Wendy.  GREAT chopped salad!
After lunch Pat and I packed.  It was a difficult task, but we could then enjoy the rest of the day and evening without that added pressure.
Late afternoon, our farewell in the Maharaja Lounge.
Remember those tickets we received with our purchases in Mario's Shop?
Tickets would be drawn; people would win fabulous prizes.  Last year I won zilch.  Would I be any luckier this year?
That's Tim in the picture, in front of tables of prizes, and behind a table full of ticket stubs.  Mario is ready to run to the winners to deliver their prizes.
People won all sorts of goodies donated by the very best companies. There were even three winners of the Vagabond, including my friend Nancy!  And for one lucky cruiser, next year's Caribbean cruise would be free.
As for me.....well......
YES!!!!!  I was a winner!  Above my winning ticket, three of Tim's acrylic stamp sets, the line that is exclusive to Hobby Lobby.
As we left the lounge to go to dinner we were each given a stamp of the cruise logo.  How cool!
Odds & Ends.....photos I forgot to post, things I forgot to say.......

Another photo op with Tim:
Some cool gifts I received (apart from all the wonderful swaps):
From Gloria, a new Lady Liberty stamp
and an old printer's type in my initial

From Pat, a fab necklace and ring with
the cruise logo

 From Lori, this wonderful box!  She made it
a while back, and told me she had me in mind 
all the time!
This is how it looks closed, just like a real
theater:

Opened (I'd sent Lori the vintage
NY postcard!): 



On the back:

The cabin door sign I made, and the back-up Pat made (in case mine went missing).  Same great logo on our t-shirts, which somehow or other I don't have photos of.

If you've never been on a cruise, you might not know this, but most every night when you return to your cabin you'll find your bed turned down and a creature made from towels (and sometimes napkins), courtesy of your steward.  Instead of posting them day by day, I thought you might enjoy this parade:






The evening meal in the dining room can take up to 2 hours to complete, and the right waiter and assistant waiter can make all the difference in your experience there.  We were lucky this year to have Stoyan from Bulgaria, who provided great service, much humor, and always, "three recommendations" for each course.

Assisting Stoyan, was the always cheerful Ravi from India, who took care of our bread and beverage needs

Some things I'd picked up at our shopping expedition to Tinsel Trading in NYC:



The little books I found in the antique shop in Bar Harbor:


A pair of tacky Lady Liberty earrings I found in a consignment store in Portland (well, actually, Pat found them for me; I bought them):

Random shots of friends:








The monument on the pier at Port Liberty, a gift from Russia, made of debris from the World Trade Center:


And last of all, some shots of NY harbor as the ship headed towards Port Liberty and home.


Well, that's it, folks!  Hope you enjoyed the cruise right along with me!  Hope to see many of you next year as we cruise with Tim in the sunny Caribbean!

33 comments:

Effy Wild said...

Ah....soooo jealous! I have never done that kind of art. I'm a journaler girl, and haven't gone much beyond two page spreads. All that fab shabby is inspiring and makes me want to try it!

I'm so glad you had such a wonderful time! <3

Tammy D said...

Looks like so much fun.

Anonymous said...

Oh, Eileen, thank you so much for your beautiful and funny blog posts of this year's cruise.
See you on the next one :)))))))

Alicia B said...

I didn't need to go at all- I feel as I WAS there just from your pictures alone! Besides your arting ability- you are truly a gifted photographer! I LOVED your parade of towels/napkins! Crazy as it sounds, that is something I have always wanted to learn to create, LOL *Hugs*

Debby said...

Thank you for sharing your journey with us. I love to read about all that you guys made and what you saw. Sounds like a a wonderful experience. I saw Lori this past weekend and she showed me what you guys made and it was all great. Thanks again!

Elena said...

A great ending to a wonderful cruise! Love everything you did Eileen!!! I will be coming back to your blog to work on the kits I'm receiving for the classes I missed!!!

Elaine A said...

Eileen -

Thank you so very much for posting all the photos and for your wonderful commentary on your cruise. It was just fabulous and I feel as if I was along on the journey.

Elaine Allen

Kathy Eddy said...

Oh Eileen, i feel like I was with you through all these posts! Kind of sad that it's over! Great canvas by the way and some wonderful treasures you received from your "art Sisters" as well.

Nancy D. said...

Thanks for the great revisit of the cruise!...my sister & I had a wonderful time! See you on the ship next year!

Helen said...

Your photos (especially of coming home to NY) are fab, I soooo wish I could take one of these trips. Maybe if I win the lottery, lol, (some hopes!) Thank you for sharing your memories. I see you're already counting down to the next one, lucky you!

Vic said...

Thank you!

Healing Woman said...

I can tell everyone had the time of their lives! Thanks so very much for the wonderful journey.

SusanK said...

What a wonderful art journey! I'm so glad you've been able to share so much of it with us.

Karen said...

I've thoroughly enjoyed each day Eileen: Thanks for all the photos and details. And I didn't get sick once: Living it through you was definitely the way to go!
If only I could catch up on the arty creations and time with Tim.
Karen x

Anonymous said...

Oh I did SO enjoy re-visiting with you!!!! I know you had SUCH a WONDERFUL time and I'm SO excited I get to go next year!!!!!!

Art By Wanda said...

Eileen, I've loved readying every cruise post!!! What a fabulous time!!!

teri said...

What a treasury of memories you have from this trip, start to finish. I enjoyed sharing them with you. xo

NancyMayer said...

I so enjoyed reliveing the cruise thru your eyers.
Thank youso much for the great pics and comments.
I am eagerly awaiting my fabulous prize...THE VAGABOND!! I will recieve the first one to the USA. "Couldn't believe it when he called my number.

Kathy2eggs said...

Awesome Eileen, I will have to get something up soon.
See you next year for sure...

Lori said...

Love how your canvas turned out! Brilliant to cover the heart with paint, love the color. Love how you added your own pieces, too!
Well, I can honestly say, your steward folded towels more skillfully than mine, and I never got eyeballs. It was a great time, wasn't it?

Connie B said...

I am mostly a lurker, but had to say thanks for sharing your cruise. I hope to have that experience someday. What a great gift to share with all of us.

Anonymous said...

Eileen,
Thanks so much for posting the pictures and comentary on the cruise. If they ever have one on dry land I'm there-lol. Loved the beautiful canvas, those are my colors.
Gail in Oklahoma

Diann said...

I've so enjoyed your cruise! Thanks for sharing your fun time and the all of the beautiful pictures! I loved all the projects you created in Tim's classes and your personal touches!
It was a wonderful journey! Diann

Dorothy said...

Thank you for the tour! One day I will be fortunate enough to go on one!
So glad you had a blast and are back safe with all your great stories!

Nancy said...

Thanks for your post on the cruise. It was wonderful. Hope to make it some year. Nancy P.

sissy923 said...

Eileen,
Wow, thanks for posting about the cruise, looks like as blast, enjoyed it.

Tami said...

WOW! Thanks for the cruise!!! I'd LOVE to go! You took amazing photos and thanks so much for sharing, hugs,
Tami

Unknown said...

Wow! You saved the best for last! I enjoyed this post the most, and I had to go back to re-read it and take notes cause I had so much to say ... I love how your canvas came out--beautiful colors! I ended up tossing the black heart cause I didn't like the way it looked, but I love what you did with yours! You received some awesome gifts, but I just love the stamp Glo gave you! And those door signs ... how appropriately whimsical! Your towel animals were the best I've seen. When you mentioned the antique books in your previous post, I had no idea they were so cool. And, finally, beautiful homecoming shots, especially the bridge with the sunrise! Fab post and I'm sorry to see it end.

Patzee said...

Say it ain't over!! Eileen, these blog posts are fabulous. I've sent all my friends who asked, 'How was the cruise?' to this wonderful blog. Truly, I was choked up when I saw the photos of the Verranzano Bridge because it meant this sea journey was ending. Thank you for prolonging the adventure. Here's wishing everyone an artful journey!

WW said...

Such a beautiful canvas piece, I love that butterfly.
I am envious of your array of "towel" creatures, your turn down service did a great job. When my family and I went on a cruise in January, we only got 2 animals, even though it was a week long cruise, I was a little disappointed.

Jana said...

Wonderful cruise. Thanks for letting us share your journey.

craftyM said...

Thank you for sharing! It's always fun crusing with you! Never a dull moment!
Marita

Julie Ann said...

Ooooh- I LOVE your shabby patchwork!! You used such great colors! This trip looks like so much fun! :D