Cruisin' The Caribbean With Tim

Friday, September 30th

Saturday, October 1st

Days At Sea

and

Workshop #4, Parts 1 and 2

***EDIT:  Check out this awesome slide show Linda Ledbetter did with her cruise photos.  Great music too!***

My group wasn't scheduled to have class until 2:00 on Friday, so the early part of the day was spent relaxing, reading, wandering about the ship, and of course, eating.  Sometimes it seems like that's the number one activity on a cruise.

Everyone was super curious about what sort of project would take two days and a total of 6 hours to complete.  So, when we finally entered the classroom we were surprised to see that there weren't any class kits out on the tables.  Hmmmm.....Tim explained that he wanted this project to be exciting and a total surprise for us.  He hadn't even allowed the other group (they had the class in the morning) to take their projects with them.  They were collected and stored so that we would have the same "ooooh" moment that they experienced.

And so, when Tim's helpers started distributing rather large items, it really was a total surprise.  We would be working on a configurations tray!  Very much like the configurations boxes, but the compartments are shallow.

This is the sample that Tim had done.  His wasn't even complete when he got on the ship.  Just as he suggested we do, he'd gotten some souvineers at each port to personalize his tray.

We were all taken with that ship in the upper left.  How come I didn't find any small ships when I went ashore?  Lots of us were asking that question.  In addition to the naked tray, we also received this intriguing bag:

Inside, a huge amount of "stuff" to help us fill our trays.  By the way, this photo was taken after I'd used many things in my tray.  There was even more in it to begin with.

Oh, and we also received paper, all cut to size to fit the compartments.  We spent most of the first day of this project inking and spraying the papers, inserting them into their rightful spots in the tray, and then pulling it all together with tissue tape.  We made the separate compartments appear seamless with the tape, and also used it around the outside edges.  And even the back of the tray was finished with paper (a gorgeous pad from Prima).  Here's how my tray looked at this point.

Look at the upper left hand corner.  We attached one of Tim's binders to the compartment before adhering it to the tray, and will be able to add photos and/or journaling to the pages we prepared.  I used that custom cruise stamp to decorate the first page.  The pages flip easily and that's a great way to use a lot of photos in a limited space.

I hadn't acquired a lot of stuff in port, but luckily many of the swaps and gifts  I received could be used.  For example, I got this cool metal Mickey Mouse from Carol and Mike of Stampers Corner.

And in the right hand corner of this compartment is a tiny shadow box I received from Wendy.  It works perfectly with the other beach themed items.

Several of the charms I received found their way onto my tray.

                                                                                 

This is as far as I got on the boat, but I've added some things since I've gotten home.

I still have a ways to go, but I have a few more sections filled.

I've added more charms, mardi gras beads from my stay at Port Orleans in Disney, a cork from a bottle of wine we had one night at dinner, a playing card with a Caribbean map that someone gave me, a thimble from St. Thomas,  and some pins.  I think now I'll go on a hunt for a sailing ship.

Tomorrow, some miscellaneous photos taken throughout the cruise, and our farewell (boo hoo!) cocktail party.