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.

Cruisin' The Caribbean With Tim

Thursday, September 29th

St. Maarten

and

Workshop #3

We arrived in St. Maarten early, and after breakfast Pat and I left the ship to hunt for some souvineers and postcards.  The souvineers for our "big" project with Tim (he didn't mention what it would be, just that we should be collecting items for it), and the postcards for our Mail Love pals back home.  What is Mail Love?  Well, a bunch of us, most of whom have been in collaborative art projects together for years, have committed to sending everyone in the group at least one thing a month via snailmail.  Could be a postcard, an interesting article, die cuts, anything handmade....as long as it arrives in the mail it's OK.  We've been at it for several months now, and it is great to receive love in the mail.  Try it with some friends!

Anyway.....St. Maarten was not quite as hot as Coco Cay or St. Thomas.  Hot, yes, but this island has a pretty constant breeze which makes it much more comfortable.  We wandered around, visited some shops, made a few purchases, took pictures, and then returned to the ship for lunch (more on that in a bit).

One of the specialty restaurants on the ship is Johnny Rockets, and we decided to have lunch there.  It's a chain known for burgers and singing/dancing waiters.  And for only $4.95 you can eat until your veins are throbbing with cholesterol.  When you first walk in you are greeted with a rousing "welcome" from whoever is there, and your waiter puts this down on your table:

Onion rings, fries, a dipping sauce, and yes....that happy face is ketchup.

At some point during the festivities all the waiters stop what they're doing to sing and dance for us. They're very sweet, but their moves are not exactly Temptations caliber.  But sweet.

After lunch Pat and I filled out our postcards.  There are 18 people in our Mail Love group, so we each wrote 9 cards.  Yes, Pat sent one to me, and I sent one to her.  Or should I say, the nice folks downstairs at the information desk will send them as soon as we get to Florida.

Later that night we were scheduled for a one hour workshop, and we all wondered what we would do in only an hour.  Last year we had an hour long Q/A with Tim.  Would we do that again?  Nope.  Tim managed to come up with a very beautiful project that only took that long to complete.  Here he is explaining:

He called the project "Elements of Time," and we made a necklace using his idea-ology time piece and an assortment of other embellishments.  This is the one I made, and next to it the leftovers from my class kit.

I had time to wander around and take a few more photos of friends.

Here are Lois and Ellen:

After months of enjoying  participating in A Compendium of Curiosities and Grungy Monday, I was so happy to finally meet Linda Ledbetter, the mastermind behind those two challenges. Linda was on the cruise and taking classes with her mom Pat:

And it was so good to see Kyoko and Naomi again.  They come all the way from Japan for Tim's cruises.  And they always bring the coolest gifts.  More on that another day. 

I remember last year, meeting Carol on her very first trip to NYC.  She was a bit nervous, but now she wants to come back!  Here she is with Veronica.

I glanced into the store to say hi to Mario, and managed to get this cool picture of myself with him and Jim (Mr. Scrapmap):

Tomorrow, I'm combining our last two days at sea and Parts 1and 2 of Workshop #4.  Hmmmm, a project that requires two parts and a total of 6 hours.  Are you curious too?

Cruisin' The Caribbean With Tim

Wednesday, September 28th

St. Thomas

No Workshops Today

****NOTE:  Check out Tim's blog today for his recap and awesome video of the cruise!

Today we were in port almost all day, from 11:00am to 7:00pm.  I've been to St. Thomas several times, and as it was also burning hot, I didn't race off the ship.  But Pat and I did venture off, and decided to see the island in a way neither of us had before, by taking the skyride (a tram) up to the top of Paradise Point.  Incredible views from up there, but we did both want to smack one of our fellow passengers who spent the entire ride discussing other trams that had crashed to earth.  Was that really the best venue for such a conversation?

Anyway, first the views from our balcony.

On line for the tram.  I do look a bit dewy, don't I?  Sounds better than saying I was sweating like a farm animal.

Many photo ops at the top of the mountain, as well as some very good bar food and a cold beer.

 The Freedom of the Seas is tucked in between a Disney ship and a Carnival ship.  Our captain had to do some expert parallel parking.,

On last year's cruise Pat and I had a wonderful meal at Portofino, one of the ship's specialty restaurants.  We booked a table for 6 and enjoyed another beautifully prepared and artistically served Italian meal with Elena, Bernie, Val, and Rob.

Here I am getting ready to attack my seafood skewer.

A gorgeous dessert sampler.  Yes, I ate the whole thing.

Tomorrow, St. Maarten and a one hour workshop that resulted in a gorgeous finished project.  In just one hour!  

Cruisin' The Caribbean With Tim

Tuesday, September 27th

Day At Sea

Workshop #2

and

Some Giveaways

We started our first full day at sea with an early class.  My group would be working from 9:00 to noon, and Group B would get their turn from 2:00 - 5:00.  If you're thinking that three hours learning from Tim sounds like a good thing, well, you would be right.

We assembled all the pieces to form a very cool travel journal that opens like a gatefold card.

Above, my work space, looking way neater than it usually did.  The base of the journal were Wendy's art parts and two of Tim's large binder ring pieces.  We had a good variety of paper to work with, and as usual, got to keep all the extras.  More on that later.

The two shots above were taken in the classroom and somehow came out very orange.  Next, some photos I took when I got home.

Our class kits had all the papers we needed for our pages, all cut and scored for us.  We just had to do some folding and closing openings with tissue tape to form some pockets.  We also got tags and little paper bags that we could put in the book.  The back cover (which I did not photograph) has the same paper as the front, and we added some idea-ology pieces to it, which meant the inside of the back cover had exposed brad prongs.  Which bothers some people....I confess, I'm one of them.....so I covered the offending hardware with a tag and the "journey" die cut.  We had a Vagabond and lots of dies available in the 24/7 studio, and that's when I did that.

We also had lots of tabs and a canvas page, perfect for attaching pins and charms.

Aside from lots of inking and spraying, I did not decorate any of the pages.  I brought a journal with me that I was using and think I'm going to save this one for a future trip, so no point filling it with cruise related stuff.

Before class started, I walked around and took some pictures of friends.

Nancy and Pam

                                    Gloria and Christine                                   

Andrea and Stephanie

And someone was nice enough to take this one of me and three of my best art pals.  We've been sharing and collaborating on projects from some great distances for years, and had a wonderful time working side by side on this trip.....and sharing some great meals together too.

Val and Elena

Me and Pat

At every class we'd walk in and our class kit would be waiting for us, which included a written description of the project and materials, and most of the elements we'd need to complete the piece.  I say most, because some were just too large to fit in the kit, and were distributed during class.  And then there would be other things that weren't necessary for the project, but could be an option.  Tim had some very generous sponsors.  In some cases we only used a small piece of paper, but received an entire 12x12 package.

Prepare to be dazzled with what we received during classes:

Paper packs from Graphic45, Tim, Core'dinations, Prima, and Cosmo Cricket

Yes, this is a Martha Stewart scoring board

At different times we received the glue glider and Tim's tissue tape

holder and two rolls of tissue tape.

Also in this photo, the custom stamp Tim has made up for each cruise

with the cruise logo.

Tons of tags, tickets, and other small paper

embellishments

Embellishments galore, all from the very

best companies.  We didn't get anyone's leftover junk!

More paper

Stamp sets

A variety of letters; chipboard, rub-ons, and Tim's own

plastic alpha parts

More bling

And more from Tim's own line

Now you know why we're advised to bring an extra suitcase on these trips.  I left NY with two half filled bags, and returned home with two stuffed to the max.  And I haven't even shown you my purchases and gifts yet.