Pick your Perk - Plus a secret revealed - Crafting Cruise

NOVEMBER 30 - DECEMBER 7, 2013

Only a few more days to take advantage of Celebrity's Pick Your Perk offer.  This offer is valid on our Crafting cruise, November 30, 2013 on the Celebrity Reflection.

Pick your perk.

Choose from one of these offers above.

But hurry, this is a limited time offer. 
So book your Cruise & Crop vacation 

by June 19, 2013. 

For more information on our Crafting Cruise - hosted by Gail Pastor & Cheri Thomas, Click Here.

Want to know the types of projects being considered for our {Pinterest Inspired} crafting cruise?  Here is a sneak-peek...maybe we'll reveal more later:


This Beauty Found on Pinterest - Source:  http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/06/glass-etching.html

{Designs will be original}  Think about what a great gift this would be!  Now imagine that you didn't have to shop for the products or cut out the vinyl...but you got to leave with a finished product!  That is what this crafting cruise is all about.  We are giving you the chance to make some wonderful gifts for Christmas without doing the leg-work!  So what are you waiting for?  Book today!

Shop Your House!

We all are busy.  It seems to me that lately, things have just crept up on me.  For instance, I knew that I was having a Bon Voyage Party at my house for a cruise that I was going on with my friends.  I have known this for weeks.  Of course, I wanted it to be fun, informative and super cute.  But now, it was a day before and I had not taken care for the "super cute" part of the event!  What was I going to do for a theme or centerpiece?  Yikes!  All I had was a couple of packages of paper napkins with the Eiffel Tower on them.  I needed more!  I needed it right now.  So, I decided to "shop my house".  I went around and started gathering a few things that were not traditional centerpieces, but that all had a travel theme to them.  Luckily, I am a travel agent, so I have an office with things that I have collected from trips or that people have given to me as a gift. 

I had a couple of pieces of decorative luggage that were in my office and a table runner I had picked up in Europe.  Great start!  Then I added my scarf from Paris and the book ends from my office. 

The three vases had once contained various vinegars, so I dumped those (now expired - lol) and added some fresh flowers, making the arrangement on my kitchen island complete.

 

Now on to the table with another table runner, more things from my office and Voila!  Candles are always a welcome addition if you need a filler.

To complete my décor, I added a few of my European scrapbooks to a table, along with a some fresh flowers in my vase from Italy and I was finished.

So, you may want to try this idea for your next party.  Especially if you did not have time in advance to pull things together like me!  I think that when you put unusual things on the table that would not normally be centerpieces, it can create a nice effect.  Enjoy entertaining!

My Family Believes - Kitchen Wall Decor

I've seen so many cool "Family Rules" signs around this past year.  You know you have too.  But I couldn't find one to say just the perfect things --- so I made my own version.

Project #1:  I found this old divided wooden box at a garage sale for $1.  I wish I would have taken a photo of it before we (with my husband's help) ripped the glass out and spray painted it.  There were so many old, ugly items glued on it and we did our best to remove them.  There was some glue and a bead that I couldn't pry off without risking breaking the whole thing.  So I just painted over it.  I knew that when I covered the sections with paper, I could hide the imperfections.

This paper is part of Basic Grey's Origins line (an oldie but a goodie).  And there were chipboard elements to match.

You like how I used this bird to cover up that glued bead?

Project #2:  I found this {previously} silver platter at that same garage sale (score!).  I spray painted it to match my yellow and brown kitchen and added some paper embellishments.  I was a bit baffled when it came time to hang the plate.  But those amazing Scotch mounting tapes worked great.  

Shortly after moving into our new house a year ago, I searched for hours to find the perfect fabric for my new kitchen theme - yellow and brown.  Everything that has yellow in it these days is mixed with Gray.  I love that combo but it just wasn't going to mesh well with my furniture and other decor in my adjacent living room.

Then finally - I found it!  This floral print is part of the Origins Collection that Basic Grey put out a few years ago.  I was especially excited that I would be able to find matching scrapbook paper to complete my projects.  Thanks to embellish IT! for still carrying some of this old collection.  I knew I could count on you!

Project #3:  This was my final kitchen project - covering up these glass doors.  I love the look of glass doors but cabinet space in this house was at a premium and I couldn't use it all for the "pretty" stuff.  If you didn't already know, you can buy tiny little rods that attach to cabinet doors.  This was the perfect solution.

Hope you enjoyed my kitchen crafting projects.  Tell me about yours...