Ultimate Cruise Day 4 ...

Scrapmap's Ultimate Scrapbook Cruise's fourth day was Jan. 14 and we docked in Grand Cayman around 6:30 a.m. I know this because, our cabon being as aft as aft can be and only as high as Deck 2, our room vibrated and shook with the noise of engines working, shaking so much that stuff fell off the counters and table tops. This turned out to be a trend any time we arrived in or left a port (usually early in the morning or in the afternoon, when I was trying to catch a nap before dinner or classes!). Needless to say, midway through the cruise, I was seriously needing to catch up on some sleep. But today wasn't going to be it!

Because Georgetown, Grand Cayman (the largest of the three Cayman Islands) did not have a deep sea port, we took tenders, or smaller passenger boats (think floating open-air busses), in to port.



Michelle and I procrastinated in getting excursion ickets from Carnival, so everything we wanted to do was sold out. But that turned out to be OK. We found a great tour guide, Christine, a native of Grand Cayman who was easily able to give a history of the island because she has lived it. Basically, Grand Cayman is a British colony and voted to stay that way a few decades ago. They have enjoyed prosperity from the banking industry and tourism. Well, until Hurricane Ivan came to call four years ago, when the island was nearly wiped off the face of the map, with roofs to large hotels tossed in to the main streets of the island and homes destroyed. But now, with the exception of a few buildings not yet open, Grand Cayman is back to being a bustling success story, yet with a rustic appeal.

Grand Cayman doesn't pay any sales or income tax. Apparently King George revoked taxing the people after they risked their lives to save the lives of Englishmen whose ships wrecked off the Granbd Cayman coast. Above is the Governor's home. The governor is appointed by the Queen of England.

This is one of a handful of remaining original homes built before Grand Cayman became prosperous.

Hell is on Earth and it can be found on Grand Cayman. This is actually a rock formation that got its name when a British Prime Minister toured the island and made a comment about this surely being hell. These rocks are not volcanic, but are actually formed by coral. The only other thing here are three tiny gift shops and a post office. Yes, I did mail my obligatory postcard from Hell home.

One of my favorite stops was the turtle farm. While I cannot stomach the idea of eating turtle, I understand that it is a Grand Cayman tradition. But not all of these sea turtles are raised for slaughter. Some of them will be released in to the wild to increase the endangered sea turtle population. It is illeagal in most waters to hunt them now. But these turtles were fun to watch and feed. The farm had them broken out into different concrete tanks, depending on their age and size.




We got to carefully hold some of the younger turtles. The parents were the size of a round coffee table. The one I am holding is only about a year old.

Michelle and I made it back to the ship in time for another late lunch aboard. Then we toured the decks a bit since, with our full schedule, we had not yet had a chance to take a look of the forward decks.

That afternoon, before supper, all of the scrappers stopped by the ScrapMap headquarters to vote for their favorite postcard contest entry. There were 45 entries (nearly half of the scrappers entered!). There were so many great entries! Table centers, layouts, mini books, a mobile and so much more! Mine was there, of course, a 4 x 4 paper and plastic box reminiscent of a "Crazy 8 Ball." When I was in grade school, I loved creating 3D paper shapes. The 4 x 4 plastic sheets Grafix donated in the goodie bag inspired me to go with my inner child and create a paper die inside a box. Here is a close up:


And of course, no evening is complete without a towel animal:

Ocho Rios, Jamaica, here we come!

Oops! Forgot this photo - I don't know how! Tablemates Jen and Janice from Beach Scrapbooks in Virginia, roommate Michelle and I had a little fun with our "casual portrait."

The Ultimate Scrapbook Cruise Day 3...

... Day 3 of the Ultimate Scrapbook Cruise was Tuesday, Jan. 14, a day at sea as the Carnival Freedom chugged along towards Grand Cayman. And days at sea on the USC cruise means classes! We scrappers were divided into four groups and I was in Group C. That meant I had Donna Downey's "Swatches" class in the morning and Teresa Collin's class "It's a Love Thing" in the afternoon.


Donna's class featured canvas and I love to work with canvas and other home decor items, so learning about new techniques and products was right up my alley. While there was a bit too much pink in the project for my taste (LOL), I still managed to create some cute "hoops." I still need to tape the ends of the canvas behind the project to hide them, but you get the idea We worked with gel medium (think acrylic paint, but without any color in it), gesso to prime the canvas and India ink for writing. Donna really has a unique style and creativity and it was great listening to "the method to her madness." A quick tip we can all use: Donna brought spritzer bottles to the table so we could blend acrylic paint better. As it dries, the paint does not want to blend, but with a little water spritzed on the painted surface you can blend away! And see those white circles? Those were created with toilet paper rolls and spritzer bottle caps dipped in white acrylic paint. Great idea, Donna! I have already tossed a toilet paper roll in my scrap room to use later!


Teresa's class was familiar territory for me, since she, like me, enjoys using transparent elements, the Bind-it-All and different shaped and sized pages in her albums. She was enthusiastic and generous, giving everyone one of her transparent rings to decorate, as well as a large selection of her different lines. We constructed the book in class, but I have not yet had the chance to finish it. I still need to add danglies and bling and other embellishments, but since I am heading off to CHA in Anaheim, CA, in a few days, I have no idea when I will be able to get back to these projects to finish them. So, the photo above is my project, incomplete.

Tuesday was a formal dining night, plus it was my roommate, Michelle's birthday. Time to celebrate! And with celebrations comes pictures, so we sat for some portraits:




And our steward, Amy, from Thailand, was just fabulous. The towel animals began this evening and she left us with a lobster to compliment the turned-down beds and chocolates on the pillow.

On to Georgetown, Grand Cayman tomorrow!

Acrylic Album Blowout Sale!

We've got to make room for new stock! Acrylic Stadium and UNdrilled Clear Scraps tabbed albums are on sale - get them at their lowest prices ever! Just log on to the Kits2Remember store and click on the "Acrylic Album Blowout" link on the left hand side. Sale ends Friday, Jan. 23 at noon CST. Prices good on stock on hand, while supplies last.

Ultimate Scrapbook Cruise Day 1 and 2 ...

The Ultimate Scrapbook Cruise aboard the Carnival Freedom left from Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale at about 4 p.m. Sunday Jan. 11 with about 110 scrappers and their friends and families aboard. The night before, I had spent at the Courtyard and met one of my first supper table mates, Lisa, since she was my roommate. I hadn't gotten much sleep the week before, so I crashed at about 9 p.m. I left her a note so she wouldn;t think I was rude or something.
Once our cruise was underway, I met my roommate for the cruise, Michelle, a nurse from the D.C. area and we clicked really well, making the cruise that much better for both of us. Our room was on the 2nd Deck, as aft as aft can be, with our window facing out the back of the boat. Our room was a good size, with two twin beds and a couch. Plenty of room for two scrappers. We picked up our ScrapMap goodie bags (lots of fun, scrappy stuff) and itinerary in the afternoon, so we had plenty of time to pore over it before the group meeting at 9 p.m. where we were introduced to the ScrapMap staff and instructors. The boat's first stop the next day: Ket West, FL.

Michelle and I took a tour around the island, stopping at some of the "key" sights. We of course, stopped at the Southermost Point and waved at Cuba.
The flowers that Hawaiian leis are made from are called Plumerias, which my mother is a big fan of. She has a few plants and bushes, but nothing like this huge tree, the likes of which are all over the island. So, this photo's for you, Mom!

And for those of you who haven't toured Key West before, let me warn you to watch out for stray chickens. They are EVERYWHERE and there is a law against harassing them, so no free fried chicken dinners. This one I snapped a picture of as he strutted through the Ross Dress for Less parking lot (I was there buying an extra suitcase for all the scrappy stuff we were going to get on the cruise. I forgot to leave room when I packed - duh! And I call my self and advanced scrapbooker!).

One of my favorite spots on the whole trip was the Key West Butterly Conservatory. This was just a tiny piece of paradise for me. Apparently, butterflies make me happy. Who knew? It was just peaceful, serene and so much what I needed to start the cruise off right. Here are some of my pictures from that. I think half of my memory card was used here.












If a butterflye lands on you, it is supposed to be good luck. And they were so thick, you had to be careful where you stepped. This little guy took a ride on my shoe for a few steps before I noticed him. Thanks for the luck!

We got back to the ship in time for a late lunch on the ship (we certainly did not starve on the cruise!) and to rest before our journaling class with ScrapMap owner and author Jim West. The class was before dinner, so I, with a Margarita Miracle in hand, found a seat and listened in for the hour-long lecture. Some helpful hints when journaling: 1) Use your handwriting no matter how much you hate it and 2) journaling doesn't have to be long, but try to hit the high points: the five senses (what did you see, taste, smell, feeland hear?) and the "w" questions: Who, what, when, where, why and/or how.
After supper, Michelle and I gathered up our scrap stuff and headed to the Fish and Chips restaurant, which had been reserved for us for late-night scrapping. Most people chose to turn in early, since Karen Russell was hosting a sunrise photography workshop the next morning, but Michelle and I had work to do: She needed to finish some of her swaps and I had come up with an idea for the ScrapMap postcard contest and wanted to get to work on it before I forgot it! I think we got to bed around 1 a.m. The next day was a day at sea, full of classes!

I had an ULTIMATE time ....

... on ScrapMap's Ultimate Scrapbook Cruise. We were on the Carnival Freedom, leaving from Ft. Lauderdale and hitting three cities in the Caribbean: Key West, FL, Georgetown in Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios in Jamaica. And in between shore stops, excursions and meals, we scrapped! Some of the top teachers in the nation were on this cruise: Heidi Swapp, Donna Downey, Karen Russell, Teresa Collins and Margie Romney-Aslett (Making Memories). ScrapMap owner Jim West, who is also an author, conducted a journaling class, as well. There is WAY too much to fit in one blog entry, so I will be blogging about our adventures and projects over several days.

I am so excited to say that YES, I won a trip on next year's Ultimate Cruise! I am so excited! ScrapMap announced a postcard contest when we checked in on Sunday, the first day of the cruise, and gave each of us a Carnival Cruise line postcard. We could then make anything out of it and all of the 110 scrappers aboard would have a chance to vote for their favorite. The criterisa included creativity, craftsmanship, humor and use of the postcard. I brought NOTHING but tools and adhesive, so thank goodess they gave us a great goodie bag full of paper, embellishments and more, because I used some of Teresa's beachy paper and some Grafix thin transparent 4 x 4 sheets to creat a "Crazy 8 Ball" sort of cube that would answer the question: To scrap or cruise? Just let the Die of Decision make the decision. There were 45 entries total and it was announced at the ScrapMap cocktail party the last night that I WON! So, does anyone care to cruise? You can find out more on the ScrapMap web site. I hear we might be cruising the lower portion of the Caribbean. Looking forward to that!

So, starting tomorrow, I will go through the cruise day by day, class by class, adventure by adventure. But here is a quick preview, of sorts....

Gigi's crop was fabulous....

... it felt so great to be among happy, scrappy people again! This group of 120 ladies was just a hoot: fun, funny and friendly. Thanks so much for a great time, ladies! And a huge round of applause to Gigi and her girls for putting on a well-organized event. Here are some photos for you...

First off, the view from my room:


Here is my little booth. I crammed in as much scrap stuff as I could.

And last, but certainly not least, a very entertaing group who performed on Kareoke pajama night:

Friday evening's theme was to come as your favorite decade. There were girls in pood;le skirts, flower children - and Elvis. Who knew that Elvis could make a group of women scream at the age of 74?

Now I am off to sail the Caribbean with ScrapMap's Ultimate Scrapbook Cruise. I will have very limited access to email and phone for a few days, but I will be sure to get back to you when I return Jan. 19. All orders placed between now and then will ship Jan. 19. I apologize for any inconvenience this might cause. Have a great week!

Working on some little things for the events this week...

... so much going on! Starting tomorrow, Gigi's Scrapbookin' in Foley, AL, is hosting a three-day crop at the Perdido Beach Resort. I'll be vending and teaching a couple of classes. Plus I created a Valentine-sy (is that a word?)4 x 4 acrylic and chipboard mini book. I used a photo of my DH's Aunt Sam and Uncle John. I thought it was an appropriate one for the theme. I am looking forward to hanging out with some of "my" people. I have been away from scrapbookers way too long! I also plan to work on my 2009 day planner during any down time. The rest of the time I will have a ton of fun sharing the joys of working with acrylic and metal with the croppers.

I've also been working on some charms for the Scrapmap.com Ultimate Scrapbooking Cruise that starts Sunday. This is only my second cruise and I, like most of the other gals going, have been planning this trip for more than a year now. Some of the gals decided to get a charm swap together. It sounded like fun to me, but I have never participated in one and have certainly not created any charms like these. I did receive a fabulous charm necklace when I taught at Creative Escape in September, so I took a look at those to get some inspiration. The guidelines for the swap said we were suppose to have the charms be in a beachy color scheme, keep them no larger than 1.5 inches. And I didn't have a lot of time to create something too intricate, unfortunately. So, I needed something simple, beachy and FUN! Then it hit me: I would comb the beach a few miles from my house for some native Gulf Coast sea shells and use those. I, of course, HAD to use some acrylic, so I used some acrylic chips, spritzed them with Glimmer Mist, painted the edges blue and printed out the name and date of the cruise. Then strung the whole thing together with a jump ring and added a lobster claw clasp. I can't wait to see what the other ladies have done!