Got the "Stay-cation Blues"?

Welcome to the Studio!

It's summer and time for travel and fun...well, not for me. At least not yet. My wonderful hubby is working his fingers to the bone and doing enough {business} traveling for the both of us. Although Mom & I have a scrappy getaway planned for August, CKC Nashville, it's not the same as spending a week relaxing with your significant other. And since he's starting grad school this fall (i.e. three weeks from now), it may be a while before we have time for a real vacation. So for now, I guess you could say I have the "stay-cation blues." The best way to battle those blues? Scrap your last vacation. Or in my case, get a fire lit under my rear and scrap the last six years of vacations. So here's what I've been up to...

We went on a cruise in December 2010. I was off from work anyway for two wrist surgeries, so it seemed like one of those kill-two-birds-with-one-stone kinda thing. We had been talking about going on a cruise for ages and we're glad we did. I didn't have complete use of one hand yet, so not having to cook, clean, or carry anything for a week was bliss. The heaviest thing I lifted was a fork;) Our steward, Joe, did everything for us, including making these cool towel creations. And yes, that was a "towel bat" hanging from the air conditioner. I thought that one was particularly groovy...probably because I'm a fan of all things vampire.

I used some really old Scenic Route paper that is pink and a golden orange. I have no idea why I love this paper collection so much. I found some on a clearance rack a year ago and bought more! Not sure if you can see it in the photo, but I used a Bazzill stitching template and did a decorative stitch on the top and bottom of my main photo area with ivory embroidery floss. It was time-consuming, but I love the look and the texture. It makes me think of a soft baby blanket, or maybe soft, fresh-from-the-dryer bath towels.

Cruises are a scrapbooker's heaven. There were at least five different photo opportunities before dinner the first night, not including them taking our picture when we boarded. I would have stood in every line, but my darling Keith didn't want to spend more on photos than we did for the cabin:) I limited myself to one per evening, not including the photos they took at dinner and each of the ports. We would walk the whole ship so I could scope out the best "photo op" each night before dinner.

I think the paper might be Creative Imaginations. I was buying cruise paper and embellishments for months before we actually went on the cruise.

Muster Drill...you have to do it, so why not make it fun. Here's me and Keith being silly with our life jackets on. Sexy, huh? There's nothing more glamorous than reflective safety orange;)

This is probably the only time other than our wedding day that we took "formal, dressed-up" photos. One reason might be because I hate wearing pantyhose. I think Keith looks really handsome in this picture. I'm not so pleased with my really red cheeks...too much sun, I guess. For this layout, I used ivory and black Bazzill Bling cardstock, vellum printed with a silver scroll design. {I actually bought it for a wedding layout and didn't use it.} To bring in the dark red color, I used Tacky Tape (aka bologna tape) to add a very thin "wave" of glitter up the side. I also Glimmer Misted the two flowers in the corner. The black woven border is actually home dec trim from the sewing department.

I always tell my scrappy friends, and especially new scrapbookers, that there's no such thing as a mistake in scrapbooking...it's just an opportunity for embellishment. I used EK Success decorative corner punches on the four corners of my photo mat. That really pretty flower in the corner...yep, you guessed it...an opportunity for embellishment! That was my last piece of black Bazzill Bling and instead of punching the corner, I chewed it off. What's a girl to do? Add flowers and bling; right?

I'll be back soon with some more card and layout ideas; and I'm still on my flower making kick, so I'll have pics of some of my new blooming creations too.

I hope you enjoyed your visit. Until next time, stay inspired and Scrap Sassy!