christmas on manor...dec 1st!

another event that i'm participating in. it will no doubt be a fun few hours with creative friends. my favorite way to spend my time lately! hope you can make it. (click on image to actually read all the details).

black & white

black & white is hot right now. i decided to do a line of trays in just black & white. and i was so excited when i found all of these beautiful black & white papers. they will make the most beautiful trays and i can hardly wait to get started on them.

Thanksgiving Centerpiece

of course i'm going to use a tray to create my thanksgiving day centerpiece! i had fun creating this one by using two trays. i just used an old wood yarn spool to support the second tray. load each one up with pumpkins, gourds, ect and wa-la. happy thanksgiving to all of you!

What a FUN event!

i created an entry way with shutters (two from my attic & two from a recent dumpster find). this way it felt like people were actually walking into my space. the check out table and bins full of trays and fun paper goodies were in front of the shutters. (click on photos to view larger)

so glad when i found this old shoe rack at a garage sale this summer. it held lots of trays and gave me a base to add some height.

i gained height with galvanized buckets (filled with beans for weight) and tree branches. simple silver ornaments added sparkle and looked simple but festive.

The 5th annual Gift Gallery was a huge success! with close to 600 people coming through the door it was such a busy day. i'm so thankful that my mom was there to help me. for those that couldn't make it to the event i've posted these photos. photos never look as good as in real life, but it gives you an idea. my small space was filled with trays, for all occassions, and at most times it was packed with people! we sold lots of trays and are very pleased with the results. i'm already planning my next line of trays.... a black and white line for the winter and beautiful soft creams and browns for spring. i thought i'd get some sleep after this event....but i'm on such a high that i can't help but keep designing and producing more trays! thank you to all who came, bought, supported me and just plain gushed over my space. it was a wonderful day!

I think I'm ready!

Tomorrow night is set up night for the gift gallery. This week I froze in my garage while creating my display. I've been visually creating my display for months and then it all changed when I actually started putting it all together. Thank goodness I was smart to set the space up before setting up at the gift gallery.
I started pulling things out of the house (my husband asked if I was moving out!) vintage suitcases, bookshelves, tables..ect all to make my 10x10 space look exciting. It finally all came together and it looks amazing. As I crawled into bed at 2:30am with a smile on my face I realized it's all worth it. A couple days later I found out that my space is smack dab in the front when everyone walks in. I'm glad I went the extra mile to create an oh so beautiful space. I can't wait for Saturday. I have over 100 trays (no wonder I'm exhausted!) enough for everyone to find something they like. Hope to you see you Saturday!
I'll post photos later next week of the event.

free tickets!

the 5th annual gift gallery is:

saturday, november 10th from 9am to 3 pm

at cure of ars school

(9401 mission road)

admission is $3.00

BUT I HAVE 6 TICKETS TO GIVE AWAY!

the first 6 people that contact me at

traybella@hotmail.com will win a ticket.

please provide your snail mail address so

that i can get them in the mail to you this week.

thanks to everyone who is supporting me for

this show and for this new adventure that i've started!

tower of trays

what a week! 24 trays....the most i've created in a week. this tower of trays is waiting for handles to be added to them. the other batch in the garage is ready for sanding....i'm so exhausted but am so determined to hit my November 1st deadline. i want to be completely done with all my inventory, for the gift gallery, by Nov. 1st. i can see the light at the end of the tunnel and then the real fun will start..... a trial run for my display. the booth at the gift gallery is only 10x10. i've got visions in my head of how i want it to look, and last week started collecting everything for pulling the display together. i'll do a trial set up next week in my garage. this always makes sense to me because more often than not i'll get to the show and wish i would have done 'x'. this way i'll set it up, get it just the way i visioned and then pack it up and haul it to the show. we get 2 hours next friday night to set up....i'm going to have to work fast!

tray bella babies

just a few baby trays that i finished up last week.

these will be at the gift gallery along with lots of others.

these make great baby shower gifts!

a couple more.....

i love these bug theme trays. they would be perfect out on a screen porch or for someone who loves to garden. the possibilities, like the paper selections, are endless. off to do more trays!

a few trays i finished up today

still getting ready for the gift gallery. and probably will be until the very last minute. here are a few trays that i finished up today. these baby theme trays sell really well. they are perfect for baby shower gifts. the cowboy theme tray is so cute for the littlest cowboy. it's useful contents contain a denim changing pad and reversible horse bib. a cute stuffed horse completes it. the polka dot tray is so sweet with it's white cardigan sweater, onesie, and wood circus theme memory game. vintage airplanes soar on this red tray. an airplane for a room decoration and two receiving blankets make this a great gift. next time you need a baby gift, ditch the registry and give a tray bella tray instead.

another use for a tray

my dear friend Lauri is using her tray bella tray in a most useful way. she has placed it on her staircase. not only does it fit perfectly, it looks beautiful. she uses it as a holding spot for items that need to go upstairs to her studio. i'm copying her because i think this is a great idea! thanks Lauri !

tray as a base

i had so much fun decorating for halloween this year. i decided to pull out all my black & white and of course found some fun b&w papers to create new things. in both photos i have used trays as the base of my display. this makes them easy to move when the need arises. the tray in my front entry holds b&w crackers (filled with yummy chocolates!) just waiting for excited trick or treaters. they were fun, easy to make and look so festive. the tray on my dining room table is a big one and holds the entire centerpiece. i hope i've inspired you to use trays in your seasonal decorating. and if you don't own a tray.... i know where you can pick up a few!

sneak peak

these trays will be for sale at the Gift Gallery in November. the large bamboo trays are perfect for a coffee table or ottoman. creating these trays is so much fun....i love the endless selections of paper and each one becomes my favorite.

mark your calendar

i'm one of 35 lucky vendors to participate in the Cure of Ars Gift Gallery. if you're in Kansas City you will not want to miss this event. Saturday November 10th from 9a-3p. this is not your typical church craft fair it is so much better. so many beautiful, unique, fun items created by local artists. i'll have my space overflowing with trays for all occasions. if you have gifts to buy, this is an event you won't want to miss!

tray bella for tots

my son loves to have his snack served to him on a tray. he also loves to play 'room service'. this is when he grabs a stack of books, our hotel bell and climbs into my bed with me. he rings the bell, and daddy comes to take our order and, of course, delivers our snack to us on a tray.
i thought that other children would also like to play 'room service' so we created ...tray bella for tots. the papers for these small trays are selected by my 5 year old son. he loves being involved in the paper selection process for "his" trays.
i hope this idea inspires you. because children feel special when their snacks are served on trays.
tot trays are also available at Now & Then. (photos coming soon)

fall trays at Now & Then

i had so much fun doing these fall trays. if you're going to a thanksgiving dinner don't forget to take tray bella as a hostess gift. or if you just love fall and want to use a big square tray with cool silver handles as part of your centerpiece you better get over to Now & Then before they are all scooped up. enjoy!

where to buy tray bella trays

visit Now & Then in historic Downtown Overland Park....

7943 Santa Fe Drive (913) 649-4930.....

the store has a good selection of tray bella trays for all occasions. some trays are embellished with fun accessories. others are waiting for you to add your own final touch. i hope you'll find something that you can not live without.

tray bella discovered

in june i participated in an oh so cute tag sale. it was a beautiful day with beautiful friends. lucky for me the owner of Now & Then, a very cute shop in Downtown Overland Park, was at the sale. she loved my trays and wanted them in her shop. uh .... OK!! i could not have been more excited. not only is her store adorable, but so is she. wow...my stuff actually for sale in a store. i better get busy making more!

tray bella for gifts

need a gift for a friend that has everything? need a fun, unique baby shower, house warming or hostess gift? let me do the work for you. the base of the gift is, of course, a beautiful tray. then it is piled with accessories based on the theme you need. for example a baby shower gift would have a baby themed paper lined tray, a super soft baby blanket and then maybe a photo frame, or sweater, or teddy bear. Appetizer plates, and kitchen towels on a tray are just awaiting your favorite bottle of wine or olive oil to make a great hostess or housewarming gift. each tray ensemble is unique, and although the concept of each tray is the same the contents are not. next time you need a great gift, ditch the registry and give a gifted tray from tray bella.

getting started

hi, my name is kathi and i have a paper addiction. initially i started out as a scrapbooker. i still love to scrapbook though it seems i rarely have the time.

so with my love (& stacks) of paper, and a desire to create something useful.....tada .... tray bella was born. useful wood trays lined with beautiful paper.

trays are useful all around the house. the most obvious is to use them to carry cocktails on to a group of thirsty friends. that's a great idea but have you thought to use them to stay organized?! trays are great on a coffee table or ottoman, they are great in a bathroom, a kids room or on a dresser. i create my dining room table centerpiece on a tray so when i need to actually use the table to eat at i just pick up the entire thing and move it. trays are great for carrying, corralling & cherishing your stuff. because you can never have too many trays.