holiday 2008

there are only 58 days left until christmas! although it is not time to start the advent calendar countdown, it is time to get your christmas shopping complete. wouldn't it be great to have your shopping done early so that you could actually enjoy the holiday season?! i've been busy working on trays and i have a huge selection for you to choose from. i even have bells for sale this year to accompany your trays. ding ding, room service! trays make such a unique gift for that hard to buy for person on your list. i have two shows coming up, i hope to see you there!

November 8, 9:00am - 4:00pm

Gift Gallery

at Cure of Ars School

9401 Mission Road

($3.00 charge at the door)

December 2, 2:00pm - 8:00pm

December 3, 10:00am - 8:00pm

Kappa Kappa Gamma Holiday Home Tour Gift Shop

Homestead Country Club

6510 Mission Road

(no charge to enter gift shop)

if you can't make it to a show and are interested in purchasing a tray, just send me an email at traybella@hotmail.com

cheers! to the start of the holiday shopping season!

a busy but fun fall weekend

we had such a busy weekend, whew. friday our cub scout pack went to johnson farms pumpkin patch. it was such a bummer that it rained the entire time. the boys still had a good time running around checking out all the animals and racing through the mazes, which were luckily under a roof.
saturday morning we had family photos taken . it has been 5 years since we had that done and i'm anxious to see how they turned out. it was a beautiful fall day with the sun shining. the photographer took over 600 photos, i'm confident we got a few good ones. saturday night we went to a friends house for a halloween party and hayride.
in all the craziness saturday i made these caramel apples to take to the party. dipped them in chocolate and scattered some candy corn around them. they were yummy and one of my favorite things to make in the fall. the hayride was a blast and even little C went on the spooky hayride.

on sunday M attended a halloween party at a friends. he wanted to be a mummy and all week we worked on his costume. when i picked him up from the party he was partially unwrapped. guess my glue dots didn't stick as well as i thought they would. i should have sewn it so that it would stay on better. i think my days of handmade costumes are over. they just never turn out like i, or he, think they will. so now he says he wants to be a cowboy. guess i better get on the stick, friday will be here before i know it. yehaw!

do drop in

this weekend i attended the kansas city junior league '08 holiday mart.
i was so excited to see that paty judy of do drop in had a booth there. i had seen her in a recent country living magazine and with her living in my neck of the woods i had her on my list of websites to visit. seeing her in person was so much better than just checking out her site! she is beautiful, talented and super sweet. she makes the most beautiful aprons, door stops and stationery. if you're starting your christmas shopping early please check out her website. paty, it was a pleasure to meet you! thank you for being an inspiration!

learning about presidents ~ the two year old way

C has his own piggy bank. birthday money, picking up the neighbors newspaper money, ect. goes in there. since it's the year of the presidential election we've been working on who our presidents have been (ok, not really but didn't that sound good?!) C does know three past presidents. he'll pull out a $1 and say "george washington'. a $10 and say "hamilton" and a $20 and yell "jackson". we were putting the like bills in a pile and at the end of lesson he simply said, "mommy, i need more jackson's". don't we all baby! also at the store the other day i received some change back from a purchase. you should have seen the look on the clerks face when she handed me the bills and C yelled "george washington!". i walked away beaming and said 'yes, that IS george washington". not bad for a two year old.

some of the best ideas are obvious

the whole tray bella idea started because my son loves to play "room service" (and because i wanted to create/sell something useful & beautiful ). we have a hotel bell and we take it, along with a pile of books, and climb into bed. we read a few books, and then ring the bell. daddy comes and takes our order - crackers, juice, ice cream, whatever we're in the mood for. we hear daddy clanging in the kitchen and then we hear him walking down the hall to the bedroom. he delivers our requested snack, on a tray, and we continue to read our pile of books while we enjoy our snack.

so twice i have explained this humble beginning, of making and selling trays, to men. both times the men have this questionable look on their faces and they both said "then why don't you also sell bells?"

absolutely charming are these room service bells. use them with your tray to enhance that pampered feeling while at home. 7 bucks each or free when you buy three trays.

an obviously good idea!

a few of my favorite things

YUM! cupcakes and special halloween trick or treats! small portions of indulgence. white wedding cake cupcakes are the requested flavor around our house. for halloween this year we decorated them up as spider webs and mummy's. they look so festive sitting next to our special halloween trick or treats on this beautiful halloween tray. decorating cupcakes is a fun activity to do with the kids. it's simple, fun and a yummy snack. bake up a batch and treat your kids to a fun activity. let them use their imaginations to decorate them and see what fun results they come up with.

lego crazy

within the past few weeks M has been crazy for lego's. up until then, he really had no interest in them. i had set this kit aside that he received in may for his birthday. now remember in yesterdays post how i said i was horrible at following directions. so when i open these kits, see all the millions of tiny pieces and a big book of directions, i simply have no desire to participate in this type of project. i informed him of my lack of ability to follow these types of directions and that he would have to wait until daddy got home to help him or that we could just play with the lego's and use our imaginations to create our own things. but he didn't want to wait. so he laid out all the pieces and started with the directions on page one. i can't even believe that he put this together all by himself! is this my son?! wow, i was so impressed that HE could follow the directions. after he finished it he said 'i need more lego's. i'm putting lego's at the top of my christmas list!" i hope santa reads my blog.

subliminal message pillows

i can sew. but only simple things. i am not good at following directions, therefore trying to make something from a pattern just isn't my style. but i can sew pillows, curtains, blankets...easy stuff. and so up late one night, with my husband on his business trip, i made these. i was inspired by the burlap pillows i've been seeing in some of the shops. most of them made out of vintage feed sacks, coffee bags or grain sacks. not really liking any of the images i found, nor the price tag, i set out to make my own. these literally took me 30 minutes to make both of them. i dug through my fabric bin and found the burlap, and a ticking stripe for the back. 7 minutes with some stencils and fabric paint and i've created these fun, inexpensive pillows. i love that they are a little quirky, that i haven't seen them in stores, and that they were quick to whip up. i also really like that they lay quietly on the couch for the boys (and adults!) to view their simple subliminal message.

BOO! halloween decor

i just love halloween! i love the cool fall weather. the eerie sound the leaves make as they rustle when the wind blows. i love a big pot of soup cooking on the stove. i love to help the boys decide on what costume they'll wear and love making the costumes for them (most of the time i make them). oh and don't forget the pumpkin patch! we love to go there and pick our pumpkins right off the vine. so while my husband was away on business, the boys and i decorated the house for halloween. nothing too spooky here we just use what we have around the house and lots of black and white. we do have a halloween bin of decorations that i'll add to each year. once halloween is over, i hit the sales for good bargains and then have something new and fun for next year.
one of our fireplace mantels turned into a laboratory. glass jars we've had around the house hold skeleton heads and bones. i created labels on the computer to add to them and we'll remove them when halloween is over. some black crows and spiderwebs add to the creepy feel. the large velvet bat and tomb stones were bargain finds at the end of the season last year.

this skeleton sitting on a candlestick makes me laugh. it's easy to decorate when you pull from the things you already have. i use this candlestick all the time, for every season.

using a tray as a base we first added a silver plate , and then spanish moss, and a haunted house to this metal bowl. large felt bats flying out of the chimney add an extra layer of spooky-ness. scatter wood and ceramic pumpkins around the base for a splash of color. see, isn't this easy?

i love to hand out extra special treats to my trick-or-treaters. this year i used glassine envelopes, filled them with candy and then, on the computer, made the oct. 31 tags. stapled them shut and heaped them in a metal urn. then added the big black crow to keep an eye on them.

this black plant stand that i have was the perfect spot for a pumpkin. i love the green color of it with the harlequin diamond wall in the background (that was last years project while hubby was out of town!).

and then we also just have small pumpkins sitting on urns here and there. so just use what you have and add to it. black and white with a tiny bit of orange fits the look of my house better. pumpkins come in a range of colors now so use what works with your current decor. those beautiful white pumpkins go with anything. and you also don't have to spend a lot of money on decorations. hit end of season sales and just pull from what you already own. i'd love to see photos of your halloween decor! leave me a message here and a link to your blog.

happy halloween!!

long time no post

it's been awhile since my last post. my husband went on a 14 day overseas business trip and took the digital camera with him. so over the next few days i'll add posts of all the fun things i did while he was away. i'm not sure why it is when he's out of town that i can stay up really late. 2 or 3 a.m. seemed to be the normal bedtime for me these last few weeks but WOW did i get alot of things done. i vowed to work only on trays....but it was much more fun doing lots of other things. i did though get some trays done.

but i also cleaned up my studio. looking at these photos it doesn't look very cleaned up, but it sure was a mess. it's organized far better than it was before, and at least i have space on my work table now to actually work.

i had planned to paint the walls, but that will have to wait until later. i just really needed to get stuff put away and organized. mission accomplished. i also cleaned out the garage for my husband. he didn't even notice until I pointed it out to him. and the most fun thing i did was rearrange the entire house! i've done this before while he's away on business so i guess i'm consistent. i completely flipped the living room and dining room....again. but it's a little different than before. i need constant change and like i tell my husband, rearranging is cheaper than moving. i remember my mom and i rearranging furniture once a month when i was growing up. i guess that's where i get the desire to move furniture. when my husband got home he noticed that i had rearranged and all he said was "where is the t.v.?"

i also did get some work done. 24 trays to be exact. here are a few of the halloween ones i did. they are going to the Holiday Boutique sale that is coming up in a few weeks.

i love the mix of all the papers together. probably my favorite part of doing the trays is picking out the paper.

and here are a few of the fall trays i got done. next up are a couple batches of christmas trays. with three shows in three months i still have a bunch of trays to get done. and speaking of trays, i better get back in that organized studio and get to work. i'll post more fun things in the next day or so. as always, thanks for checking out my blog!

pumpkins and paper

wow, what a gorgeous day outside today! i went out to take these photos and can not believe how perfect it is out, it's 77 and sunny. yesterday i noticed my window boxes were looking pretty shabby. so i decided to pull the pumpkins and fall flowers out of the attic. all spring and summer i have real flowers in my window boxes. but come fall, real pumpkins are just too heavy and i kind of get tired of bucking up for flowers for the window boxes. so i go with artificial....and it allows me to use them over each year and save money that way. i'm back to a wreath on the front door. i tucked this skeleton head in for now and after halloween i'll just take him out and continue to have the wreath through the fall. unless i come up with another idea. is it really a gift to be creative?? sometimes i just wish i could turn my creative brain off.....
i was up until 2am last night trying to organize my messy studio. i've got two shows coming up, one in October and the big Gift Gallery in November. one would think that i'd have most of my trays done by now. oh no, not me. i'm what they call a procrastinator. i always wait until the last minute, i always have. why would i change now? my mom is the same way, i must have gotten it from her. so last night i organized a bunch of trays and pulled some papers. today i'm starting with trays for this batch of paper. some halloween and fall papers...i love all of them and can't wait to see them in the finished stage. i'll work on a christmas batch next.

so as much as i would love to take this afternoon and lounge one last time by the pool (and look at the pile of magazines i have stacking up) i'm heading out to the garage to paint trays. my goal is to get a dozen painted today so tomorrow i can get the paper in them, and then start the sealing process. i'm shooting for 100 trays again this year for the Gift Gallery (more about that later!) so i guess i better get to it.

matthew mead book now on news stands

oh my! if halloween is one of your favorite holidays, you will absolutely love this new book. the matthew mead halloween book is loaded with so many great ideas. he also has fantastic templates to download.

i purchased my copy at my local grocery store. check your local news stands for this great book and get ready for halloween! you can also check out his website at http://www.matthewmeadstyle.com/index.php?option=com_flippingbook&Itemid=142

hurry....before they are gone!

no tricks, just treats

we've been having some cool fall weather here lately. the mums are out, the halloween decorations are out and even the halloween candy is out! today i needed to take a break from designing trays and wanted to do a little creative project. so i came up with this cute idea. i love halloween and i love giving the trick-or treaters a little something special. last year i did a black and white theme and loved it, so decided to continue on this year with the same color scheme. last year i made halloween crackers and all the kids loved them. i think they will equally like this years treats.

i purchased glassine envelopes from my local Paper Source. with my computer i created the october 31 sign using a business card template. fill the envelopes with candy and simply staple, with the sign, to seal the envelope. so easy and so cute.

these will become part of my halloween decor, when i get around to getting it put out in the next couple of weeks. another benefit to packaging up treats for the ghosts and goblins is so that i don't have a bowl of candy sitting there.....i would eat it all!

front door decor

oh how i'm a freak for change. i was growing tired of the wreath on the front door, it's the same wreath that's been on the front door for 3 summers. so i tapped into my studio full of stuff and created something new. i don't often see picture frames hanging on front doors, so this unique idea suits me just fine. i might even just swap out the bird for a witch or bat at halloween.
i just love how it turned out. i added painted polka dots to a photo frame, stamped the photo mat, a page from a dictionary (free from a garage sale this summer...score!) and a black bird that i cut from cardstock. some black ribbon and a handy dandy staple gun to attach it as a hanger and ta-da! this really only took me 10 minutes + time for the polka dots to dry.
i'd love to hear from you....leave me a comment on this post and tell me what hangs on your front door.

table for two

with M in school, C and i have been doing some special things. for example this day we had our breakfast at the coffee table. C usually sits in his high chair and he thought this was pretty cool. he keeps asking for his big brother and is so excited when we go to pick him up at school. i also miss M when he's at school but am enjoying the one on one time with C until he goes to preschool next year. oh how i wish they could just stay babies forever.

first day of school

every year, on the first day of school, we take a photo in front of our house. it's fun to see how big he's grown and how the landscape has grown. last year M did half day kindergarten and this year he'll be in school all day. i can't believe i have a first grader on my hands! ;) he went until 12:30pm last thursday and friday and today he bounced out of bed and said "first day of all day school!" last week he told me that "first grade is awesome!" and he was excited to have music and gym class today. i still have C at home with me, but the house sure seems a little quiet today. C and i have been on our morning walk, chatted with neighbors, played outside and i even made 3 of the 4 calls i needed to make today. i feel like i've gotten so much done this morning, including a couple loads of laundry....and it's just 11:24am. C will take an afternoon nap so i'll have until 3pm to "work". i've committed myself to getting to work on trays for the upcoming (November) gift gallery. it will be here before i know it. for all of you with kiddos in school i hope your first day was a good one.

turning two

mr. C recently turned two. and he's reminding us daily that he is by saying things like "i do it" and "i two, i a big boy". and with a big brother to mimic it sure seems like he grew up a lot faster. he is so not a baby any more and tries to do everything that big brother does. i thought it would be fun to have a little photo shoot with him. the second shot is a result of me saying "hold your number up". he was flailing it around and when i said hold it up, he literally held it up ....up high. too funny. his party will be this weekend, i will take and post photos of that later. all he wanted for his birthday was cupcakes and balloons....so happy with just the simplest of things. happy birthday C....XOXO

for the love of trains

we recently took a trip to Iowa to visit grandparents and go to the state fair. i left my camera in the car so i didn't get any photos at the fair. before leaving the grandparents house the next day we headed to a local park. upon leaving the park M heard a train whistle and the search was on.
we found the train and got there just in time to watch a few train cars go by. after the train passed i jumped at the opportunity to get some photos of M walking the tracks. He loves trains! he can sit for hours flipping through a train magazine. so once i promised that "we'd know if another train was coming and i'd tell him to get off the track" he decided it was ok to start walking.
after balancing on the rails he said he "couldn't believe that the train wheels could actually fit on that small, skinny rail".

i love when i take a few minutes to experience these opportunities. i love it even more when i have the camera with me! i think he could have hung out here all day. that is until the next train came.

4 days in Guatemala City to pick up the most precious package

i took a little much needed vacation from the computer and i also took a trip. remember the baby shower that i hosted awhile back? it was for my dear friend C who was anxiously awaiting to adopt her daughter from Guatemala. well she finally got the call to go and get her! (i still get chills when I think of her getting that call) and she asked me to come along with her. so with the help of my dear husband, sister and mom my boys were cared for so that i could go on this special trip. we flew into Guatemala City and an hour later C had baby A in her arms. the next few days we had visits with the embassy to wrap up all the legal paperwork. but we also ate at great restaurants and drove to Antigua which is where most of the photos below are from.

Antigua Guatemala may be the most outstanding and best-preserved colonial city in Spanish America. The Spanish Colonial style permeates every part of the town: its houses, churches, squares, parks and ruins, also its traditions and folklore as well. Antigua is a city of charm and color where you can see and buy an overwhelming variety of attractive, handmade products that honor the traditions of generations of artisans.


this was a carving hanging on a wall in a hotel. i loved seeing all the wood furniture and wished i could have come home with some of it.

this was a wall made out of old doors. i loved the idea of it as well as the colors.

a sweet statue out in the garden of a hotel.

the garden was so quiet and serene. and then we saw this splash of color. a small market with locals selling hand crafted items. i love all the color the locals use.

i thought this was the coolest piece of art. the bottom section made out of flat metal strips represents the skirt, and the glass piece on top is the body. what an incredible sculpture, this photo does not do it justice.

the grounds at this hotel were amazing. so tasteful and so simple. like this concrete bowl of water with rose petals floating in it.

walking down the street we saw this school. i peaked in the window and saw these children hard at work. love their wood tables and chairs. some saw me and waved. wish i could have gone in and observed them for a couple of hours.

snapped this photo of a priest walking down the street. i love his attire as well as the contrast of yellow and white on the wall of the building. the cobblestone street also caught my attention.

ruins of an old church. still so beautiful.

this photo came out a little fuzzy (darn it). i liked the colors and natural distressing of the buildings. and look closely, you can see a woman with a basket on her head.

we had local Guatemalan food for lunch. served with rice and vegetables it was really good.

one of my favorite photos. i just love the simplicity of laundry hanging on the line. something, no matter what culture you come from, we all have in common.

and last but certainly not least! the reason for the trip....sweet, darling, oh so adorable baby A. she is such a good girl and i love when she wrinkles her nose up when she smiles at me.

i feel blessed to have C as such a good friend. And now baby A....someone for me to buy pink things for! this was such a fantastic trip. i am so glad that all the stars lined up to make the trip possible and i can't express how happy and proud i am of my friend C. thanks so much for asking me to come with you, it was a trip that i will never forget. congrats on miss A and welcome to the mommy club!

a little time off

i'm taking a little "vacation" from the computer. if you're interested in one of the trays i just put out in the shop just send me an email. i'll be back soon! ;)

store update

i finally finished the batch of summer trays i was working on. i can't believe it took me a month to get these done! with swim lessons and just trying to enjoy a casual summer i've been a slow poke when it comes to 'work'.
i'll be adding these five beautiful trays to my shop later tonight.
i love these trays displayed all together. such bright and fun colors and patterns. sure to look good for all the summer entertaining you'll do. if you see one you like be sure and check out my shop later today. these are one of a kind and i do not make duplicates.
cheers to summer living!