what i'm thankful for & a giveaway!

i love this time of year. the time between halloween and christmas. the time, that for some reason, gets a little bit forgotten. it makes me crazy that christmas music is already playing on the radio and the stores are all decked out for the holidays. even santa clocked in early this year, we saw him at the mall last night! i have fond memories of my childhood and this time of year. a big thanksgiving meal and then we'd hit the country club plaza to watch the lights come on. and the day after thanksgiving, we would put up our christmas tree. i carry this tradition on with my own family now. i will post photos of some of my autumn decor in another post this week but let's get to the fun part of this post............ a giveaway!


what am i thankful for? let me count the ways! one thing i am REALLY thankful for this year are my blog readers. i have been blogging for 14 months now and still can't get over the fact that people actually read what i write. some even leave comments! i am thankful for all of you blog stalkers out there too! ;) so i decided to give this tray away. here are the rules:

** leave a comment and tell me what YOU are thankful for this year,

**be sure that you also leave me your email address in the comment.

i will close the giveaway at midnight CST on wednesday, november 19th.

random drawing will decide the winner and i will announce it by noon on thursday. the tray you see above is the tray you will win. no asking to swap afterwards please.

GOOD LUCK! and thank you again for checking out my blog!

The winner is: KIM! Thanks to those that played along. You all are lucky 'winners' in that you have so much to be thankful for!

some time in the kitchen

i love to bake on cloudy overcast days. today is one of them. i decided on a yummy pumpkin spice bread, with added chocolate chips. because everything is better with chocolate added to it. WOW does our house smell good now....come on over for a slice! if you ask me there is nothing better than kids helping in the kitchen. especially boys....i just know their wives are going to thank me some day. C helped me by pouring in the ingredients and watching it bake in the oven. here are some photos of our slow, take it easy morning. cheers to a good weekend.

another good sale

whew! i am finally coming up for air. what a weekend! although my sales were down from last year saturday was a fun day. i still sold quite a few trays but the best part was all the people that i met. so many people that follow my blog stopped by. also people that had seen me in the KC Star article stopped by. so many nice things were said about my trays, my set up, my blog, i could hardly take it all in. thank you to all of you that stopped by to just say hello and thank you to those that bought trays, for themselves and for gifts. AND a huge thanks to my parents and husband for helping with the boys, use of my moms truck and helping me load and set up. i could not have done it without you.

my set up was pretty much the same set up i used last year. mainly because i ran out of time to recreate something totally new. this set up also works. it allows me to get a bunch of trays out so that buyers have many choices to pick from.

i use a bunch of vintage suitcases because i love them and because they hold several trays. it also allows me to gain some height in my space. 10x10 just isn't very big.

the paper cones were a big hit and they looked pretty and festive in the wire rack that i used. this rack was a garage sale find over the summer. i was thrilled when i saw it and when i asked the price i gasped......$1 dollar please she said. yippee! ;)

another angle of all the trays i had out on display. my large gift tags usually sell like crazy. but this year....didn't sell one! all of the 'believe' garland sold and quickly. you just never know what is going to sell.

at the last minute on friday, prior to hauling everything up for set up, i decided to stencil the back of this box. this side of my booth was on an aisle and i thought what better way to advertise my booth than 'tray bella' in big letters. i used my computer and a font called 'steamer' to make my own stencil. i simply printed them out on copy paper, quickly cut them out with a craft knife and then using black paint stenciled them on the box. when dry i lightly sanded over it. love how it turned out.

a long, busy, fun, day. mike came up with the kids early in the day to see me. i was glad that he did so that he can see what i do is 'real'. he said he was impressed and proud....*swak* thanks honey! then when i came home, this was sitting at my curb! M had brought his wood chair out, and was selling some of his toys. a budding entrepreneur! i am so proud of him when he comes up with these ideas. but most proud that he had collect his items to sell and was selling them on ....... a tray! even a 6 year old can figure out a use for a tray. and if you've got a use for a tray you're in luck....i have one more sale coming up on dec. 2 & 3. hope to see you there!

let there be trays and some fun paper crafts

i am finishing up the last batch of trays today. i just need to get the handles on a few of them, tag and price and they'll be done. whew, 87 trays! this will get me through the show this weekend and i'll be back in my studio on monday slaving away on more trays for the december show. yes, i am exhausted. but at my show on saturday i will, once again, be on a huge high as people buy my product. it still happily amazes me that i am able to create something that others find great joy in. i love when someone selects a tray for a friend, sister, ect. and knows that it will make the most perfect gift for them. i love to hear the story and love that my trays are going to good homes. because, yes, i get attached to each and every one. they are all my favorites! after all, i would never sell something that i didn't like myself. in addition to trays i have been busy also making some fun paper crafts. i love, love, love paper and like to have some smalls available at the shows for those that maybe don't want to buy a tray. so i created these beautiful paper cones. they are sold empty which allows you to fill them with sweets or even a small gift. they would also be so beautiful as place cards for a holiday table. just love them and will probably have to make more for myself!

these large gift tags have always been big sellers at my shows. they are simple but really look beautiful when tied onto a package. and who doesn't love getting a beautiful package?! i really like this easy display too. and as it has been sitting on my dining room table i have decided to use this as a centerpiece after the show. i thought we could write what we are thankful for on the tags and then read them at thanksgiving. easy, fun, meaningful and thrifty!

simple paper garlands that spell out b-e-l-i-e-v-e. each letter has been stitched on...i love sewing on paper! try it! these are fun to hang on your mantle or shelf, across a window or in your children's room to add a little holiday flare.

and because i think it is all about the packaging, i have packaged them up like this.

i have started setting up my booth in my garage as set up for the show is friday night. i've got to make sure that i have everything that i need. i even take photos of my set up in the garage, print them out and that becomes my planogram the night of set up. it really helps and it makes setting up so much quicker. this will be my last post until after the show on saturday. (unless i can squeeze in one with photos of my booth friday night). thanks to those that have sent good luck wishes my way for a successful show!

a flattering week

i am on such a high.....from all the compliments! last wednesday i was featured in my local newspaper by, the ever so sweet, mary pepitone. she wrote such a beautiful article about my love of baking cupcakes, decorating and about tray bella. i received so many nice comments and even heard from friends i had lost touch with. you can read the complete story here : http://www.kansascity.com/819/story/861459.html

also this week i was recognized by joanne over at my little cottage in the making. she recognized me with the lovely lady award for "giving many great decorating and crafting ideas" here on my blog. people in blogland are so nice. i have enjoyed 'meeting' so many wonderful, talented, creative women in the past year.

thank you joanne for creating a beautiful award and for picking me as one of your lovely ladies! i am truly humbled.

AND sandi over at the whistlestop cafe does a centerpiece of the month category and picked my halloween decorations as a winner. this is the second time she's hunted me down and picked me. thank you sandi for choosing me again for this award...i am flattered!

these compliments have come at a great time...they have kept me going during this crazy busy week. thanks to everyone that has left me comments, emails and compliments you have made my week!

election day

i voted today, for the first time.....ever! i did it for my children and for my country.
did you vote today?

halloween

what a week last week was. i'm still making trays for the upcoming gift gallery so i've had some really late nights. i'm burning the candle at both ends, but that's how things operate around here. i did manage to get M his cowboy costume. in a previous post i mentioned that he became unraveled as a mummy and didn't want to be that anymore. so i found a cowboy costume that came complete with a vest, chaps, and a hat that was too small. luckily hats are plentiful at our house and we had another cowboy hat that fit him. i embellished his vest with fringe and we tied a rope onto his belt loop. cowboy boots at a bargain price at walmart completed the costume. here he is, at school, waiting for the parade to start. he looks like he's gushing at the girl that sits across from him. this photo cracks me up!

my motley crew trick or treating at daddy's office. yay! daddy finally made it out on my blog. ;) tons of candy and always a fun day at the office.

pizza for dinner and then they were off for more trick or treating. i can't believe how much candy they brought home. i've got to find a place, quickly! to donate this or else i'll be packing on those 15 pounds i've lost since june! the halloween decorations are still up and i need to get them down and enjoy the serenity that thankgiving brings. but before i can do that i have to get my trays done for the show. saturday will be here before i know it. i've also been working on some other fun smalls to have at the show. i'll photograph and post them soon.

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.