As a child I was fortunate enough to travel to a lot of wonderful places and countries.  I love traveling and seeing new cultures, tasting new foods and sightseeing.

Then I bought a store and traveling for me, apart from trade shows, ceased.

So I jumped on the chance to teach on a Mixed Media Cruise last year.  Cheryl Mezzetti asked me to co-teach with her aboard the Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas. We traveled to St. Thomas. St. Marteen, and Coco Cay in the Bahama’s.  We also had three days at sea, which is when we taught classes.

The first class I taught was an Art Journal that could be used as a photo album, travel journal or technique journal.  There were different techniques used on each page.  Unfortunately I still have to complete the interior of my own album with the souvenir’s I collected.

The other class I taught was this mixed media frame that incorporated a lot of different techniques.  I gave each student a small bag to collect some sand from their favorite port and we sealed it with wax inside the bottle.  This project was so much fun to design.  That is my sister and her new husband you see in the frame.

A close up of the sand in the bottle.

I think we each used a bottle of gesso and molding paste on these two projects (two of my favorite products).

Some of my customers traveled with us and it was fun to connect with them outside of the store on a more personal level.  We had a great time, lots of laughter and creativity, although I can’t go into details because I promised to keep some secrets but there was a horrific accident involving a jelly donut and an abandoned daughter. . . .

Michelle