Happy Holidays

Wishing you all a wonderful Holiday season!
See you in the New Year!! ♥

Vegas Baby!

As a Christmas present to ourselves, we took a trip to Las Vegas with a group of friends! We all went to the Brooks & Dunn concert, and the National Rodeo Finals. We also took in a Rodney Carrington comedy show and made a trip to the Neon Museum. It's been about 15 years since our last trip to Vegas. Wow, it has changed!!

We aren't gamblers, so we spent every waking moment on the go, seeing the sites, enjoying the architecture and people watching.

Las Vegas is like the world’s biggest playground where anyone can find excitement and entertainment!




All of the casinos were beautifully decorated for Christmas!


Stunning architecture was everywhere!




The new City Center Las Vegas had it's grand opening while we were there. It's a huge complex that offers a collection of spectacular hotels and residences, sensational spas, astonishing dining and extraordinary shopping. With a total cost of approximately $11 billion, City Center is the largest privately financed development in the United States. The architecture is very modern and unlike anything in Vegas! There was lots of red carpet hoopla....so we were constantly on celeb-watch!

Our trip to the Neon Museum was great! The Neon Museum was established in 1996 to collect, preserve and exhibit neon signs, the classic Las Vegas art form. More than 150 signs in the collection can be used to tell a unique story about who created it, what inspired it, where and when it was made, and how it fits into the development of Las Vegas and its rich history. Changes and trends in design and technology are also illustrated in the pieces that range from the 1930s to the present day.






Sammy Hagar was in town playing three shows a day at his CaboWabo cantina. The Rock & Roll Marathon took place despite freezing cold temps. For the first time in Vegas history, the entire Strip was closed in both directions. Lucky for us we could watch it from our hotel room! It was so cold that the drinking water at the thirst/medical stations would freeze. Oh and of course Elvis lives on every street corner!!

We had a list of things to do & see and a week simply didn't give us enough time to do it all, so I guess we'll need to go back!! Yay!!

Winter 2009 Scrapbooking & Beyond

The Winter issue of Scrapbooking & Beyond is in the stores now!

I'm a little slow at getting this posted since we've been out of town. When I opened my box from the publisher, I was so delighted to see that my dear friend Liz Qualman was featured on the magazine cover!



This is the final installment of A Flourish for Every Season. The series was created using one major embellishment to represent each season. Flourishes of crystals, stitching, rub-ons and now paper. This is the layout I created for the winter edition using Basic Grey's Wassail collection.

My flourish was cut from Bazzill cardstock using my favorite Limited Edition QK die.

Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist on the journaling tag and Prima flower gives an aged appearance.

I painted naked chipboard alphabets with white paint, sanded the edges and coated with Glossy Accents. The ghost snowflakes I coated with Stickles for some sparkle and added tiny pearls to the centers.
It was such an honor to be part of this series. And I was privileged to share this honor with my very talented friends Gabrielle Pollacco, Liz Qualman, & Robbie Herring.

Merry Merry Christmas!!

Brrrrrrrr

It has been extremely cold for the past week and a half. Our highest temps have not even reached the freezing mark. Most days the highest temps have been in the teens and 20's and the nightly lows have dipped down to single digits! Yesterday morning it was only 5 degrees!! Brrrrr

Yesterday I took a hike up to some local water falls. I'd heard they were frozen and wanted to get a few shots. Being the ever ready girl scout that I am, I put on my Sorrels, bundled up in multiple layers, filled my backpack with extra clothes, juice & crackers and of course chem hand warmers, and off I went!

The river's water level is high from all the winter rains so the falls don't appear as tall as they are in the summer months. We used to spend every summer out here swimming and diving off the rocks. Now the area is gated off to keep vandals out.


The hike in is just under 3 miles, and of course 3 more miles hiking back out! I'm sore today, but the trek was definitely worth it!


Today a storm front is moving in and we are expecting a combination of snow, sleet and freezing rain!! Simply the worst combination ever!! So today I plan to study & work from home next to a nice warm fire!

I hope everyone is enjoying a warm & wonderful winter!!