Handmade in Vegas Etsy Team and .....

...my 100th post!!! Woo hooo!!

Plenty to celebrate today. As most of you who regularly read my blog will know, I closed my Etsy shop for about 6 months during which I had to kind of get my head in order, being unemployed and all. It was affecting my creativity. Now I'm back on Etsy and found that during my time away an Etsy Team for Las Vegas finally became a reality. Okay so I could have got off my backside and done something to kick-start such a team but I readily admit it - I'm not an organizer. Needless to say, I am now a member and am attending my first meeting on Thursday night. It was thrown together at short notice so I'm sure there won't be a lot of other members that can make it but it will be great to meet other Etsians here in Vegas. In celebration of my new membership in this great Team, I'm going to share a few items from a few of the other team members.

Mini Sugar Cookies (YUMMMM) - Cap and Kat Cookies

Sterling Silver and Red Crystal Bracelet - Carolyn's Jewelry

Party Time Business Card Holder - Art Box Creations

Blue Scented Mandala Pillar Candle - Vegas Henna

Double Sided Textured Flower Beads - Aquariart

That business card holder has my name on it, LOVE the colors! I just gained 5 pounds looking at the cookies. Our tag to find all team member is madeinvegas team. When you get a minute, check us all out. Of course, I would be remiss to not include a link to the team blog which is here. I'm really looking forward to being a part of this team and being able to contribute as well.

Not a bad way to celebrate my 100th post!

Viva Las Vegas?

For those of you who have never been to Las Vegas or have only visited the Strip, here is the other side of Sin City. The side that has no neon lights or showgirls. I had a purpose today, to go to Red Rock Canyon to shoot some photos for a project. Not that I minded. This is one place I can go to over and over again. I have to admit it though, I'm a "city" girl. I feel most at home in somewhere like London or New York. Despite that, I thoroughly appreciate nature and Red Rock Canyon is a great place to do it. Best part is it's only about a 30 minute drive from the Strip, depending on our wonderful traffic here.

Today, I only went to the entrance and parked the car to take these photos but you can go on a drive through and even hike there. The last few times that my mother-in-law has visited from England we have taken her there. As someone who grew up on Westerns she is fascinated by the desert landscape. She was 80 years old on her last visit and to watch her looking at this stunning landscape is so rewarding. It doesn't cost much for the drive ($5US I think) but no matter the price it is something that everyone should do if they visit Las Vegas for more than a weekend. Just make sure if you do it in the height of summer bring PLENTY of water. When it's 110 on the Strip it's probably about 125 out there. If you are interested then check out the site with all the information http://www.redrockcanyonlv.org/, explains it much better than I can. I just wanted to share this one stunning part of this city.