Monday, July 14, 2014

A Tale of Two Shoes & Las Vegas pics

Hello, friends!  It's been a while since I sat at this keyboard to blog.  There were many posts scheduled ahead of time lately, and now I am coming to you 'live' for a change.  =D  At the end of this post, I'm sharing some pics from our recent Las Vegas vacation, but first, I'll start with the cards and a big THANK YOU to my new subscribers!  I am delighted that you like my stuff enough to sign on, and hope I will continue to inspire you.
Long post alert -- I am feeling very chatty today and have many photos to share!
A while back, my friend Rebecca sent me a whole bunch of goodies, just because, and the Stampin' Up! set, Fabulous You, was in the box.  Fiiiiiinally, I inked up this adorable shoe and started with a muted color scheme.  I outlined the butterflies and the shoe with W01 and W00 Copic markers to give a subtle shadow.


(here's that box of goodies -- honestly, it was like Christmas morning! Rebecca, thank you again!)


After a pastel version, I pumped up the colors.


Entering the above card at CASology:  'Glow'.  These colors are so bright I can see the Chiquita Banana lady wanting to wear it!

photo credit

I learned how to merge two pictures with my photo-editing software (GIMP - it's very powerful, and it's free), so I could see the two shoes side-by-side.  It looks like I just sat the cards together in one pic, doesn't it?  happy dance!


Our trip to Vegas was fun.  That is truly a city that never sleeps!  We're not gamblers, really, but took in some shows and a trip to the Grand Canyon.  Hope you enjoy these pics:

Family selfie, first night in Las Vegas.

We saw an amazing show by David Copperfield.  I didn't know that he is from New Jersey, too!

We stayed at the BEAUTIFUL Venetian hotel.

Venetian hallway.

Amazing gilt work and frescoes lined the ceilings.


I never tired of seeing the beauty in our hotel.


Venetian hotel lobby.

Even the pools at our hotel were amazing.  This one looks like an ancient Roman garden.


My sister-in-law is really into succulent plants, so I took this shot for her.



This is High Roller, a reaaaally big Ferris wheel that we could see from our hotel room window.  We did not go on it, because a couple of us are quite unhappy with heights.  (me being one of them!)

Inside the Venetian are shops that make you feel as if you are outdoors, but all in air-conditioned comfort.  We ate lunch at Canonita.  Yummy, yummy fish tacos and fantastic spicy salsa.

There's a gondola ride inside the hotel, and another outside.  This one is indoors.

We ate another lunch at Otto, owned by chefs Mario Battali and Joe Bastianich. Oh, my goodness, the food was divine!

One night, we took the monorail to the Paris hotel for dinner.  We did not go up into the Eiffel Tower:  it was late, we were still on East Coast time, and had been running all day.  Oh, and the line to go up into the tower was pretty long.


From a gift shop where Bally's meets Paris:  yes folks, you can own your own jewel-studded hamburger.  (!)

The Strip is really something to see at night, with all those lights.

Hubby and I in front of the Hoover Dam.  We stopped for 20 minutes on our bus tour to the Grand Canyon.  

We passed through a 'forest' of Joshua trees.  These looked like cactuses to me, but they are trees.  If you cut into a trunk, you will not see rings like with average trees.  The way to roughly determine how old each one is:  count the branches and multiply by 10.

Let me tell you folks, even dry heat, at these temps, is HOT!! LOL

Can you see the eagle, with its wings outstretched, in this rock formation?  We visited the west side of the Grand Canyon, where the Skywalk bridge is located.  It is located on the land of the Hualapai Native Americans.

The red dirt and rocks remind me of Kauai, Hawaii.

Can you see a white speck on the top of that one rock pile?  That's my husband, daredevil that he is.

There's water down there - the Colorado river - but it looks almost the same color as the rocks surrounding it.

These black birds (ravens?) rested in a tree on the very edge of the cliff.   I used my camera zoom to get this pic.  Ain't no way I'm going any closer to the edge!  It makes my stomach flip just thinking about it.  ;)  The birds sat with their mouths open.  I'm guessing it's how they perspire.

Here's the Skywalk Bridge, hanging 4,000 feet above the base of the Grand Canyon.  Hubby is in the white shirt with his arms raised.  It has a clear glass floor so you can see to the bottom.  Um, no thanks.

Sitting with his booties on, 4,000 feet on top of the Canyon.


The Bellagio hotel, with the fountain show beginning.

Inside the Bellagio hotel lobby, a ceiling full of glass poppies.

The Bellagio has BEAUTIFUL gardens indoors.  I spied these hydrangeas.  Love!

A large hand, made from greenery.

A whimsical, larger-than-life garden tool and poppy.

A lighted obelisk.

A cute snail, covered with flowers.

Inside the Bellagio, a French pastry shop features a train covered entirely in candy.

From the Bellagio, it was another great shot of the Eiffel Tower in its entirety.

At Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, I met a really handsome young man named Elvis Presley.  ;-)
Thank you so much for your visit, and letting me share my vacation pics!



Stamps: Fabulous You - SU; 'for you' - Cherish - Inspired By Stamping Paper: white - PTI; Summer Sun - SU Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko Accessories & Tools: Copic markers; circle , corner rounder punches

16 comments:

Marisa said...

Great shoe and love the two contrasting colour combos - well done on learning the merge on GIMP :) Looks like you had an amazing time in Vegas too! I loooved the Grand Canyon - a breath taking visual indeed!

Jennifer said...

Love the cards! That shoe stamp is so pretty. Your trip to Vegas looked like so much fun! I was there for a weekend getaway recently...it was a slight blur LOL!

Judy1223 said...

Colleen, your shoe cards are fabulous and I am intrigued by your vacation photos because we are doing the exact same trip later this summer!!! Thanks so much for sharing! And thanks for playing along at CASology!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful show stamp, great cards!! My daughter and I went to Vegas and walked the whole strip in three days...thats hotels and all....My feet have never been the same lol!! Looks like a blast!!!

Joyce said...

What a fun set of shoe cards. thanks so much for playing along at CASology this week.

Lisa Elton said...

LOVE that you made two versions of the shoe Colleen, both are so pretty! FABULOUS photos, looks like a wonderful vacation. And look at you with your new BFF Elvis...too cute!!

Vicki Dutcher said...

Awesome bright shoe! I am partial to bright colors -- fun gift box [WOW] - and you captured Vegas beautifully!

Julie Tucker-Wolek said...

Love love love love those cards! The shoes are so FUN!!! And NOW you know what I LIVE in every.single.day!! Don't you just love the DRY heat!! LOL!! I am in Phoenix, and I think it was 111 today!! LOL!! I had to close my eyes at the conservatory photos in the Bellagio ... that is my all time fave place in Vegas and we are gonna be there next week... so I can't look at those ones!!!! MY EYES!! LOL!! :)

Jessi Fogan said...

Those are fantastic photos! Vegas has got so much more to do besides gamble :) Your husband would have had me throwing up with a few of those stunts - yikes! UGH. Glass floor, no thanks.
Love those shoes - both of them are so beautiful I can't even pick a fave!

Bonnie said...

What fun with those delightful shoes! And thanks for sharing your vacation. It looks like a grand time!

Paperesse said...

Great cards AND great pics! Looks like you all had a great time. My hubby and I aren't gamblers either, but we love Vegas and have been twice. There's so much to do other than gamble,isn't there?! And the Venetian? It is awesome, like the really thing, only cleaner!

Leslie Miller said...

Oh, my gosh, this shoe is fabulous any which way you color it, but I especially love the bright colors. Both are show stoppers against the crisp white. What beautiful cards! Your vacation pics are awesome! We've spent a couple of vacations in canyon country and I'm always agog at the scenery. So many colorful manmade sight to see in Vegas, too. Thanks for sharing!

Stella said...

You photos are amazing; I already spotted a few on Facebook :) and I never ever get tired of looking at photos like these:). I would not have gone into that wheel too I would stay on the ground too:)
Las vegas . the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam are on my wishlist. Maybe one day.. Good to hear you had a wonderful time there!
Your card is lovely; that really is one amazing box of goodies!
XXX

Sophie said...

Oh, Colleen...
was für ein fantastischer Urlaub.
Die vielen herrlichen Fotos.
Eine beeindruckende Landschaft, wunderschön.
Und die Stadt mit den vielen Sehenswürdigkeiten...
Und dann steht eine schöne Frau direkt neben Elvis :-)
Da bin ich doch etwas neidisch :-)

Herzliche Grüße
und danke für die lieben Kommentare auf meinem Blog.
Sophie xx

nwilliams6 said...

Great cards Colleen - love the more colorful one the best. But I totally love your Las Vegas pictures. I love Las Vegas and the hotel you stayed at is my fav! You and Elvis look awesome together and you have one brave hubby! TFS! Hugz!

walchowDesign said...

Elegant shoes you made, Colleen!

Aww.... those vacation photos are so beautiful and reminded me of my trip back in 2005! I can imagine how much you enjoyed them as much as I did! Thank for sharing!

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