Breckenridge Lodging

Time flies and it seems like the older we get (of course I'm not referring to myself) the faster it goes.  We're all looking so forward to this year's Duell Reunion!!

If you haven't booked your accommodations yet, don't worry.

If you've heard about Groupon, Living Social, etc... they post deals regularly for mountain towns.  As a matter of fact, today, SniqueAway posted a great deal for $99/night.  Check out the details here:  Park Avenue Lofts - Breckenridge, CO. 

The lofts look amazing!  These deals come and go quickly so be sure to check it out.

Paper Beading

I'll admit I'm not the biggest wearer of jewelry (other than earrings), but when I recently

took a wire wrapped beading class, the wheels in my brain started to turn.

I bought some tools

Fruit and Vegetable Carving

I took a trip to the Dominican Republic in 2010 and we were treated to a fruit and vegetable carving demonstration by the pool.  It piqued my interest.

Over the Summer, my friend Jean, who used to own her own craft store,

taught our craft group how to carve fruit and vegetable into fun shapes.

While we're having fun munching on BBQ, we learned how to dazzle our

friends and family with simple and fun fruit and vegetable carving techniques.

Supplies Required:

Paring knife (sharp)

Cutting board

Tooth picks (plain)

Apron to wear, if necessary

1 small melon (cantaloupe, honey dew or mini watermelon)

1 green pepper

1 large red tomato

1 large cucumber

Using a paring knife, we ended up making the cutest little mice.

and palm trees...

and fish...

and finally, a tomato ribbon rose.

By the end of the evening, we had created our own little masterpieces.

It was great fun and now we have the tools that will allow us all to impress

our friends and family at our next barbeque or pot luck.

Fall Family Portraits

I've never claimed to be a photographer, but I've received enough compliments throughout the years that I've decided to see if I was able to make a go of it.  I have yet to reach that point, but have had a few moments of brialliance along the way.

One of first portrait sessions was of my sister and her family.  They were looking for some family portraits and since I was close (and FREE), they asked me if I wouldn't mind taking them.  Lucky for us, they had a field located directly behind their house and it was there that we spent some time playing around with poses.

I'm happy to say that they turned out well enough to be used on the family Christmas card.  Who knows, maybe if I put a little effort into it, I might be able to do some really incredible things.

Alcohol Ink Candle Holder

OK, I admit it.  I'm addicted to alcohol inks.  They are so fun to play with!  I recently made some Hand-Stamped Tile Coasters (see previous post) using alcohol inks and fell in love with them!  Because they worked so well on the tumbled marble, I wanted to see how they would work on glass. 

The first chance I had, I went to the Dollar Store by my house and bought a pretty, glass vase for $1.00.  You can't beat that price!

Once I got home, I looked at the different colors of alcohol inks I had and wanted to grab some of the colors that would go well with the decor in my living room, which happen to be earth tones.  I finally decided on caramel, cranberry and butterscotch.

I liberally coated my applicator with the ink and then proceeded to dab the ink onto the vase in a random pattern.  I repeated this process with each color until the vase was completely covered.

I really liked how the vase turned out and was playing around with it, trying to find the perfect flowers to go in it when I had an epiphany.  About two months ago, I attended a candle party and bought some tealight candles.  I took one of the tealights and put into the base of the base and wouldn't you know it...  My pretty little vase turned into a beautiful candle holder!

No Sew Tutu

I have a niece.....  Do I need say more?  For years, I had only nephews and though I love them dearly, they're just not "girly".  When my sister found out she was pregnant with a girl I was SOOOOO excited and my mind went into overdrive with all the possibilities of things I could make for her.

Once my mind finally settled, I decided that I wanted to make her a tutu.  A tutu?  How the heck was I going to make a tutu?!?!  To be honest, I'd never really looked at a tutu up close, but how hard could it be?  As it turns out, not hard at all.

First, I scoured the web for tutorials and found one that gave me confidence to go out and take my try at making one on my own.

I decided that I wanted to make a pink, white and green tutu.  With all the confidence I could muster, I went into my local craft store and headed straight for the tulle.  I bought a yard of each and following the video step by step, desgined my masterpiece.  It took me about 20 minutes from start to finish (can you believe it??)  You can't really tell, but I packed the the ribbon I used as a waistband with as many strips of tulle as I could get.

To be honest, it ended up being a behemoth of a tutu, but not wanting to be deterred, I shipped it to my sister.  Much to my suprise, it was an instant hit with my neice (and sister).  When the time rolled around for her one-year old photos to be taken, the tutu was front and center as you can see by the photo above.

Well, my neice just turned three years old and I decided that I was ready to tackle another tutu.  This time I decided to go BIG or go HOME.  I made it using a rainbow of colors: red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise and purple.  The colors are absolutely gorgeous and I got a fantastic deal on the tulle!

I wanted to whip this one out quickly and wasn't as careful with the cutting as I should have been, but to be honest, you can't tell.  Once again, I packed the strips of tulle closely together and repeated the colors twice.  As you can see on the waist band, I used about 10 strips of tulle for each color and the finished tutu is so fun. 

I loved my first tutu, but the rainbow colors just spoke to my heart. I kept it for a couple of months before I sent it on to be loved by my neice.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park is one of my favorite places in the world to be and I live within an hour of the park. 

Does that make me lucky? You bet it does!!! 

It sits just outside of Estes Park, Colorado and offers limitless opportunities for the adventurous. 

Whether you like to hike, bike or camp, you're in the perfect place. 

Do you like Winter activities?  Not to worry, RMNP offers snow showshoeing and cross country skiing.  

Regardless of when you visit, you're sure to come across some sort of wildlife.  However, you're mostly likey to run across elk and deer.  Every now and then you'll also apt to run into moose, big horn sheep and even coyotes and eagles.

It's a pleasant reminder that the world is a beautiful place.