We’re back from the International Fashion Doll Convention safe and as sound as we ever are. We had loads of fun, did some new things (slot tournament), met lots of nice people, shopped, and of course, bought lots of dolls and their accoutrements.
We drove to Las Vegas in the middle of an Earthly hot flash. When we got to St. George, UT at about 6pm, it was 107 °F. And yes, we could notice it, even though it was a dry heat. We stopped about in the middle of Utah because Kathy had a doll picture in mind, set at the Black Dragon Canyon viewing area. It’s a gorgeous place:
Kathy got her shot without too much difficulty. We admired the rock formations, and felt a little sorry for the lady sitting in the parking lot, in the sun, selling souvenirs. It was awfully hot, especially on the sidewalk and in the parking lot. We didn’t do any more walking around than we needed to, and then beat a hasty retreat to the air-conditioned car. After doing some more reading about the area, I wish it had been cooler so we could have visited the petroglyphs
After getting a room for the night, we went to supper in St. George, and passed through this fun traffic circle:
We love art in unexpected places, and traffic circles are the perfect place to see art in the round, so to speak.
Las Vegas is an easy drive from southwest Utah. We arrived early and after trying to check in early, (no dice), we got supplies (coffee!) and headed to our favorite Vegas destination:
Obviously, we were expected as we found this space in the parking lot:
Kathy’s car is the one in the shade, a rare commodity in Las Vegas parking lots. We knew it was going to be a good day since our parking karma was intact.
I wish I could think of something to frame in this poor thing:
Domed glass frames are kind of a cool way to display treasures. If you painted the frame, added new backing, and then put an interesting piece of jewelry in there, wouldn’t it look better? Of course, this only occurred to me as I write this, and the frame is 800 miles away in Nevada.
This cat bowl says it all:
The way some of them carry on about their empty food dishes, this is right on target. I don’t exempt dogs from this behavior, or myself, for that matter, but this was obviously a cat dish.
Speaking of dogs:
OMG, the owner of this did the right thing bringing it to a thrift store. Dachshunds are so cute; how could someone do this to them? I think that background looks like someone crinkled up plastic wrap and poured some two-part resin compound on it and let the whole mess dry. After tearing the plastic wrap off, they attempted to decorate it. Kathy has a friend who loves doxies, but she never even considered buying this for him.
This confused us:
We were trying to figure out what the creature was, when it occurred to us that it probably was a Minion. Seeing El Salvador written around the bottom clears up some of the confusion. It’s a Central American Minion, and they obviously wear different colored overalls so no one confuses them with the other Minions. /s
No one could miss these giant flowers:
But, we still liked them—the vase, not so much. The flowers look like they are made from some sort of paper or coarsely woven fabric. We thought that they were decorations in a restaurant or someone’s house who smoked. They had a bit of film on them.
We found a second Savers on Saturday. There were different kinds of things there, including this purse:
Purses are something that neither of us are short of. But, we still look at them everywhere we go. This one is so cute, but we just didn’t need it. Hope it found a good home.
This is a pretty terrifying decorative item:
I think it’s supposed to be one of those flying baby heads that you see in Renaissance art. I’m not sure what they call them since putto and cherubs have chubby male bodies. If anyone knows what art historians call them, drop us a comment. No matter what it’s called, this one’s creepy with a capital C.
Kathy found this vintage drink shaker and pounced:
Her dad services and sells fire extinguishers, and collects vintage extinguishers. This one is pretty cool and the rightmost picture admonishes hosts to put the “thirst extinguisher” in a convenient place. It is pretty darn cool, and will make a great present for him.
Back at the convention, we did some workshops and built some fun doll things:
We made a tiki bar, and it was pretty complex. Here is the demo without the roof which we will make at home. It was a pretty involved project. The second project was a record player (it was about two inches across) for Poppy Parker. It’s made of paper with fabric fused on the outside. It was very cleverly made by folding and gluing tabs to make the box. It comes with records and their sleeves.
We also went to the strip one evening and walked around before going to the Cosmopolitan:
The water show at the Bellagio always grabs our attention. We have gone to the Bellagio in the past to check out the flower and art exhibits, and ogle the Chihuly glass in the reception area. This year we wanted to look for Art-o-mats ($5 art dispensed from converted cigarette vending machines) at the Cosmopolitan. We found three Art-o-mats, but the machines hadn’t been stocked for a while, and we weren’t thrilled by what art was left.
While at the Cosmopolitan wandering around, we saw these dogs on the second floor. There were six of them grouped in a loose circle, and they all looked a little different:
I stood next to one, and they were taller than me. I thought they were charming and a little different from other statues you see in Vegas.
We always have fun in Vegas, but it doesn’t involve gambling, drinking, or carousing. Our fun is shopping, crafting, and dolls, just like at home, and we don’t think that news has to stay in Vegas.
Second Hand Roses 