No truer words were ever spoken - we even heard jokes about it from other pedestrians struggling along the endless sidewalks.

Our hotel is advertised as being one block from the convention center and one block off the “Strip”. Since we could see the Strip in the far distance, we didn’t even try that direction, but we proved time and again that the Convention Center was NOT one block away!

Why Are We Here?
Honestly, I don’t like Las Vegas. It’s a personal taste thing. I don’t have a taste for cigarette smoke, loud noises, gambling, neon, flashing lights, sirens, all night bars, or the world of faux. But, we were here for a higher purpose and had to look past all that. A word about why we were here will give you an idea of the approach we would take to the show, and why we chose to pay attention to the aspects we did.

My companion, Maribeth, is the daughter of my good friend and neighbor, Melinda Lysen, who could not come along because of other commitments. The three of us will open a gallery/artspace in Santa Fe this Spring. Not in Santa Fe proper, but in a village outside the city called Eldorado - where we live.

The gallery will be called “Muse” and we want it to be an inspiring place in which you can buy art, learn art in workshops, and find interesting and unusual “Art Parts” to include in your creations. This last is why we are in Las Vegas - to find the newest and most different components and techniques to fire the imaginations of our customers. We will only be noticing - and sharing - what’s really new and unique.

Here We Go. . .
The show is divided into sections for different interest areas. We chose to start in the General Crafts section, and work our way to the Scrapbooking and Paper Arts section later. It’s fun. You can tell the sections by the carpet colors. At the end of the first few aisles of General Crafts (green carpet), we found ourselves accidently in the Needlework section (blue carpet), and accidentally stumbled upon the first really exciting thing to be discovered this day. This is interesting from a cosmic perspective, since we would intentionally have avoided the Needlework section had we been paying attention - sewing, knitting etc. won’t be a part of the gallery. It just reminded us once again that we aren’t really in charge - and we like the magic of that.

Paintstiks, after drying for 24 hours, can be set on fabric by simply ironing or heating in a clothes dryer.

Somehow, I just never thought oil paint would dry on fabric without waiting for months, let alone that it would then be permanent and washable.

But, it’s the look that really gets to you. This stuff is beautiful.

The irridescent Paintstiks are fabulous on black fabric and these designs are made by rubbing the Stiks gently over the fabric laid over Texture Plates that Shelly also has available.

But designs can also be made using stencils and even masking tape as shown in the photo below right (behind Maribeth’s head as she was writing up our order).

Shelly’s tips for getting beautiful results with those methods are in her book - even how to make a great plaid using tape. I love the squares and rectangles with the airbrushed look.

There are 50 professional colors, 12 Irridescents, a Blending Stick, and a Pearl Medium Stick to pearlize the regular colors.

Several sets are available including a Starter Set Special which includes the book, a Texture Plate, and six Irridescent Paintstiks.

We ordered Starter packs, and when I get mine, I'll be sharing the adventure.

What Else I’m Thinking. . .
It is very late, I am very tired, and I have “miles to go” when I awake. My plan of reporting each day’s adventures that very evening is obviously a little overly ambitious. So, forget whether it happened on the first, second, or third day . . . I won’t remember anyway. I’ll just share what we find . . .