A little holiday re-cap!

We're heading into our 11th year, and some of our out-of-town members asked for a re-cap of the holiday party... so here you go!  We had another fantastic party - good turnout, 

great food,

 and even some live entertainment this year, courtesy of Rich Matta! He's a retired music teacher and professional musician, and his mini concert of Christmas music was very special.

 Speaking of special, our members went out of their way to make wig stands for donations to patients undergoing cancer therapies.  

The entries were terrific, and as in past years, Lupe's competitive spirit propelled her into first place. 

Her Spiraled Wig Stand featured african mahogany and maple, a checkerboard glue-up, and a tricky hand carved spiral post. 

Lupe always goes out of her way to come up with an amazing entry, and this year was particularly special. 

She gave a short speech about its construction, and pocketed $100 for her efforts. Congrats, Lupe - someone is going to enjoy that wonderful piece that you made. 

Second place went to Dennis Patchett, our carving-master and co-founder of the Las Vegas Woodcarvers group. His carving (once again!) wowed us with his carved wig stand. 

Mary Jane Chadbourne's lovely whimsical stand won third place, and we loved her explanation of adding paint and flowers to make it a cheery greeting for someone needing a place to store their wig. 

All in all - these entries were not only fabulously festive, but SO needed in our community. Thanks to all who participated!

Once again, Andrew and Nic Moore of Reclaimed Secrets donated a slab to raffle off - and this year's piece was rare and gorgeous.  A lot of people thought that it was a small slab, but once they arrived and saw it, they realized that it was a full sized slab, ready to create a dining table!

 Andrew pulled the winning ticket, and read the name.... 

and BAM! - Rick Ratayczak won the slab.

Congrats to all for making this party another success! 

A special thanks to Denny LaRocca for helping us clean and set-up the shop for the party.

To Rich Matta for the music!

Also - to the members who donated gifts that we gave away - unfortunately, we didn't get a shot of the resin piece that we created at the Knotty Artisan's studio! (Thanks Trevor and Leon!) 

Andrew and Nic Moore's slab donation was beyond generous, and we very much appreciate how special that slab was.

To the members who entered our contest and made amazing wig stands! Thanks to Randy Glau and Dennis for coordinating everything - we SO appreciate your hard work. 

To everyone who brought delicious food and drink for us to share. Ama's pies, and Boris' hummus were two highlights on the food table!

To Lupe - thanks for the photos. We might rib you about how many photos you take, but they always come in handy later!

And finally - to all of our members for ... well.. just being a member. We're heading into our 11th year, and still going strong!

(If I'm forgetting anyone, I apologize!)

We hope your Christmas was a good one, and that 2020 finds you healthy and continuing to make wonderful wooden pieces. 

Stay safe, everyone!

It's time for our annual Christmas party!

Put down your chisels, take off your tool belt, brush off the sawdust - and get ready for our annual Sin City Woodworkers Christmas Party, where we’ll celebrate a productive year and toast the coming New Year! 

Sin City Woodworkers, a Vegas valley social and networking group committed to serious (and not so serious!) woodworking discussions, meet on the third Wednesday of each month to share everything from techniques and ideas, to information about local suppliers and much more. Our next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, December 18, at 7:00. As usual - feel free to bring a guest or your better half! 

We’ll have some goodies to snack on, and some beverages to share, so don’t feel like you have to bring anything. But if you make an outrageous salsa or artichoke dip, we’d love to try it!

Join us for our most entertaining meeting of the year - it’s all about food, friendship, family and more. They say that Las Vegas is a tough city to make friends in - but anyone who attends one of our monthly meetings knows that we’ve formed some great connections within our group. We’re heading into our ELEVENTH year of sharing tips and techniques, failures and successes, and best of all - new friendships.

A HUGE thank you goes to Andrew and Nic Moore of Reclaimed Secrets, 

who were kind enough to donate a massive bookmatched, joined, and sanded flat slab for us to raffle off.  It's perfect for your next dining room table... or your next commission to sell!

It’s Red Flame Box Elder, and the picture above doesn’t do it justice, because it’s not finished. Look at this piece below that has some finish on it… wow! 

Andrew said that he’s cut through hundreds of these logs, and finding the red color and gorgeous grain is rare, so this slab is an amazing donation.

We’ll be selling raffle tickets for this slab - one chance for $10, or three chances for $20. All proceeds go back into our yearly fund, which helps finance all of our woodworking throughout the year. So please consider taking a chance on this raffle!

We’ll also be voting on the winners of our annual building context - this year, we chose to make wig stand for patients who’ve lost their hair due to undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatments. These will all be donated to charity after the contest - and you’ll get to vote on the winner! We give out great cash prizes, and the winners get bragging rights throughout the coming year. We hope everyone came up with something for our contest!

Remember - any money left over after paying for the party and prizes is given back to our members, via our cash drawings throughout the night. If you’ve been the lead presenter at one of our monthly meetings, your name will go into the drawing, too! It’s all about participation, which we greatly appreciate!

By the way - if you have something to donate to the drawing,  please bring it with you to our party.  Maybe someone gave you a woodworking book that you already own, or have some duplicate items sitting around your shop - we will add this to our giveaway table.

As always, our party will be held at Studio: Wood It Is!, 2267 West Gowan, unit 106 in North Las Vegas. The public is welcome to attend the meeting, but remember -  there are a limited number of chairs in the woodshop. Attendees might want to bring a folding chair if they wish to sit during the meeting. 

If you have questions or need directions, call the studio at 702-631-1870.