Pinks & Needles

$5 Stocking Stuffers

2011-11-23T08:02:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends~
Just wanted to do a quick post about some cute little mini pin toppers I just listed in the shop! They would all make great stocking stuffers don't you think? I only have one of each made up at the moment!

Giveaway over at Pretty by hand!

2011-11-21T06:58:00.000-08:00

Hello friends~
My dear sweet friend in cyber space AND real life Kristyne of Pretty by hand is hosting a giveaway starting today! She and I have shared many giggles over the past 3 years ~ oh let me tell ya! She's one super funny, sweet and smart lady : ) We had one of those rare chances to meet in real life over this past summer....needless to say we made the most of it! When she told me she wanted to host a giveaway I was so happy to sponsor her. Please head on over to her blog and leave a comment to enter a chance to win this pincushion and pin topper set that I designed specifically for her to giveaway to you!

Buttermint Gables Gingerbread House Pin Topper

2011-11-21T06:40:00.000-08:00

Greetings from the finally chilled down desert! I know a few of you may be wondering what happened to me for the past couple of months : )

Lets just say it's been a very long hot Summer and Fall so I am back at it sculpting as much as possible these days!
A couple of years ago I designed a flat version of a Gingerbread House Pin Topper but it wasn't until last week that I finally got around to sculpting a 3D one! Wow so fun and very time consuming! This is hands down the most detailed pin topper in my repertoire : )
I hope all of you enjoy looking at this tiny little thing!

I can't believe Thanksgiving is this week already! Here's me wishing all of you a safe and happy holiday!
xoxo
PS Please visit my Etsy shop to see accompanying pin toppers for Buttermint Gables!

Halloweens a Comin'

2011-09-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

Wow 2 posts in one day...what is going on here?
Just quick snippets to show you some Halloween related pins this season!

Candy Cats are new to the shop this year ~ so far I have made a few different colors : )

Some Little Witch Hats to get you in the Mood!

Scary Ghosties coming to haunt you!

Shabby Creamy White Pumpkin made for a friend

After I took this picture of a Haunted House pin topper I decided to paint the windows white.....but didn't capture that part ~ just imagine it if you can : )

I hope everyone enjoyed this short post. Halloween is so fun! I've been batting around the idea of being Marie Antoinette this year complete with a bloody neck....ewwwwie! Gross huh!

Inherited Beauty

2011-09-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

Okay everyone please don't be alarmed and fall off your computer chairs by me surprising you with a blog post after a few long hot months! I wish I could say that I have been busy sewing and got so lost in my work I forgot to turn on my computer but alas that's not the situation. Instead I have been super duper hot waiting for the desert to cool down for me so I can function once again : )
I have just started sculpting again on a limited basis but I can feel it....Fall is coming and I can't wait! Which means busy busy times for me ahead!
I received this beautiful handmade quilt in a box full of goodies not too long ago and wanted to share with all of you. My grandmother sewed this for my grandfather. The label on the back says she started it in 1975 and finished it in 1980!! Wow! That really amazes me : )
P.S. Just wanted to mention that I recognize a lot of the scraps my Gramma used in this quilt. The cute green fabric is left over from an apron she made for me when I was about 5 years old! I see some reversible tennis skirt fabric in there too and a prairie dress she sewed for me and my dolly : ) Such sweet memories!

Sewing Machine Manual Cover

2011-06-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

Hi all~ so when I bought my new sewing machine it came with tons of info along with 2 manuals (one in English one in Spanish) so I decided to make a little cover for all of it..... like a fabric binder kind of thing : ) I recently bought this delicious sewing themed fabric too!I lined it in bright red and used vintage aqua ric rac for the trim. I still haven't decided if I'm going to do a button or snaps? I'll figure it out tomorrow!

Let Them Eat Cake...and then some.....

2011-06-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

Hi friends~

Well it's been way too hot to sculpt the past few days so I turned to my next favorite hobby ~ painting! I have been catching up on Dexter too so maybe that's why the double entendre with the Marie Antoinette cake painting. I suppose you could interpret this painting in two different ways. I think it could represent the obvious ~ her "beheading" being put on display for all to see. See this is what happens when you spend to much money on extravagant things!!! But the other interpretation could also mean a Marie Antoinette "cake topper" with lots and lots of strawberry sauce ( for the less squeamish)! Which I suppose is the more light hearted version. Either way it was a very fun piece and I'm still not done. My idea is to create some 3D effects with polymer clay. Little things to add to the table top...like a cup of tea, a bowl of strawberry sauce/blood with a ladle, more strawberries on the green plate, a pretty earring dangling from her short neck and more roses to adorn the cake....oh and glitter highlights! You can never sparkle enough! Well maybe Edward can sparkle a little too much but that's a different story all together : )

My other painting is of what I imagine Marie might request for her "Last Supper". Do any of her famous last words come to mind at this time? Do I really even have to say it?
Yes I might as well shout it from the roof tops!
LET THEM EAT CAKE!!!!

Here's a work in progress shot - which I love to take pics of! So fun to see transformation!

Morning Glory Broach

2011-06-10T22:14:00.000-07:00

Hello hello!
I'm making this short and sweet because I'm starving and it's getting really late here....
So would you believe me if I told you I have never made a pin/broach before? Today was my first attempt at making something much larger than a pin topper! Kind of silly for me to be this excited...but anyway I really like how she turned out : )

I love WIP in progress pics because I think messy studios mean actual creativity is being exercised!

I tried painting this flower about 10 different ways and then finally decided I needed dark purple around the edges. Here in the desert with all the wind this is what my morning glories look like after a good beating! The wind was really whipping that day!

I have this adorable tweed coat I got at Target last Fall and never wore it! Why? Because it was never cold enough : ( I'm looking forward to wearing it this Fall instead : )

My Passion for Painting & Drawning

2011-06-05T07:31:00.000-07:00

I think I'm finally done!

an interesting angle no?

you can see her hair buns a little better here

still fiddling with her hair in this one

Good morning friends~

I think some of you may know how much I love vintage pin ups. I always find myself drawn to their unmistakeable style and softness of their bodies. Nothing against the beautiful woman of today who pose for sexy pictures by any means ~ it's just my humble opinion. I think what I love most about these vintage beauties is they've mastered the art of being alluring. Showing a little goes a long way in my book. Don't you think?

So it's been a long time since I have painted or drawn anything and yesterday it hit me that I needed to give the garden a rest and start sketching again. Why put it off? Well I actually know the answer to that question....TIME! Time is always a factor in everything especially these days. Always too busy for this or that. Pooh on being too busy was my conclusion. Yesterday I set aside 4 hours to sketch and paint and let my creative juice flow. I still have a few more details to tend to but for the most part my Pink Haired Lovely is complete. She is small (only 5 X 7) which is a perfect size for me to "almost" get done in 4 hrs. I would love to buy a Frenchy looking scrolly oval frame for her.

A little pink maribou for the photo added just the right about of softness. I made a boo boo on one of her....well lack of a better word "boo boos". You can see it a bit smudged up there on the right. That's one thing I still need to get right. In this shot her hair wasn't complete either like up in the top photo and her eyes are still in progress too.

I always like to take a WIP shot of what I'm painting or drawing because when I create people I layer their eye colors over and over again until I find the perfect shade. Same with hair. I think once I start on hair I am compelled to morph it over and over again. Enjoy!

PS I'm leaving you with this song by Florrie Arnold who I think is the cutest girl singer out there right now : )

AND she can play the heck out the drums!

Fresh From the Real Garden & the Pin Topper Patch

2011-06-02T17:28:00.000-07:00

You know those days where you are completely wiped out? That's how I feel today....I'm slowly waking up from a mid afternoon nap crash out so in case I don't make any sense...sorry a head of time ; )

I was able to pick the first of my early Bird Tomatoes which was very exciting for me! And the sunflowers - OH THE SUNFLOWERS are stunning. I could stare at them all day long.
All of my flower vases are packed so I have succumbed to beer bottles...hmm....I actually think they look pretty cool...or wait is that just me?

Are you guys familiar with Black Sunflowers or Moulin Rouge Sunflowers? How about it!!!!!!

Remember my post a little while back about Mab Graves who's an incredible artist? Well her adorable business card has found a permanant home in this bright lime green frame I found! I just love it!

I have been in mushroom mode lately with all of my days spent digging in the dirt and sculpted a more realistic mushroom for once. I really like the ruffle at the bottom. I don't know much about mushrooms but my friend told me the other day that the baby mushrooms come from the ruffly part. They drop the baby spores like an umbrella drops rain! Cool! Who knew?

Well I hope this post wasn't all over the place...I'm still sleepy and hungry too! I'll be making a veggie wrap tonight for dinner and using some of those Early Birds : )

Mad Hatter Hat & a Shabby Tea Party

2011-05-29T11:15:00.000-07:00

Hello friends~

Just a quick post today as it's still Memorial Day Weekend. Hubby and I had a nice week together and celebrated our 7 year anniversary a few days early since we can't be together on the actual day this year : ( We spent a couple of days at the Welk Resort in Cathedral City which is really close to where we live. It was nice and relaxing and of course my favorite part of being away from home is eating out! We ate breakfast at a place called Elmer's in Palm Springs ~ OMG! So good! They serve Dutch Babies there! My mom used to make them all the time years ago so it was fun to see them on the menu!
I have a few new pins to share with you too before I sign off. I was asked to recreate the Mad Hatter's Hat from Alice in Wonderland and this is what I came up with: (more pictures in my shop if you want to see)!

and also a cute little Shabby Tea Party ~ complete with a teeny tiny demitasse fork for the slice of tea cake! I love the tone of the aqua in these ones ~ it's very muted and soft.

Pinks & Needles On The Cover

2011-05-25T07:43:00.000-07:00

Well this was a fun surprise to see! A couple of Pinks & Needles cupcake pins made it on the cover of Camille Roskelley's new pattern booklet! Thank you Camille for adding just the right amount of pincushion bling to your wonderful new creation! I am really looking forward to making this adorable sewing machine cover very soon and I might just have to re-create the beautiful pincushion that sports the mini cupcake pins too.

Happy sewing everyone!

P.S......the photos used in this post are the property of Camille~ she granted me my wish of re-posting them here on my blog : )

Jinny the Pomeranian - WIP

2011-05-23T09:15:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine who lives in Australia misses her Pom Jinny so much she asked me to create a pin in her likeness : ) I messed around with the design for a couple of hours and almost scrapped it as it was a huge challenge for me ~ you see....... dog pins are not my forte! This was my last attempt and I'm glad I didn't toss it into the mess up pile. I still have a ways to go before it's complete......in the photo above she's unbaked and will need a few layers of paint to help bring out her real colors but I do think her fur turned out pretty good. All the different hairs you see are individual pieces of clay....I wish I would've counted how many little pieces I used ~ let's just say there's a lot! Here's the real Jinny! Look at her cute sideways tongue! Adorable : ) Of course the sideways tongue was a must for the pin design.

Easy Lemon Bundt Cake

2011-05-20T09:27:00.000-07:00

Here's another super duper easy recipe for lemon bundt cake. I made up this recipe and have never had any complaints : )

For those who like to cheat a little when baking this is a great fast cake to make! This is what you'll need:

Hands On Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time 45 mins - 1 hr.
Servings 12-14

Description: The Bomb!

Ingredients for Cake:
1 package yellow Cake Mix (Duncan Hines is always my favorite)
1 (3 3/4 oz) package Jello-O Vanilla Pudding
4 eggs
1/2 c. cold water
1/2 c. canola oil or any other cooking oil
1/2 c. fresh squeezed lemon juice and the zest of all the lemons you use (usually about 2-3 lemons total)

Glaze:
1 stick of butter
1/4 c. water
1 c. sugar
1/4- 1/2 c fresh squeezed lemon juice (some people like very tart - some like less tart - it doesn't really matter in this recipe if you use less or more - it's totally up to you!

Preheat oven: 325 degrees
Grease a bundt pan with your favorite spray - I love Baker's Joy
Mix all cake ingredients together - if you don't want to bust out your Kitchen Aid mixer you can whisk by hand about 2 minutes - a good arm workout!

Pour batter into pan and pop in the hot oven.
Bake 45 mins. to 1 hr. depending on your oven. I find at 45 mins. my cake tester comes out perfect but since you are baking at a lower temperature yours could take a wee bit longer.

After your cake is done, cool on a wire rack in the pan for about an hour. Invert into a nice deep pie dish - hopefully you have a little space around the edge (not much but just a little).

While your cake is baking is a good time to cook up your glaze.
Melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in the sugar AND then the water last (be careful it doesn't splatter on you. Pouring water into hot fat can hurt : ( Just go slow........Bring to a boil and keep it boiling for 5 minutes. It will be nice and bubbly. Stir constantly. Remove from heat and LET COOL for about 10-15 minutes. Then add your fresh lemon juice. Make sure to not add the lemon juice right after you take it off the stove because you'll burn off all the yummy lemon oil. I like to take my cake tester and poke a lot of holes into the bundt (go all the way to the bottom). The more holes the better! Baste your cake with the the lemon glaze. I like to pour a little pool into the center of the bundt and then keep basting all over the sides and top until it's absorbed. There have been many times when I baste over a couple of hours instead of all at once. That way the glaze has time to really soak in : )

This cake tastes delicious by itself or with fresh cut strawberries mixed with a little sugar : ) And of course fresh whipped cream is always wonderful too!

morning glory vine from my garden looks stunning against the yellow don't you think?

A Fun Fabric Technique

2011-05-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

My friend Aimee over at littledeertracks has the coolest fabric technique! Check it out if you get a chance! I worked on this pincushion last night using her technique and I really like how it turned out : )

These are the mountains and sky upside down ~ sorry...hard to get a good shot of this.

Birds Eye view

Side View ~ note I haven't secured the pincushion in place yet so you can see my stitches around the edge.

Custom Log Cabin pin topper for a bride to be. She'll be living with her new hubby in the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee!

I Want to Share This With You

2011-05-11T19:24:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of the creepily cute and I love finding things and people on the web I could only make up in my imagination. I stumbled upon this fantastic artist mabgraves the other day and had to share with all of you. Entitled: Jude in the Octopus Garden

And this too! Oh she's so precious and "special" don't you think? With her cute little third arm looking perfectly sweet and adorable!

Mab is a very gifted and talented artist ~ have a look at her website if you get a chance ~ I bet you will find something that speaks to you : ) Look at this slick vinyl sticker of a Masochistic Cupcake Mab designed too:

Have a nice evening everyone~

Gigi

Win This Cute Flag Bunting Over at....

2011-05-08T13:38:00.000-07:00

Win this Pin Topper Set: 5 Flag Bunting ~ 1 Mini Mushroom ~ 2 Mini Blossoms

Little Miss Shabby has started her week long giveaway! Head on over every day this week (May 8th - 13th) and enter in to win lots of fun stuff! Today the Fat Quarter Shop sponsored some fabulous fabrics! You'll have to tune every day to see what's being given away next! All you need to do is comment over at Little Miss Shabby!

I'm pretty sure Friday will be the day you could win this cute flag bunting pin topper set (seen above)! But don't take my word for it...head on over every day! I know she'll be giving way super cute items from her favorite shops : )

Happy Mothers Day too to all the wonderful Moms who make our world a better place : ) You have the toughest job on the planet!

Mini Garden Party Bunting + GIVEAWAY Announcement

2011-05-06T08:14:00.000-07:00

Well after yesterdays post I needed something cheery and fun to brighten my day! This little bunting was so fun to make! The little flags are made of polymer clay just like my regular pin toppers : ) I have been avoiding anything that has to do with cardboard boxes, packing paper and tape as I am dragging my feet on the "packing up the house process". I keep telling myself that I will have enough time to sculpt and pack it all up by the last week of May but I'm in denial. I really need to stop messing around with clay and get to work : (
Oh....there's one more exciting thing I wanted to share with you all. Little Miss Shabby is starting a week long GIVEAWAY on her blog Sunday May 8th - May 13th! I hope you'll all pop over there to say hi and see what she'll be giving away! I can tell you a little secret...I am one of the sponsors : )
I hope everyone has a great weekend! Hubby's flying home today ~ we get to hang out for a whole 3 days before he zips back up to the mountains!

KEEP YOUR CHILDREN SAFE! PLEASE READ THIS POST!

2011-05-05T10:16:00.000-07:00

I debated on blogging about this but decided to share with all of you. This happened a couple of days ago. I'm going to copy and paste it here for you to read as I sent an email about it to a friend of mine. It's insane! Mind you I was shock when I was typing this so it may sound a bit long winded. But I was upset and my adrenaline was pumping.

So I'm totally tripping out right now.....
I have to tell someone what happened this morning! Probably one of the most insane things to happen to me ever...
I'm sitting there at my computer blogging and something caught my eye outside through the window ~ I saw a huge Rottweiler (probably about 110 pounds) running down the middle of the street. We have a huge population of stray dogs in my town which sucks because the animal shelter here is horrible. They are being sued right now by an attorney for negligence, abuse, neglect, high rates of euthanization...the list goes on and on. Anyway, so far since I've lived here (8 months) I have rescued 4 dogs (2 of which I have now come to call my adopted jail birds as they get out about once a week) and returned them back to their owners - thank goodness. But today was different. I ran out to make sure this dog wouldn't get hit by a car..I'm the third house in from a very busy Blvd...So I'm about to go chase after the dog when all of a sudden I see a baby...that's right a BABY no more than 18 months with no shoes on, a dirty diaper and a little tank top on in the middle of the street (in the opposite direction of where the dog was headed) so I ran out there and started blurting out really bad Spanish as I could tell she probably was Hispanic as are most of the people in my neighborhood. Donde esta su casa? is all that came to mind (alas Spanish class was 25 years ago...) She just kinda looked at me and "gaa gaa goo goo-ed" at me. Oh boy...where is your mommy? No response. Meanwhile the dog is now getting very protective over the baby and didn't like that I was trying to scoop her off the street onto the sandy, dirty, full of stickers side of the road. He kept putting his mouth over my wrist and trying to tug my arm away. Scary. I like dogs and have never been scared of them but this one seemed like it was going to rip me a new one. Meanwhile there is no one in sight in either direction on my street - like maybe a worried parent or something??? WTH? Where did this little girl come from and why is no one looking for her? So I start walking with her asking everyone I see if this baby is there's? I think I asked 5 people and no one knew who she was. I made it all the way down my entire city block asking her at every house if her mommy was there etc...she kept wanting to zig zag across the street and I'm thinking each time it's because she's recognizes her house - no such luck. I had a car actual honk their frickin horn at me and yell something like get your kid out of the street! Are you serious right now was all I could think!!! I'm about ready to burst into tears when all of a sudden I see a cop on his radio start heading towards me. Oh thank God!! As he approached I said Oh I'm so happy you're here..thank you, thank you! He didn't say anything to me..he just scooped her up and started walking away. I was like Hello! YOU'RE WELCOME!! I didn't say that but I wanted to. I thought it was kind of rude he didn't say anything to me or acknowledge me? IS that weird to you? I am so blown away right now...people astound me....

I'm still shaken up and it's been a couple of hours since this all went down. I just keep thinking to myself that this poor little child must've been missing for some time since the cops were there when I got to the end of my block!!! Her little knees were all scratched from the dog jumping up on her and knocking her down.Her feet must be in pain too because of the rocks, glass, stickers etc.. I am thankful it was me who found her and not some creepy guy : (

Dude...what a day...

- Show quoted text -

Mermaid Candy Pin Toppers

2011-05-03T07:38:00.000-07:00

This is a very new direction for me as far as pin topper designs. Usually I am dreaming up a fairytale mushroom design or a new cupcake piled with frosting. I think what turned the corner for me was last week when I debuted my vintage inspired buttons. Each one is made from polymer clay and some have different layers of paint that has been sanded in some parts to make them appear "patina"-ed. As I was painting these pretty gems and highlighting them I kept thinking of mermaids in the ocean swimming around an old vintage ship wreck finding treasure. Each pin is like a little piece of mermaid candy. I have 15 different styles available in the shop now : )

With all this talk of mermaids & treasure I had to set up a mini photo shoot entitled: Ship Wrecked

P.S. I know many of you are probably like me in that what you listen to during your creative time really reflects what you end up making. Here's a snippet of what I was listening to while creating Mermaid Candy:
A Christopher Mills animated short film set to "Collect Call", from the album FANTASIES by Metric. If you like paper dolls I'm sure you'll appreciate this short film : )

Mermaid Candy was featured on Paper Cake Finds Today! Check it out!

"A Royal Giveaway" Winners Announced

2011-04-30T10:49:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in my Royal Giveaway! It has been VERY fun and interesting to read all of your comments about your weddings whether they're past, present or future! Winners were picked out of a hat at random : )

The Winner for the Royal Do Over category is: Canadian Kristin! This is what her post read:
For my Royal Do-Over I would fly my husband and our family and closest friends to somewhere exotic and tropical and 5 star to share a renewing of vows at sunset and a full-on party on the beach for the next many days! Colours now would be the same as then: black and white, gold, cream and deep red. We are Shawn & Kristin and married November 5 and I would marry this man over again in a heartbeat!

The Winner for the Royal Plan category is: Eileen Hill! This is what her post read:
I'm engaged and getting married early next year (no date yet). My theme believe it or not will be pink! I love pink like you do - actually people at work call me "Pinkie", I wear pink just about everyday and hope to have a very light subtle pink dress for my big day!!! Eileen

The Winner for the Royal Dream category is: Deborah A! This is what her post read:
I am in the hope to marry category. After six years together we still haven't tied the knot. I no longer care about what the big day looks like. My dad passed away before he could see me married so it will be a happy/sad day for me. Part of the fairytale for me was to have my dad take part in my day. If I could change anything about my yet to be wedding day it would be that it would have taken place before his passing.

Instructions for picking up prizes: if you already have an Etsy account please convo me at Pinks & Needles so I know your username and who you are is. Please type in "A Royal Giveaway Winner" in the subject box . If you do not have an Etsy account please create one and follow the above directions : ) At some point this weekend I will be setting up RESERVED listings on Etsy for each of you! Once I am finished making your special items each Winner can put their prize in their cart and check out as normal. Any fees incurred will be refunded to you via Paypal. Thanks everyone!

P.S. Convo me via Etsy is there is any more information you would like to tell me about theme, color, style etc. That would be very helpful since I am creating something very specific for you and yours truly : )

I really enjoyed watching Will(s) & Kate tie the knot yesterday! I recorded it on the E! Channel instead of a major network mostly because they really focused on the fashion aspects of everything instead of politics which to me is lighthearted and more fun : ) Wow can I just say I see a hat trend building that is soon to hit the US with a splash!!! Victoria Beckham's fascinator must've been Super Glued to her forehead! It was truly an amazing event to experience visually! I loved Kate's dress and how simple her bouquet was. Will looked dashing and so proud. I loved every minute of it : )

New Items in the Shop!

2011-04-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

Good morning everyone~

Well I got up really early this morning to start listing items on Etsy and guess who I saw running around in the front yard unattended? Remember a few weeks ago when I found those 2 cute dogs Mia and Gordo that belonged to my neighbor? They're back and this time they brought a friend "Seven" is her name. Anyway, I called Carla and she was just getting off of work so she came over and picked them up. Those little stinkers need to stop digging under the fence! At least this time they all had their respective collars with name tags on. I just worry because of how crazy fast people drive down my street - it's frightening : (
So I got a little later start on things this morning but at least those doggies are back home safe and sound.
I have almost everything listed in the shop that I was planning on except a couple more I need to take pics of but am waiting for better light. I've listed lots of Vintage Inspired Button pin toppers ~ these are all made from polymer clay and then I hand painted them with pretty accents and a few even have sparkly glitter too!

I'm really excited to debut shiny silver thimbles today! Well it's about time is all I keep saying to myself since sewing related pins seem to be quite popular in my shop! They'll go nicely with the shiny silver scissors I make too.
Here's a mosaic of all the Vintage Inspired Buttons I made. I love making mosaics because then it's easy to reference them all as a group. Flickr toys is the best tool for that.

There's more button card pins in the shop too and fun candy colored pastel mini spools of thread like these:

I'm hoping to get stitching for my "Stitch n Tea" Party starting today through the weekend. I hope you'll join me via la internet!
Remember today is the last day to comment on "A Royal Giveaway" ~ it ends at 5 pm Pacific Standard Time. I'll announce winners tomorrow some time!

Vintage Button Pin Toppers

2011-04-26T17:55:00.000-07:00

Hello all~
Just a quick sneak peek to show you some of what's coming to my Etsy on Friday! I have been having a good time making some vintage button pin toppers. I needed a break from packing up boxes for our move up North so yesterday I watched a Robert Pattinson movie "Remember Me" and sculpted the day away! Good movie by the way. He's just too darn cute and fun to look at : ) LOL!
Here's a short clip of an Interview with Rob talking about the movie! Enjoy : )

Kitchenology Block #1

2011-04-23T17:34:00.000-07:00

My dear friends Jenny & Aaron were kind enough to let me use their original artwork as the basis for my next quilt. I am really excited to see one of my favorite prints of theirs come to life : ) Jenny and her boyfriend Aaron are incredible artists. I have been gawking at their creations for years now!! So many wonderful elements they put to use in their paintings...everything from Frozen Charlotte Dolls to Cupcakes piled with Frosting and Sprinkles, Black Ravens and Old Vintage Books ~ AND a million more wonderful things (too many to list).
Here's a picture of Kitchenology from their flickr ~ be careful and hold on tight if you haven't seen this yet...you might hyperventilate due to the "cuteness" overload!
This quilt once finished will be 20 blocks! That's a lot for me since I'm new to this whole quilting thing, but I think it should be a pretty fun journey for me! The pitcher is really tiny and in reality was too small for me to turn under so I decided to make this shabby, rustic, retro and cozy. I figured frayed edges and perhaps a tea stain will keep to the flavor I'm going for : )
I love being inspired by my favorite artists out there in cyberspace ~ I hope to do it justice for their sake.

A Royal Giveaway ~ this giveaway is now closed ~ winners will be announced Sat. April 30th!

2011-04-21T09:07:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends! I wanted to let you know a couple of things that are happening here at Pinks & Needles! I hope you'll stop by on Friday April 29th at my Etsy Shop ~ I will have FUN NEW ITEMS posted!

Also I will be hosting "A ROYAL GIVEAWAY" starting today April 21st ~ All you need to do is leave a comment telling me:

Whether you are already married and had your chance to do your wedding all over again, planning a wedding or dreaming of your big day ~ what Colors, Theme & Style would you choose AND Where would you have your wedding?
And...for All The Single Ladies out there feel free to leave a comment about a party theme you might throw for yourself!

I will choose 1 winner at random from each category!

Category #1: The Royal Do Over (for those already married)
Category #2: The Royal Plan (for those in the stages of planning their big day)
Category #3: The Royal Dream (for those who aren't engaged or married yet but dream of it happening to them)
Category #4: The Royal Queen (for the happy single gals out there that wouldn't dream about getting married)

ALSO in your comment please include which Category applies to you and the Date of your Anniversary or Future Wedding & the Names of the two lovebirds or if you are a single your name or nickname! I will be making each winner something special. Please know these items may take a while for me to complete and I will list them as a RESERVED LISTING in my Etsy shop for you to pick up at your convenience for Free of course!

Thanks everyone! Have a "royally" great day!...okay enough of the royal thing I just couldn't help myself,
Gigi

PS Winners will be announced sometime on Saturday April 30th!
Good luck!

This giveaway is now closed : )

A New Little Pincushion Set to Share With All of You!

2011-04-20T07:48:00.000-07:00

Remember last week when I said I Love PARIS in the Springtime?! Well is this enough proof that I do? I finally got this pincushion set complete as of yesterday : ) I really love the shade of green of the latte bowl - it's kind of a mix of olive green meets lime green! Very pretty and it pops with the pink accents. This is the very first parasol/umbrella I have sculpted so that was kind of fun. The little pink rose is to represent "April Showers Bring May Flowers" and of course I had to included a box of "EAT ME" chocolates too. When I visited Paris I think I ate chocolate every day and croissants filled with chopped up chocolate, warmed and buttery....mmmm....I can almost taste it! The little red heart has a teeny tiny PARIS banner across it, lightly glittered so it sparkles whilst you sew!

Easy Ice Box Strawberry Cream Cake

2011-04-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

This is such a cool ice box to make because it's cute, retro and super duper easy!
I made this recipe up a few years ago and always get so many good complements on it so I wanted to share with all of you.

What you'll need:
1 box yellow cake mix (I prefer Duncan Hines) + eggs, oil, water
1 8 oz. tub of Cool Whip (thawed)
1 basket of strawberries
1 small box of vanilla instant pudding + milk

If you hit the sales just right you can usually make this dessert for about $5.00 : ) And it serves 12 people.

Bake the yellow cake according to package directions - use a 13 X 9 lasagna pan for the best results.
My oven bakes a yellow cake mix perfectly in 35 minutes - don't over bake if you can help it. Cool on wire rack in pan for about an hour and then turn out on wire rack to complete cooling.
While cake is baking make your vanilla pudding according to package directions (use "Pie" directions which calls for less milk) - chill in fridge until cake has completely cooled. Wash and slice your strawberries (keeping each strawberry together after slicing) - put back in fridge.
Once it's cooled you can cut the cake in half. Now split each cake into two by slicing through horizontally. What you are trying to accomplish here is making four layers to stack on top of one another.Lay your first layer down on a pretty plate and then divide your vanilla pudding into 3rds. spread pudding onto first layer, then add a cake layer and repeat. You should have 4 cake layers with pudding in between each layer. You might need to secure your cake with tall toothpicks or skewers since this baby is kind of tall.What I do now is trim each side by slicing down to make the sides pretty and even. Evenly spread Cool whip over the entire cake and sides. One whole tub tends to be just a little too much "frosting" so I usually have about 1/4 c. left over. The last step is to decorate the top and sides of your cake with sliced strawberries! Be creative and get fancy with your designs if you want to! I usually use almost a whole basket of berries and that's good news if you do because if you have kids or a hungry husband who can't wait to dig in you can always give them the left over cool whip , cake ends and berries to tie them over until the cake is done chilling. That's right....you read correctly, now it's time to chill! I put a loose layer of plastic wrap over the cake and pop in the fridge. I think this is what makes this cake super fabulous is the resting period. I love to let it sit a day before digging in but if you can't wait an entire day I understand...but at least wait a couple of hours. It's best served straight out of the fridge with a nice big glass of cold milk! MMMMMMmmmmmmm Yum!Enjoy!

Fairytale Sweets - is to die for!

2011-04-15T06:58:00.000-07:00

My friend Cat has the cutest Etsy shop Fairytale Sweets! She makes the most delicious caramels with real French sea salt! I hope you'll go check out her shop especially if you know someone who loves decadent home made confections. She put so much love into all she makes and the packaging is downright adorable!
I wish I could find the words to describe what it's like to bite into one of these little babies! Here let me try.....first of all the waxed paper she uses is so charming and makes it so the caramels don't stick. I like that a lot! The caramels themselves are the perfect sweetness and the perfect texture ~ soft and chewy : ) But I think what I like most is the French sea salt she uses ~ WOW is all I have to say! All in all a wonderful treat! I want more!

Here's what the caramels look like once you unwrap them from the brown paper!
The little package of royal icing flowers is so cute too ~ perfect for quick cupcake decorating which I know I will get plenty of use out of!

Cat has another Etsy shop too CatherineRajeeve which is dedicated to "Yard Sale/ Garage Sale items since she is moving soon. Her prices are great and I'm pretty sure she will be adding more stuff soon! Look at this big ball of seam binding I received!
I hope everyone has a lovely day today ~ my hubby's coming home for the weekend so I am so excited to see him! It's been way too long.......

Hexie Pincushion

2011-04-14T07:36:00.000-07:00

Okay don't laugh.....this was my first try at Hexies. Since my sewing machine broke I have succumbed to hand stitching projects right now. This little pincushion was "UBER" time consuming and I'm not happy with how she turned out : ( I'm really sad about all of my tiny stitches showing on the top. If you can see through the blurred photo I actually disliked it so much I ran embroidery floss over each side of each hexie to help disguise my stitches! I'm keeping this one for myself as I'm too embarrassed to give it away.
I followed the paper piecing package directions to the "T" and even watched a tutorial on youtube, basted each one and tried not to sew through the paper when stitching the hexies to each other and still this happened. Does anyone have any good links to share with me, tutorials etc? Granted these hexies are very small (1/2 inch sides) ~ perhaps the larger ones are little easier to deal with? Help!

Easy Banana Cake with Coconut Sauce

2011-04-12T15:05:00.000-07:00

I found these cute dishes at Target during the holidays a couple of years ago and the aqua napkin came from Target too ~ I did however paint the cherries and daisies on it.
So this is one of those recipes I have experimented with so many times I've lost track. It's very forgiving and allows for low fat substitutions! I'll tell you what I did this time rather than explain the original recipe that is so loaded with butter and cream cheese I would never want to make it because I would have to spend a life time on a treadmill as to not feel guilty!
I'm somewhat of a careless baker and measure very quickly and never take time to do a bunch of steps especially when pressed for time. I threw all of the ingredients into my KitchenAid all at once! I know some of you are probably gasping that I would do such a thing but this cake turns out so good all of the time so no worries!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare a 9 inch square pan ~ I like to use Bakers Joy spray ~ so easy and fast
Add all of this to your mixture:
3/4 c. applesauce
1/4 c. canola oil (sometimes I use olive oil)
1 1/2 c. flour + 1/4 c. more if it's a little too runny at the end
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
3/4 c. packed brown sugar (you can use a little less if you want to) I usually determine this by what my bananas are like. In a perfect world I love to bake banana bread/cake 10 days after purchasing them from the store - they seem to be the perfect sweetness and I can then lower the amount of brown sugar to 1/2 c instead of 3/4 c.
1 large egg ( I love free range High in Omega eggs ~ so good for you)
3 well ripened bananas mashed
1/4 c. vanilla or plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
whatever nuts you have on hand is always good to throw in (today I used pecan halves - maybe about 1/2 of a cup)
Okay....turn your mixer on and see what it looks like....at this point if it's looking a bit too runny add your other 1/4 c. flour ( I use whole wheat if I have it on hand).
Beat all of these ingredients for about 1 minute - scrape down the sides and beat another minute on Medium speed. Pour into your prepared cake pan and bake for 30-35 minutes depending on your oven. I'd check after 30 minutes to make sure it's not too done. Poke with a cake tester a if it comes out clean it still might need a few more minutes! Today mine came out clean so I took it out of the oven but as it turns out it needed just a couple more! Cool in pan on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before turning out onto wire rack. Meanwhile start your sauce. I say sauce instead of frosting because I like to keep the cake separate from the sauce so it doesn't get all mushy. Then the two flavors are very distinct to themselves. The cake tastes like banana and the sauce tastes like a pina colada.
Time to make the sauce:
I had about 1 T. of whipped cream cheese left in the fridge so I threw that in the mixer
2 T. vanilla or plain yogurt
3 T. of softened salted butter
2/3 c. powdered sugar
3 T. canned cream of coconut ( I love Coco Lopez - I get it at Wal-Mart - it's cheap and is excellent in smoothies too). Make sure to mix it really good before adding it to the rest of your ingredients (it settles in the can).
1 t. Rum ( I like Bacardi Gold)
1/3 c. flaked coconut
Mix all of this until the butter is nice and smooth. It will be pretty runny. I like to chill mine in the fridge while the cake is cooling. Once your cake is cool to the touch you can now slice it however you'd like and spoon the delicious coconut sauce on top and add a little more flaked coconut too if desired.
That's it all done!! This cake freezes wonderfully and the sauce keeps very nice for a few days in the fridge - it too can be frozen. Just remember to keep the two separate : )

Here's what the can of Coco Lopez looks like of you are wondering!

I Love Paris in the Springtime!

2011-04-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

A little "Paris Love" is coming to the shop very soon ~ I'm hoping by the end of the week! I thought I would include one of my favorite Frank Sinatra songs just to get in the mood ~ Enjoy!

Here's a sneak peek at the cute Japanese fabric I'm making the pincushion out of! I love the little hat box and the heart shaped purse - soooo cute! Her brown and white polka dotted tights are darling don't you think?

My Sewing Machine Bessie is Going to Heaven + Quilting Projects #5 #6 & #7

2011-04-07T19:03:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone~

Well it's official ...Gigi needs a new sewing machine (I speak in the third person because then it makes me feel like this isn't really happening to me right now). I think I have ran Bessie into the ground : ( Poor Bessie needs to go to Sewing Machine Heaven right about now. I have trouble shooted my way through the manual and there's no making sense of why my tension control won't respond : ( I've tried everything! Grrr.....I guess it has lasted me 16 years but for the amount of money I paid I was figuring on a good 25 years out of her. I'd love to hear some comments on what machines you all use and how you like them ~ I'm shopping for one very soon!

Before she pooped out on me I did manage to finish up a few more projects. First Up: Strawberry Jam Mug Rug

I also made a fun aqua, red and white Peppermint Love Mug Rug (actually this is the first mug rug I have ever made and the strawberry one was next).

Last but not least I have a friend who's due with her forth child in a few days. This will be the first boy so all of us are very excited - especially the proud Poppa to be! Their whole family is sock monkey crazy ~ do you think they'll like it??

I am really enjoying quilting and know I will especially like it when I have the proper machine. I have done all 7 projects so far without a quilting foot! I've been using a satin stitch foot instead - not the easiest to maneuver that's for sure!

Say a prayer for Bessie : )

Life's Interruptions Can Make for an Interesting Week!

2011-04-06T19:16:00.000-07:00

....So tell me what would you do if these 2 cuties showed up at your front door? Would you turn them away? Or.....would you give them bathes and feed them and play with them? I can tell you this......I didn't turn them away that's for sure! First thing we did was get them into the tub and scrub a dub dub for about an hour. They were both full of stickers, foxtails, puncture vine and dirt...lots of dirt.
I have rescued wandering animals before so I figured I'd do it again and I'm so glad because this story has a happy ending! They showed up on Sunday afternoon and were very friendly so I didn't hesitate in lending a helping hand. After bathes I cooked them up some real chicken, rice and steamed brussel sprouts and they chowed down pretty quickly. I could tell immediately that they came from a loving home as they weren't skiddish or scared of me - this was a huge relief because of the huge "abandoned animal problem" in the town where I live : ( It breaks my heart that there are some people out there that leave their animals to die in the desert. Animal cruelty needs to be a felony that's all there is to it!
Anyway, my little pup Bruiser was very excited to have house guests! All three played for hours and wore each other out which meant a good night sleep for all of us. But now what to do? Hmmm....I was very reluctant to call Animal Control due to the overflowing population of dogs and cats they have there at the rescue. I have heard through the grapevine that any animal that comes in, unclaimed will be put to sleep within 10 days so taking them there was out of the question. Neither of them had a collar or tags so this was a real life Nancy Drew kind of mystery on where they came from. I figured that taking on two more dogs would be very challenging but that it had to be done if worse came to worse. Hubby was supportive of my decision but made it pretty clear that traveling this Summer would be difficult with 3 dogs instead of 1! Yes very true but still we made the decision to keep them if we didn't get a response on Craigslist. So now it's been 2 1/2 days with no response...it's looking more and more likely they've adopted me! I'm happy about this as they have melted my heart into a puddle at this point! Plus Bruiser has been having way too much fun wrestling and cuddling for naps. Well guess what? This morning I had a response to my FOUND DOGS post and it turns out they live only 2 doors down but on the next street over! Great news! Their owner, Carla came over today to pick them up and she about burst into tears when she saw them. it was really sweet. She came to my door with a huge bouquet of flowers and a card too which was so nice of her. We chatted for a couple of hours while the doggies played together and we even made a lunch date for next Wednesday!
It turns out that Gordo (the terrier mix) loves to dig under the fence and that's how those turkeys escaped! Mia the Malti-poo isn't a digger but she is free spirited and likes to explore. I'm just relieved that this story has a happy ending! Plus I made a new friend here in my new town and Bruiser has 2 friends too! All in all a good week here in the desert : )

A Few More Projects Complete

2011-03-30T08:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick look at my finished Hideaway quilt! I love the machine leaf stitch but my poor sewing machine didn't like doing it that much : ( I think it's best to use that stitch for smaller projects next time.

My mom adores sunflowers and I wanted to give her a very special present so I made this place mat for her the other day. It was my first time making a Dresden plate. It was really fun and pretty easy. The only thing I had a heck of a time with was centering the sunflower on my larger circle. I tried a few tricks and thought I had it right but as I sewed it all together it kind of slipped to one side slightly. You can see one of the petals touching the border ~ that wasn't suppose to happen. I think I may be making a felt butterfly to add a little something special to it. I think it would be pretty cute near the brown center of the flower!

I'm excited to get going on my Dream On quilt but am at a stand still for now with large projects. it looks like with our temporary move up to the cooler mountains of Northern California very soon I won't have time to do anything for a while. Although yesterday I made some pin toppers of flowers that remind me of Dream On! I'll be posting pics either later today or tomorrow!
Happy Creating everyone!

Hugs,
Gigi

A Shout Out to Pretty By Hand

2011-03-27T11:43:00.000-07:00

If anyone liked Julie & Julia you're sure to love what my friend Kristyne up in Canada is doing! It will be a very fun quilt along for charity ~ she's starting Monday March 28th. Please see her lovely blog Pretty By Hand for all the details : ) I'm going to try and quilt along as best as I can but being a beginner quilter I'm not sure if I will be able to keep up or not. I'll for sure try my best!

Quilting Project #1 Complete

2011-03-24T21:01:00.000-07:00

I was pretty excited to finish this the other night. I became so engrossed in it that I stayed up until 2 am and managed to wash and dry too! I suppose that's the rewarding part - to see if all fluffy and warm right out of the dryer : ) I didn't follow a pattern ~ just instinct. I made the binding out of the same cream cotton as the back. I machine stitched a cute leaf pattern throughout which I really like a lot.

I also finished up the top of the big Summer quilt too : ) That's Big Red holding it up for all to see! His wing span is pretty impressive!

When I was falling asleep last night I imagined a light blue backing with white clouds sewn on to it ~ I guess whenever I think of the word dream I think of clouds! I'm hoping to head to the fabric store tomorrow to get the stuff for the back. I really love the soft colors ~ like an Easter basket : )

Charm Pack Fun

2011-03-21T09:51:00.000-07:00

As many of you know I am a long time lover of quilts but never have any time to make any of my own. As of this year that is going to change! It seems a bit ironic that my little shop Pinks & Needles caters to mostly quilters! Don't you think it's about time I make quilts of my own?! I mean seriously! So I bought a few charm packs and went completely hog wild with them this past week. The problem is I have no fabric to back any of them and no batting either (well that isn't 20 years old)....hmmm...time to take a trip over the overpass to Palm Springs and get in gear. Anyway, here are a few pics of what I have been working on:

Hideaway Picnic Blanket ~ once finished this will be the perfect size for two people to sit on...oh and a small dog too but only if he doesn't steal the chicken salad sandwiches! Bruiser I'm talking to you buddy : )

It's a Hoot Table Runner ~ I'm thinking about giving this to my Auntie Ruthie who loves crazy patterns and lots of color! I think adding lots of misc. buttons and fun stitches will be so cute!

Dream On Summer Quilt ~ for our bed. The colors are so beautiful and we have a lot of greens and oranges and white going on in there : )

I'm really looking forward to all of my Charm Pack WIPs! Should keep me very busy this Summer!

WINNERS OF THE GIVEAWAY HAVE BEEN CHOSEN!

2011-03-01T07:46:00.000-08:00

A big huge thank you to all who commented on my blog, flickr page or who purchased anything from my shop in the month of February! Winners were picked at random out of a basket : ) Drum roll please......

The Winner of the cute pair of Fairy Winged Scissors is: Carole Stitches (on Etsy)! Please follow this link to pick up your prize! Pink Fairy Winged Scissors!
Proceed through check out as normal - you will be reimbursed through Paypal : )

The Winner of the hand sculpted Banana Yellow Lollipop Ornament is: Cupcake DD (on flickr)! Please follow this link to pick up your prize! Banana Yellow Lollipop Ornament!
Proceed through check out as normal - you will be reimbursed through Paypal : )

The Winner of the Cherry Swirly Lollipop Pin Topper is: 7 Cherry (on flickr)! Please follow this link to pick up your prize! Cherry Swirly Lollipop Pin Topper!
Proceed through check out as normal - you will be reimbursed through Paypal : )
Thanks again everyone for participating! I am hoping to hold another Giveaway sometime in the month of March so please check back soon for details!

Have a wonderful day today~
Gigi

GIVEAWAY - Pinks & Needles 3rd Anniversary Giveaway!

2011-02-19T15:56:00.000-08:00

Going on now through February 28th!

Pinks & Needles is celebrating it's 3 Year Anniversary in the month of February !Thank you to everyone who has supported my little shop over the years! It's very heartwarming : ) To help celebrate Pinks & Needles 3rd Anniversary I want to do a giveaway or more specifically "3" giveaways - winners will be picked at random and announced here March 1st!

Here are 2 ways to enter in to the giveaway!

#1 You will automatically be entered in if you place an order between Feb 1st- Feb 28th!

or............

#2 Please leave a comment telling me a pin topper idea you would love to see in my shop! Please keep in mind I do not want to make pins of any trademarked product like Winnie the Pooh etc. as that would be a copyright infringement : ) + it's more fun to let the creative juices flow!

Of course I understand that some of you may comment ideas that I have already done in the past or have thought of myself ~ that's totally fine! I will let you know when I respond back to you if I have already done a pin like that or have a design in the works etc.... But if you could give me specifics like: "a blue teapot with pink roses and white polka dots" that would be wonderful for me!

If you have already placed an order go ahead and comment here too it will count as 2 entries!

Good Luck!
Hugs~
Gigi

P.S. Each prize will come with an extra sweet surprise!

Rainbow Layer Cake Recipe

2011-02-18T16:20:00.000-08:00

Hi All!

I usually don't blog recipes here on Pinks & Needles but I wanted to share it with all of my friends so here it is. First off I should say it's a very easy cake to make but it is very tall and does require a bit of skewering! It was my 41st birthday yesterday and I have been dying to make a rainbow cake for some time so I thought it would be a good excuse to do it!
All I did was make a double batch of a Duncan Hines White Cake Mix and followed the directions on the box. I happened to have (5) 9-inch cake pans so I thought that would save time in the oven since I could bake 4 at once. I think I would've preferred to use 8 inch pans just because the height of the cake would be even taller than what mine turned out like and baby let me tell ya this is one tall cake! It really makes quite a statement sitting on a cake pedestal for sure.
Anyway I used 6 good size cereal bowls and divided the batter as evenly as I could like this:

Then I added food coloring to each and mixed them up pretty good so the batter color was nice and even like this:

Then I poured them each into my 9 inch cake pans (prepared with Baker's Joy cooking spray) and baked them for about 20 minutes on 325 because my pans are darker in color. Use your best judgment when deciding how long to bake them for since all ovens are different. They looked so pretty in the pans:

While the cakes were baking I made a batch of Cook and Serve Vanilla Jell-O pudding which I prefer to instant pudding and let that cool. By then the cakes were done and I cooled them on wire racks. If your cakes bake unevenly now would be a good time to even them out with a nice sharp serrated bread knife so your layers lay nice and flat on top of each other. I started layering the cakes next, straight onto my white cake pedestal starting with the purple layer first. And then I added some pudding and spread it almost to the edge of the cake. Then I did the blue layer, pudding, green layer, pudding and so on until my red layer was on top! I poked wooden skewers in the cake in about 6 places to keep it steady and then I covered it lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerated it over night. I know it's kind of a "no-no" in the cake world to refrigerate a cake but I did it anyway - I'm such a ruler breaker!
By the next morning the cake was nice and set and ready for frosting. For some odd reason I wasn't feeling the frosting thing so I decided on whipped cream instead! I suggest whipping your own heavy whipping cream and adding a bit of vanilla extract and powdered sugar to taste. I'm sorry if I'm not giving specific amounts but I just wing stuff like this rather than measure. It's all a matter of individual taste.
Since whipped cream doesn't hold for very long I only piped it on individual pieces that were ready to be eaten right away and didn't frost the entire cake with it. Trust me you will not want to put a bunch of whipped cream onto a cake that won't be eaten right away because it will turn into a big soggy mess!
I hope you all enjoy this rainbow cake recipe!
Happy Baking!

Hugs,
Gigi

WIN ME - come on over to sewdeerlyloved on Monday February 7th!

2011-02-05T15:01:00.000-08:00

Kerri of sewdeerlyloved asked me if I wanted to participate in her "Dreaming of Spring" giveaway coming this Monday February 7th! Of course I said yes! I made this cute little deer giving butterfly kisses pin topper set to help reign in a fabulous Spring I'm ever so looking forward to!

If you are the winner go ahead and put your "deerie prize" in your cart and check out as normal. Pinks & Needles will refund your dollar via PayPal!

The fun will begin over at sewdeerlyloved.etsy.com on Monday February 7th! More details in her shop coming soon!

Thanks so much for looking!

If you are interested in this set please convo me for pricing details. I'm happy to set up a RESERVED LISTING for you! Please allow 2-3 weeks before I am ready to ship to you
:)

Happy Spring Coming Up!

PS The actual giveaway is on her blog: lovelylittlehandmades

I just wanted all of you to see her awesome shop on Etsy too!

What You'll See at Our House Around the Holidays!

2010-12-13T17:53:00.000-08:00

I'm sure all of you are busy busy baking and making!

I still haven't had too much time to do anything gift related quite yet. We've already told the family that we'll be shipping gifts sometime in January. I know this may sound like a bad idea but with hubby's schedule and my carpal tunnel we haven't been able to do what we normally do this time of year! I haven't even baked one cookie yet! Looking back on Christmas' I definitely see a pattern with me. One year I'm "on it" the next year I'm not....over and over like clock work. This year needless to say I'M NOT ON IT this year!

My Etsy shop is as stocked as it's gonna get until the New Year and I have almost all of my existing orders complete so I'm looking forward to later in the week when I can buckle down and get some stuff done!

I'll be making a gingerbread village if my wrist cooperates with me which I'm really looking forward to - all mini houses no big ones this year.

I finally finished my first gumdrop wreath which was so fun to make. A lot of hot glue and 3 cheap $1.00 bags of gumdrops from Wal-Mart and a styrofoam wreath from Michael's! Check it out!

If I had to do it all over again I wouldn't take the time to try and get all of the colors to match up perfectly - a mathematical improbability! But it's always a learning thing for me - I just wing it! and hope it works out okay!

Another shot of it hanging on the wall in my kitchen

Although zero cookies have been baked I did manage to squeeze in some candy making. Another "first try" or shall we say "Operation Buttermint"! I'm renaming them "pain in the booty buttermints" instead. The recipe was from Land O Lakes and was classified as "EASY" - I beg to differ.....I mean I'm not saying I know a lot about making candy but I think I can at least roll a decent rope of two different colors of dough without too much of a problem. Not even close! The dough was so finicky and very hard to work with. I only made a few like this and then gave up:

Then I started to roll them into tiny little balls like this:

Cute but time consuming!

I was happy when I came up with the idea to make them into garlands like this:

I figure they could double as an edible necklace right?

Oh I almost forgot I did bake something but it was only because I had an excuse. I needed to make a little cake bunting and how can you make one of those and not have a cake to stick it in. I totally cheated and made a boxed red velvet cake and popped some cute wooden mushrooms made by Craftsty on it too:

sliced and ready to munch:

Well folks that about does it for me! I'll be back hopefully tomorrow with some pin topper pics!

I hope everyone's having a great evening : )

I'm ready to eat a little dinner and watch some tv tonight!

Cheers,

Gigi

A Continuation From Prior Post....

2010-12-05T14:57:00.000-08:00

2010-12-05T14:55:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I"m sure you all know about this but in case you don't.........
So you could say I'm a little slow on the get go here but I didn't know this website even existed! It's called Craft Cult! You can go to their Home page and then go to "The Vault" and then go to "Search For Member". Type in an Etsy seller's name and it will tell you how many times they've made it to Etsy' Front Page! Well this was a fun thing to find out today! I knew I had made it to Etsy's Home Page once but not 4 more times too! Wow! I'm a bit happier today than I was in yesterday's post : )
Have fun searching some of your favorite shops and of course your own!

A Vintage Trailer Featuring Campy Cupcakes

2010-12-04T17:14:00.000-08:00

Today I sit at my computer with a wrist guard on protecting me from further carpal tunnel damage : ( Ugh.......I guess when I worked out in the yard hula hoeing weeds when my parents were here for Thanksgiving I must've really given my wrist a run for it's money. I take for granted all I do with my hands and arms for that matter! I told hubby I don't want to be a Debbie Downer about being out of commission but really???? Could it have come at a worse time or what? The holidays are in full swing, cookies need to be baked, gifts need to be made and wrapped.....hmmmm....what else needs to be done? Oh just about a gajillion things! I tend to get a little sarcastic when things aren't going my way!!! Sorry for the rant everyone! But what am I suppose to do with myself if I can't stay busy with my hands? If anyone has an idea for me please let me know! I shouldn't be typing either but it's like I have serious problem relaxing doing nothing - "it's just not my bag ~ baby!"
Okay I'm done now..........
Well at least I got to paint one little plaque before the wrist guard was put on. I'm not sure if many of you know how much I adore vintage trailers but I do! I fantasize about fixing one up and plopping 'er in the back yard and making it like a club house! No Boys Allowed! Ha! Just kidding...well wait a minute maybe I'm not. I guess boys could come in but only if they wipe their feet and wash their hands first! I imagine myself baking cupcakes inside the trailer and decorating every inch of space while listening to Modest Mouse and daydreaming about all the cute things I've conjured up in my head...that would be my ultimate dream come true.
I suppose that is whats so wonderful about painting on a blank piece of wood! You can daydream the entire time and let your imagination run wild with delight. So this is what I came up with: a pink trailer with scallops, a lone owl watching over me, bunches and bunches of Black Eyed Susans spilling from vintage glass vases and let's not forget about the most important part ~ the cupcakes and the treats!!!! Would anyone like to join me there sipping an Arnold Palmer perchance? Wouldn't it be lovely.....lovely......lovely....so says Audrey Hepburn anyway.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T08:21:00.000-08:00

This is so embarrassing that I haven't posted since August! I guess that's what happens when you move from Arizona back to California...life becomes one big mess in a box or should I say boxes! We are finally unpacked and just in time for my parents to be here for Thanksgiving! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday feast today : )
I am posting a few pics of some new items in my Etsy shop. I have made a ton of lollipop ornaments and a new design of a cupcake ornament too!

A group shot to help see the color differences...

I'm still not sick of Pink & Red together ~ especially all wound up into one nice over sized holiday sweets ornament!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'm off to make some sweet potato biscuits!
Hugs~
Gigi

Vintage Inspired Sewing Machine Pin Topper

2010-08-29T08:26:00.000-07:00

Available for pre-order!

Welcome to California!

Swimming in Boxes!

I have been very bad about posting lately because we're in the middle of packing up our house here in Arizona and moving to California in less than 3 weeks! It's very exciting and yet stressful because of the short amount of time we have to get everything done!
I know this may sound crazy because a lot of you know I struggle with the heat here in AZ but believe it or not we're moving somewhere even hotter! That's the one part I"m not looking forward to at all - at least not in the Summer time : ( But alas we'll be back home in our HOME STATE and that much closer to our families!
We found a cute house close to Palm Springs! I was poking around on the internet to learn more about the hot springs around there. Come to find out back in the 1950's there were over 80 + spas and hotels (often referred to as "spa-tels" operating at the time! That's a lot! Apparently the Hollywood stars of that time would come to get a way from it all! There's a small town close built on one of the world's finest natural aquifers and has won multiple awards for the "Best Tasting Municipal Drinking Water" in competitions. I never knew there were such a thing as competitions for water tasting did you?
Anyway, I'm busy packing and cleaning and trying to get things done in a timely fashion. Unfortunately I'm doing most of this by myself as hubby is always gone on business.
As for Pinks & Needles news I am keeping my shop open during this time and am hoping I won't be too out of touch with flickr, Etsy, Artfire and email in general while I unpack and get settled. Let's hope for the best!
I have designed a new pin topper I am currently taking pre-orders for on Etsy. It's a vintage inspired sewing machine! I will be shipping them all out the second week of November to ensure a timely arrival before the holidays : ) The shop is currently stocked at the moment with a few new designs too! Come stop by and say hi!

Have a great Sunday everyone!
Gigi

Have You Ever Seen Flowers This Pretty?

2010-08-08T09:34:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!
Sorry I've been a bit MIA but all in good fun! One of hubby's business partners got married in Santa Barbara last weekend and it was so lovely! Anyway, we spent some time in Los Olivos, Solvang and even made it down to visit our friends in Laguna Beach! My goodness the flowers that grow this time of year on the coast are breath taking! Like this morning glory winding it's way up a regular old sign post!
I really enjoyed wine tasting at Saarloos and Sons in Los Olivos - their tasting room was so cool! Hubby knows Kirk Saarloos (one of the owners) from when we lived up in the Seattle area. He used to play major league baseball and would give us tickets on occasion : )

This gorgeous chandelier hung right outside the front door under the eve of their cute California Bungalow!

Can you imagine taking the time to hand paint these silhouettes all over the wall? Oh my gosh that must've taken forever!

This Shasta Trailer was the highlight for me as far as sight seeing goes in my home State of California! Would you believe me if I told you they sell cupcakes out it? I'm serious! Enjoy Cupcakes is making it's way around the valley! You have to check out their website! it's so cute!

Well I know none of this was pin topper related but I was so excited to share with all of you a little bit of what I experienced while being back in California! Back to work Monday sculpting more Halloween pins for the shop!

Glitter Lollipops & Whimiscal Cupcakes

2010-07-28T08:32:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!

I wanted to share with all of you some fun news! I am so happy to announce I have officially opened up a new shop on ArtFire! Of course I will always keep my Pinks & Needles shop on Etsy but I was too excited not to share the exciting news! My new shop frosted window on ArtFire is dedicated to Year Round Holiday shopping.

Lollipop Ornaments in Progress - still need to add ribbon and a laminated tag that reads "Sweet!" to each pop!

I'm having this image made into glossy postcards and it will read "Happy Birthday!" down at the bottom in Pinks & Needles font!

I'm thinking I would like to keep my pin toppers in their proper Pinks & Needles place but frosted window will offer an array of handmade items like all different styles of faux dough cupcake & lollipop ornaments, felted cotton candy necklaces, postcards of my photography, prints of my original paintings & drawings ~ and gifts in general. I would love it if you popped on by to have a look when you get a chance!I should mention too that I will be listing 20 new pins in Pinks & Needles tomorrow morning (Thursday July 29th) ~ many of them brand new designs and some Halloween related!
I'm leaving for a wedding this Friday in Santa Barbara which I am thrilled about! it will be so nice to get out of the desert heat and into the refreshing ocean breeze!
Have a wonderful rest of your week everyone!

Hugs,
Gigi

Vintage Vacation Swap

2010-07-19T14:57:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!
I have been wanting to post a few pics of what I sent my partner Jenn of Eye Candy Creations! Many of you probably already know her but in case you don't go check out her blog ~ she's got the cutest banner first of all and her style is so whimsical and fun!
My take on "vintage vacation" was a road trip! A little something from Georgia to represent Jenn, a few little things from California/Arizona to represent me and a little something from New Jersey to represent jenny who hosted the swap! I never seem to have any time anymore to swap so I made it a point to make time for this one!
I hope all of you are enjoying your Summer/Winter depending on where you live ~ I've been melting for months now and am ready for cool weather...ya right....not for a while still!

Hugs,
Gigi

Pincushion Rings Coming Soon!

2010-07-07T08:09:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!
I hope everyone's Summer has started out with a bang! Mine sure has. It's like I'm a bear who hibernates in the Winter only it's the opposite seasons for me. Too hot for outside activity unless you get up at 5am....zzzzzzzz......is usually what I'm doing that early : )
Anyway, I just wanted to show you a fun bowlful of goodness coming to the shop really soon! I have hand felted cute little things and made them into pincushion rings. Each ring comes with it's own trio of tiny pin toppers! I'm hoping to have plenty of these made up for the holidays ~ perfect for gift giving or spoiling yourself!
Enjoy your day!

Launching New Etsy Shop "Frosted Window" in July!

2010-06-27T08:57:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!
Wow what an incredibly busy month for me! After getting home from our 6th anniversary (spent at the Summer Bay Resort in Vegas off the strip)...I have been playing mad catch up with everything and everyone. We've already been cursed with 111 degree days which makes working with clay and nightmare so on those days I piddle around the garden and nap......I know it sounds like I'm a real slacker but for some reason I can't sleep at night when it's super hot like that! I have become nocturnal for the most part : )
Last July I wanted to open up another Etsy shop Frosted Window but it never quite got off the ground so with careful consideration I have made it a priority to get it up and running this July! Why July? Well for one thing I have always loved the idea of Christmas in July! If it were up to me I would have 12 Decembers in a row just so I could bake and make all year long!
I will be dedicating Frosted Window to everything Holiday related so I hope to see you all there soon!
In Pinks & Needles news things are changing for me somewhat in the next few days. I'm going to be making very limited amounts of pin toppers starting July 1st through the end of the year. The reason being, I will be dedicating my time to Pin Topper of the Month Club (PTMC), and working on getting the new shop stocked for the upcoming holidays! Plus I will be working on some really fun projects that I hope to share with all of you soon! It is my goal to have around 20 NEW pins listed in the shop by the first of every month! So once they're gone......they're gone : )
I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Hugs,
Gigi

Here's a few pins I've made for a custom order I thought you all would enjoy:

Shabby Chic Vintage Carnival Cotton Candy Necklaces

2010-05-22T13:28:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends~

Well it's super hot here and my clay isn't cooperating so I thought up a little something new to do today! I made cotton candy necklaces in two shabby colors - Aqua & Pink of course! I just wish I could eat them for real : )
Enjoy your weekend and perhaps if the weather is hot where you live pour yourself a nice tall glass of pink lemonade to celebrate BBQ season coming up!

Romancing the Strawberry & All About Apples

2010-05-19T06:49:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends~

I know it's only been a couple of days since my last post but I have two more pincushion sets I wanted to share with you : ) Remember that fun movie with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner "Romancing the Stone"? Well I sure do since I probably watched it 30 times one summer on Showtime when I was a kid! Anyway......I don't know if any of you shop owners out there wrack your brains trying to come up with the perfect title for your shop listings, but yesterday I was sitting there trying to come up with a good title for my (what I would call a "romantic" version of some strawberry related pins and all of a sudden it hit me: ROMANCING THE STRAWBERRY! Did I get it right?
Ever since I was a little girl I have had a real love for Apples.......why? The only thing I could think of is they remind me of a cute dress I used to wear in Kindergarten that had the ABC's, 123's and Apples on it! So maybe that's it! When I first opened up Pinks & Needles in February of 2008 apples were some of the very first pins I made : ) And they're still soooo popular! This little eggcup set I've entitled "All About Apples" is very simple and makes me happy just looking at it plus these 4 pin toppers are extra extra tiny!!!! Perhaps they're about 1/3 of the size of a regular apple pin!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day today!
I've been working overtime trying to get a bunch of stuff taken care of before we leave on our yearly vacation in early June! I can't wait!

Vintage Carnival Treats Pincushion Set

2010-05-17T06:30:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends~
I hope everyone had a nice weekend! I had the whole house to myself for almost a week since hubby was on a business trip/golf tournament in Vegas but he's home now asleep (like I should be).... but until around October when the weather starts to cool again I'll be up early every day to work with clay : )
Just wanted to share with you a new pincushion set I finished up last week! It's one of my very favorite themes to work with "Vintage Carnival"! I can't explain myself really about my obsession with "vintage" anything.....I suppose it reminds me when life was simpler and not so busy.
This pin topper set was really fun to make especially the cotton candy! I am very new to wool felting but thought it would be fun to make the cotton candy a bit more life like so here's what I came up with! Isn't the fabric is delightful? I'm hoping to make more sets centered around this theme so stay tuned!
I have another pincushion set I'll be listing in the shop today at some point entitled "Love Letter Afternoon" too~

Have a great week everyone!

Here's "Love Letter Afternoon":

Strawberry Afternoon & Paris Afternoon

2010-05-11T13:39:00.000-07:00

Hello friends~
It's a busy busy week here in the studio! Plus hubby's getting ready to leave tomorrow for a week to Las Vegas (1/2 business & 1/2 pleasure) - lucky guy! Well while he's gone it's my goal to get really caught up! The hot weather just makes me lazy........
I wanted to share a couple of new items in the shop! People often ask me what pin takes the longest or is the hardest to make and I never really know what to say....until now! The little shoe in Paris Afternoon was a real bugger! It's so tiny and is completely hand sculpted from one piece of clay so I think to date this was the one pin that took me the longest for sure!
Strawberry Afternoon is a cute depiction of Blythe having tea and reading a book about Strawberries! The book binding has the word "STRAWBERRY" down the spine (see the shop for more pictures).
Paris Afternoon has pins related to shopping in Paris like a hat box, shoe, basket of flowers and last but not least my personal favorite a red heart with the word Paris on the sash.
Have a great week everyone!
Oh I almost forgot about the Butterflies & Buttercream sets which include one Butterfly (with unbreakable antenna) and one coordinating Cupcake Blossom!

And also the Mini Mushroom sets with birdies perched on top which includes one button mushroom with a birdie sitting pretty and a coordinating mushroom cap!

Happy Mother's Day Baking Project

2010-05-06T15:57:00.000-07:00

I'm sure many of you are familiar with wafer paper transfers...but I wanted to post anyway because it was my first time working with them. So yesterday I baked off my shortbread rectangles and made a whollop of frosting from scratch. I didn't really know what to expect from the transfers but to be honest I was a bit scared to try them. I wasn't thrilled with how they looked as soon as I adhered them to the cookies....they seemed unfinished and kind of messy looking but I let them dry over night as suggested. Well the good news is by this morning they had transformed magically! The buttercream really melded them nicely and the colors even seemed to pop more!
So I packaged them up really simple and sent hubby with a cooler full of cookies to all of the Mom's on his side of the family today.
I hope all of you Mom's have a wonderful Mother's day this weekend! May your families spoil you rotten and do the dishes for you!

Butterflies & Buttercream DIY Cupcake Kit Giveaway Winner is.....

2010-05-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Sugar Sugar 2010 for winning this fun baking giveaway! Thank you everyone who entered to win! We'll be doing another giveaway really soon!

Pinks Squirrels & Chocolate Rabbits

2010-05-03T08:47:00.000-07:00

So everyone I know who lives here in Tucson is talking about our weird weather! It rained and it was freezing yesterday but get this........it's suppose to be a whopping 98 degrees on Wednesday! So I just had to tell you that because it brings me to what I want to show all of you:

Make sure to click on the pic above so you can see the details a much better : )Since it was stormy out yesterday I was able to work freely on some new designs and this is what I came up with! I love the pink fabric with the white squirrel silhouette....the fabric also has birdies and deer too so I'm looking forward to designing some other woodland critter sets very soon. I only have one more white eggcup left exactly as shown in the picture. : ( Isn't that how it always goes? You find something you love and then they decide to discontinue it!!! Well anyway, I love the style of eggcup as it is very old fashioned with the pretty ridges. I decided to jazz up the bottom too with a trio of millinery flowers in pink, yellow and white and then hand painted the stamens red to tie it all together ~ and last but not least I hand dyed the chenille trim a pale yellow to match!
Oh I guess I should mention that the little bug is indeed in fact a butterfly. I hand painted her little face and gave her somewhat googly eyes for fun! Her body is white and has pink polka dots and she has 4 wings which you are unable to see from the picture. Her antenna are unbreakable as are the stamen in the flower too so there's no need to worry about that, which back in the olden days when I first started working with clay was always upset when I broke a critters antenna : (

My next set I was able to finish has been dubbed Cafe du Pinks & Needles! The fabric is imported from Japan and sports so many different scenes of Blythe doing what she does best....shopping, baking, dancing etc! I don't know about you but as soon as I purchase fabric, my first impulse is to NOT cut into it...I always get a little sad when I cut a circle or a square out of a cute fat quarter! It just isn't right! But then after I take a picture and study it for a while I break down and hack away! I am really hoping to be able to create lots of different pin topper sets from the inspiration of this particular fabric ~ it's probably one of my most favorite kawaii fabric I've ever seen! So keep checking in to see what I come up with next.

P.S. The chocolate rabbit comes to life at night time I want you all to know ~ he's the one in charge of all the baking and strawberry dipping : )

Cupcake Kit Giveaway! Open until May 5th! Cinco de Mayo!

2010-04-30T14:59:00.000-07:00

This giveaway is for the US only - sorry International friends : ( Don't worry I'll be doing another giveaway soon!
Please leave a comment here if you would like to win this DIY Cupcake Kit! The winner may choose Classic Yellow Cake Mix or Devils Food Cake Mix (hermetically sealed). The kit includes: cake mix for 12 standard cupcakes, rainbow sprinkles, 12 cupcake liners, a PDF to make your own Cupcake Toppers (as shown in the picture) and last but not least a tote bag sewn by me with fabric I designed : ) The lining of the bag is a pretty white background with butterflies that match the outside of the tote bag! A perfect gift for a friend or a good excuse to bake some cuppies of your own! Please note frosting not included! Open to US only! Sorry International peeps...I'll be doing another giveaway soon Worldwide Welcome!

Here's what's inside:

Happy Baking!

Beware of Etsy Scam

2010-04-30T09:02:00.000-07:00

Hi friends!

I wanted to give you all some updates and news of what's been happening in PIN TOPPER LAND! I guess it's safe to say I have some interesting info I want to share with all of you especially those that run Etsy shops of your own. I don't want to alarm anyone but I do want all of you to be informed that there is a very sneaky scam artist out there who calls herself Arden (no last name).....I was contacted by her because she was looking to purchase a large quantity of "corporate gifts".. She inquired about my Alice in Wonderland sets and was hoping to purchase 40 sets!. She asked if I could send her a sample (which I told her I don't do "samples")...anyway, she promised she would send the sample back after her rep made a decision. Well, even though my heart said no I still did it and I learned the hard way....... it's been a couple of months and 30 + emails later (most of which were from me because she was a very vague/rude responder). Without going into all the details I just wanted to let you all know to be very careful about who you send samples to etc. I found out that her real name is Valerie Hawk Hoffman/Koffman/Arden and she has the Attorney General of Connecticut after her and seems to have ripped off hundreds of people from what I have read in the forums, Rip Off Report.com, "Callin' Out Etsy" and just Google in general. I have filed a report with the Attorney General of Maine and am awaiting a response to see what the next step is. She is without a doubt a very fragile person who has so many lies going on she can't even keep her stories straight. It's been extremely frustrating to say the least. I can't believe how much time I have wasted in the past couple of months trying to get blood out of the Arden/Valerie turnip!!!!! I really hope someone helps set her straight as it is very sad to think she spends her time doing what she does. Anyway, that's the scoop on that : )

New News: I heard back from the attorney General of Maine yesterday and they said they are unable to do anything about this because it's a business to business complaint!!! That's terrible!!! I still fell like I need to take this further but I don't know what to do? Any ideas?

Thanks everyone for reading this! I thought I should get the word out there to expose this person fro who she really is.

Have a great day~
Gigi

Earth Day Giveaway - NOW CLOSED : )

2010-04-21T13:47:00.001-07:00

Please leave a comment here to win this pink daisy pin topper handmade by me and also a packet of Shasta Daisy seeds! Giveaway open to anyone World Wide who cares about our planet Earth!

Here's what it looks like all wrapped up ready to go:

Springtime Pincushions Are Here!

2010-04-13T07:39:00.000-07:00

It's so true how you need a vacation after vacation right? We got home from visiting my parents in Solvang, CA and had a few days before I opened the shop again! It was so lovely this time of year in sunny California...not that I don't get enough sun here in AZ but it really is different......Oh wait a minute I think that's what they call an ocean breeze!!!!
Anyway, I kept busy with my head down and came up with a few new Spring related designs I wanted to share with all of you. They're all available right now to ship immediatley so come on over to Pinks & Needles when you get a chance : )

I also worked on a new Cake Tester design and debuted it yesterday, which I have to say is my favorite so far! I'll be making a Limited Edition of 25 total : ) It's really BIG!!! I think it will look cute in a small little kitchen crock right next to the stove! Please visit Sherri Baldy Art to see her whimsical gorgeous Marie Antoinette (and others) designs for quilting! You'll be blown away! She was kind as to let me use her image you see on the cardstock of the cake tester! I think it really tied it all together!

Wow it's been over a month!

2010-04-01T11:29:00.000-07:00

I think I got over my head with orders in March it's safe to say! My friends and family didn't see much of me....but I did manage to make a cute kids birthday cake for Hannah who turned 3 and also I got to make a huge batch of Angelfood cupcakes for my favorite bartender Peter too! I used my Gramma's chocolate frosting recipe which is my favorite!

As for pin toppers I haven't had too much time for new designs since I'm still in Alice in Wonderland mode but as soon as I return from Easter break I'll open the shop back up for taking orders and put a few new things in the shop! Here's a few new designs:

Another Alice in Wonderland Inspired Piece

2010-02-24T06:37:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends! Here's a sneak peek of a sculpture I've been working on.....if you would like to read more and see another picture of it please "follow the white rabbit" (this link) to my California Kiss Studio! Happy day to everyone!

Frolicking Bunny in the Meadow Pin Topper Set

2010-02-13T11:08:00.000-08:00

I have this fantasy of making a big fuzzy bunny at some point! So here's my "inspiration" bunny for now : ) This is a limited edition set made with tons of love and attention to detail. I received this cute pincushion a couple of years ago for my birthday from Cupcake DD : ) I love the fabric and the egg cup is the perfect size for a handmade pincushion!
I just listed this set on Etsy : )
Speaking of Etsy I guess I should mention I'm back to my old pre- holiday shop schedule being OPEN for business only one day a week on Mondays from 9 am to 9 am Tuesday morning. I'll leave a few things in my shop that I can ship out immediately on the days my shop is CLOSED for taking new orders.
Thanks everyone for your support! I hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend!

A Quick Hello

2010-02-08T15:08:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!
I'm just sitting here at my desk trying to get what seems like a million things done right now and I know you all know what I'm talking about! I have a few new designs I wanted to share with you as well. It's been really mild ever since our heavy down pouring of rain from my last post. Mild enough to make think that Spring is going to be Springing any time now. Lots of birdies chirping and my flowers are going crazy! So here to celebrate are 3 new Garden Fresh designs all sporting some type of little blossom. I think my favorite is the cherry with the aqua blossom

A Week of Rain in the Desert!

2010-01-29T05:35:00.000-08:00

I know this has nothing to do about pin toppers but if you'd like to see what I've been up to this past week please follow this link to another one of my blogs:
California Girl at Heart!
Have a lovely weekend!

It's Rainy Here Today!

2010-01-21T13:21:00.000-08:00

Not like that is huge news for most people....but for us here in the desert it is! We had a terribly dry monsoon season last year so I get very excited for rain when it happens! Which brings me to my next point....what do most of you do when it's cold and rainy outside? Are you like me? Do you like to get cozy, pop in a movie and craft away until it gets dark? I think that is my favorite time to craft...when it's cold outside : )

I found a wonderful wool felt distributor - they hand dye all of their wool and the colors are beyond gorgeous! Take a look! Weeks Dye Works is awesome! I have no idea why but my favorite pincushions to sew are made of wool felt. Maybe it's because when you stitch with embroidery thread they really pop? Or maybe because they look so bold sitting there next to your sewing machine : )

I took a little time they other day and made 2 strawberry pincushions - aren't' they juicy or should I say fuzzylicious?

More Stuff in the Shop Today!

2010-01-11T21:23:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends!
I forgot to Blog this morning : (........
Just wanted everyone to know that I added about 40 items to the shop today all of which are made to order. So what you see are samples that I can make for you. I will be working on some Valentine pins that I hope will be ready in about a week or so...could be a little bit longer. I've been so busy with my Pin Topper of the Month Club (ptmc) that I haven't had much time to blog or make items for Etsy!!! But I hope to be caught up really soon!
This little Birdie Love Letter pin topper has tweeted her way to Etsy for Valentine's Day! Come see what else is going on when you get a chance!

Thank You for a Great Holiday Season!

2009-12-16T21:16:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone!
I know everyone is so busy this week running last minute errands, wrapping gits, eating cookies, spending time with loved ones and hopefully making beautiful handmade items : )
I just wanted to say thank you to all who have supported Pinks & Needles this Holiday season!!! It has been a pleasure making my little pin toppers for all of you and I am pleased to say I have learned a lot about how to run a small retail business during a busy time of year.

I only hope to be even more prepared for the Holidays in 2010!

Here are a few pictures I've taken of some gift wrapping the last couple of days! It's kind of sad but I never had any of these gifts under the tree this year. They went from the gift closet, to the living room floor (for wrapping) and then straight to a shipping box : ( I have a few more gifts to wrap for neighbors and friends here in Tucson - so I hope to get those done tomorrow so I can at least enjoy looking at them underneath the Christmas tree for about a week!

Holiday Decor in Progress

2009-11-28T06:55:00.000-08:00

Hello friends! I hope everyone has recuperated from The Thanksgiving Graze Haze! We had a nice mellow day with our neighbors Jill, John and extended families. I made my Gramma Merle's homemade Cranberry Relish (recipe blogged here), Grasshopper Pie (a tradition on Thanksgiving since I was a little girl and a layered Italian Torta you spread on crackers or bread.
So we finally got Halloween put away and I've been working a little here and there when I need a break from the studio to get the Holiday stuff up! As I've mentioned a ga-jillion times I love the 1950's and retro style seems to be my favorite since I can remember so my decorations seem to follow suit. Don't get me wrong I love traditional things too but to me there's nothing tackier and more fun than shiny tinsel trees and big ridiculous over the top (too many) decorations!

I LIVE FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

2009-11-23T07:39:00.000-08:00

I really do...it's true! I'm not sure if I'm the only one who does this but all the year through I think about Christmas time and imagine our home decorated like a gingerbread house. I have so many favorite "things" that are sequestered to plastic totes in the garage for most of the year that you can almost hear my vintage elves gasp for fresh air as soon as I open the containers! So Saturday night hubby put the Nutcracker Suite on for me while I unearthed (literally) tons but not all of our holiday decor. It may sound like a normal task but mind you we have about half of our house packed ready to move as soon as we're done building (which has been delayed) since hubby received a contract to build low income housing in S. Africa before the World Cup starts next year. We almost decided on NOT decorating this year because Holiday boxes were shoved to the back corner of the garage!!! Could you imagine not decorating for he holidays? I think I would've headed into a downward spiral and quick! I know....I know.....stay calm. Not to worry! A little decoration is better than none! Whew!
My favorite to decorate are my small tinsel trees that are sooooo 1950's. I have been collecting vintage ornaments for sometime now. Thrift stores are the best for old Shiny Brites! I think I must have about 1000+ ~ no joke! I imagine them all clustered together in a huge wreath. Those however are still somewhere in the garage not to be seen until 2010 sometime. I did manage to find 5 trees which I plan on going to town on! Since they're small ~ they really make for excellent quick decor in a jiff.
I have big plans for the kitchen! Sweet related decor of course! I found some wonderful plastic jars from Michael's that I put my sprinkles in and also Wal-Mart has the best glass canisters right now with silver screw on lids - I'm thinking a great place to put ribbon candy and other sugary treats. Here's a couple of photos from last Christmas to share with you. I look forward to decorating all this week so I'll be sure to post some good pics by next Monday : )
Happy Thanksgiving week everyone!

Portabellopixie is Hosting The 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway!

2009-11-20T07:05:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends!
Today is Day 2 of Sandi Henderson's 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway! Hurry on over to Portabellopixie for details!

Pinks & Needles was lucky enough to be picked by her to give goodies away today November 20th on her blog! Sorry I didn't mention this yesterday when the hoopla started : ( I was so preoccupied getting caught up on things. Yesterday (Day 1) was hosted by the lovely and talented Megan of Brassy Apple! Talk about cute aprons ~ Oh me oh my!
I'm excited to see who she has picked to host tomorrow (Day 3) be sure to pop over everyday to enter in your chance to win!
Pinks & Needles will be giving away 2 prizes:
One lucky winner will receive a Frosty the Snowman Cupcake Ornament + a Surprise Holiday Pin Topper and also we'll be giving away a pretty Chocolate Cherry Cupcake Ornament + a Surprise Holiday Pin Topper to another winner!
I already posted a sneak peek pic of Frosty the Cupcake Ornament a couple of entries ago (scroll down a little way to see) but here's what Prize #2 is going to be:

Have a wonderful weekend! I hope all of you get some Holiday tasks done ~ like baking, shopping or maybe even decorating. Hubby will be busy today digging into the ornament boxes and helping me get Halloween put back into it's rightful place : )

I Lied!

2009-11-17T08:47:00.000-08:00

Okay....so remember how I've been yammering on and on about how I will remain OPEN 24/7 through the Holidays after I Re-Open on the 16th? Well it's safe to say I've been caught in a lie! I had no idea how busy it would be! After careful consideration late last night I have made some changes to my shop hours.

New Shop Hours through the Holidays:

OPEN: Mondays 9am through Tuesdays until 9pm
CLOSED: Wednesdays
OPEN: Thursdays 9am through Fridays 9pm
CLOSED: Saturdays & Sundays

I think I can keep up with everything now! We'll see! Fingers crossed : )

P.S. I tried needle felting for the first time last week. Hubby purchased me a kit from Fancy Tiger on Etsy! Go check out her shop - all different kinds of kits and supplies! I think this would make a great stocking stuffer + the cupcake kit contains enough wool roving to make 2 darling cupcakes!

The Shop Is Now Open Through the Holidays!

2009-11-16T05:46:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

Well to be honest I never thought today would come but it's finally here and I'm so excited! I'm up early getting all the final touches done to my shop before 9am Arizona Time. If you visit my shop before then, you will notice there are older designs listed in the shop that will remain available through the Holidays. My newest creations will up very soon! Looks like Frosty is ready to make his debut in a couple of hours!

I wanted to post some new information about Pin Topper of the Month Club (PTMC) for those of you who are interested in an update. There's some Big News I want everyone to know! First of all I am pleased to announce that Pinks & Needles will be teaming up with Moda Bakeshop! Please check out their fun site! So the idea is that once PTMC is full swing starting in January one of our subscribers and friends Vickie E will be writing a tutorial for a pincushion that will coordinate with that particular Pin Topper of the Month's theme!!! I am super excited about this team up!!! Thank you Vickie for making this happen! Stay tuned for more details : )
Other Big News for PTMC is we will be offering 3 different CLUBS to choose from! Please note the prices are not set in stone but just to give you an idea. Here's a mini breakdown of the 3 CLUBS:

Option One: PTMC ~ you will receive 1 pin per month for a year + every month your name will be entered into a random drawing to receive a FREE pin. = 12 pins per year
($12 per month for US subscribers)
($13 per month for outside the US)

Option Two: 4 SEASONS ~ you will automatically be enrolled in PTMC + you will receive a trio of pins 4 X a year coordinating with the Seasons + the random monthly drawing to receive a FREE pin. = 24 pins a year
($21 per month for US subscribers)
($22 per month for outside the US)

Option Three: CUPCAKE CLUB ~ you will automatically be enrolled in PTMC + the random monthly drawing + you will receive 1 cupcake pin every month for a year + a FREE Birthday Pin in your Birthday Month! = 25 pins a year
($22 per month for US subscribers)
($23 per month for outside the US)

If you are interested in joining all 3 CLUBS the prices will be $34 per month (US subscribers) or $35 per month for outside the US! That's 37 pins a year!!!!

I hope you all like these options for PTMC!!! I am really excited to get started! I look forward to hearing your Feedback on which CLUB appeals to you most!

On a business note: it is very important you know ahead of time that when you sign up for any of the CLUBS you are committing to a Full Year Subscription : ) I don't want there to be any confusion once we're in full swing! Thank you everyone for your interest in PTMC! It really means the world to me!

That's all for now! I hope to see you all around the shop this Holiday Season!!!

My Wheels Have Been Turning.....

2009-11-09T09:20:00.000-08:00

Hello all!
As promised here's another sneak peek of what will be available in the shop next Monday when we RE-OPEN! This cupcake sculpture is OOAK (One of a Kind)!

Now on to some really big news:
Hubby and I had a big discussion last night about the future of Pinks & Needles. It seems like we talk a lot about it all the time but there's always been so many unanswered questions that have been lingering for about 2 years now!!! Kind of frustrating....... but last night we got some clarity on a few key issues! This was exciting!
From the very beginning of me opening my Etsy shop (February 2008) I didn't have a clue about what I was doing or if what I was selling was going to be something people liked or not. I just put on my "Wing It" face and moved forward. I will never forget the first week my shop went live. I was so excited about it that I was literally getting out of bed in the middle of the night to see if items were selling! And the good news was that they were! I wasn't sleeping much the first couple of weeks and I never left the house either! I had to get myself organized and quick! So to make a long story short...it's been almost 2 years of making pin toppers pretty much every day (give or take).
Now back to getting some "clarity" on a few key issues. It kind of just came to us last night that things have to change some how in order for me to keep up with this pace and I think we found our answer!
First off I would like to offer a "Pin Topper of the Month Club" to the first 50 people who are interested ~ where people can subscribe to receive one pin every month! Each month will have a different theme and I would like to ask all of you to cast your votes as to what themes you would like me to offer. It doesn't matter to me if you cast your vote for 1 theme or 12 - it's up to you! The goal is to have all 12 themes picked by mid December. I am limiting the "Pin Topper of the Month Club" to the first 50 people that contact me via email or here on Pinks & Needles blog. The pins that are offered in "PTMC" will not be sold anywhere else and would be considered Limited Editions. I will continue to sell the subscriptions until they are fulfilled. For example: say the 50th person subscribes in June they would receive January through June's pins all at once. They won't miss out on any pins! Also we will hold a drawing once a month for all subscribers to win a FREE pin topper too!
We (hubby and I) are still working out the details such as cost etc. but wanted to post this right away since time is of the essence. Our goal is to keep this very affordable! Somewhere in the ball park of $10-$12 a month shipping included.
I would like to offer "The 4 Seasons Club" too! Instead of 1 pin topper every month it would be 4 times a year and the pin toppers would be "seasonal". For the folks living in the Southern Hemisphere I would accommodate to your seasons accordingly : )
PTMC will mean BIG CHANGES for my Etsy shop. For those of you who shop with me on regular basis, I am sure you are used to my shop being OPEN on MONDAYS ONLY. I would like to change this and have my shop OPEN 24/7! I will be offering a wider selection of items other than pin toppers. I guess what I am trying to accomplish by making these changes is squeeze in time for all my other crafty passions and share my handmade goodness with all of you! In turn creating more "One of a Kind Items" too.
I could go on and on about tons more stuff but will cut this post for now. Please stay tuned for more updates!
I really look forward to hearing from all of you about theme ideas for PTMC! Please post your ideas here or shoot me an email.
Have a great week!
Oh I almost forgot....if you live outside the US shipping might be just a tiny bit more but not much : )

P.S. if the email link doesn't work above (which it may or may not depending upon your own computers applied applications) then just comment below. I check my blog throughout the day!

Update From Santa's Workshop

2009-11-06T06:25:00.000-08:00

Hello all!

I usually post on Mondays but thought I'd share a sneak peek right before the weekend starts! As most of you know my Etsy shop is usually OPEN for business on Mondays ONLY ~ It's felt a little weird not having my shop be on it's regular schedule but the Elves have whispered a few times that they are excited that we CLOSED shop to build up our Goodie supply!! And Goodies are an understatement!!! The studio is busting at the seams right now!!! In fact some items have made their final resting place on top of our Tiki Bar in the living room where they will stay until they're shipped to their final destination! Good thing Poppa Elf (hubby) is so cool about having stuff laid out every where!!!
We've been very busy creating new Holiday items and ideas!!! Some are Vintage inspired others are modern and fresh! We're proud to say even Martha and her staff haven't come up with a lot of the craft ideas yet!!!

So we promised a while back to show sneak peeks of what's going on so here's our first one! These light weight Lollies are Glittered to the Max! We'll have lots of fun Candy Coated Colors to choose from (in 3 different sizes too)! They look great grouped in a vase filled with Rock Candy in the base or hanging from the highest bough of your sparkly tree. How cute would these be staggered on fishing line above a child's bed on Christmas Eve after they went to sleep? "While Visions of Sugar Plums Danced in Their Heads" comes to mind! When they awoke they'd know without a shadow of a doubt that St. Nick had visited in the middle of the night!
Please come back to visit us for more sneak peeks!!!

And the Winner is.............

2009-11-02T14:07:00.001-08:00

Catherine of Mrs. Toad Designs!!!!
Thank you to all who participated in Pinks & Needles First Blog Giveaway! Catherine will be receiving this handmade Holiday Cupcake Ornament made by me with lots and lots of LOVE!!!
Be sure to check out Catherine's blog at:
Mrs. Toad Designs
See you all for our Big Re-Opening of Pinks & Needles on Etsy Monday November 16th! Tons of fun Holiday gifts will be available! We'll be hosting another Blog Giveaway for the month of December - please stay tuned!

See you all for our Big Re-Opening of Pinks & Needles on Etsy! Tons of fun Holiday gifts will be available! We'll be hosting another Blog Giveaway for the month of December - please stay tuned!

Last Day to Order Pin Toppers!!!!

2009-10-26T14:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry.....didn't mean to freak you out with the scary make up but I just had to post this picture of me taken over the weekend at my friends house (Matt & Kathy) for their Pre-Halloween party!!! I dressed up like a Corpse Bride/Vampire!! It was so fun coming up with the make-up and hair. I'm not wearing a wig! That's all mine!!! And tons of hair spray! Do you see my pet Raven on top of my head? Too bad there wasn't a better shot of him. He's beak up staring at the ceiling in this one.

So today is the last day to order pin toppers that you would regularly see in my shop!! It kind of feels weird not posting new designs today but I figured since I will be closed until November 16th I might as well save some new designs until then!
I'm pretty excited about Re-Opening on November 16th! The shop will be stocked with a lot of "Grab & Go" types of gifts - so what that means is no waiting 2-3 weeks before I ship out your order!!!! I wish I could spill the beans as to what you may find in the shop but it's a secret for now!!!!

There will be about 20 different pin toppers in the shop during the holidays but please note these will take the normal 2-3 weeks to complete before shipping. I'm going to try and get some stick built up but as you know these little cuties are very time consuming so we'll just have to play it by ear : )

My First Blog Giveaway!!!!!!

2009-10-19T09:40:00.000-07:00

Choose which blog you would like to follow by clicking on "Follow Blog" at the top of the page. I keep 4 blogs current (listed below)! Choose to follow 1 or more. The more blogs you follow the better your chances for winning! I will enter your name in once for each blog you follow : )

Pinks & Needles Blog a place to keep up to date with my Etsy shop Pinks & Needles!
California Girl Confections a place where I share recipes!
California Girl at Heart a place where I share fun things!
California Kiss Studio a place where I share art!
I will be giving away a lovely handmade surprise to the Lucky person who's name I pull from a hat on November 1st!!!!!!
Please note: you can comment here but in order to be entered into the drawing you must "follow" me at 1 or more of my 4 blogs : )
Thank you so much! I look forward to my first giveaway!!!! If you are already a follower you will automatically be entered into the drawing!

European Love

2009-10-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

I have very fond memories of traveling through Europe about 10 years ago with my besty Mary and my brother Andy. We backpacked all through France, Germany and Italy for the bulk of our trip with a few small stops in Austria, Amsterdam and others. I would be lying if I told you I didn't eat gelato and Nutella everyday! I think I gained about 10 lbs even with all the walking we did! You could say I lived life to the fullest!!! We were there in Winter during the 50 year storm which brought 20 foot walls of snow along the streets of Garmisch-Partenkirchen! It was so much fun and so memorable. These pin toppers are a reminder for me of how much I love all things European and let us not forget my ancestry too!

Gingerbread House Pin Toppers

2009-10-11T12:35:00.000-07:00

Please see the post following this one for the story on my Gingerbread Pin Toppers!

Gingerbread with a Twist!

2009-10-11T11:07:00.001-07:00

.......the TWIST being a different way to enjoy your pin toppers!!!!I have wanted to post this idea for ages but was waiting until the holidays were upon us to share my idea of what I am calling "Candy Terrariums"! Most people use my pin toppers for their pincushions but why not expand their use! The glass jars you see here can be purchased at Wal-Mart for a very cheap price and any old decorating sugar can be used for the filler in the lower part of the jar. I just took a small piece of floral Styrofoam and taped it to the bottom of the jar, then filled it with the colorful sugar and popped the Gingerbread Pin Toppers in place! Gingerbread has always been one of my all time favorites to bake, decorate and of course eat! My dad gets very excited about good healthy food and gingerbread is no exception. Apparently molasses is very good for you because of all the trace minerals so let's just say my dad eats alot of gingerbread during the holidays!!! I'm thinking I will make one of these Candy Terrariums for him to put on his desk for Christmas.

Pinks and Needles in the Press

2009-10-11T09:20:00.000-07:00

I meant to post this in September but am a bit behind the ball as usual especially this time of year. I tend to day dream a lot about the holidays and my mind starts going crazy with fun new ideas for handmade gifts and cookie designs.....please tell me I'm not the only who does this!!!? So Pinks & Needles is featured in Better Homes & Gardens Quilt Sampler magazine on newsstands now through January 12th, 2010. We're on page 6 along with some cute pincushions from Sandi Henderson, Heather Bailey, Miss Rosie's Quilts and more!

Pinks & Needles in the Press

2009-10-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to be interviewed by Parasol Craft out of San Fransisco! Please go check out their website! It's honestly the best of the best as far as crafting magazines go. This months issue is dedicated to All things Kawaii! Next month the theme is Small World : ) Parasol is an online magazine so there's no hard copy - which I think is a wonderful way to save our planet's precious resources. Thanks Yas for all your hard work : ) Oh I almost forgot I should mention that this months issue is over 100 pages filled with lots of interviews, templates, tutorials, downloads and even a soundtrack!!! So cool! Photo Credits: Parasol Magazine

Family Emergency

2009-10-06T07:01:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone ~
Well It's been a scary past few days but it has a happy ending so I feel very blessed. It has felt really weird not having my shop OPEN for business yesterday and today but I am still playing catch up from my last batch of orders and will resume to normal next Monday.
Our dog Chester was rushed to the vet and then had to be rushed to the animal hospital over the weekend. He was diagnosed with a liver shunt last October and suffered from two seizures as a result. But ever since we put him on a special low protein diet and a synthetic liver hormone he has been episode free for a year until just a few days ago. He ate another dog's food and started having odd behavior then collapsed. He was suffering from hepatic encephalopathy which causes high ammonia levels in the brain. We thought at one point we were going to have to put him to sleep.....it was one of the scariest things I've ever witnessed. Our vet gave him Enulose, a steroid, Atropine and an IV...had him hooked up to the EKG machine too....poor little guy! But he was such a trooper!!! He made it through!!! We've been keeping a very close watch on him and he seems totally back to normal and the side effects have since wore off although he's been very thirsty!!!! Whew!!!! Is all I have to say!
Anyway, now that the trauma is over I can blog about it.....I don't do very well re-hashing scary details (especially in the heat of the moment) because I get so emotional but I'm finally feeling like things are returning to normal.
See you all next Monday with 3 new designs: Gingerbread Houses with a Twist!!!

Halloween Part 2 Pin Toppers

2009-09-28T07:15:00.001-07:00

I have been so excited about debuting these pins because I love Halloween so much! So here they are! A cupcake topped with a witch's hat, a duo of candy corns and a spooky little Jack-o-Lantern!
Please note if you would like to purchase them and you live outside of the US the last day to order is October 5th. If you live within the US the last day to order is October 12th. Stop on by my Etsy shop Pinks & Needles - OPEN on Mondays only : )
Have a lovely day everyone!
PS I hope everyone's thinking about what they are dressing up like this year. I keep going back and forth between a vampire (because I'm obsessed with the Twilight Saga) or a dark character you might see at a masquerade ball.....hmmm.......

Cupcake Plaques

2009-09-21T10:25:00.001-07:00

I never seem to have extra time to work on "other" projects lately but yesterday I made time to play around with my cupcake ornaments. I decided to cut them in half and mount them on mini wooden plaques! The possibilities are endless! I had to stop at these 3 but I have many more ideas swimming in my noodle : )

Ladies Who Lunch

2009-09-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

I always loved it when my mom had her bridge group over to play cards. That meant a lot of yummy food and the table decorated perfectly! My mom had a heck of a knack for "setting up"!
So in keeping with the spirit I thought of my mom whilst I sculpted and played with clay the other day. This was my first attempt at making a vase of flowers ~ why didn't I do tat sooner!!!

Cherries!!!!

2009-09-14T09:27:00.002-07:00

I am such a sucker for all things cherries! I love them! I gave one of my old designs (the cherries jubilee teapot) a little make over by fine tuning the cherries themselves. Not the stems are much thinner and leaf has a bit more detail. I've been wanting to make a couple of other pins to go with the teapot so here they are! A nice big fat bowl of freshly picked cherries and a teacup and saucer to match : )

French Macaron Pin Toppers

2009-09-07T09:08:00.000-07:00

I have only been to Paris once and it was a very interesting experience for me ~ both good and bad. Unfortunately I visited at the end my long backpacking trip through Europe so needless to say I was exhausted by the time I arrived : ( But I have to say I enjoyed every minute of eating at the various patisseries!!! My favorite dessert was the macaroon. I love their shiny perfect appearance and the filling was always a surprise to my taste buds!

Gnome Sweet Gnome

2009-09-01T17:36:00.001-07:00

I don't know why Gnomes are so cute! I can't figure it out! Is it their rosey cheeks? Or their famous red pointy hats? Whatever it is I am smitten! If I could be anything other than human I would choose to be a Gnome. Tiny and small but full of life! Living amongst the mushrooms and the blossoms ~ that's where I'd like to be.

Once again a bit far behind

2009-08-25T09:31:00.000-07:00

Well I can never stay on top of things - especially these days. I guess I should probably say that since hubby is planning on being in S. Africa for business very soon there seems to be a lot of stuff needing our attention. I know.......bad excuse but it's True!
Well 2 Mondays was my "Ode to Mark Ryden"! I absolutely love his paintings! He's a master painter with an incredible imagination! Please check out his website when you get a chance: Mark Ryden
As for yesterdays pin toppers....Halloween is right around the corner! Can you believe it? I really love that time of year when things start winding down here and I know cooler weather lingers somewhere close : ) So in saying that my theme for pin toppers was Halloween Part 1! Witches hats, black apples, scary skulls and couple of other goodies!
Come back to my Etsy shop next Monday for a real special treat! The theme is "Gnome Sweet Gnome"...I think these are by far my favorites!

Sunflower Harvest

2009-08-12T08:56:00.000-07:00

Wow what a busy Monday I had! I wasn't sure if the sunflower theme would be a hit or not? So glad it was! Thank you everyone for your continued support of my little shop!

Sorry I'm so far behind......

2009-08-09T19:47:00.001-07:00

I promise I will try and stay a bit more current on new pin toppers in my shop! Here's the latest but tomorrow I will be adding more!

Inspiration for Pin Toppers - Vintage Kitchen

2009-05-22T15:40:00.001-07:00

So this has been really fun! Every week I put together a collage that inspires me for pin toppers I debut the following week! It helps me stay on track which is sometimes hard for me because my mind wanders while I sculpt away! June is going to be a weird month for me because we will be gone so much out of town on vacation so I'm not sure exactly when I will be debuting the Vintage Kitchen pins but I will let you know!

Vintage Kitchen by Gigi Minor featuring Calypso

Inspiration for Pin Toppers Debuting on May 25th - Refreshing!

2009-05-19T09:20:00.000-07:00

Refreshing by Gigi Minor on Polyvore.com

I just finished making the pins for this next debut! I hope everyone likes them!

Inspiration For Pin Toppers Debuting May 18th - Spring Time Sweetness!

2009-05-17T10:28:00.000-07:00

Here's my first of many collage inspirations! I loved the color palette the best for this collage! So bright and cheery! And very desserty!

Second Week of May Inspiration by Gigi Minor featuring Dorothy Perkins Accessories

Four Fabric Color Choices

2009-04-30T19:29:00.001-07:00

Four Fabric Color Choices
Originally uploaded by Gigi & Big Red

I've been busy designing some fabric that will be in my shop very soon! Here's a sample of four different color choices that will be available in the Cupcake Tile fabric. I am constantly inspired by the old fashioned, vintage or retro linens I find at the thrift store but also, I have a real soft spot for fresh modern design too - so I thought I'd mix up the two with these Big Bold designs sure to bring cheer to your dining table.