LolliShops!

I'm so excited about this new venue! Here's a little info to get your imagination up and running! Looking forward to it opening this Fall!

LolliShops is a juried, online selling venue for talented artists, collectors of vintage and art supply vendors. LolliShops will appeal to those who love...

* Elegant Whimsy
* Romantic Inspirations
* Fanciful Creations

... artists will enjoy setting up their own, customizable store fronts while LolliShops patrons enjoy feeling like a kid in a Candy Store!

Stay up to date with LolliShops Blog!

Faux Dough

When I was baking real cakes and goodies years ago I used to play around with making fake cakes for display, which reminded me of how much I love having sweets around (especially the low cal ones : ) But ever since Pinks and Needles opened in February I haven't had much time for creating anything else...except I decided to make the time this past week! I was invited to do a craft show in November up in Oro Valley and thought this would be a perfect venue to showcase some "Faux Dough"! I've made them all into ornaments for hanging on a Christmas tree but honestly the hook is so discreet you can use them as decoration for your cake pedestal too. They're very lifelike and cheery!

The Monsoons are Coming!!!

Hope all of you had a wonderful 4th! It was a very low key fun evening in...no fireworks for us but the fam watched the Bucket List and ate gelato out at Frost : )
It's been hot and yucky out and I've been feeling a little blah until last night! It dumped rain for a couple of hours - thunder and lightning, lots of wind so it cooled everything down to reasonable temperature! We opened all the windows (something you don't do too often in Tucson during Summer)! At last the monsoons are on their way! Relief!
This weekend my mom made a wonderful dessert from Pamela Clark's book entitled "Cupcakes" ~ here's a shot of the froufrou's! Oh my gosh they were delicious! Raspberry and Coconut ~ you can't go wrong in my book! We drank a bottle of Raspberry Framboise Lambic too.
: ) If you haven't tried this stuff you have too! This is what we served at our wedding instead of champagne...if you love a spritzer type drink it's perfect. It's the only alcohol that tastes just as good cold as it does room temperature! Oooooo and it's not too sweet either ~ think refreshing and fruity!

A Retired Cake Baker Turned Cake Tester Maker

A new creation besides a pin topper...whew what a breath of fresh air for me! I was messing around with clay on a larger scale than I normally do for my pins and came up with this little 3 tiered pink cake with roses on the top. I decided to go down to the Foothills Shopping Mall to see if they had any plain old regular plastic topped cake testers and they did : ) Hubby smashed the top off for me with a hammer and voila! I'm really into collecting old retro/vintage recipe books and found a delicious recipe for Kiss and tell Cake so I added that to the background cardstock for fun.

Random Ramblins on the First Day of Summer!

Living in Arizona is like living in a crockpot 5 months out of the year ; ) I'm talkin' HOT BABY!!! It already feels like September in my opinion (due to the warm Spring and record breaking days already) but Summer's first official day is today..how can that be?
It's a sign to stay inside out of the elements and create my days away....so if anyone wants to know where I am for the next few months it's indoors. I rented Alice in Wonderland and was re-inspired to create a pin topper set to put in my shop. The little cake is my favorite pin : )
My parents are visiting right now from Santa Barbara : ) Mmmmm...Santa Barbara is one of my favorite places I've ever lived! It's so beautiful and upbeat. Someday we hope to relocate back to our California roots but until then I suppose the sandy desert will have to do.
June started out a little different for me and for my shop - it was the first time since it opened in February that I closed the doors for a whole week and went on a mini vacation to where we were married 4 years ago ~ VEGAS! Fun and not too HOT believe it or not. We walked every where....miles and miles...it was wonderful to spend time with my hubby and just chill out!.....Oh ya and no computer : )
But I'm glad to be home and happy to stay busy with a few custom orders and the normal day to day stuff. I have noticed my energy is down in mid afternoon due to the heat...weird since the a/c is on 24/7!
I'm starting to work on CSSTeam's Christmas in July to help raise money for ad space in a magazine! I came up with a new pin topper design today called "Figgy Pudding"...looks cute and I will post pics soon.
Until then : )

Happy Memorial Day

A day to remember our brave men and women who have lost their lives fighting for our country...

Introducing the New Fresh Look for Pinks & Needles!

Hi everyone! Long time no blog for me as I am busier than I have ever been : )
Years ago when I had my own baking company I thought it couldn't get any busier than right now! I was wrong...since February our lives have changed. Hubby makes dinner on a regular basis, walks the dog and keeps the Minor household running smooth while I create, sculpt and build my business...I don't know how you people do it out there! We don't have children yet and the thought of adding midnight feedings to the mix is a bit daunting also I should mention that my husband has his own business too along with playing "1950's housewife" ha!
I under estimated how much Spring Time packaging I would need for my pins and pin cushions so Summer packaging is debuting about a month early. I have changed the look of my logo by adding a little birdie as my insignia and a new fresh font to tie it all together!
There's a fun blogland project in the works right now that will start in September and run for 8 months which I am thrilled to be a part of! Can't spill the beans yet on who will be involved and what it will be about but I think you all will love it
so stay tuned for updates. More to come soon ~ I'm shooting for the Monday morning blog ritual to kick in and keep me on track! Have a great week everyone!