I am opening up a shop and good help is still hard to find!

I have some really exciting news. I was approached by the ladies of the Briar Patch Marketplace and invited to participate in their new venture. A brick and mortar shop in Mesa. If you are local here in AZ its on Guadalupe and Dobson. It is a partnership with the shop Tilly Attic, which has been in this location many years. I will be displaying all of my creations in my own little room and I am in the process of setting up. I am striving for the look of walking into a shabby chic bakery shop. I am really short on time as I need to be done by February 6th. There will be a special event at the store on the 7th and I need to be in place and ready to go. Wouldnt you know I would come down with something. (again!) I have been fighting a respitory infection and also now babysitting my 4 year old grandson Mikey. But despite all of that, its falling into place nicely ~ thanks to my friends :) Today I just got ahold of an antique stove for display. Here is a few of the projects I am working on. Cupcakes of all sizes, chocolate Easter bunnies too. I will have all sorts of sweet treats from ice cream cones to large layer cakes to display on a pretty cake plate. (All with zero calories!) Even my sister Stephanie will be doing some dessert paintings for your walls. I will be posting before and after photos of my "shop" within a great store!

With all of the work that needs to be done, you would think the help would be a little more, well, HELPFUL. Googars doesnt have the same excitement that I do. Silly boy. (He needs a bigger bed!) lol I will keep you posted and until next time...... gail

In With The New

Its time for our weekly shopping event at Make Mine Pink. This friday the theme is "In with the new." We are all getting over the holidays and back to business. (Finally) I am so happy to be creating new things. I will hopefully be adding new items to my website and etsy shop every couple days. So many new ideas. Be sure to visit all of the participating Make Mine Pink Boutiques to see all of the new products this week. Maybe its time to do a little shopping for yourself! :) www.makeminepink.com/pink-friday

This is a picture of my new Valentine Pillow. I think it looks like a fancy box of chocolates :) The plate with the kitty was something I did at a local ceramic painting studio called As You Wish. My friends and I love to hang out, eat cupcakes and try painting. I love my girls day out.

I like the idea of "In with the new" I hope to be adding alot more to my blog this year. I love the idea of featuring lots of the talented women and guys that I am lucky enough to call friends. I hope you will find lots of interesting people and information here in the coming months. Thanks for stopping by. Until next time....... gail

Pink Slippers and Marie Claire Idees

Hi:) This week a made a couple pairs of slippers to send to the Pink Slipper Project. This is always such a fun project and its for such a great cause. This is an organization that collects handmade slippers from women and groups across the country and are donated to womens shelters for women and children. Some of the ladies crochet slippers and they are so pretty. Others, like myself sew them. If you or a group you know of would like to participate please contact Joyce at http://www.pinkslipperproject.org/. You will enjoy it so much and be helping some very special people.

I spent some time at my favorite Barnes and Noble yesterday. My daughter and sweet 4 year old grandson are staying with me for the week. She is moving into a new apt. and cant get the keys until next friday. Its a great move for them, but this is a 51 year old grandma who is used to lots of peace and quiet. So I sat in my comfy chair at the bookstore for an hour. I had a gift card and bought the new bood from Tara Frey called Blogging for Bliss. I cant wait to dig into that one. I love blogging and cant wait to learn more tips and ideas. They had one of my favorite magazines called Marie Claire Idees. Its printed in France and hard to find. I have a few copies but there was a new one so I grabbed it. I cant read the french but it is full of beautiful photos and so much inspiration. I thought I would share a few here with you. Believe me this is just a tiny sample :) Have a great week. I have lots of new projects to keep me busy. Plus a 4 year old!!!

Make Mine PInk Friday

Join us for our first Pink Friday event and Make Mine Pink. We are going to continue having our weekly themed shopping events. This week is a great theme, "making way for the new". There will be alot of shops offering great discounts and sales in order to make room for all of the great things they are working on for the new year. So remember, tomorrow, one day only! www.makeminepink.com/pink-friday.

I also wanted to share this information. If you have ever wanted to open up shop at Make Mine Pink, the time could not be better. There are new rates for 2010 and they are unbelievable! Very affordable and the best networking and support group of women in business. Dont miss out.

Organized and ready to go!

I hope everyone had a healthy, happy new years weekend. I am really looking forward to a new year. Its funny but everyone I talk to from all walks of life are so glad to see 2009 behind them. There is something about a new year, especially when its the beginning of a new decade. I have alot of new ideas and new directions for this year and I am ready to get going. But I had to organize my space! The two weeks before Christmas life happened and my cute little apt. looked like a bomb went off in it. So I designated the week between Christmas and New Years to an early spring cleaning and organizing my whole apt. Closets, cabinets, drawers and especially my studio. Its Sunday night at 9:45 and I have just finished. It took the WHOLE week. But what an awesome feeling to be done.

I am posting some BEFORE photos of my studio.... I dont normally let it get soooo bad, but like I said, life happened! Then a few afters. I am really excited to have set up an area just for painting and drawing. I have all of my books, paints, pencils and stuff in one place with my easel. Its been scattered for the last year so I plan on working more on these projects now. As you can see my office manager Lucy has her little blanket back where it belongs. Still sleeping on the job though. lol And last but not lease my desk. You cant believe the very large bag of garbage I threw out here. So, tomorrow I am setting up all my new files and after that..... watch my dust! :) I hope you have a great week and have a wonderful new start to your year. Take the time to get a little organized. It does wonders for your spirit!