Show and Tell Monday~Rescue Me Pets

Today I thought I would feature a new blog that I think is a wonderful service. Its at http://www.rescuemepets.blogspot.com/ . A friend of mine started this new blog in hopes that it will get the message out about shelters and rescues that are in need of publicity. One would have to be an ant under a rock not to know of all the unpleasant economic news. It starts at the top and just keeps trickling down. All the way to loving little dogs and cats. These are some of the economic victims you probably dont think of right away. But with so many people loosing their jobs and homes the animal shelters are filling up at an alarming rate. I know for myself I am facing unemployment very soon. Alot of my friends have stepped up to say not to worry if I need a place, I am always welcome, BUT you cant bring your cats. I love my well meaning friends. But I say this just to illustrate the problem. People are being made to make huge life changing choices, and sometimes they just arent able to take care of their pets too. So if you know of any such organization I am sure Suzanne would love to hear from you. She is doing a wonderful thing! I wish her much success.

I like to keep my blog a positive and creative place. But I also believe it has come a time in America for us to serve. Anyway we can. Its going to take all of us to put it back together again. Thanks for listening..... hugs, gail

I would like you to meet Kathi :)

You meet the nicest people out here in blog land. I was blog hopping a found a great jewelry artist named Kathi. She was having a blog contest for one of her beautiful rings so I left a comment. Much to my happy suprise I WON!!! She sent my pretty pink flower ring and I love it! The presentation was beautiful as well. It came in the most adorable little purse bag and a sample of a wonderful smelling soap. The packaging itself was a gift. You can visit kathi at http://www.caretobead.blogspot.com/ . You can also check out her new Lollishop at www.lollishops.com/vintage-inspired-jewelry .

Winter Whites for a Pink Friday

Its time for Pink Friday againg :) As most of you who are soooo nice to visit here know I belong to Make Mine Pink. Every friday we have a special themed shopping day. Its just the one day only. The members go out of their way to come up with brand new and really special items for these events. This week is Winter Whites. I love how clean and crisp white is. There will be some beautiful things for this weeks theme I am sure. Jewelry, linens, china, pillows, or handbags. So, tomorrow be sure to hop over to this link and check out this weeks participating vendors. Thanks :) www.makeminepink.com/pink-fridays .

Show and Tell Monday ~~~ and the Winner IS....

Hi everyone,, hope ya'll had a great weekend! I have been busy working on my new line of dessert pillows called "sweet dreams bakery". But I needed to take care of some very important business :) The winner of my 100th post blog contest. I had 31 entries... (thank you all!) and my dear friend Pat was over and drew the lucky winner from the hat for me. And as you can see,, it was Helene from Southern California. YAY!!! I sent you my email Helene, send me your address and I will get this pink cupcake pillow out to you right away.

I have been shopping for ingredients for my new creations. Lots of sweet icings and trims. Brown satins for chocolate, red velvet for strawberrys and lots of yummy trims. I have several cut out and will be done very soon. I did get an ice cream cone pillow complete to show you today. So stay sweet and until next time...... hugs, gail

Romantic Rose for Pink Friday

I’ve never seen a rose that I didn’t love. From the first tender blossom of early spring, gently swaying in the breeze, to a beautifully and painstakingly stitched needlepoint, rich in history, I adore them all!
Roses represent so many different things to each of us and are often used to celebrate special occasions such as weddings, births and anniversaries. Roses have also been used throughout the centuries in grand estate as well as small cottage gardens, many styles of home décor and of course fashion. Milliners used silk roses to embellish the finest hats, while seamstresses stitches the richest brocade drapes adorned with roses.
Throughout the years, famous artists have studied and painted every aspect of the rose. Antique lithographs and modern impressionistic paintings inspired by the great rose artists from the 1800s, grace our homes today with their everlasting beauty. Roses continue to gracefully fit every lifestyle and décor.
If you have a soft spot for roses as I do, won’t you please join us for PINK FRIDAY at Make Mine Pink on Friday January 23rd as The boutiques at Make Mine Pink present “Romantic Roses.” www.makeminepink.com/pink-friday

Its a new DAY ~~~ also my 100th post

Today is a historic day in this country. I love the feeling of hope in the air. President Obama has said we will all have to do our part. There is a huge grass roots movement towards service. This is so incredibly awesome. Can you imagine what can be done in this country if we the people jumped in and helped. I am seeing my friends already jumping in. Some were cleaning up trash on a neighborhood street. I have a friend who volunteers at hospitals and nursing homes with her therapy dogs every single week. If there could just be a shift in thought, and we can think about how we can help? Thats what I intend on doing. :) Dont underestimate the power of "paying it forward". Its a universal law, and I have seen what amazing things happen when you adopt this philosophy in life.

AND today is my 100th blog post. This is so much fun, so to celebrate I wanted to have a contest. Just leave me a message here by 5pm pacific time Sunday, January 25th and I will anounce the winner on Show and Tell Monday. The prize will be my brand new design,,, this pink cupcake throw pillow. I will be adding another catagory to my website called "Sweet Dreams Bakery" I have a line of sweet treat throw pillows with lots of trims and fun colors. It literally was an idea that popped in my head while walking through Joanns and its just taken hold. I am really excited about it. I will of course still be doing my jewelry and other designs. Its just a little extra:) Have a wonderful day and celebrate!!!! hugs, gail

Sew and Tell Monday ~~~~Go CARDINALS :)

OK, first things first! I cannot believe the Cardnials are going to the Super Bowl. I am over the top excited!!! I am a native, born and raised in Phoenix. There arent alot of us around. Especially my age. Everyone is from somewhere else here. I have felt so bad for the Cardinals for so long because even at home games people were there to support the other team. If they were playing Dallas, everyone in the stadium was wearing blue, Green Bay and all the cheese heads were there. It seemed nobody wanted to support the home team. Granted they have not been very good,,, but ya still support the HOME TEAM! So maybe, just maybe now they will get the home town support they deserve. OK, off my soapbox, it just had to be said. lol

This week I have been sewing and trying to come up with some new things. I have sewn this artist apron. Its perfect if you work craft fairs. I have several more colors and styles coming. I often see a fabric walking through the fabric store and something just calls out to me. I walked by this adorable pink taffeta with ribbon sewn on it. I thought, that looks like cupcake frosting. Well, why not, so the idea just popped into my head that fast. Cupcake throwpillows. I love the way it turned out. I will also be doing them in a pretty shade of blue and lavender. I have another project about done, but got distracted by the game, so I will show you that later. Have a great week, and happy creating...........until next time...gail PS: I have no idea why my apron is upside down! lol And stay tuned, the next blog post is number 100 and a give away. :)

Make Room for the New ~ Pink Friday

It s my favorite time of the week again. Tomorrow is Pink Friday at Make Mine Pink. This weeks theme is "In with the New". All of us at Make Mine Pink have been really excited and ready to go for the new year and all of its possibilities. We have all been working on new projects and designs. So for this week its all about the NEW! So dont miss out on the newest products and even some never seen before ideas. This is the link: www.makeminepink.com/pink-friday . Its for one day only,, see you there....... gail PS: I know, the photo is unrelated, but so darn cute, and hey, it got your attention :)

Show and Tell Monday ~ Pink Friday Preview

I have been quite busy and had a very productive and creative weekend. I love when that happens! I have loaded quite a few new things on my website today, so if you get the chance be sure to stop by and have a look. http://www.gailfrienddesigns.com/ I have been working alot with Cindy of Angel Heart Designs ceramic roses. We are working on some other projects and they are going to be soooo cute as well. She also has these new cupcake clocks that you really need to check out! http://www.angelheartdesigns.com/ I am working on some sewing projects as well. I have some really cute art aprons that I will show you later this week. Lots and lots of new stuff coming, so stay tuned! This is some of my new jewelry and also I re-created this Guerlain perfume decanter. I just love shabby and pink.

I am almost at my 100th post and I will be having a blog contest to celebrate. I will keep you posted on that later this week as well! Until nex time, happy creating....... gail

Pink Friday ~ Make room for the New

Its Pink Friday time again with the ladies of Make Mine Pink. Every friday there is a one day only themed shopping day with the participating Make Mine Pink boutiques. This friday the theme is "make room for the new." This is one you wont want to miss out on! There will be some great sales. I will be having 30 percent off of everything on my Pink Friday page. If you go to www.makeminepink.com/pink-friday you will see all of the links to everyones website. It will take you directly to their Pink Friday page for all of the great deals. So Dont foget,,, this Friday, January the 9th,,, all day! Have fun shopping! Until next time,,,, gail

Show and Tell Monday ~ back to work :)

I hope everyones year is off to a great start. I have been off work for almost 2 weeks and its time to go back in the morning. I dread it, but it will be OK, I really like my job alot, so once I am there it will be good. But this weekend it was down to business getting creative. I have four completed items to show and tell. Several more in the beginning stages. I have so many ideas right now. I cant wait to get them done!

These will be put on my site as soon as I can get some good photos. Its been raining all day and not too much light. Hopefully tomorrow. First I bought this plain dress form at a antique mall. I am sure its not that old, but it needed some attention. I love finding these and fixing them up and I hope to have alot for sale this year. My understanding is that you name your dress forms, so she is Mary, after my Mother. I am on a unique display kick. I found this little frame and easel at IKEA and made something to photograph earrings on. These earrings are a glass rose. I order these beads from Canada, and I love working with them. I also used them in the blue rose bracelet, along with a hand built ceramic rose from Cindy at http://www.angelheartdesigns.com/ . I know you all know how much I love using her roses. We have be coming up with some great new ideas, so stay tuned for that. And last I made a Valentine bracelet. I have had a busy day, and couldnt be happier. LOL Until next time.

Happy New 2009 ~ My Charmed Life

Well, its been said alot, but Happy New Year. I am really looking forward to this year. Alot of things are falling into place. I am ready to leave the past. This is my 50th year, its a milestone of sorts. On to the future and all it will bring. But moving on isnt forgetting the past. All of the events that have brought me to here and now will always be special. My favorite way of documenting my life has been my charm bracelet. My Mother gave it to me when I was 16 for Christmas. It had a Merry Christmas charm on it and a Sweet 16 charm. They are my favorites, but I have faithfully added to my charm bracelet over the years. There are charms for my marriage, (havent found a divorce charm.lol), my two daughters, 3 granchildren, hobbies, travel, cats, purses, teddy bears and even jeans with a hole in the knee. There is a couple of events I need to find charms for now. Its always fun looking for just the right one.

So,,, I move on, remember my past and truly hope each of you have a very Healthy, Safe, Happy, Creative, and Successful New Year!!!! hugs, gail

Show and Tell Monday ~ I have cool friends :)

Hi,,, I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas. I wish you all a very happy, safe and healthy New Year! I had a wonderful Christmas. I also have to say I am so glad its over. I have been over the top too busy and I truly feel like December blew up in my face. I am off work from my day job until January 5th. This weekend I have been doing lots of spring cleaning. I am nearly done, so the rest of the week I get to play, plan and organize my studio and my thoughts on what I want from the new year. I am really looking forward to all of the great things I have ahead of me.

I hope Santa was good to everyone. I have some very special friends and family and I was very blessed. I have a really special friend who knew I wanted an art easel, and she had one mailed to me. I love this beautiful easel and I cant wait to use it. I got alot of gift cards from JoAnn's so now that my work and chores are done (lol) I am going to go buy all of the art supplies I can carry! Another very special friend sent me these gorgeous display items. They are beautiful and they actually match a couple pieces I already have. They will just be perfect for using for photographs or doing shows! Next, what would Christmas be without children. These are my 3 grandkids, Mikey, Mya and Jace. They had a blast on Christmas and I am so thankful that we were able to make there day so special. Have a great week. ....... gail

show and tell Monday

Hi, I hope everyone is ready for the holidays. They are fast approaching. I still have quite abit today, but it will get done when its done. I am not going to get stressed about it. I have already been lucky enough to have received a couple of awesome gifts. If Christmas was over now I would be so happy and incredibly blessed by my friends. I was wrapping presents today and I was not looking so forward to that. My cats love to wrap presents. They wait for it all year long :) As you can see they are quite pooped out!

Saturday I had some shopping to do. I went with my sister and my friend. The stores were pretty crazy. Lots of crabby people for sure! I just wanted to get out of there, so I have some more to do tomorrow afternoon. We went to a favorite place of my families. Its a citrus grove called the Orange Patch. Its a cute little general store. The navel oranges are so sweet and juicy, they are just like candy!

I wish you and your familys joy in your world and peace in your home this holiday season and always! I hope anyone traveling safe arrivals. Have a holiday season of sparkle and charm.... much luv, gail

Show and Tell Monday

This is my transformation project this week. I bought these white jewelry displays from a Mervyns going out of business sale. They were only $2.00 each, but a little beat up and dirty. So I decided I could fix these up. I love doing this and I think it may be a new addition to my website. I have also been fou fouing up any dress forms I can find also. They were for my own display purposes but I have had a great response to this idea, so I am going to run with it and see what I come up with. Have great week. Until next time.......................gail

Pink Friday :)

Christmas comes but once a year. Anticipation is part of the season. But to see the most gloriously wrapped gifts under the tree makes the anticipation nearly unbearable. Wrapping the gift is where you get to have some real fun. Even plain paper can be so pretty when decorated with vintage ribbon bows and millinery flowers. A broken costume pin can add some sparkle. If you have pretty holiday fabrics, you can have your own unique source for wrapping gifts. A Vintage table runner can be a great wrap for a bottle of wine or sparkling apple cider. A hand-crafted gift tag personalized for the recipient shows your thoughtfulness. Add a personal touch here or there, it is an opportunity to express both yourself and how much the recipient means to you. Join the Boutiques at Make Mine Pink this Friday, December 12, as we present some of our favorite gift wrapping ideas and hints because we believe opening a beautifully wrapped gift brings as much pleasure as the gift itself. www.makeminepink.com/pink-friday

I-CAN, Turner Broach and Christmas Trees

I work for a small family owned company called Turner Broach and Cutting Tools. Its a machine shop and I still dont quite get what they do out in the shop, but the end result is these parts end up in jet engines. My boss, Kay is involved in a local community charity called I-CAN. It has been in existence for 17 years and their goal is helping the at risk youth and children. They do some very amazing things with some even more amazing results. Friday night was the 5th annual Festival of Trees. this is a silent auction and Christmas tree auction to benefit this charity. Its a semi formal dinner banquet as well.

This year Kay donated a 7 1/2 foot tree. We needed to come up with a theme and after alot of thinking, and just plain running out of time, I came up with Snowman Christmas. It was a tree decorated with red and white, snowmen of all kinds, icicles and snowflakes. And ALOT of bows. So Thursday Kay, her Brother John, and myself headed for the ballroom of the San Marcos Hotel in Chandler to set out tree up. Meeting all of the other participants was very exciting, and the other trees were just beautiful. I was covered in glitter from head to toe. LOL

Friday night came, dinner was wonderful. Beautiful wreaths and arrangements were offered for the silent auction, then the Tree auction began. The first two trees were from the police department and the fire department. Both the Chief of Police and the Chief of Fire were there to get it started. They were really funny and they mangaed to get $6,500.00 each for their trees. The started on one side of the room and the trees were going for $300.00 to $600.00. Our tree was the last. The tree next to ours was titles Sex in the City and it was very cute and came with a large pink high heel chair. I really thought it would get the most bids. My boss was bidding on it, and I didnt realize at the time, she was trying to get it for me. I thought that was so incredibly sweet, but their was another woman who wasnt leaving without that tree. LOL she won with a bid of $1,500.00. Then our tree was up. The paddles started flying! I was so excited. The auctioneer even joked "Now we have an auction!" When it was all said in done the winning bid was $1,800.00. I was so excited to have created something to help out these kids. After all of the trees and silent auctions were tallied they earned an amazing $80,000.00 . It was an amazing evening. There were elected official in attendance as well. After the auction was a local band called The Chris Parker Project. If your local and ever get a chance to see them preform,, do so, there were great! So, I have added some pictures of Turner Broach, some of the other trees entered and our Snowman Christmas that I was very proud to be part of.... until next time...... (())gail

I have to share a contest with you :)

I love, love, love faux desserts. They are just adorable and NO calories. They are really cute on dessert plates in the kitchen, or they also make really cute ornaments. One of the best faux dessert artist is Jenni of http://www.jenniboriginals.com/ . Her work is flawless. She has so much talent. She is having a blog contest to give away some of the treats she made while appearing on the Martha Stewart Show. All you have to do is leave a post on her blog before Dec. 7th. Just visit http://www.jenniboriginals.blogspot.com/ to enter. You dont want to miss out on the fun.