Show and Tell Monday, 3/23/09

With all the talk of planting a garden, reusing and recycling, I wanted to share something with you. A friend of mine, Tina, publishes a magazine The Essential Herbal. Last year she published an entire issue about these very things. A woman ahead of her time, the issue has sold out.

If the White House can do it, I guess we should think about it as well. If you have never eaten a tomato sun warmed, right off the vine, you just don't know what summer tastes like. There are so many fun ways to do a garden. How about a pizza garden? Some tomatoes, some basil, some oregano--you can even grow your own garlic or garlic chives! How much fun to go outside and pick all the ingredients for your own freshly baked gourmet pizza! Plant lots of basil in this same grouping and it's your pesto garden. Feels downright decadent to open the freezer in the dead of January and have fresh pesto ready for pasta. So please, go have a visit with Tina and her family and enjoy all the articles she's offered. You can also subscribe to her magazine if it''s something you enjoy. This Friday at Make Mine Pink, our Pink Friday theme will be Easter Memories. Lots of springtime beauties are being stitched and stuffed and fluffed. Should be beautiful. Come join us for shopping with a twist.

Have a terrific week everyone.

Pink Friday 3/20/09

This may well be the most exciting Pink Friday in a while - One of a Kind Treasures. Now, you know the Make Mine Pink Boutiques are going to be over the top on this one. You may want to grab a cup of coffee, tea or the beverage of your choice and settle in for a really wonderful time of browsing. I'm going to have to stay up until midnight to do a sneaky shop-a-thon, I have to work tomorrow and don't want to miss all the incredible items I just know are going to be there!

Next thing I wanted to share with you today was this adorable "Surprise Giveaway" from Sher Miller, aka Grinning Grandma. Please visit her blog at http://oldtimemeartist.blogspot.com/ This was such a fun package to open. There is a lovely Prayer Box prettily embellished with lace, flowers, a charm and a label; then there is the pink post-it notes with the flowery heart (right up my alley); there is a really pretty spring time looking edging in green and pastels (that's at the front of the picture), I think I see some edged pillowcases in my future; and then this silly bumblebee who made me laugh out loud when I unwrapped him. He is sitting beside my computer and I just have to smile each time I look over at him. Thank you so much, Sher. I really enjoy all these items.

Then I am way behind in Thank You's to some special people. I want to thank my good friend, Shell from Raspberry Rabbits. She sent me a virtual treasure box of fabric to play with. Some of my newer products are from this incredible stash! Also, have to congratulate Shell, she is the newest front page member at Make Mine Pink. Please visit her shop through her new front page site at the lower left corner of Make Mine Pink front page, www.makeminepink.com . Best of luck to you, Shell, you are a very special lady.

I want to thank another sweet friend, Dianne of Mama's Pocketbooks. I won a pattern for an Amy Butler cushion to spruce up my hubby's corner of the living room where he must sleep due to the stairs in our house. These cushions should perk up the blah hospital bed over in the corner. Please make sure you visit Diane at http://mamaspocketbook.com/index.html. Lots of things to browse through, her pocketbooks are amazing.

Thank you also to another pink friend, Lisa of Pale Pink and Roses for fabric that she sent me to play with as well. Can you tell how blessed I am with these amazing friends? Please visit Lisa at http://www.palepinkandroses.com/store/Default.asp.

I was also given an amazing surprise from Tedi of The Petite Book Store. Being I have never seen one of the Somerset magazines, she is sending me one of my choice - talk about tough choices! Please visit our sweet Tedi at http://www.petitebookstore.com/, great selection plus free shipping! Can you believe these wonderful friends?

Until next time....................

Almost Time to Hop Into Spring

You're Invited!!Starting March 16th! The joyful march into spring begins, a cacophony of bird calls fills the blue skies, the trees show their fresh green buds, and the tulips start to poke their heads from the earth to face the sunshine. Colors are about to burst forth, and the earth will be new again. With fresh eyes, we are stocking our shelves with pretty greens, bright yellows, vibrant pinks, and beautiful blues.
For the Boutiques at Make Mine Pink, spring cleaning is over, and we would love to show off our fresh new colors and exciting spring merchandise. Please join us for our "March Into Spring" Shop Hop from March 16 through March 21, 2009. The shop hop is open to anyone that would like to participate (limit one registration per physical address). Please register if you would like to participate. To register, just click on the shopping bag logo to the right and you can register. You do not want to miss this Shop Hop. Fabulous prizes to be won. The more shopping bags you find in the boutiques, the more fabulous the prizes. Please join us for this fun event.

Blog Award

I am so excited and happy to have been given this award from a new friend in blogland, Terri of Blooming Ideas. Please visit this altered art artist at http://www.terrisbloomingideas.blogspot.com/.

This award is accompanied by the following words:
"This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. "
Please give more attention to these 8 writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this clever-written text into the body of their award."

1. http://www.theessentialherbal.blogspot.com/
2. http://www.theraspberryrabbits.blogspot.com/
3. http://gatherings100.blogspot.com/
4. http://www.thedutchrose.blogspot.com/
5. http://www.caroleecrafts.blogspot.com/
6. http://www.renginscolors.blogspot.com/
7. http://www.alliesinstitches.blogspot.com/
8. http://www.oldtimemeartist.blogspot.com/

In the spirit of this award, I am passing this award on to people who have been reaching out to connect with people around the world and making blogland a wonderful place to make friends. Many of you are new found friends and I wanted you to know how much I value my new friendships as well as the old ones.

As another recipient of this award has said,
"With so many creative artists out there in blogland, it is an incredible honor to be
recognized as having a noteworthy blog!"

Show and Tell Monday, 3/09/09

Here we are, Monday again. The older I get the faster these weeks fly by. It has been a fairly busy week. I have been able to get some sewing done which is always fun and I mixed up a new springtime potpourri. That will debut in a few weeks, it has to mellow. Guess what's coming up really quickly, the March Into Spring Shop Hop at Make Mine Pink. I will be participating. Those of you who have participated before know how much fun this is, for those of you who haven't 'hopped' with Make Mine Pink before, you have to register. It is really a lot of fun and there are amazing prizes to be won. Just click on the link above to get registered.
Here are a few sachets, just about ready to be posted on my website:

Here's something I've been having loads of fun with, Easter cards! (almost finished)

And Easter eggs! This has been a very good time.

Have a great week everyone. Don't forget to register for the Shop Hop and stop by Patricia Rose for a peek at all the Easter fun being posted this week.

Show and Tell Monday 3/1/09 on Sunday Night

It has been a very busy and productive week. I just love marking things off my to do list and I got quite a few knocked off there. Life is good! Of course, come tomorrow morning, the list will have expanded again. A lot of what I accomplished is intangible but I will share the items that I can!

First on the hit parade this week, I felt like painting. Here is a set of spring time flowered mugs for your coffee, tea or hot cocoa. Can you tell I cannot wait to see something bloom around here? As I sit waiting for the blizzard of '09 to hit tonight, ugh!

Then I had some fun with an idea that my friend, Marie of Savon Marie had given me. It was supposed to be up on Friday but life got in the way again. Here is a cute little sachet doll all decked out in a linen skirt carrying her own tussy mussy. I think she's awfully cute and filled with lavender she smells delish too. She would be pretty on a night stand or bureau. I think being close to the bed would be terrific so you can get the aromatherapy benefits of all that lavender when trying to relax and go to sleep.

Bringing up the end of this parade is this poor deflated rabbit. He won't be deflated long, but I just didn't get him stuffed yet (and can't decide which scent to add to him, I don't make carrot potpourri). His linen brother will be up this week as well, check out the Holiday du jour category on my website.

For all you folks who are able to start planting in the very near future, don't forget to get a packet of pennyroyal seeds. Planted close to your house, it repels termites - and a packet of seeds is so much more reasonable than an exterminator! Mine comes back every year but, to be honest, I really don't know if it's supposed to. I'll just accept it as a gift.

So have a wonderful week everyone,

Pat