One of these things is not like the other~ but who cares~ there are three gorgeous tuffet new to my site~ Join C'est Chouette and the boutiques at Make Mine Pink for this weeks PINK Friday~ as we present Cottage Porch and Garden.

(ps~ did you guess~ one is a little darker shade of red)

Happy Independence Day

Shades of red, white or blue remind me of 4th of July parties and fireworks and special times with family and friends. Vintage aprons, adorned with red roses against what was once a vivid blue, now slightly worn with time. Blue and white checked linens - once grandmother's finest, still carrying traces of the 4th of July picnics I had as a child. Pale blue Depression glass against the finest white tablecloth, topped with a white milk glass vase and filled with the summer flowers. On the wall, a white French farmhouse shelf displays white china hand painted with red and blue buds Adding a little color to your table, shades of red, white and blue can turn any meal into a celebration. Blue and white Italian place settings against a red tablecloth. An angel food cake atop a favorite white cake stand, topped with fresh summer blueberries and strawberries. Red sugar-coated candies in a white candy dish hand painted with blue forget-me-nots. Hanging nearby, white and blue checked kitchen towels decorated with shiny red apples Placed somewhere you didn't expect, red, white and blue can create a burst of color in any corner. Red roses on canvas and hung on a freshly painted blue wall. A piece of broken china jewelry - tiny blue and red roses against pure white china. A white lace sun catcher, with a red and blue design, hanging in the window. In the guest bathroom, a blue tissue box holder painted with white and red flowers. Tucked into a corner of your purse, a blue hanky trimmed with red and embroidered with white daisies. And dangling from your wrist, a bracelet made of cinnabar, turquoise beads and bone.

For a special touch of whimsy, plug in 4th of July light bulbs in red, white and blue. Use a white table runner with appliquéd blue rabbits and red rose buds. Display faux strawberries dipped in white chocolate placed in a blue cake box that looks pretty enough to eat. You can wear a soldered charm of red breasted robins against an azure sky, sprinkled with white German glass glitter or write on the white pages of a notebook decorated with red roses and blue ribbons.
With shades of red, white and blue surrounding us, celebrations of life can happen any day.

Joyce Lucas, Founder
Make Mine Pink

Please join us for shopping with a twist on Friday July 3, 2009 as we present "INDEPENDENCE DAY SHADES of RED,WHITE, and BLUE!"

Photo Contribution 1: Grandma G's Photo Contribution 2: Candy Lights

"You Can't See Around Corners"

...just A little something Mom would say...Yuppers... that is me ~ hula hooping at the Make Mine Pink Women in Business Retreat @ Cape Cod! Could life be better? Well I know it could be worse~ and if I knew then what I know now~ believe me ~ I would have had my arms up in the air, hula hooping all day~ because 48 hours after this photo I was in the Hyannis ER with a dislocated shoulder. Now as far as ER's go ~ the one in Hyannis is a-okay~ after all I am pretty sure some famous people have been there~ maybe a Kennedy or two, or Martha, or the cute guys from "Wings" & the fireman who came to my rescue were darn sweet. What came after the trip makes me think I should have hula hooped a bit more. My attendance at the retreat was cut short, I left my friends @ the Cape, my family drove to Minneapolis to get me off the plane and get me home to comfort. Then, I visited an ortho doc~had a MRI (closed tube), had surgery to repair the bone broken during the dislocation~ I have suffered nausea because of the vicodan/motrin/celebrex cocktail I was served daily ~ and I have been tethered to a Polar Ice Machine to keep the swelling down~ and that is just the past 4 days! I am now in a Sling Shot (yup that is what it is called) which has a triangular pillow that juts straight out from my waist and holds my arm at a permanent "bent at the elbow straight out" position. Now I can barely sidle up to my computer~ I can get no where near my sewing machine~ but guess what?? I can drive~ the steering wheel is right at the end of my pillow!( now if I could figure a way to attach my sewing machine and computer to the steering wheel....mmmmmm)

Guess what I can't do? That's right~ I can't lift my arms in the air and hula hoop!!
Give me 4 weeks ~ and I will be doing the hula again.

It may be a while before I am back to tuffeting..... I took a tumble on a warped board of a deck and landed with my shoulder slammed against the edge of the deck~ it was dislocated. But a ride to the Hyannis Hospital with some firemen was pretty fun. I am no longer in a sling~ but now I have a shoulder stabilizer~ at least I can use my elbow again. Patience is required (on my part especially)

I am outta here!!

.... leaving an a vacation~ okay okay~ a working vacation~ The Make Mine Pink Mini Retreat at the Cape! Could life get any better?
5 Glorious days of team building, brainstorming, videocasting, sunning, cooking and more. (did some one say cooking??? mmmm~ maybe take-out is available!)

Sew Many Notions

I just opened a shop at Quilt 'n Stitch~ excited to be in on the ground level because I know QnS is going to be a hit. I am in the fiber arts shoppes. I just fell in love with the blog there~ Sew Many Notions~ and there is a give-away~ cool! I don't quilt~ never have~ I have been afraid..... afraid if I ever started that I would love it so much that I would never get anything else done.
Anyhoo~~ the prize is a honey bun and a jelly roll...... (I need to figure this lingo out)!

**Prize: Oh Cherry Oh! by Me and My Sister (Moda) 1 Jelly Roll - 1 Honey bun - 1 pattern. All you need to complete this adorable quilt top.

Cherished Memories

Old photographs, yellowed with age. Dad's pocket watch, the hands of time still ticking. Maybe slower than before. A delicate needlepoint, not quite completed, wrapped in tissue and waiting to be rediscovered on the bottom of a hope chest.

Pieces of the past, your most cherished memories, seeking a place in the present. The faces in the photo may have grown up or passed on. The fingers that wound the watch and pulled the needle now lie still. But these memories remain, and ask to live again.

Much loved tablecloths, used for special family occasions. Grandma's rhinestone brooch, tarnished with years, but twinkling with the possibility of renewed life. Scented letters bound with a faded ribbon, tucked away for a granddaughter to read of a great love.

Cherished memories that make your lips smile and your eyes shine. Maybe you'll set the table with your mother's cloth, and tell everyone about your favorite family Christmas when you were a child. You could brighten up the dulled brooch and pin it on your favorite church dress. Perhaps it's not the right time to share your letters with your granddaughter, but tonight could be a good night to tell her a story about when you were young.

Old French perfume bottles lining a bedroom shelf. Antique silver spoons with intricate designs, soon to be polished and repurposed into delicate silver jewelry. Cozy quilts stitched from well-loved clothing.Your most cherished memories, much too precious to remain hidden. You feel a little flutter as each is carefully uncovered and made new. Everyone will wonder what great secret lies behind your sudden sparkle, but the feeling is too powerful for words.

Please join us for shopping with a twist on Friday May 22, 2009 as we present "Cherished Memories"

Joyce Lucas, Founder
Make Mine Pink

Photo Contribution 1: Rose Blossom Cottage Photo Contribution 2: Rose Petals and Blooms

Help for Small Businesses from the SBA

Reposted from the WomenTakeWing! blog
From our friends at Mohave Community College in Arizona (nepotism is a good thing!), we learned of a new loan program being offered by the SBA called ARC loans. Part of the 2009 Recovery Act it provides qualified businesses up to up to $35,000. Follow the link above to find out more details and please, share this information with others! The economy you save may be your own.
~Steph
(Thank You Steph~ Keeper of the Pennies)

My Cape Cod Rose

Stymied~ by a beautiful red rose executed perfectly in petit point on a blue background.... what's the problem? Well the color combination has my creativity stuck~ stuck back in the 70's! One of my very first projects as a very young designer (age 13 maybe) was a crocheted sweater of pale blue and white variegated yarn with a shocking streak of red running right across the middle but only about 3/4 then it shot straight down to a hem of red and blue/white mix. I loved the sweater but I never wore it. I guess I considered it more a work of art than a piece of apparel.
So all these many years later, I find this red rose on dusty sky blue ~ a true work of art~ and I am stymied. But my business partner isn't.... my daughter, Heidi, loves this rose. It reminds her of our vacation on Cape Cod. It was a pretty wonderful vacation. And it is pretty wonderful that she is giving me design advice. ( I will be back on the Cape in three weeks for a mini retreat with some of my friends from MMP~ I can hardly wait)
So~ if the wind is at my back, the rain stays away, the stars line up and the squirrels run clockwise in the yard..... I will have this pillow ready for this week's PINK Friday at MMP ~ as we present "Romantic Roses"

Beautiful Blues for PINK Friday

Beautiful blues… the classic colors of sea and sky. Once a year, beautiful blues against crisp, clean whites adorned the blue and white issue of Victoria Magazine. Do you remember how you anticipated your copy? Blue is calming and serene. It's a coastal color, often used in bedrooms and rooms of relaxation. From delicate pastel to a deep, emboldened navy, adding blues to your décor can evoke a tranquil yet often vibrant mood.

In the bathroom, perhaps a white towel edged with beautiful blue forget-me-nots and pale blue trim. On the kitchen table, a teapot or tea cup with a blue floral pattern, or a shabby blue tea cozy that warms a pot with beautiful blue, waiting for a friend.

White pillows dressed with lavender blue roses or embroidered bluebirds on a white bedding set. On a bedside table, a white vintage doily with blue accents and edging, a grandmother's white hanky stitched with a dainty blue ribbon. A blue and white needlepoint cushion set carefully upon the bed - an elegant white lily surrounded by a blue fringe. On a white fleur-de-lis shelf, a Battenberg lace fan with vintage millinery flowers, in a color pronounced "bleu". A vintage robin's egg blue bottle stopped with white fabric flowers, tied with a pale blue bow. A white bowl hand painted with blue morning glories. Hanging on the wall, a French ribbon glitter plaque of white doves and blue roses. By the front door, a nautical tote bag that reminds you of the sea. In the craft room, oceans of blue and white fabric, or a sprinkle of blue flowers. Near the telephone, a handcrafted notebook, embellished with blue sky. In a jewel case, a single blue bead on a string or a classic blue cameo.

Stitched bluebirds, hydrangeas and bows. Tiny blue lights, sweet as cotton candy. Handmade bouquets of blue roses, or a single blue pansy. Beautiful blues surround us, and remind us we are home.

Please join Make Mine Pinkfor shopping with a twist on Friday May 8, 2009 as we present "Beautiful Blues"

Photo Contribution 1: Noelle Garrett Designs Photo Contribution 2: C'est Chouette

Hip Hip Horaay....

...it's the First Of May

Happy May Day