~The Chiquita Banana Treasury~

~Going Bananas~

I'm in the Chiquita Banana Treasury!!!

Thank you to Andrea, shop owner of Prims By Andrea for putting together this treasury and including my Monkey and Banana  Customizable Party Invitations.  

Card Description: 

~Cute monkey and banana accented with black and yellow paper against a blue background mounted on white card stock.

~Foam self-adhesive cupcakes accent the card implying the birthday party theme

   

~The Fiskars® Rock-Paper-Trimmer~

One of my favorite websites and stores to shop is Joann's.  Quite frequently I am checking the website for deals and sales.  While looking for replacement blades for my Fiskars paper cutter I came across this new paper cutter: Fiskars® Rock-Paper-Trimmer.

I was drawn to this item because of the cool patterns and colors so naturally I clicked the link.  Wow!  I about fell out of my chair when I read the description of this paper cutter.   You can click the link above or read on: 

Does music unlock your creativity? This unique trimmer helps you put two fo your favorite things together-a deluxe rotary trimmer and your greatest hit music-for the ultimate crafting experience. Your MP3 or CD player runs the speakers, so no extra power supply needed.

• Special Edition 12''/30 cm Rotary Trimmer with built in speakers for balanced sound
• Softgrip® cradle holds your MP3 player
• Easy to read measuring base
• Softgrip® blade carriage for comfortable left- or right-handed use
• Trimmer uses blade style ''B'' (45mm)

No kidding?!?  Being an ipod owner I would never even consider buying this paper cutter so I can rock out while cutting...I believe I will be playing my music through a docking station and keep my ipod away from my crafting space.  It would be my luck that I would glue the ipod to the table, better yet I'm putting my ipod at risk by being so close to something so sharp.  

This paper cutter is $69.99 on sale at Joann's right now.  The original price is $99.99.  I love Fiskars products but I'm not sure what inspired them to make a paper cutter that will play an MP3 or CD player.  Am I only one that thinks this is crazy?!?   

~EtsyBloggers Featured Blogger of the Month - Mama's Magic Studio~

Drum Roll Please! September's featured etsyblogger of the month is Jen! Congrats to Jen! Currently Jen operates two etsy shops. The first shop is called Mama's Magic Studio. Check out the beautiful and unique one of a kind jewelry Jen creates. These earrings really caught my eye, I've never seen anything like it! The earrings are called Knit the Knot Known Fraternal Earrings -- Blue. See the photo to the right. What a perfect gift for someone who knits and loves to wear earrings! For $15 these are affordable and a unique gift.

Jen's second shop is called: Baby Friendly Beads. Baby Friendly Beads are beautifully functional nursing necklaces and bracelets. Breastfeeding jewelry gives baby something else to focus on and play with, instead of pulling mom's hair or pinching her skin.

Check out this Perfectly Preppy Baby Friendly Beads Reminder Bracelet. Reminder bracelets are used to keep track of which breast was nursed on last during a feeding (or which breast needs to begin the next feeding). Simply wear it on the left or right wrist and switch as needed! The beads are strung on memory wire, so the bracelet can be easily switched from one wrist to the other. There are no clasps to fuss with (or for baby to break).

What a unique idea! Congrats to Jen for being EtsyBloggers blogger of the month!

~Mini Halloween Gift Guide By Jenna~

Since Halloween is next week I decided to put together a gift guide for those of you out there who buy gifts for your favorite ghosts and goblins. Who says you can't buy gifts for Halloween?

Along with the holidays we find ourselves in the kitchen whipping up themed meals or baking those yummy frosted sugar cookies. You can't go wrong with giving the chef or baker in your life a Halloween dish towel! Check out this Halloween dish towel from 2nd Street Designs shop. The best part about this towel is that it was crocheted by the shop owners 86 year old father. What a treat to own something like this. This kitchen towel is currently on sale for $2.50. If you aren't into Halloween check out 2nd Street Designs other items, everything is unique and one of a kind, especially the floral wreaths!

After the kids come in from trick or treating their hands are full of germs! Running around from house to house ringing door bells and knocking on doors. Before letting the goblins go through their candy loot give them some soap to wash up with! I found the perfect mini soaps at Machine Gun Lullaby's shop. Check out these skull and pumpkin mini colored soaps! Vegan friendly and on sale to boot! You pay $1.40 for 10 sweet shea lotion soaps. What a great deal and a fun gift!

Need a trick or treat bag to hold all the loot you plan on collecting Halloween night? Well here is the perfect bag especially if you love kitties! This Halloween Themed Orange & Black Cat Bag comes from Monk Rock Creation's shop. Not only is this bag environmentally friendly but a great tote to use for any number of items! At $10 this bag is a steal. :-)

Don't forget to bring out the candles to light your way on Halloween night. These Halloween Tealight Holders are not only one of a kind but hand painted and decorated individually. No two holders are alike! These fabulous tealight holders come from Dizzee Lizzee's shop. Not only does Dizzee Lizzee have an awesome shop but she is located just a few hours away from me in Washington state!

Now that we have the candle holder figured out we need to find some tealights to put inside. I have found the perfect tealights at Sweet Surrender Candle Shop. Check out these Pumpkin Spice Soy Tealights! Makes me want to eat pumpkin pie. :-) You get a dozen tealights for $6.99. I noticed there is a sale going on at the Sweet Surrender Candle Shop. Until Ocotober 25th you buy 5 candles and get the 6th one free! What an awesome sale and a great way to stock on up wonderful smelling candles.

Well there you have it! My mini Halloween gift buying guide from etsy sellers. I forgot one thing! If you need Halloween cards to go with any of these fabulous gift picks check out my Halloween cards. Right now all Halloween cards are 50% off.

~Lucky Ladybug Designs, Thank You!~

I just wanted to say a special thank you to Gloria, shop owner of Lucky Ladybug Designs.  Gloria included me in her blog post the other day.  Check it out: Terrific Tuesday Treasures.  

Not only did she include my ladybug notecards but also featured other ladybug themed items from other etsy shop owners.  Love these notecards enough to purchase?  Mention that you saw this post and get free shipping.  Like just one of these cards?  Let me know, individually the cards are $3.00 each.

  

 

~Do You Like Reubens & Mac n Cheese?~

Rachael Ray is my cooking idol.  30 Minute Meals is one of my favorite tv shows and actually now that I think about it the only cooking show I really watch.  

Rachael's recipes are quick, easy, and often times you can find the ingredients already in your pantry.  Every recipe that I have made has come out delicious!  Check out Rachael's Blog for more fun info!

Recently I made Rachael's Reuben Mac n Cheese dish.  Wow, it was yummy!  If you love Reuben sammys and mac n cheese then this dish is for you!

The link to the recipe is above, however I wanted to include the recipe here in my blog as well.  If you do decided to make this dish let me know what you think!  If you have a similar recipe or would like to share one of your own your comments are welcome.  

Happy Cooking!

Reuben Mac n Cheese

Ingredients

• Salt
• 1 pound cavatappi, hallow corkscrew shaped pasta or, other short cut
• 2 slices rye bread
• 3 tablespoons butter plus some for butteringtoast
• A handful fresh parsley leaves
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup spicy brown deli mustard (recommended: Gulden's)
• 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
• 1 cup shredded Gruyere
• 1 cup shredded yellow Cheddar
• 3/4 pound good quality deli corned beef, sliced as thick as bacon, chopped
• 1 pound sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Salt water and cook pasta to al dente.

While pasta cooks, toast rye bread in toaster then butter hot bread. Coarsely chop bread and place in food processor. Add parsley and paprika to bread and process into bread crumbs, reserve.

Heat a sauce pot over medium heat. Add butter to pot and melt, whisk in flour 1 minute then milk. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, thicken sauce 5 to 6 minutes then stir in mustard. Melt 2/3 of the combined cheeses into the sauce.

Preheat broiler.

Drain pasta and return to hot pot. Toss hot pasta with chopped meat and sauerkraut to combine, stir in cheese sauce and coat. Transfer mac n cheese to casserole and top with bread crumbs and remaining cheese. Brown under broiler 3-4 minutes, serve.

~Mission Soldier Support Is Underway~

I am a proud to announce that I am a participating member in MSS. (Mission Soldier Support) A charitable effort of Handcrafted Card makers dedicated to providing beautiful handmade cards to our soldiers overseas, for the upcoming winter holidays. The soldiers can use these cards to write to their loved ones back home.  If you'd like to donate an item to this cause, search "MSS" for participating shops on www.etsy.com

 When you buy the card, simply include "MSS" or the words "Mission Soldier Support" in your notes to seller and I'll send the cards straight to our project coordinator, Rachel shop owner of Captured Time Books.  

This promotion runs from October 1st through November 7th, 2008. Feel free to pass our promo on to your friends. It is a really easy way to give this Holiday Season!