~Recipe Monday – Pumpkin Flax Quickbread

Instead of pumpkin pie why not change it up and make some pumpkin bread?  Why not try this healthy flax quickbread from Allrecipes?  I bet this not only tastes delicious but also smells wonderful while baking. 

Pumpkin Flax Quickbread

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 1 hr 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons flax seed meal
• 6 tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. Whisk together flax seed meal and water. Mix in sugar, pumpkin and apple sauce.
3. In a large bowl, stir together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, nutmeg, and cloves. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture; stir until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 65 to 70 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.

~Make Your Own Snowflake Holiday Gift Card Holder~

I came across this great project idea on Michael’s website.  These gift card holders are a perfect way to personalize your gift rather than put it in a store bought holder.  I’ve included directions below on how to make the Snowflake Gift Card Holder.   

Materials Used:

• Eazy Felt Stiffened Felt: Purple, Light Blue, White
• Holiday Trim It-Up Blue, Light Blue & White with Silver Edge Ribbon
• 'Tis The Season Silver Dot on White Grosgrain Ribbon
• Sparkling Glitter Glue, Lilac
• Scissors

• Ruler or Straight Edge
• Craft Knife or X-Act® Knife
• Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
• 1/8-inch Hole Punch

Cost of each project will vary depending on materials used.

Directions:

Cut two circles with a diameter of 4½-inches from the purple Eazy-Felt.

Use the hole punch to make holes in the purple felt circles about every ¼-inch around the entire circumference. Lay the second piece on top and punch through both pieces to ensure the holes line up. Cut a 25-inch piece of white narrow ribbon with silver edge. Lace this through the holes. Leave a 3-inch opening on one side of the circle, lacing only to one side and not through to the other circle. Do the same to the other side of the 3-inch opening. This will give the illusion that it is completely laced all the way around. Glue down each end inside the circle so it cannot be seen.

Use a snowflake template from the computer or freehand draw one onto paper. Use a copier or printer to reduce the size of the snowflake, just make sure the snowflake fits within the purple felt circles, including the lacing. Print three sizes in smaller succession. Place the largest snowflake over the light blue felt and cut out entire flake with the craft knife. Take the smallest snowflake template and only cut the center of the flake out of the light blue felt. Take the medium sized snowflake and cut the flake completely out of the white felt. Layer and glue the snowflakes together as shown.

Glue the light blue felt snowflake down in the center of the circle. Lay the white snowflake on top and glue down. Glue the light blue center of the snowflake down in the center of the white snowflake.

Cut a 6-inch piece of silver dots on white grosgrain ribbon. Fold in half, glue ends together. Glue the raw end to the inside of the tag but only the front or the gift card holder will get glued shut.

Use the glitter glue to accent the snowflake. Place glitter glue in center of snowflake over the blue felt and just at the tips of the other parts of the snowflake.

Tip:

Use photo as a guide and follow manufacturer’s instructions for all products used.

The felt and ribbon colors could easily be changed to suit any particular theme or color scheme. Please experiment within the idea.

If you are interested in seeing the project sheet on Michael’s website click HERE to be re-directed.  Happy Crafting!

~Recipe Monday – Oven Pot Roast~

With the fall season here and in full force I love roasting a  delicious cut of meat in the oven.  Nothing is better then smelling it roast in the oven.  It is such an easy dinner to prepare and allows me extra time to make greeting cards, gotta love that!  Recently I found this recipe on Allrecipes and am dying to try it out.  All I have to do is defrost my roast! 

Oven Pot Roast 

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours (depending on how big your roast is)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• ground black pepper to taste
• 3 1/2 pounds rump roast
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup dry vermouth

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and black pepper to taste. Dredge the rump roast in the flour and cover evenly. Shake off excess.
3. In a large pot over medium/high heat, melt the butter and brown the roast on all sides. Place in a 4 quart casserole dish with lid.
4. In a small bowl, combine the soup mix, mushroom soup, and vermouth or white wine; pour over roast.
5. Cover and bake in preheated oven for 3 hours or until desired doneness.

Roast some potatoes and carrots in the oven and viola…You have a superb fall meal!  Happy Roasting!

~Autumn Cats on Artfire~

Since it is Autumn and my cats are my favorite animal I decided to search Artfire shops for handmade items that include autumn and cats. 

My first find is this Calico Cat Fairy Cats Fall Pumpkin Autumn Fantasy Art 8x10 Print from Carrie shop owner of TigerPixie.  I am so amazed by the items Carrie has in her shop!  Prices are great and shipping is very reasonable and the artwork is simply awesome!  Check out the rest of Carrie’s shop for other items and designs.

The next item that caught my eye while searching is this Fall Painted Ginger Pumpkin Jar Candle with Gingerbread from Painted Kreations shop.  This candle is perfect for your Autumn home decor and can easily be displayed until those Christmas decorations make their debut.  The best part about this candle is after the wax has been burned you have a great hand painted jar to use year after year.

Looking for a great decorative plate to hang on the wall or to display on your table?  Look no further, this Cute Scarecrow Handpainted Square Wood Plate from A Stroke of Jeanne-uis’s shop.  This plate is a unique and one of a kind decoration.  Buy for yourself, a friend, family member, or for the cat lover in your life.

With the fall weather, the wind, rain, and sometime even thunder and lightning  wouldn’t it be nice to snuggle up on the couch with a book, blanket, and a nice pillow?  Check out this adorable Primitive Pillows Black Cat and Pumpkin from Thunder Mountain’s shop.  What a great pillow to decorate and cozy up with.   

Happy Autumn Everyone!  Hope you have enjoyed looking at my Autumn Cat finds.  Remember, shop handmade for the holidays!

~Happy Anniversary Artfire, Celebrate With Free Shipping @ Cards By Jenna~

It’s official Artfire just reached their one year anniversary!  To celebrate read the message below that I received from Artfire.

Happy Anniversary ArtFire!

ArtFire officially turns one year old in November, and what a year it has been. We’ve seen amazing growth in traffic, page views, member sales, and products listed each month, ArtFire has become the second largest artisan marketplace on the internet. We are proud to report our expected one year member sales at $1.5 million dollars.  We saw a 30% increase in sales in October over September, along with 20million page views and almost 700,000 active products.

Part of ArtFire’s success has been our commitment to service and innovation.  In just 12 months we have developed industry leading selling tools such as a one button sale mode, the rapid cart remote checkout widget, the ArtFire Facebook Kiosk, coupon codes, the global product editor and more!  We are committed to providing you the best: the best service, the best platform, the best tools, and the best price. We also want to thank all of the amazing artisans in our community who have helped make ArtFire  into the venue it is today.

To celebrate our anniversary we’re happy to announce a 2010 pre-pay opportunity for our members with The ArtFire Pro 500.  In the past, many members have expressed interest in billing periods other than per month which our previous payment systems wouldn’t allow.  As we grow and upgrade our infrastructure we are happy to extend  a 2010 pre-pay offer to 500 of our artisans.  While this offer lasts, you can pay for a yearlong Pro(Verified) ArtFire.com membership for just 100$; that’s over 30% off the normal $12/mo rate.  If you’re a $7/mo charter artisan you have the option pre-pay for 2010 at your normal rate knowing that you already have the best deal we can offer.

We have more exciting features planned for year two.  You will see some of those in just the next few days.   While this first year has been many long hours and hard work for everyone here, it is all worth it to see those sales numbers and know that we are building such a strong and successful artisan community together.

Thank you for helping make the ArtFire community that it is today.

Sincerely,

 

My Artfire Anniversary is also coming up.  I opened my Cards By Jenna shop on Artfire exactly a year ago November 14, 2008.  I can’t believe it’s already been a year.  Not only that but I’ve only had 2 sales!  In order to celebrate both anniversary dates I will be offering free shipping on all orders to the USA and Canada.  Stock up on cards now before this free shipping offer is over.  Offer ends November 30th.  Thanks for stopping by!

~”Scent”sational Kanani~

For those of you that are already holiday shopping and have candle goodies on your list of things to purchase check out Kanani’s website:

http://www.partylite.biz/sites/scentsationalkanani

I have to admit that I am somewhat biased because Kanani is my friend however she is the only one I know who is a PartyLite Consultant! If you are interested in purchasing PartyLite products go to her website and click on “Shop” or click HERE to  be taken to the online catalogue.  Don’t have money to spend on candle goodies?  If you live in the Seattle and surrounding areas book a party through Kanani and Host a Show.  For more details visit the website.  In the meantime happy shopping!

~Pumpkin Carving 101 + Roasted Pumpkin Seeds~

We carved pumpkins this past Sunday and I wanted to share the photos of our spooky creations.  Mike and I have never carved pumpkins together so it was   something we had to do!  Naturally after you carve pumpkins you save the seeds and roast them!  It’s a little work but totally worth it.  Mike had never eaten a pumpkin seed so that gave me another reason to make them.

 The recipe I used was from my favorite online recipe web site, www.Allrecipes.com.  Here is the link to the pumpkin seed recipe: Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

And…here is a photo of our pumpkin seeds roasting in the oven!  They smelled delicious while baking, it really feels like fall when you are roasting seeds and carving pumpkins!   

And to end this post here are our pumpkins all lit up looking spooky on the patio.  The right pumpkin is mine and the left one is Mike’s.  It’s hard to see in this photo but Mike’s pumpkin has ears.  Looking forward to the weekend, Halloween will be a blast this year!

~Looking For Holiday Shoppers~

Now seeking holiday shoppers who want to buy greeting cards! You can be of any age, height, gender or personality and must love shopping holiday sales. Right now in my Artfire Shop: www.cardsbyjenna.artfire.com I am offering 10% off all cards. Prices reflect the sale price so shop away. You don't need an account to shop on Artfire so start searching and throwing things in your virtual cart. You will even receive a free note card if you spend $5.00 or more in my shop. Stay tuned, more items will be listed soon. Check my blog often for I have a giveaway coming up!

~Etsy Pumpkins~

Since Fall has officially arrived I decided to search Etsy for pumpkin type items to feature on my blog.  I really love featuring Etsy Shop Owners who have under 50 sales.  Hopefully giving these Shops some exposure will boost their sales.  So the moral of this blog post is support handmade artisans this holiday season and purchase from either one of these fantastic Etsy Shops!

The first item I found is this yummy Pumpkin Salt Scrub from HumbleHill’s Shop.  Salt scrubs are a wonderful way to exfoliate and still moisturize your skin.  Jennifer, the shop owner of HumbleHill, is from Sequim, WA.  Ironically that’s just a few hours away from where I live in Issaquah.  Good Luck with your shop this year Jennifer!

Check out this adorable Jack-O-Lantern Pin from Jenni Shea’s Shop.  This pin can be given as a great gift or bought for yourself.  Looks like all Halloween items in Jenni’s shop are shipping for free these days.  Go check out the rest of her creative earrings and pins.  

Need some Halloween gift tags to put together party favors or goodie bags for trick or treaters?  Check out these Pumpkins, Ghosts and Bats – Small Circles/Tags from Paper Wick’s shop.  Get these quick for they are on sale!

Happy Shopping!

~Neglected Blog, Neglected shops, Giveaway Coming Soon!~

Sorry to my blog, etsy, and artfire shops!  I have been very pre-occupied lately due to wedding planning that I have been completely neglecting my blog and both of my card shops.  I have even been absent from the teams I am currently apart of so much so that I was kicked out of one and with no warning at all!  I won’t name names but needless to say by the time I came around to logging in to the forums my access was denied.  I’ve heard this team is known for giving the boot with no warning, oh well! 

In order to revive my shop I’m going to be setting up a giveaway soon.  I’m not sure what it will be but it will be great.  Check back later for more information.  In the meantime I’m hoping my blog and shops forgive me.  

~Oriental Trading Company – 20% Off Online Discount Code~

I love coupons but online discounts are even better!  No clipping with scissors, just enter the code and check out.  I was excited to get this online deal delivered to my inbox today from Oriental Trading Company.  I promised myself that I wouldn’t buy any more crafty items until I make a huge dent in what I already have.  It’s pretty tough to deny myself the need to shop…but in the end I am saving $$$.  Soooooooooo, since I am unable to let myself go on a shopping spree I am sharing the coupon code with the rest of you in hopes that someone out there can take advantage. 

20% off is a fantastic deal.  Enter coupon code: Happy Shopping!

~For The Love Of Oysters~

Oysters can be eaten many different ways: baked, smoked, boiled, fried, roasted, stewed, canned, pickled, steamed, broiled…but…my favorite way to eat them is RAW!   

Yesterday Mike and I went to the Sammamish Farmers Market and picked up some delicious oysters and a zucchini.  I really wanted to get more produce items but there wasn’t a huge selection so I settled for the zucchini.  I haven’t figured out what to do with the zucchini. 

I just have to say that the oysters were absolutely delicious!  Pairing raw oysters with a grey goose martini and a few olives is perfection.  The best part about getting them from the Farmers Market is that they are only $8 a dozen.  Usually in a nice restaurant you end up paying twice that amount if not triple.  Those of you out there that eat them know what I’m talking about.  As long as you don’t mind shucking them yourself it’s a great deal.  Here is a picture of our oyster plate before we sucked them down.

~Retailmenot.com~

The other day I came across a very neat website for consumers to quickly locate online coupons, promo codes, and other discounts.  It’s called Retail Me Not.  First of all what a clever title and second nobody is going to retail me anymore, woo-hoo!  The best thing about this website is that you can submit your very own coupon codes.  If you come across a code that works and want to share you can do it on this website.  All you have to do is sign up for an account.

I will share a little secret with you, not only can you submit coupon codes you come across…but…you can submit your own coupon codes for your own shop too!  For example:  I am offering a free card with each order purchased from my Artfire shop: www.cardsbyjenna.artfire.com.  Curious how it looks, check it out by following these steps:

Go to www.retailmenot.com

Type in the top right hand corner search box “cardsbyjenna”.

The next window will feature a thumbnail of my artfire shop. Click the thumbnail and it will take you to the promo code I posted.  Super cool!!!

Explore the site and let me know what you think by posting a comment here.

~25% Off Your Entire Purchase at Michaels?!?~

It’s true!!!  You can get 25% off your entire purchase at Michaels including sale items, what a steal!  There is a catch.  You have to shop between 4 and 8pm only today Sunday, August 16th.  Sounds like a great excuse to go shopping!

Since I can’t upload a photo of the coupon click HERE to retrieve a printable copy.

Can’t shop on Sunday?  Click HERE to retrieve a 40% off any one regular priced item printable coupon.

Happy Shopping!

~When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade!~

After much thought and deliberation I am starting to list more of my greeting cards in my Artfire shop.  Etsy is where I began my online store, Cards By Jenna, but to tell you all the truth and to be quite blunt every month when I get my bill from Etsy I feel like a bunch of lemons have been squirt in my eye!  20 cents to list an item and then taking 3.5% off the top of my sale, that hurts when you are selling one greeting card for $2.50.  I do not sell my cards to make lots of money, that never was my goal…but…I am not even making back the cost of materials. 

Soooooo, what does all this mean?  Well, Etsy, you gave me lemons therefore I am going to make lemonade and move my items to Artfire where I pay a small monthly fee, no listing fees, and no % taken off the top of my sale.  I will still keep my Etsy shop open for now but it’s days may be numbered.   

For fun here are some items from Artfire that are full of lemony goodness.

What a fun Cosmopolitan Cranberry and Lemon Handmade Cocktail Soap from Epically Epic Soap.  The best part about Epically Epic soap is that they make your soap fresh just for you!  At $4 this soap is a steal.  Looks like if you need more than one soap bar this soap is included in the buy 3 for $10 deal. 

Need some lemon for your lips?  Check out this Lemon Drop Kiss(tm) Lip Balm from Coquette Bath.  This lip balm includes shea oil, sweet almond butter, Vitamin E, castor oil, and real lemon essential oil to give your lips all the moisture that you need.  For a .15 ounce by volume tube you can purchase this for $3.25, what a great deal!  I love the graphics on the packaging too.

Sadly summer will be coming to an end soon so get ready for fall and pick up a beautiful scarf from Valerie’s Gallery.  This Handknit Wool Blend Scarf in Lemon Meringue would be the perfect addition to your upcoming fall wardrobe.  Knit with a wool/acrylic mix this scarf is sure to keep you warm and is even soft to the touch!  Not a fan of yellow?  Contact Valerie and she can custom design a scarf just for you.

This set of Bird and Lemon Pot Holders really caught my eye.  You can find these beauties in Bean Pickle Sprout’s shop.  Since these pot holders are made to order you are receiving a one of a kind item.  I love the color combo and design of these.  What a great addition to add to your kitchen!

  Have a little girl who needs this cute Custom Boutique Lemon Smocked Dress?  What a great dress for summer.  The print is very summery and the dress design is so adorable.  Contact Lil Bug Clothing to place your order!  

Enjoy the weekend!

~Jenna

~Happy Summer~

The first day of summer is right around the corner, June 21st to be exact.  How ironic…June 21st is also Father’s Day!  What is your favorite thing about the summer season?  What is summer like where you live?

Here in Western Washington summer has been slow approaching.  We have had some nice hot weather in these past few weeks but definitely not enough to say summer is really here.  Today is pretty overcast and a low 60 degrees…a little too cold for shorts! 

My Top 10 Summer Favorites:

1. BBQ’ing – nothing is better than grilling outside, less mess in the kitchen!

2. Relaxing in the sun – catching rays and reading a book, heaven!

3. Wearing flip flops – gotta love no socks, and pretty pedicures

4. Opening windows – letting fresh air in to the house, smells clean

5. Taking the kitties outside – they are indoor and only go out with supervision

6. Planting flowers – even though I have a small patio I make the best of it

7. Longer days – love when the sun stays out longer, no short winter days here!

8. Feeding hummingbirds – I love watching the hummingbirds swarm the feeder

9. 4th of July – who doesn’t like fireworks?

10.  Taking it outside – bike riding, walking, and playing in the sun

I’ve learned that living in Washington you have to take in every ray of sun you can.  Sun would be nice year round however having 4 seasons is even better. 

To celebrate Summer I made a set of Summer greeting cards.  To purchase these cards from my Artfire shop please click HERE.

Happy Summer everyone!

~Featured Etsy Blogger For June: LazyTCrochet~

Congrats to Tricia shop owner of LazyTCrochet for being picked as the featured blogger of the month! 

 

Tricia’s shop is full of knit and crochet fashion.  After browsing through her shop I picked a few of my favorite items to share in this post.

This Coral Wrap Fringe Stole is the perfect color and would look great paired with a summer outfit.  The best part about this stole is you can wear it a number of different ways.  Wear it around your shoulders, wrap your shoulders, or tie it around your neck as scarf. 

Check out this cute hat: Mocha Cloche with Fabric Flower.  Not only is it my favorite color but also a great style!  This hat can be worn year round and can easily be dressed up or down. 

This Coffee Cup Wrap doubles as a wristlet!  Very unique and a stylish way to dress up your coffee cup or your wrist. 

For more lovely knit and crochet check out the rest of Tricia’s shop by visiting: www.lazytcrochet.etsy.com  Don’t forget to check out her blog too: www.lazytcrochet.blogspot.com.