I'm alive! Really!

Ok, so I'm a bad blogger. You will have to excuse me. Life has been super busy lately with the business and Scott and I are finally getting married in December and I've been busy planning that as well. I just listed some new items in my Etsy shop and my Hyenacart. Both great for gifts! Here's a sneak peek for you!

Recipe Thursday: Homemade Marshmallows

So I've been a little slack (errrr a lot slack) about blogging this week. But I have an excuse, really, I do. Monday was my birthday. And I have to tell you, my mom got me the most awesome cake. A sewing themed cake! It was a round cake, pink with brown polka dots and it had my name on it. Then, there were various sewing notions on it. Scissors, spool of thread, buttons, needle threader, etc. I took some pics but they were with my moms camera so I'll have to share later. On to the recipe...

I have to say this one is fabulous. And I made this one last night myself. My very first time making homemade marshmallows and they turned out delish! I have some awesome ideas for when I do them next time. This time, I did some plain, some dusted in cocoa, and some in cinnamon. I think the cocoa was my favorite. I LOVE me some chocolate. So on with the recipe. I found it through a google search here.

Homemade Marshmallows Recipe

1 day | 1 hour prep

40 marshmallows

• 2 1/2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• confectioners' sugar (for dusting)

1. Combine gelatin and 1/2 cup cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment.
2. Let it stand 30 minutes.
3. Combine granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup of water in a small heavy saucepan; place over low heat and stir until sugar has dissolved.
4. Wash down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to dissolve sugar crystals.
5. Clip on candy thermometer; raise heat to high.
6. Cook syrup without stirring until it reaches 244° (firm ball stage).
7. Immediately remove pan from heat.
8. With mixer on low speed, slowly and carefully pour syrup into the softened gelatin.
9. Increase speed to high; beat until mixture is very thick and white and has almost tripled in volume, about 15 minutes.
10. Add vanilla; beat to incorporate.
11. Generously dust an 8x12 inch glass baking pan with confectioners' sugar.
12. Pour marshmallow mixture into pan.
13. Dust with confectioners' sugar; let stand over night uncovered, to dry out.

Now, since I made this, I'll share some tips:

• You don't have to have a stand up electric mixer, but be prepared for your hand to almost fall off from vibration if you don't. Mine almost did.
• If you don't have that pastry brush, don't sweat it. Fine turned out fine without doing that step.
• You really will have to beat the mixture for 15 minutes. See above.
• Spray your glass pan with PAM first, and then dust with the sugar. Makes things easier when taking them out.
• I didn't let mine sit overnight, only about an hour and I was able to cut them. I did let them sit out after cutting though. I'm impatient.
• You can substitute the vanilla extract for peppermint or almond.
• Dip your marshmallows in melted chocolate

The possibilities are endless here. Hope you have fun with it!

PS: I took pictures and my camera seems to have ate them. I know I took them and they are no where to be found on my camera. Grrrrrr.

HUGE Etsy Weekend Deal: October 2nd-4th

I'm having a BOGO (buy one get one) sale in my Etsy shop this weekend on any item $20 or less. In other words, the lesser valued item must be $20 or less. Refund will be given on lowest priced item via Paypal. Excludes custom items. Just enter code "weekend deals" in the notes.

Take advantage of the sale and start your holiday shopping early. I won't be having another sale this big until Black Friday.

Recipe Thursday: Spooky Punch

Boo! Here is a great recipe I got from Lisa Shively for this yummy punch. It is sure to make your Halloween party Spook-tacular! I included some yummy treats I found on Etsy as well.

SPOOKY PUNCH

1 (46-oz.) can pineapple juice 1 (3-oz.) box orange Jell-o mix 1 (64-oz.) ctn. orange juice

1 (1-liter) bottle ginger ale, chilled 1 qt. orange sherbet

In a saucepan, bring 1 cup of the pineapple juice to a boil. Add the Jell-o mix and stir until dissolved. Cool. Pour into a large container and add the orange juice and remaining pineapple juice. Chill. At serving time, pour the juice into a punch bowl and add the ginger ale. Top with scoops of sherbet.

Halloween Treats

For Dad... Woodland

This time of year makes me think of nature and the woods from when I was a child and I went camping with my dad in the beautiful North Carolina mountains. That's where the inspiration for this treasury came from. So dad, this one is for you! Love ya!

As usual, I love clicks and comments!

Shortbread Cookies

This afternoon while sewing, my sweet tooth kicked in so I decided to make some cookies. I made these for friends and family last year and put them in little decorative bags with ribbon and they were a hit. So, I made them today minus the peppermint (because I didn't have any), and added in some cocoa. Ya know, for that chocolate fix too. Here is the original recipe for the Peppermint Candy Shortbread Cookies. If you want to make them chocolate like I did, add in 1 tablespoon of cocoa to the dough. These are delcious! Don't mind the different sized cookies, I had little helpers.

Peppermint Candy Shortbread Cookies

cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup peppermint candy, crushed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon of cocoa (optional)

frosting
1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons peppermint candies, crushed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300°F

2. Cream butter, sugar, crushed candy, and vanilla thoroughly using an electric mixer. Gradually blend in flour and cornstarch.

3. Form dough into 1-inch balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Gently press down on each cookie to flatten, either using fingers or a flat-bottomed drinking glass that has been dipped in sugar to prevent sticking.

4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until bottoms begin to brown.

5. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

6. For frosting: combine powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly until frosting is smooth. Drizzle cookies with frosting and sprinkle with crushed candy.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Halloween Decor

With fall and Halloween quickly approaching, I've been shopping around Etsy for fun, new decorations. So when a treasury opened up this afternoon, I decided to use all my Halloween finds in it. Check it out and leave me a comment!

Meet ME!

This week's EtsyBloggers Blog Carnival Topic is either show yourself or your studio. Since I don't really have a studio, I'm showing me! LOL.

Let's see.... I'm Jordan, I'm sure you never guessed that (haha) and that is where I got my biz name from. I thought for weeks on a biz name and came back to my own name. I have two sons, Cody who is 4 years old and Carter who is 2 years old. They keep me VERY busy but somewhere better all the breaking up of fights I manage to get some work done. :) I've been with my love Scott for the past 5 years and we live here in North Carolina with our 2 boys.

More about sewing... I often get asked how long I've been sewing or how I learned. I think I learned to sewing when I was about 9 or 10 years old. I was involved in 4-H and took a holiday class to learn how to make a vest. That was my very first project. There were several others in the class that had an interest in sewing as well so a sewing club was formed. I learned a lot more in the club about sewing and techniques and that next Christmas, Santa brought me my very own sewing machine. Up until a couple months ago, I've still be sewing on that same machine. There was a period of time in my teenage years when I probably didn't touch my sewing machine for years, but right after my second son was born in 2007, I picked it up again and here I am!

New Items!

I've added several new items to my shop in the last couple days including some very cute Halloween bags! Check it out!

GIVEAWAY!

I'm having a giveaway on Twitter for the handbag below. Follow me on twitter here and go find my first tweet about it. 361st RT (retweet) wins. Please, no more than 1 RT per hour.

Sewing Machine Day

Ok, so I meant to post this last night but I fell asleep and forgot so it is a day late. Anyway, yesterday was Sewing Machine Day. The sewing machine was patented on September 10, 1846. I made a treasury in honor of it. Clicks and comments are appreciated!

Featured EtsyBlogger of the Month

I recently joined my first Etsy Team, EtsyBloggers. We are a team of individuals who love Etsy and blogging! Septembers EtsyBlogger of the month is Designs by Vanessa. She has some beautiful items in her shop. I especially love all her cards, so cute! I'm a big fan of birds so those are my faves. So go check out Vanessa's shop and if you can't buy, favorite her!

My First Gift Guide!

I have to say, this selling thing on Etsy is going much better than a thought. Less than a month on Etsy and I've made 15 sales, my first treasury made it to the front page, and now I've been featured in a gift guide! YAY!

Don't forget Weekend Deals!

Through Monday, September 7th save 10% off your entire purchase (excluding shipping and custom items)! Enter promo code "weekend deals" in the notes during checkout and I will refund your discount via Paypal. So get to my shop and start shopping! Here is what I have in-store now.

First Day of Preschool

As I mentioned in another post, Cody's first day of preschool was yesterday. He was super excited about it and did really well! He cried when I left, which I expected, but he made a quick recovery and had a fun day! When I picked him up, I asked him what he did that day, did he make any friends, etc and every answer was "no", "I don't know", or "nothing." LOL. After we got home though, he started telling me about his day and how much fun he had. He woke up this morning asking if he goes to school tomorrow. Here are some picture I took. The last one is the best, but I took it in bad lighting so I'm going to try and find someone to fix it for me. (in other words, if you are really good in photoshop and think you can fix it, email me! LOL.)

Getting ready to eat breakfast (that he didn't eat. He's not a early morning breakfast person)


Showing off the backpack

And getting ready to go.

Treasuries.... again

Yeah, yeah I know. More treasuries. I'm seriously obsessed. And I figured out how to take screenshots too so now I can show them off here! The first one, A is for Apple, I made. And the second one, Shades of Blue, I am featured in. So click and view!

Extended Labor Day Weekend Deals!

Starting tomorrow, I'm participating in Etsy's Extended Labor Day Weekend Deals! Save 10% off your entire purchase (excluding shipping and custom items) through September 7th in my shop. Just enter promo code "weekend deals" during checkout and I will refund your difference through Paypal.

Soooo

I've been a slacker and haven't posted, but I have been busy! Make sure you check out my shop to the right, there are new items! I've got business card holders and sandwich bags. Have a look! I will have some Halloween items up in a couple days. I'm so stoked, I love Halloween!

Oh a non-business note, my oldest son starts preschool this week. I'm half excited, half sad. We went today to see his class and meet the teacher and he seems excited. Lets hope he's that way on the first day on Thursday too! He is 4 years old and never really been away from me. I think I'm more sad than him though. I'll try to post some pictures of his first day here on Thursday afternoon.

Jordan

The new handbag!

The new handbag design I have been working on is done and I'm pleased!
For more details, visit my Etsy Store.

Soooooo excited!

So you remember my post Sunday about creating my first treasury? Well look! Early this morning it made it to the front page of Etsy!

My Work Today.

I got a couple customs finished, well almost finished that I'd like to share. First, a set of 2 reusable sandwich bags in the cute Heather Ross Pink Buses print. I used the last I had of that print on these. So very cute!

And the the almost finished is a beautiful custom Sophia Handbag in some awesome Amy Butler prints. I'm waiting on the rings to attach the handles, but you get the idea. I'll share the completely finished pictures when the rings get here.

My First Treasury!

I am so excited! I've been waiting for days for a treasury spot to open and I finally got one. If you don't know what a Treasury is, here is the description from Etsy:

"The Treasury is a member-curated gallery of short-lived lists of 12 hand-picked items each. Members can feature their favorite items, items selected on a theme or just whoever they like. The Treasury is not intended for self-promotion, but instead to acknowledge and share the many cool things for sale on Etsy. Admin often choose an exceptional Treasury list to promote to the the homepage hand-picked items. "

So here is mine. Comment on it and who knows, maybe it will make it to the front page!

In the works and some questions

So I have couple new items in the works. First is a new style handbag. I should be finished with it in a couple days to share. So far, I'm loving it! Next is a wristlet clutch. Ya know, something just big enough to throw in your keys, cell phone, and a little money. Something great to carry for running errands. I'm still playing with the pattern for this so it might be a bit longer. Look out for those 2 things in the next week. Maybe posting here will keep me motivated to actually do it. LOL.

Questions for my readers. I'm thinking ahead for the upcoming holiday season and I'm trying to figure out what to stocking up on for my etsy store. What will you be buying for gifts this holiday season? And if your new, I sew handbags, wallets, etc.

Also, what colors are catching your eye for the upcoming fall and winter season? I'm loving darker colors like rust, orange, browns, pretty much any dark, deep print.

-Jordan

I promise...

To do better with my blog (this is me talking to myself). Haha. Seriously though, if anyone actually looks here, you should be able to tell that is already looks different. And I'm still working on it too! So my goal is to start posting here at least everyone other day.... about something. So now that I got that out, I can go on telling you about my new obsession.

That would be Etsy, ya know, the place to buy and sell all things handmade. Seriously, I have the window open on my computer all day long and I'm constantly going there to see what is new. I'm a new seller there too, so of course, I'm checking in on my own shop. :)

Oh, and I got a new logo and design from there too from Valerie, the owner of Pixel Stix Graphics. So if you need a logo, banner, or whatever, go check her out. She is super sweet to work with!


So there's my first post of my new journey of blogging! I'll try to come up with some interesting things, promise!

Jordan

Available Now...

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade jpulliam30.etsy.com

You can now find me on Etsy!

I just opened up a store yesterday on Etsy. I don't have much there yet, but I'm working on it! Check your eye out!

Custom updates and instock

Just wanted to post and let everyone know I have lots instock at TUWS. Credit Card Clutch's, Wetbags, Handbags, and Key Fobs. Go get em' mamas!

For customs:
Jamie- You are shipping tomorrow (Tuesday).
Alisha- You are shipping by Friday.
Cass- Shipping mid-week next week.

-Jordan

Update from me

I just finished up the wetbag co-op. Everything is done, I still have a couple packages here waiting on shipping to be paid.

I just revised my customs policy. Starting now, when I contact you about a custom, I need to hear back from you within 24 to say that you have gotten my email or pm or you will be bumped back on the list. I know this sounds harsh, but I have a lengthy list and in order to work as quickly as possible, I need to be able to work out details asap so I can order fabric and get to work so I can move on to the next person. Hope everyone understands!

I'm updated the customs list on the right with details so everyone can see how it is moving.

-Jordan

Looking for wetbags?

I have a wetbag co-op going on now at CDA! http://clothdiapersanonymous.com/forum/index.php

Jen and Christina... Your wetbags went out today!

Customs Updates...

I received fabric today for the following customs:
Kylie&Logan’sMommy
fuzzysunshine
mrscakes

I'm waiting on PUL so if you had wetbags in your order, it will be a couple days before it gets here. I'll be working on whatever I can while I wait.

Customs updates

Here is where I am right now.

Customs List
- kai_e- starting 02/21
- pbresolin- starting 02/21
- Teresa- shipping 02/21
- chataine- shipping 02/21
- megsmom- waiting on pul
- starla79
- keen1981
- carlycurry
- mandanikki36
- Kim

Redmachchick.....

Diaper Bag Set

Inside

Wetbags and Changing Pad

Your custom is done! Hope you like it!

Customs Updates

Just wanted to give everyone an update on customs. Redmachchick and rebeldream's customs will be shipped no later than Tuesday, February 17th. Teresa, Miranda and Jaclyn's customs will be worked on next week and mailed out as soon as they are finished. Kai_e and Trish will be started next weekend. Hope that all makes since! Pm or e-mail me for more details!

Jordan

A custom finished

Just finished up this custom and got it shipped. A diaper bag, changing pad, 2 regular wetbags, a wipes wetbag, and a single diaper wetbag.

Fabric is here!

The best mail I've received in a looooonnnngggg time!



Jordan

Ok so I've been MIA...

From my blog that is. I'll try to do better. Promise! I'm expecting a haul of fabric today for customs so I'll try to throw some pics up later. For now, here are some pics of my NEW Sophia Handbag.


The Sophia Handbag was created with exclusive permission from Moonshine Designs By Monica Poole.