Little notes

I love getting notes from customers letting me know why they have chosen a particular item from my shop. It's fun to hear that a headband is perfect for their daughter who loves sparkly things, or a key fob really shows off their friend's personality, or that they plan on wearing a Joatmon Creation for a special occasion. Last night I received an order from a woman who volunteered at the Boston Marathon finish line last year and she is planning to be back there again in two weeks, wearing the Boston Strong headband she was purchasing from me. Even though I am not going to watch the ‪#‎Marathon‬ in person, I feel like a little part of me will be there.

If You Give a Crafter an Order to Sew

This morning was a lot like the children's story If You  Give a Mouse a Cookie. 

mine is called " If You Give a Crafter an Order to Sew."

If You Give a Crafter an Order to Sew she's going to want to clean up her sewing room a little before she begins. 

If she wants to clean up her sewing room before she begins she's going to want to move the cutting table. 

If she moves the cutting table she's going to discover a box of old clothes that just might fit her again

Is she discovers a box of old clothes that just might fit her again she's going to want to try them on.

If she tries them on and they do fit then she's going to want to do a little dance

If she wants to do a little dance then she's going to have to move the cutting table again to make room

If she moves the cutting table again she might discover some ribbon that fell behind it

If she finds some ribbon that fell behind it she's going to want to post it online to show people what she has available to make a craft

And if she posts the ribbon online to show people what she has available to make for a craft then the crafter just might get an order to sew. 

I recently saw a recipe on a friend's Facebook page for Dark Chocolate Peppermint M&M Cookies and I could not wait to try them out. I planned to make them while hunkered down during a snowstorm, but then I realized I did not have some very key ingredients at home (such as the M&Ms!), so I convinced my husband to take me out to get the stuff I needed before the snow got too bad. The trade-off was that he got to choose the store and instead of going to the large and very popular grocery store in town he chose a smaller specialty shop. Of course they didn't have the ingredients I needed either, so since I liked the concept of a chocolate mint cookie I grabbed some mint chocolate chips and called it a day. 

I made a lot of adjustments based on what I did have on hand, including omitting the M&Ms and the dark chocolate powder. Of course that means the name had to change, but for the sake of this post I am using the original recipe as guidance and just deleting/substituting what I did have. I am also keeping the original directions but changing it where necessary. Thanks to My Baking Addiction for a great base for me to start from! Be sure to check out her site for the original recipe 

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

YIELD: 3 dozen

PREP TIME: 15 minutes

COOK TIME: 12-14 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup Hershey's Cocoa Powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt

6 oz milk chocolate chips
8 oz (2 sticks, 1 cup) unsalted butter, divided

2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup Nestlé Toll House Winter Mint and Chocolate Morsels
3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Crushed candy canes (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine all purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Use a whisk to stir, evenly distributing the dry ingredients and aerating the flour at the same time. Set aside.
3. In a large measuring cup, melt together 4 oz (1 stick or 1/2 cup) butter and chocolate in the microwave, heating 30 seconds at a time. After 30 seconds, stir the butter and chocolate together, then heat again. Stir after each increment until butter and chocolate combine easily. Do not overcook. Set aside to slightly cool.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, mix the remaining 4 oz of butter together with granulated sugar, scraping the bowl often. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on medium speed after each addition. Continue to scrape the sides of the bowl often.
5. Add vanilla to the mixture and mix on medium speed again until the wet ingredients are well combined. Leave the mixer on low speed and slowly add in the chocolate-butter mixture. Add it slowly so as not to accidentally 'cook' the eggs with the warm chocolate.
6. When chocolate has been completely incorporated, begin to add the dry ingredients in increments, mixing on low speed after each addition.
7. When a cohesive chocolate dough has formed, be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to get any remaining flour and mix again, then remove from the stand mixer if using one.
8. Add both the mint and white chocolate chips to the dough, mixing them through by hand.
9. Use a medium sized cookie scoop to distribute 6-8 dough balls per baking sheet.
10. Bake each tray for 12-14 minutes. Remove from the oven. Sprinkle tops with crushed candy canes (this is optional. I used a fine candy cane dust that i got by running the candy through the Magic Bullet). Press each cookie with the flat back of a spatula to flatten, then allow to cool.
11. Cool the cookies on the baking tray for a moment, then move them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Here are the Winter morsels. Very tasty!

And the finished cookies:

I think this will be added to my "Tried and True" collection for next year!

Christmas is WHEN?

Tonight as I tucked him in, my five year old asked how many more days until Christmas. I thought about it and realized it was only nine more "sleeps".  NINE MORE SLEEPS until we wake up on Christmas morning. How did that happen?

This year went by incredibly fast, but the weeks since Thanksgiving seemed to have passed in a mere blink of an eye. Perhaps it's because I was very busy all year with my crafting business (I have been very lucky to have some wonderful return customers) and it has barely slowed down, especially during the holiday season. Or perhaps it is because I am a little less organized this year and I didn't make my usual lists to keep track of lists. But all I know is that in the next nine days I need to finish my final custom order, create and order our yearly personalized calendars for my family, wrap gifts, bake two kinds of cookies, make two kinds of truffles, and try out a cinnamon sugar almond recipe that just may make it into my coworkers and neighbor's gift baskets (all 21 of them). I also need to brave the mall to get said baskets for those treats. Oh, then there is also my son's school's cookie decorating extravaganza and holiday program.  Lets add on some snow to top it all off, which means I won't make it to the grocery store after work tomorrow for the last minute ingredients I need. But that's what a husband's day off is for, right? Who wants to tell him????

Not that any of these things are stressing me out. I am looking at it all like a big Christmas challenge. Which is why I am writing this blog instead of wrapping the Yankee swap gift for tomorrow's work luncheon, which is resting by my feet. As hard as I will it with my mind, I suppose that emergency auto kit just isn't going to jump in a bag all on its own.

But wouldn't that just be a Christmas miracle if it did???

Nine more sleeps and I will regain my sanity, I promise!

Redesigned website

I have had my website, www.JoatmonCreations.com for years now but it was a regular site that wasn't really conducive as an e-commerce solution. I learned a little basic HTML to make it look nice and I added PayPal buttons for some of my items but it got cumbersome to keep up with, especially with hundreds of products in my inventory. Then I discovered Etsy and opened my store there. It was a great solution because so many people are familiar with it already.  They would search for what they wanted and if I had something similar in stock then they would find me.  Perfect!  Unfortunately the fees started adding up after a while. And then their rules seemed to change often.  It went from a handmade site to one that also hosts mass produced and vintage items.  I don't feel like I belong there anymore (or worse yet, as if I am not wanted).

So needless to say I've been wanting to redesign my site for a while now, but time and money were the biggest obstacles. Isn't that always the case no matter what you're talking about? But since I was finally frustrated enough (and my old website hosting was about to expire) I finally made the change.  And I found a wonderful hosting partner with Merchant Moms.

The site is very easy to use once you get started and the customer service is amazing. They are with you every step of the way and anytime you hit a bump in the road they immediately make things smooth again. Needless to say I have been spending hours upon hours getting my site up and running. What better time to do this then Christmas? That was sarcasm, by the way. Only I would choose to roll out a brand-new website at my busiest time of the year.

Now driving traffic to an e-commerce site is the number one thing and unless I get my name out there nobody is going to know who I am. (IF anyone has any advice on how to use meta-tags please, please, please share)!

Overall I am thrilled with my new site and it is what I always wanted to have. So PLEASE f you are reading this I would love it if you checked out www.JoatmonCreations.com. I have so many things on there that would be great for stocking stuffers or gifts for teachers and caregivers.

Spread the word if you like what you see. Use the Pinterest buttons, or share on Facebook. You tell two friends and they tell two friends and so on and so forth. It's definitely still a work in process but it's better than what I had before!!

Oh, and if anyone would like to come decorate my Christmas tree in exchange for a key fob, I'm sure we could work something out!

Ramblings for a Sunday

Yesterday I did a craft fair at a local school I wasn't familiar with. I heard about it through a friend, and since I haven't done any since May I figured it would be nice to get one in before the holidays. I had no idea what the foot traffic would be like, but since we are getting close to the holidays I was hopeful. It wasn't the most successful day for me, but I sold more in one day at this fair than I did all month on Etsy, so that was a plus. I also got my name out there more and I am learning more about the power of networking. I sat next to a very nice woman that was selling a popular bag line. She was incredibly motivated and just hearing about everything she does made me tired. Salesperson, realtor, mom of two, wife to a traveling husband, and head of the PTO. She is organizing a Mom's night out to benefit her son's school and she invited me as a vendor.  I think a night like that is great for my products since they make awesome stocking stuffers or gifts for acquaintances. So even though the show wasn't huge, I walked away with a new opportunity.

As with most fairs I donated an item for their raffle table. I chose a new item in my hair accessory product line, a "bling" headband with a detachable petal hair bow that can be worn alone as a clip, similar to this listing on Etsy.  After the raffles were announced the winner of my headband came to my table to thank me because her daughter was really hoping to win it. Getting the in-person thanks was such a great feeling. So many times I sell things online, but then I never hear from the customer again. Getting positive feedback makes the long hours of sewing worth it, and makes me want to immediately get behind the machine again.

The new opportunity and the happy customers are two more ways to get my brand out there. It is getting harder to sell on Etsy since some of my products depict popular tv shows or characters and they don't like to sell those things. I purchase these ribbons based on customer requests, but then I am stuck with leftover ribbon to use up. One of my goals for the beginning of the year is to set up a better website to replace my current  Joatmon Creations one,   but until then I have to find another venue to sell my Harley, Coach, Angry Birds, Hello Kitty, Mickey Mouse, and Family Guy items.  These are the companies that have cracked down on me recently, despite the fact that I did not reproduce their logos in the first place. I just purchased the ribbon someone else made with them and then created my own items.  So, if you are in the market for some fun novelties that are handmade in the US by a local crafter, feel free to message me or find me on Facebook.

Well, now its time for some family bonding, also known as yard work. Happy Sunday!!

slow cooker cinnamon sugar nuts 

I found this recipe online and it only called for almonds. Since I like a mix of different nuts, I adapted it to include cashews and peanuts,  too. (Note: this post has been updated to include a link to the original recipe.  Thanks, iamthecouponaddict.com

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C. Sugar ( I adjusted to 1 cup)
1 1/2 C. Brown Sugar (I adjusted to 1 cup)
3 Tbsp. Cinnamon
1/8 tsp. Salt
1 Egg White
2 tsp. vanilla
3 Cups Almonds (I used 2.5 cups EACH of almonds, peanuts and cashews)
1/4 C. Water

Directions:
In a medium sized bowl, mix together sugars, cinammon, and salt. Set aside. In another medium sized bowl, whisk the egg white and vanilla until it’s a little frothy. Add nuts. Make sure they are thoroughly coated in the egg white mixture. Add cinnamon mixture to the nuts and toss until coated.

Thoroughly spray your slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray and add the mixture of nuts and sugars.

Cook on low 3-4 hours stirring every 30 minutes. In the last hour, add the 1/4 C. of water and stir well. This ensures a crunchy yummy coating. (*make sure after you’ve added the water that you continue to cook the nuts for another 45 minutes to an hour.)

You have to stir really well, especially as it gets later in the cooking process.

Line a baking sheet with parchment and spread the almonds flat to cool. The almonds will be sticky at this point, so make sure to separate them a little and have no large mounds.

"Action" photo (while cooking)