Jacaranda Designs March Giveaway - Hair Posy WINNER

Well, it's the end of March and we have a winner for the hair posy giveaway.

I used random.org to select a winner and it is...

Fisiwoman

Congrats!

Thanks to everyone who took part and keep an eye out for my next giveaway.

Easter Nest Chocolate Treats

This past weekend I made some chocolate Easter nests for the children and a few of their friends. I know it was a week before Easter but they're such fun to make and to eat too!

They're very easy. You melt the milk chocolate with a little butter and then mix the melted chocolate with cornflakes. Then use the mixture to make little nests (on wax paper so they come off easily). Lastly, pop a few little chocolate Easter eggs in the nests. Leave them for a couple of hours so the chocolate hardens. Voila! You have some yummy Easter treats!

Free Shipping on all Earrings Until End of March

Until the end of March, enjoy free shipping on all purchases of earrings at Jacaranda Designs.

Shipping charges will be refunded promptly on Paypal.

Giveaway - Little Shimmer Earrings - Peach

Adore By Nat is hosting a giveaway of a pair of earrings from Jacaranda Designs on her blog! She has a wonderful, inspiring blog. Take a look and enter the giveaway at the same time!

Pastel Shades - Jewelry That Looks Good Enough To Eat

Happy Friday everyone. Yes, the weekend is almost here!

I've posted a couple of new necklaces to my Etsy shop in the last couple of days. I think the fact that they're in pastel shades and look like little candy covered chocolates, make these necklaces wonderful Easter gifts!

Wednesday's Five Good Things!

1. No more amalgam fillings - they're gone!
2. Lunch with a friend
3. Early morning cuddle with my youngest son
4. Little tulip bulbs starting to sprout in the garden
5. Salted cashews...yumm!

Wish me luck!

Tomorrow I'm visiting the dentist to have the very last of my amalgam fillings removed. Yes, the last three out of a total of ten! I started with the first one in December and it's been a long few months during the winter getting the rest removed. If anyone is wondering why I haven't been blogging too much the last few months, this is one of the reasons. Each time I have some fillings removed, even though it's through a holistic dentist, my nervous system symptoms are exacerbated, driving me nuts. I was also diagnosed with Addison's Disease during the Fall and have been adjusting to the medication since then.

So, tomorrow, I say goodbye to the last of these darn mercury fillings and hello to a nice new smile. I'm crossing my fingers that over the next year, the symptoms of mercury overload will gradually dissipate! I just wish I'd done this a long time ago. Seriously, if you have Fibromyalgia, CFS or any other auto-immune condition and you have a mouth full of amalgam fillings, it's worth looking into getting them removed. Keep in mind though, that not everyone necessarily reacts to amalgam. I hope you don't.

Now let's just hope I don't look like this tomorrow evening!

Some of My Fave Etsy Easter Finds

There are so many creative Easter gifts to find on Etsy at this time of year and here's just a sampling of some of my favorites!


From Left to right.....
1. Spring Chick - White with Gray

2. JELLYBEAN RIBBON HEADBAND
3. HAPPY CHICKS
4. Pompon Mum with Sparrow - Light Cream

5. Fun with the Easter Animals Finger Puppets
6.HANDMADE EASTER GREETING CARD

BOGO50 Sale This Weekend!

I'm offering a wonderful deal on my jewelry Saturday and Sunday. Buy one, get another 50% off. 2nd item (50% off) is of equal or lesser value than 1st item.

When you purchase, specify the word "BOGO50" in the message to seller. I shall then refund you the 50% promptly on Paypal.

Learning Something New

On Friday I attended a class at the beading show in Toronto. I've often been to the show but never taken a class before. It was tons of fun. Hard work for three hours but I loved the end result. I learned how to wrap silver wire and made a turquoise and silver wire wrapped bangle. It fits perfectly and I think I shall be wearing it a lot. I'm also going to make another with a different gemstone. What color stone do you think would look good?

Possessive About Chocolate Cake

On Wednesday my younger son helped me baek a chocolate cake. After it had baked, I iced it with a layer of chocolate icing. The surface was so smooth and yummy looking. However, my son, thinking that I'd done most of the work on the cake, decided to "etch" my name into the icing while I was out of the room. A real work of art:-)

Some New Designs For Spring.

Just a few photos of some of my recent designs I've added to my Etsy Shop.

Spring Peeking Through

Finally, after what seems like a long winter, there are signs of Spring in my garden. A small clump of snow drops is peeking through the dead leaves in the flower bed. I know it may still snow but hey, I'm enjoying these few flowers so much!

Jacaranda Designs March Giveaway - Hair Posy of Your Choice

Jacaranda Designs March giveaway will be for a hair posy of your choice from my shop.

Next time you go to tie up your hair, use one of these colorful hair posies. They're lightweight. You won't even know you're wearing them and they look great. They make wonderful little Easter and springtime gifts.



To enter....

Please leave a comment on this post telling us which piece of jewelry at Jacaranda Designs is your favorite.

You can enter once per day and you must include your first name -and- etsy username or email address with every entry. If you are worried about email spam, you can spell out the 'at' and 'dot' rather than using the standard email format.

Receive additional entries:
- if you follow or subscribe to my blog
- twitter about the giveaway and/or blog about the giveaway
- become a fan of Jacaranda's facebook page
- feature any of my items on your blog

- follow me on twitter
- purchase any item from Jacaranda Designs (5 additional entries!)

Just leave a comment/link letting me know!

To go ahead, have fun and maybe you'll be the lucky winner.

As usual, I'll be using random.org to select the winner.

Giveaway ends March 31st at 5pm.

Food Fun - Butternut Squash

I love cooking and I'm always on the lookout for new cookbooks. Yes, I have loads of them but I just really enjoying experimenting with food. Being on a gluten free diet can sometimes be a challenge. The other day I ordered a book by Canadian chef Bonnie Stern called "Friday Night Dinners".



All the recipes look delicious, many are gluten free and they're not the type that take hours to prepare. After all, with children, I don't have a lot of time on our hands.


So the first recipe I tried was "butternut ribbons". You basically slice up a butternut squash into ribbons about 1/4" wide, lay them on a pan in a single layer and sprinker with some olive oil, kosher salt and a little fresh, chopped rosemary. You then cook them in a 400F oven for 25 - 30 mins until they're slightly browned.


They were really tasty and incredibly easy to make!