Christmas Give Away!!

So the meal for one give away was totally fun!!! Ok well I had fun at least!! So I am going to be doing one for December!!! Decembers give away will be a $25.oo gift certificate to use in my Jewelry and Home Decor shop, A Time 2B Unique!!

The Rules:

1. You must be at least 18 years or older to participate

2. You must visit my Etsy shop, http://www.atime2beeunique.etsy.com/ and tell me what item you like best and why by posting a comment to this post and find the 3 candy canes hidden in my listings. Once you find the candy canes, email me at: athyme2beecomforted@yahoo.com and tell me where the candy candy canes are hidden and then you are entered to win!!

Remember the more post you have, the more likely you are to win......our last winner knows all about it!!! ;)

3. The contest will run from December 1st until December 2oth at midnight!!

4. The prize will be sent out via email and announced on December 21!! Well if I don't the the stomach flu again, heheheh!!

Well I hope that you guys have a great time participating in this!! I also hope that you and your families have a safe and HAPPY Christmas and New Year!! Remember to be good and kind Santa is watching and checking his list!!

**Hugs!!

Angelica

And the winner is............

Congratulations to Karen, from Bridgeport, NY!! She has won A Thyme To Bee Comforted's meal for one! Karen has chosen the Enchilada meal, which will be sent out to her after the holiday!!

Sorry for the late post in regards to the winner, our house was hit by the hideious stomach flu, and today is the first day I feel good enough to be on the net! Darn school, don't you love how kids just bring home EVERYTHING!?!?! I vote for them going to school in bubbles!!!

Anyway, I did a short interview with Karen since she is Novembers BIG winner!

What comforts you in hard times?

Family and Friends - just as in the good times !!

What is your favorite internet site to shop on?

I like Kohls.com.

What's your favorite meal?

Pasta Alfredo

If you could learn to cook one thing, what would it be?

Pasta Alfredo, I've always had trouble with white sauce - it comes out either too thick or too thin... I could use some helpful hints.

Well my suggestion for the white sauce it to slowly add more parmesan cheese in small batches to make the sauce thicker or you can mix butter and flour together in another dish, then slowly add it in to also make it thicker! Becareful with the butter flour mixture, it can thicken it pretty quick. If it is to thick you can always thin it out with some milk or cream.

Well this brings us to the end of Novembers give away! I hope that you all had fun in participating, and I also hope that you have a fantastic Thanksgiving!! Can you belive it is this week!!?!? Check back in December, I will be having a December giveaway from my other store, A Time 2b Unique!!

**Hugs!
Angelica

A Time 2 Bee Unique

Well today's blog is going to be a little self indulgent!! For those of you that subscribe to this blog, you know about my Etsy store A Thyme To Bee Comforted, but did you know that I have another Etsy store? I do, I do it is called

A Time 2 Bee Unique!!

A Time 2 Bee Unique is a jewelry and home decor store. Yes it has NOTHING to do with food!! I love all kinds of different crafts, jewelry making, wood burning, painting.....the list goes on an on! Hehheehe so do the withdrawals from my checking account!! At A Time 2 Bee Unique you will find mostly jewelry right now, I do have some home decor and holiday stuff. I will be adding more home decor items as time passes!

I started making jewelry when I was little around 8 I would say, with fishing wire and seed beads, my sister and I would make little flower rings and bracelets. I love to make jewelry because I know I won't be running into any of my friends and end up having the same earrings or necklace as them!! It is one of my pet peeves (hhehehe I have LOTS of pet peeves), I hate going out and finding out that I have the same shirt, shoes or accessories as my friends. Unfortunately this use to happen A LOT because in my group of friends we all had similar taste in clothes and jewelry!!

When designing my jewelry I love to use sterling silver and semi precious stones, and also lamp work beads. A couple of my necklaces have lamp work beads from Etsy lamp work artist! I love the Etsy lamp work artist, there beads are extraordinary and unique from other beads that you will find at your typical bead store! I also love vibrant colors, those that will make you smile when you wear them!



A Rainbow in a Heart

Well if you find yourself on Etsy (which you should be for the Holiday's) come and stop by A Time 2 Bee Unique, I would love to have you!! So pull up a chair and come browse for awhile! If you see something you like but you want it bigger or smaller just email me and I can adjust! I also have Holiday gift wrapping available, which is sooooooooo cute!! I had Shopbub design the packaging for me!!


Happy Shopping!!!

Angelica =o)

Up Coming Holiday Events!!

There are going to be some exciting events occurring this month that you need to check out!!! Team Eeat is hosting two delish events for the Holiday Season!! I mentioned them in the news letter that I sent out this week, but I am soooooooo excited in being a part of them that I thought they deserved a blog post!!

The first event is the Holiday blog give away which is a scavenger hunt!!! It is being held on the Team Eeat Blog. We are giving away two $10 gift certificates that can be used in any participating shop!! For detailed rules of the give away and to see the participating shops visit the blog!!

The next Holiday event is taking the place of our next FFF, it is our Black Friday Sale!! There are going to great sales in participating Team Eeat shops!!!

Yes I know that you are in denial, but it is that time of the year already!! There will be a Turkey on the table before you know it, and a house full of family and friends!! For many Black Friday is D Day, it signals the official start of the Holiday Season and prime time shopping for loved ones!! So in honor of the Black Friday tradition Team Eeat will be having a Black Friday Sale! It will be in the Etsy Forums, members will be having significant discounts, games, prizes etc! Do yourself a favor and buy handmade this season!! Pull up your favorite chair and cup of hot coco and take a trip to Etsy Lane for unique Holiday gifts!! Best of all let Team Eeat help you with your Holiday cooking!! There is enough stress during the Holidays, why worry about making food!?!??! So give the gift of time this Holiday Season with some delicious desserts or side dishes!!!

Heathers Handmade Creations

For those of you who have been following the blog you know that I love to comfort other people with my food! Over there years it has become a passion of mine, a way to express myself and my feelings to my friends and family. The best part about joining Etsy is coming in contact with other people that are passionate at what they do. I have made a couple of friends on Etsy and we are all connected by the passion that we share for the love of our craft.

One of my favorite Estians is Heather who is the owner of Heathers Handmade Creations. Now Heather has nothing to do with food!! Yes I know you are surprised because everything on this blog is typically related to food, but this blog is also about what comforts me!!

Heather is a person that is passionate, creative and very gifted when it comes to designing her cards! Yes there are many card shops on Etsy, but I have yet to find one that has her unique flair for design or for the quality that she provides!

I know about her quality first hand as I have ordered cards from her several times! Each time I have been pleasantly surprised with my orders!! Not only is it the quality of her cards, but Heather is very nice and easy person to get along with. She cares about her customers and wants to be sure that they are happy with their purchases. All of these reasons are why I have chosen to feature her on my blog this week. So lets sit back, relax and get to know a little about Heather!!

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself:

Heather: I'm 36 years old,married, no kids. I started cross stitching at a early age, took up beading, then crocheting, but not till 2.5 years ago when i took up scrap booking did i really get hooked on a craft. I started out with 12x12 layouts, then took up card making 2 years ago when i ran out of pics to scrapbook. I love hockey, the Leafs and Oilers :) and i love my dog and two cats. I work full time as an embroidery machine operator, and have been doing so for 11 years now. (god!) lol~ Heather also resides in lovely Canada...brrrrrr..........

Q: What inspires you when you are creating designs for your cards?

Heather: I get a lot of inspiration just from my stamps, I can look at a stamp and then in my head know what papers, colors and embellishments to use. I am also able to picture the layouts of my ideas in my head. I'm addicted to ribbon and embossing.

Q: What is your favorite card that you have made so far and why?

Heather: My favorite card I have made so far is the Love Bird card. I had the stamp set for a while and when I finally got around to using it, it just came out way better then I expected. I love the heart with the flourishes the best, I plan to do some nice valentines cards with that stamp.

Q: Any tips for Etsy newbies or those who are starting their online business?

Heather: The tips I would give to anyone starting out, is to just have fun! Don't' expect too much to quickly, I think most expect to sell a lot and sell right away, it doesn't always happen, and disappointment can come quickly. I joined not expecting anything but to list my cards. If someone likes and buys them that is great!!

Q: What are a couple of your favorite Etsy shops and why??

Some of my favorite shops are http://www.lucatedde.etsy.com/ he made me the best dog portrait ever and was my first big purchase on Etsy. I was his first sale and it was just a nice experience.

I also love http://www.bluesaphire.etsy.com/; I have never bought from her but I think she has the best sock monkeys around! I just love looking at them to cheer me up, she was my first international sale and even with high shipping she has come back again and again, that makes me feel good :)

I also love http://www.buttfreckle.com/ if I ever have a bad day i just go to her shop and I'm instantly cheered up lol !!

Oh yeah and http://www.txbutterfly74.etsy.com/ as well she has been my best Etsy friends almost since joining and i talk to her nightly she is a paper crafter as well, and we have lots in common!!

So you can see that Heather is an easy going and fun person which is really reflected in her work! What she is to modest to tell you, when you look at the pictures of her cards you would assume that she printed off the images that she uses, which is what I thought when I first saw her cards. In actuality she hands stamps each card and then the color that you see is hand painted with water color pencils!! She does custom orders for any occasion, and not just limited to cards. She also has these adorable gift card holders that would be PERFECT for the Holidays that are just around the corner!! So do yourself a favor and send the ones that you love a card from Heathers Handmade Creations to bright up their day!!

How is it possible to ship food??

"How can you ship food like this"? This is the most popular question that I get!! If I had a dollar for every time I have been asked, I would be on my way to being a rich girl!!! The question after this is always," Why is your shipping so high"?

Well I have decided to answer these questions in detail as they pertain to my Etsy shop A Thyme To Bee Comforted. Please keep in mind, this is how I ship and does not reflect the shipping policies of any of the edible shops that you will find on Etsy.

So to answer the first question: "How can you ship food like this"?

Well to begin with it is all in the packaging and delivery time. I ship priority mail as my standard shipping method which means that your package will arrive on your door step with in 2-3 days. I can also ship overnight, at an additional cost. Priority mail is the most cost effective method for both of us as I use a flat rate box. The benefit of using flat rate boxes is that the shipping cost is based on what you can fit into the box up to 70lbs and does not go off of weight. That is where overnight or express mail get you!! They go by weight and by box size!!

I typically use the Large Flat Rate priority box (measures 12” x 12” x 5-1/2” ), as this gives me the most space to pack your product in. You need to keep in mind that I am not only shipping your product in your box, but also ice packs and dry ice. All of which take up a good amount of space!!

Since I am using a flat rate box, I am limited on space. I do combine orders if you order multiple items. Typically 4 items will fit into one Large box, this is an estimate of course as it is all dependant on what you are ordering. Some products are larger than others and will take up more space. I would only charging shipping on one box, if all the items fit into one box, once they do not fit into one box you of course would incur another shipping charge. Unfortunately Etsy does not let me structure my shipping profile this way. So if you end up buying multiple items don't panic when you see the shipping amount!! Once your order has been packed and shipped out to you, I will refund you the overage in shipping!

Well now you know how the box gets to your door but I know that doesn't explain how the food gets there fresh!! Well it is a combination of things that helps the food get to your door fresh and delish!! For the most part everything that you purchase from me is completely cooked, when it arrives at your door all you will be doing is reheating (reheating instructions are provided). Once I have cooked everything in your order it goes into the freezer to help insure that it arrives at your door cold. The only thing that is not frozen prior to shipping are the fresh salsas , as they only need to be kept cool to keep them fresh. I only offer items that will not lose their taste or texture when frozen.

Next is the packaging, while I use the priority boxes to ship in I alter the interior of them to help keep the food insulated. I use Cool Shield Bubble to insulate the boxes. It provide short term thermal shipping protection for food, plants and pharmaceuticals and is safe to use with food per the FDA. Your order is completely surrounded by the cool shield, from top to bottom!!

The next step is ice packs and dry ice. I put about 3 ice packs at the bottom of your box and on top of them I put about 5lbs of dry ice. This will extend the life of the ice packs by keeping them frozen. You can find out all about shipping with dry ice at ://www.dryiceinfo.com/shipping.htm . In addition to food, pharmaceuticals are also shipped with dry ice! Basically I have made my own cooler to ship your food in!!

This brings us to the final question of "Why is your shipping cost so high"? As you can see I take great care in packaging your orders. My shipping cost is high because not just as simple as put the product in the box and sending it out! Dry ice and the packaging that I use is not inexpensive. Here in AZ dry ice is $1.20 or so a pound. As I mentioned I typically ship with 5lbs so if you do the math on that it is $6 just in dry ice!! Not to mention the ice packs and the lining of the boxes! I want your food to get to you as cold and as quick as possible! Also my food products are more delicate than those of the Bakery shops you will find on Etsy. I ship this way because I want the food to be completely safe when it arrives on your door step!

Keeping this in mind if you know that your mail is slower than most places, shoot me an email and let me know before you order that way I can put in some extra ice packs! Typically with priority mail the packages arrive in 2 days and do not go into the 3rd day.

Well I hope that this little post helps you feel better about ordering for over the net!! If you ever have any questions about the products in either of my stores feel free to convo or email me!!

Hugs!

Angelica

My Birthday!!

Well I am another year older, I celebrated my birthday last Saturday, Nov 1st! No I will not tell you how old I am!! Gee don't you know it's rude to ask a lady her age!! It was another great B day filled with family, friends and of course FOOD!!! It seems no matter what event it is I am the one always cooking (hmmm my B Day and I ended up cooking...waz up with that)! I made some Bruschetta, oh my it was YUMMMY!!! You can't go wrong with bread, mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil!!! I have now added it to my shop!!

The bruschetta was the appetizer, I also made two deep dish lasagnas and a Panzenella salad!! Everyone was out back hovered around the food, waiting for me to give the ok to chow down!! Finally Amy came in and asked me if they could eat (as usual I was still in the kitchen finishing the last minute details). I said "of course that is why all the food is out on the table silly!!"

That is my kitchen and family room!! I am the one in the shorts and the stripes!! Heheheh wouldn't Scotty and Kathy be mad if they new their pics were on line.........hehehhehehe.

The night was finished out back with some Nutella Wantons!! Ohhhh my those were goood!! I also made a raspberry reduction to go with them!! A couple of the party goers gave me the look when they first saw them, but as soon as they took a bite "The Look" went from one of doubt to pure joy!! Hehehhe then they were following me around because I had the tray!!! Since they were such a big hit I have also added them to my Etsy shop!!

Well here is hoping for another great year of fun, laughs, family and friends!!!

The FFF, what is it? Where is it? Why?

There is a new buzz going through my favorite website, Etsy where I am sure a lot of you are sellers or even buyers. Not everyone knows about it yet, but there is a wave being started that you will definitely want to ride.

What is Etsy for those of you that may have never heard of it? Well it is only the most unique place to purchase quality handmade items. What's unique about it you may ask? Well there is such a large diversity of products on this site that you will be amazed. For those of you that think handmade items are questionable, well you are sadly mistaken!! I have never seen such an array of talented individuals all located on one site that produce such high quality items. Some even will rival your typical name brands. I have seen jewelry that could be featured at Tiffanie's, purses that could be in Coach, and food that could be on the Food Network.

All this being said brings me to the focus of this blog, The FFF. The FFF is the Friday Food Fest that is hosted by Team Eeat. It occurs twice a month on the First and Third Friday of the month in a chat room on Etsy that has been started by Team Eeat. What is the FFF, well it is a chat room where you can come and chat with the members of Team Eeat and those that are in love with food.

In addition to the great chat, Team Eeat members typically run sales in their shops to honor the FFF. So if you have not yet had a chance to partake in any of the delectable desserts or delish dishes on Etsy the FFF is defiantly the time to take the plunge. In addition to Team Eeat giving great sales, other Sellers have started participating in the idea of the FFF. They also may offer discounts on items in their shops and sponsor their own giveaways!!

At the FFF there are several games sponsored by the members of Team Eat where you have the chance to win various prizes, from gift certs to actual food!! It is a great place to be if you are going to be online on a Friday night! Make sure that you do your calistenics with your fingers before you log on and get your speed readers shined, because the chat moves like lightning with a lot of laughs and fun!!!

I suggest you peruse the sales at the Team Eeat blog before you enter chat, you can do this by visiting the Team Eeat blog at: http://etsyedibleartsteam.blogspot.com/. That way you have an idea of who is having what sale and from whom you may want to win a prize from!! There are sooo many different members on the Team that I really do suggest doing this, otherwise you may feel overwhelmed in chat by each tasty treat that is presented.......or tempted...heheeh....

I really suggest visiting the FFF in the next couple of months as the holidays draw near, you may find yourself not having enough time for making that dish that you need to take to the holiday party, or to the pot luck. Or surprise!!! The family has decided to come down for the holidays and now you need to cook a meal for 12 hungry and judgemental family members (yes we all have one of those in our families). Give yourself the gift of time and sanity let the VERY talented members of Team Eeat grace your tables with inventive, creative and scrumptious food! Heheheh you can even take the credit for it, no one will no that you didn't make it!!

So lets break it down, the next FFF is this Friday, November 7th 8pm est time in the Etsy Chat rooms! Don't forget to visit the blog before coming or peruse this blog for the members that I have featured, http://etsyedibleartsteam.blogspot.com/!! I hope to see you there!!


With Love!

Angelica