Repost: Our favorite Irish Potato Candy

Thanks for stopping by. Grab a cuppa tea & stay for a chat.

We'd like to thank you for your interest by offering this free recipe. You can also purchase a cute printed version of this recipe at our Wee Irish shop

Tanks a million!

Irish Potato Candy

Ingredients
4 Tbls butter, softened
1/2 package cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 cups flaked coconut
2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Directions
In medium bowl, beat butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Slowly add vanilla and confectioners' sugar, continuing to beat until smooth. Mix in the coconut (mixture will be thick, use your hands if necessary). Roll into small odd shaped balls, and roll in the cinnamon. Place onto a cookie sheet and chill to set. If desired, roll in cinnamon again for a darker color. Makes about 4 - 5 dozen, depending on size of your "potatoes".

Notes: I like to run the flaked coconut through the food processor first so it's less noticeable. The thick mixture will be about the consistency of Play Doh and is a perfect recipe to share with your little ones. Start a child friendly tradition!

My husband thinks I'm "Blooming" Crazy!

Yep, my dear husband's an engineer, and a very fine photographer too.  Everything he makes is done with a precision that is agonizing for me to watch.  His work is fantastic, and was the origin of our online gallery. 

...and then, there's ME!  His polar opposite!  He just shakes his head when he enters my workshop.  Take my flame fashioned organza flowers for instance.  I like to purchase fabric because it "calls me", not because I have a project in mind.  It sits and ages until we get to know each other well enough to become creative partners.  This beautiful rainbow organza decided to take on a new life as beautiful blossoms. 

I assisted by cutting and applying the heat.  I allow each petal to mold itself, holding it gently near the flame as it twists and curls into a petal or leaf.  Then I mix and match the petals until we are all happy with each other and I have a bouquet! 

I'll add beads or button centers as they come into full bloom.  I'll sew or glue each blossom into a pin, hairclip, pillow accent, or bookmark so that it can find it's useful place in society.  After all this interaction, I'm sad each time one of my babies leaves me for it's new home. .... and once again, Dear Husband just shakes his head.

And the Winner is.........

Thanks to all that entered our "Shoppers Prefer" contest.  We have chosen our winner via Random.org, so......drumroll, please.....the winner is VKT (Veteran Kindergarten Teacher)!  Congratulations on your $25 gift certificate. 

In addition, we would like to thank all who voted in our comparison poll.  The results were consistent, with Zibbet maintaining a lead from the beginning.  The final results were: Zibbet at 58.5% preferred to Etsy at 41.2%.  We love all our shops and know that life would be boring if we all had the same tastes, so please don't take offense if you are an Etsy fanatic.  We love Etsy too!  

CPSIA: An open letter to my Congressman

The CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008) is killing business for many of us.  We can make a difference if we make our voices heard.  Following is my letter to the Honorable Kenny Marchant.  Please feel free to copy any part of it in your own message to your representative.  You can look up and contact your representative at Write Your Representative by entering your address and complete zip code.

My letter:
I recently lost my full time job and I supplement my part time income selling handmade arts and crafts, including children's items.  I produce high quality clothing and toys that I use with my own grandchildren.  CPSIA compliance has made it nearly impossible for me to comply and  will put me out of business when fully implemented in 2011.

I am joining many in the handmade community asking for you to bring relief to thousands of small batch children's product makers.  A law intended to stop  the import of shoddy and dangerous products into the US is now threatening the small business owners within our borders.  It also hurts parents by limiting the goods they can buy for their children, my local fabric store by lowering their sales, charity and thrift stores by cutting off their supply...and on and on.

Thanks to the collective voices of American small business and citizens, we were heard by the media and our representatives, and a bill was introduced by the Department of Energy and Commerce, to amend the CPSIA, offering important relief to thousands of small batch business owners.  This relief would prevent many of us from closing our doors.  We need Democrats and  Republicans in Washingon to work together to help American small business owners.

Please take a stand and show your commitment to keeping our businesses alive.  We are  asking the House Commerce Committee that the CPSIA draft bill go to mark up and become open for discussion.  Please help me, and thousands of others, to keep our shops alive.  Please work to pass this important legislation.

Sincerely,
Norma Brock
Texas Eagle Gallery
www.texaseaglegallery.com

p.s.  You will notice my shop has almost no children's items.  They were my biggest sellers up until 2/10/10 when I had to remove them to comply with CPSIA.

Shoppers Prefer.......Etsy or Zibbet????

Which online shopping site do you prefer...Etsy or Zibbet?  Before you answer, please take time to visit each shop and see it with an open mind, as if it were your first online shopping experience.  We aren't playing favorites here; we LOVE all three of our shops.  They are like 3 children to us -- each different but loved for it's own special characteristics.
 http://www.texaseagle.etsy.com

http://www.weeirish.etsy.com

http://www.zibbet.com/texaseagle

So, please check them out, then take our poll located at the side of this page.  And we'd love to hear your thoughts too. Tell us WHY you prefer Etsy or Zibbet.  Tell us what you'd like to see.  Anyone leaving a comment is automatically entered to win a $25 gift certificate to any of our shops.  Winner will be announced on Monday, June 1st, and will be chosen randomly from all entries.

We really need your input!  Please read this, check out our sites, then respond to our poll.

Zibbet and Etsy

There are lots of folks out here bashing one venue or the other.  Not me, I've loved being an Etsy seller for over a year now and have done quite well with our shops.  But the opportunity to join Zibbet just felt right so we followed our hearts and jumped right in.  Glad we did!

Zibbet is not Etsy.  So what?  It's warm and friendly with a hands on, small town shop feel.  I think it's like having a shop on a lane in a lovely neighborhood as opposed to a booth in a market on the highway.  Both attract buyers, and both are necessary.  Why choose just one?   Different strokes for different folks!

Zibbet makes listing a breeze and it's been no problem keeping up with both.  We've continued to have views and sales at both.  We do market and promote the Zibbet site more strongly at the moment,  but we certainly have more Etsy followers and fans.  April stats showed more views on Zibbet items than for the same items in Etsy....Sweet!  So, all things considered, we highly recommend you try Zibbet.  You can sell up to 25 items in your shop for free, or move up to  a premium account for a small monthly fee.  Click here for more info:
http://www.zibbet.com/texaseagle/sell

Cool Irish Soaps

What's not to love? Irish Cream and Irish Beer soaps? I stumbled upon these products this morning & just couldn't wait to try them. Thought I'd share the love with you!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=43394326

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=43007630

Wedding Favorites

Spring has sprung and Love is in the air. June Weddings are just around the corner. Here are a few of my favorite items for a one of a kind, memorable wedding.
Thanks to all my etsy friends and their amazing creativity.

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

20% off everything in our shops!

Thanks for stopping by. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, we want to offer you 20% off any 1 item in either of our shops. Just type in the code THE HIGH KINGS at checkout and wait for an amended invoice before paying. Offer good through 12:00 midnight Wednesday, March 17, 2010.

www.weeirish.etsy.com
or
www.texaseagle.etsy.com