Minted ~ Make Gift Giving Personal ~ Give Personalized Photo Art This Year

Discover Minted ~ A great website dedicated to bringing users great artwork, with options for personalizing your own photos or using designer-created art.

I've got a few people who have become very hard to get gifts for (grandparents, great-grandparents), but I find they really appreciate gifts that have meaning - so personalized photo art is a wonderful solution for me.

Minted has some wonderful categories for users to use their own photos to create professional looking works of art - they have special State Art, Letter Art, Foil Art and Regular Art...

Minted has made it easy to personalize your own creations - simply upload your photos (they even help you with that!), select your artwork, zoom in/out, preview, save and order - SO EASY!!

Here are a few of my own personalized favorites:

Minted has a great line of State Personalized Prints - here is Washington State:

And Letter Art:

Family ...

And so much more!!!...

With each print, you have the ability to select a frame if you want it framed.  The framing is beautiful!!

Be sure to check out Minted and see how you can make your precious memories into cherished artwork.

PS - they also have a great selection of personalized holiday cards as well.  And if you don't like to personalize cards or artwork, the designer cards and artwork are wonderful too.

A bit about the company and how designs are created:

After really looking at the site, I was amazed to find that Minted was started in 2007, and uses independent artists to create new and fresh artwork. These artists currently come from 48 different US states, and from 43 different countries.

 Designers participate in monthly Challenges, and then everyone votes on the designs. top designs are chosen and featured as artwork on Minted. This tells me that they are always going to be providing customers with new designs and artwork options. (It is also fun as a consumer to help vote!)

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. After spending hours on the site learning about their products and customizing my own cards, I feel comfortable talking and sharing some of the Wow-Factor items that really caught my attention. My opinions and thoughts are my own.

Fun New SWAP From HiyaHiya: Panda Li Point Protector Sets for Knitting - Hurry - Only 8 Spots Available!!

Qianer of HiyaHiya (who produces wonderful knitting needles, accessories and patterns) has just started a wonderful new SWAP over in Ravelry!

I welcome you to head over and take a look.  I've had a chance to try the new Panda Li Point Protectors and they are wonderful!!!  I am partial to the smaller sized ones as I like to knit socks, which all take very small needles.

Sorry for the crazy picture - but here is my small Panda Li Green Point Protector on the last pair of socks I was working on.  They are adorable!!!

Head over to our Ravelry group HERE and check out this fun swap - but hurry - there were 8 spots to start with and they will likely go fast!!!

New to Swaps?  It is pretty easy - in this particular swap the swapper is Millswis (Ravelry Name), she currently has 8 sets of point protectors to send out - 5 small sets, 3 large sets.  The swap is to be for 2 sock yarns, so as a swapee, I will be sending Millswis 2 sock yarns in exchange for a set of the small Panda Li Point Protectors...

Come join the fun in this wonderful group!!!

Don't want to swap right now?  Come check out the group anyway - we have great KALs (Knit-a-Longs) with wonderful HiyaHiya prizes, and we've got some fun new things going on in the group too!!!  Come join the fun!!!

~ Wendi

Pearl in the Sand: A Novel by Tessa Afshar

It has been a while since a book so grabbed my attention like this one has.  It has instantly become one of my favorite book club reads, right up there with The Red Tent, The Samurai's Garden and a few others.

The character of Rahab was written so well that it is easy to see how she rose above her circumstances to make a difference in the lives of others.

Forced into a life she did not choose by parents who felt they had no other option other than to sell her, she chooses her own terms and makes a life for herself.

Over the course of years, she builds a successful career and has an inn type house.  She then follows her heart, finds God and has a chance to start fresh.

I LOVE this book!!!  I plan to read another Tessa Afshar book very soon.

(Sorry this one is short - I read it, and LOVED it, then read a few more books and need to go back and re-read this one...)

Pearl in the Sand: A Novel
by Tessa Afshar
Publisher: Moody Publishers; New Edition edition (August 24, 2010)  ~ 321 pages Fiction / Historical / Biblical / Women in the Bible

Edition Reviewed: Kindle eBook - I purchased my copy of the Kindle eBook as it is our current book club book.

About the Book: from the author's website

Can a Canaanite harlot who has made her livelihood by looking desirable to men make a fitting wife for one of the leaders of Israel? Shockingly, the Bible's answer is yes.

Pearl in the Sand tells Rahab's untold story. Rahab lives in a wall; her house is built into the defensive walls of the City of Jericho. Other walls surround her as well--walls of fear, rejection, and unworthiness.

A woman with a wrecked past; a man of success, of faith...of pride. A marriage only God would conceive! Through the heartaches of a stormy relationship, Rahab and Salmone learn the true source of one another's worth and find healing in God.

** Disclosure: I am an Amazon Associate. I get a very small amount for any purchases made when you click through a link from Wendi's Book Corner, which I then save up to buy more books. :)

Come Join Me at the Harlequin Reader Party October 25th #HarlequinBooks

If you will be in or around Seattle on October 25th, 2014 I hope you will join me at the Harlequin Reader Party!  It sounds like it will be a lot of fun.

I bought 2 VIP tickets (one for me, one for Mom so we can make it a "girls day out" kind of day), which means that we get to have exclusive seats at Sheila Roberts' lunch table (there are 12 Harlequin authors, 8 seats per table).

At the start, I believe each of the authors are going to visit each table in a sort of like speed dating.  We can chat, ask questions, etc.  Then our author will join us for lunch, which I think is followed by a book signing (free books for VIP ticket holders).

Meet, chat and have lunch with 12 Bestselling Authors and get FREE signed books!

there are two choices for tickets - the VIP tickets are very limited (There are 8 tickets per author table - so don't wait too long to get your ticket), and limited access tickets where you can attend just the book signing.

Where:
Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center, 17620 International Blvd, Seattle, Washington, 98188-4001

When:
Saturday October 25th, 2014 from 10:00AM - 3:30PM

Who will be there:
BJ Daniels
Maisey Yates
Susanna Carr
Bronwyn Scott
Susan Wiggs
Susan Andersen
Sheila Roberts
Susan Mallery
Lynda Aicher
Lauren Dane
Karina Cooper
Diana Copland

As I find out more information, I'll post an update :)

Hope to see you there!!!!

~ Wendi

Perfect Mother's Day Gift Idea: Dove Chocolate Discoveries Rose Edition Mother's Day Sea Salt Caramels (Includes Gift Card) - Order by April 30th for Mother's Day Delivery

Mother's Day is Sunday May 11th - have you bought something special for the Mom, Grandma, Sister, Aunt or other special woman in your life?  If not, no worries!

I've just tried the Dove Chocolate Discoveries Sea Salted Caramels and they are DIVINE!  Shhh - I'm not telling hubby.  After the perfume I received for Mother's Day a few years back... from the dollar store... I went ahead and did damage control for this year and ordered myself a box!

Info:  Two dozen rose edition Sea-Salted Caramels make the perfect Mother's Day Gift!  Exotic pink and rose sea salts dance on top of our Chef-Series Chocolate, and make a customer favorite even more delightful! The 24 piece collection includes:

     Milk Chocolate with Murray River Pink Salt from Australia: With its apricot-colored flakes, this delicate and wonderfully mild salt melts quickly on your tongue.

     Dark Chocolate with Bolivian Rose Salt: This South American beauty sparkles with exceptional flavor and a gorgeous rose color.

Personalized gift cards included with all purchases that ship direct. - See more at: http://www.mydcdsite.com/PublicStore/stores/WendiBarker/EPS/product/Mothers-Day-Rose-Edition-Sea-Salted-Caramels,684.aspx#sthash.yskhVuNk.dpuf

Submit your order by April 30th and choose Direct Ship in order to get them delivered in time for Mother's Day!!  

If you place an order, my Mom is hosting a party at the moment, during checkout you can find her party using Lynn S - she would be very happy to see an extra sale :)

Rose Edition Mother's Day Sea Salt Caramels  
by Dove Chocolate Discoveries 
On sale for $29 and includes Mothers Day Card!!

Edition Reviewed: Sample received with my Chocolatier Kit!
I'm a Dove Chocolate Discoveries Chocolatier - Love Chocolate and want to have fun earning some extra money?  Let me know and I'll give you all the details - it is fun and EASY!

*Disclosure: I am a Dove Chocolate Discoveries Chocolatier. I get a very small commission for any purchases made when you order from me on www.dovechocolatediscoveries.com/wendibarker  . :)

Best Ever BBQ Chip Butter Fried Chicken Strip Recipe (These Went SO Fast I Couldn't Snag a Picture)

These were such a hit for dinner that I couldn't act fast enough to snag a picture! So, come back later when I do another batch and I'll grab a picture!

My Inspiration: I had a bag of BBQ Potato Chips that was open, and I didn't want to throw them out, but wanted them off the counter, so I decided to decimate them (smash them to bits) and save them in a Ziploc Twistable container for use with butter fried chicken.

Back Story: At one point, the hubby and I had a quest to make a Better-Than-KFC Fried Chicken Breast, and I accomplished it one time, but didn't write down my recipe and have NOT heard the end of it ever since.  So, I'm always sort of thinking about the next try.....

The finished result of this try were eaten SO fast I didn't have time to do more than snag a bit for myself.  So, I vow to grab a picture before anyone knows I'm making them next time. ;)

Best Ever BBQ Chip Butter Fried Chick Strip Recipe
by Wendi Barker You will need:
Chicken, Cut into chicken strips
4-6 Tb Butter
1 egg
2 Tb water
2 Tb Panko (or similar light plain bread crumbs)
1 - 1 1/2 Cups crushed BBQ chips (the thin ones, not the wavy)
Salt to taste

1. Cut your chicken into strips, whatever size you want
2. Beat one egg in a shallow dish and add water so it coats the chicken easier
3. In a second shallow dish combine Pankow and crushed chips
4. Salt/Pepper chicken
5. Dip chicken into egg (I did it in batches and just put a handful into the dish)
6. Dip chicken into chip/Pankow mix
{meanwhile, coat skillet with non-stick spray, melt butter}
7. Put chicken into hot skillet in batches, flip pieces as they cook (I flip them when I can see the meat on the top turning white and the coating on the bottom is a golden brown)
8. Continue until all the chicken is cooked.  I place the cooked chicken pieces onto a plate covered by paper towel so they don't get mushy.

Enjoy!

If you try this easy recipe, let me know how you like it and if you change anything!

Coming Soon ~ Pinterest Projects: 2014

One of my good friends recently moved to another state, and I miss her dearly - we had game nights, football afternoons, and movie nights too. In an effort to stay connected over the distance, we decided to start a monthly Pinterest Project.

We agreed on the first one, and I am WAY behind!  We also decided we would include anyone who wanted to join us and we would also try to get some fun gifts (Christmas, birthday, teacher, etc) done during the year as well as some fun stuff just for us.

Here is the link to the Pinterest board I started to share our projectes in:  http://www.pinterest.com/wendibarker/project-pinterest-2014/

For January, we chose to do a painted canvas, decorated with glue before painting so that there is a raised image on the canvas.  It looks great!!

When I get mine done, I'll add a pic :)

~ Wendi