Joyful Designs in Soy Candles Newsletter

Enjoy the ambiance & romance soy candles create in your home. 

November 2007 Issue

Visit http://www.joyfuldesignsinsoy.com today

Upcoming Craft Show Schedule

Nov. 3rd - Saturday

10AM - 4PM Skagit County Fairgrounds, Building B

Nov. 15 - Thursday

7:30 AM - 5PM

Skagit Valley Hospital Main Lobby

Nov. 17 - Saturday

9AM - 4PM

Burlington Senior Center Fairhaven

Attention Local Customers!

I've got my candles in a new shop in Concrete Wa.

It's right on Hwy 20, across from the Napa store.  It's called Sauk Valley

Gallery.  Drop by and check in out!

Very cute store.

Note about web orders:  

If you place an order and your shopping cart comes up with a cost of over $8.95 to ship, please email me before you place the order.  Most likely, I can fit it into a flat rate priority mail box and save you some money on that shipping. 

Skagit County residents, please email me your orders and we'll arrange free delivery and payment upon time of delivery.

 Free 8 oz candle Winner

1 Subscriber chosen randomly every month!

October's free winner was yame1991 (please contact me to redeem, if you live in the U.S.). 

Consider hosting a candle party this fall! Earn some free candles for yourself!   I don't do a sales pitch or pressure in any way to buy or book parties, candles sell themselves when they smell the awesome scents, and I'm simply available to answer questions if they want.   It's a relaxed  time with your friends, smelling great scented candles and just having fun!  You can do a theme if you'd like (such as a nacho night, wine & cheese theme, flip flops, or any other creative idea that would be fun) I'm willing to drive up to an hour from Sedro Woolley.  If you'd  like more details on how this works, please email me at:   valerie.garner@joyfuldesignsinsoy.com

Fundraisers

I can do fundraisers for groups.  Email me for details if interested!  (I would consider doing out of area fundraisers, please contact me for details)

Scent of the Month Sale

Spiced Tea- Brown color this is a spicy tea!  Buy 1 candle at regular price, get a candle of month scent in the equal size for 40% off!  (Does not count on the sets of candles as those are already discounted).

Please email me if you order the special so I can tabulate the correct total for you.

This is a great time to stock up to have some extra candles on hand for the gift giving season ahead!

Seasonal scent suggestions:

Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin season is here - whether it's for Jack-o-Lanterns at Halloween or Pumpkin Pie for Thanksgiving, we can all agree that autumn is pumpkin time.

What may not instantly come to mind is the seeds that come with the pumpkins and the nutrition value they hold.

Pumpkin seeds, also called "pepitas," are small, flat, and usually dark green seeds. They are sometimes surrounded by a yellow/white husk, depending on what variety of pumpkin they are from.

They are probably most well known in their roasted form, but also come as an ingredient to many other foods and dishes, such as pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup, etc. sometimes pumpkin seeds are also sprinkled over salads or other dishes in order to add nutrients and flavor. They are especially well-known as ingredients of traditional Mexican dishes.

There are many varieties of pumpkins, and they produce seeds with or without shells.

Pumpkin seeds have a chewy texture and a sweetish nutty flavor.

While roasted pumpkins seeds are probably best known as the seasonal Halloween treat, there is absolutely no reason not to eat them throughout the year.

Pumpkin seeds provide a wide range of necessary daily nutrients, such as fibers, healthy fats and protein. They are also a great source of minerals such as magnesium, manganese, zinc, iron and copper.

In as little as a handful of pumpkin seeds, you will receive about half of the daily recommended intake of magnesium, half of the daily recommended intake of manganese, about a quarter of the recommended daily intake of copper and iron, and about a fifth of the recommended daily intake of protein and zinc. Of course these are not all that is required for a healthy balanced diet. But as a between-meals healthy snack, pumpkin seeds are one of the true treasures that mother nature has to offer.

Other Beneficial Qualities of Pumpkin Seeds:

Pumpkin seeds can also be beneficial for people with high cholesterol levels. Pumpkin seeds are rich in phytosterols (compounds found in plants similar to cholesterol and active in reducing cholesterol when present in a large quantities), and as such could be part of a low cholesterol diet.

Pumpkin also improve the immune system and lower the risks of certain cancers.

Pumpkin seeds should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This way, they will maintain their freshness for the longest possible time. Although still edible they start to loose their freshness after about 2 months. If the seeds start to smell musty or rancid they should not be consumed.

Preparing Your Own Pumpkin Seeds:

While pumpkin seeds can be bought almost anywhere, it is also possible to make your own.

- Remove the seeds from inside the pumpkin

- Spread them out on a tray, and let them dry overnight.

- Then roast them at a low temperature (70 Celiius/160-170) Fahrenheit for about 15 to 20 minutes. Roasting them for a short period at a low temperature preserves valuable healthy oils that will be lost if you roast them at higher temperatures. One can of course also add spices or other flavorings while roasting them, should one wish to do so.

Tips on How to Preserve Pumpkin Seeds:

- Add a pumpkin seeds to mixed salads (they go best with green salads, but others are not ruled out).

- Pumpkin seeds can also be ground up and added to salad dressings.

- I personally like to add a few pumpkin seeds to stir-fry vegetable dishes.

- You can add pumpkin seeds to fruit and nut mixes (trail mix).

- They can be added to corn flakes or other cereals (hot or cold).

- When baking bread, they can be added to the dough.

- Add them to your oatmeal and raisin cookie recipes or to your granola recipe.

I hope this helps to better prepare you for the pumpkin season!

By Anna Stone  At http://www.low-calorie-and-vegetarian-recipes-4U.com Anna collects nutritional recipes from a variety of cooks and authors.

You may also find additional information at http://low-calorie-and-vegetarian-recipes.blogspot.com

Candle Tips

To extinguish your wick in a truly smoke free way, take a small piece of wire (end of a coat hanger works well)  and use it to push your burning wick into the burn pool, thus drowning it.  Then use that wire to put the wick back in it's original position. 

Be sure to trim your wick to ? or ?” before every burn and keep the lit candle out of a draft to ensure a clean burn.  Toenail clippers work great to trim the wick as it burns down deeper into the jar.

Burn your candle 1 hour for every inch of diameter.  For the 12 oz oval hexagon candles, burn a minimum of 3 hours, and the jelly jars and minimum of 2 hours for best results.  This helps to ensure a full melt pool.