A Warm Fire On a Snowy February Night

Image: Michelle Meiklejohn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I am enjoying a warm fire on a snowy February night. The last few days have been filled with sunshine and warm weather that has melted so much of our snow. Today it has been snowing all day and it sounds like it will continue well into tomorrow morning. Enjoying a quiet night in front of the fireplace while the snow falls!

Valentine's Day Gifts - Bachman's Floral Gifts And Garden

Happy Valentine's Day! Through the years I have received many lovely Valentine gifts including a dozen red roses delivered to work one year that was a total surprise! When the gentleman from Bachman's Floral Gifts & Garden walked straight for me I was overwhelmed!

The next year I received another Valentine's Day gift from Bachman's Floral Gifts & Garden. I couldn't believe my good fortune! I received this beautiful Watch'em Grow Bulb Garden. Every day I could not wait to get home to look at my dining room table and see the growth of my garden! The flowers were amazing and brought a smile to my face every day! The bulbs are now outside in my garden and continue to bloom every spring! What a wonderful gift to give that I have enjoyed for many years!

What are the Valentine's Day gifts that mean the most to you? Enjoy your Valentine's Day!

Sweethearts Conversation Hearts

I have to admit that every year during the Valentine season I indulge in a few Sweethearts Conversation Hearts! I take the time to read each phrase and eat them one at a time!

What special treat do you indulge in during the Valentine season?

Free Valentine E-Cards From Kate Spade

I was surfing the web tonight and came across these wonderful free Valentine e-cards from Kate Spade!

The Kate Spade New Arrivals remind me that spring is right around the corner!

Taste Of Chocolate - Bloomington, MN - March 13, 2011

Mark your calendars now for the Taste Of Chocolate that will be held in Bloomington, MN on Sunday March 13, 2011 from 1:00-5:00 pm. Taste of Chocolate is an annual dessert competition and benefit for Bloomington Fine Arts Council. It is presented in partnership with the Bloomington Chamber Of Commerce and sponsored by Minnesota Monthly, Kraus Anderson, Destination Bloomington, Larkin Hoffman Attorneys, Mall Of America, The Toro Company, Burt's Disposal, Excel Energy, and HealthPartners.

The Taste of Chocolate is held at the Bloomington Center for the Arts where you can enjoy delectable chocolates by chefs and chocolatiers, entertainment, a silent auction and a raffle drawing for extraordinary prizes. Tickets are $25.00 in advance, $30.00 at the door. Early admission (12:00-1:00 pm) costs an additional $10.00 per ticket. You can purchase tickets at the Bloomington Center for the Arts. Please feel free to call 952.563.8562 or visit http://tasteofchocolate.org/index.html.

Guests at the 2011 Taste of Chocolate will sample chocolates by fabulous
chefs and chocolatiers including:

Art Institutes International Minnesota
Creative Confectionaire
Droolin' Moose
Ganache: Truffles for Every Occasion
Groveland Confections
Jason's Deli in Eden Prairie
McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant - Edina
Obrigadeiro
Obsession Chocolates
Pardon My French
Patisserie Margo
Thomasina's Cashew Brittle
3 Tiers Bakery

Enjoy!

Chocolate Caramel Bars

Chocolate caramel bars are a family favorite! This is the perfect time of the year to prepare a home baked treat for the ones you love! These bars are super easy and will melt in your mouth! Prepare them and then let me know what you think!

Chocolate Caramel Bars
1 package caramels
1 12 ounce evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter
1 12 ounce milk chocolate chips
1 German chocolate cake mix

Preheat oven to 350
Melt package of caramels and 1/3 cup evaporated milk
Mix cake mix, 1/2 cup butter and 2/3 cup evaporated milk
Place 1/2 of the mixture in 9x13 greased pan
Bake 6 minutes at 350
Top with chocolate chips and then spread caramel mixture over chips
Add the rest of the cake mixture and bake 15-20 minutes

Cool and enjoy!

Dreaming Of Summer

Dreaming of summer on a very, very cold winter night!

Innovative Tool - Easy Earring Card Punch

An innovative tool I discovered recently is the Easy Earring Card Punch. This great punch can be used to create your own earring cards to present your designs. There are so many applications that this punch can be used for by being innovative yourself! It punches easily and is perfectly centered each time! You simply choose your card stock, squeeze the punch and add your design! So very, very innovative.

Easy Earring Cards have been featured in the February issue of Bead Trends in the Fabulous Findings Section!

Take a couple of minutes to sit back and enjoy this video that features this innovative tool!

Tutorial - How To Use A 3 Step Wire Loop Pliers

A year and a half ago I met Pearl, a talented jewelry artist. Her jewelry shop, The Beading Gem's Shop, is filled with unique designs. I was thrilled to discover her blog, The Beading Gem's Journal. Her blog is updated daily and filled with inspirational, informative, historical and always entertaining commentaries.


6 Inch Stainless 3 Step Concave Wire Loop Pliers

I am pleased to share with you a tutorial she did using our 6 inch stainless 3 step concave wire loop pliers! Please sit back and enjoy!

Fun In Minnesota Today - The St. Paul Winter Carnival

If you are looking for a fun in event in Minnesota today I highly recommend heading over to St. Paul for the St. Paul Winter Carnival Torchlight Parade. The parade route goes along 5th Street and then Rice Park. The weather tonight is going to be mild-for Minnesota standards! It's the perfect night for a parade!

USA Made Quick Change Drill Bits Now Available At Evie's Tool Emporium!

Evie is very pleased to announce we are adding standard drill bits to Evies Tool Emporium. For years Dave has had a relationship with the company Insty-Bit here in Minneapolis through the Tool Raider store and website and we have decided we should start to offer them to our Etsy customers.

Insty-Bit has been a leader in high performance quick change drilling and driving systems for decades. The products they offer include standard drill bits, specialty wood bits, quick change chucks and extensions and power screw driving systems.

Evies will only be listing a few of their most popular sets but we do have access to the full line so if you use a particular size only or need a specialty bit of some sort let us know and we’ll see if we can help.

And by the way, the reason Evie is so pleased isn’t because of the great quality or value offered by Insty-Bit tools, it’s because she likes to go with Dave down to their offices and see them, they are some of her favorite people.

1/4" Hex Shank Standard 7Pc Drill Bit Set

1/4" Hex Shank Standard 14Pc Drill Bit Set With Chuck

Insty-Bit 8pc HSS Quick-Change Chuck and Drill Set

Taste Of The NFL - 20 Years Of Fighting Hunger

20 years ago the first Taste Of The NFL was held in Minnesota. Since 1992, the Taste of the NFL has rallied the country's top chefs and the NFL's greatest to raise money in support of food banks throughout the United States. The efforts culminate at the Super Bowl with The Party with a Purpose®. Held on the eve of Super Bowl, this event is a unique way to experience exceptional cuisine, meet NFL players and coaches, and support our fight against hunger. Through the efforts of hundreds of volunteers who help make Taste of the NFL the single most successful charitable event at the Super Bowl, Taste of the NFL continues to help feed the 37 million Americans who have turned to their local food banks for assistance. Millions of needs, thousands of families and dozens of new hunger projects have been affected by this major volunteer effort. Their goal is to end hunger.

The Taste of the NFL 20th Anniversary Event is SOLD OUT! Thank you to everyone who has purchased corporate tables and tickets to what will be the most historic event in our 20 year history.

In addition to some of the country's best chefs and legendary NFL players, there will be spectacular silent and live auctions and a performance by four-time CMA Female Vocalist of the Year, Martina McBride.

There is an opportunity for all of us to participate in this effort to end hunger. Please feel free to visit their website and donate now to the Americans who are struggling with hunger. Thank you!

Letter And Number Metal Stamping Set - Steel Bench Block - Hammer Kit

Evie's Tool Emporium is proud to introduce a new letter and number metal stamping set, steel bench block and hammer kit in our shop.

This is a great kit for anyone who wants to get into metal stamping. Included is one of our most popular letter and number stamp sets, a high quality steel bench block and hammer weighted just about perfectly for stamping.

The letter and number set is your choice of a 1.5mm, 2mm, 2.5mm or 3mm. These are average letter size in height and is great for projects made from sheet and soft metals. These new stamps are made of tool steel which is then hardened to provide long life. The set includes all 26 letters of the alphabet in upper case, the numbers zero through 8, with the 6 doing double duty as the 9, and an ampersand.

The bench block is 4" x 4" x 3/4" and is made of tool steel which is ground flat, case-hardened and then polished. This block will leave a nice smooth finish and is perfect for stamping, flattening, laying out or chasing!

The hammer that is included in this kit will become one of your favorites. It weighs about 13 ounces and features a stainless steel head which is 3-3/8” long and has a flat face and a domed face which are approximately 1-1/16” x 7/8”. The head is apoxied to the wooden handle which is 12” long. The handle is fairly small around to offer a comfortable grip to all hand sizes and has plenty of length for “choking up” for increased control.