Put ’em Up! The winner is…

With the time change, everyone keeps telling me that I am supposed to more well rested. Well, my inner time clock is truly messed up. The last few weeks I am up later than I ever was before the time change and I am waking up a lot earlier than I ever did before the time change. This week my inner clock has changed again. I am practically falling asleep at 8:15pm and still waking up super super early. What they heck!?

One thing that I can work out, is that it is time to announce the winner from last weeks giveaway.

First of all, I want to thank all of you for your interest in the book and your wonderful comments. Normally, I respond to all comments on my posts, but this time I just read and enjoyed them. It is always fun to get a little glimpse into what others are doing and it was neat to read about the different stages of preserving each of you are at. Some of you want to learn, some of you are just learning, others have been canning and preserving a while and others know someone that would really enjoy and use the book. That is great.

The second part I liked about this giveaway was  seeing the comments start coming in; to learn that there are people actually out there reading my posts! ha. I love the interaction and tidbits that come from comments. It is always neat to hear what others are up to and when you share a bit of what you are doing there is always someone who is learning from it. I would encourage you all to comment more so that we all can learn and share together along what ever path we are on.

No more waiting…. Let’s get on with it!… Without further ado…

Congratulations to Fran (narf77) at The Road to Serendipity. Fran, I hope you thoroughly enjoy the book! I will send you an email so that I can get your information and get the book sent your way.

Thank you again to everyone that entered the giveaway and I look forward to learning more about you from your comments in the future.

Sincerely, Emily

You can see what else I am up to over at Sincerely, Emily. The topics are varied, as I jump around from gardening to sewing to making bread or lotion and many things in between.

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A small way to say “Thank you!”

Last week Miranda over at Pocket Pause kicked off the start of some giveaways here at Not Dabbling in Normal. This week it is my turn, and I must say that I really struggled with trying to figure out what to offer.  When we started talking about this behind the scenes, my original thought was to make a set of napkins or some cards. Somehow I started to doubt that anyone would want either of these things. Hmmm. The wishy-washy, flip-flop of my decision making was between said napkins & cards or something completely different, but what?!  Ack!

When I really buckled down and started to think about it, books came to mind, but a book about what? Cooking, gardening, fermenting, preserving…. what?!

As I looked through the books on my shelves I came across one that might be of interest to some of you. Yes, you, our readers.  After all, for me, this is a small way to thank you for commenting and sharing a part of your world too.

So, what did I pick?

Sherri Brooks Vinton’s Put ’em up! I bought this book about a year ago and I really enjoy it. So far, I have only used it to make up dilly beans, but there are a few other recipes that I have bookmarked and will try at some point.

There is an entire section on food preparation methods which will be very helpful to those of you that want to start canning food as well as other methods of preservation like freezing, infusions, and drying.

Another thing I like about this book is the index in the back. I can just look up mushrooms to find where to look for mushroom recipes or I can just leaf through it looking on the side of the page to find the vegetable that I am interested in and all the recipes for that vegetable are all together.

Some of the recipes I still want to make are: Curried Cauliflower, Corn Salsa and Italian-flavored Pickled Zucchini.

Are you interested in an opportunity to win Put ’em up! by Sherri Brooks Vinton? By the way, you will get a new book, not the one that has been sitting on my shelf.

Well, I will try to keep this simple… all you need to do is comment and tell me why you would like to win this book and how you would use it.  Are you interested in learning different preserving techniques? Are you looking for a way to preserve more in new way? Have you been preserving things, but are looking for some new and exciting recipes?

Only one comment will be counted per person. The deadline for comments is Friday, November 16th at noon (that’s noon where I live – central time, USA). I will announce the winner next Saturday, November 17th.

Thank you again to all of the readers out there.  I look forward to reading your comments.

Update: I just realized that I never titled my post. Hmmm I better put my thinking cap back on!

Sincerely, Emily

You can see what else I am up to over at Sincerely, Emily. The topics are varied, as I jump around from gardening to sewing to making bread or lotion and many things in between.

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Gearing Up for Giveaways!

November is giveaway month here at Not Dabbling in Normal and i get to kick it off! Check back all this month for more great giveaways from all of us quirky contributors – there’s sure to be some good stuff up for grabs!

As you may know, i (Miranda from Pocket Pause) am a crazy entrepreneur with what seems like half a dozen small businesses clamoring about in my head and on my drafting table. (Doing the books every month is a nightmare!) Included in my cacophony of careers are children’s book illustrations, natural soap and needle-felted pet portraits and collectible soft sculptures. I had a hard time choosing which business would be hosting this week’s giveaway, so i thought i’d offer some options!

The Prizes:

First Place: A Gift Certificate to Fiber Friends, worth $25 dollars! Keep for yourself or give to a friend for use in my Etsy shop. Browse the existing critters or send me a message with a custom request – no dream is too big! Apply the certificate to a larger purchase or pick up a small holiday ornament. My Fiber Friends have been featured on several blogs including Dogster.com and are as cute as they are popular, sure to bring a smile to your face! Fiber Friends are collectible, pocket sized pets, ornaments and dollhouse buddies. You can read more on my Etsy about page or at Pocket Pause.

Gift certificates also valid on my original illustrations! Two birds with one stone!

Second Place: 1 bar of all natural, artisanal soap from Nude Soap. Each bar of my luscious soaps are blended from natural vegetable oils, scented with pure essential oils and packaged in 100% recycled paper. I have loyal customers because my soaps are fantastic! I’d love for you to try it out for yourself and find your new favorite body product. Winner may choose from any of my soap blends, excluding shampoo bars.

Are you excited yet, tantalized, hankering to be one of the winners? Here are the rules:

1. Visit Fiber Friends on Etsy and add my shop to your favorites
2. Visit and “Like” Pocket Pause on Facebook
3. Visit and “Like” Nude Soap on Facebook
4. Tweet about or share this giveaway on Facebook or by email

You can enter using any or all of the above methods! That’s 4 chances to win! Once you’ve entered, comment below letting us know how you entered, and tell us what your preferred prize would be – soap or gift certificate. Enter until next Thursday at noon: winners will be announced next Friday. You must comment on this post to be eligible to win.

Good luck!

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