Joyfully At Home... The Book

I just found out today that Jasmine Baucham's new book, Joyfully At Home is now available from Vision Forum! If you are not familiar with Jasmine, she has a blog with the same title as the book, where she writes encouraging articles for young women. If you have not visited her blog before, I highly recommend that you hop over there and read the archives!

At any rate, I have not yet read the book, but if it is anything like her other writings it promises to be a great blessing! Lord willing, I will post a review of the book at a later date after I have read it. :-) For now, grab a copy for yourself!

Apple Cinnamon Clafoutis

Doesn't this look divine? This was the recipe we made for Cross Country Bakers last month. It's a French dessert made with apple custard-like filling. Mmmmm... I thought it was about time I posted a recipe for you all, so try this one out for your next dessert (or have it for breakfast like we did!). Enjoy!

Apple Cinnamon Clafoutis

Ingredients:

* About 3 or 4 apples
* 2 large eggs + 1 yolk
* 1/2 cup blond cane sugar
* 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
* 3 Tbsp. all purpose flour
* 1 cup whole milk, cold
* 1 vanilla, seeds removed (I didn't have vanilla seeds so I used 1 tsp. vanilla)
* 1/2 cup heavy cream
* ground cinnamon

Steps:

* Preheat your oven at 350ºF.
* Peel the apples and cut into cubes or slices whatever you feel is best for the oven dish you are using (I used ramekins)
* Beat the eggs and yolk with the sugar.
* Add the vanilla seeds and mix.
* Dilute the cornstarch in the cold milk.
* Add the flour and cornstarch to the previous preparation, with the cream. Mix well until homogeneous. Add ground cinnamon to your liking.
* Grease small ramekins (or a larger dish) and sprinkle with sugar. Remove the excess.
* Divide the apples  between them and pour the cream over.
* Sprinkle with ground cinnamon and place in the oven for 40 to 45 min, until golden. Remove. Eat warm or cold.

Original recipe from Jungle Frog Cooking.

New Contest Sponsor: Fracture

I am thrilled that we have a new prize added to our photography contest, generously donated by our new sponsor, Fracture! If you haven't heard of Fracture before, you need to check it out. It's a neat new way to "frame" your photos. You upload your photo, choose a frame (or no frame) and Fracture actually prints your photo ON GLASS. My mom got one of my sister and me and the quality is amazing. The colors are so vivid, it looks as vibrant as when you view the picture on your computer!

Fracture is awarding a free photo print in the size of your choice to the winner of the photography contest! How exciting is that? Start entering now! :-)

Photography Contest Reminder!

I know, you all just *love* my reminder posts. But, it's been a while since I have mentioned the photography contest I have going on at the main Maidens of Virtue site! It is hard to believe that what started out as "all year left" is now only just over 3 months left in the contest!

We've also finally announced the beginnings of our prize list! In addition to your photo being featured on Maidens of Virtue, the first place winner will be receiving a full Blogger site design from PrairieRoseDesigns.com!

I'll continue to post updates as we go along... but time is quickly running out. Remember, you can enter as many photos as you want, at any time. And it's FREE to enter, so what do you have to lose?

Vision Forum Sale

I just found out about this... Vision Forum has a brand new look for their website and until the 18th, they are having daily $1 deals on select products, free gifts with certain orders and free shipping! Click the banner below for details:

Interview with The Joy of Jewelry

I had the pleasure of getting to know Joy, a lovely young lady who has recently started up her own jewelry business called The Joy of Jewelry. Her products are just *beautiful* and I am so pleased to be able to interview her! Enjoy the interview and when you're done, hop on over to her website and check out all the scrumptious gems she has to offer!

Kathryn: Can you tell my readers a little about yourself?

Joy: I am going to be turning 21 this year, I am a homeschool graduate and a pastor's daughter. I have done several years of independent studies on Nutrition, and am now attempting to learn to speak (and understand!) Irish Gaelige.

Kathryn: When did you start designing jewelry and why?

Joy: My sister and I always loved making dress-up jewelry when we were younger, and as I got older I began to buy some beads that were a little more 'grown up' than the plastic O's we used to string on thick, stretchy white string. I also read 'The American Girl's Handybook' that was in publication during the early 1900s, and became fascinated with the 'language' of flowers and colors. When I found a list of different colors and their significance in the Bible, that clinched my interest! I love the idea that we can be reminded of different truths, revealed to us through Scripture, by our jewelry.

Kathryn: How did you get the idea to start a business making jewelry?

Joy: When I was 16, one of the ladies we knew payed me to make two necklaces for her daughter's birthday and left the design up to me. Since then I have had many people tell me that I should sell my jewelry, and as I got older and saw the lack of really beautiful and sturdy (affordable) jewelry, I began to think that perhaps I might be able to do it after all. But it wasn't until a mutual friend introduced me to you - who offered to design a template for me in exchange for some jewelry - that I actually believed that it would ever happen.

Kathryn: What are your goals for your business?

Joy: My goals for my business are to glorify God as I create and sell jewelry, and to bless ladies across the country with beautiful reminders of purity and other truth.

Kathryn: You design each piece intentionally with certain colors or beads to represent things. How do you get your ideas?

Joy: I was fascinated when I discovered that there was an official 'language' to colors and flowers, and when I discovered a website that had a list of colors and their significance in the Bible, I couldn't resist incorporating different color combinations into my jewelry.
I get inspired by period films, nature, and modern fashion, and my jewelry is an attempt to combine the finer styles with purity and beauty.
As far as the truths that are represented by my jewelry, they are convictions and conclusions that I have come to as I read the Bible and learn more about Jesus. I try to give a little glimpse into my inspiration for each jewelry collection on my website.

Kathryn: What are your most popular pieces?

Joy: It would be difficult to pick the most popular piece because different ones appeal to different people. The Purity for Life pieces have been very popular - with many people commenting particularly on the delicacy of the chain that I use for the Exquisite Chain and Crystal Necklace and Bracelet - but probably the most popular piece is the Heart and Key Bracelet.

Kathryn: Thank you so much for allowing me to interview you, Joy! Keep up the good work!

As she mentioned in the interview, I designed her website template in exchange for some jewelry. I received the Purity for Eternity Sapphire Crystal Necklace and the Purity for Life Double Stranded Bracelet. I am VERY pleased with both! The quality is excellent and they both fit beautifully. Joy's service was wonderful as well! I am a big Swarovski crystal fan so I love my two pieces! Below are some photos of the pieces I received (click on the picture to go to Joy's website and buy one for yourself!).

Photos copyright © Kathryn Grace Photography.

Feelin' Feminine Jane Austen Tour

Miss Jocelyn over at Feelin' Feminine is hosting a fun Jane Austen blog "tour" and giving away some great prizes! As you'll see from that button there, it ends today... so I'm participating rather last minute. Ah well, better late than never, right?! (Click the button to see more details).

The premise of the "tour" is to create a Jane Austen related post(s) on your blog and enter them into one of the several categories listed on Feelin' Feminine. I decided to go with the Digital Art category since that was the easiest for me, being that I am a graphic designer. :-) I created a wallpaper for your desktop, featuring Jane and Elizabeth Bennett (from Pride & Prejudice of course!).

One reason I went with Jane & Lizzy is because everyone seems to focus so much on Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, and everything revolves around them in most graphics, pictures, etc. But one of the things our family most enjoys about Pride & Prejudice is the relationship between the two sisters. They are obviously very close and they are each other's confidantes and - gasp - they actually.... like each other! Which is something of a foreign concept in today's society.

You are welcome to download the wallpaper for your own personal use; I just ask that you respect my copyright of the design and do not sell or distribute it (if you want your friends to have one too, just send them the link to this post). Please comment and let me know if you use it! Unfortunately those were the largest images I could find and so they are a little pixelated - my apologies for that!

How to download: Click on the image. It will open up in a larger size. Right click on it again (Mac users hold Control while clicking) and select "Save Image As..." Save it to your computer and apply as you would any other desktop wallpaper.

(Credit for photos: Eras of Elegance. In addition, images in this graphic are displayed in good faith as a fair use under 17 U.S.C. 107. Any copyright infringement is unintentional, and will be remedied immediately.)

Designed by PrairieRoseDesigns.com