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Cinnamon & Sugar Pumpkin Seeds Snack

Don’t throw away the seeds when you carve pumpkins this year! Save them and make this recipe for the perfect sweet and salty fall snack! Vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free! It’s pumpkin season and the best part of fall is creating yummy treats with left over pumpkin seeds from your Halloween Jack-o-lantern! It can be a lot of work, but trust me when I tell you that taking the time to save the seeds to make roasted pumpkin seeds is so worth it! Especially if you decide to make these Homemade Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Seeds! This recipe only has 6 ingredients, is super easy to toss together, and results is the perfect sweet and salty fall snack!

First, Remove the seeds from the pumpkins and rinse thoroughly & make sure they are dry too, to help with this step: Spread the seeds on the baking sheet in one, even layer and let sit for 24 hours. At the 12 hour mark, change the damp paper towels for dry ones and stir every now and then!

Second, once the seeds are completely dry, you are ready to make these roasted pumpkin seeds! Simply melt the coconut oil or butter in a microwave safe dish. Mix in vanilla and stir in the pumpkin seeds, making sure the seeds are evenly coated with the mixture! *try to do this twice to make sure the seeds are mixed well!

Finally, Baking! A little helpful tip, be very careful not to over-bake these Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Seeds! When they start to brown ever-so-slightly they are done.

Ingredients

3 cups pumpkin seeds dried for at least 24 hours

3 TBS coconut oil or butter

½ tsp pure vanilla extract

4 TBS granulated sugar*

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp sea salt

Instructions

To make the pumpkin seeds:

Preheat oven to 325°F. Very lightly grease a large baking pan, set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

Melt coconut oil or butter in a large microwave safe bowl or on the stovetop in a 4-quart pot.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Mix in pumpkin seeds until they are all evenly coated.

Add dry ingredients to the pumpkin seeds and mix until all they are evenly coated.

Spread pumpkin seeds on your prepared baking pan in single layer.

Bake for 25-35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until seeds begin to brown.

To test remove a few seeds from the pan and let sit on the counter to cool. If they harden up the seeds are done. If they remain soft, return to the oven, checking them after 5 minutes. Continue baking in 5 minute intervals until done.

Once seeds are done, transfer them from the warm pan to another pan lined with parchment paper to let cool & enjoy!

If you have a fun recipe with pumpkin seeds please share in the comments!

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Planting Mums for Autumn

It’s that time of year again for beautiful mum “Chrysanthemums” to start showing up in flower beds, gardening shops, and local grocery stores! Mums blossoms can be extravagant with a rich palette that echoes autumn’s vibrant colors! Best of all, these colorful flowers are generally pest and disease resistant, making few demands beyond ample sunshine and consistent watering! Those cooler temperatures don’t bother mums, either. In fact, chilly weather intensifies colors and keeps blossoms looking fresh until a hard, killing frost drops the curtain on the gardening year. If you choose early-, mid-, and late-blooming varieties, you will enjoy a full seven weeks of bloom — a brilliant last act for any landscape. Have you seen the oversize mums, which can measure 2 to 3 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet across by their third season,with a massive canopy of flowers — up to 5,000 per plant. Monarch butterflies adore these shrubby wonders.

These flowers have easy care instructions to follow, I have listed the steps below:

Soil must be well drained, however, or the plants will rot.
Plant where it receives six to eight hours of direct light.
Water consistently, especially during dry spells and in fall, when plants are storing up energy for winter survival.
Creating new plants from your favorite mums;Simply snip off a 4-inch stem with leaves on it and put it in a pot filled with a soil as you used when planting & Keep it moist and outdoors in a bright spot.

If you don’t have access to a garden or live in an apartment and still love these flowers there are simple instructions to keep it thriving indoors!

Regular watering is a crucial part of indoor mum care. Water the plant from under the leaves to help prevent fungal issues when caring for container mums. To keep the plant looking its best, keep chrysanthemum houseplants where they can receive good air circulation and avoid excess humidity!

Follow these easy steps above and you will enjoy these colorful flowers throughout the Fall into winter! mums-twenty20_0f30a04e-1ec0-4f05-aeaf-7436ad2b3dfb-5876fd843df78c17b61563e9

How to boost Etsy Sales

Before you blame your products or even Etsy there are a few steps that you might need to work on to grab those sales that you are wishing for each day. We have all been there… a day or two goes by with no sales and we start panicking. So, what can you DO to change what is happening (or more like NOT happening!)?

Before You Start…. Don’t change everything all at one time!

I hear several people in the Facebook Etsy discussion groups all the time saying, “I changed all my listings, and nothing happened”. Never change your shop all at once.

Yes, there are a few things that you can do to increase sales, but don’t take all of these and go nuts in a frenzy of faux productivity. Try one, maybe two and then see what happens!

Do you need to improve photos? Make sure to use natural light or a light box to focus on your product. You want your product to grab the customer attention and for them to click on your item to see more.
Low sales? Work on your SEO by searching for your product and see how many competing items are listed in search. See if they have strong SEO keywords (if they don’t have strong keywords and have lots of sales, they may be driving them themselves through social media). Go to your listings and look at them with a critical eye… do you have lots of keywords that buyers would be searching for?
Are your descriptions lacking information? Make sure your descriptions answer what it is, who is it for, describe the item, like you were describing it to someone over the phone give details! (measurements color, and what holiday or special occasion that you would use the item)
Check your pricing! Search for your items in the Etsy search bar and see what your items are selling for, because you need to be competitive in your field. Change your prices if needed.
Do you offer international shipping? Try to expand your shop international, you don’t have to ship around the world, but if you limit your store to only to the US then you are losing customers.

At one time I was not receiving sales everyday and I started researching how to improve my shop and from learning these helpful tips above it has improved my shop from last year to this year. My total views have increased 173%, my orders have increased 200% and my revenue has increased by 206%. Still today I am always tweaking photos, descriptions, titles, and offering new ways to gain customers as followers on my social media platforms.

http://www.flymeawaycreations.com

Improve your Etsy Sales

Fall Succulents

Fall is in the air, so are fall themed succulents!

If you’re dreaming of a succulent collection that includes every color in the rainbow, don’t forget about orange. These eye-catching orange succulents are perfect for adding a splash of vibrant color to your garden. Whether you’re interested in outdoor or indoor succulents, you’re sure to find the sunset-hued plant of your dreams on this list.

California Sunsets (Graptosedum) are easy to care for and propagate. They prefer partial sun, well-draining soil, and proper watering techniques. They can be propagated from seeds, cuttings, or offsets. They are an excellent plant for experienced and inexperienced gardeners. This succulent works great in a well drain planter indoors!

Golden Sedum is a trailing succulent that is ideal as ground cover or in hanging containers. At maturity, it can reach up to ten inches in height. When grown in partial sunlight, the oblong leaves take on a yellowish-green hue. However, the leaves become a brighter and more vibrant shade of orange with more sunlight! This will do well in either partial or full sun, but it will not develop the stunning orange color it’s known for with only partial sunlight. As with most succulents, Golden Sedum prefer well-draining soil and watering only when the soil is dry.

Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ succulent is a dependable choice for the late summer and fall garden, offering foliage interest earlier in the season and then putting on a color display of bronze-red flowers in fall. Autumn joy is a more upright plant than most of the sedums, with fleshy, succulent leaves resembling those of the jade plant. Pink flowers first appear in early fall in the form of flat clusters of tiny flowers that gradually open through fall to produce reddish flowers that gradually turn bronze. This sedum is a type of succulent, related to hen-and-chicks (Sempervivum tectorum) and jade plant (Crassula ovata). All these plants feature water-hoarding leaves that grow best in soil that’s on the dry side. To keep this flower stems standing straight is to insert hoop or grow-through type stakes around plant clumps early in the season.

There’s nothing wrong with a garden full of green succulents, but if you’re looking to add a little panache to your collection, these orange succulents are just what you’ve been searching for. From pastel peach to vibrant sunset, there’s an orange succulent for every occasion. These gorgeous plants will make a statement anywhere you choose to plant them! If you are looking for indoor planters that can make a statement along with your succulent, visit Flymeawaycreations Etsy shop! At the shop you can browse through over 30 different planter designs that work well with succulents, cacti, and air plants!

www.flymeawaycreations.com

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Herbs for your Pets

Herbs have long been used to treat and prevent ailments in people, and apart from smelling good and adding an extra something to your cooking, certain herbs can help your dog, too. Your fury friends deserve herb love too! If you have room to grow herbs (and you really don’t need much, a window box is perfectly fine), why not grow a selection that can be used to treat some common dog ailments? Hey, it may help you save a few bucks on vet visits — and saving money is always a good thing. The dosage suggestions provided in this blog represent what studies were observed and noted in the book “Herbs for Pets” by Gregory L. Tilford & Mary L. Wolff. There are many herbs that can help with certain problems for your pets. In this blog I will discuss 3 herbs that I am giving my best friend Buster or have seen improve my dog’s health over time.

Thyme: this ground hugging plant that is evergreen perennial, which blooms early spring to midsummer is a helpful herb for your pet.

Parts to use: leaves, stems, flowers

Common Use: teas or tincture for cough suppressant, expels intestinal gas, expels worms. It helps to ease bronchial spasms related to asthma, preventative against gingivitis.

How to use: sweetened with honey, boil to create tea, use ¼ teaspoon for each 30 pound animal body weight. Give twice a day.

Ginger: the root of the ginger is delicious, and it’s been highly prized for centuries as a medicinal herb. It can be made into a tea or tincture, and is excellent at settling a doggy’s upset tummy. Give 1/2 teaspoon for dog’s under 35 pounds (1/4 teaspoon for miniature breeds) and 3/4 teaspoon for larger dog’s. It can be mixed into your dog’s food. Always start slow and check with your holistic veterinarian if you are unsure about dosing.

Catnip: Parts to use leaf (dried or fresh) Dogs can get anxious and frightened in car rides and thunderstorms. Catnip may help relieve stress related situations and normalize their attitude. Use 0.25, milliliters per 30 pound of animal body weight.

Also, you can find Rescue remedy (flower essence) which can be found at a health food store to help relieve stress. At the moment I am using Thyme to help with Buster’s coughing and in the past I have used Catnip to help relieve stress during a hurricane storm. Both seem to help improve his health! If you like to learn more and read more on different herbs definitely check out the book that was mention above in this blog!

Also you can visit Flymeawaycreations shop on Etsy to find helpful planters to start growing your helpful pet friendly herbs!

http://www.flymeawaycreations.com