Trader Joe's Gluten Free Muffins

Back in the day gluten free products were so bad. It's come a long way. I saw post about Trader Joe's gluten free muffins. I normally don't even go down any bread aisle in any grocery store. I searched these out and decided to give it a try. It's very pricey but groceries over all are very high now days. The muffins aren't bad. Had the taste of raw cookie dough or I could have gotten a batch that wasn't baked all the way through. Very light and not overly sweet. It doesn't have a lot of flavor but overall not bad for being gluten free. The list of ingredients is a mile long but that's expected. 

Stamping Up - The Gang's All Meer Set

 

Since I bought that huge lot of stamps and dies, I held back about 30 sets. Some are the interactive ones that I wanted to try when they were first released. They were way too expensive to just try out. So my 2026 goal is to try out all the sets I kept and then sell them off. 

"The Gang's All Meer" was a set I was going to buy several weeks ago when it first came into Cottage Crafts. I talked myself out of it because I really don't need any more stamps. I was thrilled to find it in my crafting haul. I'll try it a few different ways, watercolor, alcohol markers etc... before passing it along. 

Reselling = Patience

During Thanksgiving I wanted to do a cornucopia for the table out front. I have all the faux fruit and veggies but not horn. I knew at some point I would find one at a price I'm willing to pay. Being a reseller, patience is the name of the game. 

It's really dirty but I have to wait until we get warmer weather to wash it. So now it's gathering up all the parts and put in storage for next year. 

 

Creative Prep Time 2026

It's been on my creative to do list for a while now. I saw a photo of dried lemon halves made into mushrooms. I dried a lemon and it worked out pretty well. The lime tree produced a lot last year and many are now on the ground. Even thou they don't dry as well as lemons I'm going for it. With all the rain I had to wait before I could pick them up. Luckily with the cold weather I don't have to hurry. 

It's nice to have a full size garage again! I can now set up my big dehydrator and not have to worry about the smell. I also decided to make holiday simmering pot potpourri. I made a batch for Christmas years ago so thought I'd make for batch for this year. I hate for the limes to go to waste!

 

Life of a Reseller - pillows

Not sure if there's a resell market for these handmade pillows. I liked the color combination and the quilting was done really well. 

I'm not a pillow person but I couldn't pass these up. It's not a category I know well but with Mother's Day coming up thought these would sell. I don't do much for Valentine's day as I like to resell items that can sell all year round. I have to think about storage for seasonal things and in the past the storage fees ate up any profit I would make. 

Life of a reseller - death pile

Death Pile

For those who don't resell, they think we're able to sell everything we get. There isn't a reseller out there that doesn't have a death pile. Things no matter how hard or how famous you are don't sell. At some point you just have to let it go. 

Since I brought out a crafter's stash last month, it was time to get rid of the dead stock. It was a bulk sale to another reseller. Will she make money on it? I really don't think so. She's reselling in a category she doesn't know much about, at least not yet. I didn't lose money on the deal, so it wasn't a total loss on my part. In the reselling world you have to know when to cut your losses and move on. 

Pizzelle Pancakes ?

 I've been looking for a waffle maker to borrow for a while now. I just want to try it out with my Trader Joe's Ube pancake mix. Don't want to spend a lot for something I may not like or use. I really don't like pancakes and making them is always a disaster. The boys love them so I brought a lot when they came out last summer. My pantry is still overflowing with the boxes. Now that it's stock year around at Trader Joe's there's no rush to stock up. 

A pizzelle cookie maker came in to the store so I picked it up. Thinking it's the closes I'll get to a waffle maker. Being a night owl I gave it try at 10:00 pm. Yes it worked and made a very crispy cookie. Was fun to make but I think the boys like the chewiness of the rice flour. Not sure they would like this cooking method. So my search for a waffle maker continues. 

Life of a reseller - blow molds

Customers who took the soldier home

As a reseller you have to decide what to price everything you get. It's not as easy as it sounds. Many newbies think just looking up what's listed on eBay is the way to go. That's why you see many resellers with huge "death piles" of unsold items. Even the pros end up with a storage room full. 

So why the picture. Another reseller priced her blow mold soldiers the same price I priced my smaller and more used soldiers. Hers are in excellent condition, I would even say new. She didn't have time to look up what these are selling for so just went with what I was pricing mine at.  I thought she priced them way too low at $29.00 but they sold within a week. Her sell through rate was super fast and knowing how much she paid for them she made a good return on her investment. So the question is would they have sold for more? 
 

End of the year 2025

I've packed up all my Christmas decorations except this one. I like my hanging garland and think I'll keep it up a little bit longer. Took off all the ornaments so now it has a more winter vibe. 

I'm almost done tagging all the craft supplies I brought a few weeks ago. I had to order more labels which did arrive on Christmas Day. Hopefully I'm down to my last shoe box full. Then I just have to wait for everything to sell, which will take several months. This woman was a Lawn Fawn (CA stamp company) fan and I think she own everything they ever made. Yes I kept a tub full to try out. Some of the dies sets are super $$$ and I would never paid that much for them. Now I can try them before sell them off. I think of her as my fair godmother of crafting. :) 

I was totally wiped out yesterday. Spent the afternoon sorting out the jewelry at the store. Mainly my task was to go through the junk bags that are sold in bulk. I'm checking to see if any gold and silver was missed before it goes out on the floor. I have to say I found several pieces so now I understand why people are always asking for them. 

Splash of color and fun

Now with all the holiday decoctions put away the front porch looks very boring. The metal furniture is practically but feels very harsh. I've been in search of outdoor pillow to soften everything up. When these came into the store I knew found what I was looking for. A little splash of color and fun doggy theme. There is a third one but I still have to find a pillow form for it.  I've been growing plants to add to the porch because I just can't bring myself to spend $$$ on something that may not get enough water. 

 

Lego Christmas 2025

For Christmas this year the boys got to pick out what they wanted at the Lego store. Henk was under budget but Mees went way over. :) It was nice to see their excitement going to the store and shopping. Guess there were a lot of other kids who got Lego money as there was a line to get into the store. They happily spent the weekend building their set, along with dad who's a big Lego fan too. 

As included was going out to dinner. Choice was McDonald's or sushi. I voted for sushi and the boys agreed. :) 

Life of a reseller - Vintage Niagara Falls Panoramic Views

It's the frames that make it.

I've been looking for artwork for my son's place up in Lake Tahoe. He would like more outdoorsy type of artwork. My requirement is it has to be big enough to fill a large wall. Home deco isn't his thing. 

I haven't been to DGW auction in over a year but they had a few gold rings up for auction and my daughter is looking to make a mother's ring. While I was there I spotted these vintage photos of Niagara Falls in very interesting frames. It was the frames that got my attention. So here is where the story gets interesting. I asked Tami (who's a psychic) as I was leaving the store if I was going to get the artwork. She said, yes but keep an eye out for the lady on your left. This art lot was toward the end of the auction and all the women who sat to the left of me were long gone. At this point there were only four men left at the auction. I started bidding and out of nowhere another woman reseller pops up to the left of me. She sells at the Oakland flea market and buys all the junk lots if it goes cheap enough. I've never seen her pay more than $10 for anything. As the bidding got higher and higher, I could only smile that Tami was right. I think the other reseller ran up the bidding but it's like playing chicken, one of us was going to have to cave. I ended up paying $215.00 that includes all the auction fee too. If she wasn't bidding I would have gotten it for $60.  I paid up because I personally want the Niagara Falls photos. I would have stopped way sooner if I only planned to resell the lot. There are several other framed artwork in the lot that I will sell off and hopefully get my money back.