Sweetened Grapefruit Lollipops

photo by Kevin Keeker

I just love how bright this delicious Sweetened Grapefruit lollipop looks in this photo. The powdered sugar sprinkled on the top is such a great touch - I'm so happy Susan was inspired to do that.

Taste Tester In Training

We’re currently doing taste testing research for the lollipops that will join the Celebration Time and Adventurer’s Pack later this year. As usual, my awesome crew of local testers are stepping up to the plate.

photo by Deb

In fact, my friend Deb sent me the above picture, saying:

While we were testing, [the baby] decided to join in the game of 'put sticks in our mouths'. She didn't even know she was getting the less delicious end of the stick.

Right on!

Blueberry Muffin Lollipops

photo by Kevin Keeker

This is our new lead Blueberry Muffin photo. Brown and blue might be my all-time favorite color combination, so this one warms my heart.

Maple Sugar Lollipops

photo by Kevin Keeker

I think I've fallen in love with the simple close-up of the lollipop. This Maple Sugar lollipop - which tastes DELICIOUS - looks amazing. I love how the reddish-brown looks against the wood backdrop.

Hazelnut-Coffee Lollipops

photo by Kevin Keeker

Our Hazelnut-Coffee lollipops moved from our on-hold Love Triangle to our fabulous Breakfast Tray collection! The warm hazelnut and bitter coffee combines with the sweet sugar to make a fabulous treat for anyone, whether or not you're a coffee addict.

Breakfast Tray with 4 Flavors!

Photo by Kevin Keeker

We shared some photos, but never really made the announcement that in fact our Breakfast Tray collection now has 4 flavors. We've added our delicious Hazelnut-Coffee lollipops to the Blueberry Muffin, Sweetened Grapefruit, and Maple Sugar lollipops that already made up our Breakfast Tray collection. You don't have to eat them for breakfast, but we won't tell if you do.

Sunning

photo by Kevin Keeker

The lollipop models enjoyed some down time during our last photoshoot, taking the chance to get a little sun.

The Kitchen Is My Studio

And here are some of my art supplies:

photo by Kevin Keeker

That 18-quart storage tub holds a bit more than 25 pounds of sugar. Lately, I’m buying sugar in 50-lb bags so I’m using two of those. Next to the sugar you see sticks… lots and lots of lollipop sticks! Above the sticks are some of my bottles of candy flavoring.

As my friends can tell you, I’ve also got a smaller stash of such “art supplies” at home for Research Purposes. It turns out that I’m kind of addicted to playing with new flavors and colors, so I’ve got an entire drawer in my home kitchen that’s dedicated to storing those :-)

photo by Susan Dziadosz

Isn't it pretty?

Sellin' Lollipops!

Calling all Seattleites! Susan will be selling lollipops live and in person at The Wandering Cafe, 7533 Lake City Way NE, on Monday May 23rd. She'll be there from 3pm - 7pm with buckets of candy waiting for you - yes YOU - to come in and buy them.

If you've got an order that you know you need - some lollipops for a graduation party or for father's day, perhaps - you can email us ahead of time. We'll set your candy aside, and you can pay and pick it up from us on Monday and save on those pesky shipping charges. Or, just stop in and see what catches your fancy!

Bonus: Pampeana Empanadas will *also* be selling their delicious empanadas at the same time. And just peeking at their menu is making me want lunch.

Crack on a Stick

photo by Kevin Keeker

Our Salted Caramel lollipops: caramel flavored syrup with grains of fleur de sel sprinkled on one side. Delicious and butterscotch-y, I've yet to find someone who doesn't like them. (Though I'm sure that person exists somewhere in the world. No one flavor can please everyone.) They're great birthday presents and cheer-you-up presents or as a treat for yourself.

Nutmeg Creme Lollipops

photo by Kevin Keeker

Nutmeg Creme is an under-appreciated lollipop. It combines decadent Bavarian creme with zingy nutmeg to create a fabulously delicious treat. The flavor tends to remind people of whatever nutmeg reminds them of. I maintain that it tastes like Coke, but most people think it tastes like egg nog or banana bread.

You can find it in our Spice Rack collection or as a dozen on its own in our Etsy shop.

Eye Candy: Giant Olmec Heads

photo from the deYoung website

My family took me to the DeYoung museum for Mother's Day last weekend. It was a great time - in the words of my 7-year-old: "I thought it would be boring, but I had a lot of fun!" The most popular part of the museum visit was the special exhibit of giant stone heads from the Olmec people of Ancient Mexico. I'm not sure the little picture really shows just how large the sculptures are, even with the people standing next to it. These things are HUGE! It was great to see them in person and learn a little bit more about another culture. If you ever get the chance, I'd recommend viewing them live and in person.

Vanilla-Cardamom Lollipops

photo by Kevin Keeker

I know I'm not supposed to have favorites amongst the lollipop flavors. Truth be told, they're all delicious. But the fragrant cardamom flavor plus the sweet vanilla? Might just be the one I love a *little* bit more than all the others.

Tangerine-Clove Lollipops

photo by Kevin Keeker

I love this photograph of our Tangerine-Clove lollipop in San Francisco. Our last photoshoot was on a fabulous day and and we took full advantage of that.

photo by Kevin Keeker

This one's pretty awesome too - is it a lollipop, or is it the sun?

Regardless of how lovely they are, the warm clove pairs amazingly well with the bright citrus of the tangerine for a delicious lollipop. You can buy them on Etsy in the Spice Rack or in their own dozen.

Spice Rack Has 4 Flavors

photo by Kevin Keeker

As previously announced, we're moving all of our collections to be 8-packs.  It's always seemed a little weird to us (and some of our customers) that Nutmeg Creme wasn't part of the Spice Rack, since nutmeg *is* a spice after all. So we moved it over!

Ordering a Spice Rack means that you'll get 2 lollipops of each flavor:

• decadent Nutmeg Creme,
• fragrant Vanilla-Cardamom,
• mouth-watering Salted Caramel, and
• warm Tangerine-Clove.

It's our most popular collection! 

EtsyRAIN Wrap-up

Thank you to everyone who came to Saturday’s EtsyRAIN spring craft show – we hope you enjoyed the show and discovered some wonderful things you couldn’t live without (or that were perfect for whomever was on your list that day). Despite forecasts of rain, the day was actually bright and pleasant, and I enjoyed all the natural light that streamed into the gorgeous Intiman Theater:

This show also saw our first foray into giving out tiny tasting samples to encourage shoppers to get to know our amazing and unusual flavors. After our winter 2010 craft shows were over, we finally hit on the idea of sticking toothpicks into floral foam and then inverting them and dunking the tips into a saucepan to coat them with syrup. Here are some Watermelon-Basil samples in action:

It doesn’t take very long to get the gist of what hard candy tastes like, so these were basically perfect. And it was fun and exciting to hear so many positive reactions to the samples – especially Watermelon-Basil and Vanilla-Cardamom. We’ll definitely be making samples again for this summer’s Urban Craft Uprising, which OMG is only 9 weeks away, July 9-10!!!
photos by Joyce Hwang

Happy Mother’s Day! xoxo

Susan's Mom

Kate's Mom

The EtsyRain Spring Show Is Tomorrow!

If you live in the Seattle area, we'd love to see you tomorrow at the EtsyRain spring show!

You'll be able to buy a last-minute present for your mom, get some lollipops for yourself without having to wait for them to ship to you, or you can put your own collection of lollipops together!

So come one, come all and introduce yourselves in person to us. We'd love to meet you.

Where: Intiman Theatre, 201 Mercer St, Seattle, WA
When: Saturday May 7th, 11am - 5pm

Also at EtsyRain: ALTernative Designs

image from ALTernative Designs' Etsy Shop

ALTernative Designs makes some fabulous rings, including this circles and squares one that warms our little mathy hearts. We hope you stop by to see her shop at EtsyRain on Saturday!

Also at EtsyRain: Sassy Shades

image from Sassy Shade's Etsy Shop

We were perusing the vendor list for the EtsyRain show and found Sassy Shades, who I don't think we knew about. She makes lovely looking lampshades, including this one from a vintage sugar sack - how appropriate! We look forward to meeting her on Saturday.

Also at EtsyRain: Pepo Park

image from Pepo Park

Pepo Park, friend of This Charming Candy, is another one of the vendors at the EtsyRain Spring show. Susan often raves about her cook's & gardener's soap and how well it works on her hands while she's in the kitchen.

So stop by and say hi and maybe buy yourself some soap!

EtsyRain Spring 2011 Show

Hey Seattleites! This Saturday, we will be at the Spring 2011 EtsyRain show. We'll have our newest collection, the Fruit Basket, along with all our other collections like Breakfast Tray, Celebration Time, and the ever-popular Spice Rack. Come by and get a last-minute Mother's Day gift or buy a treat for yourself!

Where: Intiman Theatre (you can also make a donation to the Save the Intiman fund)
When: Saturday May 7th from 11-5

We hope to see you there!