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Majestic Minis Mom’s need for dainty jewelry led to business

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Musical Calling

Musical Calling

By Rachel Davis Karr

Emily Woodard just wanted some earrings to wear to her daughter’s school events. But there weren’t a lot of options, especially in the smaller, daintier jewelry the mom of three likes to wear. So she made her own. After posting about them on social media, she started getting requests from other parents and students and decided to start selling the mascot earrings. The small, post-backed button earrings feature rockets and blue devils, as well as other small designs. .

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Soon those mascot earrings led to Halloween, Christmas and now Valentine’s earrings, as well as custom orders.

Woodard just started selling the earrings around Halloween and sold more than 185 pairs by the end of the year. Then, the owners of ACE Hardware in Gardendale contacted her to offer the earrings in their new Cullman location.

Before earrings, Woodard made door signs and many other items around the house, but those were more time and labor intensive. Being a mother with three young children, a husband and assorted pets doesn’t allow a lot of time for creating things, but Woodard said her mom was always working on something when she was growing up and still managed to find time for crafts and sewing.

““My mom has always done crafts and different projects,” Woodard explained. “She was even the costume designer for their local community theater for 15 years or so. She costumed about 80 kids for a play for many years. So I grew up doing different crafts.”

These days, she does all her work in the kitchen, mostly under the watchful eye of her youngest daughter, Brooklyn.

Woodard’s goal with her tiny creations is to bright someone’s day and give them a hard-to-find item, but the money she makes is being squirreled away for another reason. Woodard’s husband wants to have LASIK eye surgery and she is storing her money to pay for the out-of pocket cost of surgery.

You can find Woodard on Facebook or Instagram under Majestic Minis. She can ship them, but most people just pick their orders up from her porch. The earrings are affordable, with all of them so far costing just $5 a pair.

Library Open for Curbside

The Gardendale Library remains closed after a burst pipe caused damage to the building. But, the library has been able to open up curbside service to allow patrons to still get the items they want and need from the library. The library is also continuing with many of its other programs, but they are being hosted at the Gardendale Civic Center. For more information, call the library or visit its Facebook page.

Mordecai donation

Danny Mordecai and Nita Mordecai donated this framed print to the city. Gardendale hosted this tournament back in 2008. Mayor Stan Hogeland said he will hang the picture in his office.

Chamber Shirts for Sale

The Gardendale Chamber of Commerce is selling shirts so you can show your hometown pride. The deadline to order is February 17.

Theraplay Opens Office in Gardendale

TheraPlay is a pediatric clinic offering speech and occupational therapy services. They have opened an office on Main Street in Gardendale. For more information, contact them at (256) 841-5185 or visit their Facebook page.

KS Boutique Ribbon Cutting

The Gardendale Chamber of Commerce welcomed KS Boutique at 1705 Decatur Highway to Gardendale with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

GES Art Show

Gardendale Elementary student

Chloe Berendt was chosen to represent the Jefferson County School System at the State Superintendent Art Show in Montgomery. Only 10 elementary artists are selected to represent the entire county at the state show.

GES Perfect Attendance

Gardendale Elementary School honored its first semester perfect attendance students.

Bragg Student of the Month

Bragg Middle School honored its January Students of the Month. These students were chosen by their teachers (one student from each team) for their hard work, great display of character and their willingness to go above and beyond. Students of the Month are treated to lunch, courtesy of Buffalo Wild Wings in Gardendale.

Those students are:

6th Grade Maroon - Amiyah Johnson

6th Grade Gray - Amelia Boles

7th Grade Maroon - Steven Cooper

7th Grade Gray - Cruce McCoy

8th Grade Maroon - Nahomi Cumula Aquino

8th Grade Gray - Calie Vance

GES Character Award

Gardendale Elementary School honored its December Character Award winners for displaying Joy.

Bragg Wrestling

Bragg won the 2023 Jefferson County Tournament. Placing were:

1st - JT Boone, Aaron Head, Camaree Gooden, Ashton Vice

2nd - Jacob Tarwater, Reese Morgan, William Osborne, Jayden Jordan, Mark Moody, Weston Morton, Chauncey Goodwin

3rd - Dakota Fitts, Ayden Davis, Crue Bryson, Davion Stanley, Luke Pruitt, Caleb Combs

4th - Austin Haygood, Jayden Levins, Mike Shelley

Snow Rogers Elementary School Students of the Month December

Snow Rogers Elementary School honored its December Students of the Month.

SRES Heart Challenge

Snow Rogers Elementary School students that raised at least $100 for Kids Heart Challenge got to have a Silly String Party as a reward.

SRES Robotics

Snow Rogers Elementary School is proud of its Robotics Teams. Two teams tied for 10th in the Skills division and one in 19th at a recent competition. We were 19th, 20th and 24th places in the Team division.

Open to the Public:

Open to the Public:

Thursday, March 10 -- 8am-7pm

Thursday, March 9 -- 8am-7pm

Friday, March 11 -- 8am-5pm

Friday, March 10 -- 8am-6pm

Saturday, March 12 -- 7am-noon (many items discounted 50%)

Saturday, March 11 -- 7am-noon (many items discounted 50%)

Featuring gently-used children’s clothing size newborn to “big kid” 18, children’s shoes up to “big kid” 9, baby equipment, bikes, sports equipment, toys, games, puzzles, and more!

Featuring gently-used children’s clothing size newborn to “big kid” 18, children’s shoes (all sizes), baby equipment, bikes, sports equipment, toys, games, puzzles, and more!

KingdomKidsConsignment.com 805 Crest Drive, Gardendale

KingdomKidsConsignment.com 805 Crest Drive, Gardendale

All Profits Support Missions

All Profits Support Missions

Shortcut Chocolate Truffle Tart

1 12-oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips (2 cups)

1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream (Do not use regular whipping cream. It will not firm up enough.)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 6-oz chocolate cookie or graham cracker pie crust (Homemade Oreo cookie crust recipe below)

Garnishes:

Sweetened Whipped Cream (or Cool Whip) Strawberries, blueberries or raspberries

Place chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and pour the whipping cream over the chips. Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute and 30 seconds. I have a 1200 watt microwave.

Let it stand 1 minute. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. It might look like it will never get smooth but it will. If lumps persist, microwave an additional 20 seconds and stir until smooth. Stir in vanilla.

Pour truffle filling into pie crust, spreading to the edges with the back of a spoon. Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm. If you are making this the day before, cover it after the filling firms up with aluminum foil. “Tent” it so it doesn’t touch the filling and leave marks.

Serve with sweetened whipped cream, raspberries, blueberries or strawberries.

To gild the lily, drizzle with chocolate syrup!

HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE CRUST (OPTION):

11 double stuf Oreo cookies (about 1 cup cookie crumbs)

Preheat oven to 350°. Process the cookies in a food processor until finely crushed into crumbs. Press cookie crumbs into a 9 inch pie plate (not deep dish) with the bottom of a glass. Press the crumbs up the sides of the plate about 1/2 inch with your fingers. Tap the top of the crust down gently to make a smooth edge. Bake at 350° for 7 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack, about 30 minutes before adding filling. Note: The extra filling in the cookies helps to hold the crust together in place of butter. Regular Oreo cookies will work but the crust will be a little fragile.

Kathleen Phillips is a food blogger, food stylist, cookbook author and former Oxmoor House test kitchen director (Southern Living cookbooks). On her food blog, GritsandGouda.com, she creates Southern shortcut recipes. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast

The annual Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast will be February 24 at 7 a.m. at the Gardendale Civic Center. More details will be announced, but make plans to join us to celebrate our great city!

Chamber of Commerce Scholarships

The deadline for the annual Chamber of Commerce Scholarships is March 3rd. Applications opened January 30, 2023. The scholarship is open to any student living or going to school in the community. For more information, visit the Chamber of Commerce’s website or Facebook page.

State of the Chamber Address

Gardendale Chamber of Commerce executive director Heather Lebischak will host the first ever State of the Chamber Address at the Gardendale Civic Center. Make plans to attend and hear about all the exciting things happening in the city. More details, including sign-up information, will be released at a later date.

Opening of Bill Noble Park

The official opening of the new Bill Noble Athletic Complex will be March 11. There will be a celebration for the community, as well as opening day festivities for baseball and softball.

Magnolia Festival

The annual Magnolia Festival is set for April 21-22. Applications for sponsors, vendors and scholarships will be available beginning January 2. For more information, find them on Facebook or visit MagnoliaFestival.org.

Historical Museum Hours

The Kermit E. Dooley Gardendale Historical Museum will be open to the public every Thursday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Community Kickball Game

A community kickball game is starting every Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. at the Gardendale soccer fields. Anyone who is interested is welcome.

To have an item added to our calendar, please send information to rachel@jbmcmedia.com.

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