Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases

WILTON GIVEAWAY: 25 Wilton Holiday Cookie Contest Prizes

Wilton is giving away 25 Quality Wilton products for a Wilton Cookie Exchange Party, valued at $143.56, to ONE of my lucky readers. My good cyber-friend Cindy at Wilton, offered me a number of baking products to do my own cookie exchange. I had NO idea what she meant until I got the box. I was tickled to get such a giveaway offer. But when we she mentioned to try it out and do a giveaway for ONE of my readers, well, I don't have to tell you that I was literally blown away by their generosity! 

 

Check Wilton's impressive list for detailed information and pictures of everythingthat's in this humongous box! When I say big, I mean BIG! 25 Wilton products, with everything you could ever need or want for your own Christmas Cookie Exchange Party.

 

Because there was soooo much stuff in the box, enough for 20 or more people to have a cookie party, I got Erika from Stampin Mama to help me out. She rounded up lots of people and Girly (my cute little blond granddaughter), helped me bake cookies, took photos and helped me with all the details. Thanks so much Erika! Hope you had lots of fun too! Please go check out her blog, Stampin Mama, for more cookie and stamping fun!

 

 

 

 

Erika, from Stampin Mama says,

"The kitchen is an integral part of our home and it's no surprise that my daughter has it in her blood to be there, as well, even at 9 years old. In fact, she's been helping me in the kitchen long before now. She has her own cookbooks and her own cookie cutters. She is always looking for something to make and especially likes to make things for other people. She loves to package them up in creative packaging and hand them out to friends."

"We had a blast creating cookies in the kitchen together. We both decorated cookies and they all took on their own personalities as we created them. The Wilton cookie cutters, decorating frostings, sprinkles, cookie press, scoop, etc. were all easy to use and are perfect for little hands as well as big ones. The Wilton Cookie Exchange Book was especially helpful for ideas on decorating our cookies. It's full of recipes and pictures of decorating ideas, so we had no problem at all with coming up with ideas. It's definitely going to get used all year round in this house."

"My daughter was especially tickled that people commented on her cookies and how creative she was when they were put out on the platters. The little labels that came with the Wilton packaging kits were a huge hit. Everyone loved the beautiful packaging and talked about how pretty it looked. Even down to the festive parchment paper! This is definitely something we're thinking about doing each year!"

 

Wilton Holiday Cookie Contest Prize Details
The contest will be a BIG short one, meaning the Wilton Holiday Cookie Contest Prize is BIG, but the contest will only go till Thursday, December 10th, midnight, EST, at which time I'll pick a winner with the Random Generator. PLEASE, only comments on this post will be eligible to win. Wilton will drop-ship your box to you and you should get it within a few days. It's that simple!

NOTE: I neglected to mention this before, but US entries only please. I'll accept the comments from Canada that have already been posted, but from hereon in, only US entries. Wilton is shipping this and I have to be considerate. Thanks for understanding.

 

Tell me what Wilton products you've used in the past, and what you like the best. If you haven't had the pleasure of using Wilton's Decorating items, tell me why you'd LOVE to win this kit. Wilton would also love it (they told me so!) if the winner would have their own Cookie Exchange Party and hype it up as well. After all, it IS advertising for them.

Christmas Cookie Recipes
In the meantime, please go take a look at all my Christmas Cookie Recipes I've posted. You won't be sorry!

 

 

Wilton Holiday Cookie Contest Prize List

• Cookie Pro™ Ultra II Cookie Press: $24.99
• Wilton Cookie Exchange Book: $14.99
• Non-Stick Mini Holiday Pan: $11.99
• 13 pc. Cookie Decorating Set: $8.39
• Holiday Parchment Sheets: $7.99
• Cookie Exchange Party Kit: $7.99
• Cookie Box Kit: $5.29
• Cookie Gift Box Kit: $5.29
• Red & Green Sparkle Gel: $4.99
• Sugar Pearls-White: $4.49
• Green Cookie Icing: $4.49
• Red Cookie Icing: $4.49
• Cookie Plate Kit: $4.29
• Cookie Tent Box Kit: $4.19
• Jumbo Snowflakes Sprinkles: $4.09
• Cookie Exchange Recipe Card and Photo Holder: $3.99
• 3 Pc. Holiday Cutter Set: $3.69
• 3 Pc. Winter Cutter Set: $3.69
• Snowflake Comfort Grip™ Cutter: $3.19
• Holiday Red Cookie Scoop: $2.79
• Dark Green Colored Sugars: $2.29
• Cookie Exchange Bottle Labels: $1.99
• Cookie Exchange Award Ribbons: $1.99
• Recipe Cards with Stickers: $1.99

TOTAL VALUE: $143.56 with FREE shipping by Wilton included

4th of JULY DESSERT RECIPES

 

Patriotic Red, White & Blue Desserts
What are you doing for the 4th of July? Are you having a cookout, watching a 4th of July parade, going to a ballgame? We're going to a party on a BIG yacht! Bigger than ours, and oh so classy! Actually, our sailboat, even at 40 feet long, looks rather small and dinky compared to our friends ocean trawler. Lots of great food, good drinks and awesome friends!

Whatever you're doing this weekend, you're most likely gonna need some tasty desserts and salads. Maybe even some cocktails? It's a long weekend for most people, and that means more food and company than you'd anticipated. Here's a list of holiday recipes I've been working on for weeks. Some are Red, White & Blue recipes, all are perfect for cookouts, barbecues, picnics and parades. Mix and match according to the function. Add some sparklers and bottle rockets and make sure to have plenty of fun!

Red White & Blue Flag Cake - What would the 4th of July be without a Red, White & Blue Flag Cake? Blueberry stars, strawberry stripes and sparklers set this Firecracker Cake off quite nicely!

Fresh Blueberry Recipes - Blueberry Muffins, Fresh Blueberry Pie, Blueberry Buckle, Blueberry Smoothie, Blueberry Popsicles, Blueberry Pancakes, Blueberry Crisp, Red White & Blueberry Pizza, Lemon Blueberry Bread and much more!

Fresh Cherry Recipes - Summer dessert recipes scream for fresh cherries! Cherry Pie, Cherry Cheesecake, Cherry Cobbler, Cherry Chocolate Fudge Brownies, Cherry Clafouti, Cherry Almond Scones, Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler, Cherry Kisses, Peach & Cherry Galette, and many more.

Fresh Strawberry Pie Recipe - Big juicy strawberries chilled in homemade strawberry glaze, nestled in a graham cracker or vanilla cookie crust and topped with fresh whipped cream.

Red, White & Blue Desserts - Cakes, cupcakes, tarts, cobblers, shortcakes, trifles, ice cream cake, cheesecakes, berry pops and so much more!






Stampin' Mama Designs

This Red, White & Blue Flag Cake, Buttercream Frosting and photos, are from Erika at Stampin' Mama.com. Erika's cupcake toppers are a special design from GinaK Stamps. Complete instructions as well as links for stamps, cardstock, etc., can be found at Erika's blog, Stampin' Mama. Thanks Erika!

ZUCCHINI BREAD ~ Bake It, Make It & Take It

                                                

Bake It, Make It & Take It ~ Zucchini Bread Recipe
It's been a LONG time since Erika - Stampin' Mama's Queen of the Stamping Blogosphere and I have done anything together. You see, I've been writing, but Erika moved into a new house the beginning of the month. With all that and tons of company on both sides, we haven't been able to organize a Food & Craft project together. So, here we are together again with summertime's beloved Zucchini Bread!

Zucchini ~ Mother Nature's Curse or Blessing?
Have you ever been the recipient of your neighbors good will? You're minding your own business, sitting quietly in front of the TV watching American Idol or reading a good book, when all of a sudden, a knock comes on the door. You're not expecting anyone, but you get up anyway and drag yourself to the front door. There's no one there! You look one way and then the other. That's when you look down to find a monster of a box with what seems like a ton of zucchini in it! Huge suckers too, the size no one wants. You think to yourself..."What just happened here?" Your neighbor just zucchini'd you! They didn't want all that zucchini, but they felt guilty throwing it away. So they stuck you with it, with a sweet little note that said, "Welcome to the neighborhood." Thing is, you've lived there for 10 years!

                                                                          

What are you gonna do with all that zucchini? You could pass it off to another neighbor down the road and let the cycle repeat itself over and over again until the zucchini finally rots and starts to smell. Kinda like re-gifting! Or, you could just suck it up and make Zucchini Bread! Yes! That's what you should do! So, where are you gonna get that Zucchini Bread Recipe from? Sheesh! I thought you'd never ask!

                                                                    

Zucchini Bread Recipe & Suite101.com
We used to make this Zucchini Bread in very large batches, but I scaled it down so you could make 4 loaves. You can divide it in half again if you only want to make 2 loaves, but seriously, if you have that much zucchini, you may as well make the full batch because Zucchini Bread freezes really well. Eat one, give one and freeze two.

Here's the link for my recipe at Suite101.com. (You have to go there because it's a copyrighted article/recipe, but it's a good thing because you can scroll down and hit the print button!) It's loaded with zucchini, nuts if you like and cinnamon. Be creative with the recipe. Add sunflower seeds, chocolate chips or substitute some mashed banana for the zucchini.

Stampin' Mama.com
So, where does Erika's blog, Stampin' Mama.com fit into all this? Because some of you may be new to my blog, you probably haven't seen this feature before because we haven't done it in a while. Erika is an amazing artist! (Did I tell you she's also my daughter?) I can't really do her justice by trying to explain in detail what she does, so if you're a crafter or stamper, you'll have to go on over to her site and take a look! To make a long story short, I give her my recipes and she dreams up an amazing package or container to showcase the baked goods in! Sometimes it's very sweet and dainty and other times it's kooky and way out there! But you can always be sure it's gonna be practical. Check out all  the older posts of Bake It, Make It & Take It while you're at it!

New Neighbors!
Because Erika and her family just moved into a new neighborhood, she wanted to meet the neighbors in a "Hey, we're your new neighbors and I have a gift for you!" sort of way. She didn't think long and hard on the craft project, and because Zucchini Bread is one of her favorites, this creative package just fell out of her brain! I think it's the perfect way to use up your box of zucchini, meet new neighbors or give as a gift, and eat this moist luscious Zucchini Bread until it comes out of your ears!

So, now that I've talked your ear off about Zucchini Bread, you'll have to click here to go to Suite101 for my recipe. Then, swing on over to Erika's blog - Stampin' Mama - for complete how-to directions for this colorful package. And when you're finally finished, make a cup of tea, sit back in your garden and have a slice or two of Zucchini Bread and think of.....this is where you insert your own dreams! 

                                                                          

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE & Bake It, Make It & Take It

It's been a while since Erika from Stampin' Mama and I have done a Bake It, Make It & Take It dessert/paper craft project together. Things have been hectic in both our lives at the moment. She's had lots of things going on with the kids and we're moving into a larger boat...more about that in a later post!

Where we live, strawberry season is in full swing. Lush and juicy, strawberries are a favorite of just about everyone! And if you really don't like strawberries, there either must be something wrong with you or you're allergic to them! I know of a few people that have allergies and I feel so very bad for them as this is one of the highlights of my summer. Substitute raspberries or blueberries!


Strawberries, Strawberries & More Strawberries!
Years ago, during our short 2 1/2 year stint in Pennsylvania Dutch country, we moved into a house that had a garden. The first week we were torn whether to empty our packing boxes and move in or pick the thousands of quickly ripening strawberries. The strawberries won out - the unpacking could wait - the strawberries wouldn't! I sent the kids out with buckets and we all sat there in the rows eating to our hearts content! It was definitely a bumper crop that year and I felt bad for the family that moved out just as all their hard work was coming to harvest. Truth be told, I didn't feel THAT bad!                   
                                                      

We were in our glory! We ate and ate and ate! Our knees, hands and clothes were all stained red, but it was worth it. I made strawberry bread, Strawberry Mousse Pie, Strawberry Muffins, strawberry tart, Strawberry Cheesecake, pints and pints of strawberry jam and of course...Strawberry Shortcake! I froze the rest for future desserts. I think we were still eating them when the next harvest came around!

Buttermilk Biscuits, Sweetened Whipped Cream and Shortcake!
Anyway...Erika used my Strawberry Shortcake recipe from Suite101. When you click on over there, you'll find a recipe for Buttermilk Biscuits that were our weekly specialty for sale. Everyone loved them, not only for Strawberry Shortcake, but also for Chicken & Dumplings, plopping them on top of Beef Stew, an accompanianments to the best Vegetarian Chili or just slicing in half and slathering them with butter and strawberry jam! There's also a recipe for Sweetened Whipped Cream...yes, from scratch! Of course, the recipe also tells exactly how to assemble the perfect Strawberry Shortcake.

Another Cute Project from Stampin' Mama!
Erika then had to come up with a cute project and packaging for Strawberry Shortcake. You ask, "How in the world do you package Strawberry Shortcake?" Well, she improvised a little, because of course, you CAN'T package the finished product. It would leak all over the place and be a total soggy mess when the LUCKY recipient opened the gift!

Her project can be found just a click away at Stampin' Mama's blog. She stacked some homemade Buttermilk Biscuits in a clear cellophane bag. Colored crinkle grass made by using her crimping tool was piled inside the bag with the biscuits. Then she made 2 handmade cards, one for the front with a greeting "For Fantastic Neighbors" and the back with a recipe for the Strawberry Shortcake. The cute little package got all tied up with some pretty striped/polka-dotted ribbon in the colors of strawberries and green gingham. Totally cool! You'll have to go over to her blog and she'll explain exactly what she did and what tools and colors she used. And while you're at it, take a look at the rest of her site. She's got loads of tutorials and CD's that she's put together. VERY talented and creative girl if I do say so myself! AND, if you act quick, she's got a CONTEST going on right now until 6/16!

So, do yourself a favor one of these hot summer days and buy yourself some ripe and juicy strawberries, make a batch (or two) of Buttermilk Biscuits, some fresh Sweetened Whipped Cream and have yourself a party! But, don't forget your neighbors across the way. Save some biscuits for them and package them up nice and pretty. They'll love you forever!

(photo of strawberries by errika79,sxc)

BASIC MUFFIN RECIPE & Bake it, Make it & Take it with Stampin' Mama

                                                                            

 
Forgive me, I was a little slow to post our Bake it, Make it & Take it feature this week. Erika a.k.a Stampin' Mama had it already up and live the other day and I didn't even notice it. Too many cookbooks on the brain I guess!

She emailed me and said she was making muffins using my Blueberry and Strawberry Muffin Recipe. This is a great Basic Muffin Recipe that you can use as a base to create all sorts of yummy muffins. You can click here to see the recipe in all it's yumminess! I used that word in my last post too. I like it. I think I'll keep it as my yummiest word of the week! Duh!

You can put raspberries in them.

                                                                        

(photo by fir0002, wikicommons)

Chocolate Chips go real good in them too!

                                                                         

(photo by csspaulding,sxc)

Strawberries are in season now!

                                                            
(photo by sebiv122sxc)

And my favorite, Blueberries for the most delicious Blueberry Muffins :-)

                                                          

(photo by rosevita, morguefile)

They come out of the oven looking like this....
                                                                     

And then you stamp a cutesy paper bag, see, just like this, and you have to cut out a window so everyone can see the yumminess inside!

Erika had Zach home this week with pink-eye and although he felt fine, he couldn't go to school. So, being the good Mom that she is, they had their little chai parties each morning for breakfast with the muffins she made. He's the cutest boy a Nana could ever want! You have to take a stroll over to her blog and see her photos, not just for this groovy guilt-free paper lunch bag that she made, but to see her amazing works of art using stamps and paper crafts.  If you're a crafter, you won't be sorry!

Oh, and you absolutely have to stamp the words "guilt-free" on it. There is a reason for this.... 

Erika says, "One thing my dad always taught me is that there's no calories in something if you eat it standing up. Now...whether you choose to believe that or not is entirely up to you. I like to think that if I make my muffins with organic flour and unrefined sugar, I don't have to worry about all the guilt. A muffin is only as guilt-free as you like to think it is. haha!"

Then, you put a huge pink polka-dotted ribbon on it like this. Isn't that the most awesome designer bag you've ever seen? You can make this too! I can't though, because I don't do crafts! Don't ask!

                                                                                    

That's my Five-Cent Tour of Basic Muffins!  And Erika's $5.00 Tour of Paper Crafts and Stamping!

Now, you have to click here for the Basic Muffin Recipe for all these yummy muffins from Yummy-ville, (yeah, I know, it's corny, but it's 3:30am and I'm still awake writing this, so I'm a little punchy). Then you click here and this will bring you to Erika's Stampin' Mama Designs page where she'll show you step-by-step how to make these designer Lunch Bags!

WHITE CHOCOLATE MACADAMIA NUT COOKIES

                                                         
Welcome to The Famous "Bake It, Make It & Take It" Show!

Here we are again with another installment of The "Bake It, Make It & Take It" Show! Doesn't that sound like the newest reality game show to you? Or a Soap Opera? Contestants in teams of two would get the "secret recipe" the week before, then go through hoops to buy the ingredients from dispicable vendors, bake the cookies in ill-equipped kitchens, and then strut their stuff in the talent and swimsuit competitions. It would end in a massive cookie eating contest and finally with an all out food fight! Oh, if only those shows were as tasty as these White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies!

                                                                                 

Use a cookie scoop for the nicest and roundest cookies!

I gave Erika from Stampin' Mama the recipe a while ago and she wanted to make them in the worst way. But you see, Erika has a confession to make. She says, "I've never been a fan of white chocolate. I know a lot of people LOVE white chocolate, but I have tried and tried, since I was a kid, to like it but I just can't. It's like a food item that wants so badly to be chocolate, it strives to be like chocolate, it even calls itself "chocolate" but it will never be chocolate." Poor girl! Can you imagine NOT liking white chocolate? Who's daughter does she think she is anyway?

So, like any good chocoholic girl would do, she substituted a large bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips for the white chocolate, and pecans for the macadamia nuts. It just goes to show you, when life gives you white chocolate, you can always find a substitute! I'll show you her photos of the chocolate pecan cookies she made and photos of the White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies I made. Make them both and see which ones you like the best! Either way, you better pour a BIG glass of cold milk for these babies. You're gonna need it!

Because this batch makes 48 good-sized cookies, you're probably going to want to give some away as gifts. (You can cut the recipe in half if you must!) Erika worked her magic again and designed an adorable little gift box for you to showcase these sinfully rich cookies in. She used a basic origami box design, stamps by GinaK Designs, Very Vanilla grosgrain ribbon and markers from Stampin' Up. Anyone receiving this gift would feel lucky indeed! For all you stampers and crafters reading this, you'll need to jump on over to Stampin' Mama for all the important details and complete directions on how-to make these gorgeous boxes.

Then, Blast on over to Suite101 for the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie recipe. When you get there, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the "Print Article" button for a nice looking recipe. You can even click the "Email Article" button to send it to all your friends!                                                                                    

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
                                                                
Erika's Chocolate Butter Pecan Cookies....Yum!

HOMEMADE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

                                                         
The Best Homemade Peanut Butter Cookies
Yes, it's been a while since our last Bake It, Make It & Take It project. I'm going to have to stop making excuses for myself and just make you happy with these awesome Peanut Butter Cookies! Erika from Stampin' Mama and I have put our heads together once more. I'm not sure who has any brain power left. I'm sure it's her 'cause she's younger than I am! But it is genetic, so she better watch out.

Erika has out done herself once again and designed the cutest package ever! Erika says, "For a simple stamped greeting, I chose the word that came to mind: YUM  - Talk about simple and to the point!" You have to see what she's done with Kitchen Sink Stamps, a belly band and some ribbon. Sometimes I just can't believe she's my daughter!

Peanut Butter Cookies ~ All in the family!
This recipe was passed down from my Grandma. Remember the story about my Grandma's recipes a little while back? Long, long ago, she gave this recipe to my Mom on a piece of scrap paper. It never made it into her recipe journal. Not sure why. Maybe it had fallen out. Anyway...way before I knew there was a journal and way before my Grandma passed away, I was making The Best Peanut Butter Cookies in the world! What did I know at 10 years old? I had nothing to compare them to.
                                                                              
My Dad ate everything I put in front of him. He was my best-est taste tester ever! He's going on 79 now, and he's STILL my biggest fan! Funny how Dad's are. You could bake a piece of crap and they'd still tell you it was fabulous and smack their lips, all the while trying to swallow it down with a glass of milk! Gotta love him! Now that I'm away, Erika bakes these treats for him. My son John ~ he's the one with our bakery ~ keeps Grandpa's freezer stocked with cookies. But when I'm in town, I RULE! ME! The favorite daughter!

Will You Like Them? Absolutely!
So, to get back to The Best Peanut Butter Cookies. You will absolutely adore these cookies. They are rich beyond imagination ~ if you like peanut butter that is! They're a little crumbly on the outside and softer on the insides. Just like a true Old Fashioned Homemade Peanut Butter Cookie should be!

You can put chocolate chips in the batter or plop a Hershey's Kiss in the middle as they're coming out of the oven! Make them with smooth or creamy peanut butter. Dip them in melted chocolate. Everything's better with chocolate! Be creative and have fun!
                                                                                 

My son makes these cookies to sell in the stores. He had to change the recipe slightly to beef them up so they don't break under pressure ~ from people squeezing them! Seriously, people squeeze cookies! Can you imagine? he he! He doesn't put the famous criss-crosses on the tops with the fork though. When you're making hundreds and hundreds of these cookies, who has time for dipping a fork in sugar? BUT, you should, because they are soooo wickedly gorgeous with the criss-cross on top!

My recipe can be found at The Best Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe from Suite101. Remember, they're the online magazine I write for, so I can't republish it here. But it's just a click away and you'll be Smokin'! THEN, go to Stampin' Mama Designs and Erika will walk you through a  step-by-step how-to, to make the perfect gift package just right for these cookies.

HONEY RAISIN & NUT GRANOLA and TRAIL MIX

                                                            

Bake It, Make It & Take It ~ Trail Mix To Go!
It's been a busy week for Erika and I! Since the last Bake It, Make It & Take It project, Erika from Stampin' Mama has been out straight. She had a Scrapping retreat called "Go Scrap Yourself" that was a huge success and everyone had a great weekend. She's was busy the whole time we were in Vermont. We didn't do too much together during the 10 days we were there.

I was going nuts with baking and cooking and making my family of 14 happy (that's everyone combined). At least I think I did! There was one point when just about everyone said, "No more food!" But that's what I do. I feed people. I can't help myself!

Earthy Crunchy Granola 
Erika and I wanted to bring you something totally different and fun this time around. Not that all the other recipes weren't fun, they were just ~ different! M&M's are fun right? I suggested my Honey Raisin & Nut Granola and then she ran with the idea and said the kids absolutely loved the Trail Mix she made out of my Granola. Make Granola. Check. Go out and buy M&M's, raisins and peanuts. Check. So, that was settled.

Something Fun and Funky 
Now she had to do her magic thing and come up with another amazing package to put it in. She decided to use a small kraft colored gable box to hold the trail mix. Dig out the craft boxes and cellophane bags. Check. Pull out a few new stamp sets by Kitchen Sink Stamps and pick out just the right colored inks for the job. Check. You just gotta have some "bling", so out come the buttons and silver cording to give this box a funky finish! Check and double check. 

Erika says of her original Trail Mix To-Go-Box, "It has a nice "earthy, crunchy, granola" feel to it for trail mix. Hey, what more could a dreadlocked hippie want than a kraft colored box, decorated in rainbow colors and filled with granola/trail mix? Now, if it were only warm enough to put my Birkenstock sandals on!"
This is so darned cute Erika. You Rock! It's crazy and bright, and everyone is gonna love it!

Remember to check out my Honey Raisin & Nut Granola Recipe, and then go to Erika's blog, Stampin' Mama, for the complete instructions on how to make this groovy project!

STRAWBERRY MUFFINS & STAMPIN' MAMA DESIGNS

Bake It, Make It & Take It ~ Strawberry Muffin in a Basket!
Spring is here, the calendar says so! That is just so hard to believe as we watched the snow fall almost all day today. It was raw and windy....and snowy! We came to visit our kids in Vermont and we get snowed on. It was a cruel April Fools joke to play on us in the frozen north. Tell Old Man Winter to take a hike! We deserve Spring!

Strawberries and Spring
It doesn't matter where you live ~ New England, Florida or Australia! Anytime is a good time to make a batch of luscious Strawberry Muffins. We've been able to get some really delicious strawberries on sale the last few weeks. So, to celebrate Spring, Stampin' Mama's one and only Erika Martin, whipped up a batch of these easy muffins today.

                                                                                 

Strawberry Muffins
Because we're in cahoots with each other, she used my recipe for Strawberry Muffins, and she says they were fantastic! The kids ate the first batch, so she had to make another batch just to take pictures and finish her muffin baskets! This muffin recipe is actually three muffins in one. It's a basic recipe that has variations for The Best Blueberry Muffins and another one for Apple Cinnamon Muffins. Make them all, they freeze great!

Erika's brainchild ~ Bake It, Make It & Take It ~ has been so popular, that we decided to make it a regular feature. We really do strive to bring you a weekly project, but with Easter and so many other obligations on both our parts, we totally missed a week. We're sorry :-( We hope to get back on track right away!

Stamping and Scrapbooking???
I'll be the first to admit that I know almost nothing about stamping and scrapbooking, and my words and descriptions will probably sound silly to you. But for those of you who do stamp, you'll HAVE to see what Erika has come up with this time! She started with a basic origami box, then used things like, Rose Red Prints Designer Series paper,  GinaK's new Bling & Dazzle Mega Rhinestone brads and Scalloped Circle punches. Like I said, I'm challenged when it comes to crafts! You'll just have to take my word for it and go see her Strawberry Muffin In A Basket for yourself. And don't forget to check out my Strawberry Muffin Recipe over at Suite101.

LEMON TEA CAKE & Stampin' Mama Designs

Spring Ahead to Easter!
Easter is right around the corner! How did that happen so quick? I knew it was next week, but I seemed to have lost a whole chunk of time somewhere! Maybe it's all the rain we're getting. It makes me want to crawl into a corner and have something sweet and refreshing with a big cup of tea! With lots of lemon zest and soaked in sweet lemon syrup, this Lemon Tea Cake always satisfies my cravings. This easy recipe is great for Easter too. It makes 8 mini loaves or 4 large loaves. Make it in mini muffin pans and decorate with a swirl of lemon frosting and an edible pansy for a special Easter brunch!
                                                                           
Bake It, Make It & Take It!
Erika, over at Stampin' Mama Designs did it again! She took my recipe for Lemon Tea Cake and made it into something totally awesome! You have to see what she came up with this time for our weekly feature Bake It, Make It & Take It!
For a little over a month now, the two of us have been brainstorming new and exciting ideas to incorporate Food and Stamping Fun. She never disappoints me. You'd think this girl would run out of ideas, but her radioactive dreads have her creativity all fired up!
Bling It Up With Rhinestones!
Neatly packaged in cellophane with an adorable hand stamped Blue Bayou belly-band, it's decorated with white embossing powder "daises". She then "blinged it up" by adding some self-adhesive rhinestones and a cute little tag to hang off the side. Way too cute!

She designed this sweet package for some new neighbors that were moving in next door. Settling into a new area can be a bit scary for some people. Bringing them a beautifully decorated Lemon Tea Cake is a perfect way to break the ice and introduce yourself.

So, check out Erika's Bake It, Make It & Take It project at Stampin' Mama Designs. And then print off my Lemon Tea Cake recipe from Suite101.com. Together, you'll have a darling little gift for someone you love. Heck, just eat the whole thing yourself! You're gonna love it! You know you will!