History of Mother’s Day

Video: MSN History of Mother’s Day

 

Thanks Mom. Still miss you 26 years later.

Crepe Paper Carrots

Source: Martha Stewart Living – www.marthastewart.com

Love your vegetables! Made of wrapped paper streamers, these adorable little bundles are a twist on the crepe-paper

Kate Mathis

surprise ball. As you unwind the paper, you find the trinkets — jewelry, a novelty, a toy. It’s simple to grow a basketful and customize them for guests of any age. Display them as a centerpiece or leave them by the door as favors.

Tools and Materials

• Leaf template
• Crepe streamers, in Apricot, Golden Yellow, and Orange, partycheap.com
• Green crepe paper, in Leaf Green, blumchen.com
• Hot-glue gun
• Assorted small gifts

How-To

1. Loosely wrap orange streamer to form carrot shape, making it thicker at top. Tuck in gifts as you work. [See image 2 above]. Press end of paper down into top.

2. Fold green crepe paper in half across its grain. Download leaf template, and trace onto folded paper. Cut out; bunch up. Tuck leaves into carrot top; secure with dab of hot glue.

Spaghetti and Meatballs Cupcakes

Source: sweetlittlethang.wordpress.com - by sweetlittlethang

These are a really cute idea for a get together. If you put only one “meatball” on per cupcake and serve a bunch on a tray it looks like a HUGE bowl of spaghetti!

Ingredients:
■12 baked and cooled vanilla cupcakes
■Homemade or store bought classic vanilla frosting
■1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
■3/4 cup low sugar strawberry preserves (low sugar has the best color)
■3 drops yellow food coloring
■12 hazelnut chocolates (Ferrero Rocher), unwrapped
■2 tablespoons grated white chocolate plus additional chunk for garnish

Step 1-Tint the vanilla frosting with the cocoa powder and yellow food coloring. Spread a thin layer of tinted frosting on top of the cupcakes. Arrange the cupcakes on a serving platter, touching.

Step 2-Spoon the remaining tinted frosting into a ziplock bag. Snip a small corner from the bag. Now have fun piping the frosting all over the cupcakes to make the noodles. Make sure to pile it high and have some of the frosting hang over the edges of the cupcakes.

Step 3-Toss the hazelnut chocolates with the strawberry preserves in a medium bowl to coat. Spoon some of the preserves on top of each cupcake. Place a hazelnut chocolate on top of each cupcake, and one on the platter. Top cupcakes with the remaining strawberry preserves.

Step 4-Sprinkle the grated white chocolate over the cupcakes.

Make a mailable slice of cake – Cake postcard tutorial

Source: www.sheknows.com -  by Sandra Denneler

I have so many friends and family members that always say “I wish you could mail me a birthday cake!” … well, now I can send them a slice.

Imagine how happy and excited you’d be, if you went to your mailbox one day and pulled out a slice of cake. Now you can surprise friends and family (and probably even your mail carrier), with this three-dimensional, mailable postcard, cleverly disguised as cake. With only five ingredients in this crafty recipe — a large sponge, spray paint, caulk, spray adhesive and heavy paper — it’s a piece of cake. Literally. Postage is around $3 per slice, but the reaction from the recipient will be priceless.

Supplies

Materials needed to make two cake postcards:
•1 large sponge (yellow paints the best)
•Serrated knife
•X-Acto or utility knife
•Spray paint (brown, yellow, pink or white)
•1 tube acrylic latex caulk (brown, cream or white)
•Spray adhesive (3M Super 77 works great!)
•Cardboard, kraft paper or scrapbook paper

Instructions

1 Cut sponge into wedge shape

With a serrated knife, using a sawing motion, cut a sponge into two, cake wedge shapes. Large sponges can be found at hardware stores and in the automotive departments of most big discount stores.

2 Cut a center groove into sponge

Using an X-Acto or utility knife, cut a section of foam from the center of the sponge. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just cut a wedge big enough so that you can add a line of caulking there later.

3 Paint the sponge

Paint the sponge wedges in desired color. (Brown looks the most realistic, but pink and yellow are fun too. White was probably my least favorite.)

4 Trace the slice of cake

When the sponge wedges are dry, trace around them on a piece of cardboard, kraft paper or colorful scrapbook paper. This will be the postcard side of the cake. Heavier paper works better and will give you a sturdier wedge of cake for mailing. Cut the postcard shapes from the paper.

5 Attach the postcard

Spray glue the postcards to the solid, flat sides of the sponge wedges.

6 Prep the “icing”

Using a caulking gun and your desired caulk, fill a plastic disposable piping bag with half of the caulk. This should be enough to do one cake wedge. I was able to pipe two cake postcards with one tube of caulk, but I recommend putting only half of the caulk in the bag at a time. Also, I tried decorating my cake wedges using the caulking gun, but it was nearly impossible to control. It’s much easier with a piping bag.

7 Pipe the center of the cake

Pipe a line of caulk down the center of the cake postcard wedge, where you removed the sponge with your knife.

8 Pipe the icing on the top

Pipe dollops and swirls of caulking on the top and sides of the sponge wedge just like you’re decorating a cake. Pipe along the edge of the cake postcard to form a seal between it and the sponge.

9 Add the swirls

If needed, use a small paint brush or toothpick to swirl and adjust the thickness of the caulk on the cake top and side.

Allow your cake postcards to dry for three to five days. I placed mine on sheet of parchment paper and lifted them up periodically so that the caulk wouldn’t dry and adhere to the paper.

Write your message on the postcard side, leaving enough room for an address and postage. Sizes, shapes and weight of each cake postcard will vary, but most of mine required three, $1 stamps.

Baby Girl Shower Cake

Reblogged from Sweet Little Thang:

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Gifts for Valentines: Find 12 ways to say “I Love You” with food!

Source: www.tasteofhome.com
We have the perfect gifts for valentines to help you treat someone special this Valentine’s Day.

Child
Children look at Valentine’s Day through heart-shaped glasses. These cut-out Sour Cream Sugar Cookies are sure to gain approval from your little ones on Valentine’s Day.

 

 

Classmates
Bring a batch of these cute Mice Cupcakes to the class Valentine’s Day party or any other group activity. Little ones are sure to nibble them right up!

 

 

 

Teacher
You’ll garner most-loved parent status by delivering a couple of Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cakes to the teacher’s lounge along with a bag of gourmet ground coffee for the community coffee pot.

 

 

Neighbors
How would you feel if your neighbor baked a loaf of bread for you? Live by the golden rule and share the love with your neighbors by taking over a loaf of Moist Banana Bread.

 

 

Relative in a nursing home
Let someone know you care by delivering these easy-to-make homemade Raspberry Patch Crumb Bars. The companionship they’ll attract is like giving your loved one a hug all day long.

 

 

Parents/Grandparents/In-laws
Warm the hearts of your parents, grandparents or in-laws by dropping off some breadsticks and a pot of hot Wintertime Beef Soup.

 

 

 

Sister or Female Friend
Show your sisterly love by having friends over to share a little girl talk and these almost sinful Mocha Latte Parfaits.

 

 

 

Brother or Male Friend
Who can resist a homemade pie? Make your brother or friend feel downright spoiled with a cheery Fresh Cherry Pie.

 

 

 

Husband
How sweet it is to be loved by you when you serve this tasty Golden Chicken Cordon Bleu meal to your dear hubby.

 

 

 

Wife
Waking up to a delicious breakfast in bed of Puffy Oven Pancakes will surely have your wife starting out the day with romance on her mind.

 

 

 

Girlfriend/Boyfriend
One of the easiest ways to show you care for that special someone — without a big commitment — is by making them a delicious dessert like Walnut Chocolate Hearts.

 

 

Pet
Fido is always there for you. Tell him he’s a good boy with these bark-worthy Beefy Dog Treats.

Blueberry Orange Honey Bread

Memories of this quick bread go back to our home on Highland Ave, back in the day when stay-at-home Moms really did trade recipes.  Even when Mom went to work, this delightful quick bread made it to our table quite often.

Today I make the warm orange and honey glaze to drizzled over fresh fruit.  It makes a real difference in the way things taste.

Cook Time: 55 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:
•2 tablespoons butter
•1/4 cup boiling water
•2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest
•1/2 cup orange juice or orange juice concentrate
•1 large egg
•1 cup granulated sugar
•2 cups all-purpose flour
•1 teaspoon baking powder
•1/4 teaspoon baking soda
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

•Topping:
•1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
•2 tablespoons orange juice or orange juice concentrate
• 2 tablespoons honey

Preparation:

Combine butter and boiling water in a small bowl; add 2 tablespoons grated orange peel and 1/2 cup orange juice.

In a mixing bowl, beat egg and granulated sugar with an electric hand-held mixer until light. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt; beat into the egg mixture a little at a time, alternating with orange juice mixture and ending with flour mixture.

Fold in blueberries. Spoon batter into a greased and floured 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.. Cool bread in pan 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the topping, combine 1 teaspoon orange zest, 2 tablespoons orange juice, and 2 tablespoons honey; stir until well blended. Spoon over hot bread; let cool.