Duck Gift

 I made this little duck gift for my friend, Nicole.  I threw her a tea in celebration of her newest family member.  Gender to be revealed upon birth...so....neutral baby gifts.  She had registered for quite a few duck things and I pulled those off her list to give her, but I wanted to add a few little homemade things as well.

 I've seen little jars like this, but this is my version.  I sewed a little onsie and burp clothe and found a few little goodies all mom's need, including the hot/cold bath duck.

I stuck it all inside the jar and included them with my gift.

Banana Oat Bread in a Jar

 My friend Nicole and I went shopping awhile back, and I noticed her gravitating towards some of the mixes to try out....I too am a fan of the dried mixes at craft stores.  When her birthday rolled around, I decided to try my hand at a mix for her (found this on theyummylife)....so....without further ado....here's a gift in a jar idea...a fun one for holidays!

Banana Oat Bread In a Jar

PRINT HERE

Ingredients:  1/2 c. flour, 1 T. plus 1 teas. dry buttermilk powder, 1 t. baking soda, 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t. cinnamon, 1/2 c. brown sugar, 1/2 c. whole wheat flour, 1/2 c. oa bran, 3/4 c. old fashioned rolled oats, 3/4 c. chopped walnuts (divided-1/2 c.  goes in the mix 1/4 cup for the top)

Instructions: In a 1 quart mason jar add the following ingredients in this order:

Layer 1:  Whisk together white flour, buttermilk powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon

Layer 2:  Brown sugar

Layer 3: Whole wheat flour

Layer 4:  Oat Bran

Layer 5: Rolled oats

Layer 6 1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Layer 7 1/4 cup walnuts wrapped in plastic

Gift Tag Instructions:

1.   Pour mix in large bowl; stir with fork, breaking up any clumps.
2  In a bowl mix 2 eggs, 1/3 c. water, 2 T. oil, ½ c. applesauce, 1 t.
vanilla, 1½ c. mashed ripe banana (3-4 bananas).
3.  Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
4.  Pour int a loaf pan coated with spray.  Sprinkle nuts on top.
5.  Bake at 350 50-60 minutes.  Cool for 20 minutes before removing the bread from the pan.

Pink Velvet Cupcakes In a Jar

You know it's going to be good when the batter takes like cookie dough...I found this recipe for pink velvet cupcakes and Baking Perfection and thought it would be the perfect gifts for the Mom's I knew.  I baked these and stacked these inside of jars.

Pink Velvet Cupcake

Cupcake Ingredients:  1 c. butter (softened), pink food coloring, 3 eggs, 2 t. vanilla, 2 1/2 c. flour, 1 1/2 t baking powder, 1/4 t. baking soda, 1/2 t. salt, 1 c. buttermilk
Instructions:  In the first bowl, cream butter until fluffy.  Add pink dye a little at a time and mix until you get your desired pink.  Add vanilla.
In a second bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Pour half into the butter mix, pour in half of the butter milk and mix.  Repeat with the second half of the dry mix and buttermilk.  Beat until well combined.
Add into lined cupcake pan (2/3 full).  I made about 20 out of this batter.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

 Icing Recipe:  Mix together 2 sticks of butter (softened), 6 c. of powdered sugar, pinch of salt, 3 T vanilla, and 2-4 T of milk.
Top put these in a jar, take two cupcakes and cut it in half.

 Press the bottom into the bottom of the jar...

 Place icing in a ziplock, snip off the edge of a ziplock bag and fill it with icing, pipe it over the cupcake.

 Add another layer of cupcake (sometimes I take another cupcake and use half of that to fill in the middle layer since the jar is a little wider here).
Pipe on a final layer, add sprinkles...

 Place a lid on top....

 I added tags (found a cute, free printable at sunshine's blog- here), and baking twine and forks....for eating on the go.  You never know when you need to take along your emergency cupcake rationing.

Dino Jars

 Here's my next thirty craft using the stuff I recently snagged at the Dollar General.  I've seen versions of these jars around...in particular one for Easter using small bunnies (still looking for those little bunnies).  You could certainly use old mayo jars etc at instead of these jars, but I found these in the Christmas section on sale for 25 cents, so I decided to splurge. I also found a pack of dinosaurs for a buck.  I use little dinosaurs for a lot of random crafts, and I have been buying some for 'half off' at the craft store-the original price is 10 dollars!  The only difference I see, having used both, is the packaging!  I've got a few more ideas for these dinos, but in the meantime...a jar.

I'll be making these in multiple colors.  These would be cute for party favors, storage in rooms, gifts, whatever.  I glued down the dino with E6000 (any strong glue would work).  When it tried, I used a primer (b/c it's plastic) then some green spray.

DIY Snow Globe

 

I know it's a little early be talking St Pat's Day...but...on that note, it's a little late to be talking Christmas-unless, of course, you are already planning for next year.  In that case, let's be friends.  I put together some snow globes to share on GMT today via the Exec Producer's request.  :O)  I went a little bit crazy trying to find new and fun ways...and the only thing that limited the projects I brought was a lack of time, space in my car, but I may have found a new passion.  First up, the traditional globe.  The other two I'm sharing are Valentine's Day oriented, so I wanted something fun and spring-ee.  I've seen these water globes using trees from the doll house section of the craft stores, toys from the dollar bins in stores, but I found this little clover cookie cutter and coins and decided this would be fun with some gold glitter.  

For supplies, grab some distilled water at the store, glycerin (found near the cake decorating supplies-used to 'freshen' old food gels, or buy the skin care in drug stores), you can also use baby oil.  I also got some E6000 glue-gorilla glue would work as well, or even hot glue.  I just really wanted to make sure it was stuck for life.  You want to make sure the objects you put in your globe don't have paint that will chip off because it will color the water-so plastics etc work best.  

I used the E6000 to glue down my cookie cuter and a few coins at the bottom of my tray.  I actually have the cookie cutter glued to a bottle cap to make it stick up over the lid, and I used the coins to over up the cap.  I let it dry for several hours before moving on to step two.  

 I added about a Tablespoon of glitter, a teaspoon of glycerin (don't add to much or it will make it murky, but you probably do want to add it b/c it helps the glitter float more slowly to the base) and then top with distilled water.  Close off your jar, shake and enjoy.  One tip, I would prefer recycled jars like mayo and pickles b/c the seal seems to be made for liquids.  If you have to use a jar that doesn't have a strong seal, run some hot glue around the edge to help the seal.

A few other projects I'll be sharing are these waterless globes.  I blogged about those earlier this week...

...and edible snowglobes.

I'll post a link to my facebook page later.

Brains in a Jar Cupcakes

 I saw the idea for making brains in a jar cupcakes last year at confessions and I knew I had to try it out this year...in a jar?  Everything, even brains, are cuter in a jar...as long as it's iced.
I dyed some vanilla cake mix a brain shade of pink....

 I squished those into the bottom and then added a layer of blood, otherwise known as seedless raspberry jam....

 You can put a little piece of cupcake in the center on top if you want less icing...but clearly, you need therapy or tastebud transplant if less icing sounds like a good thing.  I snipped off the corner of a ziplock and add some buttercream icing I dyed pink and drizzled so it looks like a squiggly brain.

I added a tag and a label on the lid.  Here is a free printable for that if you are interested in making your own edible brains in a jar.  

Salad in a Jar

I've been obsessed with anything in a jar for awhile now.  I've seen this idea popping up throughout the net....what a great idea for a picnic/camp out.  You don't have to pack all your ingredients in separate containers, but can jar it all up either in a large jar, or smaller jars.
The key is....put your dressing at the bottom of your jar, then put something like carrots, or celery (something 'sturdier' that won't wilt over night/in the cooler swimming in dressing.  I put a layer of dressing/carrots/celery, cherry tomatoes, then the lettuce.  You can leave a little room at the top if you want to shake it in the jar and eat it as is, or dump it on a plate and the pouring will do the work for ya.  You can toss these right into the cooler...that's my kind of no stress, no mess meal.

Cupcake Liners and Mason Jars

 I'll post all the details from Melissa's shower on Friday, but here is one little detail from the shower.  Laine said she saw this on Pinterest, and I was game....I happen to be in possession of probably a hundred mason jars in all shapes and sizes....so anytime I can bring them out and justify that expense....
As we were...what's it called?  Partying doesn't sound right at a baby shower?  Showering seems weird?  Conversating at baby shower includes something my spell check rejects....but whatever....
BUT a cupcake liner over a drink is probably a great addition to a July 4th BBQ as well....keeps those outside bugs out...and it's so simple!
We popped the lids off the jars, but kept the rim....

 We punched a hole in advance for the straws by folding one edge of the paper in a little, then screwed the lids on....

Lemonade ready to go...

Carrot: Mini Carrots in a Jar

Last year I made these carrot cookies as a part of a larger Easter Basket.  The recipe to make these cookies is here.
 
This year I'm making these and putting them in little jars I've been saving.  I mod podged the top of the jars to make them a little more seasonally appropriate.  Here is the tutorial for jazzing up jar lids. 
Spring is one of the seasons that brings old friends to town, I've got a collection of these I usually bring along for the kiddos.  I know their parents LOVE me giving their kids jars of sugar, I can see it in their eyes.  ;o)

Cookies: Gingersnap

 My friend Debbie is an amazing cook, and she shared this recipe at a cookie exchange a few years ago. I decided to make these and jar these up....I love everything ginger and they fit snuggly in mason jars, another love of mine. 

Gingersnap Recipe
Ingredients:  1 1/2 c. (softened) butter, 2 c. packed brown sugar, 1/2 c. molasses, 2 eggs, 4 1/2 c. flour, 3 t. baking soda, 2 t. cinnamon, 2 t. ginger, 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t. ground cloves, 1 c. of sugar set aside. 
Instructions: 
1.  Cream together 1 1/2 c. softened butter, 2 c. packed brown sugar, 1/2 c. dark molasses, 2 eggs
2.  Sift together 4 1/2 c. flour, 3 t. baking soda, 2 t. cinnamon, 2 t. ginger, 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t. ground cloves.
3.  Chill for 1 or or longer.
4.  Roll into small balls (about 3/4 inch).  Dip in sugar. 
5.  Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 on greased cookie sheet (don't underbake). 

Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

 Last year, I made jars of homemade hot chooclate for my friends. This made a good gifts for friends with 'families' since it's something they can all share.   It made a lot, it's chocolate, it's drinkable, and you can put it in a jar.  Hello, the jar should have been sufficient reasons to make this an effective gift choice for anyone's Christmas list.  Did I mention it's chocolate? 
Here's a simple recipe: 
4 c. nonfat dry milk powder, 1 1/2 c. sugar, 1 c. non-dairy coffee creamer, 2/3 c. cocoa powder, 4 oz box of instant chocolate pudding. 
Mix.  Package up. 

Add a tag with the instruction for the drink-er to add 1/4-1/2 c. to 8 oz of milk or water heated.