gifting: pretty pom pom loaves of pumpkin bread

I think we all know by now that I love making pretty packages.  No holiday's too small for gifting!

So with Thanksgiving this week, here comes another perfect chance to give beautiful gifts to friends, the neighbors, and even as a special take home to accompany turkey leftovers.

I like to bake it directly in disposable mini loaf pans {available here} and then wrap it in wax paper secured with washi tape.

From there I like to doll up the packaging with yarn pom poms.

If you're not familiar with making poms, this is how I do it:

I wrap yarn around a large serving fork about 75 times.  {I usually get distracted by one of my littles, so some are 60...some are 90...the beauty of handmade is that imperfect is all good, right?}

Then I slide a long piece of yarn through the middle tines of the fork.

I then carefully slide the bundle off the fork and tie it tightly.

Gripping the bundle near the knot, I slide my scissors through the loops and cut them all.'

Then I give the pom a little haircut to even it out. :)

I love a good fluffy pom.  Three of them together is even better.

Then wrap your loaf in thick, fluffy yarn and tie a cluster of poms to it.  Slip in a tag with a sweet message! :)

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! gave me the opportunity to try their newly formulated spread, made from real, simple ingredients you can recognize, like a delicious blend of plant-based oils, purified water and a pinch of salt.  I thought I'd put it to the test baking up these loaves of pumpkin bread.  

If you'd like to try it too, here you go!

you'll need {makes 3 of the 6 inch mini loaves I linked to above}:

1.5 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup canned pumpkin {not pie filling!}
.5 cups butter or I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! spread
2 large eggs
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
.5 tsp ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients in bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping down the sides often, until well mixed {but not overmixed...it gets tough!} 

Pour batter into pans. 

Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

Cool completely before wrapping in paper. 

Happy baking!  Happy pom pom making!  Happy gifting!

ps.  If you try this or another recipe using the new I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!, leave a review here!

xoxo

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

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pretty packages: pom poms and washi tape

We had a book swap in kindergarten the other day...of course I couldn't let a chance to do some pretty wrapping go by.

And even though I know 5 year olds care way more about what's inside a package than what the outside looks like...and I should probably be folding laundry...or doing some meal planning...pretty packages make me happy!

xoxo

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gifting: halloween cupcakes in a jar

I know everyone's thinking turkey and red Starbucks cups already...but I never shared our teacher Halloween gifts last week, so I figured I better...

So much like I've gifted before, I made cupcakes in a jar.

And of course dolled them up a bit.

The cake is red velvet, colored black and topped with vanilla buttercream...so spooky and Halloweeny, right? :)

sources:
tags: Martha Stewart
fringe and cupcake toppers: Shop Sweet Lulu
wooden spoons: Amazon

Hope you had a happy Halloween!
xoxo

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gifting: fall carrot cake cupcakes in a jar

I'm not yet in the season of my life where I can volunteer at school for my littles...juggling the two youngest or finding a babysitter just isn't practical right now...but when the room moms ask for help putting together a teacher lunch, I'm all over it.

So of course I signed up to bring dessert.

I used Martha's carrot cake recipe and her cream cheese frosting recipe {two of my faves...recipes here and here or in her baking handbook!} and then just fall-ified the jars {because clearly cupcakes in jars are also my fave...here and here!} with leaves, glittery ribbon, and tags.

Festive and fun!  {and it tastes good, too! :)}

xoxo

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gifting: grown up trick or treat

Remember last year when I put together these gift boxes for the boys' teachers for Halloween?

Well, it's getting to be that time again.  And lucky me, I'm partnering with Lindt HELLO chocolate this year and I'm making grown up trick or treat boxes again.

This year, Lindt has a “It Started with HELLO” web series every week where favorite YouTube stars and celebrities spark new connections with each other.  Check those out here!

And while you're at it, be sure to enter the Lindt HELLO Sweet Connections Sweepstakes for a chance to win sweet experiences from Lindt Chocolate!

sources:
treats, all from Target
treat bags, c/o Martha Stewart Crafts

xoxo

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gifting: halloween party in a box

This post is sponsored by Dollar Tree.  All opinions are my own.  As always, thanks for reading! xoxo

I don't know about you, but Dollar Tree is {another!} one of those stores that I plan on going in for a few items and end up with a whole cart full of fun little things.

I heard that they were having an anniversary celebration and of course wanted to check it out...trick or treaters and school parties are coming...I have a major sweet tooth anyway...their bonus buys are even larger size packages...everything's only a dollar...sounds good to me.

So the plan was to go there and load up on the special anniversary bonus size bags of candy...

But {as these things always seem to happen to me! ha!} I wandered through the Halloween section and started thinking about what kinds of gifts I could put together with holiday goodies.

And as one thing led to another, I was loading up my cart.

Orange and black paper straws!
Crepe paper rolls!
Balloons!
Spider rings!
Creepy party favors!
It's only a dollar!

My self control is not so good.  Haha.

But seriously.  The stuff is cute.

And...everything's $1.  I can't say no.

So I got home and started putting together little mini parties in boxes.  {I sewed the crepe paper down the middle and cut it with fringe scissors like I did here...the cupcake toppers were from my stash.}

These are going to be so fun to gift!!

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the first day of fall + caramel apples in a box

Happy first day of fall, friends!

You may remember I gifted caramels and apples to our teachers last year...and I was at it again today.

I did mix it up a tiny bit and included honey crisp apples this year...mainly because the granny smiths I originally picked didn't fit as nicely in the boxes. ;)

The caramels are the same...I used my favorite microwave recipe.

I kept the packaging simple...kraft box, paper shreds, and tied with a gingham ribbon and hand stamped tag.

And that's it...a simple little gift to welcome in our new season!
xoxo

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gifting: boxes of cupcakes

I love cupcakes.
I love pretty packages.
What more is there?? ;)

I've mentioned before how much we love our teachers and how I like to show our appreciation with little acts of kindness throughout the year.

{L to R: carrot & orange frosting // vanilla & vanilla frosting // chocolate & peanut butter frosting // red velvet & vanilla frosting}

Today we dropped off boxes full of cupcakes.

It had been a while since I'd used my pink bakery boxes, so I pulled a few out along with baker's twine, doilies, office tags, and my big stamper.

Then I just filled each box with a variety of cupcakes, topped it with a doily, and tied a tag on with baker's twine.  Done and done.

Happy Monday, friends!  Have a good week! :)
xoxo

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diy: cereal box mini pinata

My sister turned 30 last week, and if you follow me on instagram you know that I got creative with her gift packaging and put together a mini pinata full of fun little gifts.

Here's a {very!} quick run-through of how I made it.

I raided the recycling bin for a Cheerios box...then I sketched out a 3 and 0 on the front and back of the box and cut them out.

I also cut long strips 1.5" wide for the sides and then, taping them on as I went around, attached the front and back of the 3 and 0 until I formed 3D numbers.

Next I cut 2-3 inch strips of tissue paper, folding each in half, and then snipping with fringe scissors all the way down.  The wider the strips, the longer the fringe will be...all the little extra fringe pieces make the perfect confetti!

And then...the time consuming part {seriously...this took me forever}...start gluing the fringe strips.  I started by covering the edges and then worked my way in to the front and back.

After I finally finished gluing fringe, I used an Xacto knife to cut a door in each number so I could stuff them full of treats.

Finally, I hot glued a piece of twine to the top of each number just in case she wanted to hang them {but she better not break them after all that work! ;)}...and glued on a little message while I was at it, too.

Happy birthday, Lauren!
xoxo

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