Mother's Day Gift Bag

I just love personalizing gift bags. So for Mother's Day this year, I transformed a humble brown paper bag into this cute gift bag, just like I saw here.

I know it looks like I wrote on it with a Sharpie, but I actually ran it through the printer. I wasn't successful at first (the paper bag got stuck inside the printer a few times), but after making sure that the printer setting is on envelope and I adjusted the size to 6.127 inches x 12.377 inches - just like Mickey of Thirty Handmade Days recommended - it came out great!

Next, I used my Fiskars border punch to punch the upper edge, to give it that pretty scallop design. Then I folded it and punched two holes with my Crop-A-Dile for the ribbons.

I was planning on making a banana cake with cream cheese frosting for my mom, but she's not really a big fan of frosting. So I ended up making these Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Muffins instead (click here for the recipe).

After the muffins were cooled, I placed them in a Ziploc bag first before putting them inside the gift bag, to avoid getting grease spots on it.

Pretty cute, right? :)

And being a mom myself, I got pampered by my kids as well. My day started out with this breakfast that my two girls made.

Bacon, eggs, and pancake with maple syrup - my kids know me so well. :)

And this one's from my little boy. He painted the flowerpot in school and it says I love you mama. So sweet!

Did you do anything special for Mother's Day? Share with me!

I linked this post to these wonderful parties:

Bewitch Me & Titi Link Party : Titi Crafty  |  Freedom fridays with All My Bloggy Friends : Love Bakes Good Cakes  |  Friday Flash Blog : The Jenny Evolution  |  Friday Link Party : The Pin Junkie  |  Inspire Me Monday : Create with Joy  |  Say G'Day Saturday Linky Party : Natasha in Oz  |  Share Your Stuff Tuesdays : Table for Seven  |  The Wednesday Roundup : Crafty Wife  |  Whimsy Wednesdays : The NY Melrose Family

Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Muffins

This Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Muffins are OH SO GOOD! This is a recipe by Tyler Florence of the Food Network (click here to check it out). I tried making it a few weeks ago, and ever since then my kids have been bugging me to make them again - well, except for the youngest one, he doesn't like bananas (I know, weird right?) I followed the recipe exactly except I added milk chocolate morsels. And I also sprinkled some of the chocolate chips and nuts on top right before putting them in the oven.

So, here's the recipe. Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE CHIP

BANANA NUT MUFFINS

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 overripe bananas

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1/2 cup milk chocolate morsels

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly butter 2 muffin tins or place baking cups in muffin tins.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
3. Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar together like you mean it, for a good 3 minutes.
4. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice.
5. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Set aside some of the milk chocolate morsels and pecan nuts (for sprinkling on the top later). Fold in the rest of the nuts, chocolate morsels and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula.
6. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins to fill them about halfway. Give them a rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out. Sprinkle the chocolate morsels and nuts you have set aside on top of the muffins.
7. Bake until a toothpick stuck in the muffins comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before turning the muffins out. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Here are some more recipes you might like:

Blueberry Muffins

Strawberry Squares

Mini Cherry Cheesecakes

This post was featured at:




I linked this post to these wonderful parties:

Angels Homestead : Saturday Spotlight  |  Anyonita Nibbles : Tasty Tuesdays  |  A Peek Into My Paradise : TGIF Link Party  |  Charlie Beth's Life as Mumma Walker : Pin It Party  |  Create With Joy : Inspire Me Monday  |  I Should Be Mopping The Floor: Inspiration Monday  |  Love Bakes Good Cakes : Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends  |  Lydia's Flexitarian Kitchen : Get Inspired Pinning Party  |  My Personal Accent : The Blog Strut Owl Style  |  Pink Recipe Box : Creative Wednesdays  |  Pink When : diy Sunday Showcase  |  Rain on a Tin Roof : Give Me The Goods Link Party  |  The Jenny Evolution :  Friday Flash Blog  |  Table for Seven : Share Your Stuff Tuesdays  |  The Pin Junkie : Friday Link Party  |  The Thriftiness Miss : Weekend Wonders  |  This Gal Cooks : Marvelous Mondays  |  Titi Crafty by Camila: Bewitch Me & Titi Link Party

Blueberry Muffins

If you have school-age kids then you know exactly how I feel in the morning. Our daily routine in the mornings --- breakfast making, lunch boxes, making sure kids are awake, taking turns in the bathroom (we live in a one bathroom house), walking with my first grader to school --- can be a little hectic. So would you blame me if I really love weekends? Or in this case, fall break?

And what better way to enjoy these not-so-crazy mornings than with a cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin. I adapted this recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book and they turned out great! Moist and not too sweet. Hmmm... Maybe I should have made more. But before I do that let me share the recipe with you. So here it is.

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup cooking oil
3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

sparkling white sugar (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease twelve 2-1/2 inch muffin cups or line with paper bake cups. Set Aside. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture. Set aside.
2. In another bowl combine egg, milk, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should not be lumpy). Fold in blueberries.
3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full. If desired, sprinkle sparkling white sugar over muffin batter in cups. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes.Remove from muffin cups; serve warm.

This post was featured at:

I linked this post to these wonderful parties:

Angels Homestead : Saturday Spotlight  |  A Peek Into My Paradise : T.G.I.F. Link Party  |  Cooking With Curls : Best of the Weekend  |  Domesblissity : Thriving on Thursdays  |  Frugal Foodie Mama : Marvelous Mondays  |  Living Better Together : TGIF Link Party  |  Love and Laundry : Weekend Wonders  |  Love Bakes Good Cakes : All My Bloggy Friends  |  Lydia's Flexitarian Kitchen : Get Inspired Pin Party  |  Mellywood's Mansion : Freaking Awesome Fridays  |  Memories By The Mile : Tuesday Trivia and Link Party  |  Table For Seven : Share Your Stuff Tuesdays  |  The Jenny Evolution : Friday Flash Blog  |  The NY Melrose Family : Whimsy Wednesdays  |  The Pin Junkie : Friday Link Party  |  Titi Crafty : Bewitch Me & Titi Link Party