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Friday, October 1, 2010

A Gift and A Cherry on Top

Ah the beginning of college and being away from home.  
 A sweet girl *I ADORE* has just left for college and I thought I would send her a little treat.

This is the card I made for her...there was always a hug and smooch for her when I saw her.

The photo below is a travel mug that I made for her that I saw in
this post from Lisa Johnson.  I bought the travel mug from the same company Lisa mentioned in her blog post that day.  I LOVE Life... the images are so perfect for a project like this because there is that really long image that will take up some height.  



The next photo is of the packaging for the Banana Bread I am making for her Monday morning.  How much do I love Everyday Treats??  




I bought her some napkins with her initial on them for her room but of course I could not send them in the original packaging so I put them in a wax paper bag and made a cute little tag and decorated a clothes pin to keep them closed.


Banana Bread


  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan

  • 1 cup granulated sugar

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 teaspoon table salt

  • 3 mashed very ripe bananas

  • 1/2 cup sour cream or Whole Yogurt ( Brown Cow is the BEST!!!! )

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

  • 1/2 cup chopped chocolate chips


  • Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat to incorporate. 

    In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking soda and salt  and mix in with butter mixture until just combined.  Add bananas, sour cream and vanilla and then stir in the chocolate chips.

    Bake on 350 for 65-70 minutes.  If you have a dark pan then reduce your temp to 325.  

    Oh and do not forget to use your butter wrapper to wipe over your pan before you flour :)

    I love to do these as muffins also :)

    For this I did the small paper like pans from Sur La Table for .50.  I can get about 4 from one recipe.

    So that is it for the project and now for the present I received




     My friends Laurie and Nerina gave me the Cherry on Top award ~~  so excited ~~  love you girls!!!  
    You both inspire me every time I go to your blog's and for sure make me a better crafter ...... 

    And now I am suppose to share a photo and tell you something about myself 
    How about a fun fact~~

    I took Belly Dancing for months, hip scarf and all.  I was very serious about the class because it is so good for your abs but sometimes when I realized what I was doing well I would start laughing......
     I mean come on I am wearing a black unitard and a Hawaiian Shores hip scarf with hundreds of "coins" hanging off the double layered edges.
    Can you believe I got kicked out of class one night
    I still do it sometimes at home and wear my hip scarf and act like Barbara Eden in "I Dream of Jeannie"

    And here is a photo ........ of the kiddies who are a few sandwiches short of a picnic.


    And now I am suppose to pass this along to some of the people who I think are the 
    "Cherry on Top" 

    because they are totally amazing putting patterns and papers together.  These 2 ladies really amaze me every time I see they have a new post.  LOVE YA

    well because I look at her work and think OMGracious and of course she is always tempting me with goodies from MFT.

    She always has something fun on her blog and she is a total sweetheart~~~

    She always has the most amazing creations on her blog 

    Boy I have made so many friends in this short amount of time...

    Thanks for the award Laurie and Nerina. 
     I did not get dressed for the red carpet to make this post because I have a house full of sick kids :)


    21 comments:

    Melissa said...

    What a beautiful gift set! The bread sounds yummy and I love your gorgeous card with those little flowers!

    Your kiddos are adorable, such a fun pic!

    Thanks for the award, you are so sweet!

    Jen Carter said...

    Wow!! What a cute gift set!! She is going to absolutely LOVE it!! I love every little detail about it! Your kiddos are so CUTE!! :) So adorable!!

    Kara said...

    that banana bread sounds delicious!! believe it or not, i took belly dancing lessons too! it was fun!

    Kay D said...

    Beautiful gift set, and I absolutely LOVE those flowers on the card!

    Unknown said...

    Stunning! everything is so beautiful and coordinated! I especially love the travel mug..pretty!

    Amy Kolling said...

    Sue Ann, This gift set is absolutely TOP NOTCH!! All that felt yumminess and Mish inspired cello bag. I need to buy some of those and decorate clothespins.....Very very cool!

    Cute kiddies too! :)

    Kelly S. said...

    Your kids are sooooo cute, Sue Ann! You are always so sweet with your blog comments, totally make my day! The Cherry on Top Blog Award is perfect for you! LOVE the thoughtful package you made for your friend (especially that bread tag!)...well this was an all around SWEET trip to your blog, wasn't it?!

    BethieJ said...

    Sue Ann this everything is FABULOUS! she is gonna LOVE it! what a sweet thoughtful gift!
    I LOVED your little share about belly dancing.. and getting kicked out! :)
    Hope your weekend is WONDERFUL!

    Laurie said...

    This is an AWESOME gift set! I want that cup!!! I love the stems out of ric rac...too cute!! And the Banana bread is just perfect! Thanks for your sweet words too! :)

    Laurie said...

    OH I forgot....Stinkin' caaa-UTE kiddos!!

    Aimes said...

    What a fabby gift set, that's one lucky girl! You just can't beat banana bread too - scrummy!
    Thanks for your sweet comments on our PTI blog - I totally treated myself to Fluff this weekend ;D
    Hugs,
    Aimes
    x

    Unknown said...

    Sue Ann, you are FAST ;) I love you. And I'm doing great - we ARE getting a 'people-mover', once the dust settles. These are AMAZING gifts- wow! You have been SO busy! Love the photo of the kids, and visions of you bellydancing are just Gorgeous to me :) xoxo!

    BethieJ said...

    Sue Ann THANKS for your sweet comments! The party was FUN! I just used a small pumpkin cookie cutter I have and cut them out of tortillas and baked them! :) Easy Peasy!
    Have a GREAT day!!

    Kara said...

    Sue Ann, you are too sweet! You always take the time to leave everyone such kind, personal notes. They always make me, smile, laugh, and feel good! I would love to try your cookie receipe!! I'm looking forward to it:)

    Erica said...

    What a fabulous gift, Sue Ann! I am sure she will love it! I want to make one of those travel mugs, too! The kiddos are very cute!

    Hanneke van der Linde said...

    Such a fab gift set, love it!

    Dana said...

    Be still my heart! Girl, you CANNOT do this to me! You absolutely cannot post so many incredible things IN ONE POST!!! I feel faint...
    Your card is so fun! I love the ric rac felt as flower stems. And the packaging for the bread and the napkins is simply adorable...or actually, Simply Sue Ann! lol (I crack myself up *grin*)
    I can totally see you belly dancing around your kitchen... scarf and all. Know why? Because I took Tap Dancing Lessons a few years ago and now I tap dance around my kitchen when no one is looking! *chuckle* We are two peas, my dear, 2 peas.
    And that is an award well deserved for you.

    Rhonda said...

    Sue Ann, You absolutely made my week. You are a sweetie! Thanks for the kind words.

    Curt in Indy said...

    Another wonderful post full of wonderful things. What fabulous, thoughtful gifts! The colors are warm and caring and certainly convey they love they are sent with. Great recipe too! And the belly dancing thing was very funny. I have a feeling that it would have been funnier if you had shared why you were kicked out of class! LOL The pic of the kids is adorable. Hope you are well! Best, Curt

    Lindsay said...

    AWESOME projects Sue Ann! I am totally in love with that mug! Thank you so much for thinking of me, what a sweetie you are!

    Terri said...

    Great gift set and card! That is too funny about the belly dancing. The photo of your kids is cute too.