Archive for the ‘celebrate it’ Category

A few weeks ago I did a guest post over at Skip to My Lou.  Since it’s officially Teacher Appreciation week, I thought it would be fun to publish it here on Make it Do just for you.

Teacher Appreciation is the perfect chance to say “Thank You!” to our favorite teachers, librarians, and school staff.

I owe my kid’s teachers so much.  They spend hours each day with them, care about them, and give them essential tools to help them succeed in life.

Every year when Teacher Appreciation rolls around I look for a gift that shows how much that means to me.  I know it’s not the expense of the gift that matters, but the thoughtfulness.

A small cake, cupcake or mini bundt cake is a perfect gift.  Cake is the way to my heart after all.  For Teacher Appreciation I love mini bundt cakes because the recipe is easy enough for the kids to help… always a bonus.  It’s a treat that seems special and fun.  Here’s how to make them:

You can click over to my Tasty Kitchen Recipe Box for the printable recipe.

Chocolate Bundt Cake

1 box Devil’s Food Cake (I prefer Betty Crocker)
1 1/3 cup oil
4 eggs
1 small box chocolate pudding
½ cup warm water
1 cup sour cream
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix ingredients together, adding the chocolate chips last.  Pour into greased mini bundt pan.  Bake at 350 for 18 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Recipe will make 12 mini bundt cakes.  Cool completely before frosting.  Place frosting in a pastry bag using a medium smooth tip (mine was a Wilton tip #12) and pipe back and forth in loops like shown:

Easy Butter Frosting

1/3 cup softened butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1 – 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2-3 Tbsp. milk depending on desired consistency (a little stiffer is better for the bundts)

Mix together til smooth.   Add coloring if desired.

I love to give the mini bundts in a small gift box, just to make it feel a little fancy.  And speaking of fancy how about flowers on top?  Is that too much?  Not for me.

And since no gift would be complete with out a tag.  I’ve created a sweet little printable just for you.

Click here for the downloadable PDF.

Have you seen this sweet little idea over at One Charming Party?  We’re making these for our Easter celebration on Sunday.  I’m going to try the Sprinkles Strawberry Cupcake Recipe found on Martha Stewart for them.  I think the recipe will be perfect.  My kids are super excited that I’m buying cotton candy for the fluffy little tails.

Speaking of Easter, this morning I’m off to help the Easter Bunny to find a few sweet things for our Easter Baskets…  nothing like leaving things to the last minute.  My goal is to find alternates to a basket of candy or cheap toys that fall apart… without spending a lot of money.  Here are some ideas from our favorite baskets in the past:

• A Gardening Theme Easter Basket:  Including small garden gloves, a trowel and seed packets for the kids gardens… the Easter Bunny was partial to carrot seeds of course.

• An Art Theme Basket: Including a sketch pad, colored pencils, and a pencil sharpener.

• An few Good Old Fashioned Toys in the Basket:  Including a Jump Rope or a Hoppy Taw, or a small bag of Jacks or Marbles or a card game.

I just hope to find something fun.

Since it’s Earth Day,  I’m wondering/hoping I have the time/energy to have a picnic with my husband.  I love any excuse for a picnic and while it’s a little chilly, there are blue skies out my window this morning… and no rain today!  Yeah!  Regardless of whether I have time, Earth Day is always a good reminder to think about being more green.  Several years ago, I wrote a little Earth Day post about how green our grandmothers were.  They were green out of necessity and out of wisdom.

That same wisdom that my Grandmother and Great Grandmother’s lived by, is just as applicable to me and my family right now in 2011.  We don’t have endless resources.  We want to be healthy… both in how we eat and in the products we use.  We also want to take care of the beautiful place where we live.  For my family being Green means growing a garden.  And for what we don’t grow, finding and buying food grown locally.  This is a win/win for me and my community.  It means the food we are eating is fresher and in season.  It means contributing to our local economy.  Since it didn’t ship from long distances it is often less expensive.  Being more green also means turning down the thermostat and flipping off the lights.  Doing what I can with the resources I have, I am trying to make common sense choices to be more green.

So Happy Earth Day all… and happy Easter weekend!