Monday, August 18, 2008

A Simple, Inexpensive Summer Gift

This was a fun Saturday morning project for me. It took only a short amount of time to put together, but I think it looks like a colorful summer gift that looks and tastes good. Seems like a perfect combination.
This tray of flower pots would be appropriate to give for many different occasions, whether it is a special birthday, a get well visit, a thinking of you gift, a welcome to the neighborhood, or however you are looking to share with someone in your life.
I took the little clay pots that I had previously purchased at the craft store for .50 each, washed them with hot water and detergent, and dried them thorougly. I sprayed them in the inside with "Pam", and then cut small squares of parchment paper and put it on the bottom of each pot to cover the holes. I then took the quick bread mix, using the highlighted recipe on the back of the box. It calls for 3/4 cup of mashed banana. Very ripe bananas works the best for mashing. I use this recipe often, because it is one my family enjoys. It is quick, easy and delicious. I filled each pot with a generous 1/2 full portion of batter, set the pots on a cookie sheet and put into the preheated 350 degree oven for 1/2 hour, or until firm to the touch. When finished baking, remove from oven and let cool.
The above recipe is the one that I used. The icing that I used was, 1/2 container of whipped creme frosting and 1 TB of chocolate syrup mixed together. Before putting the icing on each pot, I cut short pieces of a straw and put it down through the center of each pot, leaving some to stick out of the top. This is where I will put the flower stem, when I am finished with each pot. At this point, I smoothed the icing on each bread filled pot. I then sprinkled some finely ground Oreo cookie crumbs over the top of each pot. I collected some flowers from my garden, washed them, removed the leaves on the stems and stuck them in each straw.
I keep some of these trays that look similar to real silver trays, on hand in my pantry. They can be purchased at the "Dollar Tree" for a dollar. They seem like the perfect thing to use for certain kinds of baked goods. I used paper laced doilies and added a green fern from my garden to complete the garden theme. I will store this tray in my refrigerator, adding the flowers right before giving. This simple, quickly assembled gift costs less than $10.00, but the blessing it would bring to someone would be far more valuable. By the way, the loaves of bread do remove from the pots, easily. There will be extra batter left over. I put it in my muffin tin and baked it along with the tray of clay pots. That way we had some to eat also. Some for others and some to keep. Maybe you will want to try baking in clay pots and sharing with others. Judy

1 comment:

Dale V said...

You always amaze me how beautifully you can write and post ideas at 4:30 in the morning!! Obviously it's your time to SHINE! Thank you for your beautiful refreshing ideas and photos. I love visiting you here. Dale

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