Bunny Cakes

Mini Madeleines

I am in love with *Madeleines*!  I completely understand why this tender cake with slightly crunchy edges inspires poetry.  I am especially fond of the bite-sized Madeleines, which I made for the first time this weekend.  I also tried a new recipe, which seemed a lot more authentically French than any recipe I had tried before.  This recipe called for brown butter, which seemed to make all the difference because the little cakes tasted perfectly golden.  Hubby and kiddies also found them drool worthy.

I also worked on some more classroom Valentine cards for this year...here is a sneak peek:

-K

P.S.  For the Madeleine Recipe click here

This Buds for You!

This year for Father's Day I decided to get a little cheeky.  Poor Hubby had to work on his special day so while he was at work the boys and I made sure he would come home to his favorite comfort foods: Beer (he's Irish) & Brownies (he's human).   

I used my fabulous new Lotus Nesting Plates and cans of Bud Light (Hubby's fav) to create a two-tiered cake stand and loaded it up with brownies.  The mini-bundt cake brownies were crowned with chocolate frosting and sprinkles to make them extra special.  If this doesn't say "WE LOVE YOU, YOU'RE THE BEST", then I don't know what does.

In addition to the *Beer & Brownies* we made a bunch of "We Love You" signs and hid them all over the house.  The boys and I put a lot of thought into the places where we hid our *Notes of Affection*.  We wanted Hubby/Daddy to be reminded of our love when he least expected it.  Here's some of our hiding spots:

Happy Daddy's Day!

-K

P.S.  This would also make a great Valentine's Day surprise for your Main Squeeze.

Love Rocks - The Boys' Valentine's Day Cards

OK, anyone who has been reading Bunny Cakes lately most know that I love Valentine's Day.  It is such a sweet holiday and I always remember how much I enjoyed it as a grade schooler.  I assume the boys feel the same way about it, so I put in the extra effort to make their valentines special.  This year I planned ahead and ordered a custom rubber stamp from Impress so that I could decorate muslin treat bags with a tough V-day saying picked out by the boys--*Love Rocks*.  

Stamping the bags turned out to be quick & mindless work and I was able to catch-up on a missed Friday Night Lights episode via Hulu on my laptop (like having my own portable TiVo--love it).  I did buy a brand new ink pad for the project, which I would recommend so that your design shows up crisply.  Also, while you are stamping you should slip a piece of card stock in the bag so you don't bleed through and to get more even pressure on the stamp.

Last night the boys and I stuffed the bags with boxes of Sweetheart candies, their mom-made V-day cards and heart lollipops.  With the three of us working it only took about 20 minutes to stuff & tie 53 bags.  We all had fun.  

Love does rock and so does Valentine's Day and I am glad my boys can appreciate it.

-K

Sweetheart Cupcakes & Bloggers For Good Event

If you are local to the Washington, D.C. area then please join us for a few drinks (and some Shepard's Pie) at the next *Bloggers For Good* event on Feb 19th.  Proceeds will benefit Loudoun Interfaith Relief, the area's largest food pantry.  Please click on following link for more details, I hope you can join us!  And many thanks to Suburban Fizz for organizing this event.

If you are local to the DC area then you are also probably familiar with the local cupcake hot spot: Georgetown Cupcake.  I used their delicious Vanilla Frosting Recipe to enhance some box-cake-mix cupcakes and the results were very well received.  When making the frosting as directed you may need to add 1-3 teaspoons of milk to get the perfectly smooth texture you see at their store.  Add some candy hearts and coordinating sprinkles to give the cupcakes some Valentine cheer.

-K

Robot Love Valentine's Day Treat

A. has a thing for robots.  She has never articulated her covert interest, but a sister knows these things.  After receiving the lovely Lavender Heart Sachets from A, I wanted to give her a special V-day treat, so I tapped into her secret fondness for robots.  

The foundation for the gift was a cute/scary winged robot cup from Target.  After getting the cup home, I removed the plastic wrapped sweetheart candies that came with it.  I added a single Hershey kiss to the bottom of the cup, then topped it with the sweethearts and finally added a delicious cupcake to crown the perfect little V-day gift and pick-me-up. 

The coordinating robot card:

-K

Wait a Minute, Mr. Postman -- Updated V-day Ceiling Love

The *Valentine's Day Ceiling Love* got a little update this year with a postal cap and two envelopes addressed with the boys' names.

Fuchsia Rocks - Stamped Valentine's Day Cards

I was at Paper Source this past weekend and picked up some fabulous *fuchsia* envelopes.  Fuchsia is a new color offering from Paper Source and I already have big plans for it.  I have paired it with their Luxe Blush cards to make the V-day cheer we will send out to family and friends.  The cards were stamped with a lovely bird and banner motif from Impress' stamp collection.  The initial stamp was then filled and glittered to make it a perfect complement to the bright and bold envelope.

Don't forget to add some Valentine love to the back of the card and the envelope flap...

 

I am really excited about this new color offering because I am a big fan of fuchsia.  It is my favorite color of roses (or Peonies when in season) and it is the perfect color to add a punch of excitement and sophistication to any neutral setting.  Please see some lovely examples from Domino below:

 

-K

Valentine's Day Craft Project

These cards that K has recently created are just amazing!  I really love them all and I am hoping that M and I are lucky enough to get some post office v-day love. (Fingers crossed).

A couple of weeks ago I came across a very cute Valentine's day project that made me instantly think about K.  Anyone who knows her, knows that she is completely holiday crazy, (in a crafty non Christmas sweater kind of a way), but there are a couple holidays that she really goes all out for (Valentine's day is definitely one of them!).  I knew that this would be a perfect little gift for her!

www.craftstylish.com/item/31438/how-to-make-heart-sachet-sets

While I thought the pattern was really easy and great (and easy enough for a beginner), I made a few minor adjustments:

1. Instead of tracing the heart shape onto my fabric, I just used  a scrap of paper to create a heart template that I pinned directly to my fabric and just cut around.

2. I used the pinking shears on my sewn heart before I added the filling. (Leave the side of the heart with the opening un-pinked).

3. I liked a pretty full heart and I found that if I pushed all the stuffing and held it at bay with a long straight pin, sewing up the opening was a lot easier.

Overall, this was a wonderful little project--- a great way to use up your beloved fabric scraps.  A nice way to spend a few hours (and the couple people I have gifted these hearts to also seemed very pleased).  Oh yeah, definitely gets high marks on the "instant gratification" scale.

Here are a few resources where you can buy lavender buds:

1. www.thelavenderpath.com  (I got my lavender from here and I literally had my lavender within two days of my order. Their shipping was mind boggling fast…)

2. www.sevenoakslavenderfarm.com (I have not used their products, but I have heard great things)

3. Smith & Hawken (most expensive option, but still an option)

Happy crafting!

~A

Love is All You Need - Class Valentines

Recently at school the boys learned about the differences between WANTs and NEEDs.  They have since been going around categorizing things into the two buckets.  They especially like to pass judgment on my beverage consumption.  'Coffee is not a NEED, Mommy.  It is a WANT.'   Humph, I only have one cup a day...two on the weekends.  'Diet Coke is a WANT, not a NEED.'  I have been cutting back, I promise!  'Milk and water are the only drinks you NEED'.  Thanks for the lecture guys, you're only six and besides, I am the one who is suppose to lecture you!

Well, needless to say these *Classroom Valentine's Day Cards* were inspired by the boys--in more ways than one.  Please find the downloaded template here: Download Love_is_all_bunnycakes.  Or if you would like your own personalized set of cards, please see my new Etsy shop ($4.50 for PDF file that you can print as many times as you want).  The personalized cards will be available for a limited time.

The instructions for these printables are the same as the Zebra and Sweetheart cards: (1) Print template on card stock (110 lb. weight recommended)  (2) Cut out individual cards (3) Round corners using corner punch --optional.  The template makes 6 cards.  And again, the first 3 to comment I will personalize the cards with your child's name.

I have had so much fun making these printable Valentine's Day cards.  This is the last batch..I am cutting myself off (until next year).  Thanks so much for all your nice comments!

-K

Sweetheart Valentine's Day Classroom Cards

I had so much fun making the Zebra cards for the boys to hand out on Valentine's Day that I couldn't stop myself from making more homemade cards!  Here are some slightly more girlie cards...the *Sweetheart Classroom Cards*.  If you would like the template please click on following link: Download Candy_hearts_bunnycakes.  Or if you would like your own personalized set of cards, please see my new Etsy shop ($4.50 for PDF file that you can print as many times as you want).

The instructions for making these are the same as the Zebra cards.  (1) Print template out on card stock  (2) Cut out individual cards (3) Round corners using corner punch --optional.  The template makes 6 cards.  And again, the first 3 to comment I will personalize the cards with your child's name.

Also, if you want to add a treat to go along with your card, here are some ideas...

The first two pictures below show different ways to attach the cards to individual-sized boxes of candy Sweethearts.

And here is an example of how you can attach the card to cello bags filled with goodies...

To make the above, follow these instructions:

1.  Use a bone folder to make crease in small-sized treat bag.

2.  Using either a screw punch or small hole puncher, punch two holes in top of card and plastic bag (at the same time).  Fill treat bag with candy sweethearts (or other treat).

3.  Using ribbon or baker's twine pull ends through the two holes leaving the loop in the backside of the plastic.   Then tie a bow and trim the ends. 

4.  Deliver!

-K