Hard to believe, but it's been since JUNE that my mom and I teamed up to do a Bake it, Make it & Take it post. I've been saying that I was going to use my zucchinis for a while now to make zucchini bread but there has been so much going on that it didn't get done until yesterday. The great thing about zucchini is that it lasts what seems like forever!
If you're new to my blog and have never seen one of our BIMITI posts, let me introduce you to my mom. Her name is Donna. She's the best mom ever. She and Dad live on their 40 foot sailboat year round in Rhode Island. My mom is amazing cook, chef and baker and you can check out her awesome blog over at ---> Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases
We like to team up and do baking and packaging posts. For the BIMITI posts, Mom sends me one of her recipes and I make whatever delectable goody she's sent my way. Then, I create a cute and innovative way to package the goody (but not before I've made a full batch and done complete taste and quality control on it in the form of eating my fill) and then share it here on my blog.
For this post, I used my mom's amazing Most Moist and Delicious Zucchini Bread Recipe.
If you garden and you're like me, you have a ton of zucchini just waiting to be used. One of the best things about the summer for me is zucchini bread! I can't get enough of it.....and I love mine with chocolate chips in it. Heck, I love just about anything with chocolate chips in it.
The recipe that my mom gives makes 6 large loaves, so I cut the recipe in half and made 6 mini loaves.
You all know how much I love to bake and show up on the doorsteps of my neighbors. Well, with moving, we have all new neighbors. The house on the other side of us just sold so we'll have new neighbors moving in some time next month and I'll have more people to bring stuff to. My daughter has been baking up a storm, too. It's in her blood. She can't help loving to be in the kitchen. And poker night is every Wednesday night at our house so we bake up a storm for that, too.
When we lived at our old place, we had a big veggie garden. Our landlords were really kind about letting us come back and harvest the garden until the season is over. They knew that we put a lot of time, money and energy into it and moving in the middle of the summer is not the best time to leave a garden. We're so thankful that we can still reap the bounty of what we planted there until the garden goes to sleep for the winter season. We only live a mile and a half from where we used to leave and Davy rides his bike to work right past the house every day so he can check in on it and pick from it on his way home. One of the couples that lived at the apartments is helping to take care of the garden and keeping an eye on it. I got a call yesterday telling me that they had harvested all the onions and had cucumbers and zucchinis waiting for us. I stopped in today to pick beans and pick up some of the harvest they'd picked and found that Toby had spent a good portion of yesterday evening weeding! It's been so wet here and we've been so busy that the job of weeding has gone by the wayside for us. What a sweetheart she is!
I wrapped up one of the loaves of zucchini bread that I made so that I could have Davy drop it off tomorrow on his way to work.
I wanted to do something different for the packaging this time. I wanted to make it "interactive." Whenever I get something that is packaged so creatively, I always feel bad about taking the packaging apart. I often wonder if the people that I give these packaged creations to feel the same way that I do. I decided that I would create packaging for this bread that could be used even after the packaging was taken apart and the bread was long gone.
I used a ribbon to tie around the bread but the stamped focal point can be used later on as a book mark or tucked into a little flower pot......and I'm sure that other creative ways to use it could be found, as well.
I used the new Pretty Tear Drops set from Kitchen Sink Stamps. I love the brilliance of this set! It can be used to create all sorts of things. Candle flames, flowers, butterflies, dragonflies......the possibilities are endless!
I stamped the flower petal six times on a piece of Soft Sky cardstock with Versamark ink and then embossed them with Irridescent Ice embossing powder. I like the tone on tone effect with just a bit of sparkle. I cut each of the petals out and mounted them on a piece of Wild Wasabi cardstock to form a flower shape. I then trimmed the Wasabi cardstock so there was a border around the flower petals. I added a yellow button in the center of the flower.
To make the flower into a bookmark, I wrapped a popsicle stick with Always Artichoke grosgrain ribbon. I taped the stick to the back of the flower and then slipped the flower under the ribbon. It's easily removed from under the ribbon wrapped around the bread.
I wanted to add a little "thank you" in there somewhere but didn't want to visually overwhelm the packaging so I stamped the word, "Thankful," (from the new Vintage Words set - also from Kitchen Sink Stamps) on Soft Sky cardstock with Bordering Blue ink and cut it out in a thin strip and notched one of the ends to make it look like a paper ribbon. I attached it to the ribbon-covered popsicle stick with a mini-glue dot.
I can totally see myself making more of these flowers to use as little gifts, not just attached to a loaf of zucchini bread.......but with all the zucchinis I have right now, I might as well give them a loaf, too!
Here's another quick link to the Awesome Zucchini Bread Recipe
Happy Creating!
-Stampin' Mama
Oh wow! First of all I love Zucchini but never had Zucchini bread. Adding chocolate chips sounds YUMO. I love that you and your Mom get together every so often to make a Bake it, make it and take it. I think that your making the flower into a bookmark using a popcicle stick with ribbon on it is a brilliant idea. The stamp set that you used to make yuor beautiful flower is awesome. Please keep the BIMI&TI coming.
Mary
Posted by: Mary C. Anderson | August 20, 2008 at 11:04 PM
Oh my goodness that is adorable! You are so creative. I have had a hankering to make zucchini bread. Now I think I have to because I want to decorate it too!
Posted by: Tracy | August 21, 2008 at 08:11 AM
I have been baking Zucchini Bread too..
your mom's recipe sounds Good! I also
make a Pineapple/Zucchini Bread that is
very good. I love your packaging..The Flower
is so pretty (Great stem)..pretty ribbons!!
Thanks for sharing!! :)
Posted by: Dee | August 21, 2008 at 12:18 PM
Erika, can't wait to try the recipe -- it looks fantastic! Mary
Posted by: Mary G | August 21, 2008 at 01:32 PM
What a beautiful way to present someone with such a delish gift! Love it.
Posted by: Gail S. | August 21, 2008 at 06:37 PM
I'm so glad that you and your mom brought this back! You know it was my favorite feature! I don't know how you find the time to do stuff like this, but I'm sure glad that you do!!!
You were the Runner UP Project of the Week at CardoftheWeek.com. You can see the original post here: http://www.cardoftheweek.com/2008/08/card-of-the-w-3.html.
I did use a picture from your post, with links back to the site and the original post. I hope that is OK. Please feel free to email me if you need me to change anything.
I also have an “I was featured” on badge for you if you want it :D
Thanks again for sharing!
Posted by: Susanna Boyd | August 22, 2008 at 11:33 AM
I love this flower you made... and great idea to make it reusable/saveable.
Posted by: Swedie | August 28, 2008 at 09:47 PM
I love this flower you made... and great idea to make it reusable/saveable.
Posted by: Swedie | August 28, 2008 at 09:48 PM
Too Yummy! Zucchini Bread is my favorite! Fabulous flower! Your creativity Erika amazes me!!!! :D
Posted by: Maria | September 04, 2008 at 01:42 AM
Very nice packaging! Bread looks good too!
Joan
Posted by: Joan Fricker | September 08, 2008 at 07:32 PM
Hi Erika! You have no idea how happy I was to remember that you post cooking things too! Why? I am a cooking-challenged INKredible gal (yeah - I think I am four down in Tina's line) who like an idiot decided to MAKE gifts for coworkers (that I like mind you) - and let me just say...last month I burned a pot up because the lil noodles in Lipton soup will catch fire without water (did you know that?!?!? LOL!) so yeah - I am so going to try this out...but if you get an email from a crazy person...its most likely me! LOL So anyway - thanks for posting this recipe link - I love zucchini bread and really want to do this (once in a blue moon I make something that comes out nice - and no, I am NOT the designated cook in my home!! LOL)
reen
Posted by: Maureen Stivala | December 19, 2008 at 07:41 AM