Neighbor Gifts

Abigail Lee

0 · Jun 5, 2012 · 56 Comments

We are knee deep in wedding season right now and I have a PERFECT gift idea for you today! It comes strait to you from the lovely folks at Abigail Lee…

Abigail Lee has a whole shop full of fun and stylish personalized items that are perfect for new brides, Moms, Dads, Grads… anyone who would love to have an added bit of style in their step. I had the opportunity to take their large monogrammed cutting board for a test drive and I love it!

How cute is that? I love having it right on my kitchen island, it's perfect to add a bit of style to the kitchen but so functional as well. It's glass and so easy to work with and super easy to clean. I just toss it right in the dishwasher and it washes up like a dream. I especially love using it to entertain. I love that because it isn't plastic, I know that it is getting fully sanitized in the dishwasher. I'm kind of weird like that.

Abigail Lee has a whole bunch of fun products that make perfect gifts or fun treats for yourself…

Personalized plates, trays and cutting boards for the kitchen. Cases for iPads, iPhones, Nooks, Kindles, laptops and all kinds of electronics. Mouse pads, luggage tags, travel bags… all kinds of fun stuff. You have to check out all of the goodies for yourself.

I'm so excited because Abigail Lee is offering a $50 gift certificate for one lucky WhipperBerry reader! All you need to do is follow the steps in the Rafflecopter widget. {If you are on a iPad or iPhone you will need to use a regular computer to enter. Rafflecopter is not compatible with Apple at this point, sorry!}

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Abigail Lee is also offering a 15% discount to everyone!! All you have to do is enter WHIPPER15 at checkout to receive the fabulous deal. This offer is good through June 30th!!

Happy Shopping!!

Gift Card Candy Lei | Gift Gloss

8 · May 3, 2012 · 20 Comments

Spring has sprung, the flowers have started to bloom, the sun is warming up and we are entering the spring gift giving season. Mother's Day, Graduation, Teacher Appreciation, Weddings all start to fill our calendars. With our calendars filling up, we now have a need for easy and fabulous gifts! I don't know about you, but over the years I have found that I LOVE getting a gift card. That way I can get exactly what I want, plus it's an excuse to go shopping!! The problem… they are kind of boring when you gift them. With the help of my favorite GiftGloss you can give a boring gift card with a little pizzazz!!

If you aren't familiar with GiftGloss it is a fabulous way to create stunning gifts for your friends and family. GiftGloss^® is a unique gift wrap material, developed by the FoofQueens^®, that allows you to create snazzy gifts in minutes. Whether you’re wrapping a birthday treat, wedding gift or plate of yummy cookies, GiftGloss instantly turns your gift into a show-stopping celebration! It's a fabulous slide n' tie sleeve that all you have to do is slide your item into and then tie it off on both ends and voila, you have a fun gift.

For the candy leis I picked some fun candy and tied off the end of the gloss with what ever material you would like. I used baker's twine, but you could use anything. Then dropped in a few candies at a time tying it off every few inches to create the lei effect.

Then drop your gift card into your desired spot and tie it off just like the candy…

Once you have the desired length, tie the two ends together and you have a fun gift card candy lei…

Now what mom or teacher wouldn't love this fabulous sweet treat? I embellished mine with a fun cupcake liner flower that I made with my i-top button maker. Here is how I made it…

I used two small cupcake liners, two large cupcake liners and one i-top brad. I trimmed the edge of one of the small cupcake liners to fit the brad and secured it in place by folding it down.

Load into the i-top. Take the second small cupcake liner and place on top of the loaded brad top and then place the bottom of the brad inside the i-top and click it into place.

Take your two large cupcake liners and arrange them how you like by manipulating the center of the liner to create the desired effect. Take the brad that you just created and push through the center to create the flower.

You can then take your flower brad and poke it through the gift gloss and secure it to embellish your gift card candy lei.

How fun is that? Now you can be excited to give a gift card, rather than sheepishly handing them a boring flat envelope thanks to the FoofQueens and GiftGloss!!

The FoofQueen are offering you guys a fabulous deal so that you can create some of these for your spring gift giving needs…

As a special offering for our readers, enjoy 20% of your entire cart when you use Code Whipperberry at the check out~ Expires May 20th, 2012

Thanks FoofQueens, you guys are WONDERFUL!!

Vanilla Bean Heart Doughnuts | Recipe

0 · Feb 2, 2012 · 18 Comments

Ahhhhh… can you feel it? Love is in the air. As promised I have the recipe for the Vanilla Bean Heart Doughnuts that I featured last week with our Gift Gloss post. These little gems are perfect for any Valentine goodie or gathering. Don't worry, you don't have to make them heart shaped. Any good donut baking pan will do.

I found my heart doughnut pan at Target if you want to make the heart shaped variety or you can find a good ole' round doughnut pan large or small at your local baking store or online. Here is the recipe that I used.

Vanilla Bean Doughnuts

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 vanilla bean

2 eggs slightly beaten

3 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and spry pan with non-stick cooking spray

In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add buttermilk, vanilla, eggs and butter. Cut the vanilla bean length wise and using a knife scrape out the vanilla seeds and add to the mixture. Mix just until combined. Fill each doughnut cup 1/2 full and bake accordingly.

large doughnut pan or heart shaped pan 10-12 minutes

mini doughnut pan 4-6 minutes

The top will only slightly brown and the doughnut will spring back when touched. Let doughnuts cool in pan for a few minutes and then place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Now my little secret is… I dip the doughnuts in melted chocolate to create that lovely glazed look. The funny thing is I now prefer my doughnuts with a chocolate topping! I used the red colored candy melts along with some white jimmies from Sweet baking & candy making supply. I prepared the chocolate according to package directions and then added a tablespoon of canola oil to the chocolate to thin it out a bit. You'll have to check the consistency of the chocolate and may need to add a little more. Just start slow until you get your desired consistency. Don't worry, the chocolate will still set-up with the oil. Carefully dip the doughnuts into the chocolate and then sprinkle the top with the jimmies. Put doughnuts into the fridge or freezer for a few minutes until the chocolate sets-up. The lovely thing about the chocolate is that it makes it super easy to package your goodies without making a huge mess and they taste aaaaaamazing!!

What kind of goodies are you making this year? Here's another fun Valentine idea from WhipperBerry…

Heart shaped cookies with a free packaging printable. Yes… I have a thing for heart shaped goodies!

Valentine Snow Globe | Anthro Inspired

214 · Jan 11, 2012 · 59 Comments

I have to admit… I have fallen for the Anthropologie snow globes from this last holiday season! While I was putting all of my holiday decorations away I just couldn't part with my snow globes. I decided that I would make a Valentine's Day version. Here you have it… my Valentine Snow Globe.

I took my Anthro inspired snow globe and removed the trees and safely stored it for next year. Then I used my Epic tool and my new Sweetheart Nesting Scallop Heart die from Lifestyle Crafts to make the pink heart. I made two and then placed them back to back with two, two inch pieces of a paper drinking straw in the middle to secure to the bottom of the lid with some large 3D glue dots. For the tutorial on how to do that click here.

Then I used a fun felt Christmas tree ornament for the large heart. You could of course, make another paper heart for the large one. I just happened to have the perfect felt heart already on hand. I did the same with the two felt hearts. I placed them back to back and placed two, three inch paper straws in between to help secure the heart to the lid. They were a little wonky so I used a small section of the paper straw and some glue dots in between the hearts to secure them a little better…

Don't worry, people won't notice the straws at all. It will just look like you have beautiful hearts floating in your snow globe! What else do you think we can do with the ever popular snow globe?

Neighbor Gifts

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