that's right...150 cookies later and we are officially done with end-of-school-year teacher/school gifts. i've been up to my eyeballs in cookie dough, ribbons, tulle, parties, desserts...chaos. and i love every minute of it. yesterday i was up by 6a.m. - out of the house by 8:20a.m. and in em's classroom until 12:45. i then headed to p/u clara from middle school, (early release day) & then was back at em's class to finish up the luau party. last night i finished up all of the baking...(150 cookies doesn't include the ones being consumed by my lovely family as i was taking them out of the oven....grrrr....snicker...love'em). then...this morning i did the "final touches" and prepped for afternoon delivery of the goods. wanna see?
let's back-track a minute. i must share with you one of my all-time favorite things to do. i make my own "decorative trays". remember people...it's all about presentation. start with a recycled piece of cardboard. (i happen to save the little cardboard inserts i get in the packaging from ordering my photos online - they are the perfect size and they conveniently have rounded corners). next, grab your stash of 12x12 scrapbooking paper that's been sitting for years...not being used. (i'm referring to myself...i have lots of paper and this is a great way to use it up - not fast enough...but i feel pretty "green" when i do this project). cut the paper to match the size of the cardboard you've decided to use and adhere paper....voila! you've instantly got a beautiful tray that serves 2 purposes: #1: it's beautiful and GREAT for presentation. #2: it's disposable...no more stressing about getting your serving dishes back. (side note: this particular paper has glitter embellishments on it so i decided to wrap saran over the top of the paper to prevent glitter sneaking onto any of the cookies. i used packing tape on the bottom side of the cardboard tray to secure the saran). beautiful, isn't it...& so fun!
next, load up your tray with baked goods. in this case i'm using cookies. i decided to stack them this time but i have also scattered them on the tray - whichever works best for you. mmmm...yummy.
i then wrapped the cookies with saran and embellished with tulle & ribbons that corresponded with the paper. i then made a gift tag using the same paper as a backing & rounded the corners to match the rounded corners of the tray! too cute! this one was for the office staff & administration at em's elementary school:
but here's the version i did for clara's middle school using a different color scheme....
and then there were individual packages to put together for clara's 5 teachers, em's 2 teachers & both of the girls' bus drivers:
everything together looked soooo deliciously magical...
i soooo love doing things like this. everyone that works in the field of education definitely deserve some "props"! i'm grateful for the positive influence they've all had on both of my daughters...thus far. happy summer! let the games begin!!
want the cookie recipe? click here
2 comments:
OMG J - I wish i was the recipient of these cookies. They look DELISH! The tray is lovely too - what a great idea! What if I don't have 'scrapbook paper' lying around (i've never bought a sheet in my life). Would regular wrapping paper work or do I need something heavier? This is such a pretty way to give cookies - I'd like to try it sometime. You are so creative!
Such a cute idea! I know just what you mean about the scrapbook paper...I think I could wallpaper my whole house with all the paper I have amassed and still have boxes of it left. I will definitely be using this idea in the future.
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