I Actually Have a Written Recipe!

Today is my grandmother's birthday! I knew exactly what to do for her. She and Grandpa love the glazed pecans I make each fall, so I prettied up an empty Starbuck's bottle, filled it up, and delivered it this afternoon. Of course, I didn't want to cause problems -- those two are very protective of their sweets -- so I gave Grandpa his own bottle! (But his isn't as pretty!)

I'll start with the recipe first, so you'll have something yummy to snack on while you "cutify" your bottles. I don't normally use recipes. I throw in a little bit of this and a little bit of that, and most of the time it's edible. But I did start with a recipe for the glazed pecans. Of course I tweaked it a little (I tweak just about everything I touch!) and this is what I ended up with....  

How cool is THAT ^ ?! That is a photo of the pecans I glazed, and my handwriting in a computer font!

This recipe is SO easy! It's good with almonds and walnuts, too, but pecans are my favorite. The original recipe calls for only three cups of pecans, but there is plenty of sugar on them even if I use more than four cups. 

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Now on to the cute packaging.... 

I started with a strip of white cardstock 5.5 inches wide and punched one edge using the EK Flower Burst Large Edger

Then I flipped over the strip and punched the other edge, creating three full flowers and part of a fourth.

Next I inked the edges a bit and ran the strip thru my Xyron to thoroughly cover the back with adhesive.

I ran a kraft paper scallop circle and a single punched flower through, also. The flowers on the strip didn't match up when I wrapped them around the bottle, so I came up with a plan. (AKA embellishment!)

I adhered the stip of flowers to the bottle. Since there were only three, the ends didn't meet. That's what the circle and the extra flower are for!

I layered first the scalloped circle, then the flower over the gap, covering the ends of the flower strip, and topped it all off with a bit of twine and a big blue button in the center of the flower. The fact that the twine will help hold down any edges that might pop loose is a bonus.

Here is another look at the finished bottle: 

The "Happy Birthday" is from Perfectly Penned by Stampin' Up! and I used the Apothecary Accents Framelits to cut the tag. (I trimmed off one end.) I also punched a scalloped circle from white cardstock and ran it through the Cuttlebug in a swirly embossing folder before adhering it to the lid. 

So...what does Grandpa's bottle look like? I camouflaged it so he could hide it from Grandma!

However, you'll be glad to know, they were sharing very nicely when I left!

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

As for the rest of you, thanks for stopping by! Tomorrow is my last day of early morning band and Saturday is the last competition of the season, so I hope to be around a little more frequently again! See you next week!