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Okay - these three books are slightly cheat-y, so I've lumped them all together -
"Gifts In A Jar - Cookies," CQ Products
"Gifts In A Jar - Bars & Brownies," CQ Products
"Holiday Gifts From A Jar," Publications International Ltd
I bought the first two of these at a fundraising event for a local hospital - they were selling cookbooks to raise money for... something, I can't remember exactly what. Usually I can resist the draw of books I don't need, but the combination of books, cookbooks in particular, and charity was just too much to resist, and I picked up the set. The third is yet another glossy checkout lane booklet that I picked up for a couple of dollars because it looked cute.
I'll admit to being enough of a craft-addict and a girly girl that those pretty layered mixes-in-a-jar are hopelessly appealing to me. The combination of making pretty things, baking, and gift-making just presses every crafty button I have. Unfortunately, I've also realized from a couple of holiday projects that people given brownie-mix-in-a-jar almost never actually make the brownies. So I was stuck with these three books that I had to use, and no real justification for using them. Until the 3 Day Bake Sale/Crafts Fair rolled around.
People at a charity event will buy things that they wouldn't otherwise think of. And while I'm only a dabbler at making jewelry, and my crocheted and embroidered crafts are a bit too time-consuming to sell at any sort of reasonable price.... I could make these. When I managed to find decorative pink gingham fabric with little tiny pink ribbon motifs printed into it, I knew I had to.
So with the help and cooperation of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tpau, most of an evening was devoted to putting together pretty decorative jars of baking mixes. Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, M&M Cookie Mix, Sand Art Brownie Mix, Super Chocolate Cookie Mix, Nutty Orzo Rice Pilaf Mix, and Cranberry Corn Bread Mix - at least two recipes from each book except the Bars and Brownies one - we only found one decent-looking recipe there.
Verdict? Tough to determine, since I didn't actually prepare any of them. Which is why I say that these books are kind of cheating - I don't know how the end products taste. But I did, technically, make them as far as the instructions in the books themselves are concerned. And I can say that they all wound up pretty as anything, layered and colorful and adorable. And they fit in the jars, and they all wound up getting sold and raising money for a darn good cause.
So in that way, at least, they were all incredibly successful. And it's enough for me to keep these around, in case I wind up needing quick, cute crafty ideas for another such occasion.....
"Gifts In A Jar - Cookies," CQ Products
"Gifts In A Jar - Bars & Brownies," CQ Products
"Holiday Gifts From A Jar," Publications International Ltd
I bought the first two of these at a fundraising event for a local hospital - they were selling cookbooks to raise money for... something, I can't remember exactly what. Usually I can resist the draw of books I don't need, but the combination of books, cookbooks in particular, and charity was just too much to resist, and I picked up the set. The third is yet another glossy checkout lane booklet that I picked up for a couple of dollars because it looked cute.
I'll admit to being enough of a craft-addict and a girly girl that those pretty layered mixes-in-a-jar are hopelessly appealing to me. The combination of making pretty things, baking, and gift-making just presses every crafty button I have. Unfortunately, I've also realized from a couple of holiday projects that people given brownie-mix-in-a-jar almost never actually make the brownies. So I was stuck with these three books that I had to use, and no real justification for using them. Until the 3 Day Bake Sale/Crafts Fair rolled around.
People at a charity event will buy things that they wouldn't otherwise think of. And while I'm only a dabbler at making jewelry, and my crocheted and embroidered crafts are a bit too time-consuming to sell at any sort of reasonable price.... I could make these. When I managed to find decorative pink gingham fabric with little tiny pink ribbon motifs printed into it, I knew I had to.
So with the help and cooperation of
tpau, most of an evening was devoted to putting together pretty decorative jars of baking mixes. Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, M&M Cookie Mix, Sand Art Brownie Mix, Super Chocolate Cookie Mix, Nutty Orzo Rice Pilaf Mix, and Cranberry Corn Bread Mix - at least two recipes from each book except the Bars and Brownies one - we only found one decent-looking recipe there.Verdict? Tough to determine, since I didn't actually prepare any of them. Which is why I say that these books are kind of cheating - I don't know how the end products taste. But I did, technically, make them as far as the instructions in the books themselves are concerned. And I can say that they all wound up pretty as anything, layered and colorful and adorable. And they fit in the jars, and they all wound up getting sold and raising money for a darn good cause.
So in that way, at least, they were all incredibly successful. And it's enough for me to keep these around, in case I wind up needing quick, cute crafty ideas for another such occasion.....
