Homemade Gift Bag and Birthday Card (for a clean freak)

When the birthday of someone I know who is a complete clean freak came around, I couldn’t resist doing something custom made.  

Firstly, I made a cute little gift bag for the present, with the help and inspiration of this tutorial.  How amazing!  You can use a ripped out page of a magazine or an old book for these gift bags, which is such a green idea.  

To-Die-For Lemon Cookies: Packaged for a Birthday

It was two of my friends’ birthdays, so I used that as an excuse to bake and get creative.

I decided to make for them a jar of homemade cookies, and decorate the jar with ribbons and simple, homemade birthday cards.  This is a really great gift idea for anyone.  It is a perfect way to package and transport the cookies, without needing to worry about the cookies breaking or cracking.  In addition, for the days to come the cookies will stay fresh until they are done! And then the gift receiver will have a useful, beautiful jar for them to store anything they want – flour, sugar, pasta, etc.

Firstly, I needed the perfect cookies to put in the jar, and I couldn’t think of anything better for the season or for the occasion than Giada’s lemon ricotta cookies with a lemon glaze.  They are bright, cheery, full of flavour cookies, and they are perfect for packaging up and giving away.