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Friday, April 11, 2014

DIY Easy Bake Oven Themed Gift

It can be a challenge to keep up with all the kids birthdays that happen around here, especially when I always try to make a hand made gift for each one. Last Christmas, some of the girls received Easy Bake Ovens. I kept hearing about how they wanted to bake with their ovens but were out of mixes. I thought I would pick up some mixes for them until I saw how much they cost! Good grief, I can't believe how much they are! So I decided to see if I could mix up my own versions that would taste good too. 




I started out as I usually do, I Googled diy easy bake oven mixes to see what I could come up with. I found this one link that I thought was just adorable! Here it is.....The Partiologist.   I used her idea for the packaging.  I sneaked one of the girls ovens home so I could use it in my mix experiments. I was doing ok with the recipe experiments but I was running out of time. I settled for buying pre made cake mixes and then re-packaging that into tiny packages for the Easy Bake Oven. Here's how I did it.

First I experimented with amounts of mix, water and oil. I decided to use 4 1/2 Tbs of mix, to be mixed with 1 Tbs + 2 tsp of water, and 1 tsp of oil. It is possible to just use water, I included other options also on my cooking tips card I included in the gift box. The frosting is 4 Tbs of powdered sugar to be mixed with 1 tsp of butter and 2 tsp of water. Sprinkles are attached in a separate packages. (Update: I have since found that any dry cake mix works just fine. And it's the easiest way to go, lots of flavors to choose from.) 


my toppers

I created my own package toppers using 'Cowgirl Kitchen' since the birthday girl was planning a Cowgirl themed party. I really don't know what I am doing on the computer ( I suggest you follow The Partiologist instructions) so I won't try to tell you how to make it other than to tell you this; I unloaded a picture of a pink bandanna to PicMonkey. I created the label I wanted, sized it and inserted it as a picture into a Word doc. I turned the inserted picture upside down and wrote instructions for that cake mix under the picture. Repeated for each topper. I used 2 columns, getting 4 toppers on each sheet. Printed onto card stock these were cut to size.



I assembled all my supplies and scooped the mix into a cellophane pouch (purchased at Party City; 50 for $1.99)  then stapled to close.



I glued on the toppers with a hot glue gun and then began assembling other items to round out the gift. There are frosting mixes too of course :)




 I made an apron, sewn from Tutti Fruitti fabrics from Joanne's. 









I found  small plastic melamine bowls (the bowls I ordered online from Walmart) and a small spatula also at Walmart. 



The melamine measuring spoons rounded it out with it's coordinating colors; they are from Cost Plus World Market. There are also matching measuring cups I loved too. 



It all was packaged together in a cake box.



I included Cowgirls Kitchen Cooking Tips (also created in PicMonkey) printed on card stock. 

It was a bit of work creating and gathering all of the items to put this gift together.....at least more than I usually do. But I tripled it all while I was at it because I have 2 more birthdays in the next few weeks, and those birthday girls will be receiving the same thing except for the apron, each will have an apron that's one of a kind just for them. 

Really the kids don't mind receiving the same gifts as their cousins at all, they actually like it! I'm sure in coming weeks they will share and talk about what they baked all while wearing their apron, using their very own bowls and spoons. I can't wait to hear all about it! 



Currently there are 14 kids under the age of 8 that call me grandma, and I try to give them each as special of a gift for their birthday as I can manage. Mostly, I keep gifts under $20 since there are so many to give to. This gift was no exception; here's how it breaks down.

Apron fabric       about            $5
Bowl purchased online            3.33 (there were 6 bowls in a pack, plenty left over for more ideas!)
Spatula                                     1.44  purchased in the store
Measuring Spoons                   3.99
Cellophane pouches                  .80
Cake Mixes              maybe      2.00? I purchased the mixes .99-1.99 on sale. I think I should be able to get at least 8-10 per box. I used very little powdered sugar.

The cake box and card stock I had on hand. My gift came to under $17 but it really was a hit! 

UPDATE: below is the Easy Bake Oven that we used and that I sized the mix amounts for. You may need to adjust dry mix amount if you have the smaller cake pans for your easy bake oven. Perhaps 3 Tbs of dry mix and work out how much water. 



Over the weekend I found an older Easy Bake Oven at a yard sale. It uses the smaller round pans. I found that 3 Tbs of cake mix, mixed with scant 2 Tbs of water works well. Bake for 10 min. I tried the 321 Cake mix from this post and it worked perfect! So, if you do not have an easy bake oven, then tailor your gift to be used in the microwave.




And here is the birthday girl trying out her mixes! :0)

I link at these parties.  

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25 comments:

  1. What an awesome gift! You did a lot of work but it is so personal - they will just love it! I remember being so excited over my Easy Bake Oven -- and being so saddened that the cakes were so little! Happy Birthday to All!

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  2. This is so amazing. Great job!! Shared and pinned :)

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  3. Stopping over from Strut your Stuff. I just love this! My daughter received an EBO for Christmas and I'd been wondering if I could make our own mixes, but hadn't searched yet. SO glad to find the link for these mixes, yay! Thanks so much for sharing :)

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  4. This is a fabulous gift! The gift tags made the mixes look beautiful. Good job!

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  5. I love to make homemade {way less expensive} gifts for our friends' birthday parties! This is a wonderful package to give a little girl! Love the sweet speckled bowl the most! Pinning!

    Thank you so much for sharing your creativity with us at Show-Licious Craft & Recipe Party! Please join us again next Saturday morning at 8:00 am EST.

    ~ Ashley

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  6. Wow Connie you outdid yourself with this one ! Look at that sweet smile at the end there, too...she's just lovely :)

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    1. Thanks! With all the kids being added to your family I am sure there's a chance you will be making something like this one day too! ;)

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  7. What a fabulous idea! Cant wait to make some for my niece!
    Happy Easter!
    donna

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  8. Such a great idea and I love it. I have 3 grandgirls and this is such a cute thing to do. Visiting from Jann's party today. Hugs and blessings, Cindy

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  9. So cute! I never had an easy bake oven growing up, but I wanted one.

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  10. Thanks so much for sharing this awesome idea at the Friday Frenzy! I loved it so much I had to share in on my FB page. https://www.facebook.com/mostlyfoodandcrafts

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  11. This is so adorable! I loved my oven and I think this is a wonderful and thoughful gift idea!

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  12. What a fabulous Idea.. the tags are so adorbale for the mixed.. I can remember my over and how excited I was when i receivedit from Santa.. 40 years ago.. WOW ! Im visitin all the blogs that entered my fabulous friday link party the last few months to wish everyone a Happy Easter! I Take care and hope to see you around soon.
    Thanks Maria http://www.simplenaturedecorblog.com

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  13. How cute! What an adorable gift idea!!! Pinning!! Happy Easter to you and yours…. :)
    “hugs” Crystelle
    Crystelle Boutique

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  14. Your DIY Easy Bake Oven Themed Gift is being featuring this weekend at Show-Licious Craft & Recipe Party! Thank you so much for sharing your creativity with us! Hope you join us again!

    ~ Ashley

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  15. Such a fabulous idea! Those mixes are ridiculously priced. I love how you packaged it all together. Super creative! Thanks for sharing it with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  16. This is such a great idea! What a lucky little girl to get a kit like that!

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  17. What a fun theme!
    Thanks for sharing your post at the HomeAcre Hop!

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  18. Thanks for sharing at Inspire Us Thursday. Your adorable gift is features at Organized 31 this week!

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  19. This is so cute and such a wonderful idea! Thank you for sharing on the Four Seasons party!!

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  20. Hi Connie - thank you so much for linking this post up to my party last week - I loved it so much that you made my Top Picks list! There's a badge waiting for you right here #supermommyclub http://goo.gl/tvVaud. Toot Toot!

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  21. I found that mayonnaise (egg and oil) works great in theses recipes. I mix half a tablespoon of mayo with half a tablespoon of water add to the 3 tablespoon of cake mix and bake for 15 minutes. They come out perfect.

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  22. Fabulous idea! So thoughtful and creative!

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  23. What mix did you use for the muffins?

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