How to Enter:

• You must be following @myownlabels on Pinterest to enter.
• Create a board using your own Pinterest account and title it “Pretty Pretty Pinterest: Your Wedding Name” (see an example board here).
• Your wedding board must include a wedding invitation + one other item in your chosen style pinned directly from myownlabels.com. You can personalize and pin actual items from our wedding category OR photos from our wedding idea gallery and blog.
• Add at least 10 pins, in addition to the items from myownlabels.com that relate to the wedding theme: decoration, food and drink, centerpiece ideas, color scheme inspiration, floral arrangements, guest attire, reception favors and anything else you think fits your theme!
• When you are done, you can officially enter the contest by clicking the “Enter Contest” link above where you can submit to us your information with the link to your Pinterest board.
• Winner will receive $100 gift certificate to MyOwnLabels.com and your board will be featured on the My Own Ideas blog!

Terms:
• Entries can be submitted from 10am (PT) 5/17/12 through 11:59pm (PT) on 5/30/12.
• Winner will be announced on our blog, facebook and twitter on 6/1/12. Winner will be contacted by email.
• Boards will be judged on consistency of theme, originality, creativity, practicality, overall appeal for engaged couples along with the amount of likes, comments and repins you receive on your pins.
• Since Pinterest accounts are by invitation only, please request an invite here or if you haven’t received an invite within a day, email blog@myownlabels.com to be invited by My Own Labels.
• If you have any questions, email blog@myownlabels.com

Meet Our Judges:

Boards will be judged on consistency of theme, originality, creativity, practicality, overall appeal for engaged couples along with the amount of likes, comments and repins you receive on your pins, so spread the word!

Ingredients:
• 4 Sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 ¼ Cup Sugar
• 4 Cups all purpose flour
• Zest of 1 Lemon, grated
• 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
• 1 Teaspoon Almond or Vanilla Extract
• 4 tablespoons finely chopped Rosemary (fresh from your garden would be great!)
• 1 Cup (or so) of additional flour for kneading and rolling the dough

Method:
The first thing that I tend to underestimate (and under plan) the importance of, is to set your butter out to soften, at room temperature. I’ve definitely done my share of microwaving, or hard whisking, and the result is terrible. Don’t skip this step, even though you’re so excited about getting started.

Dust off your hand mixer and begin creaming together the butter and sugar, until well incorporated and fluffy. Chop up your rosemary (my recipe calls for a bit more because I wanted the flavor to be quite strong). Add the rosemary into the butter/sugar bowl. Grate and juice the lemon into the same bowl. Add the Almond/Vanilla extract, the two are interchangeable in this recipe because they are not used as the primary flavor, but simply to curb the somewhat dry, and acidic tendencies of the other flavors. Pick your favorite sweet-baking base- I used Almond. Mix these ingredients together, it will smell amazing. Pause for a moment and preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

Next, slowly start pouring in the flour, and combining bit by bit. The dough will be soft, much like play-dough. Flour your surface, and roll the dough into 1/4 inch thickness. For my cookies I just used a very thin glass, and I floured (or you can use butter/Crisco) the mouth of it first, to ensure the cookies came out cleanly. This recipe does not rise very much, so what you cut is just slightly smaller than the final product.

Place each cookie with about one inch bake space, on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. You will know the cookies are done when they are slightly golden, catch them before they brown because they will be quite hard by then. This should take 20 minutes, give or take, depending on the size of your cookies and heat of your oven. I set my timer for 15 minutes, and watched them closely until until they started to golden.

I packaged my cookies up in small cellophane bags and added a Kashmir style label in marigold with my own message, to reflect the cheery atmosphere of my first Floridian tea party!

More homemade gift ideas from Zoe…

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In my opinion, these homemade pop-tarts are super delicious, and definitely worth the effort to bake at home! However, unlike store bought pop-tarts, these are amazing straight from the fridge. If you prefer them warm, they should only be toasted for a short amount of time because they tend to break. Also, it’s worth noting that the longer these stay in the fridge (in an airtight container), the more durable and ‘authentic’ they taste. I tend to love them most when they’re 3 or 4 days old.

Homemade Pop Tarts
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

For the pastry:
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), cut into pats
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons milk

Place the flour, sugar, salt, and butter in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse crumb. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and the milk until well combined. Add to the mixture in the food processor, and pulse until the dough starts to come together.

Divide the dough in two, and roll each half into a ball. Wrap the balls of dough in plastic, and press into discs. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to two days.

Prepare your filling (recipe ideas below), and set aside. Roll out one of the discs of dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a ruler as a guide, cut rectangles that are approximately 3” x 4” inches. Re-roll the scraps and continue cutting until you have made as many equal rectangles as you can. Repeat the process with the second disc of dough.

Place half of the rectangles on a parchment or silpat lined cookie sheet. Beat one egg, and brush the top of each rectangle with the eggwash (this helps seal the tarts together). Place 1 heaping tablespoon of filling in the center of each, and top with the second rectangle of dough. Press the edges together, and score with the tines of a fork (optional).

Place the cookie sheet with the prepared pop-tarts back in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. While they are chilling, preheat your oven to 350F◦. Once the oven is preheated, remove the tarts from the refrigerator. Poke holes in the tops with a fork or toothpick, and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove tarts from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Let the tarts cool to room temperature. Even better, refrigerate overnight before packaging.

Filling ideas:

For fruity pop tarts:
In a saucepan, combine 1 cup of jam or jelly with 1-2 tablespoons flour over medium heat. Stir continuously until the mixture loosens and comes to a boil. Lower heat, and continue stirring for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool before spooning over pastry dough.

For cinnamon & brown sugar pop tarts:
Whisk together ½ cup brown sugar, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, and 4 teaspoons unbleached all-purpose flour. Spoon over pastry dough.

To package:
Once your tarts are completely cool, wrap them individually in parchment paper. Using medium sized favor bags, place two tarts in each bag, and seal with a label indicating the flavor of your filling. Adorn with personalized labels, and add a string of twine or ribbon for an added touch. For my pop-tarts, I used large oval labels in the style Candystripes.

More homemade gift ideas from Lindsay Jewell

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Ingredients for the perfect spa basket:
• Meditation music. Make your own mix CD or purchase your own soothing tunes. Personalize each disc with a custom CD label and package in a translucent CD envelope.

• Candles. Place one or two aromatherapy candles in each basket. Decorate each candle with some ribbon and a personalized oval shape label.

• Bottled Water. Adorn with your own bottled water label.

• Spritz. Making your own scented spritz is easy! Just add five to ten drops of your favorite essential oil to distilled or purified water. I suggest pure lavender essential oil for a calming effect or grapefruit and lemon essential oils for a refreshing, uplifting effect. Pour your lovely scented water into mini spray bottles and add a personalized label.

• Fresh Hand Towel. Wrap each towel with a ribbon and overlay a rectangular label.

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To get started, have everyone first put aprons on; if you don’t have aprons, do it the way my grandmother did back in the thirties: fold a clean tea towel or dishtowel into a triangle, wrap it around your middle and fasten in the back with a safety pin. If you are thin enough you can tie it.

Ingredients:
• softened salted butter
• cinnamon-sugar blend (my favorite ratio is 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 Tbsp of cinnamon)
• sliced bread

Put the cinnamon mixture into a salt shaker that has been washed and dried thoroughly. Be sure it has big holes. I have one dedicated to cinnamon-sugar at home. Do your cinnamon toast work at the kitchen table – it’s a good height for your short helpers to stand on chairs and work efficiently. Wipe the kitchen table and dry it thoroughly with a towel, then lay out slices of your favorite bread. Spread salted butter evenly and rather thickly across the entire surface. Of course your little ones will not do such a great job, but you want to know what the goal is, which is, a fun time for all. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly and generously across the top.

Select your favorite cookie cutter shapes. Best to choose shapes that are squarish or roundish, rather than long and thin, or with edges sticking out like whiskers or branches; these things tend to get broken. Cut out as many pieces as you can out of each slice of bread. Place everything on a cookie rack (the kind you cool cookies and cakes on after they have come out of the oven) including the out-takes, and bake in a 300˚ oven. Watch your toasts carefully! They should take about fifteen minutes, but the amount of time depends upon the thickness and freshness and type of bread you are using, and the size of your shapes. You want them to be completely dry and crispy, not just toasted on the outside. Take one out occasionally to check. Remove from oven when completely dry and slightly brown. During the baking, do a little cleaning up so your table will be ready for part two. Be sure to have the children help with the cleaning, so they become accustomed to the idea that after the fun comes the putting away. After cleaning, the children can be off playing, giving them a break before applying themselves to the next step of the project.

Allow the cinnamon toasts to cool thoroughly before packaging. This should take about fifteen minutes, maybe less.

To package my toasts I used a flower-top box in red to make a super-bright party favor. Form the boxes all at once. Then, when the boxes are all made, carefully place the toasts inside them. Fold the top down, and allow the flower to poof up a little. I used small square shape labes in Boxicle style, Spice. I also used diamond shape favor tags.

Now stand back and admire your lovely packages. Award your child with one of their very own, and put the rest out on the table to be ready for your party!

…Oh, but you ask, what do you do with the out-takes? You munch on them! Or you save them to serve to your proud family for dessert that night!

Guidelines for Simple Gifts:
• Plan ahead. Think about and decide what you want to do well in advance so you can do the shopping portion of the giftmaking along with other errands. Have all materials and ingredients on hand when it is time to make the gift.
• Packaging. Pretty packaging makes any gift special. Arm yourself with a supply of small boxes or cellophane bags and ribbon. We also recommend having your own personalized tags or labels on hand. Use generic wording so they can be used on a multitude of items. For example, mom’s tags and labels say “with love from Grammie.” With no reference to what the item is, they can be used on anything!
• It is not the item itself that is special; it is the idea that you think enough about a person to prepare something personally for them. Sometimes your gift doesn’t even have to be handmade; but hand-assembled. Follow this monthly series and you will see examples of both.

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Unfortunately, my lavender plant is pretty measly, so I was only able to harvest about half the amount of blooms that I needed for this project. If you’re lucky, you can purchase dried lavender at a shop in your neighborhood, if not, there are plenty of places to buy from online (like I did, for the other half of my batch). Fresher is better, its impossible to preserve the potency of lavender oil in transport- but the bought versions still smell wonderful!

Method for drying your own lavender:
First thing to do is identify an area that is warm, dry, and does not receive light. If your garage doesn’t get hot, this is the best place because there is air circulation; which will aid in the flowers drying quickly. In Orlando, there is no outdoor area that isn’t hot and humid- so my best bet was a seldom-visited closet. The scent is strongest in the plant just before the blooms fully open, and when they still possess a strong purple hue. My plant was at its best for one day, so I snipped bunches just after this prime- and they still rendered lovely scent. In order to dry them, pinch off each bud and toss onto a cookie sheet (or, even better, a clean-ish removable window screen). Place in the area you want it to dry. Stir with your fingers once a day or so, and all of the flowers should dry within three to four days.

In order to present the lavender I used a few small organza bags and a personalized hang tag in the Provencale style. I made ten sachets; using just over a cup of dried lavender blooms (3 ounces), at 4-5 teaspoons per sachet. This size is simple and elegant, hung on a doorknob, perched on a shelf, or put in every linen drawer!

More homemade gift ideas from Zoe…

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Supplies Needed:
• 1/8″ Hole Punch
• Scissors
• Bakers Twine
• Heart-shaped Favor Tags (that match your Save-The-Date cards)
• Glassine Envelopes
• Envelope Seals

Step One: Order Save-the-Date cards and matching heart-shaped favor tags from MyWeddingLabels.com and personalize them with your wedding date and initials. Choose a tag style and color to match your stationary or choose a mix of colors that match your wedding theme. Each favor tag comes with one hole already punched. Using an 1/8″ hole punch, add another hole to each tag as shown below.

Step Two: Cut a piece of bakers twine about 14″ long. Feed it through the left hole of your first tag and tie a simple knot. Next thread the twine through the second hole of the first tag and into the first hole of the next tag. Continue to thread the twine through the third tag, tying another simple knot through the right hole to finish. Trim the ends to desired length.

Step Three: Place your garland into a glassine envelope and close with a custom envelope seal. Mail one garland envelope together with your Save-the-Date card.

*When making large batches of garlands, create your own assembly-line system to save time. For example, punch the hole on all your tags together, then cut all the string you need before beginning to thread them all together. To make it even faster, as a crafty friend to help!

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Fortunately for me, sometimes the simplest recipes make the best desserts, which is certainly the case with this recipe. It’s made with just two ingredients – chocolate and water – which means that it’s important to use the most delicious, high quality chocolate you can find. Once you’ve picked out the chocolate, the rest is easy and takes only 10-15 minutes to prepare.

Simple Chocolate Mousse
• 1 cup water
• 350 grams chocolate, chopped

Place the water in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the chocolate, and stir with a whisk until completely melted. Remove from heat.

Pour melted chocolate + water mixture into a bowl and set in an ice-water bath. Whisk vigorously until the chocolate mixture has reached a mousse-like consistency (about 5-10 minutes). The chocolate will start to thicken quite rapidly once the ice-water bath has cooled the mixture, so just keep going until it’s the consistency you like.

Spoon the mixture into clean and dry half-pint jars and top with a lid and seal. To personalize your jars for Mother’s Day, add labels, tags, ribbon, and other cute embellishments to make your gift extra special. For my jars, I used burgundy colored labels in the style Swiss Dots, and added a gold colored decorative ribbon.

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