Make Gradation Push Pops yourself

I saw these superbly deliciously innovative push pops by Bake At 350 and I thought of sharing the secret to make these instantaneously with all of you.

I'll give you a quick rundown here for those of you who don't want to jump another page, for the rest, may the source be with you.

You will need:

• Large "button" sprinkles
• Sour spaghetti
• Ghiradelli square chocolates
• Mini Reese's peanut butter cups, not the super tiny ones
• Frosting for "glue"

You will do:
Add some frosting to the bottom of the peanut butter cup,

1. press on an upside-down chocolate square,
2. add a bit of frosting to the sprinkle and attach to the square,
3. use a toothpick to "draw" a line of frosting from the sprinkle,
4. press on a sour spaghetti strand (you may want to trim it),
5. place these in the refrigerator to set up while you assemble the pops.
6. Press the push-pop container down onto the cake to cut to size. Slide the cake into the container (I used another push-pop "plunger," trimmed of its raised edges to press the cake down). Use a paper towel to wipe away any crumbs before piping the frosting.
7. Pipe in some frosting. Keep adding layers until you reach the top. Add a graduation cap topper.

Peanut Butter Buttercream

1 & 1/2 sticks salted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup Crisco shortening
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 lb. box powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup milk

Beat together the butter, shortening, and peanut butter until combined, about 3 minutes. On low speed, add in the sifted powdered sugar in three additions, scraping down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed. Once the sugar has been added, increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat for 1 minute.

Add in the vanilla and the milk; beat until smooth.

Simple yet unexpected Mother's Day gift ideas!

Millions of ideas online, yet all of them pretty conventional. Not that there is anything wrong with convention, but I wanted to look for something different for you guys to pick from and then I came across THIS -

Tom Barlow gives us these fantastic ideas for Mother's Days out-of-the-ordinary gifts:

Why not surprise Mom with something other than the flowers, candy and dinner out this Mother's Day? How about something that shows thoughtfulness and even an investment of your time, energy or creativity? We've compiled a quick list of 10 such items to spur your thought process.

1. Garden plants. Why spend on a dozen roses that will wilt in a week when you could buy a few rose bushes that will bloom for years? Or tomatoes she can enjoy all summer long? Of course, if your ma isn't a gardener, you could include taking care of her rose bushes or plants as part of your gift, if you live nearby. Time is the most precious gift most of us have to give.

2. A Skype video call with a distant old friend or relative. If your Mom isn't technologically savvy, she may not even be aware that teleconferencing is now a breeze. Although this might take some setting up on the other end, Mom might really enjoy a face-to-face chat with an old friend or relative in another state or even halfway around the world. Tip: Facebook makes it easy to find old classmates.


3. Her heritage. Though this is certainly not cheap, a study of Mom's DNA to trace her ancestry would serve you as well as her. For $119, Genetic Geneology will trace her maternal or fraternal lines back centuries to reveal who her ancestors were. She might even find she is related to someone famous. 

4. Ready-made meals. Sure Mom's an incomparable cook, but even she might enjoy having some home-prepared soups in her freezer. Take the time to make a batch of you best and freeze it into meal-sized portions for her. She'll think of you every time she thaws one out. 

5. A tiara. You mom is a princess, why not treat her like one? Every woman needs at least one tiara in her wardrobe. 

6. Premium silk flowers. The best quality silk flowers look better than the real thing, especially a few weeks after Mother's Day. Make them even better with a vial of matching floral scent to sprinkle on them from time to time. 

7. A digital photo viewer or iPod-like device preloaded with family photos. Sneak her favorite photo albums out of the house, scan the contents and load them onto a portable viewer (there are many options available). She'll be delighted to have them with her to share at a moment's notice. If you go the iPod route, preload some of her favorite tunes, too.

8. Buy a goat in her name. Through World Vision, for $75 you can buy a goat for a Third World person in her name. Long after the flowers are gone, she'll have the satisfaction of knowing she'd helping make some distant mother's life better.

9. Buy her a nice pair of 3D glasses or even 3D clipons and take her to the movies. It's a 3D world now, and who wants to wear a pair of glasses that have been on thousands of noses? Not your Mom, I bet.

10. A locket with a photo of her mother inside. After all, even on Mother's Day, she's still the child of her own mother.

For printable of the images above click  here.