Banner Nursery Art

With our third baby girl (who is now a whole month old!), we didn't repaint the nursery.  Mostly it was because I couldn't face the task with our basement finish going on and being pregnant, but I also thought I might be able to work with the blue.  I decided to go with blue, raspberry pink, and white, which is pretty similar to what I already had going on.  I am using this nursery as inspiration.  The whole project is really just getting started, and to kick it all off I made this wall art using the new Detailz Dies from Lifestyle Crafts.

Detailz Dies are cutting dies that cut and emboss in one pass when you use thick paper, plus you can use the die as a stencil.  I used the Banners set, and I love how it turned out!  I also used letterpress paper, which is thick enough to do the cut and emboss at once.  The blue and pink banners are letterpress paper that I covered with washi tape first.  I strung the banners on embroidery floss and added a sweet little initial.  So cute and easy!

Also, don't forget to use promo code "AUDZIPAN" for 20% off your order at Lifestyle Crafts.

Cinnamon Sugar Banana Bread

We have had an abundance of overripe bananas in our house lately, and although I have a great go-to recipe for regular banana bread, I thought it might be time to try something new.  Let me just say that this was a great idea!  While I have paired banana bread with cream cheese frosting before (amazing, by the way), I've never thought to use cinnamon.  The bread is moist and slightly spiced, and the topping is obviously sweet and delightfully crunchy, but still soft.

I made a few modifications to the original recipe, increasing the amount of flour and mashed bananas a little bit, and making two smaller loaves instead of one huge loaf.  If you would rather make one loaf, half the topping recipe and bake for about 10-15 minutes longer.  

Cinnamon Sugar Banana Bread
Adapted from Cannella Vita

For bread:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
2 large eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup honey
¼ cup water

For topping:
4 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
5 Tbsp. packed dark brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter and flour two 9"x5" metal loaf pans.  Or, spray with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper, letting the excess hang over the sides.  I used cooking spray without the parchment paper, and it was really difficult to get the bread out without messing up the topping.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the banana, eggs, oil, honey, and water. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and stir well.  Pour the batter into the prepared pans.

In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients. Sprinkle them evenly over the batter in both pans and pat down.

Bake the bread until a tester inserted into its center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool the bread in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Then carefully remove the bread from the pans, taking care not to dislodge the topping. Cool completely before slicing.

Makes 2 loaves.