Creative Juices Decor

These stained glass cookies are just too much fun not to put on my blog!   I did a guest post over at Beckie's ( Infarrently Creative ) and made these into Snowmen and other Christmas shapes but today I am going to show you how to make  Valentine Stained Glass Heart Cookies! Make this recipe for your sugar cookie dough: What you will need:   (makes 12 - 15 cookies) 1 cup sugar 4 Tbsp butter 1 egg 3 Tbsp milk 1 tsp vanilla  2 1/4 cups flour 1 tsp baking powder Crushed hard candy pieces (suckers or jolly ranchers work great) Roll into long "snakes" Put candies in a plastic bag and use a hammer to crush the pieces. Layer the candies evenly inside the dough. Doesn't that just look like so much fun!!!!! Bake at 375° for 9 min.   Let completely cool then peel off foil. I hope you all enjoy doing this!  Kids, teachers and friends will love the bea...

It's been FOREVER since I have written a Fess Up Friday post .  I suppose it's because it takes a lot of mental energy to write a post of all the dumb or odd things I have done throughout the weeks.  :-) This particular post has to do with how my January is going..... you know, the part of January that consist of eating better and working out more :-) After I ridiculously (out of procrastination to start my workout) started snapping self portraits with my phone, I decided to document one of my work out mornings. I start driving to the gym all the while thinking is there ANYTHING I need to do before I get to the gym??  When I do think of something (like depositing a check that really didn't need to be deposited that day)  I get all excited - it means I'll get to the gym a little later. Next I park and just sit in my car thinking, I really don't feel like working out, but I'm here, I must go in.  I check my emails...

I love the amazing texture that animal hide creates. (it can be faux hide too!) It's just beautiful, so when I ran across this dresser, I knew I could do a fun Creative Juices Award post on it. Here is Vivian's BEFORE shot: And here is her AFTER shot!  She takes the GOLD for my Creative Juices Award!!! Yes, that is real cow hide glued down to the front of each dresser panel and then tacked with upholstery tacks along the edges.  (obviously, she stripped and stained the old piece which was purchased off Craigslist for 25 bucks) You can purchase cow hide remnants off eBay for a decent price.  Last time I was in IKEA they had hides there too. Anyway, I just LOVE LOVE that dresser!!! Look what this designer did to add texture to the room - they just draped a hide right over the coffee table.  What do you think?  Maybe it creeps you out? :-) source If you have been following me for a while...

All  of my family knows how much I enjoy and use stevia.  I like it because it is a 100% natural product (unlike aspartame, splenda, nutrasweet etc) and yes, because it isn't full of calories :-) One of my favorite stevia company NuNaturals, just sent me a bunch of new products to try and asked if I would want to provide a giveaway for you guys.   I said, "FOR SURE!" I thought it would be fun to do a post on how I use the products that are in the giveaway and yes, since it is January, I know we are all trying to find ways to eat healthier and cut back on those calories.  :-) I had a very sweet and patient model.......good thing she LOVES her picture taken!  (although, she was NOT trilled that she wasn't in color)  :-)  1.) Make your OWN natural soda!   Natural Talking Rain with Orange NuNaturals Stevia - I also LOVE Cherry Vanilla Flavor!  See Amazon link below. It will be 4 years this s...

As all of you know, I LOVE American Clay .   I also know that not everyone can afford an entire room dedicated to the product.  One of the tricks I was taught at design school was optical illusions.  For instance, if you would like to make a small narrow room feel larger, paint just ONE narrow side a darker color.  (Not black, say just a darker taupe or even a separate color that accents the other three)  You can manipulate the feel of a room by the colors and shades you choose.  I love using this technique in bedrooms - not only can it make a room feel larger, it creates a focal point.  (and hey, it's not as expensive!) With this project my client wanted to add an accent wall of clay behind her bed.  She asked for something fun with lots of character to add elegance but also liven up the place.  This was not a typical application of the clay but we had a lot of fun doing it. Plain Old Boring Bedroom W...

Hello friends! When Kaylene sent me a photo of a beautiful painted floor rug she just did the first thing I asked her was "Did you take pictures??!!!"  Being the awesome friend that she is she said, "Of course":-) So thanks to her, we get this great tutorial on making your OWN painted rug....you can do this over wood or concrete. The beautiful "rug" was actually painted over pressboard (a cheaper type of wood).  In general, pressboard should never be used as a flooring but hey, you work with what you have! (This was in an office building) Kaylene bought latex (water based) WOOD/FLOOR paint.  Oil paint (enamel) tends to be even more durable  than water based paint, but unless you specifically buy the higher priced low/no VOC's there is a lot of offgasing (fumes) that you have to deal with. (and clean up is done with paint thinner or mineral spirits, not water!)  So the easier way to go would be to use a WOOD/FLOOR paint in latex (water...

I thought this post might be a fun collection of ideas on how to arrange wall art or even what to put on a wall!  So many ideas are out there with plates, photos and accessories..... Personally I ADORE doing a plate collage on my walls.  It is visually entertaining and can really be inexpensive!  Ross and other discount home décor stores sell gorgeous plates for $2-$4 each.  The collection below is from my home, and each plate was collected from a thrift store!  I may have spent 8 bucks for the entire collection. You can check out the post on how to make a FREE plate hanger!!! Think up a theme you enjoy (colors or an item of inspiration) and start collecting whenever you see a good deal.  Once you have a nice collection infront of you, place them on the floor and see if you have enough to make a fun wall collage! Rhoda from Southern Hospitality  has a GREAT example of a wall art collection.  You can tell she just ...