Creative Juices Decor: 2016

Million Dollar Blueberry Muffins

Alright friends,

I debated sharing this recipe because it's SO amazing that I could have become incredibly wealthy by starting up my own blueberry muffin shop and selling just these :-) I knew that once the recipe got out on the World Wide Web my dream could be over - nothing is secret on the internet - nothing :-)

But then I realized that I'm not that type of person, I share good things - hee,hee.

I got this typed recipe from my daughter's highschool Home Ec class. Actually, I haven't made these myself, but my daughter has baked them many times as people have even told her they will pay her if she makes them a dozen. These muffins are SO moist with perfect texture and the crumble topping makes them irresistible!

Once you try these, you will understand why people pay her AND thank me for not holding on to the family dream of Selina's Blueberry Muffin Coffee Shop (that was going to make millions with this amazing recipe that I was going to keep all to myself) ;-)

So without further ado.......the recipe!

Million Dollar Blueberry Muffins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners
Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder
Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup
Mix this with the flour mixture.
Fold in blueberries.
Fill muffin cups right to the top
Make crumb topping (Mix crumble ingredients, smoosh with fork and then sprinkle over each muffin)
Bake for 20 -25 minutes in the preheated oven.

Pin these and once you make them let me know what you think!

Have a great weekend my friends! :-)

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Inspirational Covered Porches with Fireplaces.

Well it has FINALLY started to warm up over here in Idaho. There are buds starting on all the trees and I am not sure I should admit but I laid down on the front pavers and just absorbed all the sun's warmth on our first "hot" day. I am pretty sure I should retire somewhere really warm as it makes me so happy. (Or I suppose I could just go on a trip to the tropics, that would make me happy too) ;-)

Being that I am gearing up for summer, I thought it would be fun to show you some awesome outdoor patio rooms.

Get ready to be inspired!

First, I LOVE this porch with the build in fireplace. I wrote a whole article about decorating with lanterns and what the best classic accessories are to use in your home.

homebunch

THERE'S MORE! Click to read this full post :) »

Small Space Solutions for Home Computer Station or Niche

Hi Friends!

So, I been thinking about new home construction and how the times have changed in the past 10 years. One thing that seems like a MUST HAVE in a home now-a-days is a computer niche. We almost didn't build one in our home that we built 4 years ago but I realized if the computer (or laptop) didn't have a specific space it was going to be left out on the counter or dining table forever! I'm one of those people who REALLY want to have a specific space for everything so I am very happy we found a little "hole in the wall" area and that is where I put my computer.

Let's look around blog land to see where others have carved out space to fit their computer areas! Utilizing under stair space is a perfect way to either add storage or gain a computer station.

Obviously, these people had the space to plan a large built in area for their computer. I love the soft green cabinets.

Source

This nice white built in has pocket doors that can hide the entire computer area. Very smart!

I appreciate this area designated for the computer. I have a feeling they were in a similar predicament as I was (no more room!) but they pulled off a nice bar area specifically for computer use. I really like the drawer added under the counter.

Source

I love how they made this computer alcove away from the center of the home. I think putting it in a more secluded spot would help with the fact that some of us can't stop spending time on our computers!!! Out of site out of mind - right??? :-)

We honestly did not have money to add another square inch to our floor plan, so we had to figure a solution utilizing the space that was already there.

Previously, the end of that bar was just a solid wall. We were able to squeeze out just enough space to make a sliding pocket door computer niche.

It's not a perfect spot (due to the fact that the back door is right behind me!) but it sure beats the computer sitting on the dining room table for the next 50 years. ;-)

AND yes, my wine is stored right about my workstation.....could it get any better?? I have to say, this space was used to it's FULLEST potential! ;-)

There you have it!

Isn't that a fun collection of ideas? If you are ever thinking of remodeling or building don't forget to keep a collection of ideas so that when the time comes, you won't have to re-invent the wheel for your own computer area.

What room do you have your computer area???

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DIY EASY Window Cornice Out of Old Art Frames

Hey Friends!

Does anyone else have the DIY blogger epidemic where you can no longer throw ANYTHING away just incase there is this AMAZING idea that pops into your head on how to salvage the odd piece of junk you really should have thrown away? :-)

UGGH, this happens to me all the time. It's not good for the cleanliness of our garage.

So, when I had the glass crack on my picture frame and "should have" thrown it away, the idea came to me that I should make it into a window cornice! (How do these strange ideas come to me LOL)

NEW window cornice from OLD useless art frame!

All I did was throw out the broken glass,

Used the cardboard that it came with and wrapped that in bubble wrap. (It’s just what was handy, as that was the material it had been wrapped up in for the move.)

Next I took a pillow sham I bought at the thrift store and wrapped that around the bubble wrapped cardboard. I just taped the fabric to stay together. (if the fabric looks familiar, I used the other identical pillow sham to upholster this chair for her desk!)

I really wanted some depth to the cornice so I went to Home Depot and bought a small board and had them cut it to size. I also bought some D rings/hooks so I could hang it.

I used wood glue and glued it all together. (all the pro’s use turtles and knife holders to weigh down their jobs, right?) Then I screwed on the D hooks to hang it. Once it was all dry, I took some stain and stained the wood posts I bought to make it darker to match the frame.

Overall this may have taken me 30 min to put together and the total cost was around $5.00.

But the part I’m happiest about is turning Lemons (a broken picture) into Lemonade!! (a pretty window cornice)

BEFORE:

AFTER:

And here is the final desk area after I applied some American Clay to the wall. You can also check out the before and after of the blue chalk paint desk I did. :-)

It’s all about keeping those Creative Juices Flowing – huh!!

Enjoy your weekend! We have a FULL one including a yearly piano recital. (I get so nervous for the kiddos!)

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CRAZY Yummy Cabbage Rolls - Easy

Some of you are probably thinking HOW can she say yummy and cabbage in the same sentence?

Well, these my friends are SO GOOD!

Pressure or Slow Cooker Meat Cabbage Rolls!

Not only are they very tasty, they look all fancy too (and they were easy!!)

I have a very sweet friend that I helped virtually decorate her mountain cabin (which I would love to show you guys sometime!!) but as a gift for doing that, she sent me an Instant Pot pressure cooker.

Click on the image and check out the reviews!!!

WOW, I haven't ever experienced cooking with a pressure cooker before and let me tell you, somewhat life changing! You can cook FROZEN chicken breasts (or entire chickens) to juicy perfection in 15 minutes! Things that I would have to cook in the slow cooker for HOURS is done in under 30.

So, these cute little things took 18 minutes in the pressure cooker, but you could also use your slow cooker on low for 9 hours or high for 5 hours. (see how handy the pressure cooker can be!)

So here is what you do:

Cut the core out of a LARGE cabbage.
Steam (boil) it in a pot of water for 5-8 minutes.
Remove the cabbage head, pull off the outside leaves that come off easily
Boil again and repeat pulling off leaves that come off easily till the whole veggie is dismantled.

Now you have your wraps

In a bowl combine:
(for the inside of the wraps)

1 cup pre-cooked rice
1 1/2 - 2 lbs Raw ground beef, sausage or turkey
1 egg
2 shredded carrots
1/2 c chopped onion
1 can green chili's
minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
(I added a dash of cinnamon/sugar too as I did it with sausage and wanted a bit of a sweet spicy thing going on)

MIX it all up.

In a saucepan:
(for the top of the rolls)

cook 1/2 c chopped onions in some butter
add minced garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1/4 c white vinegar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

You can chop up some of your leftover cabbage pieces and add to the sauce also.

At the VERY end you can take out the rolls and add 1 tbsp cornstarch with 2 tbsp cold water to thicken up the sauce.

You should be able to make at least 12 wraps.

Take your cabbage leaf, add about 1/4 cup of the meat mixture to one end of the cabbage, turn edges in and ROLL up the cabbage.

Set 6 rolls on the bottom of the pressure cooker, pour some of the sauce over them.

Layer next set of rolls on top and pour the rest of the sauce over the top.

(if you are using the pressure cooker, add about 1/2 c additional water to the pot for the pressure/steam to build up correctly)

Either pressure cook this for 18 minutes OR slow cook them for 5 hours on high or 9 hours on low. If using the pressure cooker, after the 18 minutes, let it sit for another 15 minutes and then quick release any left over steam.

Server hot! Set on the plate and spoon the sauce over the rolls.

I think pairing this up with a green vegetable or a salad is perfect. Guest will think this took you forever as it really does look and taste gourmet!

Some of the other things I have cooked in my pressure cooker is YOGURT! Seriously, I pretty much just pushed a button and at the end strained it to get THIS! It's by far the easiest way to make yogurt hands down. You can check out my Pinterest Board for all the great recipes I've pinned for this cooker.

Check out the reviews on Amazon for the Instant Pot and my Pressure Cooker Board for great recipes (including the yogurt!)

Follow Creative Juices Decor's board Pressure Cooker Recipes on Pinterest.

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Craft and Gift Ideas with Scrabble Letters!

Hey Friends!

I'll fess up that every time I find a Scrabble game at a yard sale or thrift store I grab it. You will see WHY I do that in the pictures below but I now have to set aside the time to actually make something with it! Maybe if I start now, I will have some really fun gifts ready for next Christmas ;-)

Tonya’s blog gave an amazing and quite easy step by step tutorial on how to make these scrabble piece pendant necklaces. Really, you just glue on some scrapbook paper and use diamond glaze on top to seal it. She has all the links where to purchase the stuff to make it yourself.

I think it’s a GREAT gift idea and would be a great craft to do with a bunch of woman.

What about making a Scrabble Coaster?? This could be a good gift even for the GUY in the family. (Father's Day gift?!) My father in law LOVES the game of scrabble. Kendra from Simply Darling made these fantastic "beer themed" coasters. She just hot glued them to cork squares. FUN and so easy!!!

Lastly, my friend Heather made the cutest scrabble art. She picked up an old game cheap at a garage sale or thrift store and had fun arranging words that described her family, then she glued it down and framed it in a frame used for 12x12 scrapbook layouts! Easy – huh!

Another example:

source

If you don't really like placing it on the Scrabble game board you could just lay it out on paper and frame it! This would be perfect for Mother's Day coming up!

After I wrote this post, I realized that you can just by INDIVIDUAL Scrabble letters for .20 cents off Etsy! That make all these projects VERY doable! Here is the link to the etsy shop I found.

Here's a site to track your goods if you're wondering if it will get to you in time!

What do you think? Will you make something?

If you have more scrabble craft ideas leave us a link in the comments!

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Make Your Own PURE Sugar and Alcohol Free Vanilla Extract

Hey Friends!

I've been making my own vanilla extract for a few years.
I guess it's time to show you guys - hee,hee.

In general, the pure vanilla extract you get in the stores is vanilla beans/pods soaked in alcohol. I make mine sugar free by soaking them in vegetable glycerin.

Before you get all weird on me and think I've gone off my rocker, vegetable glycerin is super sweet - it's like a syrup! Yummy!

The vanilla beans cost me $12.00 for 10 beans. I put 5 beans in each 8 ounce jar.
The glycerin cost me $6.00 for 16 ounces.

make your own pure vanilla extract save money

(Picture shows cut open pods with the beans on the side.)

So, it cost me $9.00 for an 8 ounce jar of great quality SUGARFREE homemade vanilla extract. (I made 2 jars) To buy organic (alcohol) pure vanilla online the same size is around $15.00 each.

OK, so there isn't a HUGE difference but it's pretty cool to make your own and we really like being pretty cool. (ha! I am so not cool, just see all my Fess Up posts to verify)

So without further ado, here is the world's simplest recipe for making your own.

Use 2 jars about 8 oz each or one big jar of 16 oz.

Score the pods lengthwise and scrap out the little beans.

Pour the glycerin into the bottles

Add cut up pods and the scraped beans in the jar.

Let sit for at least 6 weeks in your pantry before using.

I found the best prices for food grade glycerin at iherb.com (yes, it will look like a face product but I promise you, it's food grade)

And I actually found a better price than I just bought the beans for off Amazon (10 for 8.00 instead of 12.00 off eBay)

So NOW, if you buy them off these links you can make an 8 oz jar for 7.00 - That's more than 1/2 price if you bought it pre-made with the alcohol base. That's really good LOL!

(This will turn a LOT darker over time.......I JUST made that bottle, you can see an AGED bottle in the first picture on the far right. :-)

I hope you have fun making it! Let me know if you already do this or what your thoughts are :-)

ENJOY!

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Top 5 Crafts Using Old Mason Jars!

Hey Friends,

Today I have Sam as a guest writer giving all kinds of ideas on what we could do with old jars! Enjoy :-)

Repurposing Mason Jars as Home Décor

I am one of those people who believe in reducing, repurposing, reusing and recycling. And I believe this can be done with well, everything really!

Every time you do grocery shopping, you end up with at least one new glass jar or bottle. And most of the time you just throw them away, but there is SOO much more that you could be doing with them! So I’m sharing a few of my favourite mason jar repurposing projects. They’re all easy to do, and most of them don’t even require additional purchases. But if there’s anything you will need to buy after all, head on over to Discountrue.com to get discount coupons for all your favourite stores including such popular choices as Kohl’s or Target!

The Candle Jar Lantern

HeartLoveAlways

One of the simplest things to do with a mason jar is to turn it into a candle jar or a lantern. No matter the size or shape of the jar or bottle, the light glimmering through the glass is just so beautiful. Now the possibilities with this are pretty much endless. You can use normal tea light candles and battery powered candles, which are the most user friendly. But as long as the candle fits inside the jar, you can use it! You can also turn them into lamps or use fairy lights if you want to.

Country Living

Some supplies to help you get started:

Tape to make patterns out of and scissors

Craft, Chalkboard and Glass paint

Glow in the dark paint and decorations (eerily beautiful!)

Ribbon, wool, leather cords, twine or thin steel cable

Glass decorative elements, beads, crystals, marbles, stones

Wrapping paper, newspaper, brown paper (any kind of paper!)

Scrap fabric, knitted cosies or socks and old scarves

Food coloring, glitter, water, vegetable oil and craft glue

Candles - Tea light, floating, taper, aromatherapy

Lamp or lantern making supplies (globes, sockets, plugs, electric cables, etc)

Fairy lights

blog.lights

My best suggestion is to lay everything out in a neat row and get inspired, or visit Pinterest, Facebook and home décor sites for ideas!

Under shelf storage

Make the most of your available space by drilling a hole in the lids of similar mason jars and screwing them onto the bottom of a shelf. Now you can fill your decorated jars with spices, sweets or kitchen staples, craft supplies, and even use them as vases if you make a whole in the shelf above or a hanging decorative piece. Now screw the bottles onto the lids attached to the shelf and voila! Just unscrew them whenever you want something out of the jar or want to change what is inside the jar.

Vases, mugs, cookie or sweet jars

cul de sac cool.com

Any kind of decorated mason jar or glass bottle makes for a truly unique vase. Fill it with flowers, evergreen boughs, reeds or anything that you might arrange in a vase. They also make quite nifty coffee or hot chocolate mugs, even cocktail or cool drink ‘glasses’. And because they’re translucent they are great for storing homemade cookies and sweets on countertops or open shelves.

homestoriesatoz

classyclutter

Snow Globes

MasonJarCraftLove

A homemade snow globe is pretty easy to make and a mason jar or glass bottle is the perfect vehicle for them. Choose your decoration, glue it either to the lid or the bottom of the jar then add your ‘snow’ and liquid. You can put literally any ornament or decoration inside the jar, as long as it is water resistant and can stand up to being submerged for the rest of time!

f you want it to last for a long time then glue the lid on and seal it with wax or silicone glue.

12thAndWhite

Terrarium

lollyjane

If you love to grow small plants and herbs then mason jars make wonderful mini terrariums, and they’re also great for if your kids have a school project that involves watching a plant grow or observing insects. Because the mason jar provides a sealed environment, they don’t need much water and because they’re translucent you can see exactly what is going on inside. Mount the terrariums on old wooden boards with hose clamps to create a wall decoration, hang them in the window or from tree branches in the yard or just arrange them on a wooden shelf as a decoration.

As I said, mason jars and glass bottles are truly versatile with dozens of repurposing possibilities. I haven’t mentioned all of them so get creative with whatever supplies you have on hand. All you have to do is think outside of the box, or the jar, and you will create beautiful, unique, one of a kind home décor pieces that will make you smile every time you look at them.
(This was a sponsored post for Discountrue.com)

Thank you Sam, I think we have all been inspired to save our old jars! Have you guys made any of these yet?

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Valentine's Day Cookie Crafts!

Hey Friends!

Are you ready for some Valentine baking fun!?

These stain glass cookies I made are a LOT of fun! If you get a bag of suckers or Jolly Ranchers you can make the "glass" part look like a work of art. :-) Kids LOVE making these!

Click on the Candy "Stained Glass" Valentine Cookie link to see full recipe.

We call the next set of cookies "Pink Cookies" at our house. They are a delicious and somewhat chewy (if you don't overcook them!) meringue cookies. They are made with egg whites so they just happen to be fat free. (Full of sugar, but fat free - ha!)

You will NOT be disappointed! Promise :-)

I have it on my "To Do" list to make these type of mini (or regular size) candy cane hearts. I bought lots of extra boxes at the end of December when they were 75% off.

It's PERFECT for Valentine's Day!

Peppermint Bark Hearts

I love the idea of putting them on a stick and then handing them out as Valentines :-)

Mini Candy Cane Heart Pops!

What is your favorite "go to" Valentine cookie/treat recipe?

Do you have any Valentine traditions?

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Top 4 Best "Plan Ahead" Ideas When Building a New Home

Hey Friends!

This month is the 4 year anniversary of moving into our new home and our 18th anniversary of our marriage. Yay :-)

We've had 6 homes in those years, 2 of them we got to build completely from scratch and 1 partially from scratch.

I've learned quite a few things about building a home. Of course if I put everything I learned on one post it would become a novel, so today, I thought I would just cover a few little items that we did that I have REALLY ENJOYED. (-:

My hope is that you can save this post as reference if you ever have a chance to build your own home. :-)

First Fun Plan Ahead Item:

We added electrical sockets to the eaves of our roof rafters. This was quite simple to do, we just had to plan ahead. It makes Christmas lights a lot cleaner and simpler.

We also added a socket right next to the pergola for string lights. This has been AWESOME!!!!!! It looks so clean. Adding string lights to my backyard has been one of my favorite features of the house. Perfect for entertaining guests on a warm summer night.

There is the electrical socket - right at the top of the pergola!

We also made sure to tie in a power switch INSIDE so that we could turn the Christmas lights and the hanging string lights off with the flick of a button.

Second Fun Plan Ahead Item:

This might seem a little silly but I LOVE that I purchased a nice looking doorbell chime! The standard one installed is just an ugly plastic box. For just a few dollars more, they installed one that actually looked pretty in our home. I also think spending a bit more on a decorative doorbell ringer is worth the money too.

Third Fun Plan Ahead Item:

I'm not sure if I would call this one as much "fun" as I would just "smart" :-) My husband and I have issues with air conditioning :-) I like it HOT and he likes it FREEZING. (We also had the hot/cold issue with our bed, you can check out that post here.) In our old home, we had just one unit/zone for the house. His office was upstairs so he would BLAST the air conditioning to keep his office cool while the rest of the house was cold enough to produce snow had there been moisture. Ha! So with this house we did a MULTI zone air conditioner. We actually did four zones; the downstairs, main level, our master bedroom and the upstairs. Each one of those areas has its own air control system. It wasn't that much of an upgrade and FINALLY, I don't have to wear my down jacket in the peak of summer. :-)

Fourth Plan Ahead Item:

We saved money by building bedrooms into the roof rafters. Not only is it a GREAT use of space, I love the look of a room with cool nooks and crannies!

This may be a part 1 of 2 series but for now, I think that's a good start. :-) It can be overwhelming building a new home. Thankfully the internet/blogs can help some with some of the planning.

I hope I helped a bit! If you have any other fun "plan ahead" items to add, let us know in the comments!!!!

Have a great weekend!

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