Creative Juices Decor

Hello friends!! I hope you all had a great Easter!   (No, I'm not going to do an April Fools post.....I guess I'm not quite as cool as all those other bloggers who do - hee, hee!!!!) This year I could hardly catch my kiddos in action!  They were OFF and RUNNING to fill their baskets with candy eggs!   BEFORE they could scatter like little bunnies though,  I made them sit down for a picture.....they love me for this type of behavior- ha! Honestly, it was an amazing day - bright sunshine and hot! (Well, a high of 68 is hot for us Great N.W. folks!) For the past few years there has always been SNOW on the ground at Easter but this year I spent the entire time barefoot and wearing my first summer dress of the year. I am SOOOOO looking foward to summer.  Lots of camping trips planned :-) And for anyone who is interested...... The kids just had their Spring Piano Recital - I promise, it's not Chopsticks ;-...

I know, some of you are thinking WHAT is Xylitol?   I'll try to make it short and sweet  ~ ha! Xylitol is another HEALTHY natural ( not artificial ) sweetener.  It has become VERY popular in sugar free gums (and toothpaste) because xylitol actually fights tooth decay .   One of my personal goals has been to get rid of all my sugar free (aspartame-ahhhh!) gums and switch to 100% xylitol gums/mints.  They don't hold their flavor for hours like the generic chemical laden gums but the health benefit is SUBSTANTIAL!   Xylitol is not a no calorie sweetener like Stevia, but it has about 40% less calories than normal table sugar and is safe for diabetics  (10 calories per tsp. instead of 15)   Today I'm going to give you a SIMPLE yummy healthy Caramel Corn recipe that was adapted by the most amazing healthy desert blog,  Chocolate Covered Katie . This is SOOOO good - you will not be disappointed! Seriously, my kids were f...

My two favorite ways to decorate and add personality to a home VERY inexpensively is by hanging plates, or setting up a pretty vignette with old vintage books. The best place to find BOTH of these items for under a buck is at the thrift store.  I know that Etsy and eBay also offer "lots" of old books so you can always check there too. I picked up these maroon encyclopedias for .50 cents a piece.  I move them around to different locations when I'm getting the decorating itch :-) I thought for this version of my Creative Juices Award I would show you beautiful vignettes  with ideas on decorating with vintage books.   Wrapping jute rope or raffia around a collection of books is a great way to add substance to your book collection and make it a focal piece on your dresser, mantel or console table. Could not find source How about using books on your table to make a centerpiece!  It's a great way to add height to somethin...

Believe it or not, I am still keeping to my January resolution and attempting to eat "clean" and healthy!  So........ finding good chicken recipes is top on my list. I found this Chicken Cacciatore and it was simple and delicious. It is made with chicken thighs which aren't as lean as the breast but those pieces of meat are TENDER! (And thighs have 50% more iron per equil pieces of breast.) CHICKEN CACCIATORE  (serves 4, adapted from link above) 4-5 Boneless skinless Chicken Thigh (I get a big frozen pack at Costco) 1/2 tsp pepper 1 large onion chopped 3 celery stalks thinly sliced 6 small mushrooms quartered 1/2 c dry red wine (or chicken stock, but I feel the wine is what makes this dish!) 1 can crushed tomatoes 1 bay leaf 2 sprigs fresh rosemary (or sprinkle in dried if you don't have fresh) 6 sprigs Italian parsley, plus 1 tbsp chopped to garnish top. 1/4 tsp paprika Thaw out the chicken and then sprinkle the thighs with ...

Every once in a while, you run across an obscure blog and your jaw drops..... You're thinking, What?  She should have a billion followers!   That's what happened when I ran across Lynda's trompe l'oeil painted barn styled carriage garage doors .   She mentions that they were STARK WHITE before she began.....ya, WHITE! She PAINTED them to look like cool barn wood! From white to brown in no time! (I love paint) Or how about this little scrolly work she did on this ladies home - isn't it amazing??  Really! The pattern reminds me of an artistic wall art board my friend and I saw at a local home decor shop.  I would LOVE to make something just like that.....maybe I will :-) This next set of photos was one of the very FIRST projects I saw when I entered the world of blogging.  I am still a subscriber to Remodelaholic and Cassity has even featured a few of my projects on her blog. :-) Garage doors make up SO much of yo...

I'll start off this post with a very romantic bedroom photo that I have had on file (even before Pinterest - GASP!) And an up close of the old frame with a picture behind it. Or how about this bedroom - they used distressed doors for the base of the shabby chic platform bed and a antique mantel as a headboard!!!  LOVE THAT!  BHG.com OK on to the title of my post.......One of my favorite ways to make a bedroom cozy is to add drapes that run floor to ceiling.  Not only will the drapes add height to a room, they will add a lot of warmth and great texture. source In Sherry and Johns (Young House Love) first house they show how fabric can soften their bedroom too. young house love If you know exactly where you will be putting your bed, making a built in niche is fun way to make your room feel custom.  Notice they also have floor to ceiling drapes. Although I didn't run drapes...

Ok my friends, so the good news is that I'm not a professional photographer :-) Style Me Pretty That's good because I can RELATE to all of you out there that SIMPLY want to know how to use your new camera to take a better photo than you did with your snap and shoot!   SO, here are some very basic and simple tips, but I promise you , if you apply them to your photos they are going to ROCK!   Simple and Basic Tricks That Will Change Your Photos Forever! 1.)  Take outdoor shots with either early morning light or late evening light as the sun is setting. You will not BELIEVE the pictures you can get with this light.  You hardly have to try and they will turn out amazing. Sun was just about to set - the "golden" hour! Worst time to try to take photos? When the sun is directly on top of you - say, noon.  If you do end up taking photos at noon, make sure your subject is in the shade and you ca...