Cindy-Campbell.com

Okay.
I’ll share my secret recipe for Pumpkin-Spice Muffins.
It’s super simple, so much so it can barely be called a recipe.
They’re moist, flavorful, and you can whip some up in a jiffy.

AND..

...They only take 2 ingredients.
Total.

Mix 2 ingredients together and bake.
That’s it!

1 Can 100% Pumpkin + 1 Box Spice Cake Mix

You do not have to add and water, oil, or eggs to the cake mix. Just the canned pumpkin. Then cook as directed on the box.

Quick Tip: The batter is pretty thick… so before you put the muffins in the oven, wet you finger tip and push down the spikes in the batter. That way your pumpkin-spice muffins wont have burnt peaks.

An added bonus is that pumpkin is full of fiber and nutrients, so the muffins are a healthy alturnative to many morning pastrys you might come across. (I actually came across this recipe many years ago on a Weight Watchers message board).

Enjoy!

Yes.
It is true.
You can decoupage a pumpkin.

Mod Podge + Fabric. Fabulous.

Mod Podge is basically watered down Elmer’s glue. You brush it on, apply strip of fabric, and brush another layer over the fabric and repeat around the whole pumpkin. I’ve done this with paper before, but never fabric, and never on a pumpkin

It’s the 21st Century. You most likely have access to a digital camera and a computer. So please please put a few extra moments into making you photos worth posting. This plea mainly goes out the ETSY shop owners and Ebay sellers of the world… your photos are such a critical component to the buyer’s decisions process, you need to be putting your best foot forward.

I must admit now, I am buy no means a professional photographer. I have a point-and-shoot camera that is a few years old and about 1” thick. It’s only “accessory” is a mini-tripod I got for under $10 at Wal-Mart. BUT, since acquiring this accessory, and learning how to make simple adjustments using Picnik.com, my online photo postings have increased by leaps and bounds.

For example:

*Click to enlarge

I like to use Picnik.com because it is easy and FREE. Bare minimum, just upload your photo end hit the “auto-fix” button (on the edit tab). You’ll usually see a big difference.

Next I go to “exposure” button and then hit the “advanced” option (don’t be scared). Drag the “highlights” and “shadows” buttons until the photo has the look you want (usually the graph will have black bars hitting it on the right and left side).

Making adjustments under the “colors” button will add some nice effects to your photos too. Experiments are good. And you can also hit the UNDO button if you’ve gone a little bit too crazy.

There are a lot of different sites that will let you edit photos, Picnik.com is just one I have been hooked on the past year or so. At any rate, I hope this inspires you to bring out the very best in all the pictures you post online!

A rose for mom.
That I made.
Out of coffee filters.
Seriously!

There is already a fabulous photo step-by-step tutorial available on Crafster. SarahJSaturday made such a beautiful bouquet; I could not believe they weren’t real and, in fact, coffee filters. I originally found the bouquet via a post on Dollar Store Crafts. Amazing.

BUT.

After making just one of these flowers, I’ve determined making multiple/enough for a full arrangement would cause me to loose my mind.

You have been warned.

The instructions are basic and straight forward. The supply cost is next to nothing.

But one flower will take AT LEAST and hour or so to construct and paint.

If you need a whole bouquet, just plan ahead… as in get started a week or so before you want it delivered/presented. In the end, you have a beautiful piece of art that will last indefinitely.

Grandma’s stain spray is so simple to make.
And saved my favorite shirt.
Okay. One of my favorite shirts.
It has penguins on it and I’m sure I’ll be wearing it for many years to come.
The first time I wore the shirt (FIRST. TIME.) I managed to spill a huge drop of olive oil right down the front.

I pretreated the EVOO stain with Shout spray, left it over night, then ran the shirt through the washer AND dryer.

The penguin shirt came out of the dryer with the EVOO stain still there. Oil stains are the worst… oil stains that have been through the DRYER are basically permanent. My penguin shirt was now a “wear around the house shirt.”

Or so I thought.

I pretreated with Grandma’s Stain Spray, let it rest overnight, and ran through the wash again.
I was so excited to pull the shirt out of the dryer with no more stain! 100% Gone.

Would you like some wonderful stain spray for your laundry room? Here’s how to make some of your own:

Fill and empty squirt bottle with equal parts
Water
Ammonia
JOY Dishwashing Liquid

Spray on stain and gently rub in. For tough stains, let sit over night before washing

I strongly recommend using JOY dishwashing liquid. My family has tried other brands in the past, and for some reason the mixture would turn into an un-useable jell substance. JOY has always worked just fine.

I can’t guarantee the spray will take out every stain you come across, but it works just as well (if not better!) as the laundry stain sprays you’ll find in the supermarket. We’ve been replenishing the same squirt bottle for about 15 years.

I hope you have the same stain-fighting success!

WARNING: Wether cleaning your bathroom or doing laundry, NEVER use bleach and ammonia products at the same time. The combonation of the 2 produces a highly toxic gas. Be Careful, and happy cleaning!