Create Everyday

I am still making lotions and potions with all of the essential oils I bought. The insect repellent (blog post 7/1/13) worked for about fifteen minutes before the mosquitoes decided the spray tasted like a marinade and NOT a repellent! The deodorant (blog post 7/3/13) worked but I would not recommend traveling with it. It was a melted mess when I arrived at our destination. I will make more and use it only in my home. My next experiment is a homemade insecticide spray. I adapted this one so my husband can use it on his garden. Insecticide Spray   1/2 head of garlic (you do not need to peel them) 1/2 T of pepper flakes 1/2 cup water   Process in a blender until smooth then pout mixture through a sieve to remove chunks of garlic or pepper flakes. This is your "base."   Pour your base mixture into a spray bottle. Add 4 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of Jojoba oil. Screw on top and shake.      

What is the best fruit to buy in Maine? Blueberries. What is one of my favorite cocktails? Margarita's! Below is my recipe for a Blueberry Margarita Maine Blueberry Margarita 3 cups of ice 1/3 cup of Tequila 2 cups fresh or frozen Blueberries 1 (6oz frozen limeade) 1 oz Citron Vodka 1 oz Triple Sec   Add all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy! makes 4 servings  

Greetings from Maine and Happy 4th of July! After I made my homemade bug spray I was on a roll. I bought so many oils for the spray I needed to find something else to make with them. Homemade deodorant would be my next experiment! While in Maine we are not around a lot of people (except family), so why not try out this deodorant now? I  used Geranium essential oil to give it a nice scent. Geranium essential oil is supposed to be a strong  mosquito repellent which is what I also used in my Bug Spray. Citronella and Lemon Eucalyptus essential oils are two of the most common oils to deter mosquitoes but I prefer the smell of the Geranium oil. Just so you know, my family is not on board with any of this! They already stocked up on OFF and their own brand of deodorant.  I reviewed and tried several before I came up with my own recipe. Here is the recipe of my homemade deodorant. It creamy, smells great and is not sticky like some st...

I have not posted lately because I have been "tweaking" my blog. I am thankful that lots of people are still checking in! I have more to do on my blog but plan to be able to continue posting on a weekly basis. I have a few vacations planned and hope to be able to still blog while I am away. My first summer vacation is our trip to Maine to visit my husband's cousins, Linda and Larry. We are really looking forward to this trip but we are not looking forward to the mosquitoes! It is like they swarm in a circle waiting for you to go outside and then attack like party crashers at a buffet! We have to cover ourselves in bug spray and walk around smelling like a can of OFF. This year I did some research and found a insect repellent. I adapted the recipe to make it our own. I usually try out a recipe or craft before I post. This time I decided to write about it and let you tune in next week to see how it works. Here is a picture of the view fr...

Today is the first day of summer and it is my favorite time of year. When I was a child we always visited our grandparents during the summer. I loved eating my grandma's (Eula Mae Hix) biscuits, chocolate pudding pie made from scratch, and drinking her homemade lemonade. It is still the best lemonade I have ever tasted. Here is Eula Mae's recipe...enjoy!   Lemonade by Eula Mae Hix 8 lemons juiced 2 cups of sugar 4 cups of water ice cubes   Heat 2 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar in a pot until sugar is dissolved to make the simple syrup. Let the simple syrup cool. Add 2 cups of ice cold water. Add the juice of 8 lemons. Stir and serve over ice. See how to use lemons to make a table decoration http://phixdesign.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2013-06-19T17:49:00-07:00&max-results=1&start=1&by-date=false Here is a cocktail recipe that uses frozen lemonade and a marinade recipe that uses fresh lemon juic...

Henri Matisse made gouaches decoupes (paintings from cut outs) which he liked to describe as "painting with scissors."  BLUE NUDE was one the many famous paintings from this time.  Here is one of my "paintings with scissors."

Tom's Whiskey Sour 1 large can of frozen lemonade (use juice can to measure Bourbon and Triple Sec) measure 1 juice can of Bourbon measure 1 inch of Triple Sec in juice can measure 1 juice can of water   Put all ingredients into blender. Fill with ice and blend. Serve over ice.   Mary Ann's Lemon Juice Marinade for Flank Steak or Chicken 1 cup vegetable oil 3/4 cup soy sauce 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce 1/4 cup mustard 1-2 tsp coarsely cracked pepper 2 close minced garlic 2 or 3 flank steaks OR 4-8 boneless, skinless whole chicken breast   Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Place meat in large zip lock bags and fill with marinade. Refrigerate for 24-36 hours turning bag a few times. Place bag in a dish for support or if it leaks.  Grill meat until done.