Free Stylin'

Easy Raspberry Freezer Jam

April 16, 2013 by beth Leave a Comment

K, so I wanted to share a favorite recipe of mine with you today that is easy and quick to make, plus it’s really really good. Have you ever made Raspberry Freezer Jam? Have you ever made your own jam at all? It is so much easier to make than you think, and it’s such a great way to use your favorite fruit while it’s in season.

Our most recent freezer jam batches came from necessity: I am super clumsy right now and dropped and busted an entire jar of store-bought jelly all over the floor. :/ (This was right after I dropped a whole pizza right out of the oven AND plateful of birthday cake I was about to give to The Hubs. My poor family!) Luckily we had just bought some raspberries, so I decided that instead of going to the store for more jelly, I would make my own!

It’s simple to make, and you probably have most of the ingredients on hand right now. The only thing that you may not usually have in your pantry to make homemade jam is pectin. It’s not hard to find at the grocery store, though – I’ve always found it on the baking or canning aisle.

Here’s the directions if you want to make freezer jam, too:

Ingredients:

3 c raspberries (P.S. If you want to use other berries or fruit, see variations of this recipe at the end of the post.)

1 TB fresh lemon juice

5 tsp powdered fruit pectin

1/2 tsp butter

1 1/4 c sugar

Directions:

In a skillet, mix together raspberries, lemon juice, pectin, and butter.

Heat to boiling on high, blending and mashing with a potato masher. Boil for 1 minute.

Stir in sugar and return to a boil. Boil jam for 2 more minutes (until it’s syrupy), stirring occasionally.

Remove jam from heat. Cool at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Pour jam into 1/2 pint jars with tight fitting lids. (I used jars that were from previous homemade jams from friends, but we also have some plastic ones I bought from Wal-mart’s canning aisle.)

Cover and refrigerate until jam is set and cold (about 8 hours). The jam will thicken as it chills. Keep jam refrigerated and use within 3 weeks. OR put the jam into freezer safe containers and store in the freezer up to 1 year.

We LOVE this jam. It’s sweet and tastes like real fruit instead of artificial flavors. You can cook it in the time it takes to run to the store and buy jam, but you actually know what’s in it!

Variations:

For strawberry jam: use strawberries instead of raspberries; increase lemon juice to 2 TB; increase pectin to 2 TB.

For three-berry jam: reduce raspberries to 1 cup, add 2 cups of strawberries and 1 cup of blackberries; increase pectin to 2 TB; reduce sugar to 3/4 cup.

So that’s it! I highly recommend making your own - especially when you don’t have to pull out a bunch of special canning equipment or spend all day in the kitchen.

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Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Recipes

Framed Spring Gallery: A Kid-Friendly Craft

April 12, 2013 by beth 4 Comments

This post was written as part of a campaign with The Blueprint Social. All opinions are my own.

K, so as crazy as it sounds, we have been having some “cold” weather here in Texas! Usually it is in the 80′s around this time of year, but the last few days have been colder than any other year I can remember. I’m ready for spring, Mother Nature!

I decided not to let the cooler temps bug me too much (we’ll be praying for them in the middle of the scorching summer!). Instead I thought my cute boys and I could make an easy, kid-friendly spring craft for our home thanks to a package of bright Apple Barrel paint and Mod Podge Washout from Plaid Crafts.

I happen to have a stash of white picture frames that were waiting to be used as well as some leftover burlap fabric from my family room lamps. (The glass and backs of the frames have been removed.) This is the perfect time to make a Framed Spring Gallery for the mantel.

Wanna make one, too? Here’s how:

Step 1: Cut out fabric to fit each frame.

Step 2: Using the stencil and a paint sponge, stamp your bright, cheery paint onto the middle of the fabric. (Don’t worry about little messes! I learned that the paint cleans up easily with soap and water after a little bit ended up on the dining room table.)

Step 3: Using Mod Podge Washout, glue cute, spring-like embellishments to the frames. I found these paper flowers in the scrapbook aisle at a craft store.

My cute Pickle attached them to the frames with the Mod Podge, and then we added a little extra to the petals to keep them from ripping or coming off.

It was easy to allow him to use the Mod Podge Washout because it’s the same great formula as Mod Podge Gloss but washes out of his clothes – no pre-soaking needed. I’m sure lots of moms and teachers love that!!

Step 4: Mom’s turn! I hot glued the fabric to the back of each picture frame.

And that’s it! An easy afternoon craft that my sweet guy and I could make together.

We arranged our spring frames on the mantel in the family room. I love how happy this gallery makes our room!

What I like about this project is that it can be tailored to any season or holiday. Pickle asked if we were going to make some for summer and fall using paint colors of the seasons. Apple Barrel makes lots of colors, so I bet we will!

To stay connected with Plaid Crafts, check them out!

Like Plaid Crafts on Facebook, Follow Plaid Crafts on Pinterest, and Follow Plaid Crafts on Twitter.

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Filed Under: Craft, Kids, Spring Tagged With: Craft, Kids, Spring

North Sea Green

April 9, 2013 by beth 4 Comments

K, so I recently mentioned that we are doing a bit of a master bedroom makeover before the baby comes. He’ll be staying in our room with us for the first few months, so I knew I wanted to go through the middle-of-the-night feedings, lack of sleep, and post postpartum issues in a fabulous room. That would definitely help, right? I’ll be spending loads of time in here, so why not have a room that makes me smile?

I fell in love with this room and the color on the walls: North Sea Green by Benjamin Moore.

Source

Our current bedroom has a lot of browns and tans, which is my least favorite. It isn’t me, and my room felt sad. The deep blue green walls in the inspiration room made me feel happy and grown up and glamorous all at the same time. The white linens keep the room from feeling too dark.

While consulting with my friend, Autumn, about what color I should choose for the room, she gave me a list of color options similar to the peacock blueish colors I am drawn to. Here are a few other variations of North Sea Green. They are all by Benjamin Moore, as well:

Calypso Blue

Source

Deep Sea Green

Deep Sea Green

Source

Deep Teal

Source

Bermuda Turquoise

Bermuda Turquoise

Source

After looking through the colors Autumn suggested, I narrowed it down to three colors and headed off to Lowe’s for my samples. (I also grabbed some paint for a nightstand makeover, so stay tuned for that!)

Autumn recommended painting large squares of each sample on multiple walls in our room. The Hubs and I then looked at the samples at different times of the day to see how the color changed in different light. After a few days we both came to the conclusion that we loved North Sea Green.

And once it was on the walls, I knew we made the right choice. I am in love. In LOVE.

(With one coat of paint…)

Now I’m going to be straight up honest with you about something that my Free Stylin’ self rarely does: I opened up my wallet a bit and hired a painter. I know it’s scandalous. I know it’s against everything in me. But I also know that the room would not get painted until the baby’s 12th birthday if I did it myself. Plus I was specifically told I couldn’t paint because I’m pregnant, so fine. I hired someone. I had lots of sweet friends and family who offered to help, but, in the end, it became a logistical nightmare trying to figure out everyone’s’ schedules and availability. I was starting to freak out that it wouldn’t get done in time, so I asked around and found an awesome painter that about 17 people I knew had used and highly recommended.

If you live in the Austin, TX area, and are looking for an awesome painter, e-mail me and I’ll give you his number. He was fast and super detail oriented. He free handed cutting-in the ceiling – no taping off, and no mistakes. And the best part? He worked within my budget. What a blessing.

P.S. Did you notice my “Matthew McConaughey” body pillow all covered up?

If you follow me on Instagram, I recently posted a picture of a new body pillow I bought. It’s seriously a pregnant lady’s best friend. I named it Matthew McConaughey. The Hubs hates it when I call it that.

Totally off subject, I know. That’s my brain lately for sure!

Anywhoo, so the master bedroom makeover is in full swing! The room is painted, and the new nightstands are going in (I’ll share those with you next!). So say goodbye to this sad space:

And hello to a new fabulous room that’s already making me smile.

So, what do you think about the color? Do you like dark rooms or light rooms? I’ve never had a dark room before, but with the white ceiling, trim, and doors, it is definitely lighter than I thought it would be. Do you usually paint your own rooms or do you hire out? Any tips or tricks for cutting-in? Cuz that is my least favorite part!

Have a great day!

Filed Under: Master Bedroom Tagged With: Master Bedroom

Cheesecake Sopaipillas {Cheesecake Sopapillas}

April 1, 2013 by beth 3 Comments

Hey friends! I hope you all had a lovely Easter. We hosted lunch and an Easter egg hunt for the kidlets at our house yesterday. When trying to decide what to serve for dessert, I knew I wanted to try a recipe that I’ve been holding on to for two or three years. One of my sweet friends in Florida passed it along to me, and it is SO good.

Have you ever had Cheesecake Sopaipillas?

They are the perfect blend of doughy, gooey inside/slightly crunchy outside. Cream cheese, cinnamon, and sugar make a creamy filling that is seriously heavenly. I made one pan, and it was gone. Like LONG gone…there wasn’t even a crumb left.

Wanna make some for your friends and family, too? Here’s the recipe:

Cheesecake Sopaipillas

*2 cans of crescent rolls

*1 block of cream cheese (although I’ve read other recipes calling for two – depending on your taste)

*1 cup sugar

*1 stick of melted butter

*1 tsp vanilla

*cinnamon and sugar

Instructions: Combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl. Roll out one can of dough on the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Spread 1/2 of the cream cheese mixture across the dough. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Repeat for second layer. Add melted butter across the top, and sprinkle a little more cinnamon and sugar over the butter. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes.

This easy dessert was such a crowd pleaser! And it seriously took only minutes to make. I just popped it in the oven while we ate, and it was ready to go after lunch.

Here are few more quick and easy desserts:

S’more Brownies

Candy Stuffed Chocolate Cookies

Georgia Peach Smile (Peach Cobbler)

Have a great day!

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Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Recipes

Quick Tip: Cleaning the Carpets (From the Free Stylin’ Archives)

March 26, 2013 by beth 5 Comments

K, so recently someone asked me if I knew of a good way to clean up a large spill on the carpet. They were out of carpet shampoo and wondered if there was an alternative. A couple of years ago I actually wrote a post (one of my first on Free Stylin’!!) about this actual question. I thought I’d dig into the Free Stylin’ archives a little and share the post again because this simple solution is right in your laundry room. Check it out!

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Today’s little tip is FREE (love that!), so I wanted to let you in on it.

Most likely people stop by your home unannounced. And sometimes you might have a party, or are you cleaning up after one? Are you hosting the holidays this year? Dinner for the whole fam damily? When friends and neighbors stop by it’s always fun to invite them in for a little chat.

As I was thinking about guests coming to my house, I realized I was a little hesitant to invite anyone in because my carpets were dirty. I mean DIRTY. I knew it was past time for a good, deep clean. So recently I borrowed a carpet shampooing machine from a sweet lady at church, and I found a babysitter for little J. (Nice!) All of the furniture was hauled out of the rooms (by myself! Just call me She-Ra!). Now I was ready to clean.

Except….

No carpet shampoo. None. Oops. Blame it on the mom brain. I forgot to buy some. But, being the Free Stylin’ chick that I am, I looked around the house to see what I had on hand…

Laundry Detergent.

Yep! It’s a stain fighter, it’s gentle on carpets (and carpet cleaners), and it makes your whole house smell fresh. And I believe I used less detergent than actual carpet shampoo.

If you are wishing your carpets looked a little less gross, used, walked on, spilled on, or lived in and a little bit newer, cleaner, and brighter, but you don’t have

1. Time
2. Money or
3. A Brain (like me)

then try a little laundry detergent.

Here’s a beautiful stain on my floor – right where the kiddos love to play trains, and near the back entrance which we use all.the.time. (This is the perfect storm.)

After testing a little area first to make sure my idea would work (and not ruin the carpet!), I dripped a little diluted laundry detergent right on one of the toughest stains. (Make sure the detergent is diluted, or it will leave a residue on the carpet, making it appear dirty no matter how clean it really is.)