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Jun 30, 2014

Washi Tape Outlet Cover Make-Over

Mr. Cookie Puzzle and I are starting to see the end of our new house building project.  I can not tell you how very excited I am...and how TIRED I am.  I will NEVER move again.  I am not cut out for working this hard.  Last week, was us until at least midnight every night, and up again at 5 am for work.  Finally being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel feels pretty good.

Our new how has a very rustic feel, think wood surfaces everywhere and tin accents. That theme is carried out all over the house, except for my cookie craft room.  My cookie/craft room has a very sunny and bright feel, lots of light and "Fun"  I painted the walls a bright yellow.  I have been planning this room for years and I knew exactly how I wanted it to look, and how I wanted it laid out.  I wanted it to look cheery, but I also wanted it to be very practical and efficient. One thing that I knew I wanted was to have all the outlets to be at counter height.  I know that seems odd to many people, but it was a must for me.  I use a lot of different tool to make cookies and to craft, and I wanted to be able to quickly plug in and unplug tools.  The thought of getting down on the floor, and reaching under a table or moving a shelf to unplug my Kopykake or glue gun, well, that did not sound fun to me.  So counter height outlets are all over the room.

Having counter height outlets, meant that they can be seen, so I wanted them to be "cute" "fun" and cheery".
So, I gave them a little fun, with washi tape!


Washi Tape Outlet Cover

Washi Tape Outlet Cover


Pretty fun right?  I think so.  I have 5 regular outlets, 1 GIF outlet, 1 light switch and one cable outlet in my cookie/craft room, and they all got a little makeover with washi tape.



To make your own, you will need:

Washi Tape Outlet Cover

Outlet covers
Washi Tape
Craft knife
Mod Podge
foam brush


Washi Tape Outlet Cover

Starting at the top, place your first strip of Washi Tape, letting it over hang
the edge of the outlet cover by 1/2 inch, so that you can fold it over the edge, covering the sides.
Then, just keep laying on strips, covering all the way to the bottom.  I just taped
right over the holes.

Washi Tape Outlet Cover

Once it was completely covered, I flipped it over and from the back, I used my
craft knife, and cute a big X in the holes, an folded in the tape, covering the edges
of the holes.  Make sure you use your craft knife to cute a hole where the screw goes.

Washi Tape Outlet Cover

When all the outlets were covered, I gave them all two thin
coats of Mod Podge for protection, letting them dry 
completely  between coats.

Washi Tape Outlet Cover


And just like that, I had fun and cheery outlet covers for my cookie/craft room.



Don't forget, Party in Your PJ's is still open this week, so you
still have time to link up!


Click HERE to link up!


This post might be linked up at the link parties found Here

Jun 26, 2014

Party in Your PJs #9




Welcome to Party in Your PJs #9!

Last week we had our biggest week ever, and I
am so happy.  We started this link party 
hopping to create a party that everyone enjoys.
Are you enjoying it?
I hope so, because we are!




The Cookie Puzzle Facebook Pinterest


Here are a few of my favorite links from last week.
Make sure you check out Melissa's favorites over at


Patchwork Gift Box

This Patchwork Gift Box from 
Sum of Their Stories, is soo cute!  I can not wait to 
make one for myself




Frazzled JOY built this
beautiful Rustic Kitchen Island, and I swooned.
I have barn wood ready for the island in my new house, but never thought of doing anthing other then straight vertical or 
horizontal.....I quickly pinned this one!








DSCF1100

Two Keck Girls shared this Road Trip Snack Mix,
it is a cinnamon flavored snack mix...and I can not 
wait to try it!



Tami of Tami Rena's Cookies is one of my
favorite people in the world.  I call her my Amish
friend.  She is not actually Amish, but lives near Amish 
country, so...she is my Amish Friend...that makes sense, right?
Anywho...she shared these Lemon Drop Cookies...and OMG
ya'll, you have to make these!  



We love to pin!  We've have created a board, where all links will be pinned.  If you 
want to be inspired, make sure to follow the board.


Follow The Cookie Puzzle's board Party in Your PJs Links on Pinterest.


I am a simple girl....so the "rules" are simple.
Link up to your post..not your main blog.
Link up something YOU made.
No Etsy Shops or Business Links.
I would love for you to share the party on
Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ and Twitter.
Visit other links and make friends.
Feel free to grab a button.











Jun 24, 2014

Nutella Frosted Funfetti Bars


I have something very serious I want to talk about with you today.  Well...actually not YOU, my blog reader, but with those evil Cake Mix Manufactures.

Nutella Frosted Funfetti Bars


Look at this pictures...those bars look all kinds of yummy don't they?  Well...you can not taste them, but trust me when I tell you they ARE YUMMY!  Can you make out what is in that photo?  First thing you should notice is the bars, or at least I hope you do.  Look in the background, what do you see?  An almost empty jar of Nutella, right?  Yes...I love me some Nutella, any way, any how...it is perfect in every way.  Nutella, I love you, do not change a thing, you are dismissed for now.

What do you notice in the top right corner of the photo?  Let me help you out, it is a Confetti Cake mix.  More specifically, it is a store brand Confetti cake mix.  Here in lies the problem.  I love baking with cake mixes.  The are quick, simple, cheap and pretty much no-fail.  Except when they fail!  Let me explain a little.

For some reason, evil cake mix manufactures thought it would be perfectly OK, if they reduced the number of ounces in their cake mixes, and no one would notice.  Really?  We would not notice?  Do you really think we are that stupid?  Going from 18.9ish ounces  to 15.25ish ounces IS A BIG DEAL!  When you need 24 cupcakes and your mix only makes 18 cupcakes...IT IS  A BIG DEAL!  You are now forcing me to make another mix, ending up with 36 cupcakes instead of the needed 24 cupcakes, then I am forced to eat them all....and then my jeans cry.  IT IS A BIG DEAL.  When you find a wonderful recipe on Pinterest and it is like 5+ years old, and it starts out with a cake mix....IT IS A BIG DEAL!

Nutella Frosted Funfetti Bars

I am not gonna get all blogger crazy on you, cake mix manufacture people, but I will be careful of when I use you from now on.  For some reason, store brand cake mixes are still in the 18.9ish range, so I will be uses them.  Be mad at me, fine, I don't care, but a bloggers gotta do what a blogger gotta do.

Last week, I found a great Funfetti Nutella bar, I could not wait to make it. It looks yummy, it was a simple bar, made from a cake mix.  The directions said to make the batter, spread half in a pan, top with Nutella, then top with the remaining batter.  Well, guess what, cake mix manufacture people?  Let me help you out.
THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH BATTER TO COVER THE NUTELLA!  Yeah, that is right, with cake mixes, SIZE DOES MATTER!  Thankfully, it tasted WONDERFUL, but looked like, well..a FAIL!

Don't worry your little head though, because my dear friend Nutella, had your back.  Did you know that Nutella is MAGIC?  I knew it was yummy, and I loved it, but last weekend, while trying out this wonder recipe, I found on Pinterest, I discovered another reason to love Nutella.  When you bake it, it turns into this wonderful fudge frosting!  WHAT?  Yep, you heard me right....that bar is covered with straight up Nutella!
I am in love!

Nutella Frosted Funfetti Bars

So...I failed last week, well actually, the cake mix failed, because I am perfect in every way, kinda like Mary Poppins, LOL.  I tried it again this week, and I am happy to report, these are WONDERFUL!  You need to make them, they are soft, and chewy, and the "frosting"....OMG...I love it!  

You need to make these, like now, but do it when you are alone, or when the kiddos are asleep, because you will not want to share these, or at least I did not want to, so if you want some, make your own, because these babies are all mine.   I love you all more then my luggage, but not more then my Nutella Frosted Funfetti Bars.  Sorry...I gotta keep it real here.



Nutella Frosted Funfetti Bars
by The Cookie Puzzle

Nutella Frosted Funfetti Bars

Ingredients
  • 1 Funfetti/Confetti Cake mix (18.9 ounce size)
  • 1/3 cup butter, melted
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 cup Nutella
  • sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
Pre-Heat oven to 350, lightly spray a 9x13 baking dish, set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, combine cake mix, butter and milk until well combined. Press batter/dough firmly and evenly in the bottom of the baking dish. Carefully spread the Nutella evenly over batter, leaving 1/4-1/2 boarder around edge, without Nutella. Sprinkle with sprinkles if desired. Bake for 28 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to completely cool before cutting into 24 bars. Store in air tight container.
Powered by Recipage





Don't forget, you still have time to link up at
Party in Your PJs this week!


Click HERE to link up and to see all the wonderful links

Jun 22, 2014

Pieces of My Puzzle 6-22-14



Happy Sunday blogging friends!  It has been more then a month and I thought I should do a Pieces of my Puzzle post.  I write these post to let you know what has been going on in my life, other then blogging.  It has been so long since I did one of these posts because life is all kinds of crazy for me right now.

We are in the home stretch of building our new home.  The furnace and A/C are in.  The hot water heater and water softener are installed.  All the tubs/showers, stools and vanities are in.  We finally got all the flooring installed.  All the walls have finishes on them, as do the ceilings.  All the electrical and plumbing is done.  Two rooms are completely done, the half bath and my cookie/craft room.

When we were planning the layout of our new home.  A cookie room for me was a must.  I wanted it to be close to the kitchen, have a sink and lots of storage.  At that time, I was selling cookies regularly, decorating and baking cookies every week.  Well, things have changed a bit, with being so busy on the new house, I have not been decorating cookies, and have been doing quick dessert recipes and simple crafts.  This leaves me with a bit confused as to how to furnish and layout the room.  One wall has a counter top with a sink in it, with upper cabinets above that.  One wall has just upper cabinets.  I have no idea what to do with the rest of the room.  I am not sure what furniture to buy and place in there.  Should I go with what I envisioned it to be, a cookie room, or go with my current passion, simple desserts and simple crafts?  I think maybe I just get all my supplies in there, get moved in with what I have now, and see what happens when we get moved in and settled.  Tell me about your hobby rooms.  What a MUST HAVES. What do you dream of having and what is not needed.  Help a girl out!

Mr. Cookie Puzzle took the day off yesterday to go to a Kansas City Royals ball game, so we did not work at the new house yesterday.  I used yesterday to officially start packing up our current house.  Collin and I moved 50 plus boxes and several small pieces of furniture to storage.  Most of what I moved were fragile items, so everything needed to packed carefully.  We packed up Collin's Nutcracker collection and my Snow Buddie Collection.  We also moved my Depression Glass, Milk Glass and my antique canning jars.  I am not sure WHY I have most of these things, well, actually, I am not sure why I have SO MANY of these things.  Does anyone NEED 12 Two-Quart Blue Canning Jars?  I think a lot of things will not be making a showing in the new house.  Dusting is way overrated and I have decided to keep things simple and minimal in the new house.

So...the building of the new house is starting come to a finish, although there is still much to do before we can finally move in, all those little things take time.  We are starting the process of packing up our current house, which we have been in for 16+ years.  I work full time, Mr. Cookie Puzzle runs a business.  I am blogging when I can, which is getting less and less.  So I think I might start doing a few post about the new house.  There are some "problems" with decor that I need help with, decorating is NOT MY THING.  So, I might ask ya'll for some input.

TV....well...I have not had much time for that lately.  When I do have a spare minute to watch anything, it has been 24-Live Another Day, and re-runs of The Big Bang Theory, because, well, Jack and Sheldon make me happy.


I did get these made last week, they are simple and 
yummy and have been a part of my daily diet!
You can read all about them HERE!


Party in Your PJs Weekly Link Party, is slowly gaining a following.
Melissa of Simply Sweets by Honeybee and I are having fun
running this party.  We have both found some wonderful blogs
to follow.  I have to confess though, I get a little depressed that it
has not gained a big following.  I join a LOT of link parties each week, 
so of them have hundreds of followers each week.  How do you 
achieve that?  What makes you want to join a link party?
There are many parties out there, what makes you join some
and pass on others.  Do you like BIG ones or Small ones?
Is Pinning important to you?  What about sharing on FB and G+?
Do you like seeing lots of features or just a few.
Could you help a sister out?  What I am asking is what can we
do to grow our party?
On that note, you still have time to join this weeks party, it is open until 
7 PM on Wednesday.  Just click HERE to join!
We would love to have you, and if you could, would you
tell your friends?  Would you consider putting us on your
Link Party List?  
Thanks so much!


So...there you go...Pieces of my Puzzle....what I have been up to....what has been keeping me busy...what life if like behind the scenes.

Until next time

HUGS!

Jun 19, 2014

Party in Your PJs # 8

Welcome back to 
Party in Your PJs!


We are at week 8 of Party in Your PJs, and I am having so 
much fun.  Thank you to all of you, who have
linked up week after week, we truly appreciate you!  If you are new to the party, remember to add us to your Party Page, so 
you remember to come back next week.  There is 
room for us all here!
 
Now...onto the party!



The Cookie Puzzle Facebook Pinterest


Here are a few of my favorite links from last week.
Make sure you check out Melissa's favorites over at


Do you follow Brepurposed?  If you don't, you should.
Every Friday, she offers free printables.



Shari of Pure Grace Farms has quickly become one of
my favorite bloggers.  I just found her blog, via another link party, and
her post are so inspiring.  Her post, How does your Garden Grow?, is
one of my favorites, thus far, the pictures of her garden are stunning, but
for me, her words, touched my heart.  Thank you Shari!


Red Cottage Chronicles shared this wonderful
Old Fashion Pound Cake!  I love pound cake, it is so 
simple, yet flavorful, that that crispy sweet crust on top, love it!




Sarah's Bake Studio made these yummy looking
Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes, and I squealed.
Next to Chocolate and Peanut butter, Chocolate and
Bananas are my favorite combo.  I can not wait to make these!









We love to pin!  We've have created a board, where all links will be pinned.  If you 
want to be inspired, make sure to follow the board.


Follow The Cookie Puzzle's board Party in Your PJs Links on Pinterest.


I am a simple girl....so the "rules" are simple.
Link up to your post..not your main blog.
Link up something YOU made.
No Etsy Shops or Business Links.
I would love for you to share the party on
Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ and Twitter.
Visit other links and make friends.
Feel free to grab a button.











Jun 16, 2014

Dipped Reese's Oreos

My favorite candy is Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!  My favorite Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are the mini ones, the individually wrapped ones.  My favorite temperature to eat Reese's Peanut Butter Cups is COLD, right out of the fridge.

 I do have a small confession though, I HATE peanut butter.  Peanut butter sandwich..EWWW!  Peanut butter and crackers, I would rather starve!  I think it is a texture thing, because I love anything Peanut Butter flavored!

Dipped Reese's Oreos

Have you seen the new Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Oreos?  I got to work one day last week and my sister, who is also my boss, placed a package on my desk.  Ya'll they are GOOD...BUT..I knew they could be better!

How?  By dipping them in chocolate of course. Everything is better dipped in chocolate, right?

Dipped Reese's Oreos


Were they better?  OMG...YES!
I had to take them and give them to my dad, I could not stop
eating them.  Then, I wanted more, so I had to buy more to dip!


Dipped Reese's Oreos

Was the second batch as good as the first?

Um...YEAH!

If you find these Oreo's in your store, get them
dip them...eat them...but be careful, they are
highly addicting!

What is your favorite candy?

Are you a fan of Peanut Butter Cups?

Almond Joys?

Do you enjoy desserts made with candy bars, or do 
you prefer to enjoy candy bars on their own?

Just as a reminder, Party in Your PJs is still open this week.
Come join the fun!




This post might be linked up at the link parties found Here

Jun 12, 2014

Party in Your PJs #7

Welcome back to 
Party in Your PJs!



Last weeks party was so much fun. So many wonderful links.
I want to thank each and every one of you for taking the time
to join the party.  It is not a party without
guests, and you are all wonderful guests!


The Cookie Puzzle Facebook Pinterest


Here are a few of my favorite links from last week.
Make sure you check out Melissa's favorites over at



BLT Recipe Round-Up by Confessions of an ADD Housewife

My favorite way to eat bacon is in a BLT...all these recipes look so yummy!



I have been watching this room makeover since it started,
when I saw this post, I was in total love!  I can not wait 
to see what happens next.


Chocolate Cookie Cake by The Shady Porch

OH MY HECK!  I can not wait to try this cake, it looks
divine!  And guess what?  It is a low sugar recipe!


No Bake Chocolate Yummies by Oh Mrs. Tucker

Do I need to explain why I picked this?
NO BAKE!
CHOCOLATE!
YUMMIES!
Count me in!




DIY USA Confetti Poppers by Bumblebreeblog

I love this idea!  You can customize these for Fourth of July,
or weddings or birthdays or your favorite colors!



We love to pin!  We've have created a board, where all links will be pinned.  If you 
want to be inspired, make sure to follow the board.


Follow The Cookie Puzzle's board Party in Your PJs Links on Pinterest.


I am a simple girl....so the "rules" are simple.
Link up to your post..not your main blog.
Link up something YOU made.
No Etsy Shops or Business Links.
I would love for you to share the party on
Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ and Twitter.
Visit other links and make friends.
Feel free to grab a button.