Hi, I’m Rachel!
Inspiration is my morning coffee. With a heaping cup of inspiration, I feel empowered to tackle anything and I hope you do too!
A Little About Me
I’ve had a vivid imagination since childhood. In fact, there are many stories of me crafting toys with the likes of twigs, hair ties, bed sheets, and a vacuum hose.
Obviously, I grew up and wanted to expand on that ingenuity. Really, it all started with a little vision and a lot of elbow grease. And, importantly, the support of my husband who love woodworking. Boy, am I lucky!!! Now we even have a very active son who loves to join in on our adventures too.
And thus, Craving Some Creativity was born… Welcome to my wonderful world!
What you’ll find on Craving Some Creativity
Here you’ll find tips, techniques, and inspiration to tackle your own projects with confidence.
HOME REMODELING
My husband and I share a passion for home remodeling and makeovers. We’ve honed our skills over 15 years of repairing homes.
Our current home was in an overwhelming state of disrepair when we purchased it. There was no running water. Many of the rooms needed to be completely gutted. Our kitchen “before” picture is featured below:
And here is the stunning kitchen remodel reveal.
Since then, we have taken on clients and our community to save homes. We do almost EVERYTHING ourselves. Quality is important to us; no band-aid repairs here!
I am the creativity and hubby is the functionality but we both share a passion for creating that brings us together as a family. We are a lot like the average couple – we bicker, we have different visions, and we get the job done.
Join us in the magical mayhem of our home renovation and decorating projects!
You can browse our home improvement projects or take a tour of our home makeover progress. There’s always something else up my sleeve! If you’d like to keep up with our adventure, subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of this page.
DIY & HOME DECOR
You’ll find holiday decorating, DIY furniture makeovers, printables, and helpful in-depth tutorials. Step-by-step instructions make it easy to recreate anything found on this site. If we can do it, you can too!
Here are some reader favorites (click on photo to go to the tutorial):
Recipes
The recipes on this site are thoroughly researched and tested by multiple taste testers! Some of the top requested recipes have reached nearly legendary status.
- Reliable Recipes. All recipes are developed and tested in my home kitchen, often with the aid of my sister and husband, a former chef. I’ve made and thoroughly tested most of the recipes for years. I share substitutions and many tips.
- A wealth of information. I worked in restaurants for a decade, from high-end dining to sports bars, learning culinary techniques and palate pleasing approaches. I draw on that experience to guide you with step-by-step photos and detailed instructions.
- Easy Family Meals. I create a variety of meals for busy families and simple weeknight supper solutions like quick soups, salads, and pasta.
Here are some of our Best Rated Recipes by Readers:
More about Rachel & Craving Some Creativity
Blame it on my independent nature, but I have always been a “if you want something done right…” kind of person. Starting with a small home and an even smaller wallet is a big motivator! As I gained skills with smaller projects, I gained confidence. Having a husband who’s passionate about woodworking is also great support.
My style is ever evolving but I like clean lines, graphic prints, and soft, natural touches. I like a balance of color and my desire is to create a home that showcases elegance and encourages curiosity. Most importantly, I want to cultivate an environment where you feel welcome enough to just put your feet up.
I love enthusiastic beginners! Painting is one of the most budget friendly and easy ways to make a big impact. I recommend learning about choosing the correct paint color or reading my beginner’s guide to painting furniture. Both are very detailed and nearly foolproof. Other good places to find easy projects is under home organization and DIY home décor.
One-dimensional characters are boring. I originally started this site with scrapbooking as the focus! My life experience has ignited several passions, but I try to keep it simple, whether that be vibrant dishes for busy families or simple tips to create a beautiful, restful home.
I currently have a Nikon D810. My go-to lenses for both home projects and recipes are Nikon 50mm f/1.4G, Nikon 20mm f/1.8G (overhead shots and full rooms), and a Sigma 105mm F2.8 EX Macro Lens (closeups). I shoot videos mostly on a Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8E VR Lens. I have had great luck purchasing used equipment.
Thank you for stopping by. I’m so honored to have you here.
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Andrea Schroff says
You are amazing. I need to subscribe to you.
Im not great at computers.
please subscribe me.
Thank you
Andrea
Rachel says
Here is the quick link for subscribing to the newsletter. You just have to click the checkbox on the first page to subscribe and choose what type of content you would like to subscribe to (food/recipes or DIY/Home Improvement or Both).
stacey williams says
Hi Rachel,
I’m reading your Mexican Sweet potato recipe and would like to try it but I’m baffled by some of your measurements. 0.8 cloves garlic minced? 2.4-2.8 medium sweet potatoes? 0.4 cup Cotija cheese?
Can you please explain? I’ve never seen measurements like this.
Thanks,
Stacey
Rachel says
I am sorry that it is showing up this way. Unfortunately, I am not seeing this on my end. The recipes on my site have a slide for adjusting the number of servings (like if you want to make a double batch), and that may have gotten adjusted because I have it listed for 14 potato skins. If you hover over servings in the recipe card, the slide shows up. This recipe is pretty forgiving, so if you only want to make 6 potato skins you can just round up or down to the nearest 1/4 cup. Anyways, here are the correct measurements for 12-14 potato skins:
6-7 medium sweet potatoes
▢1 tablespoon vegetable oil
▢1 ½ cup yellow onion finely diced
▢½ cup red bell pepper finely chopped
▢2 cloves garlic minced
▢salt and pepper to taste
▢1 14 oz canned black beans rinsed and drained
▢1 ½ oz corn kernels fresh or frozen (thawed)
▢¼ teaspoon Chili powder
▢1 cup Cotija cheese *see substitutes in blog post
Christine Jamison says
HI Rachel,
I came across your site and love your ideas.
I am looking to replace a tiled 82 inch by 22 inch master bath vanity countertop with 2 sinks. I am looking to move within a year and don’t want to replace the vanity to keep costs down. The countertop is not damaged, just old, It was tiled back in the early 90’s with hunter green 4×4 tiles and oak vanity. The sinks are bisque color and oval in shape and not undermounted. I wanted to remove the back splash tile and see if it was an option to buy a durable reminant counter top and glue over the existing tile?
and of course reuse the sinks and change out the hardware. Do you see any issues with this approach?
I live in Kalamazoo, Michigan and having a really difficult time finding a source to purchase a replacement countertop less than $1500 (And for those, they are selling with the vanity )
Rachel says
I’d have to see your specific project to really know what approach to take (i.e. what substrate is the tile currently on, the weight of the remnant, etc) so it’s hard to know. I am not entirely sure why the former countertop can’t be removed if you are going to take out the sink and backsplash anyhow. The concerns that jump out to me are that stone and solid surface countertops don’t have a lip on the front, so you could potentially see the old countertop underneath the new vanity top from the front. The second is that the new top would be higher than the old one and the plumbing will no longer line up. The faucet shouldn’t be a problem, but the sinks being higher might be.
Ana says
You inspired me to give my vanity a makeover. I have purchased the Fusion paint and the Varathane (no B.Moore here). What are your preferences on paint brushes? If I missed that in your article, I do apologize. I am looking forward to this project..
Rachel says
Interestingly, my favorite brushes are the ultra soft ones you find at craft stores – in as large (2 inch) and flat (not thickly layered bristles) as possible. Although you will find many recommendations on the internet for purdy, I like that the craft brushes have much thinner individual bristles, which leads to less brush strokes overall. I don’t know your exact project, but I use a smaller 1 inch brush for detailed areas too. Now, the one problem for me is that these brushes don’t work well on large, flat surfaces like a table top. For those, I use a fine roller rather than a brush.
yvonne says
can I mix bar keepers powder into a thick paste leave overnight brush softly with a toothbrush or soft cloth, wash in warm soapy water and then polish with powdered bar keepers friend with a dampened clean soft clot sprinkled with BFK
Rachel says
I have not specifically tried to leave it on overnight, so I cannot speak to that. Barkeepers’ friend and other products like Brasso have oxalic acid in it which is much stronger than the acetic acid from vinegar. I haven’t found it necessary to leave barkeeper’s friend on overnight.
I says
I have a question. If I pack the bowl in ice can it withstand a 4 hour trip to a graduation? Thank you
Rachel says
I am not sure exactly which recipe you are referring to in order to answer. Most that I can think of, such as punchbowl cake or broccoli apple salad are fine for travel in a cooler.
Nicole says
I love your design. Our kitchen cabinets are the same color and we are wanting to keep them as well. Is the front of your island still the original cherry color? We are thinking of doing 3/4 of the island but would love to see how it looks.
Rachel says
Yes, the side facing the cabinets is still a brown-cherry color and has drawers and hides the trash can. We built and painted the outward 3 sides. We decided that since we cook daily, it would be best to leave it darker to hide dirt and it looks cohesive that way.
Betty Nielsen says
Hi Rachael,
When did You purchase your custom vanity top from Lowes? I asked someone at my Lowes that said they didn’t do custom bathroom vanities. The Home Depot near me does but the review I’ve read were not good.
Thanks,
Betty
Rachel says
I have done 4 in the last 3 years from different stores and in 2 different states. While I can’t say that every store does offer this, and it may be true that this particular store does not. However, I know from experience that my own mother was told they didn’t offer vanity tops so I went in and ordered it. Unfortunately, the Lowes employees often leave a lot to be desired in their knowledge and training. I usually ask who the manager for that department is and when they are working and come back.
Laurie says
I work hybrid and my husband entirely at home. I’m salivating at the photo of your home office/craft site.
Nancy Beach says
Rachel, I think you are very talented. I have enjoyed your web page and I love the card that you make. I don’t do Facebook so I can follow you here and I love to.
Gma Beach