Pinterest in the Kitchen

I've been keeping myself insanely busy with our new home this summer (and planning a baby shower for my sister, but that's another post...).  I haven't been crafting much, but I have been using Pinterest like it's going out of style for home and garden inspiration.  I've actually tackled a few projects, so woohoo!

Link to Source

Link to Source

My Pinterest accomplishments!

I found a 9-pack of the hooks at the dollar store, and they work like a charm. I was even able to file down the end of the odd-numbered clip to hold my small skillet rather than having to stack it. For the second pin, I decided to only put contact paper on the bottom to cover up watermarks and stains from previous owners. I did this under all the bathroom sinks, too, and there was still contact paper left over! When I need more under-sink storage, I may try hanging baskets from the top, but for now, we have plenty of space.

Lent

Source: On the Way Home Blog

Lent started over a week ago on Ash Wednesday.  Check out this great video that explains Ash Wednesday and Lent in two minutes if you're not sure what it's all about or would like a quick reminder.

I usually get out my small pile of Easter decorations some time during this period, but this year I remembered something I found on Pinterest (above) that was a better fit for this more somber season.  Inspired by this pin and decorations I've seen online and in church, I pulled out my large vase, dug out my purple candles from my Advent wreath, found a twig outside, and purchased a bag of river rocks at the dollar store.  Here's the final product, and I only spent a buck on it.

I hope you have a very blessed Lent!

February's Finished Project

Thanks to Pinterest, I was dead-set on sewing some tiny teabags for my niece's 3rd birthday as soon as I saw the tea set on her wish list. Unfortunately, one of my two favorite Pinspirations was in French, and the other had no pattern. With the help of Crafty Mommy, I spent an afternoon making disgruntled noises at a sewing machine and bonding with a seam ripper. But finally, I had four cute little teabags to go with her cute little tea set and a new book, Bunnies for Tea!

Source #1

Source #2

Trial and error all the way through...

I think she likes it!

Between the rainbow tutu and the rainbow cake,
I think my sister-in-law gets the Pin-Win award this time!

Postage Increase

Due to postage going up again after this weekend, I motivated myself to get a few knit projects finished, washed, and mailed this week!

The scarf was a lot of fun since I've been in a scarf mood lately.  The co-worker in charge of the office's sponsored family for Christmas loved the scarves I made for the family and asked if I could make one for her daughter in dark purple.  It's my first "commissioned" piece, and her daughter has already asked for an infinity scarf in hot pink!  Maybe now is a good time to revisit the idea of starting my own Etsy shop since the temp job ended January 16th...

A friend and a cousin both had baby boys two weeks ago, and on the second knit set, I tried a new bib strap based on this bib I found on Pinterest.  I think I may like knitting the single-strap bib even more than the original pattern I've been knitting for 5+ years that came out of Mason-Dixon Knitting.

Yarn Bee: Haute Fur in "Vineyard" knit together with
Red Heart: Multicolor in "Plum Pudding"

Lily: Sugar 'n Cream in "Hippi Ombre"
for baby Cooper with a double-strap bib

Lily: Sugar 'n Cream in "Tie Dye Stripes"
for baby Simon with a single-strap bib

Tea Station

It's so nice to have my computer back!  The power supply died earlier in the week, and I've had five days to experience how a smartphone is not a good substitute for a good old-fashioned desktop.  Thank you to my BIL for helping Dave get it back up and running!  While the computer has been out of commission, I received a belated Christmas present from my best friend in California.  Pretty awesome for her first counted cross stitch project, don't you think?  I know exactly where I'm going to hang it, but the problem is, we don't have that space in our current living accommodations.

I found this image of a coffee station on Pinterest a while ago and decided we would make space for a tea station in our next house.  Instead of a Keurig, we'll have our electric kettle, and all of those baskets will be filled with tea.  Heather's cross stitch definitely fits in with this plan--picture it on the top shelf with several of our fancy bed & breakfast mugs!

Original Source: For the Love of Coffee

Bridal Helper

The big day is October 12! Less than three weeks to go, Mary! 

In the beginning, there were many homemade invitations to tie with a purple bow...

Then I converted dollar store invitations into snazzy bridal shower invitations with a new printer and lots of rubber cement.  Of course, we tied in the favors and prizes to the purple color scheme, too!

And finally, I made a fantastic Pin Win with this bachelorette party bag I found months ago on Pinterest!  She'll have to live with no purple on this one...

A Pair of Scarves

My recent favorite knitting pattern is one I found on Pinterest for an "Easy Scarf."  These are the two latest knits in this stitch, both using Red Heart yarn.  The Team Spirit Yarn in "Orange/Navy" is for Bears fan friend, Elizabeth, as a very belated birthday present (but it will be in time for football season!)  The other is in a variegated yarn called "Earth and Sky" for former co-worker Sheryl's birthday to match her favorite Java Blue purse.

Dad's Pin Win

Researching advice for selling a home, I ran across one recommendation to have your address numerals somewhere near the front door for potential buyers to remember.  I immediately thought of something I'd found on Pinterest earlier (originally from the blog 9 o'clock Dance of Joy!), so I showed it to Dad to see if he'd like a small project...

The inspiration

Dad's version (before adding the hook)

The finished product

Dad even added little rubber feet on the bottom so it won't sit on wet concrete when it rains!  I was originally going to use metal numbers, but the hardware store didn't have any small enough to fit the sign.  I decided to go with chalkboard paint instead (and since I had an entire can of it, I painted the base to match), which makes it super easy to update when we move!

Painting & Packing Pins

Now that I'm voluntarily unemployed, I'm busy getting our house ready to sell.  That means lots of painting and lots of packing!  While preparing for this insane two weeks before the house goes on the market, I found a few tips on Pinterest that have been insanely helpful.

1. Run a lint brush (the sticky roller type) over your paint roller before using it.  Last time I painted, the patch of fuzzies left behind on the walls bothered me until I painted over them this past week.  Thanks for solving that problem, Home Depot!

2. Press and Seal plastic wrap is pretty nifty to begin with, but this tip made it that much better.  FamilyHandyMan.com recommends it to cover tight spaces (like toilets) while you paint.  I also used the website's tip about nuking old painting tape in the microwave for a few seconds.

3. Use a paper clip to mark the end of a roll of tape.  No more trying to pry the end up off of the roll fifty million times as you pack and seal boxes, and you don't have to buy a fancy dispenser for each roll...

4.  Each roll?  Yes, I have about six different rolls of packing tape right now because Smart Move Tape is the most awesome invention ever for organization freaks like me.  It's way better than just color-coding your packing tape.

Special Valentines

When you're home sick (with a mutant sinus infection) a few days before Valentine's Day, what do you do? Well, if you're me, you look for a small project that doesn't require lots of energy.  Inspired by a craft I found through Pinterest, I made my own "Hearts Stitched Together" cards.  Since the template link from the source blog was broken, I made my own in Excel, printed it, then used push pins on a cork board to make the holes I needed on the blank card.  When I was finished stitching, I had three beautiful cards to send out, made at no cost to me (except postage) since I had everything I needed in my stash already!

The first card I made (top right) was stitched with a dark maroon thread and mailed to my west coast best friend with the inside message: Friend are God's way of giving us hugs on special days.  Consider yourself hugged this Valentine's Day!  As of right now, it's still en route to California (so Heather, you better not be reading my blog till after it arrives!)

I made the card in portrait for my second try and ended up adding a third heart because it looked so blank at the bottom.  The first thread is a deep red for the top two hearts and a medium purple for the third one.  I sent this to my grandmother with the message: You're sew special to me!  Happy Valentine's Day, Grandma!  Mom told me that Grandma was very tickled by her homemade card (despite the really bad pun).

The third and final card (bottom right) has one burnt orange heart and one navy blue heart with the saying inside: Happy Valentine's Day to my favorite Bears fan!  Of course, this was stitched especially for my dear husband, and it was very appropriate since we had Valentine's dinner at Bobby G's Chicago Eatery.  Please don't think less of my husband for not taking me out for a fancy dinner--this is the third year we've had Bobby's at my request because I love their Italian beef sandwiches.  The past two years, Dave brought it home, and I pulled out our china for the special occasion!

Holiday Santa-tizer

Last year I got all ambitious for my co-worker's Christmas gifts.  This year... not so much.  But I had to be at least a little bit crafty, so with the inspiration of the "Hand Stanta-tizer" idea found through Pinterest, I came up with my own low-budget gift that kept the wonderfully lame Santa pun.

This is an oddly appropriate gift for work right now since the crud has been going around campus for the past few weeks!

Halloween Awesomeness

Who needs to search Pinterest for ideas at Halloween when Julie throws the awesomest parties with the coolest treats and the best decorations?  All bow down to the Queen of Themed Parties!

The tacos are looking at you...

Sweet little cheeseball pumpkins!

The cupcakes had all been stabbed

Mini-Mounds bugs are too cute, but I'll leave the coconut for others

Peanut butter eyeballs... I could have eaten these all night!

Cute ornaments on her Halloween tree

A mummy walking a spider?  Adorable!

Pinspiration at Work

Surprise task of the day at work: Goodie bags!  Seriously, I spent half of my day creating goodie bags for the faculty and staff members who participated in the Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program.  This program also happens to be one of my pet projects at work... check out the GOAL website for more info on this awesome tax credit program that provides scholarship funds for private schools in Georgia!

And back to the project of the day...

I started with a Pinterest search for ideas.  I've been fascinated with the idea of a gift bag topper since I pinned a Thanksgiving cookie bag topper last fall.  Coworker Sheryl used her mad computer skills to create our own "Thank you for participating!" topper, and I went shopping at lunch for the goodies and the baggies.  Add some temporary tattoos for school spirit and a some fluff for decoration (seriously, I felt like Rowan Atkinson in the gift wrapping scene from Love Actually for that last bit), and they were ready to be topped off and put on display!

Nom noms for the goodie bags and the pre-cut toppers

Now I know why I stockpile empty file folder boxes!

Scavenged items from around the workplace to complete the bags...

After bonding with the paper cutter, it's the stapler's turn

Coworker Mary decorated the baskets for displaying the finished baggies

Binder Ring Bonanza

Binder rings are my current favorite office supply (though Sharpies and Post-its are never far behind!) thanks to inspiration on Pinterest...

Christmas card albums for 2010 and 2011
[source]

Adapted from a "shower rings on a hanger"
scarf organizer idea [source]

Not as pretty as the source, but baggies hung with colored binder clips
on rings keeps my knitting organized! [source]

I keep running out of hair bands at work
and I had an extra binder clip...

Awesome Pot Roast

I could happily live off of cooking chicken, pasta, and veggies for the rest of my life, whereas Dave prefers steak and potatoes.  I've been attempting to branch out into non-chicken-or-pasta main dishes, and fortunately Pinterest offers more options than I'll ever be able to cook.  The best find to date is a Crock Pot recipe for The Best Pot Roast Ever--with celery added per Dave's request. Seriously, if Mr. Picky Carnivore asks for a vegetable be added to dinner, you can bet I'll be adding it!

Carrots, celery, and potatoes

Add meat and a little water

Three packets of seasoning

Ten hours later!