Pinterest Experiments (Round 3)

Pinterest is a wonderful place to learn new things, organize ideas, and get creative.  It’s also a place that can consume several hours of your day if you are not careful.  I have been a victim of getting lost in the world of Pinning multiple times.  I decided I needed a little break from my Pinterest experiments, but now I am back (hopefully with some self-control).  I tried a few new things this month that I wanted to share.  This also marks off a couple more goals on my 101 in 1001.  Not that I intend to stop trying out my favorite Pins, and sharing when I find some good ones!  Without further ado, here are the experiments:

1.  Cure a headache.  I’ve been getting headaches a lot lately.  This isn’t the norm for me, but my mom has suffered from migraines for as long as I can remember.  I’m starting to wonder if it is just a new part of my life.  I saw this easy idea on Pinterest and thought I’d try it out.  Basically you just fill up your sink (or tub) with warm water, place a bag of frozen peas (or whatever you have – I used frozen edamame) at the base of your skull, and cover your feet and hands in the water.  The pin doesn’t tell you how long you should sit in this strange position, but I hung out and relaxed through a few tracks on Pandora.  I felt a lot better afterwards!  I don’t know that this is a cure-all, but it certainly helped.  Give it a shot the next time your head is hurting.

2.  Easy Potato Soup Recipe.  This was SO good.  I love soup, but I’ve only tried my hand at making it a couple of times.  This might be my new favorite.  Although, it could be because I might have stirred around the potatoes a bit too much so it was a bit more like mashed potatoes than soup.  😉  It takes a little time to put it all together,  but it’s pretty simple and simply delicious.

Snuggled in a blanket with a book and a bowl of soup. It doesn’t get much better!

3.  Cleaning Tricks.  There’s all kinds of interesting tips on this page, but the one I tried out was using white vinegar and baking soda on our towels.  You know sometimes towels just end up smelling funky – left over soap residue and all that jazz.  The pin says to put them through the washer with vinegar, repeat with baking soda, and then a regular wash with soap.  Well, we don’t have our own washer and dryer because this is L.A.  I didn’t want to have to pay to use the washer three separate times so I improvised.  I washed the towels in the bath tub with vinegar and baking soda, let them soak for a little while, wrung them out, and then hung them up to dry a bit.  After that they went through a regular wash and dry cycle and came out smelling surprisingly fresh.  I know at a certain point you probably just need to invest in some new towels, but this little trick is working well for right now.

4.  Sock Bun.  Okay, okay… so, I have been doing the sock bun for a little while now.  But I saw this pin that tells you EXACTLY how I do it – real sock and all.  I’ve had quite a few people ask me how I do it so I just wanted to share.  It’s easy, quick, and cute.

It’s like magic.

So, there you have it!  My latest pinning exploits.  Thanks for checking it out!  I’ve got a few more in mind to try out so stay tuned!  In the mean time, you can check out what I’m pinning!  Just click here!  

 

Pinterest Experiments (Round 2)

 

Here we go!  It’s Round 2 of my Pinterest experiments.  (I am attempting a project a week for 3 months as part of my 101 in 1001)  I tried some fun things this month.  Check it out!

1.  DIY book page tutorial.  I saw a cute idea using book pages and mod podge to create things like lamps shades and art to hang on you walls.  I loved the idea and pinned it thinking I would have to try it some time.  Well, the time came!  During our move one of our book shelves broke in half.  The half of it that was still in one piece was still usable as a small shelf, but the top of it wasn’t finished (because you’re not supposed to be able to see the top).  I wanted to be able to keep the shelf and use it so I remembered this idea and decided to make a sort of covering for the shelf.

I used pages from a giant book of plays (Dan and I each had a copy from college) and used my homemade mod podge to paste them onto one of the broken pieces of the shelf.

I used another broken piece to fill in the gap so the new top of the shelf wouldn’t bow.

Once it was dry and I had wrapped the new piece the whole way around to give it a finished look, I nailed it to the shelf. (I colored the tops of the nails black to match).

There’s the finished look! I’m really pleased with how it turned out.

2. DIY Draino.  This is an awesome idea.  Draino is expensive, and I have a lot of hair.  Our sinks were constantly clogging up in our old apartment so when I found this, I had to give it a try.  It really does work!  All you need is vinegar, baking soda, and a pot of boiling water.  Pour the vinegar and baking soda down the drain, let it settle for about 10 minutes, then pour your whole pot of water down the drain.  Easy peasy. (Yeah, you heard me.) 

3.  Ballet Boot Camp: Barre Fitness.  This is my new favorite thing!  In recent months I have been really focused on toning my legs, and so I’ve turned to ballet.  I’ve done a few ballet work outs, but I think this one takes the cake.  I like that my legs are looking good, but the rest of my body is getting toned at the same time.  I’ve noticed my posture improving as well!  I’ve just finished my first week, and I’m looking forward to continuing.

4.  Painted Keys.  This is simple.  Just saw picture about brightening up boring old keys by painting the tops of them.  I had read about using regular paint as well as nail polish.  I picked out my favorite pink nail polish, and decided to give it a shot.

Pretty cute. We’ll see how well it holds up!

Those are my projects for the month!  Until next time, check out what I’m Pinning!

XO

Pinterest Experiments (Round 1)

I am working on my 101 in 1001 goals, and I’m feeling pretty good about my progress.  Several of my goals are about trying and creating new things.  One such goal is to choose something from Pinterest to attempt each week for three months, and then to blog about it!  So, here are my Pinterest experiments for this month:

1.  How To Clean A Microwave.  Ever had something explode in your microwave?  Cleaning it sucks.  Well, I had been curious about this pin for a while, and I finally tried it.  Good news… it works!  All you need is some water and some vinegar.  The mess comes right off.  I don’t have pictures of my own, but view the link for yourself.  You need to give it a shot!

2.  DIY Oxiclean.  Seriously brilliant and ridiculously easy.  I found that it worked very well for me.  You can make it, store it in a container, and keep it for later use.  I would recommend a bottle you know will seal well as this mixture will need to be shaken up prior to use.  Definitely worth trying.

3. Regrowing Green Onions.  This blew my mind.  I could not believe that just putting the bulbs with roots attached in a glass of water would cause the onion to grow again.  It absolutely worked, and it tasted delicious.  Great way to save some money!

4. Magical Carpet Cleaner.  We’ve had some stains on our carpet for the last few months that did not want to budge.  This mixture helped clear those stains right up.  Make sure to test it on a less visible portion of carpet first.  I have noticed that the section I cleaned is a tad lighter than the rest. (Maybe that just shows how much our apartment carpet needs to be deep cleaned). Check it out.

There it is!  Not sure why most of these ended up being cleaning items, but I’m glad to have found them.  Next month I plan on trying some new recipes and work outs!  Let me know if you try any of these ideas or if you’ve found any fabulous pins of your own.  Until next month, go check out what I’m Pinning!

Crafting Queen

So, I’ve been crafting. I did quite a bit for Christmas, and I wanted to share what I did.  I’ve had a lot of fun with it!

1.  Salt Dough Ornaments and Gift Tags.  I had seen the recipe for this on Pinterest and wanted to give it a shot.  It turns out that the picture they use on the recipe is not actually for Salt Dough… so, don’t be deceived!  But I made these  and decided to use them anyway.  They looked pretty cute on gift stuff. (Warning: my dogs did try to eat them).

Salt Dough Ornaments and Tags. I used

acrylic paint on rubber stamps to do the art work.

All decked out

I made J’s for all the J’s in my family… which is a lot.

2.  Super Hero Ornaments. Another Pinterest idea!  The original poster explained it all simply and it was pretty easy to do!

Step One: Pour paint inside clear ornaments to. Coat the inside and leave upside down to dry and for excess paint to empty.

Step Two: Print pictures and mod podge them onto the ornaments.

Finished Product: Six very cool Avengers Ornaments!

3.  More ornaments!  I saw the idea to do some clear ornaments filled with glitter.  Well, let me tell you… this turned into my most difficult project.  I tried glitter, and all it did was stick to the sides of the ornaments.  That wasn’t the look I was going for so I tried tiny gold beads instead.  I liked the beads a lot better.  I used an acrylic marker and just did the lettering freehand.  Added some ribbon to complete the ornaments.

This one was for our tree. It’s sort of half way in between my two ideas. There’s just a little glitter speckled on the sides of the glass. The words are the lyrics to our first dance at our wedding.

This is the only picture I got of the finished product. You can’t see the full effect, but I think you get the gist.

4.  My coworkers heard about my craftiness and approached me about creating the crafts for the kids at our Winter Camp. I had a lot of fun planning out the crafts and then teaching the kids how to do them.  Maybe I should be an arts and crafts teacher.  😉

New Year’s Hats, Mittens, Hot Cocoa, and Ice Skates

5.  Homemade Calendar.  Yep, another Pinterest find.  Check out the post… it’s sort of a calendar/journal.  You write down an event that happens each day.  The following years, you recycle the calendar. You continue to write down what’s been happening, but you also get to look back on the years that have gone by.  Cool, right? I don’t have pictures yet because mine isn’t really pretty yet, but it is functional. I finished this before the new year so I could put it to use.

There’s a crafting update, but I am far from done!  My Grandma gave me a card making kit for Christmas, and I’m having lots of fun creating homemade cards.  I also have plans to sew some throw pillow covers for our bed.  Who knows what else I’ll do next?!  But I am enjoying being a Crafting Queen.