Pinned and Tested

Okay, so if you're on Pinterest, you know the wealth of both good and bad out there.

You never know if someone actually LOOKED at where the pin led too.  

(And don't get me started on pins that lead no where, grrrrrr.)

SO!  Here are some of our current favorites food related pins... that we've actually tried:

Parmesan Breadsticks from The Baker Upstairs

These are AWESOME!  And easy.  And quick.  Which means, you can have them in the middle of a week with a big salad and your family thinks you're the best mom ever for slaving over dinner when really they took less time it takes to have pizza delivered!

This weekend, we are going to see how the dough works as a pizza base.  

(Edited to add... the pizza was GREAT!)

Oh, and check out the rest of the website... lots of great looking recipes!

Ham and Cheese Sliders from The Girl Who Ate Everything

And while we're talking about super easy weeknight meals... my family LOVES these from The Girl Who Ate Everything (oh, her site has TONS of great recipes as well, make sure you explore!!)

A few small changes... we don't use the miracle whip, and just spread the mayo REALLY thin. And for the sauce on the top, I only use about a tablespoon of butter and a splash of water if it's a little too thick.  And after making it a few times, I started adding caraway seeds in place of the poppy seeds, and it knocked our socks off!

Serve it up with some sweet potato fries and ....

Sweet Chili Sauce from Chocolate Moosey

Oh be still my heart!  I could drink this stuff.  I actually ended up making a few gallons of it and canned it so we could have it on hand AT ALL TIMES.  I can't wait until I have our own fresh chilies to make it with.  One note... and maybe it was just that our chilies weren't as juicy, but I cut the cornstarch in HALF the second time I made it.  The first time, after sitting in the fridge for a few days, it became a gloppy mess.  The flavor was great... just a little too thick.  

BLT Meatballs from The Perfect Pantry

And speaking of things that go well with Chili Sauce... These meatballs were a SMASHING hit!  I only had ground chicken breast, and of course, made a few small other tweaks, but we have had these three times since mid January.  And every time, there are NO LEFTOVERS for my lunch, much to my disappointment!  

And how about ONE more... this one completely different (but I bet it would be great with the breadsticks!)

Gemelli w/Sausage, Swiss Chard and Pine Nuts from Martha Stewart

This one has been a once a month visitor to our dinner table for the last year or two... sometimes I end up throwing spinach in instead of swiss chard, but it's just as yummy!  

Anyway... enjoy.  There are a million more recipes to try, and hopefully we find some more great ones to share!

A Pinterest Project

 Oh, Pinterest... I love thee.  lol

What?  You don't know what pinterest is??  It's many things... crack for crafters as far as I'm concerned. 

Need a good recipe??  Best place to search. 

Want to remember that thing you saw so that after you finish your other 50 million started projects, you can have a visual reminder??  DONE.

And that is where this lovely came from.

It's actually one of the first things I pinned!

It was originally done on metal... with beautiful rusted aging.

Mark would have hated it.  lol.

It's been coming together in my head for ages now.

I bought the canvas last fall.

It's 18x24. 

And it's actually a rich brown tinted grey.

And since I couldn't get away with hanging a rusted piece of metal on our bedroom wall, I had to distress the canvas. 

First I painted the canvas a streaky creamy white with raw umber highlights.  Just enough to give it a little worn/aged look.

Then I planned everything out on my Cameo, cut the letters out of vinyl, and placed them. 

I mixed up some paint until I got the color grey I wanted, and painted over the whole thing... adding some streaks of the raw umber again.

Once dry, I peeled off the vinyl, revealing the white underneath.  And then I went to town with some sandpaper, and of course, some Tim Holtz distress ink. 

You can't quiet see in the picture, because I was too lazy to pull out my REAL camera, lol, and used my phone, but it's totally worn looking... like an old pair of jeans. 

And it's possibly one of my favorite projects. 

A Scrappy Gift

Yesterday, I decided to create a little something to send to a friend.

She has no idea it's for her.

I guess, after she gets it in the mail, she'll figure it out... hehehe.

It's just a small thank you... A 5x7 scrappy/doodle inspired by something I saw on Pinterest.

Love Love Love Pinterest

I know it's simple... a clear ornament, a little holly, and my wedding invitation.

No one can actually READ the curled paper inside, but as I hung it on the tree, I knew what it was celebrating... and after all, it's all about me, lol!

Pin Success!

Source and Recipe: Taste of Home

I found this recipe on pinterest, and we tried it for our lunch today.  It was a great Sunday afternoon *calorie laden* lunch. 

I did pull the cheese sticks in half, so that only half a stick was in each wrapper.

Next time though, I think I'll do them in the oven... just spritz the wrappers with a little pam, and bake. 

They would be AWESOME for a party!

A Pinterest Inspired Sign

So, awhile ago I saw THIS:

Source: Nanny Goat

And, just like the blogger I hijacked the idea from, I NEEDED it for my oldest's room.

Evan is such an awesome big brother, I couldn't think of anything more fitting!


So, I found a board, used MS Publisher to layout the type, and then asked my darling friend Robyn to cut the letters on her Pazzle for me.


It was my first vinyl project, but I had to go all out... after all... just like the sb page I posted a few days ago, the emotion behind the quote translated into the fact it had to be PERFECT!

So, rather than putting vinyl on a painted board, I wanted to mask it, to give a distressed look... really go all out. 


So, after prepping the board with a combination of dry brushing and white washing, Robyn came over and helped me lay the vinyl letters (way more fun than I thought it would be!). 

When we walked upstairs and showed the unfinished board to the husbands, I'm pretty sure they thought we were nuts to be THAT excited.  I wish I would have taken a picture of it.  Robyn used scrap vinyl for the letters, so it was black and brown on a streaky grey/black board, and was NOT impressive (unless you could imagine it as it was in my head)!

We went into the garage and slapped a REALLY quick, thin coat of glossy latex cherry red paint over the top, and pealed off the letters.  I got more and more excited as every letter came off.

I had to make myself walk away so it could continue to dry. 

Now, a week later, I finally finished the distressing, and hung it in Evan's room....

My Trick or Treaters!

I think they are possibly the cutest boys I have ever seen!

One problem... do you see how GROWN UP Evan looks???

And, he's not into "cute" anymore if you can't tell from his choice of pumpkin designs!  He was so proud!  

He kept changing his mind on his costume... and finally decided on being an Army Captain.  We got the ACU (kid sized) from the local Army Navy store, found a couple of cool iron on patches at Michael's, and then I used plain green iron on knee patches to make his name, US ARMY and rank patches. 

I used the same pattern I used for Evan's monkey costume when he was 2 for Ryan's... just the larger size!  He was NOT a fan of the hood, but didn't want to take of the jumpsuit.  

When we got home last night, someone had decorated the lot stake directly across from our house.  

The boys loved it... and were a bit freaked out by it!  

We also had the special treat of trick or treating with Grandma Joycee who stayed with us last night!

The boys were very excited... and having her there was just the icing on the cake!  I'm glad she got to be there... because...

How could you miss this????

Just a Peak...

Last weekend, my friend Robyn cut some vinyl for me.

It was my very first vinyl project.

And, being me, I couldn't just slap some vinyl on a board and call it good!

First, I painted the board white... then I dry brushed it.

THEN I used the vinyl she cut as a mask.

Then I brushed a thin coat of glossy, cherry red paint on.

And the black just barely peeked through.

Right now it's in my garage drying... this week, I will finish distressing it and post a FULL picture!

For now though, this is all you get!

So Satisfied.

I love Pinterest.

Seriously.

A few weeks ago, I found this:

Source: makaiserman

And I loved it.  #1... It's a jar.  #2 It's a BLUE jar.  #3 It's a USEFUL FUN BLUE JAR!

So I pinned it, so that when I stumbled across a blue mason jar that I could afford (man those things have skyrocketed in price!), I'd remember it.

AND THEN, this morning, my dear friend Robyn, pinned THIS:

Source: momtastic

And guess what I have in my pantry???  MASON JARS!!!  And guess what I have in my craft room??  MODGE PODGE!!!!  AND GUESS WHAT I HAVE IN MY BAKING CUPBOARD??????  FOOD COLORING!!!!!!!!!

And guess what I made!!

 As I've pointed out a million times, I JUST DON'T FOLLOW DIRECTIONS WELL!! 

But, uhhh, I think it turned out really well.  The original directions said to mix the food coloring with water, then the modge podge. 

After reading some of the comments on the post, it seemed that the water was what everyone kept blaming for the streaking.

And who wants a streaky jar?  Plus, I wanted to make sure I had a brilliant blue to match some of the other (actually vintage) bottles I have in the bathroom this is going to live in. 

So I skipped the water.  It made for a VERY thick coating of modge podge, and I let it sit upside down for over an hour (the original directions said to let it sit upside down for 30 mins). 

Also, I didn't follow her baking directions.  First of all, my modge podge was a lot thicker than hers, so I started out upside down (at 200F) for 10 mins, flipped it for 10 more.  Flipped it back upside down for another 10 mins.  THEN right side up for yet another 10.

You could totally tell when it was done, all the cloudiness was gone, and it was a brilliant blue everywhere.

One little bonus of using the modge podge at full strength... itty bitty bubbles... like you find in old blown glass bottles.  

 I am totally in love with it! 

One other wonderful part:  It was practically free!  The jar was saved from the trash after a spaghetti dinner... the votive was in my stash, and it took less than 10 cents worth of my craft supplies! 

 

Painting the Town... errr... Table... Red.

So, a few weeks ago, Ryan and I went to a few garage sales. 

And I did pretty dang good!  My itty bitty car was a little crowded... thanks mostly to the little pine table I scored!  See it other there, holding my other loot?

I think it must have been a shop class project.  The legs are hand made, and it's solid pine... not a single scrap of particle board.  It's not exactly level (one of the legs is just a touch short, lol) BUT it cost me THREE DOLLARS!!  Three... as in One, Two, THREE! 

Seriously, a solid wood sturdy table for that little!  I was all over it!  Plus the lady threw in a little toy phone for Ryan (not pictured, because he was dragging it around the house) for free!  Anyway, the top was in really bad shape, it needed sanded something fierce.  So last weekend, that's what Evan and I did. 

Then it sat in my garage while Evan and I discussed how we should paint it. 

I was thinking something like this:  http://www.pinterest.com/pin/109120507/ .  Love the yellow... or maybe a fun green... but that got nixed.  So every night, the dinner conversation would go like this: 

Evan:  How about NAVY BLUE?

Me:  Well, I was thinking the top would be black, like a chalkboard, so that might be too dark.

E: Well, I really like navy. 

M: Well, I really like yellow.

E: Okay, so navy AND yellow are out, we can cross each other off.

M: I see.  Well, what is your second choice?

E: (Grinning like a Cheshire cat) DARK BLUE!

M: ORANGE!

E: Ugh, this could take forever!

Anyway, after a week of THAT... we both decided RED would be a good color. 

Bright.  Glossy.  Cherry.

And, yes, Evan helped me paint! 

For now, because I forgot to buy the stuff to make chalkboard paint, it has a red top.  Next spring, after the snow melts, we will make it a chalkboard, and I think add casters.  For now, it has a home in the basement, so the boys have a place to draw and play.