Pinterest inspired me!

I hate that I love Pinterest. With all the things we have to do in life, who needs another distraction? Really? But I do like it. I could browse for hours. And I have. My very favorite pin is one for melted snowman cookies. I pinned them thinking they were sooo cute, but knowing that with my track record, I’d probably never actually make them.

Our Melted Snowman Cookies on Parchment Paper

Well I did! I made some wonderful sugar cookies that I found using the original pinned instructions. These are the best sugar cookies I have ever made. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/michelles-soft-sugar-cookies/ Then I made two versions of royal icing, which I have Never made before. I settled on the kind made with meringue powder, because I didn’t want to risk using egg whites without cooking them.

I thought it would be easy to get some piping bags (to draw the designs on the snowmen) from the local cake decorating store and use those, but it turns out it was much much much easier to use plastic bags, cutting a tiny hole in the corner and squeezing out the icing.

Using plastic bags (snack size) for piping bags

The finished product is pictured above, and I made bunches, because once you have gone to the trouble of making the dough and the icing, you might as well go for it! So choose a Pinterest project today and go for it. These cookies will freeze (un decorated, I imagine) for 4 weeks, and the dough will freeze for 6 weeks. Make them now and decorate them later — the snow will soon be melting, time to melt some sugary snowmen.

My daughter helps decorate snowmen

Have FUN!

Tiling a fireplace

Living in an antique house, built in 1888, you learn to do a bunch of renovation activities yourself. My family learned to tile a long time ago when they created a mermaid mosaic in the bathroom of their Orlando, FL home. When we moved into our old home, and began to figure out what we could, or should do, I picked out all the tiling jobs and tried to do as many as I could. It is now 11 years later, and there is still tiling to do. The first tiling job we did was a bathroom in one of the kids’ rooms. Black and white and “modern” looking compared to 1888. We tried to mix the Old with the New as much as we could because the kids weren’t completely sold on living in an old house.

Tiling the Master Shower Floor

Now I have one last tiling job to do (at least till we decide to renovate the kitchen). I am working on the fireplace in what we call the “library” because it has very big floor to ceiling bookshelves. So I have pulled out the tile saw, the tiles I have collected over the years. I really loved the dark green tiles I found in Cullman at an Architectural Salvage place. But I only had a few. So I created a border of dark green and filled the rest in with a mottled green. I had cut everything and laid it out just right, when my husband reminded me that we needed to remove some old pieces of wood, which would make the area 1 inch wider. So I had to rearrange and re-cut some pieces.

Buttering tile with mastic on a plastic fork.

We in my family have developed our “butter” technique of laying tile in small areas. Instead of spreading mastic (the stuff that sticks the tile) over a large surface and placing tile on that, we “butter” up a piece of tile with mastic and place it where we want, one at a time. The truth is, it isn’t really hard to place tile. I cannot imagine paying someone to do it now that I have done 3 bathrooms, 3 mosaic spaces and 3 fireplaces.

The finished tiled mantel apron

I still have to tile the vertical surface, but the “apron” area is done, and it looks really good.

Flash forward to December when my husband suggested I finish this fireplace before the kids got home for Christmas! I had differing views, but for some reason or another I sucked it up and started the vertical space. It took me two days and a couple of interesting cuts for the accent tile in the center. If I had not been in such a hurry, I would have put 3 accent tiles on — one on the far left , one in the middle, and another at the far right — but at is was, I only felt comfortable doing one. It is better than nothing.

So now I enter the new year with no tiling projects waiting for me. See the following photo of the completed project.

Oh boy! Power Tool!

Prologue: I love power tools. The best part of the home improvement shows is when the homeowners get to use the cool tools. Unfortunately, I’m also a little bit spastic when it comes to drills and saws. So hub gets a little whacked out if I suggest getting big power tools. I must satisfy myself with the little cordless drill. Sigh.

I’m still organizing my craft room. This afternoon’s project required I mount a power strip to the underside of my big craft table. In the past I have had little success with this process. The holes end up in the wrong place, they aren’t level, or too far apart. So I came up with a trick to help me drill the mounting holes in the right spot.

I wanted to mount the power strip to the underside of my big craft table.

I lined up a piece of paper on the back side of the power strip and used a pencil to make an impression of where the holes are located.

Make an impression of the back side of the power strip to use as a template.

Then I taped the paper to the surface where I would drill the holes. Insert screws. Attach power strip.

This is my personal best for drilling holes and mounting an object. Whoohoo!

If you have a copier you can save some time and make a copy of the back side of the power strip to use as your template.

Pinterest Dinner Find

The inspiration piece.

Prologue: I love food. It’s as simple as that. Food will make my day or ruin it. My friends cringe if I’m unhappy with my meal. Vacations have been a hit or miss based on the restaurants we visit. And I’m not exaggerating. At all.

Last weekend I went to a pot luck graduation dinner for a running group I mentor. The food at a pot luck is iffy, you know, hit or miss. This one was a hit! My friend Erin brought a delish appetizer. She told us how she made it and then said the magic word: Pinterest. When I got home I went to Pinterest and searched for the ingredients and found this. Which lead me to The Italian Dish. That’s where I found this mouth watering dinner.

Let’s start with the Crostini. I think food should look good and this appetizer caught my eye the minute I saw it. Perhaps it was the Prosciutto which isn’t a common ingredient. The combination of colors and textures drew me in and this was the first tidbit I bit into. It was crunchy, salty, sweet, and simply delicious! I am definitely making this for my next party.

So once I got to The Italian Dish I notice other beautifully  photographed food. The next dish to catch my eye was Bucatini all’Amatriciana.

Bucatini all’Amatriciana

It looks like spaghetti with a simple tomato sauce but the recipe reads like pasta heaven. I love recipes with a handful of ingredients that turn out very tastey  meals. I’ve never heard of Bucatini but it sounds good, doesn’t it? It sort of looks like a cross between spaghetti and penne.

Strawberry Cheesecake Parfait

Finally, we have dessert! This one looks yummy and it’s simple to put together. No cooking or baking. Who doesn’t like a parfait? With cream cheese?

Overall, I think this is an excellent menu for a dinner party. The dishes are simple and tasty. Your guests will enjoy the meal and you will have time to spend with them.

PS: Click on any of the photos to go to The Italian Dish website for the recipes.

Pinterest Craft Table

The Inspiration Piece

The photo above that set me on a path to my new craft table pictured below. My goal was to significantly reduce the clutter in my room. I really wish I had taken a before photo because it was a mess – like something exploded in there. I had pinned the above photo a while ago but didn’t do anything with it because I had a craft table custom made for my room. It provides a lot of work space but no storage. GeorgiaPeachez work space is made from four Closetmaid Cubeicals giving me 36 cubby holes.

My New Craft Table

Left side view.

I added two inexpensive curtain rods on the right and left sides. Also purchased some shower hooks that work like S hooks but more stylish. On the right side I added a roll of craft paper.

Left side view.

On the left side I added a roll of paper towels to the rod. Um, it only fits a very small roll of paper. I may have to rethink that side. I chose these rods because I did not want them to stick out too much in case I wanted to work on that side of the table. Maybe I’ll add a dowel to the top and use it as a paper towel holder.

Back side view.

The Cubeical on the backside is Black Ash. Target only had three whites. I figured the one in the back could be any color.

Top view.

You may notice the step stool is missing in this photo. That’s because I’m standing on it. I added hooks I found in a tool box in the garage. The double hook is perfect for my two step ladder keeping it out of the way yet convenient for daily use. That might be more like hourly as I’m 4′-9″ and cannot reach anything on a top shelf. Okay anything over 5′ tall.

Under the hood.

Here’s a view of the center of the table. I took my cue from GeorgiaPeachez and left it open. Hub suggested a piece of plywood but I didn’t want to spend any more money on the project. I picked up the cutting board at Walmart for around $4.

I LOVE my new table. 36 cubby holes and I’m in organizational heaven.

Repurposed Frames

Picture frames are turning up in the most unusual ways. They are not just for photos anymore! I’ve collected some ideas around the inter webs and shared them here. Click on the photo to go to the web site with the instructions. So start collecting picture frames when you are out at the flea markets and garage sales.

Create Wall Art

This wall art is made from paper towel rolls, a picture frame, and some paint. Choose a color that coordinates with your home decor. You could attach a pretty print to the back.

Key Holder

I love this key holder! It’s so simple yet very functional. Also love the paint technique.

Tray

This is yet another simple yet functional (I say that a lot!) design. You can add any pattern you want under the glass to fit your home decor.

White Board

You can turn any glass surface into a white board. I’d choose a pretty frame and add a solid light color background to make it easier to read the messages.

Living Frame

What a cool very unique idea! See below for the link.

Link: http://www.bhg.com/gardening/container/plans-ideas/make-a-living-succulent-picture/#page=14

More Ideas

This last link has many ideas for repurposing a picture frame. My favorite is the blackboard. I like the old fashioned blackboard and chalk. It brings back fond memories!

I hope you enjoyed my list of ideas for repurposing a picture frame. Give one a try this weekend! – Mary

Flag Paper Clips

Flag Paper Clips

I was inspired to create my own flag paper clips by something I saw on Pinterest but then I lost the link. Then I googled “flag paper clips” and found this one. You can click on the photo to go to Ramblings From Utopia’s blog for the tutorial. It’s made with fabric but I decided to make mine with paper.

It’s super easy to make. And the flag adds a bit of flair where ever you use it.

Flag Paper Clip Materials

For my Flag Paper Clips you will need:

Paperclips
Glue (I used Elmer’s Tape Runner)
Thick Paper (wall paper or scrapbook paper)
Pinking Shears (optional)

Step 1: Cut the paper into 1/4″ strips.

Step 2: Run the Elmer’s tape along the back of the strip.

Step 3: Loop the paper strip through the paper clip and press it together.

Step 4: Cut off the excess paper. I used pinking shears to give it a nice finish.

Flag Paper Clips

That’s it! Here is the final product.