Putting My Pinterest Pins to Use

About a month ago I decided that I needed to make good use of my Pinterest surfing to ensure that I didn't go overboard with my surfing or collecting.  Two dear friends had commented that their new hobby had become pinning not actually doing any of the crafty things that they were pining.  This scared me.  So I decided to put myself to the test.
The deal is that I can not go on Pinterest more than once a week.  I also can not return unless I actual do one of my acquired pins.  I should add that in most situations I am pinning things that I can make relatively cheaply, most often using things I already own.  It wouldn't fly if every project required making purchases.  The project has really worked.  I've made two recipes (pretty good as I am a novice foodie), numerous kid art and educational projects, a new hair style and several sewing projects.

I have now challenged myself to post here about said pins.  I hope that I can not only develop pinning projects but also a reporting habit.  Pinterest is such a great source of material.  I can't believe all of the great things that I have found.

Today the boys and I made a variation of :

Source: oneperfectdayblog.wordpress.com via Annelyse on Pinterest

I say a variation because I only had gel food coloring and no droppers so I was forced to dye the salt rather than have the boys drop the food coloring on to the salt to create the colors.  I definitly need to invest in some eye droppers.  This is the third project I had to modify because I don't currently own any.  The sad thing is thinking about all of those baby pain relief bottles I got rid of with out a second thought. I digress.
I ended up placing the salt into Dixie cups because I thought the boys would enjoy pouring and spilling the salt. Both boys enjoyed dripping glue on their paper, pouring the salt and starting the process over and over again. It was a great project because they were able to do much of it on their own. I will admit that I helped with the final glue design but this was after three sheets of their own making. You may find from my pictures that my youngest lost patience after twenty-five minutes and did make a bit of a mess. I was thrilled he made it to the twenty-five minute mark.  I generally brace myself for very short production times.  There is usually an inverse ratio of how much effort I put into setting up a project versus how much time they actually spend on it.  This project was highly successful.  They worked longer to complete it then I spent making it.  Although little brother did make a mess, I am fortunate that big brother likes helping with the dust buster! Here is our results:

Their first attempt included nice neat piles of salt.

Subsequent pictures were messier but still engaging.

Here is the final project for little brother and his mess!


I am also quite proud of my first Modge Podge project for Mother's Day that I will also include in this post.  I recreated this fantastic project:

 

Source: homemade.tipjunkie.com via Annelyse on Pinterest

Here are my final projects.  (I actually made an extra pot for myself.  A lesson learned from coveting projects I made for the grandmothers in the past- always make one for yourself.  The other lesson I learned?  I totally love Modge Podge!

Here are the pots drying in the mud room.

Here are three of the pots after plants were added.  Big brother picked out different plants for each person.

There are so many other projects that I have tried and enjoyed but I'll save them for another day.  I need a little practice with embedding and cutting and pasting.  Needless to say forcing myself to actually use the projects I see on Pinterest has really been an enjoyable motivator. I don't have to feel guilty every time I hop around in Pinterest.  I also don't have to look at my dear friend R's amazing ideas for play date crafts and feel completely jealous.  I am wracking up the fun and experiences too.

Pin It Now!