I have been pretty busy this summer. I’ve accomplished a lot, but I have certainly been neglecting my blog. Sorry!
Those of us who are Pinterest users know that the site is a mixed blessing. On one hand, it provided thousands of amazing projects and recipes and excellent tips. On the other, browsing Pinterest can also make a person feel insecure and totally unaccomplished. Who really has time to do all of that exercise, cook all of those amazing meals, entertain your kids every moment with clever and funtastic projects, and decorate your entire house in perfect nature hues and with pallets?
I certainly don’t. I often turn to those “Pinterest fails” websites–they make me feel so much better. But I have come to terms with Pinterest, to some degree. I pin projects and recipes that are achievable in my world–and have attempted a few of them with differing levels of success. For instance, I love the zucchini enchiladas. They are amazing every time I make them. The white chicken enchilada is also wonderful. I have made the Panera knock-off broccoli cheddar soup. I have been regularly making the Skinnytaste pesto and freezing it into cubes. Other things I’ve tried, such as the breaded string cheese didn’t turn out quite as well.
The kool-aid dyed Easter eggs were awesome, if a bit messy. The knitting patterns were great (though they usually led me back to Ravelry…where I had already been). For Christmas, I transferred pictures to wood blocks for my sister. Recently, I tried my hand at a few more: the penny covered bowling ball yard art, the pallet garden bed, and a reconfiguring of a t-shirt.
The bowling ball project was fun, and allegedly, and especially if you use enough pre-1982 pennies, it will help deter slugs and snails from your garden. Good enough reason to try it for me!
Here is the “pin” I was working from:
I went to the thrift shop (with $20 in my pocket…no…just kidding) and purchased a $2 pink bowling ball. I collected all the pennies in the house, and gave them a bath in vinegar. I wouldn’t recommend this course of action for cleaning the pennies. It took a really long time, and didn’t seem terribly effective. I used a DAP silicone rubber sealant and attached the pennies face-up to the bowling ball. In order to prove to myself that I have some control over my OCPD, I glued just one face down. Ha! In your face, perfectionism! The original pinner said to fill the finger holes with caulk, but I didn’t. After the adhesive dried, and the pennies were securely fastened, I took a few erasers and systematically cleaned up the pennies. That worked better for me than the vinegar–although it took me the length of a movie to do it.
Voila! Yard art and hopeful slug deterrent:
I’m happy with that!
I used another pin in my garden–pallets for easy, nearly ready-made raised beds. I write “nearly” because my husband had to nail boards to the sides to keep the soil in.
Here is the original pin:
Here is my attempt:
I’m pleased with the results, but I think next year I will limit what I grow in the pallet, and I will only use one (I had two this year). The kale, romaine, spinach and radishes did really well. You just have to be careful when planting because the seeds wash under the boards. Also–I will loop my drip line over the pallets instead of hand-watering.
And finally, I attempted to redesign a t-shirt that I’ve had forever by never wear because I don’t like its fit.
Here is the original pin:
I didn’t take a picture of my original shirt, but, it was just a basic t-shirt. I fought with my sewing machine for a while, and had to redo the straps to make them a little longer, but this is what I came up with:
Again…not too shabby. It is not meant to be a “finished” shirt, although it certainly could be with some hemming of edges. I just cut the pieces and left it at that. If they fray, they fray. But I will actually wear this now…even if it is just for working in the garden.
Thank you for coming along on my Pinterest adventures tonight!
From Michigan to Montana 