Pinterest Project Success... and failures

Pinterest.  Distraction or muse?  Waste of time or endless source of inspiration?  For me, it may be both.  Attractive looking pins linked to cleverly written tutorials and how-to's, arranged on appropriately labeled boards seem to create an alternate reality of well-decorated, organized, and perfectly crafted spaces.  I am constantly wooed into hoping that the next interesting pin could link to the one article with the potential to revolutionize my household management, personal style, or recipe box.  


What I refuse to do personally, though, is get sucked into spending hours and hours browsing pins that I will never use.  Pinterest has been a fun resource for researching things like homeschooling strategies, freezer recipes, crafts, housekeeping tools and gardening tips.  The pins stuck on a virtual board, however informative, will never bless my family if I don't do something with them. 


Is it worth it?  

  Here are a few of my Pinterest inspired hits & misses.                                                             

Orange Vinegar All-Purpose cleanser

Pinterest version

This was a simple project with rave reviews in the comments!  I had all of the supplies on hand, so the two minutes it took to put the mixture together was a no-brainer!  

The Result --  PROJECT SUCCESS!

This stuff is amazing on my hardwood floors.  Great shine, no harsh chemicals, super cheap!

Argyle Wall

Pinterest version

This photo was the inspiration for my argyle hallway, but did not have a tutorial.  I found a few other versions on pinterest, but none that held my attention like this one.  

The Result --  PROJECT SUCCESS!

I love it!  Though time consuming, the project was fun to do and looks wonderful!

Easter cookies

Pinterest version

In an effort to focus the Easter holiday more on the Resurrection of Christ and less on bunnies & eggs, this was an activity I knew we'd try as soon as I read the article.

The Result -- Modified PROJECT SUCCESS!

I planned and prepared for every detail in the recipe.  I bookmarked every Bible reference with a numbered post-it and typed out the steps in corresponding order to the verses.  After completing 'step 2' of the recipe, it was easily decided that the intensity of flipping through the Bible, reading each verse, then performing the activity just required too much focus from my little group.  We followed the recipe steps, talked about the symbolism to the crucifixion/Resurrection accounts, and read a handful of the corresponding Scriptures.  I was a little nervous that the cookies wouldn't turn out, but they DID and Sunday morning was beautiful.

Egg words

Pinterest version

One of my sons struggles with reading.  He recognizes individual letter sounds, but not words.  When I saw this activity, I thought it might help 'flip the switch.'  He loves games, so this seemed pretty perfect.

The Result -- PROJECT SUCCESS!

It took some time to set up, but he does love 'playing Egg Words.'  While it did not bring an overnight radical change to his word recognition, it did help and he enjoys the activity.  Couldn't really ask for more!

Felt roses

Pinterst version

So pretty!  The tutorial made it seem so easy, and there are SO many ways to use these adorable little guys.  The blog this is pinned from is also top notch and is one of my faves.  I had to try!

The Result -- PROJECT SUCCESS!

Not quite as easy as the tutorial makes it look. (I'm still a glue-gun novice).  The end product is sweet and looks great on my front door's welcome wreath.  

Bubble station refill

Pinterest version

We go through bubble solution like crazy in the summertime!  I thought this looked like a cute way to solve the spilling/ crying/spending-more-money-on-bubble-solution cycle.

The Result -- FAIL

Less than one week after buying my fun bubble dispenser, baby Judah tipped it over, broke the lid and spilled bubble soap everywhere!  It took two large beach towels to sop up the mess, and three runs through the washing machine to rinse out all the bubbles! Oddly enough, I still think this idea is valuable and may just try it again, but with a sturdier vessel!  (Out of baby's reach!)

I - spy

Pinterest version

Obviously.  So cute... My kiddos would surely spend quiet hours on end searching through the rice for the little paper clip or dinosaur figurine...  Whatever would I do with all my new found free time?

The Result -- Eh...

Neither success, nor fail.  They like the game, but their interest only holds for about 5 minutes...   Oh well!  So much for free time!

Swirling Sparkly Timer

Pinterest version
The pin depicts two actively swirling sparkly bottles.  The article stated how easy they were to make, and that the author's child's 'time-out' sessions were markedly improved with the implementation of the perfectly timed swirling sparkles.  5 minutes from shake-up to settled.  I was convinced that this would be a calming/soothing change from the same-old beeping timer we currently use.
The Result -- PROJECT FAIL!


Not even close.  By the time I compiled the ingredients needed, the tutorial somehow got unhitched from the photo...  I tried the project by memory.  Ugh.  My glitter never swirled as prettily as it seemed on the pin, and by the time I slowed the solution enough to get the sparkles to take 5 minutes to sink, the bottle was so murkey that most of it disappeared anyway.  Total fail.

In conclusion, of the 8 projects I've reviewed here:

5 were PROJECT SUCCESS!

1 was Eh...

and 2 were PROJECT FAIL.

I can actually live with that percentage 

and justify using Pinterest as a helpful tool.

Yay!

See you on the Pin Boards!

Insomnia and the Argyle Wall

Last week, my wonder-man husband spent some time in the 'other' Washington.  I was so excited and happy for him to take this super-productive and timely trip, I could hardly sleep at night!  Those who know me well understand my sure-fire personal cure for insomnia:  painting/home-improvement projects!  

This is how our upstairs hallway looked last 

week when he left for the airport:

Boring.

It's just a hallway, after all.  Not exactly the stylish focal point of our home.  Still, something different would be fun.

I settled on ARGYLE!

For me, a perfect '85 Italian Merlot would not have produced an equal mellow.  I slept like a baby every night after working on this.

Here's the how-to:

Supply list:

At least 1 roll of  .94in x 60.1yd Multi-surface FrogTape

At least 1 roll of wide Scotch Blue Painter's tape

1 gallon Semi-gloss in the 'main' color.

1 quart Semi-gloss in a complementing color

1 quart Semi-gloss in another complementing color

1 roller & roller pan

3 roller pan liners

3 roller sponges

Cutting brush

x-acto/utility knife or razor blade

A step ladder or something sturdy to stand on 

(Of course, if you're painting more than a single wall, you'll need more paint.)

Step-by-step:

Step 1.  Prepare the wall with a good cleaning. Then, starting from the midpoint of the top of the wall, measure and mark equal distances (shorter or longer, depending on how large you want the pattern to be).  From the top, tape the crosshatch pattern with the FrogTape, connecting the measured points diagonally.  Create a tight seal with the tape onto the wall, or the crosshatch will look jagged.  The taping/sealing process was probably the most time consuming part of the project.  When the crosshatch is done, continue taping to protect the baseboards & ceiling with the wide Painter's Blue... unless you can paint a perfect top line, this part is a must.

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Step 2.  Paint the main color.  Let it dry completely before moving on to the next step.  Do not remove any of the tape.

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Step 3.  Tape an identical pattern to your crosshatch, but start from the middles of your previously measured points.  You will end up with diamond shapes over your painted area.

(The photo is a bit out of focus.  I was using my daughter's camera because Jess had our nice one in DC.)

Notice how the crosshatch pattern is painted over, while the newly taped diamonds mirror the angles.

Make sure again, to press the tape sides to seal them to the wall.  Our walls are extra texture-y, so this part took a very long time.  The kids pitched in to seal the lower tape on the wall.  I love the abundance of helpers in our cozy little home!

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Step 4.  Painting the diamonds.  Starting with the center diamond, paint in complementing color #1.  Paint the adjacent diamonds in complementing color #2.  For the diamonds directly above and below, shift the colors so they alternate.

Make sure not to paint over the edge of the diamonds' tape!

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Step 5. After the paint is mostly dry, lightly score the diamond-edge tape.  This takes almost as long as the tape-pressing. 

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Step 6.  Finally!  Pull off ALL of that blasted tape!  Stand back and love the final result.  *Sigh.  So pretty!

I don't even mind that one of the kids dropped a stuffed ducky on the floor while I was taking a final picture.  Life is fun.

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Jess was certainly amused to find our upstairs hallway dressed in argyle when he returned from his trip!  His reaction... 

"Couldn't sleep?" ...with a big smile.

Gotcha Day!

We have a list of 'extra' holidays in our family.  Along with our wedding anniversary, and the traditional, Christian, American, & birthday celebrations, as an adoptive family we have a whole extra list of special anniversaries that mark important/sentimental moments in our journey.

This year, I almost missed a biggie.  We've been battling a nasty flu that has seemed to attack everyone in this house!  I've been so preoccupied with temperature-taking, medicine-dosing, and comfort-giving, that I almost missed our 'Gotcha Day!'  (The day when I first met my son, face-to-face, and held him in my arms for the very first time.)

Funny how doing a load of laundry would spark a memory that would remind me.  I was sorting through a bag of outgrown boys' clothes for Judah to grow into, and came across a sweet little 3T yellow Gap shirt with brown cuffs....    

In a moment,

I remembered 3 years ago...

A piece of my heart was still on the other side of the world as we waited for Joseph's adoption to become finalized.  We were preparing our home and our lives for his entrance.  His little bed was ready for him to sleep in.  His car seat was installed in his place.  His tiny backpack was loaded with books, toys, and games for the airplane.  One of the last things to do, was to pack up some clothes for our suitcase.  I laid out a few outfits:  this for our Embassy appointment, that for the plane ride, this for when he was to meet the rest of the family for the first time...  Even now, I vividly remember the achey dreamy feeling of having a child that couldn't yet be held.  I folded his little yellow t-shirt and packed it in the suitcase.  Fast-forward a short time to a guest-house in Ethiopia's capitol city.  My sweet boy didn't know me much and barely trusted me, but he knew I was his Mommy.  The morning of our Embassy appointment, I remember tugging his little t-shirt over his curly-haired, sweet-smelling head and giving him a kiss on his button-nose.  That afternoon was the first time I formally introduced him as my son.  "I'm his mom," never sounded so triumphant as it did that day.  His small chest puffed out with pride, already knowing what the word 'mom' meant.       

Plane ride:  The journey home was memorable, of course.  He was SO excited about having a daddy of his own, but hadn't seen very many Caucasian men in his young lifetime.  Only maybe four. (?)  I'd shown him pictures of Jess, but still every time he saw a white man, he'd look up at me and ask, 'Daddy?'  'No, sweetheart.  That's not your daddy,' I'd answer every time.  He never got bored in all the hours of travel time.  We snuggled on the airplane and looked at pictures of our home, colored in workbooks, read stories, and played with matchbox cars.  He slept in my lap.  We learned how to communicate with each other.  My mom made the trip with me, so she was there falling head over heels in love with our new adorable family member, too.  She took pictures.  Lots of pictures... I can still hear her voice saying, 'Oh, Jen!  He's perfect!' He was ooh-ed and aah-ed over my almost everyone on the plane, and often!  Finally, after many many hours of travel, we arrived at our home port.  Jess and the kids were waiting for us at the top of the escalator in baggage claim.  The look in my son's huge brown eyes was unforgettable.  'Daddy?' he asked, pointing shyly at Jess.  'Yes, son.  That's your dad!'  

...We've Gotcha!  And we're never letting go!   

Then:

..

His first birthday party...His first taste of cake.
Oops...We didn't know about his food allergies yet!

He loved riding in the van!

"Macchina!"

I used to watch him sleep and feel overwhelmingly thankful for his safe arrival and presence in our family.

Brothers & best friends.

Now:

Daddy is still his favorite!

Jed is still the best friend...

And I am every single day, completely thankful for him!