274/366: Pintember in the Toilet

This is the final installment of Pintember.  I hope you enjoyed it.  I found it to be quite a challenge.  I thought when I semi-retired, I'd have more time to do things like this. 

That doesn't seem to be the case.  And that's okay.

There are still a couple Pinterest projects I'd like to complete, and will show you those as I do them.  The Pintember Project was good.  It kept me creative and writing, and not just falling asleep sitting up while watching TV.

So, my toilet project.

Toilet paper rolls, more specifically.

This is a fairly easy project.  I cut about 20 toilet paper rolls into 5 strips.  Then, with my glue gun, I just went to town.  There is no real way to do this, other than just sticking the new pieces where there is a hole.  I turned the flower as I went and eyeballed all of it.

I also didn't measure the width of the cut pieces.  You may be able to see in the photo that the pieces aren't perfect, aren't the same height and are placed randomly.

 I found the painting to be the most challenging.  My spray paint from my animal taxidermy project didn't seem to coat very well.  I used almost an entire can and thought I'd have plenty.  The paint seemed to absorb into the paper.

But, standing back, you really can't tell. 

I think this was a fun project and a good way to end the month...in the toilet!  Ha!

I'm still working the POSTADAY for the remainder of the year, so don't be a stranger.

Thanks for reading Pintember!

273/366: Pintember Paper

Well, it wasn't a very productive Pinterest day over here.

The boys were playing with a packing form from our new sweeper vac (LOVE IT) and they were making some Lego game up with their minifigures.  I tried to find something fun for them to add to their game, and ended up here...

I want my Mummy!

This was a printable - free.  They hold candy...get the free download for mummy right here!

And they have friends...

Also a printable.

The bird link was broken, so I just saved the picture and printed it from my hard drive.

Here is another link with a bunch of fun printables (including the Halloween candy holders).

Cute stuff.  Obviously, using a cardstock would be much better than regular paper, but since I already had paper and my printer...this craft was free!

Tomorrow is our final day and I feel like the end might be a let down.  We'll see if I can work some magic tomorrow!

272/366: Pintember Booking

It seems that every night when I attempt to tuck my boys in for the night, I am asked for a bookmark.

I love that books are piled at their bedside.  I love that they are reading.

I don't, however, care so much for the "I need a bookmark".

So...here is my solution:

This is super easy!  And you are recycling!

We pay our bills on line, but still request paper invoices.  Every paper invoice comes with a return envelope.  This is a great way to use the envelopes with pre-printed addresses.

Just cut off the corner with scissors or a straight-line cutter.

Then...embellish!

The purple one is just colored with a purple marker.  I added a fun little hat.  The white one has ears (the corners of the envelope).

This is definitely a great craft to do with kids of all ages.

I have a feeling the boys are going to request some envelope corners soon!

Here is the inspiration post...also a really cute idea:

Source: dsharp.typepad.com via Carrie on Pinterest

271/366: Pintember Cleans Again

If you don't succeed, try again, right?

Wrong.

Well, kind of.

If my stove top didn't look like this in the first place:

 This baking soda and hot towel trick for 15 minutes may have worked.

 As you can see, below, it worked, slightly.  What really worked was the benefit of the hot, wet towel on the stove top.  It softened up the rings around the burners.  I then decided that I needed to work the burns with a blade.  And I did.  Much of it came off.

Until I broke the blade.

So I'll show you the bottom corner of our main burner that is now clean! 

I still have the white scratches in the middle of each burner.  Any ideas on how to get rid of those?

Here is the inspiration pin for this 'At Home Remedy':

Source: behindthestudio.com via Carrie on Pinterest

266/366: Pintember-sagna

Yum.

I think this was the best lasagna that I've made since going gluten free.  And it's an easy one, too.

If you are gluten free, or have bought gluten free lasagna noodles, you know it's a delicate task.  Many of the noodles break before the box is even open.  The ones that don't break in the box, may tear in the pot.

I did quite well boiling today, only two noodles broke in the pot.  Leaving me with about 10 noodles (glory of Gluten Free).

So, I boiled the noodles till they were bendy and very al dente.  Turned off the burner and just let them sit in the water.  I gently removed three noodles and placed them on a clean towel to dry.  The filling was super simple, chopped spinach, ricotta and a couple eggs.

One large scoop of cheese mixture at the end of the noodle, and just roll it up.  I had three or so turns of the noodle on each roll.  (I didn't spread the cheese the length of the noodle, nor did I add sauce as the inspiration post below shows.)

I placed them in a baking dish, with some sauce in the bottom.  Repeat with all the noodles and top with sauce.  Then top that with mozzarella cheese.  Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes, or until cheese on top is golden brown and crispy.

This is easy to serve, doesn't seem to fall like my lasagna usually does and you get a lot of noodle in each bite.  That's what I like the best about this lasagna style.  These would freeze well, too, in small portions ready to be reheated.

And the best part?  I didn't hear, "You are the worst cook ever!"  That is a success in my book.

Here is the original inspiration post:

Source: cookingclassy.blogspot.com via Carrie on Pinterest

265/366: Pintember Soap

This is cool.

Easiest activity yet!

Ivory soap.  (Even old, rarely used bars work).

Only Ivory soap works for this.  When you put the soap in an operating microwave, the soap and trapped water absorb the microwave energy and heat up. Eventually the water turns to steam. Steam takes up much more volume than the equivalent quantity of liquid water, and this drives the expansion of the soap bar. In addition, the air in the trapped bubbles expands as it is heated, contributing to the expansion.


Cool, right?

This is what Big Boy thought of it:

It is an interesting texture.  Give it a try!  Put your bar on a microwavable plate, 2 minutes should be enough.   Have fun!   Here is the original post:

Source: ourbestbites.com via Carrie on Pinterest

256/366: Pintember Grime

This one is embarrassing.  Only slightly. 

I'm not Merry Maids and if I don't see it, I don't clean it.  I mean, it's an oven right?

I saw this pin last month and thought I'd try:

Source: diyhshp.blogspot.com via Carrie on Pinterest

The pin uses a mix of Baking Soda and water.  Simple.  No chemicals.  If I clean with something I could eat, it's a good thing.

Here is my oven door...don't you judge me:

 Let me preface this by stating that this is a really old oven.  I am guessing that it is only a couple years younger than me!

It still turns on and heats up, so we are good.



 Back to our project.  The mix of Baking Soda and water should look like a thick paste.  I rubbed it all over the door and glass.  I have never been able to see through the glass.  I actually thought it was so stuck on and hopeless.  Since the oven glass wasn't transparent when we moved in, surely they had already tried it.  Or, perhaps it was a 'frosted' glass.

After I let it sit for 30 minutes, I scrubbed a little and wiped it off.  This is what I got:

Much of the grime was off, but the glass was so caked on that the baking soda didn't even touch it. 
I closed the oven and thought...it's like shaving your legs in the winter.  What's the point?  No one goes there.

Then, I turned on the oven.  Let it warm up and mixed up another batch of the baking soda...perhaps a warmer oven will release the grime better.

As you can see in the hot suds, some of the grime released right away.  But it just didn't get into the really bad stuff.

I ditched the whole baking soda stuff and thought about the can of Easy Off under my sink.  I reached for it and knocked over the SOS pads.  DUH!  I use SOS when I can't clean a baking dish.

Look at what happened:

Can you see my floor through the window?  The door is so much cleaner.  So much that I even ran my hand over the whole door.  There are still some marks I didn't get off and a couple chips in the coating of the door, but I'm good with that.

And look:

I was able to see my lunch without opening the oven door.  It was magical.

If you are a Merry Maid and have a somewhat clean oven, the Baking Soda may work for you.  It got the superficial brownish greasy layer, but didn't touch the spots that were caked on.

Grab your SOS pad and work on your arms.



251/366: Pintember Clean

After yesterday's food debacle, I needed something easy that I could control.  I tackled the microwave.

Here is the original Pin:

Source: practicallyfunctional.net via Carrie on Pinterest

It doesn't take a scientist to know that heating a bowl of water in a microwave will loosen all the grime.  The added vinegar makes it smell nice.  Just put the water and vinegar in a microwave safe bowl, heat on high for five minutes in the microwave.  Then, wipe it down.

Before

After

It really worked well.  It was much quicker than using a sponge and hot water with a little dish detergent.  I would like to mention that the second picture was taken with a flash, so it appears whiter than it should. 

I will do this each and every time, great pin.

250/366: Pintember Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Since we were on a downward spiral from yesterday's failure, I thought this would be a good entry.

My boys are coming to understand food and where it comes from.  They have a great dislike for meat products (McNuggets don't count, nor does pepperoni on pizza) because they come from living creatures.

Problem is, they don't really care for the high protein beans or quinoa, etc.  I have been giving them options.  More vegetables and grains in place of meat.  If they don't like that, I'll give them some turkey lunch meat (which they hate).  It has certainly been enlightening.  They are realizing that it isn't so much the meat or chicken they don't like, but the time it takes to eat dinner instead of playing.  Anything new is immediately refused, without even a sniff (at least for one boy you will see later in this post).

Last night, I tried to made this:



Source: eat-drink-smile.com via Carrie on Pinterest

Pretty, right?  Actually looks like you could pick it up and eat it.  Well, here is my story for Cauliflower Crust Pizza.

The ricing of the cauliflower was easy, mixing the dough was even easier.  I was pretty excited.

I patted out my crust on my pizza stone, since the stone will heat the crust faster, hoping to make it crispier.

 After 15 minutes in the oven, it looked pretty good, the edges were browning, the bottom was browning.  We were well on our way. 

 I topped it with sauce and cheese (mama's cupboards were bare with anything to add that a child would eat)

And it came out fairly good.  The crust wasn't nearly sturdy enough to eat like a slice of pizza.  It did, however, taste like a pizza lasagna.  It had all the makings of lasagna, with the shape of a pie.

I had extra cauliflower, so I riced that and made one bigger pizza on a sheet pan.  I added corn meal to the pan in hopes it would be easier to remove.

I let the crust cook longer in the beginning, thinking that it would crisp up better.  I added the toppings and here is the finished pizza.

This big one had a thicker crust.  It also had some non-stick spray and the crust was soggy.  Really soggy.  Perhaps my measuring was off a touch, but I really did use measuring cups for this one.

I ate it.  And enjoyed it.

One look at this:

And the Big Boy did this:

Not even a sniff.

He proceeded to tell me I was the worst cook ever and this was the worst thing I have ever ever ever ever (yes, four ever's) made.  Let me clarify, he didn't tell me, he yelled to me.

Time out.

Little Man ate it and said, yum.

Tom came home and ate it, liked it.  Thought it was lasagna.

I will try this again, maybe find a different recipe or add something to thicken up the crust. 

Or, perhaps, this will be my base for my new Pizzagna.

247/366: Pintember - Math Trick

Okay, this one is two thumbs up, or all fingers up.

Granted, it was rough to get my 'summer-vacation mode' kids to try this, but I loved it.  Only if I new this long ago...

Here is the original post from Pinterest:

Source: teachmama.com via Carrie on Pinterest

It totally works!  Give it a try.

Please share the link to your Pintember project below for all to see and share.

246/366: Pintember - Rock Painting

I LOVED this project.

It brought out all the loves of childhood:  painting, creativity and collecting.

The original post is here:

.

Source: colormekatie.blogspot.com via Carrie on Pinterest

Although I did a couple with hearts, the idea of turning a rock into something else, was much more interesting.  We found the best rocks at the beach.  The smoothness was much better for the markers, too.  Once we got to the mountains and did this craft again, the marker tips began to fray and make me sad.

I ended up getting Sharpie Brand Oil Based Paint Markers.  The more coats, the shinier the rock is.  They don't even require any special coating.

My niece was in love with this craft, always asking "Aunt Carrie, can I paint rocks?"

Must have a turtle!

This project is another thumbs up.  Definitely bringing the paint markers every time we go camping.  It really kept the kids occupied and happy.



202/366: A-Double N-OUN-MENT-s

Starting this September is my project called "PINTEMBER".

I don't know about you, but I have a TON of pins on Pinterest. So many that I pin things twice because I have forgotten that I already pinned the same item a month ago. It's time for action! In September, I am going to make, bake, create, craft, clean and transform.

I will post my completed project on my blog and invite you to share your creation in the comments of my blog, or include the link to your blog with you Pintember post. I have set up a board on Pinterest of some items that I think I can handle for the month, you can see that board here.

It's time to take the virtual ideas and make them a reality. Will you join me?

Secondly, thanks for all three of you that played along via Facebook or to my actual face (thanks, Tom, but you are still wrong).

The produce is actually a White Pickling Cucumber. 

I know.  It isn't white and it surely doesn't look like a cucumber.  I'll let you know if I get any others on the vine that look differently, so far, they all appear to be want-a-be lemons.

Lastly, guess what?  I'm retiring from full time work!  Next Friday is my last full time day.  I'm going to spend August with my boys.  Traveling and camping and making boy crafts.

In September, I hope to do part time project work with my same company that has been so so good to me in the past 13 years (yes, 13 years working for the same smart guy).