Week 19 & 20...Better late than never!

So, I promise that I haven't quit Pinteresting!  I'll admit, it's been incredibly hard.  Our crazy home life, every busy work life, and everything in between keep me moving.  Pinteresting is like dieting...gotta stay accountable.  That's what this blog does for me!  It makes me focus on something creative at least once each week.

Last week my coworkers and I hosted a small baby shower for our friend, Stephanie.  She is having a baby girl.  :-)  I saw this party favor on Pinterest and had to try it for our "sweet" themed shower.  I thought they turned out cute.  The pacifier on top (to look like a cherry) was Zoe's idea!

 

Finding ice cream bowls was tough.   I've decided that this is a great thing to have on hand, so I'll be on the look out.  :-)  Ice cream = two onesies, two washcloths, and one hat & a spoon.  :-)

This weekend was Mother's Day.  We spent the entire weekend doing stuff as a family.  It was great.  One thing about family time is that there is not time for cleaning, much less crafting.  I did, however, bake the Peanut Butter Cup S'mores recipe found here.  My family loved them!

Happy Mother's Day!

Week 18- Proper Pinning

Sundays have officially been designated for Pinteresting.  I always have a few ideas in mind, but I don't absolutely decide on what to do until Sunday.  Sadie was sick last night and ended up sleeping with us.  As a result, I found myself reading more than I slept.  I searched all of Pinterest for 'pinning tips.'  You'd be amazed at all there is on the WWW related to proper pinning techniques.  I learned several valuable tips from this link that I think you all should know. 

• Always try to find the source image.  This gives credit where credit is due and helps you to avoid copyright issues.  The coolest thing about this was that I learned that you can drag and drop any image in to Google Images and Google will locate its source.  How cool is that?!?!
• Edit your profile settings to change how often you are notified.  I changed my notifications to once daily rather than immediately.  I can already tell a difference!
• Keep a 5:1 ratio... For every five items you repin, be sure to pin one original or new find.  I'm guilty of NOT doing this enough.  Until today...one of my projects was inspired by Pinterest finds, but wasn't directly 'borrowed.'

There are many more hints and tips for using Pinterest.  I've created a new board all about pinning to Pinterest.   Go there to read more.  Now onto this week's projects!

I LOVE using photographs in Pinterest projects.  It 'makes' me get current photos and engages the girls...especially Sadie.  I saw this pin and thought it looked super cute and super easy.

I tried to get Sadie to pose more like the ones above...NOT that easy, so we just went with the one with her smiling.  I printed it out on card-stock, cut it out, and that's it!  I think I'll add a trapeze bar and tassel to make it more like a bookmark, but it works this way. 

In order to stick with with the idea that we should be contributing original pins to Pinterest, I created the following project.  One of my favorite quotes added the inspiration, too:

A few months ago I pinned an awesome idea involving an entire living room wall painted with chalkboard paint.  It was awesome!  I decided that an entire wall would be a little too much, but maybe just a picture size space?

My mom found the frame below at an antique store and I have tons of leftover chalkboard contact paper left over from a previous project.  I painted the frame, cut the contact paper, and mounted it in our foyer.  Both Sadie and Zoe noticed it right away! 

I hope you all have a great week ahead!  I'll be preparing for a baby shower next week...'sweet' themed.  Can't wait!

Week 17: Oh what to do...

I have to admit, I wasn't exactly looking forward to doing ANYTHING this weekend.  My house is a wreck and I'm tired, which made the thought of doing something fun feel all wrong.  In an effort to get out and spend time with Sadie, I picked the project below.  It gave Sadie and I a chance to go antique shopping in town.  She LOVES to shop!

We walked out with a few bags filled with antiques...MOST of which were FREE.  The owner of the shop (my Kindergarten teacher nearly 30 years ago) was very helpful once I told her what I wanted to create.  She searched the very back of the store and found random pieces of china that worked perfectly for this project.  I did purchase the brass candlesticks, though.  I simply used liquid nails to adhere the pieces together and that's it!  Now all I need is a reason to use it...LOL...

Because this project was so simple, I felt a little funny dedicating an entire post to it.  Lucky for me I pinned a VERY cool and free Facebook timeline resource earlier this morning.  I have been dreading switching to the timeline because I knew it would drive me crazy without having a cool cover photo.  This resource made it possible...within a short time I created this:

I'm still searching for decorations for the month of May.  It's not easy.  I'm finding a ton of Spring themed stuff but feel like it looks too Easter-y.  Please be on the lookout! 

Week 16: Thankful for Pinterest!

I love a party. I love the planning. I love the excitement. That's why I'm already thinking about next year's theme! Before I am 'allowed' to think too much about next year, I promised myself that I would be sure and send thank-yous this year. Everyone was so great to take the time to show up, the least I can do is send a thank-you.

Of course I don't want just any thank-you note. Within a few seconds of searching Pinterest, I not only found a cute thank-you idea, but I also found my project of the week!



I chose this idea because it was a way to get Sadie's help and show her love for all the new toys. Within a few minutes I had the image, added the font, and uploaded to a printer. Here's the final product:




Looking at her in this picture makes me smile. I hope it does the same for everyone else.
Until next week...

Week 14-15: Worth the wait!

I know that its been over two weeks since my last post, but I assure you that I've been Pinterest'ing. In fact, we've ALL been Pinterest'ing as we prepared for Sadie's 3rd birthday party. While I wasn't able to do all that I originally planned, I (WE) did complete several of my favorite projects that I pinned to my "Sadie's Mermaid Party" board on Pinterest.

How cute are these felt mermaid tails?!? Especially once they are on the party guests! My mom gets all the credit for these. I showed her a design that I found on Pinterest and presto!...there they were!





And for the boys? Pretend scuba gear, of course! Made out of spray painted 2 liter bottles, fish tank tubing, and gorilla tape, these bottles not only looked like the real thing, but 'acted' like them too! We could not get over how much the boys played with them (in the pool) and how well they held up!




A pirate (my mom) even showed up to take the kids on a treasure hunt. They were enthralled as she led the way. We owe you, mom. BIG time. :-)



There were also Pinterest inspired decorations throughout the 'ocean blue.' The coffee filter wreath was VERY easy to make and CHEAP.




I am very pleased with how it all turned out. Ms. Dottie made a fantastic sandcastle cake, Zoe hosted the "Seaweed Salon" (More pictures coming soon). The only bad thing? Sadie ran a fever the entire time. :=(





Oh well. There's always next year! :-)

Week 13- Easter's on it's way!

This week I continued to prep our home for Easter. It's pretty sad that I didn't actually clean our house due to the hectic weekend, but rest assured we have Easter banners! While looking around my dirty house, I decided that I should propose a new reality show called, "Polly & Pinterest." Camera crews would follow me and my attempts to create Pinterest projects...not sure if it would be a sitcom or a drama.

I've been collecting paint chips every time I go to the store JUST for the banner shown below. How easy and CUTE is this?!?



Next, I humored Sadie (and the neighbor's kids) with the bunny butt banner below (say THAT 10 times real fast and see what happens). Again, easy and CUTE!



I need about a week of crafting to complete all of the projects that I'd like to have for Sadie's 3rd birthday. Mermaid tails, splash pads, shell jewelery, and more. I'm going to prioritize and start this weekend. Fingers crossed!

Week 12- Hippity Hoppity...

One of my favorite things about preparing for a face-to-face work meeting with my fantastic team is dreaming up a few gifts. I have an awesome group of co-workers that make gift giving a ton of fun. In fact, I had so much fun at Christmas a few of the ladies decided that 'they suck at Christmas'! Lol!!!!

Since Easter is only a few weeks away, I decided to go with a Spring/Bunny theme. I found both Pinterest ideas easy to do. The first one is using Peeps (my favorite Easter candy) in a brownie mix jar. I didn't alter the recipe at all because it seemed so simple. You can find it here. I'm going to tell my team to 'hop to it' when we go over new goals. :-)




The next project was one I could NOT resist since it uses Peeps in a clever way. I actually combined two Pinterest ideas since I dipped the Peeps in chocolate and then sprinkles as seen on a different pin. Then I bundled them and attached the saying below: "You're one of my favorite Peeps!" How cute is that???!!!!




The highlight of my day was when Zoe stopped to see what I was making and said that the Beastie Boys' song, "She's Crafty" should be my theme song. Lol!!!! I'll take that as a compliment!

BTW... I received my ViewFinders on Friday (last week's post). They are INCREDIBLE! Well worth the money, quick, and super cool.