Playing with Pinterest

What is the point of pinning if you never play...right?

I usually try to make a recipe from Pinterest once a week.  Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.

I did, however, have success with one recipe around Thanksgiving that will end up being a new tradition in gift giving.  Homemade Brown Sugar.  It really is quite easy if you let your kitchen aid do all the work. Thanks Noblepig.

Source: noblepig.com via Cheryl on Pinterest

I found that it worked well to make the sugar in large batches...like triple. Pour the sugar into the bowl and start the mixer on low.  Gradually add the molasses and then increase the speed.  I literally walk away from it and let it go, after checking to make sure the molasses isn't stuck to the side of the bowl.  It does take awhile, but you can be prepping the jars or containers while it's mixing.  I made 30 pounds of brown sugar over the holidays.

I also attached, to the gift, a brown sugar preserver that can be soaked in water and placed in the sugar to keep it from going hard.

I found that black strap molasses was the best and gave a richer flavor.  If you want darker sugar, add another Tbsp per cup of sugar.  The color is so beautiful and it tastes so much better than store bought brown sugar. You will never use anything else on your hot cereal, once you've tried this.  I will be spending the next year on the look out for vintage jars and bottles for gifting again.

Another one of my favorite projects was the Christmas Card keeper book made from all the cards we received this year.  I actually found these on Eighteen25 and then pinned them to my Pinterest.

Source: eighteen25.blogspot.com via Cheryl on Pinterest

Every year I have a sad moment when I take down the Christmas cards and put them away.  I loved this idea of making them into books that we can look at every year.

You start by printing the free book cover from Eighteen25 and then let your own creativity take over from there.

I found chip board, cut it to the size I wanted, painted it with some blue paint I had and then I sealed it with DecoPage.  I found that when I pack and store handmade books, they deteriorate over time, so I wanted to make this durable so that it would last for many years.  I cut out one of the printables, circled the year and then DecoPaged it on to one of the chipboard pieces.  I then punched holes, using the red strip as a mark for punching.

Using a pencil and one of the chipboard covers as a template, I marked each Christmas card where I wanted them to be punched.  Punched them up and then used rings to put it all together.  I chose not to embellish much because I've noticed that in packing scrapbooks, the cute things always fall off in time. I did tie a jingle bell on to one of the rings with ribbon.

Loved this project....it will be a yearly tradition from now on as well.

Every year, starting with the first card....usually from the Stephenson Family of Bend, Oregon...I hang my Christmas cards with clothes pins on ribbon wrapped around a door.  This year AngryJulieMonday gave me an idea for making those clothes pins a little cuter.  Of course, I didn't finish this project until after I'd taken down the cards this year and made them into a book.  But I have them all bagged up for next year...ready to go!

Source: angryjuliemonday.com via Cheryl on Pinterest

I think they are self explanatory.  I just needed the idea to get me going. I DecoPaged them, poured glitter on them and then sealed them in more DecoPage.  They are practically indestructible and now that they are sealed up...I don't have glitter all over the place.  I only had green glitter but they would be cute in any color.

Playing with Pinterest has been a way to get my creative juices flowing again.  It's also been good for using my stash of unused supplies.  

What's the point of pinning if you don't play?