The Joys of Pinning

Happy New Year!

OK, um. Pinterest is the greatest thing ever.

I used to email myself links to blogs or websites I wanted to remember - crafts, recipes, etc. NOW I just "pin" them to my oh-so-organized Boards and can save them all in one place. PLUS I can see other people's pinned ideas and find MORE great ideas!

If you need an invite (yes it is invite only...ooh, la, la how exclusive) to Pinterest, let me know your email address and you too can soon be in Pinning heaven.

Coming soon: Trying lots of fun new recipes and even more fun home decor and craft ideas. Guess the point is to actually TRY the ideas, not just pin them as I have done thus far.

OK, here I go!

These might be the first few...

Recipes:

Chicken tamale casserole

Roasted baby potatoes with mushrooms, asparagus and parmesan

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese 

Crafts:

Sweater Vase 

Braided Tshirt Scarf 

Photographs in a jar 

Happy pinning!

So There.

I stocked up on Pillsbury Grands Refrigerated Biscuits when there was a sale (plus coupons!) and needed a recipe to use up the last can.
Enter...doughnuts!!!

Doughnuts Recipe

Ingredients:(1) 8-count package large refrigerated biscuits (such as Pillsbury Grands)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
(or melted chocolate chips)
(or any other topping you like)

See Recipe above for the full tutorial.

Cut out the middle of each biscuit (use to make doughnut holes!)
Place doughnut circles and holes in hot vegetable oil and fry until golden brown on both sides.
(Don't get the oil too hot or they will burn before the inside is cooked through)
Coat in topping of your choice.

YUM!!
"Homemade" Sunday Morning Doughnuts!

So there.

(That one is dipped in chocolate, not burnt....mostly....)

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow....

My cousin found this goldmine of a craft tutorial on You Tube, and taught us how to make them at Thanksgiving:

3D Paper Snowflakes

You can just use regular white computer paper, or get fancier printed paper or cardstock, as long as it is printed/colored on both sides.
Then, you just need scissors and either glue, hot glue, or tape.
Watch the video above, but just a few simple cuts and folds and you have a huge, three dimensional snowflake! It makes such a bigger impact than traditional flat paper snowflakes we all made as kids.

Try these!!

I also have it on my Pinterest page, from my cousin's post - she made one out of old sheet music! Beautiful!

http://pinterest.com/pin/90353536243779475/

PS....Pinterest is my newest OBSESSION!!!!
Such the perfect way to organize ALL my craft and recipe ideas.

So there.

Christmas Candy!

Another repeat, but worth repeating!
I made peppermint bark again this year to bring to work and our family Christmas.

2010 Blog Post - Peppermint Bark

Although it was much easier this year with my double boiler!

Ta da...BARK!

Pot Luck Salad, Take 2!

I made this delicious salad again this year for our annual pot luck at work.

2010 Blog Post: Spinach Salad
It is so easy (embarrassingly so...) and always is a big hit!

Check out last year's entry above for the recipe

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

...More Pumpkins!

I saw these apple shaped cupcakes in my calendar version of this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Whats-New-Cupcake

and decided to alter them into mini pumpkin cupcakes for my work Halloween party.

(calendar photo)

(my version...duh)

I dipped a mini doughnut in melted orange frosting and placed it on top of the cupcake.  The stem is made of a piece of a tootsie roll and the leaf is a green apple sour candy.

Then, these got really hard to make, so I topped the rest with candy corn and pumpkin shaped Peeps candies.

Happy Halloween!

See this post Linked up over at High Heels & Grills!

Pumpkins!

.....Yes, I am just getting around to posting about these pumpkins I made for Halloween/Thanksgiving.

Don't judge.

These were the cutest little things ever, and easy to make!

I bought cheap plastic mini pumpkins (don't use real ones, folks, or you can't keep them for next year!) and covered them with festive, fall fabric.
First, I cut a long stripof fabric that was wider and taller than the pumpkin, and used hot glue to attach the fabric into every crease of the pumpkin, as I wrapped it around.
I trimmed the top and bottom so only about an inch or less stuck up, and glued those pieces down, flat to the top, and bottom, respectively.  Then, I cut a round piece to glue on the bottom for a smooth surface.
Finish the top with a green felt tube glued into the middle as the stem!

I also made some oh-so-trendy Chevron stripes on a real, mini white pumpkin with silver and gold paint pens.

Happy Autumn!