Pinterest...Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down

Recently I found some GREAT ideas on Pinterest that I tried out at home. One was a definite winner, and the other one, not so much!

The first idea I found was definitely a "Thumbs Up!" I had a ton of green onions in my garden this summer, and although I love to use them in a lot of different recipes, I knew I would never go through all of them before they froze out in the garden or wilted away in the house. So, I was very excited to find this little tip!

Wash & cut up your green onions:

I added another step and spread them out on a cookie sheet, then popped them in the freezer overnight. They were easier to work with and didn't stick together in a big clump.

Next, I put them into a clean, empty water bottle:

Put them back in the freezer, and just pour out the amount you need for your recipe! How easy is that?! I now have 3 bottles full of onions ready to use this winter!

Now, on to the "Thumbs Down" pin...

I had SUCH high hopes for this one....I went back to the blog it came from & read through all the comments raving about this cleaning tip, then ran right out to get some Barkeeper's Friend of my own...

So the tip was a magical way to get rid of scratches on dishes. All you had to do was scrub with Barkeeper's Friend liquid. The picture in the pin even looked just like MY dishes, which I believe are from the "White & Gray Scratchy" Pfaltzgraff collection. They are soooo bad that it's really kind of embarrassing to have people over to eat!

And after scrubbing with BKF:

Amazing, right? They're like brand new dishes! But wait, there's more...here is a picture one meal after BKF...

Not completely scratch-filled like it was before, but not perfectly white either. :(  I'm not sure what to do now - I only cleaned a few plates just to try it out, so I guess I could do them all once and gradually let the scratches build up again, then break out the BKF for another round of cleaning. Or I could just ignore it like I was before & use paper plates when we have a crowd over! I have been checking out some Fiesta Ware lately, so maybe now is the time to make the change! Either way, I think I'll stay away from white dishes from now on!

Patio Furniture Transformation

I'm happy to report that my "quick" project from early in the summer is FINALLY done! Once again, the summer has FLOWN by, along with my my hopes of various craft projects! I'm glad that this one is done, but my To Do list is still very long. (I'm embarrassed to say that I currently have a nice little 4th of July project sitting on my dining room table, just waiting to be finished. But that's another story!)

Anyway. Take a look at my patio chairs BEFORE...

 

We have patio chairs and a table that are several years old...hmm, make that at least 10 years old! This summer our house is 10 years old, and I'm pretty sure we inherited these from my parents the first summer we moved in. Since they had recently transformed their porch into a 4-seasons room, we were the lucky recipients of their patio furniture. It has seen better days - I've replaced many of the straps that hold the cushions in place, and have thought about the spray-paint idea for at least 2 summers.

Moving on...to cover up the rust, and for a bit of a new look, I chose a completely new color of spray paint (and not that ASCP stuff either, I honestly know nothing about that craze!) I went with Rustoleum Antique Brass Metallic.

I started by sanding down the loose rusty spots on the chairs & table, and used about 1 can on each chair.  The table took almost 2 full cans. I have just a little bit left for touch-ups!

Here are some shots of the finished product:

Look who has been checking out the "new" patio furniture!

Thanks for stopping by & checking out my patio project! I'm hoping to have my cute 4th of July creation done before August! LOL!

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