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!

Watering Can Flower Pot

I was recently inspired by my neighbor, who had the genius idea to plant a geranium in a watering-can-turned-flower-pot. (Actually it looked like an oversized tea pot, but whatever - it was a great idea!)

I have had this watering can that I used for many years around the house, but about a year ago, the handle came off. Being the hoarder thrifty saver that I am, I kept it under my kitchen sink, just in case I took up welding some day and decided to put the handle back on.

See, no handle!!

After seeing my neighbor's creation, I immediately thought of this can. I thought it would be perfect with some of the wild marigolds in my front yard. (BTW, I have what I call "perennial" marigolds under my mailbox. I seriously have not planted new ones for at least 4 years, and they come up every summer! The tricky part is I never know exactly where they'll sprout up. This year, one started growing in the crack of the pavement in the street!) Anyway, I dug up one of the stray ones and put it in the watering can.

I'm looking forward to a little more beautifying of my deck - remember that my big project is still underway? (Notice the still unfinished patio chairs in the background of this picture?) I hope to have some more painting & planting done this weekend! Wish me luck! :)

Garden Markers

Sigh....so I have finally come to the realization that until school is out, sports schedules slow down, graduation parties end, travelling is done....I may be posting a little less often. But that's life, huh? So for now, I'm accepting that I'll just have to be satisfied with the infrequent sharing of my creative projects! I hope you can bear with me. I do have a few (I think) very cool tricks up my sleeve for future craft projects!

Anyway. Here is a little preview of what I've been working on lately. The weather here has finally settled down, so I recently started planting my garden. I was very excited to get it going, since last year's attempt at a garden was a total disaster. Let's just say the weeds got completely, totally a little out of control!

So far, I have planted cucumber, zucchini, cilantro, tomatoes, green peppers and jalapenos. The tomatoes and peppers I bought already sprouting. The cucumber, zucchini and cilantro I started from seed. So to help remember which is which until they start growing (and just because I thought it was a cute idea!) I made these little markers.

This was literally a 1-minute craft project...wooden skewer + wine cork + Sharpie marker. How much easier could it be?! And right now a 1-minute project fits perfectly in my schedule! 

Hope you are all having a GREAT spring and I'd love to see your garden progress too! 

This post linked to:

The Kurtz Corner: Tuesday Tutorial Link Party
DIY by Design: Swing into Spring
Uncommon: Uncommonly Yours Link Party
Gingersnap Crafts: Wow Me Wednesday
Polka Dots on Parade: Wow Me Wednesday
The Stuff of Success: Success U
The Taylor House: Taylor House Thursday
Two Yellow Birds Decor: Thursday's Temptation
The Crafty Blog Stalker: Blog Stalking Thursday
Too Much Time on My Hands: Get Schooled Saturday

Signs of Spring

This year has been so unusually warm so early. My lilac bush has been blooming for a while already. I love the smell of lilacs, but I just wish they would last a little longer! The bush I have is getting so HUGE that its almost touching the bottom of our roof, and I'm sure by next year it will be there. Unless I decide to get out the trimmers! Does anyone know the correct way to trim a lilac? And how much to trim? I need to find a crash course on these things sometime soon. Meanwhile, here's a look at my lovely lilac...with a little Pic Monkey editing thrown in for fun!

....trying out some new fonts & effects....

....notice my neighbor's new mailbox gargoyle in the background of this next one? I kind of like it!!

I think this weekend I will cut some to put in a vase for Easter (Also my birthday! Yippee!!)

....love the way the colors turned out on this next one...

....can't you just smell them now?

Happy Easter to everyone!!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Spring Fever!

Happy first day of Spring! Here in Iowa, we've had EXTREMELY nice weather lately. So warm that I debated turning on the A/C. Yeah, in MARCH! (Didn't go quite that far, but who knows, maybe by April!) Anyway...I'm anxious to get started on some outdoor projects! 

Here is a trellis I made for our yard several years ago (doesn't it look so sad and lonely right now? I wish I had a picture of it in the summer time!) I made it from old tree branches and a couple fence stakes. In the summer it has a vine that climbs all the way up to the top.

Soon it will look something like this...

Cute, huh? More fun today with PicMonkey!!

And here are some of the landscaping & gardening projects I've been drooling over.

Great colors in this yard....

From hgtv.com

LOVE this brick pathway...and the hostas!

From Sunset.com

Another nice pathway....Hmmm....I'm noticing a pattern here.....

From bhg.com

Alternate use for a pallet....

From Lifeonthebalcony.com

I just like this one because it reminds me of Hagrid's Hut! :)

From Simondale.com

How about you? What are some of your spring gardening dreams this year?