Day 90: DIY Cookie Basket Made from a Paper Plate (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

This is so cool -- using just a paper plate, you can make a basket to hold cookies / desserts for gifting.  This solves a big problem for me, as I have an issue transporting dessert items I make specifically for this blog to my family / friends before I eat them all myself.  This pin is saving my waistline :)

I'll let the original blogger's picture showcase how to do it...

Inexpensive, easy to make, and a crowd pleaser -- my friend liked both the basket and these circus animal truffles I dropped on her doorstep!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 89: Beer Cake (success).

Pinterest pin and website link (just a picture, not a tutorial).

Warning: this is not a cake made by pouring beer into the batter, as that sounds disgusting (to me!).  Instead, it's a cake made of (full) beer cans as a party decoration for a beer-loving person!  This was super easy and could be versatile to fit the needs of any party (exchange for any type of can to make the cake non-alcoholic, use rolled up diapers for baby showers, etc.).  

The original pinner used Coke cans (with rum as the cake topper), but I used cake plates, ribbon, beer, beer glasses and favorite candies for our favorite Dad.

Completed in 10 minutes!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 88: Freezer Paper Stencil Tutorial (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

I've wanted to try freezer paper stencils on t-shirts for a long time, but haven't had a reason to make anything.  Well, my reason presented itself -- my son is recently obsessed with all things Angry Birds.  The app, toys, apparel, coloring books, building game with blocks / sling shot / miniature pigs & birds -- you name it, he wants it.  He has one Angry Birds sweatshirt and has been begging for something else to wear, but I don't want to spend tons of money on Angry Birds clothing.  Enter, freezer paper stenciling.

I bought a $3.99 youth t-shirt, X-acto knife, and a fabric paint pen at Michaels; borrowed freezer paper from a friend; and printed off a free Red Angry Birds Jack-o-Lantern stencil online.  Easy and cheap!

1. I washed / dried the t-shirt, traced the stencil onto freezer paper (with the shiny side of the freezer paper down), and carefully cut out the stencil with the X-acto knife.

 2. I then ironed the freezer paper onto the t-shirt (using a high heat setting), with the shiny side of the freezer paper down. Make sure to iron around all edges of the stencil so that a seal is created for your stenciled image.

3. I used a black, permanent Tulip Fabric Paint Marker to cover the stencil, and let it dry for 24 hours (the recommendation on the paint marker).

Peel off the freezer paper and it's done!

I have a very happy son, and will definitely be doing this again -- perhaps soon with a green shirt and a "bad piggies" stencil?!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

40 Bags in 40 Days: Week 3 Update.

I'm over halfway done with the "40 Bags in 40 Days" project!

16. Kitchen cabinets -- below counter:

17. Kitchen cabinets -- above counter:

18. Recipe cabinet:

19. Fridge:

20. Playroom toys:

21. Kids' schoolwork: I decided to throw all schoolwork for the year in the drawer of our old changing table...

...and at the end of the year, I'll pick a few items to save for each child and put them in the below Sterilite file boxes.  I'm hoping to have only 1-2 file boxes per kid for his/her entire K-12 education (versus the thousands upon thousands of papers that I moved from house to house, finally wading through (and tossing most) in my thirties!).

22. Daughter's bed drawers.

23. Daughter's room.

24. Hats and gloves organization.

Day 87: Circus Animal Truffles (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

Growing up, my Grandma always had these circus animal cookies at her house, so I had sentimental reasons for wanting to make these truffles.

Ingredients:
12-oz package of frosted animal cracker cookies
4 oz of cream cheese
4 squares of vanilla bark

Instructions:

In a food processor or blender, blend the circus animals down into crumbs (it was easier for me to do this in two batches).  Then, mix the cream cheese and cookie crumbs together in a bowl until well-mixed (this took lots of mixing and I wasn't sure that there was enough cream cheese.  Trust me -- there was enought, but I had to use my hands to get the mixture into a ball shape). Mold the mixture into 1-inch size balls, and place them on a wax paper-covered baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the fridge for about 30 minutes, at which point the balls will be easier to dip in the white chocolate and not fall apart.

Once the the truffles are hardened, melt the vanilla bark in the microwave. Heat the squares for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between each heat burst and repeating until all the chocolate is melted.  Roll each ball in the melted chocolate until it is fully covered. I used two forks to push the truffle around in the chocolate. Then, using the two forks, carefully pick up the truffle and allow the excess chocolate to run off before placing back on the wax paper. Repeat with all the truffles. 

These were really tasty -- and I must say, looked pretty cute in this makeshift container that I brought to a friend.  Click here for instructions on how to make a regular paper plate into this dessert container!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Friday Favorite: Using Velcro to Organize Drawers.

Pinterest pin and website link.

My silverware compartment is always moving around in the drawer, and I typically have to move it down towards the front of the drawer to get all my silverware put away.

That little problem was solved by using this sticky-backed Velcro trick!  Simply stick Velcro dots onto both the bottom of the drawer and the bottom of whatever container you need to stay in place inside the drawer.  My only issue was that the bottom of our silverware compartment was raised, so I had to use sticky-backed furniture pads to level out the bottom, and then put Velcro glue dots on top of those.  It worked perfectly.

Done!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 86: Seam Ripper as Vacuum Roller Cleaner (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

My vacuum hasn't been picking up as many things as it used to, and then it dawned on me that I probably need to clean out the roller, a task I haven't done in a long time.  Yuck.

I've used scissors to clean out the roller in the past, but using a seam ripper was so much quicker and easier.  I will definitely use a seam ripper in the future, and maybe -- just maybe -- clean the roller more than once a year.  We'll see...

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 85: Pool Noodle as Door Holder (success).

Pinterest pin (website link was blocked because it looked like spam).

I wasn't sure that the pool noodle I purchased at the Dollar Tree would work for this pin (it seemed smaller in width than the more expensive ones I've seen), but it worked great -- I just used a serrated knife to cut it down to the length I wanted, and then to make a slit to slide around the door.  Our doors make an annoying sound when they are opened, and I'm most bothered by it when I have sleeping kids who inevitably wake up 2 minutes after the loud beep!  Since I am constantly going in and out of our garage (we have another fridge/freezer out there, plus keep extra household supplies), I decided to try this pool noodle trick for the door between our house and garage...

It worked perfectly!  My littles continued to sleep, I went in and out of the garage without the door slamming or beeping, and as a bonus, when the kids woke up, no fingers were able to be crushed in the door!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 84: How to Easily Remove Labels from Jars (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

This worked great to remove a label -- but as I'm typing this, I realize that I read the ingredients wrong and so I made up my own recipe!  Here is my empty glass jar with an adhered label:

I tried to remove the top of the label prior to completing the pin, but I didn't have much success... 

I then mixed equal parts baking soda and vinegar (she says to use vegetable oil) into a runny paste.  I was wondering why she didn't mention that there would be foaming reaction when you mix the baking soda and vinegar together -- but I now realize that it's because she didn't mix those two!  Apply a thick layer of the paste over the label portion, let sit for 10 minutes, and then simply wipe away the paper / adhesive stuck to the jar.  I'll try the baking soda and vegetable oil combination next time, but this recipe did the trick and didn't leave an oily residue!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 83: 2-Ingredient Ranch Dressing (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

I couldn't find the plain Chobani yogurt pictured, but I used the Fage brand instead -- and I'm sure the taste is very similar.  It was good -- not great -- but I think I could get used to the taste for dipping my veggies since it's much healthier than mixing the seasoning with buttermilk and mayonnaise!

Ingredients:
1/2 packet of ranch seasoning (less or more, depending on your liking)
Individual-sized plain Greek yogurt

I liked that I ate many more vegetables today than I usually do, and I still have tons of the dip left for the next few days!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 82: OxiClean Mixture to Clean Grout (fail).

Pinterest pin and website link.

When we bought our house, we inherited a shower with stained grout -- and then life got busy and we've left it alone for another two years.  I use OxiClean to get stains out of our clothes, and decided to try it for the shower too.

Here's our gross shower grout.

Instructions:
Combine 1 cup of warm water with 1-1/4 scoops of OxiClean powder (I used OxiClean Versatile Stain Remover Free, which is free of dyes and fragrances).  Stir the mixture into a paste.  The paste should be thick and not runny.

My mixture never combined into a paste, even thought I continued to stir it for 15 minutes!

I decided to apply it anyway, left it for an hour, and noticed that the darker stained grout was the tiniest bit lighter than before -- but not back to the white that was promised!

Verdict: FAIL.

Day 81: Funfetti Cake Cookies (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

I've had a love affair with Funfetti cake since college, so I'm surprising even myself when I say I liked these Funfetti cookies even more than the original cake!  They were simple to make, much easier to eat (and transport to one of my most favorite people, who just happened to introduce me to the Funfetti cake mixes years ago), took less time to bake, and didn't have tons of frosting covering it (like a cake does).  These Funfetti sandwich cookies may be my new go-to birthday treat!

Ingredients:
1 package of Pillsbury Funfetti Cake Mix
1/4 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 can of frosting

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Stir together dry cake mix, oil and eggs.  With hands, roll dough into 1-inch balls before placing them on a cookie sheet.  Flatten slightly with the palm of your hand (I found this more successful than the bottom of a drinking glass, as she suggested).

Bake for 6-7 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.  Cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet, remove to cooling racks, and frost (I chose to make sandwich cookies for easy transporting).  Let frosting and cookies cool completely before storing.

 Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 80: Plastic Easter Egg Learning Activities (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

During my 40 Bags in 40 Days cleanse, I came across loads of plastic Easter eggs that are just collecting dust in our house.  

My son rarely likes doing anything educational with me unless I can disguise the learning really well, and this evidently fit the bill.  He was all over the two activities I chose -- a number match and an upper-and-lowercase matching activity (both explained on the above link).  The only thing I changed in both activities was mixing up the colors of the top and bottom parts to each egg; I didn't want him guessing the correct answer by matching colors instead of actually looking at the numbers or letters on the eggs!

I'll be trying more of these when we get a little closer to learning word families or other pre-reading strategies.

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Friday Favorite: Using Pillowcases to Clean Ceiling Fans.

Pinterest pin and website link.

I love this -- my ceiling fans are cleaned (for the first time since we moved in two years ago...) and the dust was contained within the pillowcase!

Day 79: Crock-Pot Glazed Carrots (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

I'm not typically a fan of cooked carrots, but these were super easy to prepare in my Crock-Pot and the end result was tasty.  Evidently, I'm a fan of combining sugar and vegetables :)

Ingredients:
1 (16 ounce) bag baby carrots (mine was 24 ounces, but we had already eaten some!)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, to garnish (optional)

Instructions:
Spray Crock-Pot with non-stick cooking spray (or use a Slow Cooker liner).  Put carrots in first, sprinkle salt and brown sugar over them and top with butter.  Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or until carrots are desired tenderness.  Remove carrots with a slotted spoon to serve.

I didn't know what we were having for dinner, so I just threw the carrots into a spinach salad with a chicken burger and some vinaigrette dressing, and it was delicious!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 78: Pool Noodle as a Boot Shaper (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

My boots are in a sorry state, as the way I've stored them in the past is to cram them into a basket that houses my other shoes.  I saw these pool noodles at the Dollar Tree, and thought trying this pin was worth it for $1.  These pool noodles look smaller (width-wise) and are a different shape (a flower versus a circle) than the others I saw featured on Pinterest, but they still did the trick of keeping the boot shape intact.

They didn't do as well, however, at keeping the boot upright (which is fine since I can just prop them against a wall).

Verdict: SUCCESS!