Ten-Pin Tuesday

(Please follow the picture linked to my pin before pinning these - 

they aren't my projects or ideas, and I shouldn't get credit.  Thanks!)

 1.  Half-Birthday Cake.  Am I the only one who pays attention to half-birthdays?  Because I think this would be SO fun.  I might need to do this for my three-year-old.

 

2.  Storm Trooper Cupcakes.  How easy would these be?  I think marshmallows are about to hit BIG.  

  

3.  Garlic Chicken.  This recipe really is super easy, and quite tasty.  I waited to season with salt and pepper until it was cooked, and I think next time I'll salt pretty liberally before baking.  It can handle it.

 

4.  Speaking of eating, I've been thoroughly enjoying the bounty of my friends' and families' gardens this year, and I might be convinced to try a garden again next year.  If so, I think I'll be using this clever technique.  How cheap and easy (and versatile) can you get?

  

5.  This link has a TON of uses for magic erasers, but the one I'm going to try is the one in the pin description: float a piece in the toilet overnight and toilet rings disappear.  Certainly worth trying once.

 

6.  Anyone else short and have to hem clothes a lot?  It's tough to get the hem length right when you're the only seamstress in the house, though.  Who thinks up these simple yet genius ideas?

  

7.  Anyone else seen the cute boxes redone with sewn covers and liners?  Anyone else start using those boxes before they have the time to make the covers and still him themselves using diaper boxes to store toddler shoes a year later?  Enter duct tape.  Genius again.

 

8.  I still have all the cards from my wedding and the births of my two sons, but they're in random boxes somewhere.  I love this idea to punch holes and turn them into books.

  

9.  This origami fold claims to take the place of a chip clip.  Let me know if you try it, cause... awesome.

10.  How quick and easy is this method for connecting photo frames?  It really opens up the possibilities for picture collages and wall groupings.  I bet you could even hot glue those connectors. 

 

Ten-Pin Tuesday - Summer Cook-Out Edition

Welcome to Ten-Pin Tuesday: Summer Cook-Out Edition.  This week's pins focus on some tips and tricks I've come across to help with hosting a summer cook-out.  (Hint: You could use some next week for your Independence Day festivities!)

(Please follow the picture linked to my pin before pinning these - 

they aren't my projects or ideas, and I shouldn't get credit.  Thanks!)

1.  Flash-freeze drinks.  This handy tip for quickly cooling drinks involves ice and salt.  When I read this, I had an "of course!" moment thinking that's just an expansion of the trick for making baggie ice cream.

 

2. and 3. Drink Markers.  Two clever ideas for keeping track of whose is whose.  Seasonal gel clings or wide rubber bands.  I actually use the rubber band trick a lot, even just for game night with the family.  Even if there's no name on it, if there's only one cup with a rubber band (or hairband, let's be realistic) on it, we all know it's mine.

4.  Drink shields.  Keep the bugs out of your drink! Just put a cupcake liner over your glass and poke a hole for your straw.  You could also use that shield to mark drinks - write a name, use different colors, put a sticker on it, etc.

5.  Choosing and Cutting Watermelon.  I shared another pin of watermelon tips a few weeks ago, so here's the link for that pin as well.  These have completely changed how I approach watermelon!

6.  Cooler Corn-on-the-Cob.  I had no idea you could cook corn like this!  Handy if you're cooking for a large come-and-go crowd.

7.  Tip to pre-butter that corn.

 

8.  Bug guards. Here's a quick and cheep trick to keep bugs off the food at the buffet spread.

 

9.  Say NO! to scooping ice cream.  If you're serving a crowd, go ahead and slice up that ice cream for serving rather than trying to scoop it.  Quicker and less messy.

 

10.  Tabletop s'mores.  Great idea if you don't have a firepit!  (Go ahead and use a peanut-butter cup, too.  And then comment and tell me it was everything I've dreamed it must be.)

 

BONUS.  How clever is this trick for a sparkler shield? 

(original source)

Ten-Pin Tuesday... urgh, Wednesday

Sorry I'm a day late this week.  I figured y'all wouldn't mind.  ;)  No great excuse - I just got in the zone trying to catch up on Project Life and lost track of the day last night.  I'm almost caught up!  I'm hoping to start sharing some of my weekly spreads in the next week or so.

And rather than linking both to my pin and to the original source, I just linked each of the pictures to my pin.  If you aren't on pinterest, no problem.  Just click on the picture of my pin, and it will take you to the original source.

(Please follow the picture linked to my pin before pinning these - 

they aren't my projects or ideas, and I shouldn't get credit.  Thanks!)

1.  Genius.  No, seriously.  Genius.

  

2.  Again, genius!  And you could do this for any beverage at a baby shower.  Cover up a label on a water bottle.  Love it.

 

3.  Oatmeal streusel topping on baked apples.  That's a win-win.

4.  Or for a slightly less-healthy version, bake the apple bowls and then fill with vanilla ice cream and top with caramel sauce.

5.  Or go all in for a twix brownie.  This is from the same girl who brought us samoa brownies last week.  I really want to be her friend.

6.  My three-year-old loves our iPads, so I try to put some fun apps on there to distract him from Angry Birds.  I downloaded one of the free ones recommended here, and he was hooked within 10 seconds.

7.  Do I really even need to say anything?  This is beyond epic.

8.  I love this.  That crochet stitch looks chunky enough I might even be able to finish it.  I wish it was a tutorial instead of an etsy shop, so if anyone knows where some instructions might be, please send them my way. 

9.  What Harry Potter Taught Me about Parenting.  If you're a fan of Harry Potter, I'm pretty sure you need to read this list.

 

10.  Seriously, though.  It's true.

 

Ten-Pin Tuesday

 

 (Please follow the source link or the "my pin" link to pin these - 

they aren't my projects or ideas, and I shouldn't get credit.  Thanks!)

1.  Tip for preventing freezer burn on ice cream.  

(original source - my pin)

2.  Freezing buttermilk.  Who knew?

(original source - my pin)

3.  Anyone else have trouble keeping track of the kids' antibiotics?  Here's a clever solution...

 

(my pin)

4.  DIY moldable ice packs.  

(original source - my pin)

5.  Homemade Ice Cream.  In a baggie!  We tried this last night, and I thought it was quite tasty.  Lincoln (3 years old) wasn't as interested as I was hoping for, though.

 

(original source - my pin)

6.  Samoa. Brownies.  O.  M.  Gee.

(original source - my pin)

7.  Melt in your mouth chicken.  This is really tasty!  Just don't try to substitute garlic salt for the garlic powder.

 (original source - my pin)

8.  Seasonal wax paper.  Clever Martha.

(original source - my pin)

9.  Hand-carved cloud stamp.  There's a custom stamp in my future.  All the signs are pointing to it.

(original source - my pin)

10.  Clothespin planter.  That's right; it's clothespins around a tuna can.  What a great kids' craft!

(original source - my pin)

Ten-Pin Tuesday

 

 (Please follow the source link or the "my pin" link to pin these - 

they aren't my projects or ideas, and I shouldn't get credit.  Thanks!)

 1. Patriotic Bunting

Memorial Day is right around the corner.  How cute would this patriotic bunting be at your shindig?  There's no tutorial, but it looks like it's just painted burlap.  Nice.

 

 (original source - my pin)

2.  Pineapple Whip

This is supposed to be a healthier version of the Dole Whip that everyone loves at Disney World.  I haven't tried it at Disney World (I guess they didn't have it when I went 20 years ago), but if it's anything like the pineapple sherbet at the Dole Plantation in Hawaii, I'm there.

  (original source - my pin)

3.  Cream Cheese Cake Mix Cookies


Anyone else love cake mix cookies?  I roomed with one of my cousins for a semester, and she made them all the time; I think I gained at least 5 pounds that semester.  Good thing she didn't use this recipe that involves cream cheese, or it would have been closer to 15.

  (original source - my pin)

4.  2-Ingredient Strawberry Fudge


This sounds like a heart attack in a pan, but what a way to go.  She just mixes a can of frosting with a bag of melted white chocolate chips.  Yum, right?  I want to try a chocolate-chocolate blend one day soon.

  (original source - my pin)

5.  Cupcake Baking Tip

My cupcakes always come out puny like the one of the right.  Next time I make a batch, I'll be sure to try this little tip.

  (original source - my pin)

6. Favorite Things Party

This party sounds so fun to me!   Here's what Brooke had to say about it:

Here's how it works: Each person brings their favorite thing (anything you like.. your favorite lip gloss, favorite kitchen tool, favorite gift wrapping supply, a gift card for your favorite frozen yogurt, etc.). It can't cost more than $6, and each person brings five of the same thing. When you arrive at the party, you write your name on five slips of paper and throw them in a big bowl. The bowl is passed around, and each person takes five names (making sure you don't pick your own.. or two of the same name).  One at a time each person introduces their favorite thing and then reads the five names they picked from the bowl, passing out their gift to those five guests. After everyone at the party has presented their favorite thing, each person should end up with five gifts to take home.

  (idea source - image source - my pin)

7.  Favorite Things Birthday Gifts

And if you would prefer to try a similar idea but one-on-one rather than at a bash, how about this clever Birthday gift?   The girls at Eighteen25 even provide that cute tag.  And they have some great ideas of what to put inside:  a wallflower, some cute nail polish, burts bees chapstick, a gift card, etc.

(original source - my pin)

8.  Washi Tape Gift Tag

I've totally gotten on board with the washi tape craze, and this is such a cute idea to share the bounty.  It would work quite nicely with one of those Favorite Things ideas, too.

  (original source - my pin)

9. Clever Idea for May's VT Message

I love that so many of the wonderful thoughts from April's General Conference have been made into printables and have been shared all over the internet.  And this is such a cute way to share them with friends!

  (original source - my pin)

10. Read-Aloud Books for Boys

This looks like a great list of some fun classic kids books to read with boys.  I'm going to go out on a limb and say reading them with girls would work, too.  ;)

(original source - my pin)