How to keep a windshield crack from Spreading

This is a hard pin to know if it really works or not.  I think the type of crack,  how long the crack has been there and where the crack is all make a difference in if it really works or not.  But the pin just states that you can fix any crack with nail polish and with that statement I have to say that no, this pin does not work.  I live in Utah, where they put a lot of sand and gravel on the road, mix that with big semis and you get a lot of cracks on your windshield.  I am already on my second windshield in 4 years, that is how often you get chips in your windshield and if you do not fix them, they turn into big huge cracks in your windshield.  I had a chip that I wanted to seal off on my own so I tried this pin and let me tell you, I now have a crack that runs the length of my windshield from that small chip.  So I have to say this pin does not work at all, it has all the hallmarks of one that would work, it is cheap, it is easy and takes hardly any time at all but it just does not work.   It is best to leave it to the pros and let them fix it for you.  Most insurance plans cover them, anyway and it only takes a minute for them to fill the chip in. 

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You can find the original pin here:
htttp://www.liluna.com

Map Banner

One of my best friends is moving to Arizona so my girlfriends and I wanted to throw her a going away party.  I wanted to throw something really cute and fun so I searched good ole Pinterest for ideas that I could use to decorate and throw this party.  One theme I settled on was a map theme, I used it for everything we did, from a banner that hung over the tables, to wrapped bottles for drinking, to flags in the cupcakes.  I used maps for everything that had to do with the party. I will add some photos of the party later,  I forgot to download them as I am typing this.  Love the ideas I found and think it turned out great.

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Sausage, Egg and Cheese Burritos

Sometimes it is funny to me the simple, easy things you find on Pinterest.  This pin is one of those super easy and quick meals that is sure to please almost everyone.  We have been making "breakfast burritos" for years but never put sausage in them.  Breakfast burritos are quick, easy, cheap and so yummy.  They work for breakfast or dinner or lunch and please just about everyone.  Adding sausage or bacon just makes it that much better.  We also add salsa and sour cream which makes them super yummy as well.   Yum!!

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You can find the original pin here: www.myrecipemagic.com

Nothing Bundt Cakes Copycat Cake

I have never had one of these bundt cakes but I have wanted one so bad.  The store near to me is about 45 minutes away so I don't get by there very often and the few times I have they have been closed.  But I have heard these are amazing cakes so I was very excited to try this knock off to see how good it was.  Can I just say, this was one of the best cakes I have ever eaten.  It was so moist and soft and tasted delicious. And, look how pretty it looks, what a great gift for someone.   It was easy enough to put together, no hard directions, no weird ingredients.  It was cheap, I had all of the ingredients and it was so, so yummy.  Seriously, you have to try this cake, it is WONDERFUL..

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Original pin can be found here: www.tastesbetterfromscratch.blogspot.com

Buttermilk Blueberry Banana Bread

I was excited about this bread and hoping that it would turn out really good.  Plus, it looks so pretty wrapped up in paper so that you could give this away.  Let me tell you, this was not the best bread out there.  We didn't even eat all of the loaves that we made.  It was okay but if you are looking for a really good bread this was not the one.  It was easy to put together, you probably have most of the ingredients but the blueberries.  It was not a huge cost and the bread was moist and soft but the overall taste just failed to be there. 
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you can find the original pin here: www.damndelicious.net

Covering your shelves in your fridge

I was so lucky when I found this pin that I had this exact contact paper and I was so excited.  Look how cute that fridge looks.  It just makes you happy every time you open the fridge door.  This was pretty easy to do, I just took my shelves out and measured the contact paper.  The great thing is that contact paper has measurement lines on the back so it makes it easy to cut.  I got my contact paper at a store called NPS in Salt Lake City for about 5 bucks for two rolls but you can get two rolls on Amazon for around 10 dollars. The thing I like most about it is that I can just wipe my shelves down, no more pulling them all out and washing them down when they are dirty, I can just swipe them clean.  And it looks so cute.  I love it.  Yet another reason I love Pinterest, peoples genius ideas.

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You can find the original pin here: http://sweethaute.blogspot.com/2013/08/diy-refrigerator-shelf-liners.html

Link to amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Self-Adhesive-Shelf-Liner-Midnight/dp/B00HUA958Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406563352&sr=8-1&keywords=chevron+contact+paper

M&M Chewy Blondies

Oh my Gosh!!!! Can i just say that these are the best brownies.  I have made them about six times now and they are always a hit.  They are so good. They are easy to put together, fast and are not that expensive.  The only ingredient that you may not have is the M&M's.  At any rate I love these, everyone I have served them too loves them and they are amazing. 

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you can find the original pin here:
www.sixsistersstuff.com

Sausage Tortellini

Doesn't this look so good and it was a crock pot meal too, I was so excited to try this.  I will suggest a few things, first I did not even want to eat it because of the way it turned out but I think the main thing to make it better would be to not cook the pasta for very long.  Put the pasta in last for about 20-30 minutes and I think this would have turned out great.  The pasta was in so long that it fluffed up and became soggy.  The good news is our dog enjoyed a few good meals out of it. 

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You can find the original pin here:
http://icecreamwithafork.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/crock-pot-sausage-cheese-tortellini/

M&M Monster Dip

I decided to make this while my kids had friends over so that I had plenty of taste testers.  I have to say by the way they all felt and the way I felt, this was not the best.  We make a cookie dough dip that is to die for(on this blog) and I think we were comparing the two and this just did not match up.  It tasted too much like one ingredient and was just not that good. It did not take that long and was easy to make, the ingredients were a cost but not too expensive but when the end product doesn't turn out good then the cost is too much. Other than that the overall taste was just not there.

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You can find the original pin here:
www.sixsisters.com

How to Unstick a Bottle of Nail Polish

I have to say that we had a bottle of nail polish that has been stuck closed for almost a year.  I tried everything and could not get the thing open so I pretty much had given up.  Then I saw this Pin and I thought I would try it.  Not only did it work but it worked FAST!!!  I put the bottle in and within a few seconds I was able to open the bottle.  Not only was it fast and it worked but it was cheap.  A glass and water, that is all you need.  I was so happy, it is one of my favorite colors and has quite a bit left in the bottle.  YAY!! for pins that work.  I absolutely love it when they turn out.

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You can find the original pin here:
http://www.polishinsomniac.net/

Lucky Charms Treats

I know I am not a kid anymore but I love Lucky Charms.  What is even better is the Fruit Loops with marshmallows cereal that you can get at Walmart.  Two of the best cereals mixed together.  Anyway because I love Lucky Charms I was really excited to try this.  I will have to say while it was not my favorite, I only ate a little bit, my kids and their friends devoured it.  They absolutely loved it and it was easy and fast to make.  So, I have to give it a Pins Up for kids. 

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You can find the original pin here:
http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/lucky-rainbow-chex-mix/6cfbefde-b44c-449a-8113-0e972722bd49

Make Nail Polish Last Longer

So, I was really excited about this test because who doesn't struggle with making their nail polish last longer.  I am sad to say that this did not work at all, not even a little bit.  My nail polish still came off as usual and did not last any longer than normal.  It was easy and cheap enough but that does not matter if it does not work.  So I give this a Pins Down.

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You can find the original post by linking here:
http://www.raininghotcoupons.com/how-to-easily-make-nail-polish-on-nails-last-longer/

Long Time No Blog

I cannot  believe it has been 7months since I last posted something.  Not that I haven't been testing because I still try new things all of the time but I have been busy.  Four kids, in school full time and a full time job and a part time job.  I have hardly had time to breathe let alone blog about my testing.   I am excited to say I am now only working one full time job, on summer break from school and of course I still have the four kids.  I now have more time to blog the results of all my testing.  I am so excited, I have missed all of you and blogging about what I find on Pinterest.  I hope this finds all of you well and I hope you will spread the word that I am back to blogging and testing.

Shelves in the Bathroom

We rent our house so there is not a ton we can do to change the look of things, nothing can be permanent, so I have to get pretty creative.  I loved seeing this shelf idea because in both of our bathrooms we had the ugliest, standard cupboard above our toilet and I hated them.  Every time I looked at them I wanted something different, so when I saw this pin I was inspired to do something similar.  For our first bathroom I found the chevron contact paper for 4 dollars at our local NPS store and already had the frames, they were green, so I spray painted them white.  The contact paper comes right of without a mess and the frames are just hung with thumbtacks.  For our master bath, I used vinyl and cut out red stripes, then I found the shelves I used at Ikea for 1.99, so I bought three of those and put them up.  I like it so much better, it makes such a big difference and does not drive me crazy anymore.

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Cleaning your Ceiling Fan

Even when I clean my ceiling fan with a swiffer duster I have little particles falling on me the whole time, I am constantly blowing dust away from me.  This makes this the perfect idea.  You take a pillow case run it the length of the blade and that's it you are done, no mess, no dust particles, no falling pieces, it all stays encased in the pillowcase and then you can just throw the pillow case into the laundry.  How easy and genius is that??


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Original pin can be found here: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/clean-a-ceiling-fan-with-a-pil-153278

Snickers Brownie Bites

I have to say that these were yummy but a little overwhelming, not something you want to eat too much of.  They were easy enough to put together, took a little time, but they were hard to cut into and a pain to dip in the chocolate.  Next time, I would cut back the marshmallow creme to about half and I think I would like them better.  Good treat, good to take to a party or something but they were so overwhelming that I threw half the pan away, we just couldn't get through them all.


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Original pin can be found here: http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2013/08/snickers-brownie-bites-recipe.html

Making Old or Ugly Things New

This is such a fun thing to do and so easy and you can virtually do it with about anything.  I found an owl and a Nome that were bright pink and they were so cute but I really wanted them to match my red living room, so I painted them red and they turned out perfect.  I also found the cutest lanterns at Target but they were blue so I took a can of spray paint to them as well and they now match perfectly.  Sometimes it is hard for us to think outside the box, especially when we are looking at old things but you can pretty much take anything and alter it how you want too.  I especially love the camera in this picture, I so want to do that for my house but paint it red of course.

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Original pin can be found here: http://makezine.com/craft/from_craft_kitsch_to_cool/

Brownie BItes with Rolos

I  have to say I was disappointed in these.  ROLOS are my favorite candy so when I see anything with rolos in it, I am so excited to try it.  I pinned these without looking at the directions but I wondered how she got her brownies so perfectly square, I found out when I finally read the directions that she has a brownie bite pan.  First, I have never even seen such a pan and second I hate having to have something special to make something.  So I made my pan of brownies and I stuck a rolo in about what I thought every square would be.   Once I cooked them and tasted them, they were good but the rolos had almost had parts of them that got really hard and chewy and was not the best texture to try and eat.  I really wish these would have turned out better, don't they look like they are so, so good?

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Original pin can be found here: http://www.cookingonthefrontburners.com/2013/07/brownie-with-rolos.html

White Chocolate M&M popcorn

I love white chocolate popcorn, one of my holiday favorites and if you can add stuff to it to make it better I am even more happy about white chocolate popcorn.  So when I saw adding m&ms, I thought why not but I have to say the m&m's did not stick to the popcorn very well, other than that it tasted really good and with the kids all here it was gone within 1 day.  Quick and easy to make as well.


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The original pin can be found here: http://lilluna.com/white-chocolate-mm-popcorn/

Cookie Dough Truffles

Oh my gosh, do these not look so yummy??  I thought so too, so I was excited to make them and I am sad to say they were terrible, so much so that I threw them all away.  They were to much dense chocolate, it was like eating a mouthful of cocoa powder, not a pleasant taste.  Such a sad disappointment because they really do look so good.

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Original pin can be found here: http://insidebrucrewlife.com/2013/08/chocolate-peanut-butter-cup-cookie-dough-truffles/

Making bakers twine

I love this pin and it is actually something my mom showed me how to do before I ever saw the pin.  This is such a great way to make bakers twine.  You just get this thread or twine, get some sharpies or the markers they suggest.  Sharpies work just as well and you can get so many colors plus the markers they use are a lot more expensive.  You take the twine and wrap it around a ruler and then color it about every inch or so.  It is so easy, I always do it when I am sitting and watching t.v.  and it makes it goes by so fast.  I am so glad people come up with these ideas, aren't you??

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Original pin can be found here: http://thefrugalcrafter.wordpress.com/2011/04/19/make-your-own-bakers-twine/

Covering your folding chairs

Well I did my table so I had to do my chairs too.  This time I just used the fabric and not the plastic and was it ever so easy.  I also spray painted the metal on the chairs red to match my craft room. Seriously, it took me about 15 minutes, cost me about 5 dollars and was so, so easy and the results are awesome.  I love my new chairs!!!

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Original pin can be found here: http://www.curbly.com/users/alicia/posts/14390

Covering your Card Table

I have to apologize that it has been a whole month since I last posted a test.  This summer has been super crazy and I have hardly had time to  breathe. None the less I am testing new tests this weekend and next week and I will continue testing so there should no longer be such a long break on the blog.  Thank you to all of you who have continued to follow the blog, I have been so surprised and so happy at the success of the blog and I hope that it keeps growing and continues to be a help to everyone out there.  With that being said here is a new test....

I love my card table, maybe a little too much, I use it for all of my crafting needs and it has hot glue and paint and stains all over it so I was so excited to see this new pin to cover your card table.  I actually got the idea to cover it from seeing a pin to cover your folding chairs and I thought if I can do the chairs then I can do the table and then low and behold I found this pin.  It was really easy to cover the table.  I could not find a vinyl table cloth that I loved so I just bought fabric and the plastic you can buy in yards at the fabric store(i got mine at hobby lobby).   You just unscrew that table top, staple the new fabric or table cloth to the top and then screw it back in, thats it!! Easy, peasy!! The only thing I suggest is that you make sure the staples are smaller and that you staple far enough in that when you screw it back on it does not hit the table.  I ran into a small problem of my staples being too long and coming out the other side and I also stapled them in too close to the edge so it was a lot harder to put my top back on but with a hammer and some muscle I got it done and I LOVE IT and everyone who sees it loves it.  Thank you to the genius people, once again, on Pinterest.  So for my top five, it was easy and it is effective.  I love it because I can just wipe it down so easy now.  It did not take me that long, maybe a half hour and I only spent about six dollars to do it and it is very practical for anyone to do.

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The original pin can be found here: http://thebeardedfamily.blogspot.com/2012/05/i-should-title-this-post-reason-10900.html?showComment=1336876996387

Homemade Alfredo Sauce

This is a really good, really easy and simple Alfredo sauce to add to any noodles of your choice.  I hate having an Alfredo sauce that tastes heavy and this does not taste heavy at all.  Great sauce and so much better than store bought.

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original pin can be found here: http://momscrazycooking.blogspot.com/2012/09/olive-garden-alfredo-sauce-this-weeks.html

Streak Free Windows

I always clean the outside of my windows as part of my Spring Cleaning and although they look pretty good they still have streaks all over them. So, you can imagine how happy I was when I saw this pin that promised no streaks on your windows.  Although, I was a little skeptical I decided to give it a try and see how it worked.  Let me say that this recipe is AMAZING.  Not only were my windows SUPER clean there were absolutely no streaks on my windows at all.  This recipe is seriously AMAZING, it costs a little because most likely you will have to buy one or two of the ingredients but the ingredients will last forever and through several batches so it ends up being pretty cheap.  It is super easy to do and super easy to put together.  I will always use this from now on to clean my windows.

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Original pin source can be found here: http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/04/streak-free-window-cleanerno-wiping-or.html

Double Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

These were good but had a very weird texture to them.  I could not get past the texture of the cookies, it made the whole experience bad.  Although, they tasted good and were easy to make, I would not make them again because of the texture.

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Crock Pot Beef and Broccoli

I was really excited for this meal, it claimed it was as good as any Chinese takeout so I had to give it a try.  Nope, it was not that good, the meat was tough and dry and the taste was nothing like Chinese takeout.  I was pretty disappointed in the whole meal and will not make this again.

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Lunch Lady Brownies

We tried these lunch lady brownies the other night and I have to say they were good but nothing that I would make again.  I felt like they were sort of dull and lacked a real chocolate taste and they definitely did not fly off of the plate like some desserts do. Nothing to write home about or a whole blog post about.

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Hanging pictures with a soda tab

This is something we have always done in our house and it has always worked.  It is such a great and easy solution.  And super cheap, too!!!!


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Original pin can be found here: http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/35-lifechanging-ways-to-use-everyday-objects/

Baked Buffalo Wings

These made me so sick, I literally was sick for three days from this recipe.  I just do not do well with spice and I eat buffalo wings that are mild and do just fine but these were way to spicy for me to handle.  Other than that they were good, pretty easy to make and others in the family really liked them. My only recommendation is that you make sure you flip them because I forgot to flip them halfway through and that made some of them really soggy and if you do not like spice these are not for you.

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Original pin can be found here: http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2013/01/baked-buffalo-wings.html?wpmp_switcher=desktop