Painted Jars

I do not like the colors I choose as much as the ones from Pinterest but these really are cute.  They take a little time, patience and quite a bit of paint but they turn out so cute.  I can see so many possibilities with these.  You could put flowers in them, paint them for holidays and put decorations in them, you can give them as gifts, you could use them to store thing and so much more.  They are so cute and such a great idea.

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Original pin can be found here:
http://kimboscrafts.blogspot.com/2012/03/painted-mason-jars.html

Don't Peek Chicken

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and it had pretty good reviews from fellow pinners so I thought we would give it a try.  I will say that it was OK(meaning it was edible) but not good enough to make it again.  It was salty and sort of dry and the mix of the rice, soup and chicken just did not taste all that good.  Not one that we will add to our recipes.

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Orange Candle

I thought this looked so cool and would be fun to try out.  This is not nearly as easy as it looks and is very hard to get the orange out without ripping the peel.  After a few tries of peeling I finally got the peel just right and then I for the life of me could not get mine to light.  No matter how hard I tried or how much I followed the directions this one just would not work for me.  Cool idea but it just did not work for me at all.

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Wasp Trap

For some unknown reason we have so many wasps in our backyard, enough so, that my kids do not like to play back there sometimes.  I thought I would give this cheap and easy trick a try and I have to say before my two year old knocked it down it was working well.  We had tricked several wasps into our sneaky little trap.  Next time though I will find somewhere to hang it up.

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Original Pin can be found here:
http://www.prairiestory.com/2010/09/homemade-wasp-trap.html

Orange Peels

I have a hard time with this one because it really does smell good but you also have to keep your stove on for as long as you want the smell to fill your home not to mention that you have to save orange peels  until you have enough.  For me it is just not practical, there are just so many other easier ways to make your house smell just as good.

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Magnet Board

I saw this at Christmas time and made one for my mom and sister in-law but I did not think to use a cookie sheet from the dollar store.  I used sheet metal from the plumbing department at the hardware store, the only benefit of that, is that you can make them quite a bit bigger.  For this test I made mine round but they work just the same.  They turn out so cute and are really easy to make.  Pick your fabric, wrap it and secure it.  The ribbon is easy to add as well and then add cute magnets and you are done.  I just glued my ribbon to the back instead of drilling holes and threading it through.  A great gift for yourself or anyone in your life.

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Original pin can be found here:
http://oldegreencupboard.blogspot.com/

Baby Oil as a Fixture Shiner

So what do you remember most about baby oil?? Using it as a way to get more tan?  That is sure what we used it for and boy do I remember how oily we would be and having to take a shower to get all of the oil off and sometimes it took a few tries to get the feeling of oil completely gone.  Remembering that should have been a premonition about this idea.  If not anything else baby oil is, well just that, OILY.  So I am not sure why I thought this might work as a shining agent.  Lets just say that all it did is make things very oily and slippery and did not leave things much shiner.  Once the baby oil was on you have to take water or a cleaner and wipe it off several times before you could get your fixtures back to normal.  A big time mess with this one!

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Foil as a Dish Scrubber

This is such a good idea and such a savings from those SOS pads.  Although you will still want to have an SOS pad or some other source for your cookie pans, this did not work on those.  BUT this did do an amazing job on my glass, casserole dish.  I had made lasagna for dinner and it always leaves a mess behind.  The best part about this was that my recipe calls for it to be covered by foil while cooking so I was able to use the same foil to clean the dish. You do not need a lot of foil to have this work, just a decent sized ball.  I was so amazed at how easy the foil made it to clean my dish and how fast it cleaned it without a lot of hard scrubbing.  Easy, cheap and fast, some of my favorites!!

                                                     mid-process

                                                all of the cooked on food- GONE!!

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Original post can be found here:
http://pinterest.com/pin/251497960411774863/

Jello Legos

This was a total EPIC FAIL for me.  Lets just say that when you click on the pin it takes you to Jello's website where you can buy a mold to make these and there is very much a reason for that.  I think my picture explains it all but you cannot get these out of your legos after they have set and if you use warm water to get them out they just melt and you end up with a big bowl of jello soup.  I am still trying to think if there is a way you could make it so that these could come out of the lego's but the reason you get the mold is that you can bend it and twist it to get it to pop out.  Sticking to the mold is the best way to go.

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Baking Soda Oven Cleaner

I am sorry but I absolutely hate this one.  Does it remove the burnt food and stuff in your oven?  Sure if it isn't burnt onto the oven.  Does it leave it as nice and shiny as this oven? Definitely NOT.  You put this cleaner in and let it sit and then go back and wipe it down.  I have been cleaning white baking soda streaks out of the oven for the last three months and every time I get rid of one another pops up.  The reason a lot of oven cleaners work well is because you heat up the oven which helps remove the burnt food.  With this cleaner I could not get all of the burnt food off of the oven.  And did I mention that I am still cleaning baking soda out of my oven and I am sure I will be for a long time.  No matter how many times I wiped it down they still kept coming back.  I think I will stick to the self cleaning or the cleaners that you can buy for now.



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Vinegar and Pennies as Wood Stain

I thought this was such a cool idea and a great green way to get color into your wood without all of the chemicals.   We put the "handful" of pennies into vinegar and let it sit for one week.  As you can see from the pictures below this did not work at all.  I am not sure what a "handful" of pennies meant but maybe my "handful" was not big enough.  I have a suspicion that the stains with berries and coffee would work a lot better and will try those out next, but as for the vinegar and pennies,  it did not work at all.

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Rubberband With Paint

Let me just say first that this is only for paintbrushes not rollers or anything like that.  But for paintbrushes this idea is one of the best out there.  It worked so perfect and the best part is that the paint just falls off the rubber band into the can that way you are not wasting any paint.  My only precaution is that when you take the rubber band off be prepared for some paint flying as the rubber band slings back into place or just wait for the paint on the rubber band to dry.  My other thought was that you could probably just close the lid onto the rubber band so that it is there the next time you use it.  Great idea, easy, cheap, fast and works awesome!!

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Original pin can be found here:
http://pinterest.com/pin/233765036878793619/

Reviving Old Paintbrushes

I know, we have all done it!  Taken all the time to paint something and then you are too tired to clean the brushes properly so when you pull them out again they are hard as rocks.  Well this solution did not do anything for my poor paintbrushes.  I guess the best solution is to just clean them right the first time.

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Homemade Ice Pack

What a great idea!!! All you do is take Dawn soap or any dish soap and put it in two sealed bags and freeze.  The cool thing about this is that it never freezes solid so you can adjust it to your body better than the blocks that you can buy.  The other cool thing is that you can make them in different colors so that it is cool for your kids and they will want to use them.  The only downside is that it is just in a plastic baggy but double bagging it helps a lot so that it will not leak.  The other downside is that they are small but you could make bigger ones with big ziplocs for backs or tummies.  They are so easy to make and take no time at all.

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Original pin can be found here:
http://pinterest.com/pin/214132157252922452/

Homemade Febreze

I have to say I am excited to test all of my pins but I was very excited to see if this one really worked or not.  Febreze can be spendy and I do not always like the smells they have.  This is such a great idea and  I tested it at the perfect time.  We woke up with someone having peed the bed the night before so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to giving this a try.  I put it together, it was really, really fast and easy and then I sprayed it all over the mattress.  It smelled so good and I have to say a week later I can still smell it when I walk into the kids bedroom.  This worked like a charm and I love that you can pick whatever smell of laundry softener to make your own smell.  I also like that you can buy softener at the dollar store to make it even cheaper.  One little 1/8 of a cup made a whole bottle and I still have a huge bottle of softener, this will last me forever.

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Original pin can be found here:
http://pinterest.com/pin/233765036878893442/

Getting Rid of Armpit Stains

I really wish I could have gotten a better picture of my shirt after I did this little trick because it worked really well.  I have a white shirt that I wear a lot as an undershirt and it did such an awesome job at getting rid of the armpit stain on my shirt.  I love it when people come up with such great solutions for our everyday problems.
Add 1/4 Cup Hydrogen Peroxide with 1/4 Cup Baking Soda, scrub with toothbrush or some sort of bristle brush, let sit for 1/2 hour and then wash like normal.

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Original pin can be found here:
http://pinterest.com/pin/233765036878893779/

Shower Head Cleaner

We have a big waterfall shower head with a million holes and those holes can get clogged up quite a bit.  I have done this with CLR and Kaboom before and have always love the results so I wanted to try this one and see how it worked.  I have to say I am so frustrated with baking soda, it cleaned it right at first but then as it dried it clogged more of the holes than were clogged in the first place.  This is similar to what happened when I used this solution to clean my drain.  It worked at first and then it clogged my drain so bad that we had to snake the drain.  I think I will stick to my CLR or Kaboom for now!

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Bleaching Clothing

This was pretty easy to do and turned out pretty cute, I have to say.  I used my Silhouette to cut out my letters and I used vinyl so I could just stick them right onto the shirt which made it really easy but you could use any sort of die cut machine to cut out the letters or shape or you could use the computer or stencils and then just double stick them on to the shirt.  If you do it the latter way you will want to make sure ALL of the letter is sticking to the shirt.   Another way would be using alphabet stickers. I got the bleach in a spray bottle and sprayed the shirt.  You just need to mist the shirt, at first I did not think I used enough bleach, but as it dried I realized that I had.  This is a simple, easy and cheap craft. Especially if you just use an already owned shirt, which is what we did.

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Original post can be found here:
http://jameehomemaker.blogspot.com/2010/02/bleach-stenciled-t-shirts.html

Sidewalk Chalk Hair Paint

My kids love to make their sidewalk chalk into paint and then use it on their bodies or on the sidewalk. It never occurred to me to use it in your hair.  This worked perfect and it did come right out when we washed our hair.  I think this is such a perfect way to put color in your hair without any damaging effects and it comes right out.  Next time you need some hair color give this one a try.

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Original post can be found here:
http://petgroomingthegoodthebadthefurry.blogspot.com/2010/10/mohawk.html

Full Plate - July 22 - Part 1

Full Plate - July 22 - Part 1

This is the link to the news story that was done about the blog!!!

DIY Paints

I found these at Christmas time and wanted to make them for my niece and nephew, who love to paint. They absolutely loved these paints and they were sad when they were gone.  The only thing is that they need to be shaken every time but so do most paints.  The nice thing about them is that they are completely safe since they are made with all food products and you can make so many fun colors.  The bottles can be found for relatively cheap and once you buy them you have them to use over and over again.  They are easy to make and do not cost that much money since you use ingredients that you have around the house. The only negative is that they can be a little watery and the colors are really light other than that they are great.

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Original pin can be found here:
http://getyourmesson.blogspot.com/2011/09/puffy-paint.html

Washi Binder Clips

These looked so cute, I wanted to see just how easy they were to make.  These are simple as anything as long as you have some washi tape or fabric tape.  I think duct tape or decorative packaging tape would be really cute also.  They took no time at all and were super easy to put together.  It just adds a little flair to your paper.

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Original post can be found here:
http://artsyville.blogspot.com/2011/12/last-minute-washi-clips.html

Avocado Chicken Salad

We love a good, simple chicken salad around our house.  We also, absolutely, love avocados, so mixing the two together sounded like a win, win recipe.  I have to say it was not my favorite.  Mixing the avocado into the salad made the texture a little weird and the taste was not quite the same.  I think I would rather put slices of avocado on top of my salad instead of mixed in.  This is not one that we will make again.  We will just stick to our normal recipe for now.

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DIY Cooking Spray

I was really curious to make this until I read all of the warnings and statements about the spray.  First, you have to use it in a week.  I do not know about you but I do not use that much cooking spray, I would constantly be throwing it out and making more.  Next, it says it does not work as well as the commercial brand, ok, so I guess the main reason you would use it would be because it is all natural, not because it works as well.  Also, you can not spray this into a hot pan and it is more for baking then actual cooking on the cook top.  I use spray much more often on the cook top then in oven and I hope I remember the part about not spraying it into a hot pan.  This just seems so impractical for me and so time consuming plus I think I may have to write the rules on the bottle so I could remember and all for only one week.  I guess if you have the time, more power to you but I think for most of us it is more about time and ease.  I understand if you want it to be all natural and this would be the spray for you if that is what you are looking for.

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Original post can be found here:
http://naturesnurtureblog.com/2012/04/03/tiny-tip-tuesday-homemade-cooking-spray/

Crockpot Italian Chicken

This was another great recipe from good ole' Pinterest. This is so good and easy to make and another that my family absolutely loves!! We were eating it all of the time for a while there.  Over noodles or rice is perfect, we like it both ways.  This is a great dinner.

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Original post can be found here:
http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2009/07/crockpot-italian-chicken.html

Crock Pot Hawaiian Chicken

YOu would think after living life you just learn some things, right? There are some things that I just do not think about sometimes and think why did I do that?  Kind of like when I go to a restaurant and order a medium drink thinking it is the size a medium was when we grew up and instead now it is a huge 32 oz drink and then I get it and say, "why can I not remember this?" Just like that I took a meal to a friend after having a baby and I hadn't tried it first, what is wrong with me?  We ate the same meal and right away I felt so bad.  I just crossed my fingers that they really liked hot stuff.  I am not a fan of spice, I need a drink of water when a tiny bit of mild sauce hits my tongue.  My husband who puts hot sauce on everything, even mentioned that it was spicy.  Not to say it wasn't good, it was just very spicy.  So if you are not a spice person this not the recipe for you.  I am giving it a pins up because I think a lot of people will like it and there are different sauces you could try but for me it was just to spicy(I am a wimp, I know). 

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Original Post can be found here:

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2011/06/crock-pot-hawaiian-bbq-chicken.html

Microwave Cleaner

I have to admit this was not my favorite thing out there.  Did it work?  It worked a little bit but for me it did not make that much of a difference. I made the microwave warm and the dried on food moist so it was easier to clean off but of all of the ones out there this was not my favorite.  I have never had a problem with spraying cleaner on the grime and letting it sit for about 20 minutes and then wiping it off.  I will just say that it did not work well enough for me to make the effort to try it again.


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Crock Pot Ranch Chicken Tacos

YUM!! These are so good and have quickly become a family favorite.  We also had our good friends over for dinner and their family loved them as well.  When I first pinned this, the person who pinned it said that instead of cooking them the way the person says, she put everything in the crockpot with a packet of dry ranch dressing and that is what I did and they are still YUMMY! Either way, these are really good.

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Original post can be found here:
http://pedersenfood.blogspot.com/2011/05/chicken-ranch-tacos.html

Banana Split Bites

These look so cute and yummy, right?  They did not look to hard to make so I made them one evening as a treat for our family.  Let me tell you I wish I had remembered to take a picture but you know all of those pictures you see with the original picture and than a disaster replica and it says "Nailed It." That is exactly how these turned out for me.  They were a mess and they were not easy to make at all.  This picture is a complete deception to the average person. For all the mess and work, they did not taste that great either but that may have been because they were so hard to make. Not one that I would recommend making.


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Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken and Rice

Another great recipe that my family and I thought was really good.  I have been a huge fan of the crockpot this summer and this was really easy, cheap and turned out really good.  This has been added to our recipe pile.  If you like something easy and tasty this will be a good one for you.  The yummy cheesiness of it makes it really good and mixed with the rice and chicken makes it so that everything is in one dish, no making anything extra.


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Original post can be found here:
http://www.southernplate.com/2010/09/slow-cooker-cheesy-chicken-and-rice-the-downside-of-being-a-swan-princess.html

Cleaning between the glass on your oven door

Ok people, if you want something that is going to take you quite a bit of time and requires the oven door to be taken apart then this is the one for you.  First, the directions are for a Frigidaire but I am sure most are the same.  Next, you have to take the oven door off and then unscrew a bunch of pieces and then you can get to the glass to clean it.  After that have fun putting it all back together.  My oven glass has never been so dirty that I would have the time to go to all of that trouble, which says a lot since I like things so stinkin clean.  I guess if I ever do, I now know where to look.  This is something that is just not that practical and would take a lot of time.  I am ok with my oven door and will not be trying this anytime soon.


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If you are interested here is the link to the original post:
http://www.jimcarson.com/2011/cleaning-between-the-door-glass-of-a-frigidaire-oven/

DIY Bath Paints

 My kids love bath paints as I am sure most do.  They can be pretty spendy and the kids go through them fast so I was happy to see a homemade recipe for some.  I made the recipe as instructed and I have to say I was so disappointed.  It was too hard to make actual pictures, it would make lines all day but words and pictures, no way.  Plus I would have to find a way to divide it out each night because my kids would just use the whole mason jar in one use.  I have found some other recipes for bath paints that I am going to try but as far as this was goes it just did not work.

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Making your own Glue Dots

I use ALOT of Glue Dots and I LOVE them, so you can imagine my excitement when I found this option to make them on your own.  First, it was really hard to find the glue.  You can find Alene's almost everywhere but not this type of Alene's.  I think I went to 3 stores before I finally found it at Joanne's.  I followed the instructions and then let them dry,  The nice thing about glue dots is that they are not sticky to your hands or the papers they come on.  They are really easy to remove and really easy to use.  These glue dots are extremely sticky and really, really hard to get off of the paper.  Once you get it off of the paper half of the dot is gone.  They are a lot thicker than some glue dots so that makes some projects a lot harder.  In the long run it may be a little cheaper because the bottle makes a lot and lasts a long time but you can get glue dots on sale for pretty cheap and by the time you get the ones off of the paper that actually work and work for the right project, you are probably pretty even in cost.  Overall, I have a bottle of Alene's glue that I will not use for glue dots again.

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Chicken Tortilla Bake

This was really good.  I actually put a little too much sauce in this and it made it so it would have been a really good dip with some chips, even still it was really good.   It was cheesy and really good with the tortilla strips and chicken in it. It had a little kick to it but not so much that I did not like it. My family really liked it and we will add this to our growing pile.

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Original post can be found here:
http://homemakingchallenged.blogspot.com/2012/01/chicken-tortilla-bake.html

Getting rid of Water Stains on Wood with Mayo

 Water rings, I am not sure there are many people who do not have water rings on as least one of their pieces of their furniture.  I just always assumed they were permanent.  My kids always put their cups on our black desk when they are using the computer.  I looked at the directions for the first way to get rid of them with the hair dryer and did not want to sit with my hair dryer on the wood for twenty minutes, which it calls for.  So I thought I would try the mayo one first.  I put the mayo on the water ring and then left it for about twenty minutes and then came back and, as you can see in the last picture, it is GONE!  I figure if the mayo works why try the twenty minutes with the hair dryer but if the mayo did not work then I would try the hair dryer.

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

for the hair dryer:
http://media-cache-ec5.pinterest.com/upload/53480314294930479_gjMwPuCM.jpg