Pinter Favorites

Pinterest is blowing up. Each day there are more and more people talking about it at work, I login to my account and have more followers (some friends and others strangers) and my husband forwards me articles daily from his tech blogs talking all about Pinterest. I think there is a mass appeal with Pinterest. People are enjoying/using Pinterest for different reasons. Some love the beauty and visual appeal, some use it as a way to plan a major event in their life, others are inspired to try new recipes, fashion ideas, projects and even others love Pinterest for the overall great ideas.

I say I am a pinner and a doer. I feel I can justify my addiction to my nightly pinning habit because I do try so many of the things I see on Pinterest. I am inspired by things I see. I take projects and craft ideas and tweak them to fit my toddler's abilities. I love that I can create a board for a special event or project and save all of my ideas in one clean, pretty place. And I love that I can comment on friend's pins and communicate with them in a new way. There are some pinners I have never met or talked to but I feel like I kind of know them because we follow each other and I am used to their pins. 

For me it is a fun, collaborative place that inspires me in many aspects of my life. I truly enjoy it. If you have still not taken the Pinterest plunge, leave a comment and I will send you an invite. You can take a peek for yourself and see what you think.

And now, on to my latest favorites . . . 

From left to right (row by row)

• Love the rainbow of colors. Makes me think of sherbert. Yum.
• Barre 3. This is my new found love (other than Pinterest, and my hubs and kids). Amazing, energizing, strengthening workout that I can do from the comfort of home. My friend Jenni introduced me to it and I cannot say enough good things about it. Try it and see. You won't be disappointed!
• Gorgeous flowers. Simple, chic and pretty.
• Love day cupcakes. We had such a wonderful Valentine's Day. These cupcakes are cute and look easy to make. Maybe next year?
• Great quote.
• Packaging. What is not to love? Color organized, simple, packaging supplies. All of possibilities . . .
• Simple Love Quote. Says it perfectly.
• Polka Dot Straws! These are adorable! Can't wait to use them at my next party or just around the house. LOVE them.

Happy Pinning!

Quick Organizing Tips

Here are two quick, simple organizing tips. I implemented both at my house last weekend and can honestly say I am loving both changes! Try either or both of these ideas and let me know what you think. I saw both tips on Pinterest (where else?).

TIP - ADD A RECYCLE BIN UNDER THE SINK

We try to recycle but it seems the recycling builds up next to the sink - cans and flattened cardboard packaging that needs to be taken out to the garage to the big recycle bin. The constant pile (and when I say constant, it was taken out multiple times per day but still) was driving me crazy! We removed everything from under the sink other than the dish soap, garbage can, fire extinguisher and we added another can designated for recycling. I love having it there. It is so easy to use and I find I am actually recycling more than I was before because of how convenient it is. Once the bin is full, we take the whole thing to the garage and empty it. Loving it!

TIP - USE A SHOE RACK TO HOLD CLEANING SUPPLIES

Once we removed everything the sink, I quickly needed a new place for our cleaning supplies. I had seen this on Pinter and ran to Target and bought this over the door shoe rack. They had three different kinds but the other two were fabric. This one is plastic and I figured it would be easy to wipe down if anything spilled on it.

I was a little nervous about two things - 1. Would the bottles fit? and 2. Would my little ones be able to reach the supplies? All of the bottles, even the thicker ones, fit perfectly. And my little ones cannot reach up to where the bottles start so it is perfect. I didn't have enough bottles for the whole thing so I added our rubber gloves, extra sponges, magic eraser, etc. I put ours on the back of the door in our laundry room. It is right off of the kitchen and a perfect location.

In the last week I have found it is so much easier to grab one of the cleaners from this organizer than it ever was before under the sink digging around looking for items. I am thrilled!

Leave a comment with a simple, organizing tip you have implemented. I am always looking for new ideas!

Happy Organizing!

Easy, Fun Valentine Ideas with Toddlers

One of the things I enjoy most about the holidays is sharing them with my kids. I am enjoying celebrating the holidays so much more experiencing it through my little ones eyes. It brings a whole new level of excitement to the experience. Below are some of the Valentine activities we have done in the last few weeks in preparation for the big love day. Many of the ideas are so easy, they just take a few minutes but all of them have been enjoyed. Happy Heart Day!

1. Painting cut out paper hearts in Valentine's colors. Washable paints are always fun!

2. This idea came from Pinterest. We traced their little hands, had them color the cutouts and then make the "This Much" accordion. They made these two weeks ago and are still running around with them.

3. Decorating their Valentine Mailboxes. Mine are still too young to create their own mailboxes so I purchased foam ones at Michael's. I also saw them at Target. We used glitter pens and lots of stickers.

 4. Decorating Valentine Cookies. Sugar cookies, frosting and sprinkles. Always a hit!

 5. Making your own Valentine's. This is always a special activity and the receivers appreciate the gesture so much! My twins are just 2 so they colored (scribbled) all over the cards and then I added the hearts they painted earlier in the week to the front and wrote a message to each of their friends in the inside. We also added stickers.

 6. Snow globes. Another idea from Pinterest (best site ever!). They loved this project. You can add any small items you have to the jar. We did small plastic jewels, marbles, lots of glitter and Valentine themed figurines they picked out at Target. We used applesauce jars and super glued the lids closed.

 7. Heart shaped food. We have done melon, cantaloupe, sandwiches, quesadillas, cheese, cookies and apple slices. You can do anything. Just punch it out with a cookie cutter. They think it is so fun eating shaped foods!

8. Decorating foam hearts. I found the hearts at Michael's. You could do paper hearts too. They decorated them with stickers and we hung them above their craft table for festive decor.

9. Hand print hearts. I love these. So simple and sweet. We did these on plain paper and I mounted them on card stock and we sent them to their grandparents. Such a sweet keepsake showing how little their hands once were.

10. Cupid Kisses. We made these at Christmas with Rolos and they were delicious. This was another version with Hershey's chocolate hearts. The little ones helped me unwrap the chocolate and place the hearts on the cookie sheet. They sampled a few along the way! Oven at 275 degrees for three minutes on the top rack. Remove and push the M&M's into the chocolate. Put in the fridge to chill. Enjoy!

11. Last but not least - take them to mail their Valentine's at an official US Mailbox. My twins thought this was SO fun.

Happy Celebrating!