Pinspired Mother's Day/Grandma gifts

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What's that you say?  Mother's day was almost how long ago?  

I couldn't very well post this project before Mother's day and spoil the surprise now, could I?  

This is what we made the grandma's for Mother's day this year.  

It started out with this pin:

The pin leads to this post over at this happy blog. 

Hers is a card.  

We did ours on a small 8 x 11 canvas.

And we used sparkly paint.

And I painted their names and the year on their handprints after I took this picture.

And I think they're so cute!  

Thanks for the pinspiration, Nifty Mom!

Happy Mother's Day (late!)

Be gone, wretched ants!

Disclaimer: If ants make you squeamish...move on.  Just look away and come back later.  

You've been warned.

I hate ants.

When I see them in my house, I get so angry!  I've officially declared war on any ant that dares cross my threshold.

This year, though, they came with a vengeance.  And it wasn't just the little itty-bitty sugar ants; it was those great big carpenter ants.  Have you seen those suckers?!  They're huge!...and, yes, I've told my landlord.

Anyway, I was losing the battle...big time.  For every 1 I'd stomp out, 5 would come back.

Then, I found this on Pinterest: 

Hope.

(Here's the link.  You should know it makes A LOT!)

I used Borax instead of boric acid. 

Now, I did this right after dinner.  I poured the mix onto some cotton balls in the lid of a jar.  I set it up by the kitchen sink (where kids can't reach it) and set about cleaning up the daily mess.  I kept a close watch on it, though, but no ants partook of their special drink.

So, I put my girls to bed and started my work, trying my hardest to put the ants from mind.  

A few hours later, I walked back into the kitchen and turned on the light and saw this:

This picture doesn't do it justice, especially since they all started to scatter once the lights came on.  But my counter was covered with ants and I could follow 2 distinct lines from the places they were apparently coming into the house and back to the bait.  

They fell for it!  It was beautiful!  

Here's a close up...gross, but, still kind of awesome. 

They were all over those cotton balls!  That stuff must taste like chocolate to them!

So, I quietly turned off the light and left the kitchen for the night, leaving those huge ants to their huge party.

In the morning, they were gone.  

And they haven't come back.

*SMILE*

Easy Pumpkin Muffins

Have you noticed that most of my Pinterest projects done posts are recipes.  =)  I'll move on soon, I promise.  There are just so many great recipes out there!  

Have you seen this one?

Yeah, it got my attention pretty quick.

It leads to this post over at Scout's Stitches.

There are only 2 ingredients in this recipe. 

That's it!  No eggs or oil or water or anything.  

Genius.

I froze a year's worth of pumpkin last year.  It's been wonderful.  I have to get on top of the pumpkin  buying/baking/freezing for next year!

Anyway, I felt it necessary to add an ingredient. 

Pumpkin and chocolate go together beautifully.

Here are my results:

These were sooooooooo good.

So good.

I took them to a church activity and they were a hit.  L at 4 before I caught her and stopped her.

I'll be keeping this recipe handy.

Apple Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Cream Cheese frosting

I came across this post a couple of weeks ago over at Mrs. Happy Homemaker and I pinned it right away.

Seriously, the pictures and the recipe made my mouth water.  Mmmmm.

I knew I had to try it as soon as possible. 

The perfect opportunity came this past weekend.  My church holds a General Conference during the first weekends of October and April.  So, in between sessions, while my family was sleeping, I pulled up the recipe and got to work.

Let me tell you, it was a very simple recipe to follow and came together just beautifully!

Here is my result: 

It was a perfect Fall comfort food.  I think you should try it.

Head over to Mrs. Happy Homemaker for the recipe!

Linked up:

Crockpot Grinders (Pinterest)

This week's project from Pinterest is another recipe.

My friends, Pinterest is an amazing place to find some amazing recipes.  Seriously, I'm in heaven.

This recipe, called Crockpot Grinders, links back to Big Red Kitchen.  (Click the link for the full recipe.)

Of course, I made some changes.  I didn't use any peppers.  I don't really like them and Mister doesn't mind adding his later.  Also, I used provolone, cheddar, and Swiss cheese.  In place of the peppers, I used marinated artichoke hearts.  

After assembling the sandwiches, I had some cheese left over and I just laid it on top of the bread so it could melt over the top.  

This is what I ended up with:

All I can say is, Try this!  It is so simple and sooooo amazing!  Fantastic.  

It's going on my favorites list for sure!

I'm linking up here.

Chicken and Cashew Lettuce Wraps

I posted this one on my Pinterest board a while ago.  

Lettuce wraps always look so good!  

The only other time I've tried them, I completely messed them up.  That scared me away a bit.  

But these ones...oh, they look delicious!  Chicken and cashews!  Can you really go wrong?

I decided to give it a try.  The pin links back here.

I'm usually a recipe changer and, well, I changed this one a little too.

But not much!  I just dropped the water chestnuts.  I don't like them.

The rest I left completely the same.

And they were beautiful...

And delicious.

Try 'em!  Quick!  You'll love 'em.

Putting Pinterest to Good Use

Have I mentioned that I love Pinterest?  (send me an e-mail if you want an invite!)

It stems from my love of lists..and my love of planning.  For years and years I have collected ideas and planned on doing them only to be left with a pile of ideas that I plan to do someday.

That is a part of the reason I started this blog: To give myself an excuse some motivation to finish those long anticipated projects.  

I also have been so inspired by all the craft blogs in this great blog world and this is a place to test out those tutorials I have been adding to my pile of projects to be done.  It is time for me to start my tutorial testing and my Pinterest planning.

So, at least once a week (that's the plan, anyway) I will work through at least one planned Pinterest project or one waiting to be done tutorial.*  

It's going to be so fun!

So, here's where I started.

This cake has been all over Pinterest.  It links back to the blog Made in Melissa's Kitchen.  

When I saw this, oh....I knew I was looking at my next birthday cake.  It is cake, surrounded by Kit Kats (one of my favorites for years!), and topped with M&Ms.  Seriously, could it be any better?

I made it on Sunday.  

Here is my result: 

Underneath it is a chocolate cake (of course)...

I used peanut M&Ms (because they're my favorite).

It was a hit!  It is as easy as the tutorial says it will be and so delicious....soooooooo rich (lots and lots of chocolate!).  

And here's my niece 

With the cake.

Check my Linky Parties tab to see some of the sites I've linked this to!