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When I saw this cake on Pinterest, it looked simple enough (even for me!) to make! I only needed an occasion. The husband turned 25 on Tuesday (but it's been more of a marathon than a sprint). We've been celebrating since Monday! On Tuesday, when his family came over to celebrate, he asked for a Cold Stone cake. And, being the nonexistent often-try-to-bake baker that I am, I didn't argue. But I still really wanted to at least try, and if it didn't work out — oh well. So Thursday night was his first night back to work at the hospital and Button and I figured this would be the perfect surprise! It looks so easy (Pinterest Link) — it was basically as simple as baking any cake mix (I just used what I had in my pantry) in a round cake pan (I did have to purchase this at Walmart for less than $3) and then covering the cake with frosting (again, any type) and then placing kit kats around the cake, filling the top with M&Ms, and wrapping a ribbon around it. Easy right? But what about for... you know, me?

Well, I'm happy to say that this Pinterest baking adventure was a complete success!!

It really was as simple as it looks! If I can do it — believe me ANYBODY can do it (although, when I got to the bow tying — I did get a bit nervous) . I will let you in on a few "trial by error" tips however:

• I bought a round cake pan (wedding section from Walmart) that was 8in diameter and 2inch depth. This was PERFECT. But, know that if you make the cake from the box (you know, like me) the box says it should make TWO 8in round cakes. Because I'm not making a layered wedding cake and wanted something with a bit more substance, I put about 2/3 of the batter in and it was PERFECT. Otherwise I think it would have been too thing for the Kit Kats
• Speaking of Kit Kats, we bought four packages of the snack-size Kit Kats. You only need three packages for the 8in pan.
• One large bag of M&Ms is perfect for an 8in diameter, 2in depth pan.
• While transporting this cake I was SO nervous because I didn't want anything to go amiss between my house and the hospital (roughly ten miles). While nothing is wrong, I'd recommend NOT transporting this cake (I was so nervous) but if it is absolutely necessary — pray much.

This Pinterest Project Creation is a little bit different than the others as it didn't really take a lot of effort or creativity (sort of).

I found this Christmas Card Photo idea (link to Pinterest Page) and absolutely loved it! So I decided to try to recreate it! Twice.

First of all, it took me FOREVER to find a strung together "Merry Christmas" sign. I went to Target, Walmart, and finally tried Party America. Even Party America had slim pickings — they only had every reflective colored signs. I didn't try the dollar store — but I will for next year*.

The first time we attempted to take the photo it was too dark out an the letters reflected (plus, the photo was NOT very flattering — so much so that I may have already accidentally deleted it from my camera. The second time we tried it was dusk and, while it isn't awful, there is this weird fog thing (demons? angels?) in the photo that was not there when we took the picture. And, you can't really see what it says — I think it's more distracting than pretty. But the rest of the picture looks nice!

Final Verdict: So, for this year*, we went without. But when I have more time and am not so rushed to find the strung letters, I would like to try this photo op. again next year. Tomorrow I'll post what our final Christmas looked like — if you're interested!

Do you have any suggestions for an uncreative person in regards to "pulling off" this photo?

So when I made my "melting snowmen" cookies this weekend, I also attempted these Andes Mint Cookies (Pinterest Link) .

In comparison to the snowmen cookies, I thought these guys would be the easy ones. Boy, was I in for a surprise. Again, the original recipe calls for ingredients that I (mostly) had lying around in the pantry:

• 1 cup unsalted butter — softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 49 Andes Créme de Menthe Thins

While I am impressed with the golden browness of my cookie, the overall effect was that there was a little bit of mint in an otherwise bland cookie.
This was not as easy as it looks and took more time than the super cute Snowmen Cookies and even though these cookies are easy to transport — I'm going to have to call this one a Thanks, but No Thanks as a Final Verdict.
Also, Pinterest Update: Remember when I made that Christmas Card Wreath and I was undecided? I'm going to have to with BUST. It's not pretty by itself and it's completely chaotic with actual cards on it. I'm okay with a little chaos — but this is too much for me. There's also not enough space for all the cards I've received.

Yes, I'm still grading papers. Thanks for thinking of me.

This weekend I did some baking and I thought these cookies (Pinterest Link) were super cute! The recipe (direct link to recipe and directions) calls for almost everything I had in my home with me — all I really needed to buy was the cookie icing.

• 1 package Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix
• 10 large marshmallows
• Betty Crocker Cookie Icing (white and orange)
• Wilton Decorating Icing Tubes in Black, Red, Green, Blue and Pink (although I only used orange and black)

I like this guy because he looks like he is actually melting

So as you can see, without the right icing and the small(er) mallows, these snowmen don't really have the "puddle effect."

Now, these cookies weren't exactly hard to make — they were actually pretty easy and they are adorable! But the reason the Final Verdict is BUST is because these cookies are impossible to eat (and retain their cuteness) and impossible to transport (and really, who is going to eat ALL of these cookies!). So in conclusion — despite the cuteness, it's just a sugar cookie and mallow so unless I'm going to show them off to others (in which case I'd need to transport them — which is impossible) — it's kind of pointless. Very cute cookie but not worth it (in my opinion).

And yes, I'm still grading research papers.

Last week I conquered the Christmas Stockings on a Curtain Rod project, this week I attempted to conquer conquered the Christmas Card Wreath. Remember I'll leave a link to how to do the project, but this post is more or less meant to show you how it actually turned out for an uncreative, not artistic person.

When I saw this Christmas Card Wreath (link to the Pinterest Page) , I knew I wanted to try it. I had just received two Christmas cards in the mail and wanted to display them but didn't know how. While I did have to purchase most of the supplies for this project, much like the Stockings on the Curtain rod, the supplies were not expensive. I had a wire hanger in my closet but I did have to buy clothes pins, red beads, ribbon, glue, wire cutter (strong pliers), and green spray paint (for a complete list of supplies and the step-by-step instructions, please visit Gwenny Penny) .

The first thing I think you should know (that is left out) is that if you are only making one wreath — a small can of spray paint will do. However, if you are planning on making a wreath for a gift or (as I am) are throwing a "Create a Christmas Card Wreath" Party — you'll need multiple cans of spray paint. I started out with a small can and I ran out and had to purchase more. The clothes pins were easy to find at Walmart and were very inexpensive, as were the rest of the supplies. I did have to purchase a wire cutter (pliers) as my pliers were a flat end and didn't really cut through anything. I also bought Krazy Glue, but I'm wishing I would have just bought fabric glue*.

You should also know that spray paint is sticky. I painted the clothes pins on Thursday night and by Saturday night, while they were dry, they were still a bit sticky and it was very hard to get off. Maybe creative people know that, but as an uncreative person who doesn't deal with spray paint often — this would have been nice to know.

Actually putting together this project was fairly easy: red bead, green clothes pin, red bead, green clothes pin and so on and so forth. When I got to the last few beads and pins it got interesting. The Krazy glue I bought wasn't sticking to the metal clothes hanger. So I ended up manipulating the clothes hanger to wrap around the end (in a very unattractive way) and then wrapping the hanger with the red ribbon. I then used the ribbon to make a make-shift hanger (not like in the original post directions) and used the Krazy glue to put the two pieces of fabric together*.

Here is my project:

I'm not 100% happy with it as my hanger is less circular and more "hot mess." Also, I think I'm going to add a bow to make the wreath a bit more complete — but I haven't figured out how to create a bow yet (something the original post left out or assumed I would know how to do). Some of my pins put pressure on the other pins — I don't know if this is because my hanger is too small or not, but the pins are a bit cramped.

As a person who doesn't deal with clothes pins on a regular basis, I also wish someone would have told me that they won't stay "pin down" on the wire, they constantly need to be manipulated. But once they are hung the pins use the wall as support and stay where I put them. I also wish I would have spent more time painting the pins. But because I had people coming over on Sunday to make the wreaths and I didn't know that the spray paint took so long to dry, I didn't have time to turn my box with the pins on it upside down and get the underside of the pins green as well.

Overall Verdit: This project definitely wasn't as easy as it looked and my finished product is no where near as beautiful and put together as the example. But it doesn't function well and once I figure out how to make a bow, I think this project will come together quite nicely. I'm glad I attempted it, but it was definitely a "figure it out as we go" type of deal in regards to the left out helpful pieces of information.

Also, my ribbon is probably too big.

Edit: I tried my best to add a bow. I'm still not very happy with it and have changed my Verdict to BUST. There are some other great ideas to display Christmas cards and I'm just not feeling it. It's not circular and the bow is and ribbon is complete chaos — you can call me an uncreative perfectionist if you'd like.:) But unless it's perfect and I'm proud of it, I'm just not sure I want to display it in my house as part of the decor haha.

Last week I mentioned the Social Media Bandwagon, today I'd like to specifically talk about Pinterest. I'm relatively new to Pinterest but am already addicted. I like it a bit more than Etsy because I can make what I want myself. The problem is that I'm not very creative. I have, however, found a few projects that I've liked and subsequently tried. While I won't go into step by step detail (I'll a leave a link), I do want to give an honest opinion on how attempting these projects worked out for me. I hate when I see something that a creative person dubs as "simple" or "easy" and it's not.

The first project I tried was to take a curtain rod and hang the stockings using only two stocking holders. Here is the link to the Pinterest Page and here is the original photo:

This was a great first project for me because I had just found stockings for D and I (the dog already had a stocking) and was preparing to put nails in my walls to hang them. The way I see it, the fewer nails I have to make the better. Because I don't have a fireplace, I placed the stocking holders in the rectangle window in my dining room. I found the snow flake stocking holders at Hobby Lobby for $20 (for the pair) and I had the curtain rod in the garage as I brought them with me from my old apartment. It was a simple project that took me less than ten minutes (after buying the stocking holders) to put together and I think it looks great! I think this is a great idea as our family continues to grow.
Here's my picture. Other items in the window are my random gnome from high school, our wedding sand, and our wedding cake topper.

Overall verdict: I'm so glad I did this project! Now if only I could find Pippin a stocking with a P (Hobby Lobby was all out). I had the perfect place for it (although, now that I'm looking at it I can see it needs to be centered) and it was inexpensive!
What do you think? Would it be something you'd be interested in trying?

Dogs poop.

Two dogs poop a lot.

Poop needs to be picked up; I refuse too pay for Martha Stewart poop bags so we use Walmart bags. Unfortunately we have been overrun with plastic bags in our garage so when I saw this bag on Pinterest and after evaluating my sewing skills — I figured I'd try this:

I found some great puppy print fabric at JoAnns and without a pattern I basically created the bag. The elastic part wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be so I actually did elastic on both ends so that the bags wouldn't blow out of the top while it was hanging in the garage. I used a half of a yard of fabric for an extremely long bag (perfect for two dogs worth of poop bags).

I'm definitely proud of the finished product.

Speaking of puppies — last week I mentioned Prim's hair cut. Many people wanted an "after" photo — here you go! We weren't expecting the typical "Schnauzer" look so we ended up shaving the "hot mess" that is the Poodle hair on her legs. I think it would have looked better if she were full Schnauzer, but the hair on her legs was just crazy! I do sort of miss her curls so I think we'll have a Schnauzer for the summer and a poodle for the winter:)

While this Pinterest Project wasn't a Sewing Adventure, it too is not really a Pinterest Project (I promise to get back on track — soon). But, nevertheless, I thought this was worth sharing. A few weeks ago @picky_girl (from The Picky Girl) brought to my attention that Harper Perennial has a pinboard on Pinterest (see the connection) highlighting pets with literary names. Well, I couldn't help but submit by two furry children!

Pippin — Named for my favorite Hobbit (due to his large feet as a puppy). 7 years old.

Primrose (Prim) — Having been saved from "The Hunger Games" aka euthanasia, our shy, timid puppy has grown into a strong, fun, playful creature that is almost unrecognizable. She has adapted so well to family life — we couldn't have asked for a better rescue.
Does anyone else have some great literary names? We threw around the name Poet for Prim in the beginning (which I still really like) and I had an English professor in college whose dog was named Theseus (the mythical king of Athens).

Okay, okay — another Pinterest post that has nothing to do with Pinterest (besides the fact that it's inspired me to be crafty). My sewing adventures have continued and I've officially done the impossible — I've hemmed my own pants! Don't laugh, this is no small feat! Not only did it take me a considerable amount of time less than making those stupid hot pads, but it has saved me a considerable amount of money as well! Plus, no more high waters (yes, I'm that teacher sadly).

It wasn't nearly as difficult as I had thought and the result, I thought, was flawless! Now it's time to do some shopping!!

Today's Pinterest Project Creation is a little bit... er... different. It isn't actually from Pinterest (gasp!). My mother in law bought her two daughter in laws sewing machines for Christmas this year. Jaycee and I have been learning how to sew ever since. We have been attending one on one sewing classes in Mandan, ND for the past couple of weeks. Even thought this creation isn't from Pinterest, I thought I'd still share with you my awesomeness!

The first night we spent learning about our machines. The next two nights we spent on oven mitts. Yes, you heard me right — two 2 hour session (4 hours total) went into these oven mitts/hot pads. I was thinking it would take me thirty minutes! I may have forgot to count the "binding time" — next time I'm just going to turn in inside out and sew that way. Anyway, this is what I came up with.

That hot mess of stitching you see in the middle — oh, that's what I like to call (because I don't know the real term) "free stitching." It's with this random foot (that I had to buy extra) that allows you to any which way. It was a pain in my OCD butt, but I like the randomness — on this project at least.
Overall, I'm extremely proud of my first sewing creation! I can't wait to see what I come up with next. My all-time life mission (when it comes to sewing) is to hem my own pants! I'm so sick of buying "great deals" on jeans and dress pants only to spend an additional $15-$20 to have them hemmed!
As I begin my sewing adventures, any suggestions on what else to create (remember, uncreative beginner here folks)?

Two Pinterest posts in a week! You must be freaking out! This is another recipe I tried last weekend for the Super Bowl Party that I thought would be a fun, new, adult food that we could enjoy: Drunk Gummy Bears (Pinterest Link | Recipe Link) .

This was another experiment that I feel like the directions were lacking or I'm just that moronic. We bought the gummy bears and took the generic vodka we had in the house and poured it, covered it, and let it set for three days.

When I tried the first drunken gummy bear prior to the party my initial reaction was, "Oh, this is good!" and then I got to end of the gummy bear and that reaction turned into "Oh my gosh, spit it out!" So we thought we'd dry off the bears so that, perhaps, the alcohol on top (as it's a very sticky bear) would come off. It didn't help. We ended up throwing most of them away but keeping a few so that family at the Super Bowl party could at least try them. Turns out — everyone else LOVED them! Apparently D and I complete wusses.

Upon reading the actual recipe now I note that it does say for less strong bears use less vodka. Noted.

I also think if we do this again we will try a more pleasant tasting vodka — like Birthday Cake!:) D also had the idea of using cinnamon vodka so it would be like a cinnamon bear! I think that sounds like an awesome idea.

Final Verdict: I guess this is one of those times where you live and learn by trial and error. We'll probably try this idea again sometime. Hopefully we get it right.:)