Lessons Learned Through Pinstrosities

Most of us have learned valuable lessons through Pinterest and our Pinstrosities. 

Kelli learned that these 2-ingredient lemon bars need a pan bigger than a 9x13:

Shannon learned that this "17 Ways to Never Have a Bad Hair Day Again" list needs a different name:

Amy learned not to walk down the street on a hot day to deliver banana split bites to a neighbor:

I think the bananas needed to be a little shorter too...

Abigail learned that the tip she saw on Pinterest about substituting mayo for eggs doesn't work in every recipe:

And Rachael learned that not all "DIY Cleaners" pins on Pinterest are safe:

"My name is Rachael and I am a military wife living in Georgia. My husband is currently deployed and I am a stay at home mom for the time being so I am a huge pinterest lover. Well, most of my projects come out great! However, last night I rescued a chihuahua from a really bad situation and after bathing it and putting it in the kitchen with my other dog I realized it had worms (icky) so I decided even though it was 2 am, I needed to disinfect my kitchen floor and separate the dogs. I had pinned a post for super disinfectant mop solution some time ago so I decided to pull it up. The recipe called for a gallon of water 1 cup of vinegar, 1 cup of bleach, and 2 tbsp of dawn dish soap. Excited to try this new thing I got out my mop bucket, products and mixing cups. I poured it all in the bucket and as soon as I added the bleach, a white cloud of chemicals started rising out of my mop bucket. I freaked and went to move my dogs out of the way and she knocked over the bucket. So I sopped it all up and proceeded to call poison control because my eyes were burning and some got on my feet and it was burning and my whole house had an awful smell. I was told to open all the windows in my home, run fans and get myself and the two dogs and my toddler out of the house immediately. By this time is was three am. I woke up my two year old and me and the two dogs and her sat outside from 3-4 am in the freezing cold waiting for the fumes to dissipate. I tried to find the pin to attach it, but it has been deleted due to my actions of reporting it! My family got a good laugh and I'm trying to find the humor in the awful night, lol. I love your site and blog. Thanks for bringing lots of smiles to my face during the hard third deployment."

And then sometimes we have lessons that we learn completely free and clear of Pinterest. They end up being more of Lifestrosities. We had a recent one in our house. I had a huge chunk of work to do one week and was barely staying afloat, so my sweet husband worked on cleaning the house for me. I was in the zone and not paying much attention as he was straightening the kitchen and loading the dishwasher. It wasn't until I saw something white moving across the floor than I looked over and chuckled. 

Cameron learned that when you're out of dishwasher detergent...you can't pour in regular dish soap. 

Teehee...he hadn't noticed yet. I grabbed the camera and snapped a photo just before he turned and discovered the adventure pouring out of the dishwasher. Poor guy had no idea this would happen. Here he was thinking he was the most awesome husband in the world as he cleaned the kitchen and rocked out to The Pogues, only to look up and discover the never ending spew of bubbles. So what do you do at this point? You mop. And Mop. And Mop. And Mop. Our floor is cleaner than it's been in a long time! 

It took 3 full runs of the dishwasher before it quit looking like this inside:

We laughed about this all day. And that brings me to my final "lesson learned" of the day. Don't let these "life lessons" (be they Pinstrosities or Lifestrosities) get you mad or down. Life is too full of stress and dumb things to be mad all the time. I'm glad we have the bubble mess as a funny memory to look back on rather than one where we got mad and made a huge deal over nothing. Life happens. There will be ups and downs. Just breathe (well...unless you're Rachael...then breathe once you're out of the fuming house), smile, take a picture, and try to find something funny or good about the situation. As Eleanor Hodgman Porter wrote in her book Polyanna, "You see, when you're hunting for the glad things, you sort of forget the other kind." Find the glad in life. It'll make thing much more bearable. 

Kool-Aide Yarn Dye

Hello all!

This semester has been a busy one, and it isn't showing any signs of slowing for at least another month! I am blogging where and I can and props to Marquette for keeping the show running while I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off haha She rocks!

I will happily be back to blogging three days a week when the semester ends :) Hallelujah!

 

You know what else rocks?! Kool-Aide :)

 

Nothing says summer is here more than a big glass of cold Kool-Aide and a Kool-Aide mustache to go with :)

 

Willow sent this to us the other day from when she was in our neck of the woods (Yay New Mexico!) and I have to say I think people are very creative! Check it out!

 

The Original

http://maiyamayhem.blogspot.com/2011/07/kool-aid-popsicle-dyeing.html?m=1

 

This fun technique of dying wool yarn to (emphasis on wool, this won't work on cotton), involves concentrated Kool-Aide ice cubes and heat from the sun, for a full tutorial go here.

Willow saw this and then happened upon some wool yarn at a gift shop here in NM, when she tried this technique it didn't work out quite the same for her.

Here are some of the steps used for this technique.

First you create your ice cubes, then place them on your white wool in a glass dish.

http://maiyamayhem.blogspot.com/2011/07/kool-aid-popsicle-dyeing.html?m=1

 

 

Next you set it in the sun, and the cubes melt and the yarn soaks up the colors! Fun!

 

 

                           

http://maiyamayhem.blogspot.com/2011/07/kool-aid-popsicle-dyeing.html?m=1

 

If you are trying this during the colder months, one blog tried this technique but instead of setting them in the sun, she tried a wood burning stove, and her oven (ingenious!) you can find her blog here.

 

 http://www.darkbluedragon.com/node/85

This is how the second bloggers (wood burning stove/oven technique) yarn turned out:

http://www.darkbluedragon.com/node/85

 

Now our reader Willow tried this and hers didn't take so well, here is her story"

 

"So, on my way back to New Mexico from my Grand Canyon trip, my new hubby and I decided to stop in all of those cheesy "Authentic Indian" tourist traps along the highway.  Imagine my surprise when I came across several skeins of nice, undyed, hand spun wool tucked back in the corner of one. Nice!  And cheap too. As a knitter and crocheter, I couldn't resist.  So, of course I bought them all (6 skeins).

In the back of my mind, I remembered this little gem that I've always wanted to try but haven't been able to for various reasons.  Now I could! Yay! So I went to the store and bought tons of Kool-aid packets and the next day I went to work freezing Kool-aid. 

I used the same ratio of Kool-aid to water that the original blog suggested. But I wasn't sure how long to soak the yarn in vinegar and water, because it doesn't really say, so I did that for about fifteen minutes. I placed the ice cubes based on the pictures in the pin.

 Of course, the weather was unseasonably cold the next day, so I couldn't set my wool outside for the ice cubes to melt so...I put them in the oven at 275 covered in aluminum foil. Now, based on the second post by the original blog I "baked" the yarn for about half an hour then turned them over and put them back in the oven for another half an hour until the water in the bottom was clear.

 I dyed them all together because I wanted to use all six of them in the same project. The grape didn't take at all, neither did the orange... But the pinks and reds did. Not a complete failure, but not the blended, smooth colors of the original pin or the Dark Blue Dragon blog either.  Mine came out spotty, not variegated. I know that I can re-dye it later, but I'm going to see how it knits up."

 

Here are her results, I think it looks like spaghetti!!

The Pinstrosity

 

So how do we fix this?!

There are a few things that come to mind, to start with Willow mentioned that she didn't know how long to soak them in vinegar because it doesn't say, but the original blogger did say to soak them for 30 minutes in the vinegar solution before you do anything else (Pinstrosity PSA, when DIY-ing, please read ALL directions before starting anything, that is the number one thing we see here...read read read!!!) . This may have had a small part in this Pinstrosity but I don't think it is the main culprit here...

Another thing is that perhaps if Willow bought on off brand of Kool-Aide that may have had something to do with it, but she didn't say so I can't be sure.

One might wonder as well that perhaps the yarn wasn't 100% wool. You never know when someone could put fillers in there, and I am willing to bet there wasn't a fancy label on the skeins either that told you exactly what was in there, the original blog specifically states that this DOES NOT WORK on cotton yarn.

The main thing I think went wrong here is that her dye didn't really spread (did her ice cubes melt funny for some odd reason?!), and perhaps her wool didn't get hot enough. The original blog says that if when you are rinsing the yarn out at the end if you see ANY color running out to stop and let it continue to soak in the sun/oven. I am wondering if her yarn just didn't soak up enough?!

 

I am calling on you Pinstrosipeeps!

All my crocheters and knitters out there, this is an SOS! What can we do to help Willow, anyone have any other ideas as to what is needed to make this Pinstrosity a Pin Win?!

Let us know! I am sure Willow would be more than happy to hear your two cents and help us figure this one out!
Happy Wednesday Pinstrosipeeps!

 

 

 

 

 

 



Fire! I...Created Fire!

Love that scene from Cast Away. That's how I feel every time I get a camp fire started. I like fire. It runs in my blood. There's just something mesmerizing by it. I used to burn everything I think of an excuse for. End of the semester homework...bonfire. Christmas tree...bonfire. Old ratty t-shirts...ashes. Marshmallows...flaming puffs of death (seriously, have you ever been camping and someone catches their s'mores marshmallow on fire and starts flinging the stick to try and put the fire out, only to launch the flaming mallow at your leg? No? Somehow that seems to be a regular camping experience around here). I even love fireworks. There's a great firework store in a nearby town and we've had some fun home firework shows (you never know when one is going to dive straight at you). As much as I love fire though, there are times that it really shouldn't be present. Like in your toaster.

The Original Pin

http://pinterest.com/pin/53761789272317789/
I can't seem to figure out how to get this to appear larger...so here's the one that Alissa tried:

Now some of you might be saying, "Wait, haven't they already posted this...perhaps twice?" Yes, yes we have. But this is one of those projects that will never get old. Like watching that scene on "While You Were Sleeping" where the kid eats it on his bicycle while delivering newspapers. We rewind that scene over and over and over again. Haven't seen the movie? Here's the clip (thank you You Tube):


See? Never gets old. It's such a random scene that really has no bearing on the movie...but it's hilarious.

Alissa says, "So I love grilled cheese and I thought how brilliant, just put the bread and cheese in the toaster, put it on it's side, and presto, grilled cheese!   Well it didn't work out quite like that."  

The Pinstrosity

"I started it, went back to the living room to watch a movie with my family and suddenly realize, it smells like something is burning.  I look up and see there's a FIRE in the toaster!  We all started yelling, and my Mom quickly unplugged it and took it outside. Epic fail.  A toaster on fire...never thought I'd see that!"

This may only be the third actual submission we've had for this but we've had many comments on our previous posts, on Facebook, and on Pinterest saying that they tried this too and their toaster was, well...toasted. 

Here are some of the tales of woe:

FoodycatOctober 31, 2012 at 11:00 AM

Even on the episode of the Naked Chef where Jamie Oliver did this it caught fire! It just isn't a good idea.

AnonymousJanuary 4, 2013 at 5:13 AM

Yeah .... I killed my toaster when I tried this. Not so much of a disaster for me since I didn't really like my toaster in the first place, so I was able to go get a new one.

No fire, though. My toaster just said, "What the frack do you think YOU'RE trying to do here?" and then shut down, taking all of the electricity in the house with it.

BriannaSeptember 12, 2012 at 12:05 PM

I tried this and the cheese melted off the side so fast. I popped it right out and still have a cheese burning smell when we use the toaster. I think I will just stick to my sandwich maker.

missusmacAugust 21, 2012 at 12:17 PM

I was searching the site to see if this had been submitted yet or I was going to send it in as my Pinstrosity! It ruined our toaster and we have yet to get a new one. Womp, womp.

J-to-the-oshJune 16, 2012 at 7:30 AM

My wife tried this... We had to buy a new toaster. Thanks a lot Pinterest!

AnonymousMarch 4, 2012 at 6:52 AM

i tried it and all the "crusties"( little pieces that fall off your bread) just catch on fire and there is no way to get them all out!

Now how do you avoid the flaming pin of cheesy death? Some have suggested getting and old toaster. Some suggest using different cheese. Some say to get a sandwich press. Others tell you to get toaster bags. Me? I say just make grilled cheese on the stove like normal. If you really really want to switch things up, put it under the broiler. I know...it's not as novel of an idea, but you save your toaster and you don't waste that precious cheesy goodness. 

If you do give this a try, be oh so careful and watch the toaster the entire time. Don't leave the room. Be ready in case anything goes wrong. This is one of those pins that has worked for some, but it has been quite the hazard for others. Please don't burn down your house over grilled cheese. I know grilled cheese is frankly quite amazing, but it's not worth your house. 

Me? I'll just stick to the pan plan. Mmm...I think I'll make me grilled cheese and tomato soup for breakfast. I better go get on that. 

DIY Bouquet

We had a fantastic submission a little while back that I've been saving for a Mix it Up Monday. Kate sent us her adventure in making bouquets for her own wedding. She ran into snags along the way, but she persevered and ended up with some fun bouquets! She even gives some tips to help make things more smooth for anyone who wants to give this a try. Here is Kate's story:

 I am a bibliophile, a serious book lover. I'm also getting married this summer. My older sister and I have been planning/pinning my wedding since I got engaged. She found a bouquet of flowers made from book pages. I LOVED it and decided I had to have it.

http://www.rocknrollbride.com/2011/04/michelle-deborahs-romantic-parisian-themed-wedding/

I looked for other pins like this, and on YouTube, and finally after a lot of searching, I found both a website and video explaining how to make one style of flowers. I decided on a few of my favorite books I'd like to have in my bouquet and narrowed it down to four favorites (Little Women, Pride and Prejudiced, Harry Potter 1, and Calvin and Hobbes: Lazy Sunday Book (I thought the comics might add some color)).

I tried making paper roses-major fail. It looked like a paper cat spit up a paper hairball. I tried making lilies-another fail. I tried making carnations-yet another fail. And an entire copy of Little Women wasted.

Then I tired the "kusudama" flower. PIN WIN! 

I ended up making just shy of 200 of these, since they were so easy once I got the hang of it.  All my bridesmaids will have a bouquets as well as the corsage and boutonniere for the families/guys.

Here are my tips for making these flowers:

1. Cut the pages so that the border is gone; cut right up to the words on the page. The flower then is more decorated and there is less white space.

2. Use hot glue. It dries much faster than the Elmer's glue I was originally told to use and it hold together much better than tape.

3. To attach your "stem," squeeze some glue down the center hole and then stick whatever you're using for the stem (I used pipe cleaners) from the bottom up. It's a lot less messy and holds well.

4. Have LOTS of buttons on hand. Luckily for me my mom is a Home Ec. teacher so I had a basically endless supply to "borrow" from, but I used way more than anticipated. It could be very expensive to buy them all.

5. For a normal sized paperback book, cut each page in half. The medium sized flowers are easier to make, and look better too. And if it's any bigger, a pipe cleaner isn't strong enough to hold them up.

In the end I made about 200 "keepers" and about 50 "fails" and the whole project cost me less than $20. 

Also, here's the YouTube video if anyone wants it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpZxLOWzbiE&feature=youtu.be



I was excited to see this submission. I LOVE making bouquets. I have a few books I have picked up at the thrift shop that I use for crafting my bouquets. I know some people really don't like the look of the paper bouquets, but some really love it. I'm one of the ones that love it. Making your own bouquet has really grown in popularity over the last few years. I've seen some really creative and gorgeous bouquets that you'd never guess were DIY'ed.

If you're wanting to make a bouquet, there are tons of tutorials around the Internet. Like Kate found though, not all of them are easy and they make take a little practice. Some you need specific papers for, but others you can use just about anything.  I'll share a few of my favorites with you. The first bouquet I made was for our 5th Anniversary Portraits. We were have our wedding pictures "retaken" for our 5th Anniversary, but I didn't have a bouquet (as I had long stemmed lilies when I got married). I decided to try making my own. This was before Pinterest, so I scoured the internet for tutorials and ideas, copied and pasted tons of links into a word document, and got creating.  I ended up making paper flowers, fabric flowers, ribbon flowers, bead flowers, and various other additions with a handful of small dowels as my core/handhold. Here is what I came out with:

http://madebymarquette.blogspot.com/2011/04/homemade-bouquet.html

http://madebymarquette.blogspot.com/2011/11/my-wedding-bouquet.html

I can't find where I got some of the the tutorials for this (and a few I just kinda made up), but a few that I did use are these:

http://maizehutton.blogspot.com/2007/08/frayed-flower.html

http://www.burdastyle.com/projects/valentines-bouquet/instructions/14

http://www.craftstylish.com/item/7515/how-to-make-simple-white-paper-flowers/page/2

http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-to-make-recycled-paper-flowers.html

And I already knew how to make yo-yo flowers, but here's a tutorial for those just in case:

http://heatherbailey.typepad.com/photos/how_to_make_a_yoyo/hbyoyotutorial0.html

I also have my Pinterest board where I keep flowers I want to try making, bouquets that I love, and general flower/bouquet inspiration. You can find more tutorials there...but most I haven't tried yet, so don't get mad at me if you try them and they don't work out great. 

http://pinterest.com/madebymarquette/crafting-flowers-bouquets/

Did you or a friend/cousin/sister/dog (hey...dog weddings happen) have a DIY bouquet at a wedding? Share it here, we'd love to see it! (again...we will check every link posted in this widget and any link going to anything inappropriate-vulgarity, nudity, profanity, etc-will be deleted). We'll leave the link-up widget open until April 29th. 

Hanging the Family Photo

Anyone who has gone through the ordeal of family photos with little kids knows what a chaotic event that can be. They want to run around, throw rocks, pick on their siblings, untuck their shirt, look anywhere but the camera, etc. For the most part they just don't do "sit and look at the camera". Then that gets mom stressed out because she wants nice pictures. Dad gets grumpy because he doesn't want to be there anyway and this is now taking longer. Then the kids pick up on the rising tension and they get more goofy, and the cycle spirals on and on. Unfortunately, I think that can be a common experience for families.  

Luckily, photography styles and fads these days are making it a little easier on everyone during family photos. Getting out of the studio, just relaxing, and getting "lifestyle" portraits has really come into photography vogue. More and more people are going for the "this is us" photo rather than the uber posed photo with cheesy smiles. One such photo that has taken Pinterest by storm is this one:

The Original Pin

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=289633421058296&set=a.289630264391945.67048.231551313533174&type=1&theater

The kids are happy, Dad gets to kiss his pretty wife, and Mom gets a fun family photo. Win-win-win! I've seen this replicated in a number of ways with varying degrees of success. I've had clients show this to me and ask to try it, and I've had varying degrees of success. This week we had a family send us in their Photo Fiasco based off of the above photo. Here was their outcome:

The Pinstrosity

Bahahaha, I love it.  It's not what they had in mind, but it's still funny. 

A few things can be done when trying to mimic the original to help have a higher rate of success. 

1. First things first, the picture will work way better if the orientation is portrait and not landscape. Even if the child's head wasn't cut off, there is still a lot of background space distracting from the family. As this is a busy pose anyway, you want to focus in on the family and have fewer distractions in the background/setting. 

2. Don't tell the kids what you're doing before hand. You'll get much better smiles/squeals if you flip them upside down at the last minute. 

3. Know your children. If being held upside down will freak them out...don't do it (unless you want the terrified eyes or the crying face in your photo). 

4. In the original photo you'll notice that the girl, the older of the two children, is not being held upside down by her legs, the mom is holding the girl on her hip and leaning her over backwards. This is much easier for those older children who are just growing too much for mom or dad to be able to hold them upside down for long. And this means that the kids' heads will be closer to the same level. 

5. Mom and Dad don't often know what to do in photos. This pose is very dynamic and fun for the kids, but parents often don't know what to do once the kids are upside down. Kiss. Laugh. Tickle the kids. Look at each other. It'll make it less awkward and the family interaction will really help seal the photo. 

6. If it doesn't work, don't freak out. Not every pose fits every family. There are some families that this just doesn't fit. Parents, just play with your kids. You'll loosen up and enjoy the shoot more. Your kids will be much happier and more cooperative, and the photos will come out looking like your family and not the family that already came in the frame.  If you kid likes to be spun rather than flipped upside down, do that. Play ring around the rosy. Hold hands and skip. Hide and seek. Have a race. Throw rocks in the water. There are a lot of ways to liven up a shoot and to get personality in it. Photographers, don't stop shooting just because it's not an official pose. Grab some of those moments where the family is interacting.  Each family will be different...some are more reserved and others are all out...but get a family interacting and things will generally be more smooth during the shoot. 

I do photography as a hobby (I am by no means a professional and I don't have any plans to go big time with photography) and I try to use these tips when I am working with families. I love to see them enjoying their time together and just being happy. I know some of my favorite photos from family sessions are the ones where the family is playing and interacting and just being themselves. They may not be the most technically correct photos, but they show the family as they really are. Perhaps that's just my style and preferences, but there's my take on it. 

http://marquettephoto.blogspot.com/2012/12/chris-and-evas-family-photo-session.html

http://marquettephoto.blogspot.com/2011/12/weston-tiffany-and-jase-family.html

http://marquettephoto.blogspot.com/2011/11/kelly-teds-family.html

http://marquettephoto.blogspot.com/2012/03/zach-carolyn-and-wylers-family-photos.html

Water Heart Head Flip

Pinterest can be a great site for finding ideas when it comes time for family or best friends photos. There are boards and boards and boards out there of beautiful images, witty poses, and fun tricks to try. Some of them look so simple and easy that you think, "I totally could do this!". Today I have a photo Pinstrosity where that was just the case. 

The Original Pin

I've looked at a number of sites for the original, and I just can't say 100% that I found the original. A lot of people link to here saying it's the original, but I'm not completely convinced. Know the original site? Let me know and I'll put it in. 

Looks easy enough. Fling hair out of water at the same time as bestie and you have an instant water heart! 

The Pinstrosity

Not quite the results they wanted. These girls found out that this isn't quite as easy as it would seem. Let's take a look at the original again and see if we can pull any tips from it. 

1. Shallow water. You need to be able to get your head and body out of the water fast, and that doesn't quite work if you're up to your waist. 
2. It doesn't look like it at first, but the girls are not directly in front of each other. They had to offset so that they didn't clonk heads when they flew up. This allowed them to get the vertical pillar of water in the middle. 
3. You have to flip your head at the last minute in a small arc. Your hair will flip in a much larger arc (well...assuming you're trying this with long hair...short hair is going to be difficult) than your head. Think of a marching band going around the corner. The guys on the inside are taking baby steps while the guys on the outside are taking longer steps in order to have that nice clean corner turn. You don't need much head movement to swing your hair all the way around. 
4. Many many many retries. I'm sure this wasn't their first shot. 
5. And...I'm still not 100% convinced that this isn't photoshopped. It may not be...but they seem to both be awful straight for how close the vertical pillar is to their bodies. Maybe they just have super good timing for when they both were finally not scrunched over, but I don't know. 

So there you have my take on that. It's doable I think, but it will take some practice and work...and maybe an editing program. 

Octo-Scarf

Many people feel that accessories make the outfit. I am one of those people. When I am having a low self-esteem day and I feel like absolutely nothing fits right I buy accessories instead of clothes, you're never too fat for a pair of earrings. The same goes for scarves.

 

 Hannah is a good big sister and tried to make a scarf she on Pinterest for her scarf loving sister.
This one looked so easy, but somehow it ended up looking like a dead octopus. Check it out!

The Original

http://www.luuux.com/fashion/diy-t-shirt-scarf-infinity-fringe-scarf

 

This doesn't look too difficult and I like the look. The original site even has pictures and written tutorials.

 

First they have you cut straight across the top right before the sleeves start, then you cut tiny strips just under the half way up point, and pull on them slightly. If you are using a regular ole'  cotton t-shirt, they should give a little and lengthen out like seen above. Put over your head and voila!

 

Here is Hannah's take:

 

The Pinstrosity

 

 

 

Well it isn't a total tragedy.

Hannah said it just looked like a dead octopus, which I got a good laugh about!

 The scarf isn't exactly like the original, but I could possibly be fixed.

 

I see two main things here, first her strips aren't small enough. If she cuts them all in half, then pulls on them all a little bit more, she might get more of the look she is going for. Also, I think if she stretched out the part that goes over her neck she might be able to double it up when you put it on, and that too would give more of the final look we are going for.

She might even play with cutting them a little bit longer and seeing if that looks a little more like the original.

Other than that I would just suggest anyone trying this to make sure your strips are small, and that when you put it on your neck you like where it sits, if not stretch it to make it longer, or to be able to wrap it, or cut it and re-sew the seam to where you feel it will look best.

Thanks for your submission Hannah, let us know how the re-do goes!

 

Happy Wednesday Pinstrosipeeps!