Pin-Worthy

I've been hearing the hype for a while now about a certain website that acts as a bulletin board for everything and anything on the internet. This is probably not the first time you've heard of Pinterest.

The accolades often sounded like this: "I found this AMAZING recipe on Pinterest and now I'm being asked to audition for the next Top Chef!" Or this: "Got this FABULOUS craft idea from Pinterest and it kept my kids busy for 8 hours today!" Or this: "A new parenting tip I saw on Pinterest is practically raising my kids for me!"

Well, those might be slight exaggerations. But what kept me away from exploring this miracle-making site were comments more like this: "I wasted so much time in Pinterest today that we're having cold cereal for dinner." Or this: "I discovered Pinterest yesterday and so completely neglected every other responsibility in my life for the last 24 hours." Or this: "I spend so much time pinning things to do that I don't actually have time to DO any of it."

Or something to that effect.

So I joined. Or rather, I requested an invitation. And three days later they emailed to invite me to join their elite society of "pinners." (Do they do a background check or something?? So strange.)

One week later, it certainly has proved to be something on which I must deliberately limit my time. I could spend hours exploring possible recipes and birthday party ideas and decorating techniques and crafty how-to sites.

But I've also found some really practical stuff that I've already used, and I just had to share a few things from our weekend that all involved some fabulous ideas I found on Pinterest.

First, with Valentine's Day coming up, I showed Lucy a couple of fun ideas of things we could do for her classmates. We settled on one, went out for supplies, and spent a good part of Saturday lovingly making these gifts for her friends and teachers.

After 10 minutes in a 250-degree oven the crayon pieces looked like this:

And after cooling in the pan for a half hour, we flipped them onto parchment paper.

And the finished product, with Lucy's loving touch:

(We had to make sure they knew that, unlike most of their Valentines, it was not to be eaten.)

If I ever do this project again, I will use fewer of the dark colors, but Lucy was still delighted with how they turned out.

While the hearts were melting (oh, that's a pretty funny pun!), the kids stayed busy thanks to an idea involving a 77-cent roll of masking tape and our family's plethora of matchbox cars.


The kid-fun was great, but I can't neglect to mention the many drool-worthy recipes I have found on Pinterest. I tried a super easy recipe for Broccoli Cheddar Soup that did not involve an immersion blender or any bizzare ingredients. The kids even loved it, and hubby and I fought over the leftovers. It rivals Panera's soup of the same name, though I don't think I can beat their bread bowls. I'll be making a double batch next time.

I didn't get a photo of the soup. But I did take a picture of this:

Our Valentine treats at home were red velvet cupcakes from a box with homemade cream cheese frosting. And yes, I found the recipe for that on Pinterest, too. (Only 3 ingredients!: 8 ounces of softened cream cheese, 3 cups of powdered sugar, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla -- totally makes the boxed mix worth eating!)

So as I carefully bide my time on a site that is endless with ideas, I'm grateful for the practical inspiration I have found so far.

Just thought I'd share...


[NOTE: This is not a paid advertisement. No goods or services were promised in exchange for my expression of adoration for this new-to-me discovery.]