Pinterest Inspired Decor & Projects

My name is Vicki, and I am a Pinterest addict.  I definitely get most of our recipe ideas from there as well as home decor and classroom ideas.  Unfortunately, my husband is not fond of the site because I often get my mind on a few things and must get them done.  I know a lot of people who pin but generally don't do the projects.... I am guilty of doing most of them.  I will share a few here and what I think about it!

Below: Our entry way in our house.  Before, there was nothing above the door and I struggled with deciding on what to put there.  Also, we have two tall windows which were uncovered and sort of worried me knowing people could see in there at any time.  On pinterest, I saw where they installed a shelf above their door and in the brackets, they placed a rod to put curtains on.  It's already an issue trying to get my husband to agree with any shelves at all, let alone a HUGE shelf all the way across the wall. So, we compromised. I purchased just a normal rod and some curtain brackets and put up a few curtains that we had here at the house already.  They are sheer white so they still let plenty of light in but surprisingly, block the view of the inside the house, which is exactly what I wanted.  As for the photo above it, I used our wedding photo and ordered an "engineer" print from Staples online.  It was only $3 .... but the quality isn't the greatest, which is what I expected.  However, it's pretty high up on the wall so I don't think anyone suspects anything.  The frame was less than $20.... so this entire project cost around $30 and we get a ton of compliments from everyone who visits! I love it.

Ok.... so I had a deep attachment for these rain boots. My grandpa always thought it was hilarious when I would go outside, as a full grown adult, and stomp around in the rain puddles with my rainboots on.  So I purchased these right before I visited him in the hospital before he passed and it was one of the only things that made him grin. I knew they were keepers! Well, I wore them for so long that I wore holes in them.  I didn't want to throw them away so I planted flowers in them!  I also found this pot in the middle for free, took it home and spray painted it, and planted flowers in it as well.  The boots are now faded from the sun but the memories remain.

This is a "memory" jar. I took some sand, rocks, shells, bottle caps, and other small momentos from our very first family vacation and combined them in this super cute jar.  It is now on the headboard of our bed to remind us of those warm days, camping, and beautiful sunsets spent just the three of us. 

 The first painting, on the left, I painted in high school for Brett as a gift. (I was lame).... and the second painting, the idea was inspired by pinterest.  I was painting a red barn and the scenery was light.,.. I attempted painting a rainbow and it did NOT turn out well. So I became angry and painted it all black, turned the red barn into a tent... and threw in some fireworks.  Independence day is my FAVORITE holiday and we dreamed of our vacation and going camping.... so the tent fit in nicely.  It says "Let's sleep under the stars." And that, we did.

 Timeline Photo:  I just went into word and created my own document to exhibit when significant things happened in our lives.  The year we met, the date we began dating, proposal, marriage, child, etc.  I also printed it on the very paper we used for our wedding invites so it has extra meaning.  I framed it in a Dollar Store frame in our hallway.

 Tomato cage Tree! I made this around Halloween... wrapped some old lights around the tomato cage and tied the ends with bread ties!

Before painting the entry way                                       After painting and decorating

Freezer meals (a.k.a. make ahead meals).... Brett and I decided to try this out and it worked really well for the most part.  We looked up recipes that are good for this.... bought all the ingredients, and prepared about 10 meals in a single night. It was messy but definitely worth it!  This really works well when you find a vegetable that's on sale but you can't imagine how you could possibly eat that much of it before it before it goes bad. Also, if you have the habit of making way too much food at dinner, you could always freeze the other half.  This is really awesome for the days you have no idea what to make and just need to put something in the oven. It's kind of like the convenience meals you can buy at the grocery store... only without all the junk in it.  I just use regular gallon freezer bags for most of it, label it and write the directions... and shove it in the bags. I found that most croc pot meals work well. Through trial and error, you'll learn which recipes work and which ones develop a strange texture during the freezing process.

We used family photos, framed them in 8x10 frames... and angled them up the stairs. As time passes, we plan on adding to it and making new arrangements.

You're probably wondering what these posts have to do with being positive... but I tend to think and feel more positive when I find inspiration somewhere.  I also feel more positive when I create or finish a project that I have been working on. I love being able to stem from a simple idea and creating something unique to our family.  I love putting extra meaning in the simple things around the house.  Doing projects like this gives me something to look forward to and channel my energy.        These are only a few things I have documented so far but eventually,  I would like to post about others!

Have a wonderful day, everyone!