Family Wall Hanging

Pam recently made this creative craft made from shoebox lids. This crafty idea will now be used as a home decor piece. This idea was taken from Pinterest from the Pin entitled "Shoebox Lids".

Materials:
-Shoebox lids of various sizes (the number of lids is dependent on how many letters are in your last name)
-Mod Podge glue: Glossy finish
-Scrapbooking paper. Choose various
designs, preferably ones that match your home decor)
-Wooden letters (Found at Michaels, already painted black.)
-Curtain rod (Bought at Target for $9.99, an adjustable rod)
-Hot glue gun
-Ribbon (Choose any color that will match)

Directions:
-Line up and measure the Scrapbooking paper to the shoebox lids, cut and trim if necessary.
-Cover the shoebox lid with Mod Podge then apply the Scrapbooking paper on top. Smooth edges. Let dry for an 1-1 1/2 hours.
-Once dry, apply a layer of Mod Podge over the Scrapbooking paper lid. Let dry for 20 mins.
-Hot glue the letters to each box. (See pictures)
-The trick is that even though each lid is a different size, you want each lid to hang at the same level. (You want your name to be lined up.) Wrap the ribbon around the rod to determine proper length. Once length is determined, hot glue the ribbon to the back of the box. (See pictures)
-Once dry, slide the ribbon to the rod. Hang letters and you are ready to display your new family wall hanging!

*I bought hooks at Home Depot to hang the rod.
*This project is time consuming... prepare to pick a free day devoted to crafting!

$$

Refresh H20

Are you someone who does not drink enough water? This water will be both thirst quenching and delicious! We drink this water daily!!

-1 medium cucumber, peeled and sliced
-1 lemon, thinly sliced
-10 fresh mint leaves
-2 Liters of water (this equals 4 bottles of bottled water)

~Place all ingredients in a pitcher overnight in the refrigerator, then enjoy!

*It is recommended that you drink one pitcher a day. This Pinterest find was originally posted as a "detox water" and weight loss booster. However, we feel that this is a little misleading. This is just a great way to drink more water!

$

Strawberry Basil Sangria

So far this summer cocktail has been our all time favorite!

-1/2 lb of fresh strawberries, sliced thin
-1 apple diced (you do not have to peel)
-6 basil leaves
-1 bottle of Chardonnay
-1/2 cup of Sugar in the Raw (brown sugar)
-1 cup of club soda
-1 cup of light white grape juice

~Layer the fruit, sugar, basil in a large pitcher. Let sit for about 10 min.
~Add club soda
~Add grape juice, then wine.

Stir well and serve! This was by far our favorite!
*Again, this recipe was slightly tweaked, the original can be found on Pinterest!

$$- You can buy wine on sale since you are mixing it in with other ingredients.

Skinny Girl Sangria

This summer we set out on a mission to recreate summer cocktail recipes from Pinterest. Here is the recipe for Skinny Girl (not affiliated with Betthany's drinks) Sangria:

-1 bottle of crisp white wine (we used Sauvignon Blanc)
-A little less than a half of a bottle of club soda
-2 Fresh peaches sliced
-1 Pint of Raspberries
-2 peeled and sliced Kiwis
-Several leaves of Mint (no more than 10)
-3 packets of Stevia (alternative to Splenda)

~In a pitcher, simply add all fruit and mint to the wine.
~Add Stevia
~Place pitcher in the refrigerator for 45 minutes to let the flavors infuse.

It's summertime! Drink and enjoy!

*This recipe was taken from a pin titled Skinny Girl Inspired Cocktails. We tweaked it just a bit.

$$- Tip: Buy wine on sale!

Getting Started

How to play the game:
Number of Players- 1

The whole idea of Pinterest is to use your boards like a filing cabinet of ideas and recipes put in a file to be used at a later time. One mistake people make is to only have a few boards such as: food, style, and for the home. If you are like us and go "pinning crazy" many good ideas can get lost. Here is an example of some of our boards!

-Appetizers
-Party Dishes
-Main Meals
-Crock Pot
-Grilling
-Baking
-Halloween
-Birthdays
-Gift Ideas
-Teacher Ideas
-Hair
-Make-up
-Traveling
-DIY
-Kid Stuff
-Why Didn't I Think Of That
-Future Ideas
-Healthy Lifestyle
-Travel
-Arts and Crafts

You get the idea. In a nutshell... organize your boards and begin pinning!!

*Note before re-pinning, click on the picture to make sure it either takes you to a recipe or link