Pinterest - Toilet Paper Rolls for Starters

This week's idea from Pinterest is the genius idea of using toilet paper rolls for your seed starts!

I have been anxious to start my garden. And while it's cold, wet and windy right now, I've been dreaming all about my summer garden. So when I found out that I could be starting the plants indoors (I was trying to be patient - I'm notorious for starting them too soon and not being able to put them outside at the right time), I jumped on it!

I found this site that tells me the best time to start plants in my area. It was just the cheat sheet I needed.

Of course, because I was trying to be patient and not plant too soon... I was not prepared and didn't have all the seeds I wanted. One of my recent favorite things to do is thumb through the seed catalogs - but I haven't placed an order. I guess I'll be supporting a local nursery this week to go buy my seeds.

The toilet paper rolls (and the one paper towel roll - which is not as thick**) that I used worked great and were easy to make. I'm excited to see what happens. I put them in a plastic tray that I saved from my kid's Lego Advent calendar. I knew it would come in handy for something!

** Important update - do not use paper towel rolls. Not all rolls are created equal. They fall apart when wet. Always learning, we are.

Pinterest - See Through Storage Bag

This past weekend was the EtsyRAIN Craft Swap and Gift Exchange. For the gift exchange, I decided to make something that any one could use since most of my costumes and such are geared toward kids... and I know plenty of EtsyRAINers without kids. I had seen these really window bags on Pinerest back when I first started (it hasn't been that long... maybe a month or so).

Of course, because I'm horrible at following directions, I kind of made up the process myself. And I lined mine so that there weren't any exposed edges. I'm sure doing that was more time consuming but I really love the extra finish that it gives to hide the seams.

And the bag empty didn't seem like enough. So I added a little cashmere bunny with big floppy ears. Had a great time and I think the gift was well received (it went to a gal who is expecting - yay!).

Pinterest - Clean Windows

Okay, so I've recently been obsessed with Pinterest. It's been perfect for my new veggie obsession... and it fuels my garden dreams during this cold winter. And, it gives me ideas in all areas from organizing to cleaning and from cooking to sewing. So I thought it would be fun to share a few of the things that I find there and do (granted, most of the things I pin on there will never make it to fruition). A girl can dream though.

So today while I was at the sink washing the dishes, I noticed that the sun was actually out... but it was having a hard time getting through our window. This is embarrassing, but really I have no shame. I used to tell myself that our kitchen window is so dirty because of all the rain we get. But it had been a while (perhaps since we moved in 5 years ago) since I've cleaned it.

Enter Pinterest. I don't currently have any window cleaner. So I looked up "window cleaner" ini their search function and found a homemade version. I whipped up a batch (with a little less lemon since I only had one tablespoons worth) and gave it a try.

This mixture did a great job. At first though I wanted to just spray it on and squeegee it off. Of course, if you wait 5+ years to clean your window, that's not going to be an option even with the best window cleaner. However, with a rag and this mixture, the window came clean with not a lot of effort.

Before (no, that is not snow):
After:

I learned a few things from this. 1 - the dirt was on the inside, not the outside as I had convinced myself. 2 - cleaning this window does horrible things for my back as you have to lean over the sink - this will be come a kid chore. 3 - I really need to do more normal house cleaning chores as having a window you can see out does good things for your mood.