Smart Art

I gave up today...but in a good way...
My house is a mess and it is just overwhelming and I could have battled through it but instead I played it smart and just hauled some art supplies outside and had a little break with my kiddos.
Our first project was derived from one of my favorite kind of projects...anything having little finger prints, hand prints or feety prints! LOVE!

I was reminded of this fun project via Pinterest...and look, they made butterflies!

Ours are shown below:

Okay, so mommy forgot to do the feety's on opposite sides...but hey, there are no mistakes in art AND these are originals! Each will be hung in the girls rooms along with their other masterpieces.

Our next project was a very intriguing and relaxing...and temporary idea called MILK ART also from Pinterest. You take milk in a shallow pan and drop food coloring on top and then swirl it with a toothpick. It's kind of addictive to look at the patterns. Here are our milk works of art!

I also LOVE this photo of Rumor and I looking into the milk art with our reflection and the clouds reflection in the background. It was a pretty warm day out...so our milk art didn't last long...in fact, it is probably colored cottage cheese by now...but it was still fun!

And it was nice to stop fussing with what my house looks like and instead take a smart art break and enjoy the day with my girls.

Making room(s)...

Well, 6 days later...the girls each have their own rooms and I am slowly getting the living room back under control. There is still one LARGE pile that needs to be put away but all in all much better!
While the rainbow pillows that we created are just squares and not fancy like the picture previously shown, they were made by material we already had in our home...and they are lined up in rainbow order in a special new hideout for Rumor.

I hung a curtain rod up so that she can hide away on the bottom bunk whenever she wants...she and 500 of her closest animal pals...

My favorite project in Rumor's Rainbow room...the rainbow lamp...again an up-cycled item from what we already had in our home. Rumor and I decopouged a rainbow onto a lamp shade using ModPodge...I love this stuff! It hangs just above her bed (top bunk)...so she can read at night. I love that we made it together!

So, Rumor's room is coming together pretty good. We have some art projects to work on this week but for the most part, it's done!

BUT what about Reese? 

No worries, her room is almost done too...it needs a few art projects done here and there and we did decide that Polly Pockets just wasn't happening. I hate those annoying little dolls with rubber dresses...creepy...

ANYWAY, I talked her into bumble bees and pink...since her closet is already done with bumble bees from when it was their nursery. My mom and I had staple-gunned this cute yellow bee fabric to the walls above the built in Dustin made for their changing table. Now, it is a dress up area. I just need to hang their mirror up and I want to make a sign that says: "BEE kind, BEE good, BEE-autiful!" or something like that.

As for pink, well that is easy...everything of Reese's is pink! I am going to add some more pink to the wall mural. I also like these ideas from Pinterest:

...Cool, even a pink bee!

So, that is the latest news from our room redo's...

I think a cupcake recipe is definitely going to happen this week from Pinterest...but which one?

Vote in comments which one I should try:

Boston Cream Cupcakes

Creme Brulee Cupcakes

French Toast Cupcakes

Bubblegum Cupcakes

Hmmmm...decisions...decisions!

Noodles and New Digs!

Three days ago, my twin girls announced to me that they wanted their own rooms. For the past 6 years and in womb, they have shared space...and I imagine they are ready for a place they can call their own...so I agreed. In typical Jill fashion however, I did not think through the entire process or the large amount of work that was heading my way. For 3 LONG days, I have moved furniture, toys, stuffed animals, clothes, artwork and more to and fro. The rest of my house is suffering in a major way...the laundry is piling, the dishes are barely getting done and my living room looks like a bomb went off...the bomb being all of my guest room items which no longer have a home. I am hoping that this whole project will come to a close by Sunday...hoping! My ideas for Rumor's new "rainbow" room:

As for Reese's requested room design of "Polly Pocket"...um, I don't know?

I'll have to brainstorm a bit longer on that...

Tonight for dinner we tried a recipe found on Pinterest!

Crispy Shrimp Noodles

http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dinner/crispy-shrimp-pasta.html

Mine did not "look" like theirs...however, they were yummy and the girls had a fascinating time eating the long fettuccine noodles...win-win.

Spinach Puffs

My very first experiment via Pinterest may surprise you...it's not a "craft" or "art" project...it's a recipe. For those of you who don't know me very well...I don't like to cook. Most of the recipes I pin on Pinterest are cupcakes and sweets however, I pinned these Spinach Puffs the other day because I love spinach dip.
http://picky-palate.com/2011/01/31/baked-spinach-dip-mini-bread-bowls/

I just thought that they looked good...but I like shortcuts...and only cook things with 5 or less ingredients...so, I just bought a container of Spinach Dip from Wal-Mart and used that!

Here are my Spinach Puffs!

Not too bad for a first time experiment!

Erica told me that presentation is everything...so I made sure to use a pretty little pink dish of mine!

Sometime this week, we are having Crispy Noodles...another recipe found on Pinterest. I am really looking forward to it! In the meantime, I will be reading a book from my BOOKS WORTH READING list on Pinterest...I am even more excited about this!

Time to hit the pool and begin Chapter 1!

Welcome!

During this past week, I had the joy of spending time with my very good friend, Erica. What makes Erica so unique as a friend is that she truly gets me and my artsy side. In fact, there are times when I feel like she is the ONLY one who gets me and my crazy ideas! (Probably because she has just as crazy ideas!) We can look at a paint can and just know what the other one is thinking.
Now pretend I am lying on a psychiatric couch when I divulge this next paragraph...
Ring goes the phone, hello says the friend..."Hey, it's me. Have you heard of www.pinterest.com?" She just learned of it and just sent me the invitation to join...the same day that I had done the same for her.
What is www.pinterest.com? It's a brainstorming website that takes ideas from all areas and allows you to sort them into categories for future reference. Basically, it's left brain meets right brain...and I am in LOVE with it!
Just one week on pinterst and my creative juices are flowing. We, Erica and myself, have decided to start blogging our pinterst activities...kind of a way to hold ourselves accountable to our creativity. We all know that in the everyday of life, sometimes ideas get lost in the shuffle.
So enjoy our journey...leave some comments and share any ideas and inspirations you may have along the way! AND so begins another adventure...and blog.