Pinterest Strikes Again!!!

Pinterest really speaks to me. I love discovering new and interesting things and being able to file them in cyber space until I can get around to using them. I recently used 3 ideas from pinterest.

Witches Hats

What is more appetizing than a barfing pumpkin? (This is my famous family guacamole, all from scratch.)

And this got the most compliments.

Chilled Pumpkin Dessert
30 oz. pumpkin pie mix
1- 12 oz. evaporated milk
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 box butter yellow cake mix
1 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped
1- 8 ounce cream cheese
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
12 ounces Cool Whip
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method of Preparation
Oven 350
Line 13 X 9 pan with wax paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
In medium bowl combine pumpkin pie mix, and evaporated milk. Stir to combine. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Set aside. Melt butter in a small bowl. Set aside. Place chopped pecans on a baking sheet and toast in the 350 degree oven until fragrant. Set aside. Pour pumpkin mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle cake mix on top of pumpkin mixture. Next, drizzle butter over cake mix layer. Sprinkle with chopped, toasted pecans. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees until golden brown. Cool completely and refrigerate overnight.
In mixer combine cream cheese, confectioners sugar and vanilla extract. Combine until smooth. Fold in cool whip. Flip the cooled pumpkin dessert onto a serving platter.(I flipped mine into a 2nd 13x9 pan.)  Frost with creamy topping and refrigerate until cold. Freeze 5 minutes before serving if desired. Cut into squares or slices & serve. (It worked creating it the same day as serving, I mean who thinks far enough in advance to prepare the day before?)

Be forewarned, it's very tasty and it makes alot. About 4 rows with 10 pieces a piece.

A moment to celebrate

For the first time in months we can pull one car into our two car garage. Sadly, it will be omnths more before two will fit.

Now before you think this a recovery episode of "Hoarders", this stuff stored in my garage was not mine and it was not invited, it was made homeless when we got renters for Mom's house and had no where else to go.
When mom passed away she left 2600 sq. feet of stuff to be organized, sorted, stored, given away or treasured. With the exception of the freezer, a computer, a queen size mattress and some other furniture that my brother's family could use immediately, everything else has taken up residence in my garage.
At one point even with the garage door up 10 inches our cat couldn't get in or out of our garage. One day, out of necessity a neighbor had to enter my home when I wasn't there. She was making tracks for my bedroom on a day I hadn't planned on visitors. One of my family secrets is I rarely make my bed on any day of the week that has a "s" in it or Monday or Friday. I knew my neighbor would see my unmade bed. That didn't alarm me as much as knowing she would have to pass through my garage first.
It's tough to absorb all of one house into another home. We've got foil, wax paper, powdered milk and toilet paper, enough for a month of family reunions. Mom bought in bulk to use her coupons and there was only one of her.
We used many methods to empty the garage. We put it on KSL, had a garage sale, gave it away and even considered door bell ditching it like you do your garden zucchini. Well, maybe we did abandon that one chair on Katie's porch. In fact we left it out one sunday morning while we attended church and came home to one less kitchen chair to out dinette set. It would have been really tempting, it had wheels on the bottom. I imagine by now guilt has caused it to be abandoned. We may find it when they dredge the canal 2 blocks down. I bet it was a great ride.
So I'm embracing my crowded garage and hopin you call all assist me. There's still some really great stuff out there. Need a chair, table, china cabinet, television, book case? Call me. PLEASE.

Success with pinterest?

Per mamakats blog I have been challenged to report on a pinterest idea I tried. And I've been hinting about a recent project following pinterest instructions, well more or less.

It all started when I couldn't find a certain accessory in a light fabric with alot of turquoise. Not that I'm the best shopper in the world anyhow and not that I was any where near fashion capitals. (St.Louis, Missouri and Bozeman, Montana) It started like this...

It was described as a "delicate tangle of threads". It required a water soluble stabilizer 18x60. Mine was "wash and gone" 22x72 because the lady at the fabric store couldn't figure out what 5 ft. was in yardage. Anyhow, that's the "less" part of me following directions. Note the scraps of yarn, ribbon etc.

You make a "sandwich" with your stabilizer, placing ribbons etc. between the two bread layers.

Then you start sewing. Back and forth and back and forth. A great first project if you want to teach straight lines. Throughout all the sewing I kept thinking of the farmer on his tractor creating straight rows in his field whenever he focused on the tree and less straight when he focused on the meandering cow. I focused alot on the meandering cow. But this project is very forgiving.

Once you sew it one direction, you get to sew it the other way. This took 3 spools of thread and 6 bobbins before I was done. Both threads show in your project so they should coordinate with your ribbons.

Added some embellishment once the the grid sewing was done. Then you add water and it becomes a science project.

Water dissolves the "wash and gone" so that all you are left with is threads.

I let it dry overnight, after soaking it thoroughly.

And there you  have it. A light and airy turquoise scarf. I'm thinking it needs a fringe, how about you?