Pinterest Challenge

For the past week, I've been Pinteresting. I picked 7 Pinterest projects to recreate and document. I decided to do this, just for the fun of it. So here are the seven wins and fails of my Pinterest week. The inspiration pictures are on the left and my recreations are on the right.

1. Nail Art- The project was to use tape to make sharp, clean designs on your nails. I didn't have all the same colors as the inspiration, but I picked similar colors, as best I could. Everything went according to plan until I peeled the tape off. I thought I waited long enough, but I guess not because I peeled off half the paint jobs.

Although I consider this a fail, I was inspired to do a much more simple design on my toe nails. I really like how they turned out (no tape was used).

2. Clear Ice Cubes- This one is under the category of life hack. I'd never had a desire to make perfectly clear ice cubes before, but this pin planted a slightly huge desire to make clear ice. The pin said that if I boiled water and then put it in the tray, I could get clear ice. It didn't work. As you can see in the comparison picture, the two ice cubes (the regular cube on the left and one the boiled ice cube on the right) look the same and are both not clear. I did some more research and found out that you need to boil the water twice. So I did. The result was equally as disappointing. Turns out, you need to use distilled water, boil it, let it cool, boil it again, let it cool, and then freeze it. Too much work for me. So I let this one fail. Patrick is still motivated to find an alternative method of developing clear ice.

3. Halloween Wreath- First of all, I get a lot of flak from Patrick because 9 out of 10 times I say wrea-f-th, instead of wreath. This is especially embarrassing, because I sold Christmas wreaths in middle school one year and I'm fairly confident that I wasn't saying it correctly back then either. Anyway, this project actually turned out wonderful (finally a win). I got all the materials for less than two dollars from the local thrift store. It's not exactly the same as the inspiration, but I still love it. 

4. Flag Birthday Card- I really enjoy making greeting cards. My dream job would be to work for Hallmark and make punny greeting cards forever. This card isn't punny at all, but it's darn cute. I liked how the card came out so much that I went on a card making spree! 

5. Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Mug- I've made the brownie in a mug before. It comes out fine, but nothing great. I've tried macaroni in a mug before. That was just gross. I seemed to choose to not remember these less than spectacular experiences when I decided to make the cookie in a mug. It turned out very pasty. Also, I would like to add that it was probably just as much work to make the one cookie in a mug as making a whole batch of cookies. The only difference is the whole oven thing and the baking time. I won't ever make the cookie in a mug again. 

This was probably my worst attempt at recreating the inspiration picture.

6. Glow In The Dark Bubbles- It sounded like such a cool idea. Even after failing at it, it still sounds like such a cool idea. I flicked the glow stick inners into the bubble solution. I somehow imagined that the glow stick would be more liquid and easily pour into the bubble bath, but it came out in clumps. It stayed in clump form in the bubble solution, but it made the solution glow so well... for like 2 minutes. Even if 2 minutes was actually long enough to enjoy your bubbles, the bubbles don't glow in the dark. All of the glow clumps gathered on the bubble wand and refused to stick to the bubble. 

7. Tin Can Lantern- Oh man, I'm exhausted just thinking about this project. So... this project actually takes us back to ice cubes. The first step is to freeze water in the empty tin can. Fast forward a few hours and I had an ice cube again. Surprisingly, the ice cube was pretty clear. Patrick and I both marveled at it, after failing so poorly at making clear ice intentionally. From there you clamp it down to the table and take a hammer and nail to the tin can to make the holes. It worked so good, until the can started dripping. "PATRICK GET ME A BOWL, STAT!" Bowl was retrieved and was catching the dripping. I kept poking holes and the dripping got more serious. My first thought, "I need a bigger bowl." After more hammering, I finally released the flood gates. It was then that I realized why the ice was so clear... it was water. I hadn't let the water completely freeze. So with about 1/6 of the tin can punctured, I had no more ice. It is imperative to have a solid core, or else you will have no stability for the thin can. But how do you make ice in a container that is scoured in jagged holes? We put a plastic bag in the can and filled that with water. After an hour in the freezer all of the water had drained at into a bowl and froze the can in it. The plastic bag got a hole in it and slowly leaked out all of the water. I thought it was over, but Patrick MacGyvered a water bottle/ tape rung/ hand towel into a support structure. I was able to successfully finish the project. Painting it was also a disaster, but i'll spare you the details. 

Final Score:

3 wins- 4 fails