Thanksgiving Turkey - A Kid Craft

If there is anything I've learned in my four short years of being a parent it's that if you want to keep your kids out of trouble, and by trouble I mean not tearing apart your house, you've got to find ways to occupy their little minds.  Sometimes life gets in the way and you can't always be super Mom but some days the planets align and you get to wear your cape!  I'd been seeing some cute Thanksgiving crafts on Pinterest so I decided we'd try one.  Here was my inspiration:

Originally found at Preschool Crafts for Kids

I of course did not plan ahead to do this so as I started gathering my materials together, as both of my kids were screaming, and realized I had no paper plates.  Not a problem, I improvised and grabbed an empty diaper box.  Instead of having to color the plate we got to skip a step cause the box was already brown.  

Starting supplies for our Thanksgiving Turkey Craft

For those of you that don't know, I have a 4 year old and a 1 year old.  They are both VERY busy bees so I had to move quick!  I traced their hands on different colored construction paper and let my 4 year old cut them out (he's big on using scissors these days because he's learning about cutting on the line at school).  In the mean time I cut a circle out of the turkey and made a part that would be his body.  

Giovani cutting away!

Next I had my 4 year old start gluing which he also loves to do.  We added googlely eyes, a gobbler and a hat (as per Gio's request) and here's the finished product.

This was easy and cheap.  Best of all it took us two mornings before pre-k to finish so it kept him busy for a bit.  PIN!

I've got a lot of projects in the works so I'm not sure what will be up next, so just stay tuned for more!  

 

DIY Spring Wreath

Although it doesn't feel like Spring here in good old Buffalo, New York, I was cruising Pinterest and got inspired by this Spring wreath!

Originally found at the Piccadilly Peddler

Since my front door has been empty since my Easter decorations came down, I got to work on making one.  Here's the supplies I bought: a wreath, felt in various colors, yarn, a wood letter with our initial and some straight pins.  From my supply cabinet I used my glue gun, some gems and burlap I had left over from another project.

I followed the directions of the original Pinner and also went online to find some other felt flower tutorials so I could get a variety of flowers made.  Here's the start of my flower pile.  

I wrapped the wreath in the burlap and attached it with pins.  

From there I made the rest of the flowers and attached them with pins.  I used the yarn to attach our initial and hot glue to add the gems to the flowers.  I sacrificed a reusable shopping bag and cut off the handle to use as a hanger.  Here's my finished product:

I'm really happy with the way it came out.  It was pretty easy to do even though I had never made the felt flowers before.  I spent around $20 for all the supplies.  Given how easy this was and the cost, this gets a PIN!  

DIY Wall Art - You Are My Sunshine

It's been a while but I am back!  The Easter holiday had me busy, busy!  With Spring on the way, hopefully, I thought it would be a good time to share a project I did with my son last year at this time.  Since he was a baby, I have sang "You Are My Sunshine" to him.  My Grandma sang it to me and I've always loved the song, so when I came across this DIY wall art idea, I had to do it.  

Originally found at The Polka Dot Pavilion's Facebook Page

This was another project that was done before Pin or Pass so I don't have any before photos, but I went to the craft store and got a blank canvas and paint in royal blue, red and yellow.  I had coupons and everything was on sale so I probably spent around $10.  

I wanted this to be a project my son and I did together so I let him take his hands, dip them in the royal blue paint and smear it all over the canvas to create the background.  I let it dry for several hours, then I dipped my hands in yellow pant and made hand prints in a circle.  Then he dipped his hands in the yellow and I helped him fill in the areas I missed with his hand prints.  From there, I took a medium sized paint brush and wrote You Are My Sunshine on the picture.

Here's our end result:

It's cute but I am a bit of a perfectionist.  I like DIY projects that don't LOOK like DIY projects.  I should have used a lighter color for the background and I would have gotten a little more meticulous in terms of the background application, maybe adding in a little white as well.  I also would have done the letters differently, I'm not sure how but I feel like mine look a little sloppy.  

Like I said, overall I think the picture is ok and he had fun making it so that is worth it alone but if I had to do it over again, I would do a lot differently and I'm still not sure it would have come out to the point where I'd be really happy with it.  This pin gets a PASS from me but only because I'm nutty and like things to look a certain way!  

What do you think about this one?  PIN or PASS?

A Baby Girl Nursery, Pinterest Style - Part 2

In today's post I am going to focus on two things I did for the walls in my daugther's room, who which by the way is of course waking up from her nap early because I sat down to write a post :-)  I think they have radar.  Anyway, aside from the collage above her crib which I featured in my first post, I didn't have any thing for her walls so I turned to Pinterest to find some things to make.

Here was my inspiration:

Original from It's doable...Crafts, food and life.

Originally from Literally Inspired

Let's start with the flower project on top.  I thought this looked really cool and I also liked it because you can choose what ever color scrapbook paper you want so it was really easy to customize to the room.  Again, this project was done pre-Pin or Pass so I don't have before photos, but I went to the craft store and bought a canvas and about 10 sheets of scrapbook paper.  After coupons and sales I probably spent about $10 on this and I didn't need all that scrapbook paper, probably only about 5 sheets total.

I followed the instructions the original Pinner provided and I started by painting my canvas with a silver background color.  While it dried, I cut all the leaves out.  Once the leaves were cut I laid them out in the pattern to get an idea of where to place them.  From there, I used craft glue to glue the leaves on.  This is where I went wrong.  The glue was a little too heavy and some of the leaves didn't lay as flat as they should have.  Once all the leaves were on and dry, I went over it with a coat of Matte finish Modge Podge.  This made the bumps in the leaves from the glue stick out even more!  You can't see it when it's hanging on the wall, but if you look closely you can see them.

Here's my end result:

 
If you look closely, you can see what I am talking about with some of the leaves being bumpy.  I also wasn't really happy with the way the flower itself came together.  The original Pinner got her leaves in a much tighter pattern and I think it looked nicer.  While this project was easy and inexpensive, I don't LOVE my end result, so if I had to do it over again, I wouldn't!  I give this pin a PASS.

My second DIY wall art project was much more successful.  For this one, I took another canvas and photo of Julianna.  I got a poster size print from Walmart for $5!  I got it about an inch or two larger than the canvas all the way around the perimeter of the picture.  I painted the edges of the canvas hot pink (of course!) and used some craft glue to glue the picture down.  The graft glue worked fine for this project because photo paper is a lot heavier than scrapbook paper.  I glued the photo to the canvas and used an exacto knife to trim the excess off around the edges.  I used a sanding block to smooth the edges.  I know I thought it sounded crazy too but that's what the original Pinner said to do to clean up the edges so I tried it and it worked!  From there, I used Modge Podge on top to give it a textured look.  The original Pinner recommended another product to go over top, but Modge Podge worked fine for me.  Here my end result:

I was happy with the way this one came out!  Of course it doesn't hurt that she's a doll :-)  For less than $10 this project was complete.  It was easy and came out as expected, this one gets a PIN!

Up next...in the final part of my baby girl nursery series, I'll review her dresser re-do and her tutu table!  Stay tuned.

Tell me, what do you think so far?

DIY Wall Art - What a Difference A Day Makes

Everything I do from Pinterest is mainly for my family in some way shape or form even though they may not realize it when it comes in the form of a DIY wall art project :-).  When I saw this project I thought it was a really cute way to showcase the history and making of our family as it is today.  I found the original idea on Sweet Little Loving's.

Now, I am by no means a graphic designer but I used Microsoft Publisher to lay my picture out.  I could be wrong but I think creating this in a simple Word document might be difficult as you really need to make sure that things line up properly.  Any way, in Publisher I turned on the grid and ruler function.  I selected three fonts, Castellar for the numbers, Clipper Script for the names and Modern No. 20 for the sentence at the bottom.  

Although I really like the lines she used on each side of her names, I couldn't get mine to look as nice so I left them off.  I also couldn't turn my writing the way she did with the word "day" in the last sentence so I just made it blue to highlight it a bit.  From there, I put a border around the entire thing and printed it on resume paper.  

Here's my end result!

 If I had to do over again, I'd twist the leg of one of my graphic designer friends and have them help me lay this out so I could have the lines the way the original poster did next to everyone's names.  I'd also add the detail to the word "day" as the original poster did.  But for just having basic graphic design skills and it just being a quick DIY project, I'm ok with the way it came out.

As for supplies, I had the resume paper and the frame was on sale at Michael's for $6.  So, I did this whole project for $6, it was relatively easy and not too time consuming.  Best of all, it gave me another piece of inexpensive DIY wall art to add to my living room so this project gets a PIN.  

And now that you all know my birthday, I'll be expecting gifts :-)  Just kidding...up next, Spring cleaning is just around the corner so I'm going to tackle my Microfiber couch and try to get the stains out with DIY cleaning post I found on Pinterest. Organizing with Pinterest ideas is upcoming too so stay tuned!  If you haven't already please subscribe to Pin or Pass so you don't miss any of my posts!   

DIY - Jumbo Ruler Growth Chart

Original Pin from
Emily A. Clark

Many families have a spot in their house where they chart their kid's growth on the wall.  I've seen it done in the garage, by doors and in archways.  The only problem is, if you move, all those measurements stay with the house.  So when I came across the idea for a movable growth chart you could take with you, I had to do it!

This idea has made an appearance in multiple posts on Pinterest.  I've seen it come to life in several ways but the one I liked best came from Emily A. Clark.  I call it the jumbo ruler growth chart!  I really liked the way the original pinner's looked so in planning to create mine, I planned not to change much.

I asked my husband to get me a 2 x 6 which cost $5 at our local lumber store.  From there, he gave it a light standing and stained it using stain we had on hand from a previous project.  I bought a package of reusable number stencils from the craft store for $5.  I used a plain old black Sharpie to draw the lines and stencil the numbers.

I used a small ruler and measured out the lines using a pencil to mark the spots.  Then I went back over them with the Sharpie.  Lastly, I taped the number stencils down and colored them in with the Sharpie.  I gave the marker a few minutes to dry before I pulled the stencil off and I was done!

One note, I did find that the Sharpie bled a little.  So, just be careful not to saturate the lines too much by going over them multiple times.  Same with the number stencils.

Here's the end result...    



I was really happy with the way it came out.  We hung it on an awkward wall in our kitchen that leads into our family room so it has sort of become wall art too.  For $10 I got a movable jumbo ruler growth chart that can come with our family where ever we go.  My son gets a kick out of getting measured.  I think he feels like he's getting to write on something that he shouldn't be allowed to write on.  A definite PIN!

Up next...a guest post from a friend of mine who likes to use Pinterest for it's recipes.  We'll see what Shauna B. is cooking up and whether it gets a PIN or PASS.  Pin or Pass is also on Facebook now, so please follow me there too!

Easy DIY Wall Art - Recycled Wood and Some Fabric

Several posts ago I shared a pin that I gave a big PASS to, called DIY wall art with your welcome mat.  If you missed that post, check it out but here's a quick reminder of the end result...yikes!

DIY wall art gone bad!

As I mentioned in the original post, I spent more than I would have liked to on the supplies for this project so when it came out terrible I started looking through my pins to see how I could recycle the supplies.  I found several pins that I got inspiration from so I incorporated pieces of each to come up with my latest project.

Home Design Pins

The New England Southerner

The original pins came from two sites, Home Design Pins and The New England Southerner.  Here are the pictures of my inspiration. I think both of these pins look great so I went out and got some fabric to cover the wood from my DIY wall art project that bombed!

For $8 from Joann Fabrics, I got enough fabric to cover both pieces of wood.  I ironed the fabric, placed the wood on it and stapled it into place.  If you've never covered anything before, it is fairly easy you just need to make sure that you don't have any bumps in the fabric and then wrap what ever you are covering similar to a present!  That may not be the "right" way to do it, but that's how I do and it works just fine, LOL!

Here's how it came out.  At first I debated about whether or not to add photos so I hung up the covered pieces without photos and lived with it for a few days.  You can see what I decided and I have to say, I love it!

So for $8 I revived my dead project, recycled some materials and created something I really like.  It was quick and easy and gave me a great place to highlight my kids' pictures.  I think putting the photos on the fabric really helps them pop and stand out as a focal point of the room.  Both of these original pins get a big PIN from me!

Now, last but not least...should I put lights over them like Home Design Pins did?  Tell me what you think!

Up next...a jumbo ruler growth chart!

A Home For Your Child's Artwork

Original Idea From: Windmill Lettering

As a Mom, I love when my 3 year old comes home from Pre-K with his latest work of art! He's usually so proud of what he's done and can't wait to share it with me. For a while, the side of our fridge was his art gallery but as more and more projects came rolling in, we were quickly running out of room, until I found this!

I loved this idea so I went to JoAnn Fabrics and bought a piece of thin wood that was about $5.  Then I went to Walmart and bought a pack of wood letters. They were $10 but it came with 100 letters.  The letters on the board from Windmill Lettering are vinyl.  They look really nice but I was able to recreate a similar look for the same price AND have wood letters left over to use on future projects.

I gave my board a light sanding and spray painted it with black spray paint.  Then I spray painted the letters cream.  With a hot glue gun, I glued on each of the letters and the clothes pins and wa-la!

I decided not to put my son's name on it because I have two kids and wanted to be able to use it for both of them.  You could do the same or just make a board for each child.  I also made my board a little larger than the original pinner's.

My Finished Product

I spent $2 less than what it would cost to order this from the original site and I think it looks just as good, plus I have wood letters to use on upcoming projects.  So for a total of $15 I have a home for all our artwork and this project gets a definite PIN from me.       

Up next...my new wall art made from the wood of my DIY Wall Art project that bombed!

DIY Wall Art With Your Welcome Mat

Since moving into our new home just a little over a year ago, I've been going room by room focusing on painting, decorating and improving our space.  Anyone who has ever bought a new house knows how expensive those first few years can be so I turned to Pinterest for some DIY inspiration.

I found this pin from Our Family Four and I was IN LOVE with the original pinner's end result.  It looked unique and it fit perfectly with the room I was focused on.  The pin had fairly detailed instructions so I thought it would be an easy project.   

Photo from Our Family Four's blog post

I bought a mat from Target on clearance for $7,  two pieces of wood from Lowe's for around $30 and then I used stain and spray paint we already had at home.  So I it was roughly $40 to start.  A little more than I'd typically spend on a DIY stuff but I loved the project so much I didn't mind. 

My husband stained the wood and taped off the edges for me.  Then I placed the mat in the middle and sprayed away!  I let it dry in between each coat and did 4 coats total. I was so excited to pull the mat back and see the end result...imagine my disappointment when it look TERRIBLE!  

The lines were not clean, the paint had smudged in places and overall the pattern of the mat just wasn't has nice as the original pinner's.  I sited heavy coats of paint and my mat pattern as the problem in my first stab at this project.

Determined to have this in my living room, I invested in a new mat, another $20 at Target.  I flipped the boards over and taped them off again.  Before starting, I went back to the original blog and read the directions again.  In my first attempt, I missed that the original pinner had taken an exacto knife and cleaned up the mat.  If you take a close look at your rubber mats you'll see that there is excess plastic throughout the lines of the design and it is jagged in places. When using it as a stencil it would make the lines less clean.  

I sat down with an exacto knife and trimmed all the excess plastic!  I can't even tell you how long this took...let's just say it's hours off of my life that I am never getting back LOL!  Anyway, again, I was vested in making this come to life so I went at it again.

This time, I did four light coats of spray paint and allowed more drying time in between.  I let it dry over night before I removed the mat.  I pulled back the mat and was yet again disappointed.  It was better than the first attempt but still not good enough for my living room wall. 

You can see even after all my exacto work, the lines still weren't overly clean and despite the added drying time, paint still smudged. Overall it just didn't look that impressive. I spent a lot of time and money on this project.  It was time consuming and after two failed attempts, I was out of wood and had to give up. So, even though I absolutely LOVED the original pinner's end result, I have to give this pin a PASS.  

In future posts, I'll recycle the wood and mat into other projects I seen on Pinterest.  Stay tuned!

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

        

Welcome to Pin or Pass!

Welcome to Pin or Pass!  I'm Jennifer Calero, Mom, wife, marketing professional and a self proclaimed Pinterest addict!  I've always been a creative person.  As a kid, I would much rather have made holiday decorations out of construction paper than go outside to play. With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that I love Pinterest and all it has to offer.

I love Pinterest because it let's me feed off of other people's creative ideas and translate them into something that will work for me. Since I got the bug about a year ago, I've been doing project after project.  I don't go a day without pinning.  Sad...maybe, LOL, but it's become my hobby.

Now, anyone that has ever tried anything from Pinterest knows that some projects turn out great and are very useful while others end up in the garbage can.  I've certainly had my share that ended up in the garbage, so I created Pin or Pass!  A place where my fellow Pinners can come to see what pins I've tried, how I went about them, what worked, what didn't, how much I spent and the end result.  At the end of each post, I'll rate the project Pin or Pass.  Pin for those ideas that are worth your time and money and Pass for those that were tough to bring to life.

A few disclaimers...I'm a not a good cook, so if I say Pass on a recipe that doesn't mean you should totally pass on it.  It's very possible I managed to screw it up as a result of my poor cooking skills :-) Next, if I say Pass on particular pin, I want to be very clear that I am not criticizing the original pinner's work or idea.  I'm simply saying it didn't work for me and here's why.  Feel free to learn from my mistakes and make it work for you.

I look forward to sharing all my Pinterest projects with you, so please follow me at Pin or Pass as I solve all of life's problems one pin at a time!

Up next...DIY Wall Art Project, Pin or Pass?

Coming soon...Pin or Pass on Facebook!