The Pinterest Project Day 5: Shucking Corn on the Cob

I thought I'd take a trip back to late summer for today's Pinterest project. Remember summer? When it was warm and the gardens were in full production? I miss that. I can't make fresh salsa from the snow that covers my garden right now.

Anyway, I saw a post about an easier way to shuck sweet corn and knew I had to try it. A little bit of a spoiler here--I labeled the idea a fail at the time I tried it. And I thought I would blog about it today to explain how it failed. However, as I went looking for my "pin" on Pinterest, I discovered some other pins that made me realize I was missing some information. Pinterest lesson number one: be sure to read all instructions and don't assume you know how to do a project from a glance at a photo.

From the original post, (I probably looked at a picture but failed to read) I thought that all I had to do was chop the handle end off an ear of corn and the shuck and silk would slide right off, leaving no silk behind. However, now that I see the following blog article that someone pinned. I think I was missing a key step.

On the Garden of Discovery blog, there are instructions for shucking corn the easy way. 
Here is a photo from the Garden of Discovery blog.

 So, what did I miss in my assumption? The corn is cooked in the microwave before this step. I may or may not have tried the next step without cooking the corn. And I may or may not like admitting I'm wrong. Okay. Confession time. I lopped the end of the ears off raw corn and couldn't figure out why my results were terrible.

So, now I'm stuck with a dilemma. I have no sweet corn to try this again (until next summer). So, is this a success or a fail?

I'm going to call it a fail. Not because the technique doesn't work, but because I failed miserably at following directions. Have some sweet corn at home? Try following the directions and let me know how your experiment turns out.

Pinterest Project Score
Successes - 3
Fails - 2

The Pinterest Project Day 4: Melting Wax

I saw a post on Pinterest about using the remains of other candles to make little wax bars for simmering pots. The original post from a blog called A Day in My Life showed how to pour melted wax into an ice cube tray to make your own bars. Here is Tiff's picture of her project:

Like Tiff (assuming you clicked over there and read her fabulous post), I do not want to step on the toes of any salesperson from any company that manufactures or sells  wax warmers. However, sometimes, I have part of a candle left over and I hate to waste it. Besides, the melting pot is much safer than a candle flame, so I don't mind using up some candles this way.

The project...oh yes. Let's get back to it. In case you aren't sure what I mean by wax warmer, here is a photo. Remember the old ones that required a tealight candle to warm the wax on top? It seemed sort of ridiculous to burn a candle to heat up another candle, didn't it? The new ones use a light bulb.

 I purchase plenty of the little wax scents from the store or a popular home business company. But I had a candle that was nearing the bottom of the jar, and it was so strong when I burned it that it gave me a headache. So, I decided to melt it down and see if it would work in my warmer. 

I've had this other type of warmer above for a long time. Notice it's different from the mug-warmer style that Tiff used in her blog post. Why don't I use it? It takes a while to get a candle warm enough to make the room smell compared to the light bulb warmer. But, I hate getting rid of stuff, so I still had it. Turns out, keeping it worked in my favor. 

I melted down the wax in the jar and then instead of using Tiff's method with the ice cube tray, I poured the wax into recycled containers from store bought scented melting wax. I had two trays that had just one square left, so I popped them out and set them aside. I also used a tray from little mini quiche (you know, the frozen appetizers?) The tray was perfect for wax! It made little tarts.

It worked perfect! And all I threw away was the remains of the wick. 

So, does it smell better with the flameless system? Yes! It was great! Melting wax instead of burning it does produce a better smell on some scents. Another Pinterest success!

Pinterest Project Score
Successes - 3
Fails - 1

One useless side note: If you do this with unscented candles, you'll end up with useless little blocks of wax. But of course, you already knew that. Perhaps there is some other way to use up remains of unscented candles.

Pinterest Project Day 3: Sugar or Salt Dispenser

People come up with the coolest stuff and post it on their blogs. Most people might look at this next project and wonder if there really is a point. But for artsy  people like me, I appreciate the value of a cool container. 

My salt container is working just fine as it is from the grocery store. But when I saw how someone turned a mason jar into a dispenser by saving the top from an empty salt container, I couldn't resist. After all, I figured I could use it for sugar or something that doesn't come in a nifty dispenser.

Do you see what I mean?

I guess if I had better lighting and knew how to focus my camera, you'd see what I mean. Sorry about the crummy coloring and lack of focus. Considering my figurative lack of focus most days, a literal lack of focus isn't all that unexpected.

To try this Pinterest project, I cut the top off a salt container.

My first attempt was sort of a fail because I traced a canning jar lid and cut it out. But I cut it a little small, and the salt leaked around the edges. I won't show you the fail.

Instead, I'll show you how you should leave a little lip around the edge when you cut the top off. And then, if there seems to be some extra layers of cardboard around the rim, peel those away. Tip: a wide mouth canning jar and ring work best for this. If you use a pint jar with a narrow mouth, you will have to trace a lid and cut it out (no rim possible, but still does work).

I wasn't going to post the next photo, since it wouldn't focus. But I'm sharing simply because I thought it looked like my salt lid got its fangs into my finger. Weird huh?

 Now, this photo gives you a better idea of the lip around the edge.

Next, just tuck that into the ring of your canning jar lid and twist it onto the jar.

Works great for sugar, salt, and other dry ingredients. It goes without saying that it's cardboard, and not ideal for wet ingredients, right? Be sure to make a label or write the name of the contents on the lid so you don't mix up salt and sugar. Not that I know this from experience. Cough.

I'd call this a Pinterest success!

Pinterest Project Score:
Successes - 2, Fails - 1 

Have a project you'd like to see me try from Pinterest? Leave your suggestions in the comments below and I'll see if I can make it happen in my 31-day experiment.

Pinterest Project Day 2: Kale Chips

I've seen a zillion Pinterest pins for kale chips. Most talked about how their husbands and children who weren't vegetable eaters just love them. So, I decided it was time to try. I used kale that was already cut and bagged.

I followed the online recipes and sprayed it with olive oil and sprinkled it with sea salt. Then I baked it.  It came out pretty crunchy, except for any stems, which were more the consistency of half-cooked broccoli. Here is what my finished kale chips looked like.

I love broccoli and cauliflower. And I like kale in salads. I'm a huge vegetable fan, so I expected to really like these.

I didn't.

I tried. I really did. But somehow, the bitterness of the kale with the salt and the texture of the paperish crunchy parts just weren't my favorite. 

I gave the chips a second chance by trying to make them one more time from fresh unprepped kale instead of the chopped up stuff. I burned the first batch which was awful. I tried a few more and got them golden brown. But they were not "just like potato chips" like some pinners claimed they were. They certainly would not hold up to dip at all.

So, despite the raves on Pinterest, I say this one is a fail. Even my veggie-loving self couldn't embrace these.

Pinterest Project Score: 
Fails: 1  Successes: 1

Have you ever tried kale chips? Did you like them? Have you tried other recipes that sounded great in theory but didn't taste quite the same as you expected?

The Pinterest Project: Day 1

For the first day of my Pinterest Project, I chose an easy assignment. I had a hard time coming up in a pin on Pinterest related to faith, so I'll evaluate something I see others pin. I have decided I want to read through the Bible in a year. It's the first of the year, so the perfect day to begin, and many others will do the same. It's been a couple of years since I last read it through in a year. On Pinterest, I saw several posts for One-Year Bibles. I happened to see one for the NIV Daily Bible.

I can testify that this is a great Bible and I highly recommend it! 

Several years ago, I decided to read through the Bible in a year and chose The Daily Bible, which is a chronological Bible. Reading through the Bible in the order (to the best of experts' knowledge) in which events occurred really gave me a new perspective on events. For example, it was great to read through some of David's story in Kings and Chronicles while also reading the Psalms he wrote during that era at the same time.  

In the New Testament, you'll read the events of the gospels all merged together in order. 

This version had commentary and historical information added throughout, and had readings all divided for the year. 

Although I didn't try it out today [in other words, I sort of cheated because I tried this out before], I still declare this "pin" a success and highly recommend the resource of you're considering reading through the Bible this year. It isn't too late to start. You'll have a few days of catching up to do if you order it now, but it's a great project for 2013! For under $20 for a hardcover Bible, it's a worthwhile investment.

31 Pinteresting Days of a Proverbs 31 Wife

For the next 31 days, I'm conducting an experiment with Pinterest. If you haven't heard of it, Pinterest is one of the best resources for ideas on the internet. It's also a source for some of the biggest flops.

I'm somewhat of a Pinterest addict and I frequently add ideas I find online to this digital bulletin board where I can find them later. However, what looks great on someone else's blog doesn't always work out so great in reality. 

For Pinterest users, there is a little bit of a perfectionist complex affiliated with using the site. As I open my "folders" and browse through everything I've added, I can't help but wonder if the average housewife can achieve equal results. Are these ideals applicable to reality?

So, for the next 31 days, I'm conducting going to evaluate one Pinterest idea from one of my boards, or categories, per day. As a Proverbs 31 industrious woman, I'll choose ideas from all areas of faith, creativity, and everyday life and post my results here on the blog.

If you decide to conduct your own Pinterest experiment, I'd love to hear your comments about your results!

Launching the New Year with a New Blog Look

I've been working on updating my website and both blogs over the past few weeks. I'm excited to relaunch this one as well as www.michellerayburn.com and www.trashtotreasuredecorating.com with similar, yet different looks that link them all together better.

I'm tweaking the designs a bit yet, but all sites are functional. Yay! When my guys want to watch an action movie, my laptop becomes my friend as I click away while they watch. Since it's Christmas break, I have four guys in my house. Which translates to lots of mouse clicking time and not a lot of romantic comedies. Thus, my increase in productivity and the web redesigns. Grin.

This year, on Faith Creativity Life, I'm continuing the book posts and reviews, but I'm setting up a more diligent schedule for the other blog content that I've neglected over the past months. I've rearranged the weekly topical schedule a bit:

Monday- Photo of the Week (something from my camera that might inspire you)

Tuesday- Faith and Inspiration (thoughts to help you grow in faith)

Wednesday-Everyday & Practical Topics (tips for organizing, home life, etc.)

Thursday- Book Reviews (my thoughts on what I just finished reading)

Friday – Creative Ideas (crafty, artsy, DIY posts to boost your creativity)

Watch my next post for a special feature I'm doing in January!