Successful Pinterest Recipes {Part 2}

You are all about to see just how obsessed I am with cupcakes by reading this post. 

On the bright side, you know all these cupcake recipes were successful and taste delicious, right?!

Cheesecake Strawberries (you can find a million recipes for this. all you need to do is fill a Ziplog bag with pre-made cheesecake filling and pipe it into a strawberry that's been cut open!)

Cinnamon Apple Chips by Delighted Momma

Raspberry Hot Chocolate Cupcakes by Your Cup of Cake

Pumpkin Ale Cupcakes with Maple Bacon Frosting by Gen Foodie

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes by Pixelated Crumb (my friend made these!)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes by Serious Eats

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes by The Girl Who Ate Everything

Honey Cupcakes from The Cake Blog

Successful Pinterest Projects & Recipes {Part 1}

Sometimes it's hard to tell if something you find on Pinterest will be successful. After all, I think everyone has seen the "Pinterest Fail" blog, right? Or some version of it...perhaps the "Nailed It!" memes? 

Here are some things I've made of done that were successful. I've made quite a bit more than this, so be on the lookout for a round two post!

Blueberry Sweet Rolls with Lemon Glaze from Sally's Baking Addiction

Sugar Cookie Squares from Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms

Crock Pot Beer Chicken by Laa Loosh

I'm Bored Jar by Shabby Beach Nest (I made it a date night idea jar. Also, I painted the sticks and wrote my ideas with Sharpie instead of printing on paper)

Elephant Wall Hanging (couldn't find the website for this - but all you do is cut scrapbook paper out in whatever shape you want and glue two pieces together with twine in between.)

Headband Holder by Rowdy in Room 300

Magnetic Makeup Board (no real DIY to do this, I made the magnetic cookie sheet below and put makeup on it)

Magnetic Cookie Sheet Board by Best Friends for Frosting

Modge Podge Letters by JBS Mercantile

File Cabinet Upcycle by QuarDecor

Tour Map Picture by Just Imagine

Pillowcase Hamper by Pretty Prudent

Work Out Tank by Rabbit Food for my Bunny Teeth

Modge Podge iPhone Charger (just cover in modge podge and glitter, let dry, then spray hairspray to finish. be sure to cover the plugs with tape before spraying)

Spray Paint Doilies by Shea B.

Minted.com: Paper Goods for All!

I'm sure everyone (women, at least) loves Etsy, right?

I mean, it's all homemade stuff, made by people like myself. In fact, Etsy and Pinterest both recently inspired me to redecorate my room by making homemade decor. So now I'm turning my room into a vintage inspired, homemade decor wonderland.

Anyways, have you heard of Minted.com? It's a lot like Etsy, except it's focused on paper goods like stationary, invitations, greeting cards, & banners. It's all indie inspired (right up my ally) and high quality. Their about me page says their "purpose in life is to uncover exceptional design from all over the world and bring this to savvy consumers who won't accept anything else." They also host monthly design challenges for stationery, invitations, calendars, and other categories in which any designer can enter and win cash prizes and a place in the Minted store (plus commission on their artwork). In fact, you can vote for your favorite entries by clicking here.

You can read more about Minted here.

I had heard of Minted.com before I was contacted by the company about this review, so I knew it was a good store that fit my style. They have this really cool part of the website they call Eye Candy - a place where you can create inspiration boards with your favorite pieces on the site. It's kinda like Pinterest for a specific site. I highly recommend checking it out!

Minted.com is best known, however, for their Christmas cards - you can find those by clicking here.

Christmas in August, you ask? Well, of course! Why not shop early so that you are less stressed when Christmas rolls around? I'm not gonna lie, these cards are adorable!

Personally, I think they are a bit expensive. Yes, they use quality paper and inks, but are 100 Christmas cards worth over $163? I don't think I would pay that much - ever - for a Christmas card. But the designs are high quality and cute.

The website itself is extremely easy to navigate. This is perfect for someone who simply wants to make their purchase and move on to the next thing on their to-do list.

I also really love the Art Prints section of the site. This is where you can find photography, typography, and different pictures for room decor. For example: 

 

The great thing about this section is that I'm looking for lots of pictures to hang in the million picture frames I have hanging around my room (which are currently empty). These will definitely do the trick!

Need party decor? They've got that too! 

Or how about some cute stationary for your business?

This place literally has everything! If you're engaged, they have some adorable wedding invitations too. I recommend taking a look around and seeing what Minted.com has to offer.


One last thing - the DIY section of their blog is awesome. I love that you can find how to make things like paper flowers or confetti poppers!

I was compensated with a $100 gift card to Minted.com for this review, but all thoughts and opinions are my own. This is a honest review with genuine feedback. All pictures were taken from Minted.com.

DIY: Doily Wall Shelves

Congrats to the winners of the WayFare coupons - Alex @ The Run Within and Vegan Food Rocks! Please email me your mailing info ASAP and I will get those coupons in the mail today. Thanks!

Also - don't forget to please VOTE FOR MY ORGANIZER! It's the one that looks like this:

Thank you so much, guys! I really appreciate your votes!

Now, want to learn how to make something awesome? 

Ever since I got a Pinterest, I have been extremely into the whole "DIY" idea. It was only recently, though, that I started actually making some of the things I'd found on there. After finding some thank you cards that were made with doilies and paint, I got the idea to replicate that on wall shelves I got for three bucks at the thrift store. They were all white and kinda dirty when I got them, but now they are really pretty and match my new Vera Bradley wallet! 

What you'll need

Square wall shelves, like these

Doilies

Acrylic paint in different colors

How do I make this?

1. Paint your shelves the base color you want with the acrylic paint. Allow to dry. 

2. Place your doily on top of the dried shelf wherever you want the design to be. It might be easier to cut the doily so that you do have a large part hanging off of the shelf, if using large doilies. 

3. Using a different colored paint of your choice, paint over the doily. Do this gently so that you don't get too much paint underneath the doily, which would ruin the look of you design. 

4. Carefully peel doily away and allow design to dry. Ta-da! Repeat with other shelves until you are finished! 

5. If you have any mess ups or some of the paint ran, just use the base color and carefully, using a small and thin paintbrush, paint over the mistakes. This will cover them up and no one will ever know! 

I find using a thicker acrylic paint works best because otherwise the paint can run and cause some ugly mistakes. Aren't they pretty? I don't hang mine on the walls - I just sit them on my dresser and put things in them. I absolutely love them! 

Have you made any fun DIY projects recently? 

Much love, 

Bittersweet News for a Bittersweet Day

Guys! I have some upsetting news today. 

Today was my weekly weigh in. I gained a pound. I went from 144.6 to 145.8lbs. What happened? 

I've been monitoring my calories the same, working out, still cutting back on sweets... I'm not sure what happened. My only guess is that the weight I've gained is muscle, which is what I'm relying on. I mean, I feel like I've lost more fat this week, and I feel good about the direction I'm headed in, but I'm a little thrown but that gain. It's only a pound, yes, but I was hoping that scale would go down! 

It's time like these where I have to remember this pin: 

I'm only on week 3 of my 4 week challenge, but I can definitely see my body changing and am proud of the muscle that I can see and the flat stomach I know I will one day have. I'm halfway to the 8 week mark.

This is another good pin for me to remember.

And so is this one. I just have to keep myself motivated through all this and keep pushing as hard as I can. 

Can you guys think of any reason that there would be weight gain, or do you think it's muscle? I hope it's muscle!

In other news, today was my last day at my social media internship with Daelia's Biscuits for Cheese & Beer Flats. It's really bittersweet!

Me at the Fancy Food Show in Washington, DC from June 18-20, 2012

I really feel like I've done a lot to help the company expand their social media. I can only hope they feel the same way! 

While with them, we launched our new Beer Flats crackers, made with real beer!

Exciting, right?

More about the food show later. I'm off to the gym. Let me know your thoughts on the weight gain! 

Much love, 

Things I'm Loving

Hey guys! How's it going? I thought today I would try a little something different. Let's talk about some things I'm currently loving! I thought I would try to do this every Friday, and you guys can link up and join me each week! What do you think?

1. Luna Fiber
The wonderful people from Luna Bar sent me some of their new Luna Fiber bars to try. I was really excited about this because I have been wanting to try these bars for quite a while, but I've only seen the boxes and not the individual bars around me, so I haven't had the chance. They sent me two bars of each flavor - Chocolate Raspberry, Peanut Butter Strawberry, and Blueberry Vanilla.

I clearly forgot to take a picture before all the Blueberry Vanilla disappeared...

The thing I love about these bars is that they are like Nutrigrain bars, but without the high fructose corn syrup and other yucky things that are in Nutrigrain bars. They are around 110 - 120 calories per bar. Each bar has 7g of fiber, and the "Core 4" combo of calcium, iron, folic acid, and vitamin D.

Let me tell you, Luna Fiber is DELICIOUS. My favorite is the Chocolate Raspberry, obviously - the addition of sugar sprinkled on top totally makes it. The Peanut Butter Strawberry tasted just like a PB&J sandwich, and the Blueberry Vanilla? Well, it tastes like its name. They were all really yummy. I will definitely be buying these on a regular basis.

2. Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss
You may have read my review of this brand a while ago - I bought some for my 20th birthday, and this was the first product review I did on my blog over a year ago! (Click here to see the review). Then, I reviewed Dark Chocolate & Mocha Maca Crunch. It was one of my most popular posts for the longest time on PD - until only very recently!

I ran into the company when I was in Washington DC for the Fancy Food Show - we connected, and they sent me two free product coupons to review some more of their ice creams. They are a vegan ice cream, and they use coconut milk as their base for all their ice creams. They also use agave syrup as their sweetener. Yum!

This time, I decided to try Cherry Amaretto. This is really delicious. I was expecting there to be chocolate in it, much like a cherry cordial ice cream, but there wasn't - it was more like cherry and coconut ice cream swirled together, with cherry pieces and amaretto flavor. It is delicious. I'm saving my second coupon, because - get this - my local Whole Foods had a power outage and lost a lot of product. When I went to the freezer section, all the Coconut Bliss products were gone! I hope they get more in soon, because I absolutely love this company!

3. Cottage Cheese
It's delicious. Enough said. Oh, and the fat free cottage cheese from TJ's is super low in sugar and has tons of protein. It's a win-win anywhere.

4. Kraft Tomato Basil String Cheese
I wasn't sure about this string cheese when I bought it at the store, but after trying it, I'm in love. It is described on the package as tasting like a caprese salad - and that it does! Only 70 calories per stick. Try it!

5. Pinterest
I think everyone and their mother is obsessed with Pinterest nowadays. I love it because it gives me great DIY project ideas. The problem is, I pin the projects and never do them. I decided it was time to change that! Check out what I made (so far) - thanks to Pinterest!

1. File Cabinet Makeover

(Find the how-to here)

2. Workout Shirts from L/XL tshirts

(Find the how-to here)

3. Glitter Iphone Charger

(See the pin here)

Another idea. Would you guys like if I started making cool printables you guys can use? And graphics? Think social media buttons, fitness charts, food journals, to-do lists, blog buttons, banners, etc. I would love to open up an Etsy shop and sell some of this stuff. Freebies here on the site, too, of course. What would everyone like to see?

Join me by posting about the things YOU are currently loving & using the button below! This post will be able to link up through next FRIDAY, JULY 27 since this is the first post. Please join me and share the love!

  <center><a href="http://www.passingdaisies.net"><img src="http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u401/passingdaisies/thingsimlovin.jpg" border="0" alt="Things I'm Lovin'"></a></center>

Much love,