Pins & Pails

Today's post is going to be on what pins from Pinterest worked for me and which ones didn't (hence the pail...garbage pail!)

#1 Pin! 

Kool aid dye for hair (this one could go either way depending on how you look at it!).

My 8 year old daughter wanted to do this, so I let her <yikes!>  We chose the strawberry flavor in an unsweetened version of Kool-Aid.  I boiled 1 cup of water, added 1 tsp of lemon juice, and mixed in the packet.  We dip dyed her hair for about 10-20 minutes.

It was a success!  The color was VERY vibrant.  And it isn't coming out.  So, if you choose this method and you want it to be permanent, then make sure to add the lemon juice.  If you want it temporary, NO lemon juice!  We learned the hard way.

#1 Pail :(

Making planters out of dresser drawers.  Click here to see which pin I tried.  No offense to the person who posted it.

Huge fail!  I screwed legs into the bottom so it would look pretty.  It rotted within a week from the dirt and water.  Huge waste of time.  Don't even try it.  I'm sure it was mostly operator error, but unless you are a carpenter, this is not an easy DIY project.

#2 Pin!

Homemade chalk paint

I use this all the time.  You mix 1 cup of Plaster of Paris with 1 cup of water.  Then mix into your gallon pail of paint (scale down for smaller batches or it will be very, very thick).

You can use this paint on any surface to paint furniture without having to strip or sand the finish off.  If you aren't doing an antiqued look, then you will want to use a brush or roller that leaves a nice smooth finish.

I usually do an aged look and sand the piece down a little in between each coat of paint.  On the piece shown above, I used a wax finish to give it a finished aged look.

#2 Pail :(

The outdoor sink.  Not for a DIY'er mom.  This involves a lot more work thank it looks.  I got as far as cutting the hole out of the shelf and then got stuck.  You have to find a drain and hose attachment.  For a handy person this probably wouldn't be a bad little project.  For a stay at home mom - nope, waste of time.  Plus, I need more of a sink with a drain AND running water.  Gong!  No thanks.

#3 Pin! 

Vertical pallet garden.

I made one of these pretty easily.  It helps to use a saws-all to cut through the nails when taking off the boards you don't want.  I did NOT hang mine on brick but on the bottom board of my deck.  I plant nice flowers and trailers in it and it looks amazing!  Make sure to put some newspaper or a little landscape fabric in each planter to keep the soil in.

#3 Pail :(

DIY Shoe rack.  Again, no offense to the person posting this.  It looks beautiful.  I'm sure someone with good math skills and handy with a saw and screw gun could pull it off.  Not me!

Maybe a handy person could do this one too.  The purpose of my post is for the average person who doesn't really know much to do some of these pins.  This is not an easy peasy project.  It involves a lot of measuring, using the proper screws and finding the right dowels for the hangers.  You also need to use some kind of thread-lock to keep the screws from stripping out the wood.  I personally tackled this one and it's now in the garbage.  Only a couple of pairs of shoes would actually stay on it.  It's not good for flip flops or shoes with a short heel back.  Most of the shoes I put on it would slide right off.  Grrrrrrr!

Well there you have it!  A short list for this week, but hopefully I saved you some time in trying pins that are more work than they look and maybe daring to try ones you've been wondering about.  Happy pinning!