Pinterest Challenge: Stacia Partied!

(I apologize in advance that you will have this song stuck in your head the rest of the day.)

So it's a small world, (after all) and it's amazing how people can appear and reappear in your life over time. Like... Stacia. Who was a floormate and friend my freshman year of college (I think I may have bummed a ride to walmart and church with her a time or two...) but after that year, she left the school and I didn't figure I would ever see or hear from her again. Well her life took her to CO and landed her at the same church (and bible study) as my Grandma, and also the home church of a mutual friend Danielle, who's blog we both read and through which we became re-acquainted. Whew! Did you follow that? (yeah, me neither... really.) But anyway, we are now bloggy friends and... she likes to sew and be crafty and make things for her kids, and when I issued the the Pinterest Challenge, she was already pinning and planning a DIY party for her kiddo...
Fate. Or small world. Or great minds thinking alike. Or sheer coincidence that I want to claim so life seems more exciting.
Anywho... Pinterest Challenge projects:
She made really fun Very Hungry Caterpillar invites, that were sent out in 'bug jars'... so cute!

As well as monogrammed aprons:

(notice the Eric Carle print? I LOVE that so much...)
And also bunting, everyone's fav... which got recycled as decor in her sons room after the party-- smart idea!

And... last but not least some Butterfly and Caterpillar artwork that kiddos created at the party:

So very fun! Oh goodness, what did people do before they had the internet to peruse for genius ideas and inspiration? Did people have to come up with their own ideas? Sounds awful to me. I'm glad I have limitless resources for party planning these days! :)
I'm also glad Stacia picked some fun projects, and it looks like the party was a success!
Soooo... yay! Good work. To see more pictures, and explanations and original links to her inspiration, check out Stacia's blog Five of Spaids.

You can also check out the rest of the Pinterest Challenge if you haven't been following along closely already. This has been so much fun, and great to see people getting stuff done and inspiring each other!

Pinterest Challenge: Project #3

This is... sort of an incomplete project.
It all started with my chevron rug obsession for Baby P's room. When I decided a rug would be too much for his room... and I saw this on pinterest:

Source: beesquarefabrics.blogspot.com via Valerie on Pinterest

I knew what to do. I was going to make a chevron quilt for my baby. But I wanted it black and white. Can you make a black and white baby quilt? Grandma Sass would say adamantly, NO. But I say... why not? Aren't babies supposed to be stimulated by black and white patterns or something?
Yeah, I've totally been reading my baby books, can you tell? Someone is a prepared mama.
But back to the quilt... I tried to figure out if straight black and white would be too boring? (it would.)
I didn't want to add a lot of color/print (mostly because I didn't want to pick something out, and i wanted high contrast) but when I was at the fabric store I found this white on white print with different size dots on it... they looked like bubbles, I loved it... but they didn't have enough of it, AND it was stained on top of that. UGH. So I settled for a small white on white dot print that was similar. I bought my black and I was ready to go.

I have to admit, this project made me really nervous. Even though I have a couple baby quilts under my belt, the only time I have pieced together a quilt top like this was with my grandma, who passed away almost two years ago now. I was a little bit scared about my skill level in completing the process... but also about my emotional level. It took me a few days to power through it, I am not going to lie, I stopped for a cry break once or twice (but that could also be prego hormone related, who knows?). But I had Granny's cutting mat and quilt square/ruler things... so I felt confident. :)
Once I was home and cutting a million little squares I was all, "Meh, this is boring" UGH. Too much little dot going on, needed more interest. So I went to a DIFFERENT fabric store where I found some large white on white polka dots. Perfect!

 So here are all 126 blocks cut out and stacked up ready to be laid out. I laid it out across the bed in the basement/spare bedroom. It was bigger than I thought it would be. My husband came home and said, whoa did you mean for it to be that big? My mom came over and said, whoa, did you mean for it to be that big? No... I guess I didn't know how big it would be. The pattern said crib size which I was assuming was the yard-point-five-ish size blankets my grandma always made, but I guess crib size is 45x60 in case you were wondering and that's big.

My mom came over for our weekly date, and she quilted away on her Baby P quilt, and I worked on mine. Oh, man, I love my serger. I was flying through this thing. I don't know what the official stance is for quilters and sergers vs. sewing... but the serger was awesome and FAST. And I am all for awesome and fast. Plus, Granny made all her quilts with a serger... so if I am doing it wrong, I'm doing it wrong like Grandma! (And I am totally okay with that.)

Then, because this was done on point, I had all these little triangles to trim off the edges. (And the trimmed portions were just like bunting, Erin, you would have been so excited! :) haha) And my mom insisted on including me in the pic, because she is all... you will want pictures of you working on your baby's quilt someday for the memories, and I am all... but won't I have the quilt for the memories? Anyway, here's a pic of good ol' prego me cutting away. Yay. (and please try to ignore the unmade bed-- it was holding the quilt pieces-- and the laundry in the background.)

And... then I had a quilt top! Which is as far as this post is going to take you, because that's as far as my pinterest inspiration/tutorial took me.

Here's a close up so you can see the different dot patterns (and not judge my 'slightly off' row there toward the top... or the fact that it's kinda wrinkly, but, hey once it's quilted you want it to wrinkle anyhow, right?)

Soooooo... now all I have to do is figure out how I want to quilt the thing (anyone experienced have suggestions? I don't think I want to do stippling... I am still undecided about what to do.)

Anywho... there is the top for Baby P's Chevron quilt from Mama! I will, of course, post pictures when it is fully complete.

Pinterest Challenge #3? Check!

And be sure to check out the rest of the Pinterest Challenge projects and Amy Lee, Erin, Jessica and Stacia... some of them I have featured, some of them just keep posting more and more great stuff on their blogs! Awesome, no?

Pinterest Challenge: Amy's Organization

Amy Lee and I have been friends since... middle school? Maybe grade school? Anyway, long enough that we know way too much about each other to ever be enemies, because that would be dangerous. But that's not the reason we are still friends (I think... ). Anyway, Amy Lee is crafty and creative and has her own lovely blog Made With Love where she shares her stuff... and lots of recipes involving cake and soda for some reason. I love her, and love the fact that she participated in the Pinterest Challenge... and she definitely surprised me. I thought she'd be all about making some jewelry, or cute top, or shoe bling... but she got all organizational on me and grabbed pinterest inspiration to clean and organize. Look:

Dirty Little Secret

I bet underneath your sinks is not that clean and organized, is it? I kinda feel ashamed of my under-the-sinks now. Great.
But the Accessory Queen didn't stray too far fro her true self because her other project involved organizing bags:

Purse Hoarder

Yeah... I totally need to do this too! Just get all those bags in one location and accessible. Great Job Amy!
You should totally head over to her blog for more pictures and explanations and all that good stuff. or check out all of her Pinterest Challenge Projects and Plans ...there were quite a few more projects listed on that initial 'Challenge Accepted' post, so leave her some love and encouragement to keep working on all of those. (Because the fire pit looks really cool, and I want to be invited over for s'mores. Just sayin'.)
(Also, She could use some love and followers... becuase she regularly posts stuff worth reading. It'd be worth your time to click the 'follow' button... is all I'm sayin')
*Edit: I swear this happened for real just like this... moments after posting Amy's purse organiztion project today I got an email in my inbox from REAL SIMPLE titled "Shower Hooks as Purse Organizers" several moments of confusion followed as I tried to figure out if REAL SIMPLE was reading my blog... or Amy's... or what in the world was going on... but it turns out it is an unrelated coincidence and more evidence of the fact that Amy Lee is so legit even my favorite magazines have to go to her for great ideas and trend setting. True story. It really happened just like that. I wouldn't lie to you.

Also... if you haven't already, check out what Jessica, Erin, and I did for our Pinterest Challenge. Lots of great fun stuff! And Erin has since completed another project, and I am just in love with this HP inspired tee:

HP Inspired Shirt for Little D

Isn't challenging ourselves fun? Yay!

Pinterest Challenge: Erin's Fall Projects

My good friend Erin also decided to take on a few projects for the Pinterest Challenge! Erin and I are pretty similar... we are both creatively minded, but sometimes... a little too creative... which means often we have the greatest intentions, but not the greatest attention span to get things done. (You think that's a fair assessment, Erin?) Anyway, she took on the challenge with 5 projects in mind... and successfully completed 3 of the five. To which I say, GOOD WORK!

Apple Pie Caramel Apples

I actually got to participate in the project above. We made apples... lots of apples... LOTS and LOTS of apples. I might never like caramel apples again. Okay, that's false... I totally wanted to eat them the whole time. Anywho, I think it's awesome that all of Erin's projects are fall-ish as well, as I was so ready for fall MONTHS ago.

Felt Leaf Garland

Although I would probably keep this garland up year round... It's super cute and fun and a happy addition to her bathroom.

Black and White Wreath

I love how this wreath is classy and fun all at the same time... and including the picture at the bottom of Little D (Who is definitely not that little anymore...) is just perfect.
Go check out Erin's Blog for her descriptions and info on the projects she created, as well as links for her inspiration (and the recipe for those yummy looking apples!) And while you are there you should leave her some love and encouragement to complete those other two projects... because I bet they would be pretty amazing as well, and who doesn't love encouragement?
Thanks Erin for playing along, and great work! You are a rock star! :)
Also if you haven't already check out the rest of the projects for the Pinterest Challenge and send my your progress!

Pinterest Challenge: Jessica's Crib Skirt

Just this morning, my friend Jessica posted pictures of some of her latest projects on facebook. Lots of lovely, fun stuff... mostly for her new little boy, Gavin. (He's a cutie!) One of her projects she completed was for the Pinterest Challenge. Yay!
Using inspiration and tutorial she found here:

Somewhat simple crib skirt tutorial

She whipped up her own version that looks like this:

Here's a close up where it peeks out the bottom of the crib:

And the cute and funky little insert/pleat detail in the front (I love the animal print! So cute!)

Great job, Jessica! It looks so awesome! And as a bonus tip, Said Jessica about her project "I learned the hard way, 'Thou shalt always prewash and dry thy fabric. Forever and ever amen.'"
Hmmm... thats good advice that I try to fly past sometimes...
You can check out the other stuff Jessica has made HERE and her blog Pink Sparkly Singer. I would like for her to TOTALLY bling out her sewing machine so 'Pink Sparkly' could apply to that singer as well... Just sayin'. :) Thanks for sharing your project Jess!

P.S. Jessica also made the quilt draped over the side of the bed... which I think is amazing.

I hope to have more projects to share with you guys soon! You are fabulous, keep doing your thing! :)

The Dirty Laundry

(Still no curtains to show you. They are done... ish. I just need to take pics to show you. Be patient with me... I'm a wild woman in full 'nesting mode'. And I have about 14 projects going right now. Maybe not the best plan... hmmm...)

No, I am not airing our dirty laundry and personal secrets on my crafty blog today-- if you want that kind of juicy info, you have to read the other blog... har har. Okay, it's not that juicy either, but I do make fun of my husband quite a bit, for which there is a grassroots sect of Valerie's-blog-following-Zach-sympathizers who feel quite bad for him. Which actually works out kinda well, because if someone else is taking the time to feel bad for Z then I don't have to... and I can spend my time doing more exciting things like making stuff for my baby! Yay! Anywho... what was I talking about?
Oh, Laundry.
So Baby P needed a hamper. And in my head I wanted a tallish woven basket-like hamper with a lid similar to the one we have. Only we got ours as a wedding gift, so I didn't really know how much one would have to invest in such an item. I was thinking like... $15-20 ish sounded reasonable.

Something along these lines... only... no matter where I looked, I couldn't find anything for under $50. UGH. Are you for reals? I'm not paying $50 for a laundry hamper. I checked all my usual spots... thrift stores, HomeGoods, BBB, Online... nothing. I was gonna be out $50 if I wanted a woven basket. Those basket making bums that over charge for their junk! Then the other day I was bopping past the baskets at Hobby Lobby on my way to the front and thought... hmmmm... sure enough, The Lob had tall hamper style baskets. For... $30-40. Meh, it was better, still more than I wanted to pay... but wait! It was 40% off coupon week at The Lob, and I just so happened to have in my possession one of those happy pieces of paper... It was my golden ticket. So I bit the bullet and got it. Yay.
It was all chunky and woody and woven and all the right colors for the room... and it already came with a liner...
And ugly brown swirly liner thing.
That I decided to spare you a picture of.
But which was promptly used as a pattern to make this happy green one:

 I used the same green fabric that you will also see in the curtains, and on some throw pillows. I was going to make another crib sheet out of this, but my mom was helping me and cut the hamper liner out of the wrong chunk of fabric, so now I don't have enough for a sheet. Oh well. We've got plenty of it going on already.

It's just a simple drawstring bag that I serged together super quick...

Not a life-changing addition to the room, but one I am quite pleased with. Now we have a place to throw all those tiny, dirty, stinky outfits our little one will enjoy soiling regularly. (I hear they can go through several a day, which means our kid will be rivaling his mom for the wardrobe high-maintenance crown... and I am not sure how I feel about that) I popped it back in the corner between the bed and the dresser... eventually our wetbags for diapers will be hanging in that corner as well. You know, once we get them. (Seriously, did you go to that link? How cute are those wet bags? You know I am not a bird person, but I think that print is precious and perfect for our little room! Yay. who knew a wetbag would get me so excited? Life is weird these days.)

And... because slapping together a quick liner for a basket doesn't seem life changing enough to account for the silence on the blog this week, just thought I would show you all this picture...

Because these stacks of fabric blocks are what I have REALLY been working on all week. More progress on that soon... because tonight is Mama night! My Mama has been coming over once a week to help me clean/sew/nest/prep for Baby P. It's so fun to spend time with her. I love my mama! Hopefully we will get a lot done tonight. :)

Have you...
Been working on your Pinterest Challenge? If you were one of the lovely ladies who said you would participate, I am going to harass you sometime in the next week, just to make sure you do something! :) If you wanna show off your project, or want me to show off your project send me a link and or pictures, cool? Cool. You're the best!

Ambiance

I like to pronounce it Ahhm-bee-ahhns... because it makes me feel fancy.
Fancy like the new fancy fan and lighting we have going on in Baby P's room now.
Not that the previous light and fan (lacking in the fancy department) posed some kind of risk or was not doing it's job... but for some reason Z and my dad got on this... "we need to replace that fan STAT" kick. Okay, in their defense, it was a smidge noisy, but I still think we could have balanced it and not completely blown my room budget out the window when we flipped the switch on the new fan.
Actually... that's a totally inaccurate (though thoughtfully penned, no?) statement, as the new fan doesn't even have a switch. It has a this:

That would be a fancy spaceship controller that changes the speed of the fan AND makes the lights dim. This was an essential addition to the whole new fan set up. Z wired it all in himself and was quite proud. It's also a remote that pops out of it's little holder there where the light switch previously was... so I guess if you want to turn off the light fro the other side of the room... you are welcome to take it with you and do so. Which would probably be more convenient if the room weren't so tiny.
So here's the new fancy fan:

All lit up full and bright...

Dimmed down low for ambiance

(Can we just have a quick discussion about how annoyingly hard it is to take decent pics of a lit light fixture? Yeah... annoying. And hard. Okay.) I liked this fan because of the enclosed ceiling mount. I thought it looked a little more modern and a little more substantial-- even though is was kind of a mid-range quality/priced fan. I liked the squarish blades, and I like that when Baby P is chillin' on the comfy, fluffy rug on his floor, he can admire his modern asterisk shaped fan. (I am assuming he will share my appreciation for typography in design elements.)

(For the sake of full disclosure: Yes, I laid on my back on the floor to take this picture. I wanted to get the Baby P view. My husband wasn't home, and after lowering myself to the floor on my back I panicked because I was pretty sure I would never be able to get up on my own. Hindsight can suck it. I attempted to roll to my side and scoot across the rug to a piece of furniture to help prop me up... but twisted into a funny shape that caused angry nerve receptors to shoot lightening bolts through my abdomen and back. I started yelping... and my white dogs stood in the doorway with their heads tilted the same direction and expressions that read: You pitifully stupid creature, what did you THINK was going to happen??? But I finally pulled myself into an upright position again, and everyone survived the experience. All for the blog, my friends, and all for you.)
(Also, valuable lesson learned here: Have the husband take the 'Baby veiw' shots from now on.)

I wish I had a picture of the ugly fan we replaced, so you could be all, Oh, WOW. That IS such an improvement... but ugly fan pics got lost in the computer crash earlier this week (along with the pics of my handsome husband actually installing it on his own... he smiled and everything for the picture. It was charming and priceless, and now it is gone. Pout.) so you will have to imagine an ugly, dirty, builder's grade fan on our ceiling. Did you imagine it? Go ahead, do it. I'll wait...
...
...
See, now, isn't that an improvement? Now that the room has ambient lighting and quietly moving air and remote controls... we are ready to move on to other more DIY-y projects.

(Bonus: if you are clever and observant you have seen a sneak peek of the wall color in several of the last baby room posts... It's seriously the prettiest color EVAR. It makes my happy! Can't wait to show you more.)

Pinterest Challenge: Project #2

Soooo... remember how yesterday I told you our computer crashed and I lost a ton of project pictures I was planning to share with you that had not been backed up anywhere else?
Yeah...
So today we are going to use our imagination. Here's how it's gonna work: I'm gonna show you some pictures and recipes and you are going to use your imagination to superimpose my image and the the images of my friends and family enjoying the items in the pictures. Are you ready? Here we go!

My next Pinterest Challenge project was to try out some recipes I have found on pinterest. But first... you need a little background. At our house every Friday night is pizza night. Whether we order pizza, make a frozen pizza, or I make pizza... we have some kind of pizza every Friday. I have tried all kinda of variations on pizza--stromboli, calzone, pizza pull-aparts, french bread pizza-- and while the hubs doesn't mind any of those options, his fav is just straight up simple pepperoni pizza. And he likes it best when I make it. Which... i did more before I was all knocked up and whatnot (yes, the Pizza Hut delivery guy knew us by name because of that first trimester) but I'm doing better now, so I think it's time to step it up a notch. I always made my pizza crust from a mix, and while those things aren't awful... I kept wondering, how hard can it be to make pizza dough from scratch.

Source: laurenslatest.com via Valerie on Pinterest

Especially after pinning this recipe on pinterest, I knew I had no excuse. So last Friday night, I tried it out.
OMG! So easy! And so yummy! It has really lovely flavor, (which I attribute to the honey, as I am obsessed with all things honey related) and was a perfect chewy/crispy consistency. Z loved it too. Why was I wasting my time with those stupid packets of powder?
(Here's where you get to imagine a picture of me serving a beautifully handmade cheesy bread pizza that's perfectly bubbly and golden browned while my husband looks on with awe and admiration and my hair looks great and my pregnant belly is not poking out the bottom of my too-small PJ's. Got all that? Great!)
A couple thoughts on this recipe:
    *There is a bonus cheesy bread recipe as well! Score.
    *I used my stand mixer. I am sure you could do it by hand too? But I hate kneading dough by hand, and it is sooo easy in my mixer, I wondered why I had never done it before.
    *This recipe makes enough for two crusts... and I only needed one Friday night, but would be making pizza for friends the next day, so I experimented: after it had risen, I cut the dough in half, wrapped half in plastic wrap and left it in the fridge overnight. The next day, about 1.5 hours before company was to arrive I pulled it from the fridge and stuck it in an oiled bowl next to the warmish oven. It rose beautifully and was just as good (maybe even a smidge easier to work with) on day two. That's good news!
    *I am considering trying it with whole wheat flour next time... I didn't want to stray from the original recipe the first time, but whole wheat crust is on the menu for next week. I'll let you know!

Okay, so try your hand at some homemade pizza dough. YUM.
And then when you have your crust all ready to be topped, do this to it:

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Valerie on Pinterest

I mentioned above that I made pizza for friends on Saturday. We were having a couple over that we really want to be best-couple-friends with. I really wanted to make something that was incredibly delicious, but easy because I was trying to be really cool and calm even though I was nervous about cooking for them. (I know, we are major nerds... we just really wanted them to like us!)
I figured... steak + pizza = How could this go wrong???
This pizza delivered. It was amazing. The Pioneer Woman has never led me astray. Layers of flavor and richness. Delicious and meaty. It received great reviews all around... and I told everyone I knew the next day about how it changed my life for good.
(I kinda want to sing a Wicked song now.)

So to sum up this post:
1) Imagine glamorous Valerie in each of these pictures
2) Make your own pizza crust
3) Top it with steak for the love of all things good in life
Amen.

(Oh, and just in case you missed it, here's the Pinterest Challenge, and Project #1. It's not to late to join if you want! You have until the end of the month to do something... so lets see it!)

LOST!

Our computer crashed yesterday. UGH
We were unable to recover any lost data.
Most of the lost data was pictures.
Pictures that I had taken of a lot of projects I was planning on sharing with you.
All lost.
Bummer. Biiiig time. We had the important stuff (wedding pics and important documents/papers) backed up-- but not much else. So it's not earth shattering-- but it's disappointing and frustrating to lose everything else. Sooo... I guess this should be a lesson to me, back stuff up more often if it's important to you?
Anyway, while we are on the subject, here's some Coldplay to make you feel nice and melancholy this afternoon:

Just in case...

...you were curious how freaking big my belly is getting, this was taken this weekend:

And just in case you wanted to know what a pregnant lady looks like plowing through a whole bag of her favorite treat/fall activity, here it is:

Ah, the pure joy of a perfectly roasted marshmellow!

Pinterest Challenge: Project #1

What in the world might I be making???

Happy Monday, friends! My last post on here I invited you to participate in a challenge with me... A  Pinterest Challenge! Just in case you haven't read it yet, and you are too lazy to go back and read that post, In a nut shell, the challenge is to pick a project from pinterest (or anywhere on the internet) that inspires you, but you never got around to doing... and do it by the end of September. Easy, right?
I told you I had several 'pinterest inspired' projects up my sleeve this month, and I didn't lie. Here is the first that I completed this weekend. First, the inspiration:

Source: shelterness.com via Valerie on Pinterest

I saw this and thought, yes. I need this in my bathroom. And we have this awkwardly small mirror in our bathroom. with a large gap between counter and mirror that we can't do much about because we rent. So I figured that would be the perfect spot.
I bought all my supplies (pictured at the top), minus the mason jars and paint I already had, at home depot for eleven dollars and some change. I probably could have stolen a chunk of wood from my dad's scrap pile and it would have been cheaper, but I didn't. I bought this piece of pre-cut sanded pine from the depot. Then I painted it black, to match the black shelves already in the bathroom.

Next I measured and marked carefully where I wanted the pipe clamps to sit... then headed to my parents house when I realized I had nothing that could drill through metal. (It's wasn't a matter of lacking skills, just lacking tools.) So my dad popped some screws in there for me... and we trimmed the extra metal off.

 Then I tapped these beyond tiny nails into these saw tooth hanger bracket things on the back... (ignore the crummy paint job on the back... it's the back side, you know the side against the wall that no one sees? Don't judge me.)

And... then I popped 4 empty jars in there, and tightened them in place. Then we hung it!

And I put junk in it (cotton balls, cosmetic sponges, cotton swabs, and makeup brushes) This should do the trick to fill the awkward spot between mirror and counter, and get all these grooming essentials off the counter top where they would otherwise be sitting about making my tiny bathroom a mess. (Ahem, hypothetically-- not that it has ever been a mess.)

Anyway... I am quite pleased with the results. It was a pretty cheap, quick, easy addition to my bathroom. Not earth shattering or life changing on a large scale, but I like it. And I am glad I decided to just do it, rather than thinking, "Huh, that's a clever idea I should do that someday."

Well, then... Have you been working on your challenge???

Oh, and I linked to some parties....

PINTEREST CHALLENGE (For me and you!)

Source: readymade.com via Valerie on Pinterest

Isn't the internet a wonderful thing? So many things to look at, to learn, to search and study, and to be inspired by! Really, it is a nearly endless source for... whatever it is you are looking for. Which is sometimes super helpful, and sometimes just another problem.
Am I the only one... that with so much inspiration out there becomes overwhelmed? I find myself all the time going, "Ooh... that's cool, I want to make that!" Or "That's such a clever idea, why haven't I tried that?" Especially since I started blogging or signed myself up for pinterest... gosh I prolly pin 10 projects, recipes, or organizational ideas every day that I will never actually do. SAD.
So I started thinking this morning... why am I not doing these things? And I decided to challenge myself. I would like to invite you to participate with me!

Source: None via Valerie on Pinterest

Here's how it works. It's a 3 step process:
STEP 1: Select a project that you have found on the interwebs and been inspired by in the past month. (It could be a sewing/crafting project, home improvement, decor, organization, recipe you want to try, photo you've been meaning to take, a new excercise program, place you promised to visit, or anything, really. The only stipulation is is has to be an idea found or inspired by a 'pin' on pinterest, or a blog, or SOMETHING you found on the internet that you thought... "I should do that." then filed it away.)
STEP 2: Complete the project by September 30. (Come on, you have three weeks to make this happen, don't tell yourself you are too busy, challenge yourself to actually try it!)
STEP 3: Show and tell! (seriously, tell someone about what you did. Take pictures and put it on your blog, talk about it on facebook, or tweet about it. OR send me pictures of whatever your project was and a link to your original inspiration and I will tell people all about what you did. Because it's exciting to do something, yes? And it's even more exciting to be recognized for what you do!)

Source: cafechocolada.blogspot.com via Valerie on Pinterest

Okay, not hard right? It can be as simple or intense as you want it to be... small or large... functional or aesthetic... you choose. Just let this be the kick in your pants to actually do it.
I am calling it my PINTEREST CHALLENGE because pinterest is where I catalogue most of my 'i should totally do that' ideas. But I know not all of you are Pinterest kind of people... so pull your inspiration from anywhere on the internet, but have a link to your 'inspiration' ready if you are sending me your project to show and tell on you (and I HOPE you do!). If enough of you decide to participate, I may even award a prize for my fav project. Oooh, incentives!

Source: wildinkpress.com via Valerie on Pinterest

I will be sharing a couple 'pinterest' projects I've got up my sleeve over the next couple weeks, so check back for those while you are playing along.
YES! YAY! Are you excited? Motivated? Challenged? Let's do something! WOOT!

Source: marthastewart.com via Valerie on Pinterest

P.S. If you are gonna participate with me in the challenge... leave a comment telling me you intend to do so. I'll check in with you in a couple weeks, You know, just to keep you accountable! :)

P.P.S. Who has noticed Valerie is in that ultra-motivated-energy-pouring-from-every-orifice-second-trimester-stage of her pregnancy? Anyone?