Inspiration Pinterest 8.1.11

Whew! We apologize to our readers for the delay in posting these past few weeks but we have been....drum roll please...MOVING! Ugh. I know I hear a collective sigh, it was rough indeed, who likes to move, raise your hand? We decided to do it all ourselves, the packing, the loading, the hauling, the unloading, the unpacking all in the 100 degree heat that was unrelenting for two weeks.

We both have substantially more sun on our skin now though, we don't usually strive for suntans :) I prefer to think of it as channeling my inner Nicole Kidman. (Nicole reportedly stays out of the sun entirely to protect her ivory epidermis, ensuring that sun damage is never going to be a problem!) And speaking of sun and heat and 100 degree weather, we are OVER IT! So in the spirit of anticipation (for fall of course) we would like to present to you our Pinterest Halloween Inspirations. Gasp! Say wha? It's only just August! Yeah we know but just can't help but think of all the wonderful and creative projects and sweets we could create this fall. And with the blessing of cooler temperate weather too! So without further ado...

Scary Candy Apples from Matt BitesWe are practically drooling over the spooky factor of these super shiny red and black candied apples. Amazing! We are thinking perfection for a spooky, sophisticated Pottery Barn-esque Halloween Dessert Table. 

Stocking covered pumpkin from Better Homes and GardensAnd what better to accompany our sexy sophisticated and shiny spooky apples than a sexy sophisticated stocking covered pumpkin? Say that three times fast we dare ya! Seriously though, how simple and awesome is that chic pumpkin?

Spider webbed balloons from Crafty CraftyOk this one just blew us out of the water, spider webs inside a balloon! Complete with little spiders too! Creativity knows no limits friends and we cannot wait to try this DIY out! How cool would these be if they were back lit with black lights perhaps?

So there you have it, our "We can't wait for fall to get here so we can cool the heck off and decorate for Halloween" inspired Pinterest picks. Click here to follow all of our Halloween Inspirations on Pinterest, there are surely more to come!

We would love for you to follow along with us on Pinterest. If you already belong, look us up on the link! For those of you who haven't joined the wonders of Pinterest, we encourage you to go forth and discover! And if you find yourself in need of an invitation, just give us a shout, we'd be happy to invite you!

Inspiration Pinterest 7.4.11

This week's inspiration is all about the cool refreshing cucumber! I don't know about you but there is just something so soothing about a cucumber. Maybe it is that cool green and slightly translucent look that has me swooning this week.

When I was younger my mother would serve tall pitcher's of ice-cold water with thin slices of cucumber and lemon floating about inside. They added just a hint of flavor to a refreshing summer-time neccesity. Check out these popsicles, they are kind of similar. 

Lemon Cucumber Popsicle by Family Fresh Cooking

Here is the recipe if you are dying to try them too!

• 1 cup julienned seedless Cucumber
• 1 fresh squeezed Lemon, remove any seeds
• 2 cups cold Water
• Natural Sweetener added to taste: use your favorite, I use Stevia. Maple Syrup, Honey & Agave are good too

METHOD

Slice lemon in half and squeeze it over a strainer into 2 cups of cold water. Sweeten lemon water to taste with your favorite sweetener. Fill popsicle molds 2/3 with lemonade. Freeze uncovered for about 1 hour. Take pops out of freezer. Scrape and stir any ice crystals that have formed. Add a spoonful of the julienned cucumber to the pop molds. Be sure to leave a tiny bit of room at the top of your popsicle mold so they don’t overflow when you add the stick. With a popsicle stick or a butter knife, press the cucumber into the mixture so it is evenly distributed. Add your popsicle sticks, freeze pops for another 3-4 hours until solid.

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches from Martha StewartWhat better to go with a cumcumber lemon water than a divine little cucumber tea sandwich? These visually pleasing sandwiches from Martha Stewart are just too cool. I kinda want to make some just so I can take pictures of them. Plain 'ole sliced white bread never looked so fancy!

Tazo, not only do you have appealing packaging but you also have appealing flavors. Perhaps your tea needs to date Martha's sandwiches? A perfect match made in cucumber heaven?

White Cucumber Tea from Tazo

As always, we would love to follow you and for you to follow us on Pinterest so that we can share in all the wonderful beautiful creative things our web has to offer! Visit us here. 

Inspirations Pinterest 6.27.11

This past week’s {Sweet Inspirations} on Pinterest blog post was my responsibility (Jason), and to those of you that know me I think you have an idea why it’s late.  Like many of us (procrastinators) claim, life just seemed to get in the way…but when I finally sat down to write this post I looked at my inspirational material and I just wasn’t inspired by it anymore.  So I think life just kind of works itself out like that.  At least that’s what I’m going to tell myself so I can sleep well tonight.  

When I came across this picture it made me think… “Have I really, before looking at this scene, ever seen colors this vibrant?”  And I could safely say, "No…I have not.”  I would love to do a dessert table utilizing these vibrant hues, hues that even on a two dimensional picture still manage to “jump” out at you.

Holi the Festival of Colors in India from Amber Interiors Design BlogNext we have a recipe using ingredients that we are intimately familiar with, but in just that certain combination that I have NEVER seen before.  And the caption says “Just like Rice Krispies treats, except made out of Oreos.” But what boggles this mind is that the consistency of Oreo cookies are nothing like the consistency of Rice Krispie cereal.  Cannot wait to try this one out!  

No bake Oreo Bars from Sweet Peas KitchenLast but not least is a fun idea that someone, somewhere fleshed out.  It’s not unlike an idea that Heather and I had about wanting to use paint sample swatches and turn them into something less mundane.  In fact, it’s exactly like our idea…except that our idea never really left the stage entitled “It would be great to turn paint sample swatches into something less mundane”

Paint Swatch Heart Garland by Grace and Light StudioSo there you have it, our Pin-teresting picks for this week. As always, we hope you will join us on our Pinterest boards and follow along with everything the wonderful world of web has to offer!

Inspiration Etsy Treasury: Give Me Liberty

We often find so much inspiration from our fellow crafters so we thought it would be nice to share with you not only what we find on our Pinterest perusing but also our Etsy finds as well.

If you aren't familiar with Etsy let me just tell you that you are missing out on some seriously awesome shopping. Etsy is a crafters community. Thousands of artisans selling their handmade and vintage wares and supplies have storefronts just waiting to be explored. We really appreciate the uniqueness and creativity that happens in the Etsy artisan stores, they are the perfect place to find something truly special, be it a gift or a little something for yourself. Handmade is always more appreciated in our opinion! So when you have some time please check out Etsy, you won't regret it! 

This week's Etsy finds are all about our upcoming Independence Day celebrations and the theme is "Give Me Liberty", we hope you enjoy :)

Hello My Sweet is also a proud storefront in the Etsy community, come on by and take a peek!