Pinterest Revolution

Before Pinterest...

We all know how easy it is to fall in to a rut: you get up late, grab whatever clothes are clean and not too wrinkled, pull your hair away from your face with whatever’s on the bathroom counter, grab coffee on the way out the door, then spend another busy day at work. On your way home, you’re frazzled, worn, and, frankly, unfulfilled.  You have to make dinner, take care of the kids and your partner, do the dishes, make lunches, take out the trash, and then. . .tumble into bed.  Where’s the joy? The essentials that nourish your soul, your body, your spirit?  If you’re like me, they are few and far between, pushed to the sides to accommodate the “necessities” of life, like car repairs, cleaning spots from the rug, saving yet another dog bed from the piranha puppy’s teeth, and, oh, Facebook.  Yup, there’s that elephant in the room: although most of us are lacking in time to do the things that will really bring us joy, it’s so easy to end up drawn to the things that are fast, easy, and, let’s face it, addictive. 

So, when A, my sister-in-law, recommended a new site she was loving, a part of me thought, “Just what I need. . .another distraction from the things I really should be doing. . .and want to be doing.”  But she has phenomenal taste in nearly everything, and I really trust her judgement, so I checked out Pinterest.  At first, although I saw her raptly involved in it for long periods during our holiday visit, I really didn’t get the point.  When I did, it began to change my outlook and my life. Seriously.

Pinterest is a website that gives you the opportunity to make virtual bulletin boards which are categorized by topics you choose, such as Books I’ve Read, Recipes to Make, Decorating Our House, etc. On each board you “pin” links to websites and uploaded photos. You can see the things everyone else pins, and can “repin” them to your boards if you like them. I found myself creating several boards dedicated to things I’d often thought about, but never taken action on, like organizing the stuff all over our counters, making crafts, and ways to accessorize my wardrobe. I quickly became addicted to the site as I had with others, like Facebook. Although those social networking sites have widened my circle of friends and given me things to think about, nothing’s made a concrete difference in my daily life in the way Pinterest has. Frankly, I’m amazed by this! 

I don’t think I’m alone in finding that time online usually feels “wasted” in many ways. . .I don’t come up for air afterwards and feel that I’ve actually accomplished much of anything.  With Pinterest, however, there was a significant change when I started spending time there daily: I not only was bursting with ideas for ways to make my life better, happier, and healthier, but I had the energy to do them, and I actually believed they were possible!

Voila! Vintage button bobby pins!

For instance, I went from basically shoving a bobby pin in my hair to hold it back from my face each morning to actually taking time to make it look pretty.  I found a pin that described how to use vintage buttons to make cute bobby pins.  I printed out the instructions, sorted through my collection of buttons, picked out bobby pins, and had the project finished in two days.  I now have several adorable hair accessories, and I finally found a use for the buttons my Bobie picked up at all those temple bazaars!

On another pin, I found instructions for creating a “waterfall” braid. It was super easy and so pretty that I took the time to do it the next day when I was getting ready.  It made me feel bright and happy all day. There’s something about taking the time to look your best that really makes you feel better.

I’ve done a bunch of other things, from tying my scarves in new ways to making new recipes (beer cheese macaroni & cheese, anyone?), but I really knew that Pinterest was making a big change in the way I saw the world when I came up with—and executed—a really crafty idea for decorating our kitchen.

Although I’ve had lots of creative ideas in the past, I usually talk myself out of trying them because they seem like they’d take too much time, be way too hard, and I figure I wouldn’t be very good at making them turn out the way I see them in my mind. I have a lot of blank walls in our house.  I’m just not sure how to decorate them, so they remain empty. That’s why this was such a major change for me, not just in what I was doing, but in how I was thinking!

Close-up of some of my cards

I was looking at the bare wall above our fridge, and this idea just came to me. I’m sure that it was inspired by the many, many creative ideas I’d been seeing on Pinterest, but it was also a result of the way the site inspired my own insights.  I imagined two colorful cabinet knobs, one on each end of the long, skinny wall, with a white ribbon hung between them. On the ribbon, I’d hang cards, photos, and all sorts of encouraging and funny ephemera.  I went out that very day and purchased the things I needed. I found some cute tiny clothespins, and decided I’d decorate them with glitter and paint.  The following day, my husband went with me to Lowe’s to get the hardware we needed, and when we got home, we installed the knobs and ribbon.  I painted and glittered the clothespins that night, and the next day, I sorted through my stuff and hung them up. The finished product is below. I’m so thrilled with it, and can’t believe it was done three days after I dreamt it up!

Finished product!

Close-up of the blue rose cabinet knob

 

I can’t say there aren’t days when I’m running late and throwing on whatever clothes are clean and nearby.  But most of the time, I’m interested in--and eager--to do a little something special to make me feel more, well, me!  Today, I braided my hair in a style I saw on TV last night. Who knows what I’ll do tomorrow? Whatever it is, I know it’ll be full of a lot more joy than I’ve known in quite some time.