So. Pinterest.
At first, I hated it. For me, Pinterest equated to this BIG HUGE GIANT snowball o’ guilt.
In the early days of The World Domination of Pinterest, it appeared that it’s most common use was going to be for home decorating – to show all of these amazingly and perfectly coifed rooms with fabulous cohesion and, the most heinous part – NO GOOEY FINGERPRINTS ON THE WINDOW PANES.
Playrooms full of creative shelving, baskets and art installations, with nary a toy or book out of place…
Living rooms with no evidence whatsoever that children resided there…
And I am here to confess: I am not a decorator. My house has the “well-used” and “conveniently disarrayed” look to it, as I loyally follow the theory of The Efficiency of Disarray.
And, although I’m typically comfortable with my lack of magazine-worthy decor, I can tend to get a bit judgmental of myself for my lack of performance in this area, start to try to be more decor-conscious, and then once again realize that I was simply not cut out of that particular piece of cloth.
So, I filed Pinterest under the “Pointing Out All My Flaws” file.
But then I started hearing about all of these fun kid projects. And tasting samples of Pinterest-inspired recipes. THESE are things I can get into! So I began browsing Pinterest again, deliberately ignoring the heaping mounds of readily available home decor guilt.
My first dip in the Pinterest water was, naturally, chocolate.
This recipe for Deep, Dark, Fudgy, Chocolate Cookies (with no flour and no oil) drew me in and convinced me to increase my level of Pinterest Junkie to Level Three – one who doesn’t just look at the pretty pictures, but actually makes things based on what they see.
And I did make them. And they were oh-my-goodness-good.
…even after I figured the calories so that we could enter them into Lose It – cutting out oil and flour is something I want to discover more ways to do.
My second project, the ever-famous melted-crayon project, was indirectly from Pinterest, via my friend Greta. Ali is just a wee bit obsessed with the rainbow, so when I saw this, I knew how I would make her blissfully happy for the week.
So she lined up the crayons in rainbow order and we glued them on,
And then I got out the hairdryer.
And I have to say – I definitely benefitted from the fact that Ali still has a trace of hair dryer fear, because that meant I got to perform all heating, and making all of those colors melt down the canvas was a really good therapy session.
Ali lost interest in watching several minutes in, but I couldn’t help myself. I kept melting, and melting, and melting…
Noah woke up from his nap and I couldn’t stop. I let him crawl around my hot-waxed canvas while I kept melting, and melting, and melting…
I wanted to add a bit more to it, so Ali came back and we added her name to the picture.
But my new addiction then tempted me back for more.
I couldn’t resist.
I then had to melt her name, which ended up looking really crappy compared to the unmelted version.
I might have a problem. 
But then I found this awesome twist on the whole melting idea, so at least I know where I’m going to get my next fix.
Ali and I had so much fun with our art project that I immediately wanted to start another (which led to a particularly fabulous visit to Michael’s).
I had seen the Watercolor-And-Painter’s-Tape project several times, where you tape out their initial and then get them to paint all around it.
But I couldn’t find the painter’s tape.
So I started scouring my closet for something else useful, and our entire shelf of foam shapes caught my eye.
Perfect!
Ali decided she wanted to make a card for Gramamma, and then I let her position the stickers on the page:
Then we worked together to paint all around them (and on them, due to Ali’s not quite grasping the purpose of the stickers)…
And fortunately, my substitute worked well – the stickers peeled off easily.
Ali signed her artwork, instructed me on what she wanted written on the card, and was quite proud of her gift.
(And yes, we do everything in our pajamas at our house. It goes along with our no-decorum household theory.)
So, although it was a long and winding road to finding a way we could co-exist happily, Pinterest and I have become friends.
…with a slight tinge of frienemy, every time a perfectly decorated room pops up in my feed.
For those of you who have asked, here are my boards, although don’t expect much original pinning – I’m mainly a repinning copycat. Also, if you’re not on Pinterest but want to try it, I can send you an invite – just let me know!
i love pintrest! Its amazing for grilled cheese recipes!
Fancy Grilled Cheeses?? I’m all in! Where are these recipes??
PIN ALL OF THE THINGS!!!
Love those projects! I hope my boys like to do fun projects like that when they get a little older because I’m totally looking forward to them.
Oh…and I’m addicted to Pinterest for all things photography. I unsubscribe from people’s home decorating boards. They bore me. :)
Ummm…would it be weird for me to melt crayons on a canvas despite the fact I don’t have born children yet?..because that is SO COOL! You’ve piqued my pinterest ;)
I’m a bit anti-pinterest because I just don’t get it! Any tips?
You totally should – especially on a day you’re feeling especially in need of a cathartic activity. It is quite rewarding!
And as for Pinterest, I’m not too sure – I’m certainly a novice. I just look at everyone else’s pins and repin ones that I want to try. I mostly look at it on the app on my iPhone when I’m nursing or otherwise sitting still.
So what are the calories in those cookies? They look so yummy!!!
145 calories each, and worth every one!!! They’re crunchy on the outside and fudgy on the inside – heavenly!!
Looks like a fun house to me.
I am SO addicted to Pinterest! I’m pretty sure it’s why I am now forever destined to be SO BEHIND on my google reader!!!
I LOVE the recipe inspiration! I usually plan my menu while perusing my menu boards. LOTS of great preK learning stuff too on there!
And I have a board called “Helpful Tips” cuz there are so many nifty ideas out there in the world for organizing, cleaning, etc that I’m just not smart enough to think of! :) So glad you are a pinner now!
So I’m searching for your Pinterest link to your boards? I can’t find youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu! Are you trying to be private or something, come on! You know we can’t have that, ha ha!
I just used my Twitter name for simplicity – here I am: http://pinterest.com/objectivityrach/
OMG, I love pinterest! I go to the DIY and crafts, and the apparel subsections! LOVE LOVE LOVE! I’ve made some headbands and a necklace and can’t get enough!!! (PS, I’m totally coveting the crayon thing, I’m going to do that one of these days!)
You totally should!! It is SOOOO cathartic. It would make a great baby gift, especially if done in the colors of the baby room!
Love it! I only just recently discovered Pinterest, and am finding that long lost creativity beginning to swell in me again…well, you know what I mean…! And I love the crayon project, we might have to try that one too, especially with what feels like hundreds of crayons that my kids refuse to use because they aren’t sharp anymore…ugh…
Definitely try it!! It is so very cathartic. And yes, Pinterest definitely helps breed creativity – that’s why I’ve come to love it!
We did it this afternoon! I’ll have to take a picture and send it to you…ours wasn’t as large as the one you did, but none the less, it was really fun! Thanks again for the great idea…oh, and yes, Pinterest has officially sucked up approximately 47 minutes on my first day visiting! Yikes, this is not good…but it is SO inspiring!
Oh great!! I’m glad y’all had fun with it. I really want to do another one – it’s a bit addicting!!
I love the pictures and would like the link to Pinterest. Both the crayon and the watetcolor are great.
very cool. my sister in law pinned that on my fb, if that’s what it’s called, and i thought it was neat. my son noah would probably love that as well. cookies looks great.
I was with you on Pinterest and just signed up this week. I have a love-hate relationship with it…I see cool ideas and want to try them but I know I never will and then I feel guilty and … yeah. :)
Love the melted crayons thing…very cool! And I still love to line up the crayons by color so I bet it would be double cathartic for me.
I love Pinterest, I remember I was one of the ones trying to convince you it was cool :). I made a yarn wreath from there the other day, its on my blog. I’ve made a few things from there – food, crafts, etc., I’m just not good at posting them on my blog. And my house is very boring looking, most of the home stuff I pin are organizing tips.
I am fighting the urge to what I know will be a losing battle. I don’t have time to join, but such cool things.
Hey Rachel! I’ve recently moved up to level 3 myself. I thought I’d share what I made with you. I tried this recipe this weekend. http://pinterest.com/pin/182117968/ I thought the idea of a two ingredient cake was awesome. I read reviews that it didn’t really taste like pumpkin so instead of yellow cake mix I used a carrot cake mix and it was sooooo good! Then I decided to try it with the yellow cake mix but add a little extra flavor. I made cupcakes from the yellow cake mix, pumpkin and added some peppermint hot chocolate mix and a little nutella for good measure… So GOOD! :)
YUM!! I love Pumpkin Cake AND Carrot Cake. I might have to try that one!!
yay for you! I gave in to the pin pressure just this week. And let me just say that having a 6 week old AND discovering pinterest has been seriously baaaaad for my sleep habits. I look like a zombie. BUT at least I’m discovering fun craft ideas! :)
Put the Pinterest App on your iPhone (which I know you have since it’s in your latest blog post), and scroll through it while nursing. Unless you’re one of those super-moms who stare lovingly at your baby every second of nursing…
I LOVE Pinterest. Love, love, love! I am mostly a repinner, but I have been known to actually pin some things that I find myself. I have even walked in the room to find B on Pinterest. I’ve made tons of recipes and kids crafts, and if my friend Rachel will start making adult crafts with me, I’ll add that to the list…hint…hint…
NO GUILT.
Oh I love the crayon melt art! Great job! I’m loving pinterest too. I need to take pics of the couple of things I’ve made from there.
Your crayon artwork looks so cool! We do pjs all day in our house too.
I haven’t logged into Pinterest for a while either. I am not much of a decorator (I’d rather spend the time and money on other things). I love it for the recipes though. I’ll follow you the next time I’m on there!
I keep hearing about it but I have not had the time to figure out a new thing! That crayon thing is pretty cool though! Is it hard to get started?
Pinterest or the Crayons? Neither are hard to get started, though! :)
I’m still trying to figure out pinterest. I made two fall wreaths over the weekend. I’ve never made a wreath in my life, yet I made two of them. Pinterest has me doing some strange, strange things lately. I think I like it, yet at the same time it sorta freaks me out. It’s like the Stepford Wife of the internet — it all seems just a little *too* perfect.
P.S. I’m trying those Deep, Dark, Fudgy, Chocolate Cookies ASAP.
Ha!! Too true…I can totally see the Stepford thing. I need to start pinning all of my failures that I blog about just to add some variety to Pinterest.
I had seen someone else mention Pinterest but didn’t quite get it. Now I tried to start using it but it said I was added to the waiting list?? Is this like Google+ that you have to be invited to join?
Love the art you and Ali made. I can totally see melting crayons as therapeutic! Glad you included pics though bcs the melting crayons art project I’m familiar with is shaving crayons then putting them together in a mold and “baking” them to make one big multicolor crayon. (Mine looked like a Reese’s cup when we made them in 3rd grade and my dad tried to eat it…oops.)
Yup, you have to get invited. I invited you if you want to start using it! It’s fun, even if it is a bit overwhelming.
I now have the overwhelmin urge to go get some crayons and a hairdryer. Also, the ‘card for Grandma’ came out just adorable. And Target carries painters tape ;-)
I’d love to have an invitation to Pininterest. It sounds really neat. I can totally identify with the whole decorating thing. I went to a Bible study last night at a house that looked like it could be in a magazine – and this lady has kids! My house is just a hodge podge of hand-me-down furniture that Steve and I had when we got married. I am too cheap to spend the money to decorate like a magazine and too afraid that I don’t have the skill to “see” what needs to be done with a room.
Ditto. I was equally concerned about Pinterest. The only thing my home has in common with those home decor photos are the white walls. My boards tend to be focused on ideas that actually seem like a reality – upcycled, DIY, sewing, fun kid projects. Since I decided to really focus on pins that seem a reality and not fantasy I actually love Pinterest!!!!
I wouldn’t mind an invitation. I just tried to join and got the same thing as Katie a few comments up. Do they have limited places or are they just trying to make sure that nobody on their site is a nigel-no-friends?
Thanks! Getting carried away already.
I keep hearing all this wonderful stuff about Pinterest, but haven’t ventured onto it myself, guess it’s about time…if I can find the time :)
Very cool melted crayon project! :)