You oughtta know, how I feel...about Pinterest

One of the not-so-pleasant side effects of having Pinterest-addicted friends is that you probably do not get any credit for coming up with something creative on your own. 

I made some felt fortune-cookie party favors for a friend's birthday party a few weeks ago...something I had tried for the first time about 9 years ago after watching a cooking show on TV.  I thought it would be cool to use felt, so I sketched my idea and tucked it away into an idea file.  When I debuted my felt creations at the recent party, I was greeted by "oh, Pinterest!" 

Sure enough, there was a Pinterest pin for felt fortune cookies.  Not mine.  Mine were zebra-print.

Martha Stewart

Whatever.  I'm not bitter.

Much.

If I had known the other party guests better, I would have defended my craft...but then I would have looked like the weird party goer who can't stop talking about herself and her felt cookies.  I promised myself I wouldn't do that...again.

Anyway.

I realized that there is nothing new under the sun, and my versions of cute things can be quite different than other people's.  So when I saw this cute photo on Pinterest, I decided to repost it.

http://www.reckless-glamour.com/2010/11/painted-curtains.html

But, I also wanted to post a photo of MY curtains that I made three LONG years ago.  Before Pinterest.  Not bitter, in case you were wondering.

 

Mine are sewn, but I admit it would have been cool if they were hand-painted.  I made mine out of inexpensive white sheets and RIT dye; with lots of measuring, cutting, swearing, crying and Airplane movie breaks. 

I won't even admit out loud that I'm thinking about painting my old dining-room chandelier and hanging it this room in front of these curtains.  Maybe a silvery-grey color? 

Still not bitter.  Nope. 

And don't call me Shirley.

I'm a survivor; I'm gonna make it...whatever it is

I have such a creative bug these days, but also seem to be creatively blocked at the same time.  While I was planning our wedding, some of my friends on Facebook and Pinterest were doing a crafter's challenge and making things by hand for five of their friends.  I wanted to participate in that, but had way too much to do in wedding preparation.  So, I've decided to do my own challenge.  The first five people that read this post, and leave a comment....I'll make something for them.  Hopefully, I can keep up with the vast demand!

:: crickets ::

Until then, here are some photos of last month's Wine Dinner.  We did a 'Survivor' theme, but didn't vote anyone out of the restaurant.  Brad wouldn't let me have real fire torches either.  Oh well.

Each table of twenty had a team name, color and flag. 

Each table of twenty had a different tribe name, flag and color...with coordinating chairs, of course. 

I used a simple burlap table runner, and painted the guests' names on river rocks to use as place cards.  The centerpieces were made out of dried grass, sticks and twigs set in old vases that I painted to look like tiki statues and totem poles.  The menus were printed on craft paper, torn on the edges and tied around the napkins with strips of fraying leather cording. 

Now I'm ready to tackle those handmade projects for you.  Keep those comments coming! 

Let's do this!

I should have been the one to invent Pinterest.  I have been saving ideas, notes, magazine cutouts, photos, sketches, blueprints, 80s music, more ideas and photos for 26 years....or more.  One of the first photos I ever cut out of magazine is the one that inspired my love of interior design.

Image courtesy of Seventeen Magazine, circa 1986

Now, if there were only a quick and easy way of magically scanning all of these thousands of ideas directly onto my Pinterest boards without the fear of copyright issues, etc.  Oh, and not having to actually chain myself to the scanner all day.  That's not even counting the even more thousands of photos I have saved to my computer files. 

So what am I doing with all of these valuable resources shoved into binders and boxes and computer files?  Nothing. 

Until now           (Cue dramatic music)

From now on, I'm not going to wait to have children so that I can decorate their rooms.  I'm not going to wait until October to make fun Halloween decorations.  I'm not going to wait to start a business until I win the lottery and I'm NOT going to wait any more to start creating all of the things I've been saving to do someday.  Well, maybe I shouldn't decorate children's rooms until I actually have some of my own.  That would be weird.

Maybe by creating this blog, I'll hold myself accountable for actually doing something about my dreams.  Maybe someone will let me design their kids' rooms or decorate for their dinner party.  Maybe I'll win the lottery and can spend my days painting furniture and listening to 80s music. 

Who knows. 

Are you with me, dear readers?