PinteREST: We're not all Martha Stewarts

I'm not sure if it was the vicodin, the howling wind, the sticky sheets, or the bobby pin stuck somewhere in my hair, but I could not sleep last night.  That means my husband could not sleep either.  I enjoy striking up conversations when I can't sleep, and they happen to be right in the middle of my stream of consciousness, not stemming from some malicious plan to ruin or confuse my husband, but just because I have to start somewhere.

"I just don't have a nitch.  I mean, everyone's into this Pinterest thing, and all it does is show me the things I can never replicate if I tried. . .plus, I don't really want to replicate, I want my ideas to be new."

Andy rolls over, and exhales, "Lauren, remember what Picaso said:  Good artist copy, great artist steal."  He rolls over again.

"Andy.  You are being insensitive."

Andy rolls towards me, and doesn't sigh, because he loves me.  "I'm sorry, I think your ideas are awesome, and you are very creative.  Maybe you should start a sketch journal and start cutting out things you find inspiring."

Tears.  "That's what Pinterest is!!!"

I'm a little emotional these days.  But I do often struggle with not having a compelling talent like Bob Ross, or my friends who bake, cook, blog, photograph, rearrange furniture, scrapbook things, dance, make terrariums, find cute shoes that don't hurt their feet; I mean the skills are limitless!

Maybe you're like me.  You long to be crafty.  Your mother-in-law is lending you a sewing machine.  You own various adhesives.  You have a new lime green Kitchen-Aid mixer.  You have the beginnings of an herb garden on your porch (i.e. pots).  There's extreme potential, but the results are, well, lack luster.

Unlike all my facebook friends, Pinterest has not been my undoing. . .I have not wasted 3 hours "pinning" peoples fancy-pants pictures of things I can't create on a virtual board that, for the most part, mock me when I bring out my 50% off JoAnn glue gun.

I think the purpose of Pinterest is to share ideas, express yourself, get creative juices flowing, and hopefully connect you to Etsy.com sites when your replication of that lace cowl neck scarf fails.  But part of me feels like my ideas are being stolen before they are even born.

And then today, like clouds parting on a summer day, I saw a tweet, which linked me to Pinterest (aye), which gave a me a website.  And I clicked on it.  And I loved it.

Here I see the pain of Pinterest playing out in the lives of innocent crafters everywhere.  It made me feel a little less inept, a little less pressure to have the skills necessary to reproduce a pin.

I have chosen two classics, from two categories:  baking and crafting.

After you've spent your daily allotted time on Pinterest, I highly encourage you to visit Craft Fail. 

Ok, ok, I sound bitter.  I appologize.  I actually think it's wonderful that we can find a place of shared inspiration and that I can get ideas for my wedding that already happened.  I do love what people create and I'm thankful for such a Creative God that instills a sense of beauty in us all.  Maybe I'm just a little jealous of all these exceptional ideas.

At any rate, friends, keep creating, keep dreaming, keep pinning, and if you need a little craft-pick-me-up, you know where to go.