Kristen of The Preppy Girl in Pink is my guest today. Kristen is a wife, mother of two tween girls and a lover of fan of all things pink and preppy… oh, and now Pinterest.
Dear Pinterest,
I can still clearly remember the day that we first met. It was back in the day when you had to be invited to join. My friend, Jennifer, author of the blog Jennifer P. Williams, had sent me an invite after I read a post about how much fun she was having on it and I told her that I didn’t even know what it was. I logged on, set up an account, took a look around and logged off. I didn’t log back on for several months. It wasn’t that you didn’t make a great first impression. You actually blew me away with your beautiful sunsets, gourmet dinners, desserts that went way beyond a box cake and tub of frosting, crafts galore and quotes put together with such beautiful imagery. Oh, the quotes! You really know how to suck a person in with those quotes!
I have to say though, you also intimidated me. I have let my left brain rule so much of my life that all of what you showed me in our first meeting seemed absolutely unattainable. Besides being a stay at home mom of two that can’t just pack her bags and catch the next flight to the most recently pinned paradise, I saw crafts, foods, quotes that made my left brain immediately shout at my right brain, “YOU CAN’T DO ANY OF THIS STUFF! YOU’RE NOT CRAFTY!” So, I pinned one or two things every once in a blue moon and let my left brain run the show like it always has.
Then one day it happened… I was working on the first end of season party for the field hockey team that I coach and decided that I didn’t want it to just be chips thrown into bowls. I wanted it to be something special. So, I turned to you. After scrolling through photo after photo, I could feel my right brain stretching and yawning, trying to come to life.
I started out slowly like you do after not using any body part for a time but my right brain became very strong, very quickly. I was clicking on pins faster than the laundry piles up! I was jotting down notes. I was bookmarking and printing my favorite ideas. I went from using your ideas for one party to my everyday life.
Now when someone sees a craft/decor I’ve made or tastes something that I’ve cooked they ask me if I found it on Pinterest. It is a huge compliment but I can honestly answer no to most of it now. You have inspired my right brain to be creative and experimental and you have brought out a side of me that I never thought would exist.
I can’t thank you enough!
Kristen
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Thanks again for allowing me to share your space! I am so excited to be here. I hope that people that doubt their right brain’s capabilities will find a way to explore their creative side with the help of Pinterest, art class, camera lens…anything. Life is too short to let your left brain control everything!
Oh Pinterest. My lover. I love, love, love it. Like you, I wasn’t enamored at first. But when I finally learned how to use it, falling headlong into it doesn’t begin to describe my obsession. The lovely things I’ve cooked/ baked thanks to Pinterest – my belly thanks it and my right brain!
I totally do Pinterest the wrong way though. I never pin anything. I just scroll through, click on what I like and land on a page. It’s fun when I land on a page of someone I know though.
I went the opposite way. I was obsessed with Pinterest at first. But then it sacked up all of my time and I knew I wouldn’t even manage to get a small percentage of what I was pinning accomplished. So now I only go on when I need a recipe or craft idea.
I tend to treat Pinterest as a fluff magazine where I can just flip the pages casually and look at all of the pretty things. I don’t actually pin. I prefer to treat Pinterest as my giant go to for all things Right Brain, like Google is for my Left Brain.
I have always been more of a right brain kind of girl and Pinterest still intimidates me. I do get sucked in by the quotes and I have made a few recipes from there. I was bummed when I couldn’t find a “Tinkerbell Punch” for Gia’s birthday (or found one that was too hard to make which is probably more like it). Writing a post worth someone pinning still eludes me so I sort of have a love/hate relationship with it at the moment. That Lollipop Tree looks like fun!
The lollipop tree is actually something I came up with on my own. It makes me happy to know you think it is fun because that is exactly what I was going for!
Once I started seeing those “Pinterest Fail” photos, it reminded me that I am not going to always get it right but for the most part it is always fun trying.
I love this! I turned away from Pinterst for the same reasons you did but never thought to use it as a way to awaken my right brain versus try to follow those perfect recipes and hairstyles to a T. I may just have to scroll around for the fun one of these days. I remember the days you had to be “invited.” LOL!
I definitely scroll through! I had to laugh when I noticed that I hadn’t pinned anything in over a year. I just like to use it for inspiration and not promoting. That is what makes it fun for me. If I turn it into another social media platform it will suck all of the fun out of it for me.
I definitely scroll through! I had to laugh when I noticed that I hadn’t pinned anything in over a year. I just like to use it for inspiration and not promoting. That is what makes it fun for me. If I turn it into another social media platform it will suck all of the fun out of it for me.
Love your quote at the bottom! I haven’t quite reached the point of being that inspired, but I do love to look.
It took me a long time to be inspired too. It used to make me feel really down about things because everything was so shiny and bright and I felt so dull. Then when I went on for a purpose, things turned around for me. Now, it is a lot of fun for me.
I quit Pinterest after two weeks. I do still wonder, though, about what I could be doing with all the stuff that’s there, all the stuff I know would inspire me. One day, I’ll go back. I’m glad it’s working for you and helping you use all of your brain muscles!
I’m too lazy to actually pin things but I do see it like window shopping. I can look and have fun but I know I don’t have to make or buy it all. If I pinned things, I’m fairly certain it would just be one more thing that would stress me out about what I hadn’t gotten done.
I’ve all but forsaken Pinterest at this point. It was a little TOO much right brain stimulation for me, what with all the pinning stuff I knew I’d never get around to making/trying/buying. Maybe if I just scrap all my boards and start over from scratch, I can learn to love it again. But who has time for that?
I think that is why I enjoy Pinterest…I just scroll and browse and don’t pin. The Pinterest Police are probably going to come after me for doing it wrong but hey, they still get credit when they lead me to a site.
I have finally succumbed to her siren sing… How sweet it is!
Pinterest love comes and goes for me.
About a few months ago I cleaned up my boards and only pin things I think I can and will make (food and crafts).
I’ve had a few friends that have cleaned up their boards. They were calling themselves Pinterest Hoarders. They had a million things pinned but never did anything with them. I think limiting things is a great idea!
I love that Pinterest helped you find your crafty side and be more creative. That is the great thing about Pinterest. I’ve tried a couple of crafts but I’ve cooked a bunch of the recipes and I love that my cooking abilities are growing.
I never considered myself a good cook. My husband takes that honor in our house but Pinterest made me want to at least try to be a better cook. I mean those photos people post…I’m drooling and starving. I had to break out the pots and pans after a while. They don’t sellwhat is in those photos ready made and I wanted to eat it. 🙂 Now, I would say that I’m a pretty good cook. Still not close to my husband but people don’t run from my dinner table screaming. 😉
I do love Pinterest… but because of my deep love for it and how easy it is for me to get sucked in I don’t open it that much. I simply lose track of time and everything around me!
I like to scroll through at night. It relaxes me along with a cup of tea. Sometimes I wake up and I have ideas in my head that I know were from the previous night of Pinterest browsing.
I pin a lot. I don’t do nearly as much as I pin 🙁 But it’s all so very pretty!
I have made some delicious desserts and side dishes that I never thought I would even attempt before I found Pinterest. Easter was a huge success because of the side dishes that I found on there and my girls loved the Easter themed cupcakes I made. I used to buy those kind of cupcakes. I’m so excited that I can actually say I did them myself.
I’ll bet the creators of Pinterest would be thrilled to know that it’s inspired you to be creative on your own!!!!
Kristen, I love Pinterest, but I generally use it more like a file folder and keeping track of all the stuff I like. So that’s pretty handy! If I start perusing Pinterest, I get lost for an hour. 🙂
Love that quote at the end Kristen! It’s so true. Pinterest really does ignite the creative side of my brain that’s been shut off for so long. But I must admit, I’m still intimidated to try most of the stuff! I love seeing your IG photos of things that you’ve created.
I would be lost without my Pinterest recipes. How did I cook before!?!? 😉
I am still slightly afraid of Pinterest. I’ve been on it a few times but it always makes me feel like I should be living this larger than life, more beautiful, organized, etc life. I am a simple girl, I just want to bake bread and sew the most horrendous blanket on the planet! I have followers on Pinterest which is funny because I’ve pinned nothing.
I’m a Pinterest pusher.
Fun! I suppose one of these days I will succumb to Pinterest as well. I am just NOT quite there yet. Soon, though. 🙂
I think I’m worried that I will want to do so much stuff and I won’t have time for any of that. I really enjoy cooking/baking/being generally crafty but there are only so many hours in the day!
I have a take or leave it approach with Pinterest. It’s fun when I’m in the mood, but it’s not an irresistable temptation.
I love Pinterest for party planning and finding ways to serve foods other than just plain in a bowl! I love the picture you made in my head of a brain stretching and yawning – cute!
Love it!
I was the same way at first — there are so many terrific ideas out there! Enjoy that creative side!
My friend is a graphic designer and always on top of all things tech-y. She was on board for a beta Pinterest and sent me an invite. I remember when I joined there were like 300 people (no brands) on there total and I could see EVERYTHING in one sitting. Now, it’s overwhelming! Someday I tell myself, I will make things. But not today. I think my craft is packing and unpacking 🙂
Ugh. Pinterest. It always makes me feel like I’m not good enough when I go there. I doubt I’ll ever be able to do one of the crafts but I can sure as hell make some pretty cocktails. 😉
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