I took up the “Pinterest make me challenge”

We all know this is not a craft blog so you might be wondering why I am sharing a craft project… Well, today is the day I usually write about personal development and my decision to join the craft link up was not a simple one and I figure I have something to say about it that you might relate to. I hope those from the craft linky will bear with me for a little self reflection and those here to challenge themselves to grow will take the lesson, if not the craft.

 

I love the internet – I have always been an information junkie, a reading maniac and love browsing magazines. Pinterest is like the ultimate match up for a person like me – especially since I am a visual person.

Long before pinterest came along I was bookmarking ideas all over the place. How many of those ideas did I act upon? Maybe 20 over the years (that does not count recipes which I actually do follow through on).

When I saw the Kirsty and Alyce were running a linky to actually push people to make the things they were pinning I took it as a personal challenge. As a perfectionist I think I struggle with taking on projects because I always felt they had to come out the same as the pictures. As someone who did not grow up learning to sew I am slowly finding my feet (and then stopping again). Do you do the same thing? Drool over images, wish you could make them and then tell yourself you can’t do it? It won’t be “good enough”. It is “too hard”. What if you mess up that beautiful fabric you bought? What if you break your sewing machine?

 

I am here to tell you it all comes down to our language and approach. I had a breakthrough earlier this year when setting up the blog. I was reading a post on the blog Cloud Coach that woke me up to myself. Ethan mentioned how our attitude manifests our reality. I was guilty of saying “I am not a tech person” over and over as I struggled to figure out blogging. After I read his article  I stopped myself any time I used that excuse. I am doing it now with the crafting. I always say I am non-crafty and I realise that will never change unless I change my attitude and approach. So – as I said on Facebook over the weekend- I urge you to step outside your comfort zone, accept progress on something without expecting perfection and just dive into something that excites you.  Just as I stopped saying “I am not a runner” when I ran 7km, I am going to stop defining myself negatively on any subject. I may never sell a crafted item or cook up a 5 star meal, but that does not make me non-crafty or a non-cook. Stop defining yourself into a corner!

 

So here is my Pinterest inspiration:

I found this advent calendar on pinterest that I included in my round up ages ago

 

I dug my sewing machine out of storage where it had sat since we moved 11 months ago. I managed to thread the bobbin and thread the machine correctly (yay), but when I went to sew it all together I made a complete mess of the test fabric. I did not know what was wrong (but a friend came by today and I now know I had it on the button setting accidentally). Anyway, in the moment  I decided to carry on and used no sew hemming tape to further illustrate that sometimes you just have to do it and move on. I hand stitched the pockets. The whole thing is slightly wonky and screams “newbie” crafter, but I assume my kids will be excited with my result and won’t notice the uneven hems or any number of imperfections. I thought about what my aim was – not a perfect advent calendar (I could have bought one if that was what I wanted), but something homemade by me for my family! From that perspective I achieved something great!

 

Here is my version:

 

Now to decide how I want to number the pockets, write out my advent activities on the cute tags I used and plan when we will do each thing. I love how this layout with pockets helps me plan ahead, but have the flexibility to just move them around.

 

Have you made anything recently that you saw on pinterest? If not what is one thing you can do this week? If you need more inspiration search my site for “pinterest” and it will bring up all my posts from the weekends!

 

Find your simple,

Deb

 

I am linking up with Puddles and Gumboots for their “making magical Christmas memories linky” – check out all the other posts linked each week.

Tagged as: holidays, mindset, perfectionism