Pinterest: Beyond Pinning.

Hello!

Many of you likely have a Pinterest account.  If you do not, I highly suggest that you get one! My friend Sarah introduced me to Pinterest about a year ago.  Pinterest is a photo/website sharing social media site that allows users to "pin" or save images and save them onto "boards".  These "boards" can be organized based on various themes.  Common themes include things such as, "wedding ideas", "fitness ideas", "recipes to try", and "fashion".  Or my personal favourite, "cats". Everyone needs a cats board.  The pins that are saved to each board are usually an image and if you click on the image, it will bring you to the original location of the pin.  Pinterest serves as your own personal library of ideas and web pages to refer to in the future, without saving random files all over your computer. It is kind of hard to explain and its true awesomeness is not captured by my above description. Go now! Sign up! 

My purpose for today's blog post is not to advertise Pinterest. I do love Pinterest, but what I really want to talk about is my Pinterest behaviour.  I have spent countless hours (possibly even more time than Facebook) on Pinterest pinning over 800 pins onto my themed boards.  I think "wow" what a great idea. I'll totally do that!!! THEN I NEVER DO IT. This is my Pinterest behaviour. I assume this Pinterest behaviour is likely common, so I thought I would make a goal to actually do three things I have pinned on my Pinterest account.  I am starting with a small number to ensure my initial goal is achievable and to encourage myself to do more things I've pinned.  Hopefully this will inspire fellow Pinterest users to actually do some of the things you have pinned!

Number 1: I have a board titled "yummy treats". I have yet to make any of the delicious recipes I have pinned.  In terms of my waistline, this is probably good behaviour....but it reflects how useless Pinterest is and how much time I have wasted if I don't actually do the things I pin!

I WILL MAKE ONE RECIPE FROM MY "YUMMY TREATS" BOARD.

Recipe Chosen: Cherry Salad

My mom makes a similar version of this salad, but I thought I would see how this one compares.  I also chose a fairly fool proof recipe.  My reason for this is because I did not want to try something really difficult, fail and then resent Pinterest for the rest of my days... This salad uses cherry pie filing, mini marshmallows, cool whip, crushed pineapple and other goodness.

Number 2: I have a board called "Makeup Looks".  I have an astonishing amount of pins and as readers will know, am an avid makeup collector.  I wear makeup on a daily basis and love to experiment with different looks.  So why haven't I done any of the looks I've pinned? I have no idea! BAD PINTEREST BEHAVIOUR I TELL YA!

I WILL RECREATE ONE LOOK FROM MY "MAKEUP LOOKS" BOARD.

Look Chosen: Vibrant Eye Look Using Urban Decay Vice Palette

I like this look because it is bold, but very pretty and feminine.  I am also intrigued by this look because it uses eyeshadows from the Urban Decay Vice Palette.  I recently purchased this palette from Sephora.com and have yet to use the very bright blue included in the palette and have been unsure how to use it.  This look uses the colour as a base to achieve the rich purpley blue colour on the lid.  I also love how this look makes brown eyes pop (I have brown eyes).  I also like looks like these because it shows us that blue eyeshadow can be classy and pretty and doesn't have to make us look like extras in an 80s workout video.

Number 3: I WILL MAKE A CRAFT FROM MY "VALENTINE'S DAY" BOARD.

Craft Chosen: Footprint Valentine

How cute is this??? During Valentine's Day, I will be doing a practicum in a grade 3 class.  I have been looking for good Valentine's day themed activities and I think students would LOVE this.  I will have to carefully plan out the logistics of what paint to use in the classroom and the proper protocol for notifying parents that they will be putting paint on their feet! It will likely make a huge mess in the classroom, but huge messes make for the best art lessons! I think this would be a great Valentine that my students could give to their parents or a friend.  I would like to make my own version of it, so that I have a sample for students to refer to.

So there you have it! The three things I plan to actually do from Pinterest. What is the timeframe of this challenge you ask? Oh you didn't ask that? Well I'm telling you anyway. The time frame will be my Xmas holiday! I have until January 3rd to complete these pins and report the results on this blog.  I've given myself a couple of weeks because I will be away for a few days during the holidays.  Wish me luck!