My Homemade December

Over the past week, I’ve been absolutely flooded with Black Friday and Cyber Monday emails. I’m really thankful I created a separate folder a while ago for stuff like that so it’s not the first thing I see when I log in. “Good morning, now go to our site and buy everything!” As you might recall, last week I gave my sassy little PSA rant about Black Friday. I suggested staying away from the chaos in stores, and try shopping online instead or checking out smaller local stores that need the business. But I forgot to mention my all-time favorite holiday shopping alternative: crafting.

December is the perfect month for crafting. It’s an activity you can do inside by a warm cozy fire while you . You get a final product that you can give as a holiday gift. Every time I look at Pinterest or Etsy, which is more often than I’d like to admit, I get the crafting bug! I’m a hands-on type of gal and I like the experience and satisfaction of making something from start to finish, whether it be a painting or a pot roast. I have to be realistic though. It’s easy for me to get excited about too many things. I have to accept that even though I have a long wish-list of crafting, I can’t possibly make it all. Maybe over my entire life, but not in the next month. To help me, I’ve got the three p’s of crafting: prioritize, plan, and put on this tee shirt (see above). I’m glad I found a picture with a manly dude wearing this shirt. Hmm, maybe I can make my own…

As I embark on my December of crafternoons, and tastelessly include “craft” in as many words as I can, I will be on the lookout for new and fun ideas to try. My seemingly aimless online searches will now feel a little less aimless. I’m on a mission, a mission to craft. Stay tuned for a possible series of “crafterthoughts”, and check out my projects as I post them on my Pinterest board (fully completing the crafting circle of life). No need to feel left out. Join me in Homemade December! If you think of or come across a cool idea, I’d love to hear about it.

Happy December!

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(P)interesting

If you’re not already one of the millions of people who indulges themselves in countless hours of procrastination online (and even if you are), here’s something you should definitely check out. The website Pinterest is quite possibly the best and worst thing that could have happened to me. It’s like a virtual scrapbook without all the clutter of actual scrapbooks or the trip to the craft store ¹. Pinterest is scrapbooking for people who don’t want to spend money or get messy. It gives you more encouragement (not like you need any) to conduct random google searches and online window shop. Pinterest even offers a bookmarklet which makes pinning from a website super easy. Just add the “pin it” bookmarklet and you’re one click away from saving your favorite recipes, photos, and cowboy boots all neatly organized on one convenient and aesthetically pleasing site.

I’ve only been on the site for about two months and I’m hooked. I was hooked even before I started using it.Now that I’ve got you all excited, there is one thing you need to do before you start using Pinterest. You have to request an invitation first. I really wasn’t sure what the point of that was other than a formality, but regardless, they got back to me pretty quickly. After I was accepted into the sacred society of Pinsters, I was pinning away. I could literally spend hours a day on Pinterest, and while I have tried to find a healthy balance of Pinterest/non-Pinterest time, the novelty of it all still hasn’t worn off. In a world where everyone is on Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter; I’ve found that Pinterest offers users a new way to share, connect, and collect…and ultimately procrastinate.

1. There needs to be a real craft store in Washington D.C. No, Arlington does not count.