Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

| By | | 230 Comments

Can You Smell That Smell?

Yup, the faint smell of bacon, spray paint, and sweat can only mean one thing… it’s Pinterest Challenge time (not sponsored by Pinterest or anyone else, just dreamed up by Katie Bower to make us stop pinning and start doing). So let’s do this thing, people. Let’s do it together. In bikinis (let’s be honest, bikinis haven’t been an option for me since having Clara).

It all started last June when Katie called me to say that she thought we should challenge ourselves to make one thing each season that’s inspired by all the gorgeous stuff that we’ve pinned (and call it… wait for it… The Pinterest Challenge). It’s a welcome slap of stop-pinning-and-start-doing. Because I’ve pinned over a thousand things and have only done about 1% of them. Yikes. And we ended up having such a great time with our first Pinterest Challenge last summer, and our second one in the fall, that we’re psyched to be back with the belated-but-not-forgotten winter edition (hey, it’s technically winter for a few more weeks, right?). So put on those sweat bands and let’s get this DIY party started!

Pinterest Challenge Banner

The only rule is to do your own personal take on something inspirational that you’ve pinned (and link back to the original creator of the project that inspired you, be it a company like Anthropologie or a personal blog that got your wheels a turning). The project can be anything: big or small, decor or sewing or cooking related – or beyond! The first time around John and I made a clothespin light fixture for the laundry room (aka: big), and last time I tackled 38 homemade holiday ornaments (aka: small).

And this time, believe it or not, I thought I’d seize the opportunity to attempt a truce with my arch nemesis sewing machine (more on our “it’s complicated” relationship here) and try my hand at a homemade beanbag for the bean’s closet (which I mentioned here over seven months ago – so it’s about stitchin’ time). I’ve already pinned a ton of ideas, but I’m not sure which shape/fabric I’ll end up going with (here’s hoping my riff isn’t a lumpy misshapen mess) – but I’ll be back with all of the deets when I (fingers crossed) complete the challenge by next week.

Oh and you’re probably wondering who else is playing along with me and Katie Bower (aka: The Esteemed Bacon-Eating Pinterest Challenge Founder – who is actually nominated for an Apartment Therapy Homie in not one but two categories this year, woot!). Well, we thought it would be fun to ask different folks to “guest host” with us each time, so we’re thrilled to have:

Pinterest Faces Banner

So here’s the part where I extend my arm with a crooked smile and a true fear of sewing in my eyes and humbly invite you to join in on the fun by doing your own spin on something you pin! We figured we’d give everyone (and ourselves) the weekend to work on stuff and reconvene next Wednesday morning (the 14th) to share our projects. We’re hoping this’ll turn into the same über fun share-fest that we soaked up this summer and fall (check out all the amazing linked-up projects here and here). So just drop in next Wednesday to see what we’ve done – and to submit links to stuff that you’ve completed so we can all check it out. Maybe we’ll even pin a few things. And so the vicious cycle continues…

Psst- One more time, for the people in the back: regardless of the fact that I say Pinterest ten million times (well, not literally…) this wasn’t paid or perked by them or anyone else. We’re just eye-candy obsessed gals who love a good pin-fest. Sometimes while watching a certain lovable serial killer or a show about the zombie apocalypse.

Comments

  1. Rebecca says

    O.M.G.!?!? I really don’t know what to say to these pictures. Of course, it’s only fitting you announce this on Wednesday, Survivor Night. Now I am pumped for Pinterest AND Survivor tonight!!!

    Reply

  3. Maddie says

    Yay! So excited! I can’t wait to see how those bean bags turn out! I’d love to make one myself so I’ll be looking forward to seeing your results.

    Also, as someone who does a lot of Photoshopping for a living, I suitably impressed with your Survivor-maddness up there ;-).

    Reply

  6. Louise says

    puahaha!! I just died of laughter from those pics!! Thx for waking me up this morning!! The 4th pic of you Sherry is hilarious! And the painted bikini top on Katie is the best!! hahaha!! Can’t wait to see your bean bags!! Good luck with your sewing machine! Don’t sew any fingers…I know I have =/

    Reply

    • Vidya @ Whats Ur Home story says

      I guess, I should have been a bit more clear. Yes I’m in and I make a Pinterest inspired project. Then what? Do you feature some of the reader projects as a follow up post? I don’t remember seeing one earlier.

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We just offer folks the ability to upload their own challenge projects so they’re displayed right in our reveal post (either by linking to their blog or to a free photo hosting site like Flickr). If you check out the last two Pinterest Challenges (that I linked to at the beginning and end of this post) and scroll to the bottom you’ll see what I mean! Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

    • Vidya @Whats Ur Home Story says

      Wow! Sounds great! Thanks for the push, will get to work over the weekend. I end up buying materials for these “Pinspiration” (that’s what I call them) projects whenever I’m at Micheals but have yet to start. My office room is starting to look like your playroom.

  9. Lisa says

    I love the beanbags….word of caution though. We made some cute square ones for my kids and they are nice, but you don’t really sink down into them like the round ones, so the kids tend to have to balance a little to stay on them, which isn’t as relaxing as sinking into a round beanbag. So, I would suggest that you look at the round options and use bean bag stuffing, not quilting batten. It will make it safer for Clara too…my kids relax a little, then roll off the side of ours. :) Good luck!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Wow- that’s the first I’ve heard of that. Definitely food for thought! We have had so many people thank us for spreading awareness of their work just by pinning it (one girl emailed us and actually said she could become a stay at home mom after we pinned her print and it spread and she got a bunch of customers/orders to jump-start her part time business). Maybe one thing to note is that I always “comment” on everything I pin – even when I repin. So perhaps the part that says when you repin you’re not commenting on it so it’s questionable doesn’t apply (since a comment is always added)? We also have heard in a few cases that people have contacted Pinterest directly when they don’t want something up there and Pinterest removes it directly (without even asking the user who pinned it). So to my knowledge they’re at least taking responsibility for removing things that people protest instead of leaving it up to people to go after every last individual user who has repinned it if they don’t like being featured. I would hope that someone would issue a cease and desist request before hiring a lawyer and suing someone (most folks are happy to oblige to avoid all the legal trouble on both sides) but it’s definitely still food for thought! Maybe sites can opt in or out of Pinterest and then you can have clearance to pin from those places and the others who opt out can somehow be blocked? I’d go for that! Or perhaps they’ll start posting thumbnails that link to the original large image on the owner’s site, which I’d also be all for to protect everyone involved!

      xo,
      s

    • heather says

      Have you noticed that you cannot pin from Facebook? So there is definitely a way to do this. What a bummer, definitely the first I had heard of this too. I think of it like a scrapbook only I’m not cutting/printing the photos out and keeping them in binders. Boo.

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Exactly! The way they block facebook could be how they block others who opt out so only the folks who are “In” are pinnable. I’m sure it would take a lot of work on their part but it would be awesome! Maybe we should write to Ben over there? Anyone buds with the guy?

      xo,
      s

    • Kirsty {a safe mooring} says

      Pinterest have actually released a piece of code that you can use to block pinning from your site. If you try to pin something from a site that has the code installed, you get the message “This site doesn’t allow pinning to Pinterest. Please contact the owner with any questions. Thanks for visiting!”. I can see why people might want to use this if they’re really protective about their content, but it doesn’t stop people from screengrabbing and uploading it, and if they do that then you lose the automatic link back to the source, which I think would be even worse.

      It’s definitely a live issue for Pinterest, but to me it’s a great resource and that story about the girl who was able to become a stay at home mum just highlights what an amazing impact it can have. I say keep pinning!

      Oh and I have been waiting for the Pinterest challenge to come around – I have my eye on the perfect little project…

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Very interesting! I hope folks who don’t want to be pinned put that code up! But I see what you mean about folks screen-grabbing it (that’s probably why Pinterest has such strongly worded claims to protect themselves since folks can bend the rules that way).

      xo,
      s

    • heather says

      I just googled around and found a video about the legality of Pinterest. There apparently is an opt-out code websites can use if they don’t want their items being pinned, but it doesn’t negate the items that have been previously pinned. After reading the entire article above from the original source (the girls photography website) I decided to pare my pins down pretty significantly to just the ones that I absolutely want to show my husband for our home or recreate. It’s pretty minimal that something might happen, but I’m kind of risk averse. Just my thing.

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I am going through mine too Heather! Can’t hurt to pare things down to hopefully lessen the chances of inadvertently upsetting someone!

      xo,
      s

    • Krystal says

      Wow, that article is definitely interesting and has me thinking more about what I should and shouldn’t pin for now on. I recently read another article about Pinterest etiquette and why so many people object to Pinterest in the first place. One of the biggest peeves that companies and Etsy sellers have with the website is that people will pin their stuff and caption it with something like: “I could definitely make this myself” or “Would love to try to DIY this!” They see that as you trying to take business and revenue away from them. One Etsy seller said that she finds those comments rude and hurtful because it feels like people are telling her that her work isn’t worthy enough to spend money on. I never really thought of the artist’s feelings about pin captions before I read that, so I make sure to only say nice things about the work that I love enough to pin, and then I DIY at my own discretion for my own personal use and tell everyone where I got the idea from.

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Very interesting! Thanks to everyone for sharing! It’s definitely true that the more we know, the better! It seems as if pinning things from blogs with a Pin This button helps to immediately know that they’re down with pinning!

      xo,
      s

  16. Katy @ The Non-Consumer Advocate says

    I’m in! I’ve been wanting to make one of those cut-in-half tables as a bedside table for my younger son. The heat register is on the wall next to his bed, so any regular table blocks the heat.

    I realized last night that my grandmother’s broken coffee table would be a perfect candidate for this project, and will call my father today to make sure he’s okay with me taking a saw to his mother’s furniture!

    My Pinterest inspiration is this table:

    http://pinterest.com/pin/256283035014969756/

    Katy

    Reply

  20. Krystle @ Color Transformed Family says

    Oh, I am so excited! My husband and I had already planned to tackle a Pinterest inspired project this weekend. I can’t wait to share. This will definitely give us incentive to finish it and not let it sit around the house half done for months. I love deadlines!

    Reply

  22. Karyn says

    Oooo..oooo..ooooo!!!! (hand raised and waving) I am IN. The sun room is getting white washed as I write this and I am using my Pinterest board to create cheese cloth (already ordered the cheese cloth from Amazon) curtains and old wooden boxes stacked for shelves once all is said and done! At the rate they are painting….I just might have something for next week AND a dedicated studio space so the kitchen table is again a kitchen table!

    Reply

  23. Roeshel says

    Hilarious! I have a project I just completed and look forward to joining in … once my site is back up and running. Dumb server issues. ;) Heading over to check things out!

    Reply

    • Meredith says

      perhaps katie should get credit for the photoshopping in your post? not to nag… but it looked like a lot of work! have fun pinning and doing this weekend! :)

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I’ll add a big ol’ shout out to her for her fabulous photoshop work at the bottom of the post right now, just to set things straight! I actually thought about adding one before hitting publish, but John and I edited the Pinterest Challenge video (which we did for the first challenge with Emily Henderson) and we both edited the pics for the last challenge so we just seem to trade off doing the work without calling out what each one of us specifically did. But why not?! Off to add it!

      xo,
      s

    • Meredith says

      D’oh! I feel dumb for not remembering the editing behind the other two challenge reveals…

      You guys are all so talented! There’s nothing that gets me worked up like having hundreds of pictures on my computer waiting to be edited. And I wouldn’t even know where to begin if someone told me to edit a video. One day, when I’m all grown up (yes, I am also 29. Don’t judge.), I’ll be just like you guys with pictures of my vacations all edited and ready to share in less than a week. I know it sounds strange, but I think I was more jealous of the fact that you think you can have some pictures ready to share soon than I was about your actual trip to Hawaii! Sigh. I’ll just live vicariously through you for now. ;)

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw, thanks Meredith! You’re so sweet! It gets easier I think! We have some batch edit functions (that auto size pics, etc) in Photoshop that help too so I recommend making “actions” that can help with that!

      xo,
      s

  28. Kimberly says

    Hey, is this for bloggers only? I’ve been planning on working on a pinterest-inspired curtain rod and would love to share it.

    Reply

  34. J says

    Have you guys seen all the stories about how Pinterest is enabling copyright infringement? Some people looked into why Pinterest allowed people to display copyrighted materials when other websites (Facebook, notably), don’t, and basically when you sign up for Pinterest you sign away your rights… you should read the Terms of Agreement for the website before promoting this. It’s a lot like Napster – it enables illegal behavior but does nothing to protect you. If one of the people whose rights were violated decided to come after the site, they could ALSO come after you, for being the person who put the copyrighted material on the site. Even if you’re promoting your favorite artist by linking to them, don’t you think they should have the right to decide whether or not their work of art is on this site?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Wow- that’s amazing! Go Ben for calling her and go her for chatting for an hour with a glass of wine! Since learning he has come up with a block code for any site or url who doesn’t want their work to be pinned I think he’s truly working towards the “the artist/photographer/crafter should have the right to choose whether they’re pinned or not” which is a great thing! We love being pinned but would never want someone who doesn’t want to be pinned to feel taken advantage of by our act of pinning or repininning, so I love that sites can block it from happening!

      xo,
      s

  36. Erin says

    i think you and Katie need to add “tanning your faces to match your bodies” (in your Survivor photos) to your Pinterest Challenge. :)

    I’m in!

    Reply

  38. Heather says

    Yes!!! I’m excited! I pinned a mirror last week that I found on a home decor blog. I couldn’t find the mirror for sale, but since everything else pictured was WAY over budget, I figure that’s probably a good thing.

    I guess I know what I’m making this weekend!

    Reply

  41. Mary says

    I’m only just getting into Pinterest, but it seems like a lot of fun. Can you post a link to your board so I can follow? Thanks!

    Reply

  42. Lori says

    This is just what I need! I started two of those beanbag chairs for the kiddos 2 YEARS!! ago and they are 95% done sitting in my fabric pile. I can check off a ‘dude, get on that!’ and a pinterest challenge in one :) Thanks for the motivation!!

    Reply

  45. Alyssa says

    Yeah!! I just joined pinterest (yes, just recently) after a lot of avoiding because I didn’t need one more thing on the Internet taking up my time! But after seeing how helpful it can be, made me realize that I should join! Im excited to take part in this link up this time:)

    Reply

  46. Michelle says

    Funniest. Pictures. Ever. Seriously I almost spit out my coffee on some of them. Oh, and a little belated, but I missed my daily dose of YHL last week. It was a total bummer week. Love you guys!

    Reply

  48. Susan says

    Best vacation photos ever. You should win an award for making us all want to go someplace so overcast. I think this may be your best post, even though it’s not about home decorating…anyway it gets my vote.

    And zombies rule.

    Reply

  50. Tamar says

    Do you already have a pattern? I remember seeing some from Amy Butler (this one in particular – http://www.amybutlerdesign.com/products/patterns_display.php?id=31) though I’ve also heard that her instructions are not the best written (read: hard to follow). I’ve had really good luck working with Kwik-Sew patterns as their instructions are very straightforward and the pattern paper they use is much thicker than most pattern companies. I haven’t tried making a beanbag chair, but I did see a pattern on their website too (http://kwiksew.mccall.com/k2892-products-19725.php?page_id=3362&search_control=display&list=search). Good luck with your project!

    Reply

Stuff We Love

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *