Pinterest has revolutionized my world. For someone that has never been ‘craft-inclined’ or ‘artsy’, to be able to search for a detailed tutorial on every DIY imaginable is like having a brain transplant. I’ve had some very positive results since hopping on the Pinterest train, and yes, 99% of them come in burlap.

But there have been times when I’ve overestimated my abilities and underestimated Murphy’s law… and other rules of reality. So in the spirit of successful pinning, let my failures be a warning to you unsuspecting over-ambitious Pinterest-newbies: if it looks too good to be true, it probably is!

And now, without further ado, I give you my 5 best and 5 worst attempts:

Best Top 5:
5. Homemade Mayo
This one surprised me as I anticipated it falling into the ‘failure’ category, but much to my surprise (and delight) it was a great hit! I discovered this while my husband and I were doing the Whole30 (check it out! Best detox ever). It was about 3 weeks in and I was getting desperate for something creamy. This was clean, easy and delicious! Definitely worth making and easy enough to earn itself a spot in the top 5. Find it here.

4. DIY Balloon Banner
Oh. My. Word. This was one of my very first attempts (which is why I have no pictures of it…) back in the day when Pinterest was still a mysterious genie awaiting my next wish. I followed the instructions to a T and it came out beautifully! We did it for my daughter’s 2nd birthday and it was a huge hit. Made it on the list for the simple, detailed instructions and for the basic – but oh so important – fact that my end result looked just like the picture! Find it here.

3. Tutorial: How to Cut Your Own Bangs
Oh yes I did. I was desperate – please don’t judge. And I’m so glad I was! I consider myself a brave person, but even I was nervous about this attempt. However, when you’re 4 weeks postpartum it’s amazing what you’ll be willing to do. This is a very clear, simple tutorial with easy instructions. I would absolutely do it again! Find it here.

2. DIY Playhouse Bunk Bed
I can’t take all the credit… ok, any of the credit… for this one. My husband did it everything – all I did was find the pin and pick out the paint. But this was a fantastic find! An Ana White tutorial (so it’s obviously amazing) with easy to follow instructions and a very accurate time/skill estimate. For inexperienced wood-workers like us, the fact that we were able to accomplish this means anyone can! Find it here.

1. Baby Announcement
I know compared to homemade mayo this one seems like a downgrade, but I’m telling you, this is the one I am most proud of! My bestie and I saw this and new instantly we had to try it. It took us 4+ hours to get just the right shot in between feeding a newborn and chasing down 2 & 4 year old little divas, but we did it! Find it here – photo cred Kalyn Griffin! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now for the part I know you’re most looking forward to… the failures.

Worst Top 5:

5: Paint-dipped Pine Cones
These may look innocent but don’t let them fool you! They were an absolute beast. unless you have the coordination – and patience – of a ninja, these are a nightmare. The first part is easy – dip the pine cone into the paint. Done. It’s the second part where it gets tricky. Fishing around for it, having it fall off your hook and dropping brown pine cone chips in your paint bucket…. then once you get it out of the bucket and you find you can’t get it OFF the hook just seconds ago you couldn’t keep it on. Inevitably it will end up with fingerprints from your manhandling and then once it IS in it’s finally resting place, it will continue to bleed paint for hours. Seriously, these took forever to dry. Moral of the story? Ain’t nobody got time for that. Find them here.

4. Homemade Butterfinger Bars
Don’t get all excited – they’re not what they seem. I was SO stoked to try these and had all kinds of candy corn leftover this fall, so I went for it! The results? Incredibly disappointing. Not only were they a completely different flavor then a traditional Butterfinger, but they’re so chewy they’re nearly impossible to eat! The only saving grace was that I accidentally over-froze them causing the orange layer to separate from the chocolate layer… which was delicious to eat on it’s own! Made it to the list due to my utter, crest-fallen despair. Although it’s probably a good thing I can’t make Butterfingers at home – that could be dangerous. Find them here.

3. Candy Cane Vase with Roses
You’ve heard the term ‘operator error’, and perhaps this is the most likely explanation for the train wreck of an arrangement I tried, and tried and TRIED to perfect. First of all, the odds are against you because candy canes are fickle creatures to begin with. I was also at a disadvantage before I’d ever begun because the directions didn’t include any clue as to how painful a process this would be. If I were ever to try it again I would use a glue-gun; I honestly don’t remember why I didn’t in the first place. But I do remember the agonizing frustration of trying to line up all the candy canes side by side around a circular vase and trying to secure them one by one – and just when you had a section down, one of them would break…. such a nightmare. Perhaps I will try this one again, but I’ll have to make sure I have plenty of extra candy canes… and patience. Find it here.

2. DIY Sharpie Mugs
Ok so I’m not completely against this one… in theory. It still sounds like a good idea I just have never done it successfully. A couple of Christmases ago my husband and I did this for everyone in our families – that’s a LOT of mugs. He’s the one that’s naturally artistic so he came up with and drew little comic strips on each of them, personalizing them for the individual. Lots of time, lots of effort – great response when they unwrapped the gifts! But low and behold, they washed them and poof! It was all gone. I still don’t know what went wrong; maybe the oven wasn’t hot enough or we didn’t bake them for the right amount of time? Whatever the case, a total waste of time and very deflating. Two Thumbs Down! Find it here. (Note: the original author of this post has since updated the method so it won’t wash off! Worth trying, I might have to experiment!)

1. Cotton Ball Snowflakes
I really should not have expected a good outcome with this one. I don’t know what I was thinking. But it was Christmastime, I had a toddler, and nothing sounded better than making sweet little snowflakes to hang over her bed so she was ‘sleeping in the snow’. Dummy. What’s worse  is that 5 minutes into this project I knew it was going to be ridiculously hard to keep them from being untangled, but like a glutton for punishment I kept going. After 5 painful hours of sewing cotton balls (COTTON balls! Do you have any idea how flimsy those things are? They fall apart when you look at them! My house was covered for weeks.) then dutifully untangling the strands, I finally had them hung successfully in her bedroom where they continued to get tangled at the drop of a hat, driving me absolutely bananas until I finally took them down and burned them. Ok, I threw them in the trash, but the sentiment was the same. Never again. Don’t be fooled by their sweet, simplistic appearance. Those things will steal your soul! Find it here.

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I hope you’ve enjoyed this compilation of bests and worsts! Want some more tried and true (or tried and failed) pins? Check out my board, Pinned It, Did It! 

Do you have any great (or awful) pin stories? Comment and share!

❤ Jasmine