Crafting Ways To Avoid Those DIY Disasters

A Pinterest-worthy gingerbread house made by Julia Buck with Kaimana and Hana Joaquin
PHOTO FROM TANNYA JOAQUIN

Pinterest has the ability to make moms like me feel very different emotions — inspired and inade quate — at the same time.

Apparently, I’m not alone. I remember reading that keen observation on someone’s Facebook page recently and shaking my head in a show of solidarity.

To be honest, I’ve actually avoided Pinterest for years because, in this case, ignorance was bliss. Why torture myself with images of perfect homemade crafts and goodies that are foreign concepts to someone who doesn’t have a DIY bone in her body?

I read a crazy statistic. In 2013, TODAY Moms surveyed 7,000 American moms, and nearly half admitted that they have suffered from “Pinterest stress.” Seriously, the struggle is real. They rated their stress level 8.5 on a scale of 10, trying to measure up to picture-perfect creations that seem simple to others.

Who needs that? Besides, who has time for Pinterest perfection when you’ve got kids, not to mention zero craft know-how?

I tried last year to make a gingerbread house with my kids — and I stress “tried.” Yes, it fell faster than a house of cards.

My bright idea this year was to buy it for an activity with a baby-sitter.

Bless Julia’s heart. Her gingerbread house was Pinterest-worthy. It put the one on the box to shame. She told me she figured out how to do it by — what else? Watching a YouTube video.

I admit that was a cop out on my part. But there was no running from my kids’ holiday activities in school. I love to be engaged in their classrooms whenever possible, even if it means facing my fear of arts and crafts head-on.

I answered an email calling for parent volunteers to help with a quilt and T-shirt making activity for my son’s kindergarten class. I signed up, with a big disclaimer: I have no crafting talent whatsoever.

For me, I know it and own it. So, what’s my issue? I am not crafty, but I am competitive.

The last thing I want to do is mess up the project or just plain do a bad job. The craft involved imprinting colored shaving cream onto T-shirts to be heat-pressed by an iron.

I did the best I could, but I couldn’t help sneaking glances at other parents’ stations. While their colorful creations looked Pinterest-worthy, my dull designs were more of a Pinterest “fail.”

I managed to complete six T-shirts, two for my son and four for his deskmates. I’m still waiting to see how they turned out.

Meanwhile, I went for round two with my 3-year-old daughter’s class. I arrive at the cookie-decorating station unfazed. Until I hear, “I got this idea off Pinterest.”

Luckily, it was easy enough for a pre-schooler and a craft-challenged mom.

My takeaway: To stop the Pinsanity, don’t shoot for Martha Stewart. Strive for something that won’t stress you out.

tjoaquin@hawaiinewsnow.com