Kelly Goldman

Demystifying Pinterest Projects For Successful DIY Decorating

: May 04, 2014

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I remember a day when Pinterest wasn’t around (shocking, but true). I used to rip out pages of magazines and put them in clear protectors, stashed in a binder, and placed on my nightstand. I had two binders and was in dire need of a third before Pinterest became something I used on the reg. Also, I signed up for a Pinterest account when there was a waiting period to be accepted into their once-tiny community of DIY’ers, crafters, and people looking for inspiration. Now, though, we’re bombarded with images of crafty mommy-bloggers that make snacks for their kids named Quinoa, perfectly-manicured nails that claim to be DIY-able (LIES), and kitchen renovations that cost less than $100.

As a blogger, crafter, and DIY-er, I’m hoping to demystify creating just a tiny little bit for you all. I’ve grown up wandering the aisles of Michaels, JoAnn’s, and Home Depot, and even majored (and Mastered) in Art... and now I’m here with some tutorials on how to make those Pinterest projects come to life. We’ll get through this together. So pull up a chair and a snack (or two, because you must keep the sugars up!), and we’ll talk about how to make some Pinterest-worthy things in your own little space, okay?

We’re going to start with the basics here… decorating (on the cheap). I recently rehabbed a window frame with chicken wire, and needed to make it something visually appealing, rather than something that looked like it belonged in a trash heap. (For instructions on how to craft one of these, check it out here.)

I’ve seen a wide variety of how to cutesy these things up, most of which started with some form of bunting, banners, or strands of pretties. (To see my inspirations, check out my pinterest board!)

First up, I’ve been craving pom-poms. All you need for this is a skein (ball) of yarn. I bought the super-cheap variety and used a 40% off coupon (DON’T GO TO MICHAELS WITHOUT ONE!—you can get coupons via their app), so the total of this is $1.

To get the pom-pom thing going, cut a long strand of yarn and drape it through the center tines of a fork.

Then, wrap the yarn around the tines a lot! If you want a really full pom, keep going!

When you’re done wrapping, take that long strand and tie up the center of your loops. Then cut the two edges, creating fringe! Boom. Done. Make lots of these, then tie them to a longer strand of yarn.

Unfortunately, this sad thing wasn’t my intention. (Womp womp womp.)

This happens a lot with crafting. Be fully prepared to try a few different options before one really works. And be fully prepared to throw out things that don’t work.

Next up, I tried the pom-ball method. I bought a giant bag of these from Michaels, used another coupon, and spent probably $2 on this.

I grabbed some white thread and a needle, and just poked through the middle of each pom until I thought I had a long enough strand to drape… And this, for me, was the perfect starter piece.

The key to decorating here is layering… and taking a lot of steps back. It’s important to constantly reassess yourself (note: I didn’t say second-guess. Just use an “editorial eye”, as Tim Gunn would say).

From there, I wanted to do a wicked-awesome organic-drape-flower arrangement. I had [a ton of] these fabric flowers left over from my wedding- otherwise, you can pick them up at Michael’s.

They’ve got stickers on the back, or a couple slits, allowing you to slide something (craft wire, or even a paperclip would work here!) through. I took craft wire, because it was closest to me, slid it through, and created a little loopy-swirl, which would let me loop it on to the chicken wire.

I repeated this about a thousand times (or so it felt), until I had an appropriate number of flowers on the chicken wire.

I also added a few vintage valentines I had laying around (my pile of things “just laying around” is huge. I should purge that.), a photo from a recent vacation, and a couple of old brooches, and VIOLA! Done!

Read more of Kelly's DIY projects at houseofgoldvb.com!