Columnist: Anna Ravenelle
Editor-in-Chief: Yasmin Alameddine
Ah, Pinterest. Where the professional chefs, bakers and Martha Stewarts of the world flock to enlighten the rest of us with their “easy,” “foolproof,” “10 minute” plans for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, fifty three and a half ways to upcycle our old high school t-shirts, and, of course, how to make our own, “healthy” Nutella (as if anything tasting that good could ever be healthy). I’m here to prove them wrong: for the average Jane (or Joe) crafter/baker/cook, these things are the exact opposite of easy or foolproof; every 10 minute recipe usually takes 30.

Let me tell you right off: I have had crafting experience. But, I am not (and never have been) the least bit artistic. Growing up, my family constantly had weekend-long scrapbooking marathons, stayed up until three in the morning making gingerbread houses, and once, I even played sick so I could stay home to make Shrinky Dinks. In the end, I got to stay home, but the ‘Dinks were a no go.

But even all that practice isn’t enough to make me good at Pinterest projects. I’ve failed so many Pinterest projects that I couldn’t list them all if I tried, so I won’t even bother. That was the past, after all. Now, I’d rather put my failures to good use: for the entertainment of my fellow Cornellians.

Every week, I l pull a project from one of my boards and do my best (in my 10 x 8 dorm room) to make it a reality, along the way making a fool of myself at craft stores and Wegman’s and probably the rest of Ithaca too.

For my first project, I took my inspiration from these two pins: a DIY embellished sweatshirt and a sequin elbow patch tutorial.

So my first stop was Trader K’s, the thrift store in the Commons – the guides called for an old sweatshirt or sweater and all mine are still much loved and worn – and obviously we popped some tags with only $20 in our pockets:

Anyway I found this gem, an old Forever 21 relic, I think, for $8. I figured, hey, why not?

Off to Jo-Ann’s we went, for plastic jewels and some sequins. And laying it all out, it didn’t seem like it’d be that hard to do! Until I realized that the sequins I bought were not going to look good. The material they were attached to was transparent and cheap looking. So back to Jo-Ann’s I went for sequin-backing (who knew that was a thing?). After that, I was finally ready to start crafting. So I made the patches, hand-stitched them on, laid out my gems and glued them with this magic glue. Of course, I’m making it sound easy, but in reality….

There were a few problems (what type of Pinterest fail column would this be without them?!):

1. Sequins are HARD to cut. Especially with child-protection scissors.
2. When I did sew the sequins and rhinestones on, they were a little uneven. Okay, that’s fine (beginner’s mistake), so I took one off and redid it. But, of course, I actually took off the correct one and now both patches sit happily just above my elbows. Bicep patches, maybe? New trend?? I don’t know.
3. That magic glue (called E6000) is wonder-glue for all things crafty BUT hey guess what? IT IS SUFFOCATING. Especially when your dorm windows don’t actually open for proper ventilation.

Surprisingly, given all the problems I had, trips to the store I made, and trips I went on from all those glue vapors the sweater didn’t end up half bad. If I wiggle it a little, I can even get the elbow patches in the right place. Kind of.