It’s true. I like to pin things on Pinterest; and probably not unlike many women who use pinterest, I have also deluded myself in to thinking that I’m crafty. In earnest, I’m a unique hybrid of ambitious and lazy.
Allow me to explain.
The Inspiration: Delicate Artwork To Honor Your Home State
The Harpster Home wordpress blog did a post about how their heart was in Ohio and they would commemorate the state with art. Her artwork was later pinned on to, as NPR’s described Pinterest, social media’s newest darling.
Source: theharpsterhome.wordpress.com via Martha on Pinterest
That’s where I saw this image with the description, “finally a tutorial on how to do it!” Well, I can do that, I thought.
Instructions? Nah, More Like Suggestions.
Enter lazy, stage left.
I did not actually proceed to the tutorial until I had returned from the craft store with the materials I thought I would need and by then it was too late.
Materials You Should Not Buy
You will see pictured here: canvas, corkboard, hot glue gun, pins, thread and an adult beverage. Contrast that to a piece of wood that needs to be sanded down, primed and painted, a hammer, nails and string.
Step 1: [Image Not Available] Reinforcing The Canvas
I knew, but was not phased, that the pins would fall right through the canvas and so before any real work could begin I cut the corkboard to size and wedged it behind the canvas. Hot glue kept the boards from sliding around back there.
Step 2: Cut Out the State and Start Pinning
As with all my projects, this has a promising start.
Step 3: Remove The Template And Convince Yourself That This Might Still Work Out
Doubt is starting to trickle in as I wonder how these crooked pins are going to affect the integrity of the artwork. Oh well. Onward!
Step 4: You’ve Got To Have Art
As Those Damn Yankees taught me, You’ve Got To Have Heart: You’ve gotta have hope/Mustn’t sit around and mope/Nothin’s half as bad as it may appear.
Step 5: Carefully Thread The Pins With, Uh, Thread
Hey, that’s not half bad. Let’s do it two more times! – says a glutton for punishment.
Show & Tell: California, Arizona and Maryland as State Pin Art
Optional Step: Follow Me!
[Follow my pins: pinterest.com/mschulzinger/.]
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Littlest Martha 
Great job!
Thank you so much!
have to follow u!
Thank you!
Love it!
That looks WAY harder than uploading a Pin, plus a little more precarious in terms of potential injury and mishap.
So far, knock on wood, I have not drawn blood with any of my Pins.
ACTUAL pins? I’m not sure. :-)
I can’t deny that I didn’t get poked but I’m happy with the outcome. By the way, I am digging your blog, The Muddy Kitchen.
Thanks for checking out my little corner of the web.
Thanks Lill’st M.
Back at you, sista! This corner is nice.
xjennifer
Hi there…fellow Pinterest addict here. :) This entry made me smile. Thanks!
Looks, nice. I’m assuming that it’s just one long string of thread woven back and forth, right? How do you anchor the ends? Just a dab of glue? Or do you tie a knot?
Hey Matt, great questions! I tied a knot around my first pin (a pin on the state’s border) then carefully looped the thread to a “heart” pin and continued to go back and forth until I ended up where I started.
Then I looped a pin I had already threaded and tied another knot. No glue. Just tension.
Cool, thanks. I think my state would be the hardest to do though: Hawaii. 8 islands. I was wondering how it would look with green thread on a light blue canvas.
That would be really pretty! Maybe make the art a little bigger?
lol, hilarious! made my morning. =>
This blog was well written and for you to take the time to do it makes it worth reading and I enjoy the pictures that you have taken with it.
I love your dry humor! However, your results were fantastic! I already followed you on Pintrest ;)
Awesome! Thanks so much!
I’m not on Pintrest, but crafts like this one make me think I should!
Haha, your post had me cracking up because I see a lot of myself in this…..sort of flying by the seat of your pants. I already know that although this is really cool I will probably never motivate myself enough to do it but at least I can enjoy yours :)
Haha, I know how you feel. You did a great job though! They look adorable. :)
Nice and interesting post
wow! lovely work!
I think the secret was the “adult beverage”. Fun post.
Ha! Nailed it!
“…and an adult beverage.”
That’s a mighty big straw there! I’m guessing four sips through that straw and the drink is gone.
Can you blame me? Mango nectar and mango-infused vodka. Hmmm, tasty-good-times.
I love Pinterest and, too, have failed (far more miserably than you have) at replicating projects. Ugh. Glad to know I am not alone!
http://offdutymom.wordpress.com/
This doesn’t look like a mess-up! You did a great job :-)
http://stepstochangetheworld.wordpress.com/
Those are so cute! good job!
Very Pinteresting – interesting post – congrats on being FP
This is awesome! Perfect present for friends that are moving out of state! http://www.JaclynFreedman.com
Not a fail at all!
Couldn’t have been done without the adult beverage… This might be fun/horrifying for another “non-crafty/lazy but wishes she were crafty” person (me) to try!
Thanks for the inspiration!
At least your work resembles what it is supposed to look like. Crooked or not we could still identify the state.
Reblogged this on XariZ.
I have wanted to try these for so LONG!!! Mine would be Ohio for me and Georgia for my boyfriend. Maybe someday I’ll get around to it! So glad I saw your post!!
Pinterest addict here as well!!! I will have to find and follow you now!! How long did these take to make? And by the third did it get easier?! Love how they turned out! Great job!!
Welcome fellow Pinterest addict! It took a couple of hours. In theory it should gotten easier but I saved the hardest for last — Maryland was so tricky.
oh pinterest how deceiving it can be! It makes everything look oh so easy! ha! My sister tried to do this same project with the state of Oklahoma and it was a challenge as well! Let’s just say yours look much better than hers did!
I still think these are great, even if the materials weren’t suggested in the tutorial. I’ve done that too where I’ll just look at the pictures and try to wing it and it never seems to work as well. And it’s NEVER as easy as it looks.
Loved this post and I’m a fan of Pinterest myself… I think you creations are way cool! Congratulations on being FP!
I am far to lazy to do this. :)
That looks like hard work!
this is too funny. I am also one to think “hey i could make that” and dive in without consulting materials lists, patterns or suggestions. however, i never end up THIS successful. What a great job you did.
That’s very kind of you to say. Don’t sell yourself short. I’m sure you’re pretty crafty too!
I’d start with the adult beverage and end up stuck with pins and wrapped in string. I’ll just look at yours and admire.
HAHAHAH!!!
aha those are really amazing! hard work. i’m def far too lazy for this kind of project but yours turned out awesome! x
Thank you SO much!
I kind of think you left out some expletives by not describing the task of stringing the pins. I’ve never done this before, but to me stringing would be the most difficult part to complete. Nice job, great step by step directions.
The hubbs had some choice expletives, for sure, when it came time to put the artwork on the wall as the needles were sticking through. Thanks Grumpa Joe!
Since I live in Arizona, I obviously love the Arizona one :) Such a fun craft! Looks awesome!
It’s a pretty great state, huh? At least not in the summer months. Thanks so much for visiting, Robin!
You go girl! We like Pinterest too! Happy pinning and crating :)
Thank you so much, Lauren Olivia & Co!