Is It Pinterest-Worthy?

So I decorated a tote bag. Judah had this canvas tote bag lying around that was just screaming to be painted (anyone else do that in girl scouts?). I literally laid awake at night, trying to figure out how I should paint it, because the design of the bag is unique, in that the canvas is pieced together, rather than one flat piece.

And here’s what I came up with. Here’s one side:

And here’s the other:

It was really easy and fun to make. For the large triangles, I first measured out my triangle. It brought back memories of math class. If I had to pick a favorite math, it would probably be geometry, because it’s math I can see. But anyway, be impressed, because math is not my strong point, but I successfully drew a nice looking triangle. (Maybe this is more like preschool than geometry.)

Harry Potter fans, I know what you're thinking.

 I cut out the triangle, laid it on the fabric, lightly penciled the points of the triangles onto the fabric, and then connected the dots with tape. It probably would have been better to use masking tape or painting tape, but I only had scotch tape. Then I painted the triangles, starting with navy blue at the bottom, and adding a little white for each triangle.

For the other side of the bag, I used an “all natural stamp” as some Pinterest-users put it. It’s more commonly known as an apple. Don’t worry, I cut the smallest piece possible because I hate wasting food, and I packed the rest in my lunchbox.

The funny thing about this tote bag is that it actually taught me something about myself. As I was making it, I was using terms like “Pinterest-worthy” and “Pin-worthy” to describe my creation. And to be honest, it definitely looks like something you’d see on Pinterest. It’s canvas. It’s ombre. It’s geometric. You Pinterest-users are nodding your heads right now. I was very proud of that. I was proud that I made something that is worthy of being seen in the lofty Pinterest cosmos. It looks like the stuff everybody else makes. But why was I so concerned about whether or not my tote bag would be acceptable to an innumerable crowd of internet users who will never actually see it anyway? Or perhaps I was more concerned about my immediate circle of friends?

I was looking at a friend’s blog recently, and admiring her beautiful photography, the elegant simplicity of the layout, how many encouraging comments she received, and I thought, “Wow, this is totally Pinterest-worthy!” And then I turned to look at my blog. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again now: comparison is the destroyer of joy. In my mind, my blog (and the crafts that go along with it) are not often “Pinterest-worthy.” I was Skyping with my best friend last night, and shared my sentiments with her, and she simply said, “Jane. I love your blog.” And that was all I needed. Because her opinion, and the opinions of those like her, those close to me, are the ones that matter. I write, blog, and create because I enjoy it, and if it brings joy to those who are close to me, then that makes me happy.