When I set out to write this article, I dedicated a whole board of pins on Pinterest to ideas I wanted to try and share with the Her Campus community! I thought that all of them would go over flawlessly – I mean, the original pinners could do them, so why couldn’t I? Boy was I proven wrong. Keep reading below to find out which pins I approve of, and which ones, lets just say, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend to a friend!
1. Single Serving Microwavable Cookie
Craving a mid-day snack one day, I attempted the single serving microwavable cookie that I’ve seen plastered all across Pinterest as the answers to every college student’s dream. The picture in this pin looked so yummy that it was hard to resist! The actual results? Not so pretty.
Not only was my cookie an egg yellow mess, it was chunky and resembled the texture and malleability of playdoh – not so appetizing as the original pin raved. Despite all this, I decided to man up and try the cookie – never judge a book by its cover right? Well, not in this case. This book definitely needed to be judged by its cover. Needless to say, it was NOT the homemade cookie taste I was craving.
Overall Rating: Pinterest NOT Approved
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I came across this pin one day and instantly thought about how many cool, but inexpensive, yet still meaningful Christmas and birthday gifts I could make by just perfecting this one project! My best friend’s birthday was just around the corner – so what better a time to try it out!
I managed to score a bulk set of canvases from my local Michael’s for half off and found some leftover Mod Podge somewhere deep in my box of craft materials, so the whole project only cost me around $4. Everything was going smoothly until the part where you carefully rub away the paper, leaving only the ink from your picture behind. This is the longest, and most frustrating part. Trying to perfect the project I tried to rub away every last film of the paper, which inevitably resulted in me rubbing off parts of the actual picture as well.
Overall I was happy with the project. My best friend loved it, the materials were cheap, and the directions were clear. It’s definitely something I would try again, just maybe with a little more patience next time around!
Overall Rating: Pinterest Approved, Somewhat
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3. Crayon Canvas – Watercolor Method
I’ve always loved the crayon canvas project, so when I saw this new, unique twist to it I couldn’t wait to try! Since I wasn’t really sure how to arrange the crayons across the canvas so it looked as creative as the one in the original pin, I decided to block out the letter K and just manipulate the crayons around that.
I followed the tip in the original pin and held my crayons with a fork while heating them up. The most frustrating part was that the blowdryer would blow my crayons all the way across the table at some points when I wasn’t holding onto them tight enough, forcing me to stop my whole project to pick up the crayon and figure out how to position it again. While it’s not as pretty as the original pin, I think it came out cool and is definitely a do-able project for anyone with a little speck of patience and creativity.
Tips Not in the Pin:
If you’re doing this project with someone else, share your crayons! Once you blowdry them onto the canvas they’re malformed and covered with different colors from the other crayons, pretty much useless for anything but this project.
If you’re doing this project by yourself break your crayons in half! They’re much easier to manipulate when they’re smaller, and then you don’t waste the other half of your crayon and can do the project again if you’re pleased with the end result!
Don’t give up if the crayon doesn’t start melting right away – it takes a second to heat up! But once it starts to heat up, beware – it melts fast! And lay down lots and lots of newspaper! This project is messy!
Overall Rating: Pinterest Approved, Somewhat
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I’ve seen all sorts of photo coasters all over the place, so when I found these DIY ones I thought it would make another great present idea. I ended up making these for my mom for Christmas and she loved them! The pin I followed was pretty basic and easily do-able, so overall the project was a success!
After making my coasters I ran across another method that I’d love to try! This one involves actually transferring your photos to the tile, much like the DIY Photo Canvas idea! Try them both out and let us know which you like better!
Overall Rating: Pinterest Approved
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Everyone’s seen this pin – but how many of you have tried it?! Whether you make it as a gift or just something to decorate your dorm room, the personalized coffee mugs are definitely something to make. All you need is a ceramic mug (dollar store, anyone?), a sharpie, and an oven! The best part? As a perfectionist I loved that whenever I made a mistake I could wipe the sharpie off with just a wet paper towel!
Note: before doing this project I saw multiple pins that each had a different suggested baking temperature, so after doing some research I found out that many people who baked their mug at 350 degrees ended up being disappointed when the sharpie came off in the wash! But after baking mine at 450 degrees I’ve had no problems!
Overall Rating: Pinterest Approved
Approve of any other pins? Comment below and let us know which pins you’ve tried!
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