Name: Abby @ Trial & Error Creativity

My Blog: http://trialanderrorcreativity.blogspot.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thatabbyrose

Original Inspiration: http://alphamom.com/family-fun/holidays/cherry-blossom-art-from-a-recycled-soda-bottle/

What I Did: I had a feeling this one was too good to be true. You could just tell from the original picture that those perfect flowers did not really come from that paint-soaked bottle. But I had to try it out anyway.

I did everything the tutorial said to the T. I even went down the fancy route and got canvas for this project (as I was able to get one on sale for $2 at Michaels).

On the one hand, this was better than I expected: I was expecting a glooby, messy, unsightly mess. Instead, what I got were little circles.

I gave this project the benefit of the doubt. Maybe I wasn’t using enough paint. Or too much. Maybe the canvas was too soft. But no matter what I did, I got the same result. I even tried just stamping my plastic protection sheet, just to see if I’d get anything different. Still: the same little circles.

Blog Post Detailing The Experience: http://trialanderrorcreativity.blogspot.com/2013/03/pinterest-fail-cherry-blossoms-out-of.html

My Result:

Next Time I Will: There really is nothing that I could do differently next time. This project just doesn’t work like the website says it does.

However, this was one project that could easily be saved. I used the circles as a base and painted in the rest of the “flowers”. It’s not an authentic “soda bottle cherry blossoms” project, but it is still quite pretty!

Name: Abby @ Trial & Error Creativity

My Blog: http://trialanderrorcreativity.blogspot.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thatabbyrose

Original Inspiration: http://pinterest.com/pin/156077943305967450/

What I Did: Now, this should’ve been a simple dress. A simple, simple, simple dress. A simple, simple, simple pattern for a simple, simple, simple dress. And it was: Take a yard of fabric, cut it into 4 long rectangles, sew it all together (save for arms and head), sew in some elastic. Viola.

So — how do you completely mess up something so easy? Get the wrong #%&ing fabric.

I found the fabric online and I was enamored. Of course, anyone worth their weight in sewing equipment will tell you that you need to feel the fabric before you buy it. But I wasn’t thinking about that. All I thought was cherry blossoms — pretty, pretty! So the above is what I ended up with before the elastic. Pretty in its own right, right? Wrong. I tried it on and the fabric had no give to it. I looked silly, to be quite frank. To call it a red rectangle would be a misnomer, since even rectangles look better than this mess.

Now it was time to just wing it. So, I clipped, I hemmed, I tried on again. Terrible. Lathered, rinsed, repeated — still terrible, only with thinner straps.

So I tried one.more.time. And I made them thinner than I ever thought they were going to be. The upshot is that I got to trim the straps inwards toward the neck, a European style for dresses that I love but can never seem find in stores. And then, I pinned, I hemmed, and it didn’t matter how bad it looked. I was done with those straps. I didn’t care if I looked like a homeless person mugged a transvestite. I was done.

I ended up with what you see below, which isn’t bad, but is terrible getting on and needs a belt to hide how unflattering it is.

Blog Post Detailing The Experience: http://trialanderrorcreativity.blogspot.com/2013/02/pinterest-fail-simple-stitch-dress.html

My Result:

Next Time I Will:  Get better fabric! I can see this working with a nice cotton fabric — something with a little give!

Name: Audrey

My Blog: http://anaudblog.blogspot.com

Original Inspiration: http://ruffledblog.com/diy-paper-lace-doily-lanterns/

What I Did: We are getting married in August, and my fiance has allowed me to make our wedding to my grandma style. With that in mind, I chose this project because it changed the look of a classic paper lantern with doilies. I did change the idea slightly by using a hot glue gun instead of double sided tape, but the real problem was when I realized this project would take FOREVER.

Blog Post Detailing The Experience: http://anaudblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/di-why.html

My Result:

Next Time I Will:  Not bother. I don’t have time to do 50 of these…

Name: mjfcositas

Original Inspiration: http://pinterest.com/pin/220113500509450558/

What I Did: I took inspiration from an Etsy site, as well as several others describing DIY spray painting with glass. I have been collecting glass jars and wine bottles for months now, and decided to try projects over winter break. Like a good Pinterest-follower, I ransacked Michaels art store, buying spray paint and other accessory items for mason jar salvaging. I spray painted this jar with one coat of gold and waited a whole day for it to dry. The next day, I carefully placed rubber bands on the jar, and gave it a coat of purple. I then waited ANOTHER day to give it a chance to dry and removed the rubber bands. Instead of the pic from the Etsy site, I came out with this wonderful masterpiece…. My faith in Pinterest is gone…..What am I supposed to look at during class now?!

My Result:

Next Time I Will:  there is NO saving the soul of this project. time to throw it in the recycling bin

Name: Nicole

Original Inspiration: http://pinterest.com/pin/11047961557984553/

What I Did: I chose to try and save a couple bucks by following this super easy recipe for modge podge so I could get cracking on some other neat pinterest ideas I had. At first it looked completely normal, I tested it out it worked great! Then a couple days later I woke up to find it like this, oozing from the jar. Yay me.

My Result:

Name: Yarms

Original Inspiration: http://pinterest.com/pin/46302702390203558/

What I Did: They’re so cute and we’re so crafty! Only real difference is we used a red glove. Right???

My Result:

Name: Robin

Original Inspiration: http://pinterest.com/pin/32932640996162446/

What I Did: I made this as a present and decided to give it for a laugh. I used a 2x size silky shirt from goodwill.

My Result:

Next Time I Will:  I would use sharper scissors, a cotton t-shirt (so the fabric doesn’t stretch and bounce so much), and a smaller size shirt!

Name: Amy

My Blog: http://sparkbyamy.tumblr.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/amyeb007

Original Inspiration: http://pinterest.com/pin/248401735666698434/

What I Did: I saw the inspiration link and thought it would a cheap way to make a wreath. I tried it and the kinks just got worse and worse. Then I saw this link: http://pinterest.com/pin/248401735666782452/ and redid the whole wreath using this information. It didn’t work either.

Blog Post Detailing The Experience: http://sparkbyamy.tumblr.com/post/39389377256/pinterest-fail-cheap-wreath-form

My Result:

Next Time I Will: This project cannot be saved. I’ll buy a real strofoam wreath foam and redo it all.

Name: WK & GW

Original Inspiration: http://pinterest.com/pin/197032552419047020/

What I Did: We had aspirations to become professional gingerbread house builders, so we got a gingerbread house kit from IKEA. As you can see, we nailed it.

My Result:

Next Time I Will: Use hot glue.

Name: Lacey Kae

Original Inspiration: http://pinterest.com/pin/139048707216670759/

What I Did: With two crafty daughters and a birthday coming up, I thought for sure this would be a great way to save money (and reduce exposure to potentially lead based Chinese sparkles). Instead it was a massive waste of time. No matter what I did, it came out like sand. Add more dye… sand. Bake for longer… sand. Rub the salt onto the foil (to try to transfer the metal)… sand. Freaking sand. Same deal with sugar. Googled the craft finally to see what I was doing wrong, and surprise! The salt/sugar only sparkles as it naturally would alone. Like, when you stare at it on a normal day, and decide to add some high powered lights to heighten the experience. Baking dries the dye faster, and the foil protects the pan. Lame.

My Result:

Next Time I Will:  Next time, I’ll look at it through the eyes of a crunchy Earth mama, and embrace Nature’s sparkle in all its glory. Bah hah hah! Just kidding. Next time I’m totally just going to buy real glitter.