Hating Throw Pillows, or, How I Started Crafting

Who knew I could be crafty (or enjoy doing it)? I definitely didn't.

Let me explain something about myself: I don't decorate. It's not that I don't like decorations; I've just never felt the need to put time and effort into choosing decorations, finding a place for them, getting out the hammer and nails and hanging them up and making sure they're straight and blah blah blah. That's a whole lot of work to do when I could be on the couch reading.

My sister and I once got into an argument, an actual argument with a little bit of anger on both sides, over throw pillows.

Let me just say that again in case you didn't get it. We got angry at each other. Over throw pillows.

We were exercising together, walking down the side of the street, when somehow the idea of pillows came up. I think she was redecorating her bedroom, and I had just purchased a new black and white comforter, and she was telling me that she had extra white pillows that wouldn't look right with her new color scheme but that would go well with my new comforter. I innocently said no thanks, I didn't want any throw pillows. This is where the trouble began. She said, "Don't you want to add a little flair to your room? The pillows would look so good." I said, "That's great, but I don't use throw pillows. I just have to throw them all on the floor to get them out of the way to go to sleep, and then I have to pick them all up again when I make my bed. And if I want to sit on my bed and read or do homework or watch TV," at the time I lived in a one-bedroom apartment and did almost everything on my bed, "I'd have to move them out of the way. It's just a waste of energy."

Conversation over, right? She's thrown out her pillow offer, I've explained why I don't want them, end of story.

Oh no. This conversation argument went on for several more minutes. We moved away from throw pillows and into a more general discussion of my not wanting to decorate, my not feeling the need to spice up my room, and her not understanding why I didn't just want a little extra flair to make my room/apartment look nice. To this day, I still don't quite understand why either of us got so impassioned over this, but my sister was definitely offended by the time we walked back to our apartments.

So how does this throw-pillow-hating, decorating-avoiding person end up being crafty on a January Thursday night? Answer: a new haircut, Facebook, Pinterest and free supplies.

With a short new haircut since October, I've been wearing larger and more colorful earrings, and my pathetic jewelry box that I've had since I was twelve just wasn't really cutting it anymore. It couldn't hold all my earrings, and it was hard for me to see them and see what my options were.

Enter Facebook: A friend of mine recently posted a picture of a jewelry holder that she made out of an old mirror and some lace.

Enter Pinterest: Inspired, I search for jewelry holders and found several Do It Yourself options.

Enter free supplies: Recently, my office has moved, and I acquired a couple of picture frames that we had never used at the office and saw no reason to move them around with us. So as I scrolled through the Pinterest options, I saw that some used picture frames, and I already had a few at home.

After a quick trip to Wal-Mart for wire and thumbtacks, I was ready to go. I used this tutorial, skipped the painting steps since my frame was already the color I wanted, and got started. Almost immediately, I was ready to give up when I realized I couldn't push the thumbtack into the frame the way I thought I should be able to, but brilliantly my boyfriend reminded that we had, and could use, a hammer. And a few minutes later, I had this:

It was so easy! And now that I've made one, I could easily and quickly make others (plenty of thumbtacks and wire left) so that my earrings could be more spread out, and I would have room for new pairs as I get them.

I know it looks weird with the light switches;
I can't help that they were badly placed!

Once I'd done this, I was bitten by the decorative bug. I finally hung up the picture my sister gave me at least two Christmases ago (another decorative item I had argued that I would never use or need). 

Next, I picked up this weird thing that's been in my closet since the last tenant moved out and left it behind (the last tenant being my younger sister). I don't know what you call this thing, but whatever, I put pictures in it.

At this point, I was exhausted from being crafty. So I didn't hang this on the wall. I also have a 4-piece painting that my throw-pillow-loving sister did for me over Christmas break that I haven't gotten around to hanging up yet. But still, I was actually crafty and decorative. And I didn't stop to sit on the couch and read once! 






Of course, don't think that this means I want throw pillows. I don't want throw pillows on my bed. Ever.