Interview with Kirsty Calquhoun: 365 Days of Pinterest Creations

Monday, August 1, 2011

Interview with Kirsty Calquhoun: 365 Days of Pinterest Creations

We have a screen-printed poster in our office that reads, “Done is better than perfect.” We also have one that reads, “Everyday I’m hustlin’,” but that’s neither here nor there…

The point is, it’s better to accomplish something than agonize over whether or not it’s perfect and - by the very nature of perfection - not be able to finish anything at all.

So when Kirsty Colquhoun’s blog 365 Days of Pinterest Creations came to our attention, we were completely floored. Here was a woman in New Zealand making something great every day from her boards! Regardless of whether a seam is a little crooked, she unfailingly goes onto the next pin and brings it to life.

In Kirsty’s case, done is infinitely more inspiring than “perfect,” and you better believe she’s hustlin’ every day. More than one month into her year of creations, we caught up with the industrious mom about her 365 days thus far:

Hi! First off, what would say are the basic facts about one Kirsty Calquhoun?

New Zealander, living rurally in Helensville (45 minutes from Auckland); married to Steve, two peeps (Benjamin age 9, Pollyanna age 6). I home-school both my children, I love Christmas, and actually any holiday that involves decorating.

I love sport but have never been any good at it. I also absolutely love creating whether it’s a craft or something to eat or decorating a new room, but I’ll never make the national team in those either!

Source: Peanut butter marbled brownies, Kirsty’s first creation from a recipe by Sweet as Sugar Cookies

What inspired you to undertake a full year of Pinterest DIYs? Have you always been a crafter and avid maker?

Two things inspired me: the first was I made a couple of recipes I had pinned to my recipes board and they were delicious; my family demanded more Pinterest-food! I thought, “Wouldn’t it be great if I could let other pinners know I had tried some of the creations found from Pinterest?”

I also really wanted to let fellow pinners know that their finds and their pins were genuinely great things that really work in real life! I have always loved to bake, cook, and create, but I’m not super-talented at any one of those. But I do love to try things and I wanted to let others know that all the inspiration from Pinterest was really worth attempting, not for a finished masterpiece but because it’s totally fun and challenging trying all these inspiring ideas!

Source: Making Things Happen; pinned by Kirsty onto Whimsy

The second thing that inspired me to undertake 365 Days of Pinterest Creations was a quote I found on Pinterest. I didn’t want to look back in a year’s time and find I hadn’t made the most of all the inspiration Pinterest had given me. This quote resonated with me, and the rest as they say is history!

I blog about it as a way to keep motivated and to document my year of creating. I really do create each thing on the day it’s blogged. I am totally looking forward to visiting my sister in Singapore next week and taking Pinterest 365 on the road!

Source: Kirsty’s Bored Jar creation; inspired by a Shaydes of Life blog post

Well over a month into your 365 days of creations, do you have any stand-out favorites?

My husband Steve’s favourite is surprisingly not a recipe but the “bored jar.” He absolutely loves the fact that the kids will take it on if they are bored and it has given us fantastic entertainment. The most hilarious moment was when my son Ben declared he was bored at 7.30am on a Sunday waiting for us to get out of bed and start cooking breakfast. We sent him to the bored jar and he ended up vacuuming upstairs before breakfast. We all laughed so much and Ben took it so well he went straight back to the bored jar and found he had to make some pasta art while waiting for the bacon to cook. The bored jar has definitely been a hit with everybody: there is no more grumpiness with boredom and the kids have totally bought into the fact if they take on THE JAR, they do so regardless of the consequences! This is also Ben’s favourite creation so far!

Source: Kirsty’s ruffle skirts; made from Tanya at Grand Revival Design’s tutorial

For me, my favourite ones are the clothes for the kids. I never thought I would have the confidence to make the kids clothes they would actually wear in public, but the tutorials pinned on Pinterest have been so brilliant they have made me feel like a seamstress!

Pollyanna’s favourite was the “one bowl wonder” chocolate cake. This cake was so good it surpassed the sleeping bags I made for her Barbies!

Okay… and we have to ask: any projects that didn’t quite turn out as you’d hoped?

The dishes from the lemon meringue pie were piled high. I am not someone who loves dishes! Loved the pie, but the dishes were extreme. But, honestly, people must pin with such integrity because the things I have pinned have been awesome to make thanks to brilliant instructions, tutorials, and guidance! Not even the clothing has fallen apart yet! Be sure I will show you any failures I do have over the next year, though because that too will be part of the journey!

Source: Kirsty’s Family Rooms and Lounges board

Outside of keeping track of projects, how else do you use Pinterest?

Oh you mean apart from everyday inspiration ;) ? Actually Pinterest has heaps of uses for my family:

- The kids have a board each where they put their favourite things (I love that because I have a unbiased view of what they love and what’s important to them: great for birthdays; I don’t need to ask, I can just look at their boards!)

- Steve and I both use it with the future in mind, we are planning to build in the future and this is hands-down the absolute best way for us both to see what we want in our next house and the design and style of what we want a new house to feel and look like.

- I love seeing what inspires other people, following people allows you to see and perhaps contemplate things you otherwise wouldn’t. I totally love that aspect.

And since you find daily inspiration to make something on Pinterest, do you have any recommendations for DIY-boards or pinners to follow?

Oh my gosh there are so many, I couldn’t possibly choose! I think most of the community has something to offer, I definitely try to follow people from different parts of the world because you get unique perspectives from the cultural diversity.

Thanks so much for taking the time away from making something for this pinterview, Kirsty! We also want to thank you for so diligently linking to permalinks on your blog. We can’t wait to see what you’ll make next, but thankfully we never have to wait long.