Gripes

“I got it from Pinterest!”

Dear… Everyone,

That DIY Christmas gift you made? Precious. That art project you did with your students? Fabulous. Those leftovers you brought in to lunch the other day? Delicious. That headband you’re wearing? Cute. Those invitations you sent out? Stylish.

I love it all, and told you so, but here’s the thing, nothing annoys me more than when you reply with, “Thanks, I got it from Pinterest!” Stop it. Stop it right now. You didn’t get it from Pinterest. Saying you got an idea from Pinterest is like saying you read this great story in the library card catalog. Youquote wouldn’t say that, right? No one would, because it isn’t true. The library card catalog just pointed you in the right direction so you could find the story. So why, why, why do you continue to tell people that you got it from Pinterest? Pinterest is merely a catalog that directs you towards primary sources.

That cool lizard project you saw me make with my students? It came from Art. Paper. Scissors. Glue! who originally found it at The Paper Pear. That wreath I made for Halloween that you loved so much? It came from The Long Thread. Those awesome cinnamon bars that I brought in for the potluck? I got the recipe from Averie Cooks. And that, my friends, is how it’s done.

“Oh, but it’s so much easier to just say I found it on Pinterest.” Yes, yes it is, and maybe, in everyday conversation, I can forgive you, but for the love of creativity, don’t ever, ever source Pinterest in a blog post. It infuriates me to see professional, creative writers and bloggers cite Pinterest as a source. Shame on you. You should know better. Give credit where credit is due and blah blah blah. You’ve all heard it before. Don’t make me say it again.

And another thing, can we stop with the Pinterest Fail crap? Pinterest didn’t fail you, you failed. Just because you see something on Pinterest, doesn’t mean you can DIY it. Have you even read the blog quote2you tried to replicate an idea from? These people are professionals. They do these things for a living. And even if they don’t, they at least have some experience and know what they’re doing. They are designers and crafters and artists. They have been doing this for years. Unless you already have crafting experience, don’t think that DIY Christmas ornament is going to come out right on the first try. Unless you have experience decorating cakes, don’t think you can replicate that Frozen birthday cake the morning of your daughter’s birthday party. Unless you have experience constructing furniture, don’t think you can make that awesome coffee table with the pipe legs on your own.

So, in conclusion, knock it off. Pinterest doesn’t generate ideas. People do.

Sincerely,

Ms. ATHG

If you haven’t heard, Art Teachers Hate Glitter has been nominated as Wild Card Blog of the Year over at The Art of Education. If you get a moment, it sure would mean a lot to my ego if you could hop on over there and vote for ATHG. Voting continues until Friday, January 23rd. Thank you.
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16 thoughts on ““I got it from Pinterest!””

  1. Thanks, man. This will make me sound more egomaniacal than I already am but I recently came across an art teacher blog where the art teacher had used one of my lessons. What did she say in her blog post? You guessed it, “I GOT IT FROM PINTEREST.” I do believe a lil bit of steam rolled outta my ears when I left a wee little comment that said, “oh! Thank you for sharing my lesson…that you got from pinterest” Call me an a-hole, but I had to do it. Thanks you always for your Royal Awesomeness 🙂

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  2. Hope says:

    I agree 100%. I do have to admit that there was an instance where the pin led nowhere, just an uploaded image, and after further research still came up empty, so I posted the inspirational yet dead-end Pinterest pin and asked readers to help me locate the owner of the photo in order to give proper credit. It was the best solution I could come up with, and happily the owner claimed it and received the glory 🙂

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  4. Katie Hatch says:

    Well said. I’ve just started blogging the where and how my ideas come from. Thank you for sharing this… it will help keep my credits about the people who are hopefully happy to see how their idea inspired me! Hope is right, sometimes the pin leads to nowhere and I am inspired now by your solution! …and giving you the credit 🙂

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  6. yvonne decordova says:

    Well, the internet has certainly made it very easy for us to share ideas and information and that is great. Even still this isn’t a new problem. Before I went into teaching I work in long term health care for 20+ years as a recreation director. I did every thing from writing Policy and Procedure Manuals to teaching ceramics. Loved it. I was very proud of my P&P Manual along with some of the practices I established for delivering care to a variety of cognitive and physical skill levels. Some of it was at the time quite innovative. Then I found out that my administrator had “loaned” my manual to another facility. It wasn’t long before some of my innovative practices became the standard of practice and still are. I recieved absolutely no credit for my work and would be very hard pressed to demonstrate that the ideas originated with me. I only share this to forewarn those of you out there you are regularly publishing your work. There may come a time when you would like credit or to publish in a format which will generate revenue. I’m not sure how to establish protection for your shared work, but I recommend being selective when sharing anything that is absolutely new>

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  7. Geri Passaro says:

    I posted a photo that I had taken at the Hard Rock Hotel and Resort in Orlando ……taken @ the guitar fountain…..it came out lovely…..so I posted it on Pinterest……that was last year in March…….over 40 people have reposted my photo…..I was amazed…………….

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  8. twizzella says:

    It is a matter of honour to research and credit the source of any idea.Don’t climb on others shoulders =stand on your own feet .

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