 |
I wish I was a crafter
I wish I were a crafter. I really do.
Sidenote: does that sentence make anyone else break out into a spontaneous lyrically re-mixed rendition of Skee-Lo's ‘I wish I was a little bit taller, I wish I was a baller....' No? Okay then. As you were.
Ahem. Where was I? Oh yeah, wishing I was a crafter...
You see, I read all these inspiring, beautifully-presented blogs by effortlessly artsy, crafty types, and I feel as though they've all got something I don't have. They're in possession of a soul. And it's a pretty one. And I want me a piece of that.
I am drawn, like a moth to a flame, towards craft magazines and to pretty little shops that sell delightful, delicate hand-made things. But that only serves to torture me because - the truth must be told - I don't seem to have a crafty bone in my body.
I can barely muster enough craftiness to fulfill my children's rampant desire to ‘make stuff' out of old toilet rolls and cereal boxes but it has to be acknowledged that our finished items tend to lack a certain finesse. They certainly never look pretty, and the process nearly always tends to end in tears and sometimes even bloodshed. But that's a post for another day.
The thing is, I feel as though all the other groovy mamas out there must have got a memo telling them that crafty would one day be cool. Except me. When I was at school scrap-booking was considered about as lame as stamp-collecting, and flower-arranging was a veritable byword for nerdiness.
So tell me, what changed? And why did no one warn me that knowing how to macramé might actually come in handy one day?
You May Also Like
Comments (23)
-
Report Mon Jan 16, 2012 - 6:12 pmahem. Sadly, your case would have been SO much more believable if ITPR didn't sweetly tell us we may also like to read the One Where You MADE FUDGE For The Teachers. Seduced by The Craft Side. Tut.Reply -
6 replies, Last reply by The Bearded Iris on Tue Feb 14, 2012 at 12:25 pm
-
Report
Tue Jan 17, 2012 - 5:23 am
I've tried my hand at a dozen different crafts and I usually just write about the experience. I'm so not a crafter!Reply -
1 reply, Last reply by Heidi_Scrimgeour on Tue Jan 17, 2012 at 10:01 am
-
Report
Mon Jan 16, 2012 - 6:15 pm
I am crafty - does that count? I wouldn't worry about it - nobody cares really.Reply -
1 reply, Last reply by Heidi_Scrimgeour on Mon Jan 16, 2012 at 9:09 pm
-
Report
Mon Jan 16, 2012 - 2:41 pm
I have a pom pom maker. Anyone could use it. That could be your specialty...Reply -
1 reply, Last reply by Heidi_Scrimgeour on Mon Jan 16, 2012 at 5:33 pm
-
Report Mon Jan 16, 2012 - 4:20 pmMacrame, ah macrame! How many plant holders did I make back in the dark ages??!!Reply
-
1 reply, Last reply by Heidi_Scrimgeour on Mon Jan 16, 2012 at 5:33 pm
-
Report
Mon Jan 16, 2012 - 4:44 pm
Oh my. I could have written this. I am just crap at it. My attempts have always been pants. I now give up, and visit Etsy instead!Reply -
1 reply, Last reply by Heidi_Scrimgeour on Mon Jan 16, 2012 at 5:33 pm
-
Report Mon Jan 16, 2012 - 7:56 amThe thing I like about handmade items is they aren't perfect. Flawless means machine-made to me, so pick a craft and have a go. Maybe try a small class for beginners and if what you make is wonky or full of holes then smile and call it rustic.Reply
-
1 reply, Last reply by Heidi_Scrimgeour on Mon Jan 16, 2012 at 12:24 pm
-
Report
Mon Jan 16, 2012 - 11:49 am
I used to be like that a year ago and then I signed up for craft workshops throughout last year and at one they actually got me on a sewing machine. I ended the year making all my own Christmas tree decs! (http://rickiejosen.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/handmade-christmas/) there is hope!Reply -
1 reply, Last reply by Heidi_Scrimgeour on Mon Jan 16, 2012 at 12:24 pm
-
Report Mon Jan 16, 2012 - 11:34 amI think that the only arty parents are the ones who were great at art at school. I remember them well, the ones who made amazing multi-coloured floral ties and took over the art room completely in the run up to GCSE's. The ones who made drawing a perfectly proportioned fruit bowl look easy compared to my horrible vaguely "is that a fruit bowl and fruit" attempts at something similar. The ones who spent every moment of free time in the art room and came back after lunch with a smattering of vivid paints on their jumpers. These are the parents who make the rest of us normal people look bad. I've met the children of people I used to go to school with who were good at art, and their kids are always making amazing things too. HOWEVER, everyone is creative in different ways. Some people think I am very good at craft-like and creative things because I can build ridiculously huge castles in the garden out of many hundreds of 10ft long planks and thousands of screws, but to me, that isn't craft, its engineering and science. Everyone is creative, just in different ways. Perhaps your "crafty" expertise is in writing, so inspiring your kids to write creatively would be your strength, its equally as creative, but doesn't have to be a castle or a toilet-roll inspired star-wars battle set!Reply
-
1 reply, Last reply by Heidi_Scrimgeour on Mon Jan 16, 2012 at 12:22 pm
Enter the word as it appears in the box.