In a world that is dominated by hand-made, home-made, home-grown, made from the heart; gifts, cards, valentines, invites, and all the other things that wind up in my kids cubby at school, I stick out like a sore thumb.
This new Pintrest world we all live in is really putting a damper on my store-bought lifestyle. I am not crafty and as my son gets older I am finding out the hard way that I am in the minority; well more like the 1%.
I have always been uncrafty even though I grew up in a very crafty family; my one grandma sews and knits, my other grandma is a wonderful painter, my aunt is a famous quilter, my mom crochets, cross stitches, and was a Stampin’ Up demonstrator for about 15 years, and my sister refinishes furniture, decorates, and is a photographer. I inherited none of the craftiness.
I tried to be crafty. Most of my attempts end up failing, breaking, or I just never finish them, part of the problem is that I don’t have the patience. My first attempt at making valentines for my son’s daycare ended up being some candy in a cup. I got a sewing machine and it has been at my mom’s in North Dakota for about 5 years. My craft tote hasn’t been opened since I packed it up when we moved from North Dakota in 2012. I looked at Pintrest for ideas for my friend’s baby shower, but in the end, I made sure all crafty ideas were left up to other people and I made the egg bakes because baking is something I can actually do. My husband says I am not allowed to paint or use a hot glue-gun anymore. I tried to paint a sign once and my mom and sister had to fix it for me. I can’t even do those step-by-step painting classes!
I will say that Valentine’s Day makes me feel the worst with all the homemade valentines and boxes and the cutesy stuff. I can usually manage store bought cards with candy or fruit snacks taped to them. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are close seconds. All you see featured are the cute handmade or painted gifts for all the grandmas and grandpas out there. Gift cards and coffee are our go-to gifts for the grandparents.
So how do I solve the problem of being “uncrafty”? I make sure I have crafty people around me! I am lucky to have a very crafty husband who also happens to be an amazing artist. My mother-in-law is available for all sewing projects, my father-in-law is a woodworker and made my son a handcrafted boat cradle when he was born. My sister-in-law is extremely creative and crafty, my sister is always willing to come over and paint and decorate for me, and my mom always has a card ready when I forget to buy one. When I am in need of a crafty, one-of-a-kind gift I hit up Etsy or a local artisan for something unique. When I am really in a pinch I just put my kid out on the deck with some paint and a paint brush and paper or some wooden trinket I found at the craft store and let him go to town.
Over the years I would say about 5 percent of my crafting attempts have been completed to my liking, the rest either were never finished or ended up in the garbage. Now that I have a child I realize that crafting and creating are going to have to be part of my life. I am lucky that he currently goes to a daycare that does enough crafts that I don’t have to do any at home. Target and Amazon 2-day shipping are also a lifesaver for all kinds of things that could be crafted by other people… but not uncrafty me.
The uncrafty may be hard to find in the Pintrest world we live in, but we are out there hiding in the shadows, trying to figure out how to use a glue gun, or doing our best to make a store-bought card a little more personal with a nice saying. Hold your head and your Target Red Card high and know that you are not alone!
