Friday, April 3, 2015

Our Craft

As National Craft Month (March) came to a close we were both feeling a little reflective. We mulled over past projects, took a look at our approaches to creativity, and snickered at our goof ups all over again. Eventually it boiled down to these thoughts: "Look how far I have come as a crafter! And also at the same time, look at how much growth potential I have!" 

Those of you who have been with the blog for a while remember this debacle:

You might be giggling (*cough cough* rolling on the floor in tears and fits of laughter if you are new here) at this and wondering who in the heck newbie craft rookie made this giant mistake…that would be me, Emilee Goutcher, Crafter Extraordinaire. This was one the first cake creations I ever attempted. It went worse than awful. It looks like a beast from the deepest most forgotten corners of the kitchen from hell. It was hilarious to bring to the party (which I did end up taking by the way), and yet people still ate it! Whether it was pity eating, or because it was actually good is still up for debate. What I really loved though was that it created conversation, it created a safe place for fellow crafters to commiserate at, it created a giggle, sharing of tips and tricks, and it was one of the cool inspirations for this site.

It’s been four years since that Halloween from Hell, and I have learned quite a bit. Lately my cakes look more like this...


...but that doesn't mean I don’t still make mistakes, laugh, cry, get back up and try again. Even those crafters who have been at it for 50+ years (Mom) still call me frustrated every once in a while, we talk it out, growl at the fabric, make a joke and figure it out.

We truly see Pinstrosity as “our craft” and our approach to the crafting world. There are some fabulous artists and crafters out there who zoom in on one specific craft as “their craft”. They make giant cactuswatercolor paintings, like Alice Webb, or unique and pretty ornaments, like Patience Brewster, or beautiful handmade jewelry, like The Roving Hedgehog. Us on the other hand...we're not quite so focused. We have Crafting ADHD. One week we're interested in mod podging fabric to shoes, then a paint dipped spoon project catches our attention and we're drop the mod podge and run to the thrift store for spoons, and then as soon as that's finished we see a fun cake that we have to imitate and try our hand at that, only to discover a pin all about the renewed interest in macrame. We end up looking a little like this: 
This approach works for us! We've learned so much by all our attempts. We are different crafters now in 2015 than we were in 2012. Not because we took classes on specific crafts. Not because we're gifted at crafting (bahaha, you've seen enough of our projects here on Pinstrosity to know that we're not!). It's because we tried. And tried. And threw away projects (after posting them on here of course). And succeeded here and there. Our craft is crafting, whether we do it well or not, and it's a part of who we are. 

What we love about crafting is the ability to simultaneously by so stinkin’ impressed with your bad self and also know that next time it will hopefully be easier, better quality and more enjoyable. The fact that our craft can allow for self-recognition of awesomeness while at the same time be a measure of how we can improve next time is unique and fabulous. Why wouldn't we love it?? We love that our craft allows us to create new things that have never been thought of before, but that we can also share those things with others and they can find joy in creating something similar. There is a certain comradery in the craft world that I find admirable. We can see something clever and say to ourselves “Why didn't I think of that?!” which to me is the ultimate craft compliment.


We love our craft because it brings us closer together, it brings out our most creative selves, and we might just learn a little here and there all while still burning our fingers on the hot glue gun for the million and eighth time. Goshdangit. 

           

9 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness! Haha, that was my first time seeing that cake, too funny. ;) That's how basically every cake I've ever made has turned out, so hey, don't feel bad! The unicorn cake looks great though!!!
    xoxo
    Grace Anne
    http://totallygraced.blogspot.com

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    1. Good thing cakes don't have to be pretty to be yummy, huh?! My aunt is a professional baker and her motto is "Taste before Beauty!" I'll take and ugly yummy cake over a pretty gross cake any day!

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  2. Yeah that's quite the cake in the first pic.... o.O lol Unicorn looks awesome though!

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    1. I'm pretty impressed with Em. She's really persevered with her cakes and is a lot braver than I am!

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  3. I would totally have eaten that cake without a murmur -- I think it's kind of cute! That tells you all you need to know about my cake decorating skillz.

    Crafting generalists like you too are inspiring for narrower crafters like me -- it's this whole other perspective, with pretty pictures and practical tips

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    1. I was at that "Halloween from Hell" and the owl cake and cupcakes tasted delicious! They added some fun and humor to the party, but they sure did hit a homerun in the flavor department (especially as they were gluten free too!).

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  4. Mod Podging fabric to shoes....I've done that...and it was a pin win! I'm an ADHD crafter too!

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    1. Pin Win! Yea! I've wanted to try it and that project still scares me. Nice work!

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