I recently had a friend over, who upon learning I majored in art, then followed it up by saying, “But you don’t like crafts?” To which I said, “No, I don’t.”
She then went on to ask, “How you can stand to pin all these things on Pinterest and not just do them right away?” She does them as soon as she sees them and loves Pinterest.
And it made me think WHY would someone like me, who majored in art, who has drawn since I was very young, who enjoys art, does not however, enjoy crafting. Here’s what I came up with:
1. I don’t have crafting supplies on hand.
With many of the craft things I see via the internet and pinterest, it seems that the tutorial writers all assume that I already have most of these supplies on hand. I don’t have a paper cutter, cricut machine, pinking shears, yards and yards of adorable fabrics, construction paper or cardstock, empty rolls of toilet paper lying around, spray paint, sanders, power tools, foam balls, ribbons, wrapping papers for every occasion, scrapbooking materials, a bunch of old T-shirts and pants, or other things just waiting to be re-purposed and reused.
I am a simple person who doesn’t have a lot of extra income or resources for such “frivolous” things. If I had the above listed materials on hand, then crafting wouldn’t be so expensive, but to stock up on the various supplies can sometimes require a substantial enough chunk of change, and space. Neither Josh or I like much clutter in our house and we periodically donate or throw away old things lying around. Josh is extremely impatient about clutter and messes sometimes and will just go through and chuck things out, so there’s no way he’d let me stock up on empty rolls of toilet paper for a wall decor craft, no matter how cute or beautiful I may think it will turn out.
2. My mother wasn’t a crafter.
My mother did not do arts and craft-type things. Like at all. In fact she hated doing them… Wonder where I get it from?? She would sometimes not go to a church function if she knew it was just going to be a “dumb craft” activity, and would moan about doing such things. Our home had very little decoration of any kind, including pictures on the wall. We didn’t have seasonal decorations brought out, only Christmas ones really, and then my mother may or may not get around to decorating for Christmas that year, or forgo setting up a tree or nativity set or stockings or … you get the point.
My mother did not prioritize decorations and “beautifying our home.” She prioritized a clean home, though not really a clutter-free home. She did stack up newspapers and magazines and all sorts of stuff, which is perhaps why she now has the world’s largest “One-year supply” of food (way past your basics!), paper products, hygiene products, batteries, water, and much much more in case of an apocalyptic doom. Needless to say, I hate clutter and stuff everywhere, but also have no good sense of home style and decor.
3. I’m so practical.
Because of the above point, I grew up thinking, “Yeah, what is the point of these craft projects anyway?” Most of the time you’ll make it and then it will just sit there and take up space, especially when they are group crafts, crafts done at a school or church setting. I made all sorts of things growing up that ended up in the trash because, well, they were ugly, or completely useless to me. Did I really need another photo album I wasn’t going to use? Or a painted cowbell? Or a wall-hanging? Or a poorly-made ornament? Or another cutesy nicknack? NO! (This reminds me of a post I wrote about the ceramic projects I made in grade-school, and whether or not they were actually worth keeping).
Seriously, I am a very practical person, sometimes painfully so (for Josh especially). It’s also something I inherited from my mother (for never wanting to become my mother, I am regretfully very much like her!). I have a hard time wanting to make something that doesn’t have a purpose. I very much prefer to give gifts that have a use, a purpose, rather than are “pretty” or “nice.” I’d rather give a book or a board game to someone than a card, flowers, and candy. Flowers die and cards get thrown away. Candy gets eaten and the satisfaction is short-lived. A book can be reread, a game replayed. They are awesome and practical gifts. Poor Josh has gift-giving as one of his stronger love languages, and I am not very sentimental or attached to gifts, but he loves giving me awesome gifts.
4. I lack a home decor vision.
Josh and I have dreamt about owning our own home for some time now, especially now that we have kids. But, whenever I dream about that home I am sometimes daunted by the amount of space we’ll have! What will we fill it with? How will we decorate our home? Unlike many of my friends on pinterest, I don’t pin many things that have to do with home decorations/color themes/wall hangings/design/architecture/etc. because I have almost no idea what I would actually like to have in my home! Part of the problem is, though a room looks great in a photo or in a magazine, I would actually have to live there, with kids, and maybe, someday, animals, and I don’t know if I would actually love living in those conceptualized rooms forever. Maybe I’m scared to commit to a style/design. Or I think that my home could never look (or stay) looking like it does in those pictures.
From my friend at Livy Love
Josh and I am simple people and both of our parents have simple design tastes as well. The things I have pinned on pinterest regarding the home, are home organization ideas! Ha, practicality strikes again! How to organize the laundry rooms, fit hidden drawers and plugs in places, cool bookcases and hanging garage storage, and how to organize cupboards and drawers. They are things I feel I could commit to, because most people wouldn’t even see them!
Obviously, I’m weird, and two-parts of me collide – my artistic talent and my crafting dislike. Sometimes I wish I could change the latter part of myself and be like so-and-so who has the cutest (and sometimes even thrifty) home decor and gift ideas and what-have-you. I wish that was a part of who I am, but for right now, it is not. So, aren’t you surprised I recovered that diaper box a few posts back? Me too. But, it had a purpose.
So, please, help me out, and send me some cute, practical, home decor ideas (if you feel so inclined). I’m obviously defunct in that department. Thanks.
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