Christmas Crafts

I will be the first to admit that I’m not crafty. I pretty much have to as my mother or Jim will be quick to point it out. I’ve never been artistic, I never really enjoyed colouring and I still haven’t managed to master the stick figure.

However, when my friend Kara invited me and Bennett over for a Christmas craft, I couldn’t refuse. I did take the time to warn her about my pathetic craft skills and she kindly agreed to start mine for me. Now this could have been out of kindness or more likely the fact that she’s a bit of a control freak and was worried about the end result if I was left on my own. We emailed back and forth for a few weeks about this project which I affectionately referred to as “The Glitter Craft”. This was entirely my own invention and revealed my raven-like tendency to be entranced by shiny objects. Although Kara was reluctant to give in to the glitter, my persistence finally paid off and she too began to refer to “The Glitter Craft.”

All of this craft talk brought back memories of my last crafting experience which took place approximately 17 years ago. At the time I was in university and overwhelmed with essays, exams, etc. My mother thought crafting would be a good way to relieve my stress. I should mention that I come from an artistic family many of whom can quilt, cross stitch, paint, sing, write poetry, carve, etc. I, however, have inherited none of these talents. Despite my wariness, I agreed to my mother’s suggestion and we proceeded to make Christmas centrepieces for candles. I worked hard on my project as it was a welcome respite from spending hours squinting at a microfiche looking at local immigration records from the late 1800s. I was quite pleased with my centrepiece and my mother had nothing but compliments. Later in the day my aunt came over and my mother proceeded to show her what I had made. My aunt looked at it with admiring eyes and then looked down at me and asked “It’s lovely…what grade were you in when you made it?” Oh, how I was crushed! I refused to put it out and to this day I have no idea where it ended up. Hopefully the pine cones were returned to nature where they should have stayed.

So, as much as I looked forward to today’s craft session with Kara, I must admit I was a bit nervous as well. As it turns out, I had little to worry about. The craft was very straightforward and left little room for me to screw up. Being the wonderful host she is, Kara provided and let me use as much glitter as I wanted. However, I couldn’t help but notice the worried looks she threw my way as I added more and more glitter.

I’m more than pleased with the end result and would proudly show it to my aunt. Has this changed my outlook on crafting? I would have to say no. I agree to craft on special occasions but other than that, I’m afraid that Bennett will have to rely on others for artistic projects. The scars run deep my friends.....