In Which I Boast a Little About My Craftiness

craft·y

ˈkraftē

adjective

1. 1.

   clever at achieving one's aims by indirect or deceitful methods.

   "a crafty crook faked an injury to escape from prison"
2. 2.

   informal

   of, involving, or relating to the making of decorative objects and other things by hand.

   "the blogger displayed a few, very clever, crafty Christmas decorations "

   
   

        I do not consider myself crafty by any definition, I possess little to no talent for arts and crafts, but every year at Christmastime a dormant gene of creativity awakes and I make something. Just one thing. All by myself. No inspiration from Pinterest. No Martha Stewart standing over my shoulder to cheer me on.

   
   

        Dear gracious and supportive readers, is this annual seasonal effort not deserving of a little blog post boast?

   
   

   
   

   

   
   

   
   

        A few years ago I bought two artificial berry garlands and twined them together into a wreath to hang in my dining room. Perhaps, if I hadn't just mentioned it, you might have supposed that instead of making this simple wreath I possessed the ability to carve the oak leaf and acorn motif on the architectural artifact hanging on the wall beneath it. Not so.

   
   

   
   

   

   
   

   
   

        Neither did I throw this bowl on my pottery wheel or carve the ethnic Santa from a discarded bocce ball, but I did make the paper snowballs and the tablecloth.

   
   

   
   

   

   
   

   
   

   The green velvet cushions were made by Crate and Barrel. I made the mushroom-colored canvas ones last year out of stenciled placemats. I could have bought nearly the same thing already made up into cushions, but I didn't want to pay the asking price. If necessity is the mother of invention, then its stepmother must be thrift.

   
   

        This year's objet d'art was a little more challenging. It even required a trip to the craft store and a hot glue gun. The Christmas tree is made of book paper chandelier shades, a heavy wrapping paper tube, a craft cone and a wooden coaster.
   
   

   

   
   

   
        It is satisfying to envision something and then produce it with one's own hands even if the inspiration comes along only once each year. The crafting urge has already moved on, but I want to thank you all for allowing me to strut my stuff for a little while. You are too kind.