HitchDied

Crafts, in the Conservatory, with Cats

| 14 Comments

I’m working on a totally non-wedding related craft project,1 but it still makes me think about wedding things.  Such is (engaged) life.

First: I am not great at crafting.  It is too bad because I grew up in a craft-loving family.  We had a dedicated Craft Closet in our house (for years I thought everyone had one of those) growing up.  Child Robin went through Aileen’s Tacky Glue like Adult Robin goes through Diet Coke.  At the tender age of eight I coined the term “Ouchie-degree burn” for the minor singes associated with hot glue gun use.

But somewhere along the way I lost those skills.  Or maybe I’m just holding my final product to a higher standard than I did when I was in grade school?  Maybe I just miss my mom telling me, “What a nice [insert thing made out of popsicle sticks and pipe cleaners]”

Second: crafts and cats don’t mix.  We only have one room (well two if you count the restroom) the cats can be excluded from (we have an open floor plan downstairs and a cat door leading into the bedroom).   And as soon as that door closes, the cats want IN.  So all crafting must happen to a soundtrack of scratches and whines.  Which, granted, is better than having green paw prints trailing around the house.

Third: I don’t know why people are always talking about crafty, do-it-yourself weddings as being budget-friendly. I found myself underestimating the cost of several craft ingredients. [Side note: Almost everything was at least 10% cheaper at JoAnn's Fabrics than at Michaels. I assume everything is cheaper on the Internet, also.] And you’ve also got to account for all the craft ingredients you buy that turn out to not be what you really need. Like, should I attach fake ferns to my dress with fishing line, fabric glue, or yes? I bought yes. If this were my wedding, that means I’d have to put yes into my budget, even if (as I hope I will be able to) can get by with just the fishing line. Maybe all the crafty brides, in addition to having much nicer finished products, have a better sense of what they need when they go to the store, and don’t sink as much cost into contingency craft items.

1I will be attending a Clue-themed party this weekend. I am going as the Conservatory. Collin is going as the Candlestick. Write your own dirty joke.

14 Comments

  1. Awesome theme party!

    I know what you mean about buying more than you need/underestimating what you’ll need. When I work on a project, I inevitably need more of x, y, or z than I thought. Sometimes the cost of the supplies end up costing double due to my frequent mess ups.

    • In the interest of my budget (life budget, not my wedding budget, but those are directly related, are they not?) I only bought one bottle of green paint instead of two. I am now running out of green paint. I may just paint the front instead of both sides of the dress.

  2. thanks for your kind thoughts!
    I too grew up with the craft closet. I just never have the time for it now. and am choosing to nix the crafty wedding items (or at least delegate them) in favor of peace of mind. I totally agree with the costliness of craft stores. I buy way too much because i have all these brilliant ideas. and instead it just sits in a drawer. because despite the truth behind the statement “i could make that!” i also have life that gets in my way, and a perfectionist nature that would never be finished.

  3. i love the theme party costumes.

    cats and closed doors and green paint definitely don’t mix. they also don’t mix well with new sofas, shelves and anything breakable. come to think of it, cats don’t mix well with anything, except the ladies. cat ladies.

    • Oh man. My poor couches. My poor couches I bought one week after I met Collin, having no idea that in less than a year I’d be moving in with him and his two cats. My poor couches I sort of splurged on as my first item of “grown up furniture.” That were so nice. And are now mostly destroyed.

  4. true that! crafting can be hella expensive! and a clue theme party!? yes, please!

  5. Local crafts are not expensive…that is a myth put around by big stores that sell imported mass made items – mainly that we don’t need. A craft wedding sound great! http://blog.sidestreetstudio.com/wood/10-reasons-why-you-should-buy-local-arts-crafts/

  6. Crafts are only economical if you’re the kind of person who has lots of supplies already lying around the house or in your craft cupboard (what? You mean not everyone has a craft cupboard? I’m shocked to learn that this is not what my cupboard was built for).

    If you have to go out and buy a lot of specialty equipment (paper cutters, paint brushes, computer software, printers, or substantial amounts of tools) in order to complete your projects, they will not be cost effective unless you plan to use the specialty tools for non-wedding related crafts or arts. For me, I don’t include the cost of crafting tools in my wedding budget because I have two kids and I would be looking for craft projects to do with them wedding or no. Therefore, the self-healing art cutting board we picked up at the swapmeet is not a wedding cost, it’s just a cool tool to use in teaching the children paper manipulation projects.
    Also, Michaels is generally a rip-off unless you have a good coupon.

  7. Yes, I learned the hard way that crafts are not always economical when I decided to make everyone’s Christmas presents one year (unless like Sarah said, you have lots of stuff around the house already). I basically didn’t do any crafting for the wedding in order to save money.

  8. crafts can definetly be expensive. you have to decide if it is worth it to you to just buy it or to make it. certain things you will save tons of money. not time, but money.

    also, michaels seems to have better coupons and its closer to me so thats probably why i go there more

  9. Pingback: Brooch Bouquet Bonzanza | HitchDied

Leave a Reply to Ms. Bunny Cancel reply

Required fields are marked *.


Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.