Crafty Memories or Practical Crafts?

So, I have this cousin who is three years older than I am. Being an only child, until about the age of 17, this cousin was probably the closest thing to a sibling that I had experienced or really would ever want to experience. Thankfully I only had to spend summers with her because it's quite possible that I would be dead now as we would fight the entire time. Okay, she would nearly kill me every summer, but not have time to finish the job because my mom always timed picking me up right before things turned ugly. There was enough time, however, to leave me scarred and bruised (both emotionally and physically).

Anyway, as the closest thing to a sibling, I coveted the things my cousin had. Although, I'm convinced that she took my red, drop-waist Barbie party dress. The polyester shiny one that looked so great with the rainbow legwarmers. I clearly remember saving the change leftover from not buying milk with my school lunches (and stealing laundry money) to purchase that dress. I remember how it conveniently ended up in her Barbie case and she casually, yet mockingly saying, "maybe you lost yours and I have one just like it." BULLSHIT! Most of the Barbie clothing and accessories she owned were Barbie pink and magenta. I tried to get even by taking some of her Smurfs, but she found them. . . in my suitcase.

I digress. . . My cousin always had the most interesting trinkets and accessories in her purse: compacts, Bonnie Bell makeup, Bopo peel off nailpolish, Chinese finger traps, stickers, flavored lip gloss, the list goes on and on. Things that never occurred to me to put into my sorry little patent leather purse. Mine was usually filled with pennies, coinpurses and keychains with bank logos, or the odd rock or marble. Nothing cute or girlie, always practical. Not that girlie can't be practical, it just made perfect sense at the time to carry a purse full of pennies. I never knew when I'd get to leave the farm for penny candy or Dolly Madison 2nds. I really never knew when I'd get to leave the farm at all. Mostly we were tricked into helping pull weeds, which in hindsight was probably meant to calm us down so we wouldn't fight, but I still took my purse. Nevermind that it weighed over a pound and my fingers would take on that copper smell from counting and sorting the pennies by year or patina.

What prompts this stroll down memory lane is the recent craft or DIY movement. For me, it's a chance to get that part of childhood back again. To do it right. To stock my purse with all the goodies I didn't when I was young. Yet, at the same time, I find myself leaning towards practical.

Renegade Craft Fair was last weekend. While I highly recommend it (even in a downpour), and I was all "rah-rah women unite in crafts," I also found myself thinking, "dude, I could totally make that." But I don't. I don't want to "DIM," nor do I want to pay $35.00 for a tote bag that will be on clearance at Old Navy for $6.00 in a couple weeks anyway. I saw the Brini Maxwell episode. I read the step-by-step in Bust. It all comes down to the time value of money or opportunity costs (and any other economics term I can insert here to make my parents believe that I attended class) and me being generally lazy. Plus I can always pay my creative friends for their stuff. (I did buy a couple of prints from these people because I just can't duplicate that.) Besides, I'm not good at finishing things. I can't even keep up a blog! I spent on and off about 5 years completing one of those yarn macrame pot holder kits. My mother had to actually sit me down and finish it with me because she was so tired of finding those little orange and yellow bands of yarn while cleaning. She still has it, though. It's stained and has burn marks, but it's still in the drawer by the stove.

That said, I love that someone thought to make slap bracelets and wallets out of duct tape and write cool phrases on them with Sharpies. I'm not making fun at all. I totally appreciate and understand the thought put into it--just like those leather wristbands I was forced to make at camp. It's just that they probably won't find their way into my wristlet anytime soon. I haven't even carried a purse in over a year. It's just not practical.