V-Grrrl Gets Crafty

When it comes to crafts and the domestic arts, I’m a loser. I would not even earn a medal in the Special Olympics of Crafting because I don’t even make it to the starting line. I’m the type of woman they would have burned at the stake  hundreds of years ago, the towns’ people convinced I must be a witch devoted to the black arts seeing as I am clearly not devoted to domestic arts.

I’m an average cook and I’m good at laundry—the essential home processes. That’s it. I don’t sew, I don’t knit, I don’t stitch. I don’t scrapbook, I don’t paint ceramics, I can’t throw a pot. I don’t quilt, I don’t arrange flowers, I don’t make holiday decorations. I don’t garden, I don’t sketch, I don’t paint. I don’t make preserves, I don’t make Halloween costumes, and hell I don’t even bake cookies.

But I admire those who do.

I took three art classes my last year in college and was hooked. Back home in the States, I went to galleries nearly every week to see what was new in the art world. I have a weakness for watercolors, rustic pottery, and handmade jewelry. I longed to win the Lotto so I could afford some of the paintings I so admired. I loved to attend church bazaars to buy handmade hats and scarves, cross-stitched Christmas ornaments, embroidered linens, decorative wreaths, and chances to win a quilt. Yeah, I’m one of those people who fakes domestic talent with the help of my checkbook.

My sister-in-law G, however, is the real deal. She makes award-winning quilts. She can knit a traditional Icelandic sweater or a hip and cozy poncho. She can upholster a chair and make window treatments to match. She decorates cakes like a professional. She creates beautiful shadow-box collages. She gives handmade gifts, including crocheted baby blankets, American Girl doll clothes, and custom quilts. When her daughter was small, she made her a long Victorian-style coat, dark red with black satin braided trim and enough flare to make it a joy to twirl in. My daughter wears it now and loves it so much we had her professionally photographed in it. She worships her Aunt G.

You probably envision G as some quiet, meek homebody in a Super Mom sweatshirt who vacuums every day and watches Leave It to Beaver reruns on some obscure cable channel while her knitting needles click away and the meatloaf browns in the oven. You would be so wrong. G, my friends, is a prosecuting attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice. G specializes in white-collar crime and money-laundering schemes and reduces people to shadows of their former selves in the courtroom. She’s taken on high-profile cases and had FBI protection when things got hot. She has a degree in Russian and psychology and is every bit as smart as she is talented and ambitious.

I am never going to be like G. I’m just proud to be related to her.

But I’m taking baby steps toward a more crafty existence because Shirl Grrrl, my pal since middle school, has inspired me to flex my creative muscles on something other than the computer. A few years ago, Shirl Grrrl took up rubber stamping, a hobby that has burgeoned in the era of scrapbooking and paper crafts. She makes incredible cards layering paper and stamped images, using a variety of inks, coloring with pastels or watercolors, and adding other embellishments. Each one is a mini-work of art in an envelope, and Shirl holds workshops on how to make cards and do other forms of decorative stamping. She also sells all the materials. I thought this would be a hobby my artistic daughter would love. She admires Shirl’s cards as much as I do, so I requested a catalog from Shirl and soon it was tagged with Post-it notes. Wow, so many cool things—and not just for my daughter. Maybe I could do this too!

I sent Shirl a preliminary list of the stamps I liked and asked what else I would need to get started with stamping. Well, let me just say it’s not as simple a process as it looks, so my initial list (and my investment) grew. Quite a lot.

But in the coming weeks, a big brown box filled with stamping supplies and card stock and pastels and a paper cutter will arrive on my doorstep, along with instructions from Shirl on how to use all this stuff. I’m sure I’ll be getting online “tech support” as well as I venture into the world of domestic art.

I’m heady with the idea that I may be on my way to becoming a stamping artist and a craft goddess. With the help of Shirl Grrrl, Queen of the Stamping Wrrrld, I can finally BE SOMEONE and wipe the big L off my forehead. ; )

© 2005 Veronica McCabe Deschambault. All rights reserved.

November 15, 2005

Comments

[Granola-grrrl]

You go, grrrl! I am so afraid to even *start* down the slippery slope of stamping or scrapbooking... I'm afraid I would like it too much and then I'd be frustrated at not having enough time to do it. Plus I'd have to store more *stuff*. My rule with yarn and fabric is that I may not buy more until I am finished the current project, even if I find a great bargain. Works pretty well so far.

I've always admired G's ability to find time to do crafty things, with her job and kids and everything else. She is a lot like Martha Stewart, simply on the opposite side of the white collar crime scene.

[Flubberwinkle]

Your sister-in-law sounds wonderful. A multi-talented carreer woman. I believe that we all have our talents, we can't all do everything equally well. I feel that I haven't tapped in to my abilities yet - or perhaps I have other talents that can't be pinpointed. I'm working on it myself, as well. Let us know how the rubber-stamp craft comes along.