Making : Revisted

The links in this post may be affiliate links.  That means that if you click them and make a purchase, this site makes a commission.  It will have no impact on the price you pay or the experience of your purchase.

While I'm off at Blogher 11 this weekend, I am going to pull a few posts from the past that I love and re-share them… Reverb10, the project that brought me “back” to blogging and taught my the ways of Twitter, was a daily blogging challenge from December 2010. I love some of the writing I did there, and I'm pretty sure I'll be revisiting more than just this post.

For this post, the prompt was this: What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it?

I make a lot of things every day. I make coffee. I make my way to work. I make money at work. I make advertisements for clients. I make Max say “Please” and “Thank you.” I make a mess. I make friends. I make plans. I make dinner. I make Max put his toys away. I make myself go to bed.
It's easy to “make” stuff. The challenge is in crafting, creating, designing.
It's like the difference between a Polaroid snapshot and a photographic portrait.

I can “make” dinner; it's Hamburger Helper.
I can “create” dinner; it's Peppercorn Roasted Pork with Vermouth Pan Sauce, served with a side of Asparagus with Morels and Tarragon

I can “make” coffee; so can the cashier at the local 7-11
I can “craft” coffee; use my french press with fresh ground Blue Bottle coffee beans and filtered water.

See the difference?

The challenge is to not “make” things, but to take the extra time/effort/thought to craft them instead. It's so easy to get caught up in the making, and I don't think it's always inappropriate. But for myself, for my inner artist (yeah, she's in there) for my sanity, I need to create and craft in my life as well.

Because I don't currently get to create in my day job; it's purely a “make” sort of place, I have to do my creating and crafting in my off time.

I'm a digital artist, scrapbooker, seamstress, baker, paper artist, photographer, aspiring knitter, wood turner, interior decorator… whatever strikes my fancy; if I feel moved to create, I try my best to oblige.