The Braun Family: February 2008

As the Beastie Boys say... "She's crafty!..." I won't quote any more after that because the song quickly defines what the Beasties really meant by "crafty"- and sadly (in this context) it doesn't actually involve art projects.

Anywhoozit. Everyone knows we Braun babes are quite the craftsters. Not to downplay the craftiness of our male brethren, but let's face it, the ladies are standouts. From knitting to sewing and spinning to painting, we all have our crafty hobbies. And there's the more artistic "crafts" like photography and graphics represented in the familiy craft pool as well.

So I've been exploring my own craftiness lately and trying to push myself to try crafts that I've avoided in the past- quilting being one of them. And I think its fun to teach others, explore things we don't know and create something. So very soon I will be unveiling the full extent of this challenge I am issuing myself and the others in the family (the boys are invited too!). But here is the general premise:
-Each month I'll announce a craft project. It may be a sewing project, it might be jewelry making. It might be something very vague like "Make a set of notecards" in which case you can utilize any number of craft methods. There might be very specific rules like "using only the color green..."
- If there is a family member that is a "Pro" at this particular craft, they will be called out as a resource. I'm going to try to make sure that everyone gets to be a "pro" so we're all forced to try something that someone else in the family enjoys. Feel free to send me ideas.
- At the beginning of the the craft month (I can't promise it will follow the lunar calendar- I might start on the 6th of the month or whatever day work slows down enough to do some planning), I will announce the project. Everyone will have two days to tell me whether or not they want to be involved in that craft.
- Each participant will then be assigned another participant (i.e. Mary has Jennifer; Jennifer has Kelly). They are not to tell other people (unless otherwise specified) who they are paired with.
- At the end of the month (yes, there's a deadline), they have to send their FINISHED project to their assigned person. That means you have to finish it (ahem, Mom).
- That also means that at the end of the month you will be getting a package in the mail that isn't junk. Or maybe it will be junk- but if you say that out loud, you'll be disqualified from future involvement.

And that's it. I just think it will be a fun way of forcing us to try something new, get and give a little gift and learn more about each other. The projects won't be too expensive or difficult (no fancy equipment necessary, etc.). And I think the boys can try to be creative in interpreting the rules so they can play without feeling like this is super girly (a guy friend of mine told me recently about how he learned to latch hook and when he could only find kitten patterns at the store, he made his own Grateful Dead skull pattern). So I hope you'll join me. And I hope you'll fill the comments section with loads of enthusiasm.