"Are you one of those crafty people?"

I've been asked this several times, and my answer is no, definitely not. But then people find out that I can sew, and they say, "I think you really are one of those crafty people."

So this is what I consider to be "crafty":

• homemade cards made with ribbons and cute flowers and cute brads and cute cardstock
• cute scrapbook pages with things like nice cardstock and pretty/cute translucent paper and fun borders
• buckets or baskets of goodies with decorations like nice ribbon, cute notes written with glitter pens, and tissue paper
• cute invitations, like the ones that were made for our next Relief Society birthday dinner--the girl who made them cut out flower petal shapes, attached about six together with cute brads, and wrote a snippet of information about the dinner on each petal
• homemade headbands and flower clips
• homemade bracelets and necklaces
• anything that involves painting or stencils, especially plaques with nice sayings and fancy lettering
  

I don't do any of these. They don't interest me. I'm not really the sort of person that enjoys making cute stuff like this, or thinks to make them, and I hate the idea of spending any money on the supplies that are needed for it because I'm cheap. (This is why our wedding album [when I finally get time to make it] is going to be pictures glued to white cardstock and nothing else--because I'm tired of stressing about making it look fancy and buying the supplies I need to do so.) When I make things, it's usually because I need it or think it would be useful. The most recent things that I sewed were some washable changing pads and some cloth baby wipes. I thought they would be useful and didn't want to pay someone else to do it when I could make them myself for less, and in the dimensions I wanted. I admit I did put a little effort into making the changing pads cute. The cloth baby wipes are two layers of brown flannel with zig-zag stitching around the edges to prevent fraying--no craft there. Other than the changing pads and wipes, most of the things I've sewn were clothes for 4-H. I was in 4-H from second grade until the end of high school, and every year my grandma or my mom helped me with a sewing project. If people are impressed that I can sew in a straight line, they should know that I spent a good portion of my summers at a sewing machine, especially the years when I decided to make a suit and a formal (with Grandma's close guidance--I couldn't have figured out where to put the pieces without her). I wanted a nice black suit with a long coat, and I wanted a nice formal, plus I had watched all the older girls in my 4-H club make suits and formals and assumed that someday it would be my turn. I do enjoy sewing, and I do think I have some talent with it. I wish I wasn't so busy with school so I could sew more. And I hope we have a little girl someday so I can make her some cute jumpers. But I consider sewing to be under the category of sewing, not under the category of crafts, so that's why I don't answer yes when people ask if I'm one of those crafty people.

I don't mean to say that the crafts I listed aren't useful. We need people who can make nice invitations and cards, cute headbands, wall plaques, and such. Those are great talents, and I admire people who have good taste in those things and can do them. They're just not the talents I'm interested in developing right now. We should all be working to develop and use the talents that we have to bless others and make life enjoyable. Creative cards lift my spirit, and so do beautiful houses, gardens, and computer models.