Friday, April 12, 2013

Confessions of a NC (non-crafter)

I am not crafty.

Not even a little bit.

I don’t find pleasure in gluing, sticking, cutting, sewing, etc…

It all sounds like an unnecessary mess. It’s why I’m glad my kids are in school. They get their craft time there.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, I admire the crap out of what OTHER people create. For a second I think, “I could TRY that…” Then I flash to glue sticks and paper and pom pom balls sticking to my fingers and immediately squash the idea.

So why am I talking about being non-crafty?

Well, I was looking up things I could put in deployment care packages and a bunch of fancy ones popped up.

Not the contents.

The BOX.

Like this:



And again, it’s awesome. If I had the patience, I would so do it.

But I don’t.

Honestly, I don’t think my husband would notice. Or he’d notice and wonder if I had one Diet Coke too many. Because he knows I’m a NC. (Non-crafter.) (He once watched me do a turkey project with Tommy. They had to do it for school. Glitter got everywhere. I think I cried when I couldn’t get a fake feather off my fingers.)

Please tell me there are other people who send plain boxes. Or am I the only wife not sending decorated boxes? I don’t want people to think Tom isn’t loved. He’s loved! I swear! The first box I sent him was plain, but it had awesome things inside. Like a ball in a cup. (Sounds dirty. But it’s not. It’s a Family Guy thing.)

“Gosh, I just need ideas on what to put IN the box,” I muttered, scrolling throughout various decorated boxes. (Some were elaborate. As in tiny pieces, lovingly glued on, mini letters cut out to spell romantic words…while I love my husband to bits, I’d probably be silly and spell out FART. Just because.)

“Oooo. Pretty,” Natalie said, running up beside me. She pointed at a box decorated in pink and red. (Wouldn’t that embarrass a soldier?)

“Yes. I guess,” I answered. “I’m just trying to find ideas for Daddy’s birthday package.”

Natalie clapped her hands. “I want to decorate a box for Daddy!”

“Did you forget who your mother was?” I asked.

“For Daddy,” Natalie said, tugging on my arm. “Decorate a box for Daddy”

Oh.

UGH.

How could I tell her no? I might not like crafting but SHE does. (I do let her craft at home. Just on her own. I’ll lay everything out and tell her to go nuts. Which generally means glitter will be all over the place and paper will get glued to the walls. But whatever. At least I’m not expected to put something together.)

Plus, she wanted to do this for her Daddy.

So.

Yes.

This NCer will put together a birthday box.

Or try to.


26 comments:

  1. Oooh, good luck with that. As a fellow NC, I can totally commiserate with your plight.

    You'll share pictures of the finished product, right? :)

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  2. Good luck! I like crafts but I would totally send a plain box too. Glitter everywhere would drive me nuts!!

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  3. When gluing one's fingers together and having to peel the hardened plastic gunk off is considered a craft... I'll be a crafter!

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  4. I never decorated the boxes for my husband's deployments. I didn't know people did that. For OCS, people decorate their Candi-o boxes (which is basically like a care package). I felt so bad that mine was lame and other people had crazy fancy boxes.

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  5. I've tried to decorate boxes. I stare at the empty box for a month or so, panic at the last moment, and stuff it with letters and pictures, magazines and candy. I don't think my husband could handle it if his box was all pretty. He'd think I paid someone ... lol

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  6. What do these soldiers do with the box themselves after they've opened it and taken the goodies out? Do they keep the box forever more? Is it possible? I didn't think so with deployments? So I might be wondering how all the time and energy the person who decorated the box could have been put to better use. Then again, all that dedication, love and patience... shows you're thinking of them... but I think you and Tom are much more practical people. If it is your thing, fine, if it's not, fine too :)

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  7. I'm crafty to a point. I really like instant gratification, so knitting or sewing - not my thing! Love the blog!

    http://www.mommifried.com

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  8. Oh please! It can't really be that bad, can it?? I think you're exaggerating! I never sent decorated boxes either though. By the time they get there, it's lucky if the box itself is in one piece and not too badly beat up!!!

    Don't be so hard on yourself!

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  9. I am a deployment box decor-a-holic. I used to frill the inside and outside of my hubby's care packages....to the point where they didn't even have to read his name on the package. They all knew the colorful and bright package with all the scrapbooking and sticker crap all over it belonged to my hubby :-)

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  10. Will we get a picture of Na's box? (please)

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  11. I'm not a crafty person at all!! I cannot stand the stuff!! Makes me run to the nearest closet to rock in the fetal position. Yeah THAT bad so I just say, stick to what you normally do - but just this once because Natalie wants to do it for her daddy - I say go all out!! And yes, pictures please!

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  12. I'm the worst at crafts. I don't have the patience and diligence for any of them and it shows. My husband is a bit better than me, luckily!

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  13. If you don't want to craft, let her decorate the box, I bet your husband would love that. When we were in the peace corps no one sent us decorated box, but my sisters would send us decorated letters and signs from my nieces and nephews that we could put and I really liked that, so I bet Tom would love those from your kids, and then you don't have to be crafty.

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  14. I feel your pain. My only claim to craftiness lies in the fact that I knit. Not well mind you, and nothing fabulous. I knit squares. Endless, endless squares, just for something to keep my hands busy when they want to instead jamb potato chips into my mouth and I know I might as well just duct tape them to my seat.

    At least we're set for discloths.

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  15. LOL...you better take a bunch of photos to show us how it goes.

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  16. I never ever decorated his box. What a waste haha. He only cared about the contents! I did theme the contents based on the month. So March was St Patricks, April got Easter, December was Christmas and so on.

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  17. I've literally never heard of the idea of decorating boxes. Isn't it what goes inside that's important? It's cute that Natalie wants to do it, though, and that's the main thing.

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  18. I think you should give Natalie some stuff to craft with, and let her go nuts. She'll have a blast making it for Tom, and he'll appreciate the work from his baby. And you don't have to do it!

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  19. I feel ya. I try..I try so very hard...to be one of those crafty types, and I have all these awesome ideas. I buy all the stuff, sit down, and try to start..and draw a total blank. Or my finished product looks like one of those "nailed It!" pics that float around the internet lol. I was not graced with those "make everything look awesome and perfect" genes. I can't even sew a button on correctly. You are not alone!

    P.S. Besides, you know Tom will love it no matter what is in it. Even if you glue the word "Fart" in it ;)

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  20. I've seen some of those boxes and while they are pretty cool; if that's not your thing, then it's not your thing. No biggie. I agree with the other posters that said let Natalie do it.

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  21. I think it's cute to show on blogs and Pinterest, and maybe a female soldier receiving a decorated box would be like, oh holy hell I know the effort that went into this, but men? I just don't think they care. Steve breaks his boxes down immediately because they take up "too much room" in his little cube where he lives. He was lucky to get a theme that went with the upcoming holiday.

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  22. I asked my husband if we would like a themed box every month...he looks at me funny and said, "Why would I want that?" LOL I mean I guess if I was a super crafty person like that he would think it was normal but I am not. And I am sure there are some husbands who would want that. But it probably isn't the norm...lol

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  23. Right there with you! I about threw a fit when I tried to decorate my husband's birthday box. Maybe I'll try again, but probably not. I mean really, it's going to end up in the trash and my husband would hate it if I used glitter or confetti.

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  24. I would probably wander all over the craft store grabbing random things that "might look cute" on the box and than plop Natalie in the middle of the pile and see what she creates! Since if I did it .. it might not be so fantabulous. I get you. I'm a NC too...

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  25. You could totally buy a pretty box, lol. I AM a crafty person but decorating boxes is NOT my thing, I had to do that once and errr, it ended up a big mess.

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