After browsing famous pages like The Cooler Connection or looking up "easy" crafts on Pinterest, the downtime during summer time often leads to craft-inspiration.The vision you get in your head when deciding on a craft is of you sitting on your living room floor with a glass of wine, while you effortlessly paint/draw/craft a masterpiece. However, if you are anything like me - the process isn't so effortless.
For those who are less fortunate in the artistic department, creating your vision is rarely a breeze. You might just find yourself on an emotional roller coaster going through these six phases.
Phase One: Overconfidence
"Oh, I could totally do that in like one sitting. Except for mine will be way better and definitely not have those weird streaks."
When picking out a craft from the ridiculously perfect ones that you browse on Pinterest, you always find yourself being drawn toward the extremely intricate, most difficult projects. However, you have full confidence in yourself that you will be able to pull it off. You probably waste no time running to the store to buy the supplies that you will need to create your masterpiece that will definitely look 100 times better than your inspiration.
Phase Two: Excitement
"Oh my gosh I can't believe all of these paints were on sale! Forget reading the steps to follow, I just need to get these awesome colors on my bubba keg!"
After you purchase all of your supplies, you can not wait to get started because you know once you're done everyone will be complimenting and/or requesting one of your creations. You might get a little too excited and accidentally skip an important step like priming, but you are just too excited to notice. That is, until you take a moment to step back and see what you've done so far and it looks like something even a two-year-old wouldn't be proud of.
Phase Three: Self-Doubt
"Will the person I'm making it for actually appreciate all of the work I'm doing?"
This is the moment when you start to question why you decided to start this project in the first place. Am I really this bored? Will this thing actually turn out to look decent? You question everything from your creative abilities to your ability to follow directions as you look down on something that you know will spend hours to perfect.
Phase Four: Failure
"Why did I ever think that I was capable of not messing something up?"
It often does not take long to get from phase three to phase four. The self-doubt that you experience during phase three will frequently turn into a feeling of failure. You feel that there is no way that you can complete this craft. There is no chance that if you do finish, that it will turn out semi-okay. Nothing can fix this monster, and this is most likely when you will throw in the towel - at least for the day.
Phase Five: Determination
"Well, I did spend a ridiculous amount of money for the cooler, primer, sealer, sander...etc. Now I have to figure out a way to make this thorn in my side work."
This phase begins after you realized how much money you spent on the materials for your craft and that you have virtually no clue of what else you could get this person for a present. You sit yourself down, maybe sand down a layer or paint over what you had started with renewed patience and little confidence. However, your determination to make this craft stellar carries you through the taxing hours you will spend slaving over it.
Phase Six: Redemption
"Wait...Is this actually turning out to look good?!"
After hours of sitting hunched over your new baby, you finally take a minute to stop and look at it once again. With a super judgmental scan, you start to realize that there isn't that much to criticize. Did you actually make something worth being seen by someone other than your grandma? By George, I think you've done it!
Phase Seven: Pride
"I'm pretty sure I need to open my own Etsy shop now."
By far, this is the greatest of all phases. The mixed sense of success and satisfaction while looking at your creation that is no longer cringe-worthy makes the emotional roller coaster worthwhile. You have quickly forgotten what your masterpiece looked like early on, and find yourself snapping pictures to show of your artistic ability to the world. If the craft was a gift, you better believe that is one of the luckiest people ever to receive such an astounding work of art.
At the end of the day, you find yourself ready to embark on another craft and wonder why you ever question yourself and your creative abilities. You are easily the sratty version of Michelangelo and anyone who doesn't realize that clearly just needs to get their eyes checked.
