It's a Craft-in! Crafting with other People

Crafting with other people (COP) can be a wonderful way to spend your time. It's a great way to bring the people you love together, and allows them to leave your home with more than just the feeling of overstaying their welcome.

Rules for a Successful Craft-in:

• Be a good host - prepare something tasty for people to eat and drink. If this is in January make sure there are some healthy options, as some of your friends will likely be on diets, or off gluten, or only eating lemons or whatever. By having these things available they will feel less guilty when later in the evening they start to wander over to the cheese plate.

• Have a craft for people to do and the supplies for them to do it. This is especially important for the 'nervous' or 'tentative' crafter. This is the friend that always loves what you make, but finishes every praise of your work, with "I could never do that." Don't be discouraged, these are great people for crafting parties, but make sure the activity you have planned is staged for success. This will build their confidence, and ensure they will want to attend the next gathering.

• Don't boss people around. if they want to make your project - that's great - but give them the option to bring their own projects. Crafting should be an ego-less practice, and you must consider the possibility that your crafting idea is not necessarily the best craft project, and that you may not be the most talented crafter in the room. This is something I will be working on in 2012.

• Make it a week night. This is especially true for hesitant crafters and for single friends, the last thing you want is for someone to get a sweeter offer on a Friday night and have to cancel last minute. For example, a single friend get's asked out on a dinner date and then they have to make the tough choice between, sitting with a bunch of ladies adding glitter to projects, or the possibility of coitous. Coitous for the single friend will always win. Also a craft-in can bring up images of a sad spinster future for some people, so don't be angry with your single friends if they would rather go out than craft-in. 

This post was inspired by Amy Sedaris' hilarious book Simple Times Crafts for Poor People. I highly recommed it!