The Art of Giving Crafts
Giving a handmade gift is a thoughtful thing to do, no matter how small or large, simple or complicated the project. Keeping this mantra in mind, it is not always the smartest use of time. Every crafter knows a few people who think that ’homemade’ means cheap and easy. I think the very best people to give crafty gifts to are fellow arts and crafts enthusiasts and family. Crafters are uncritical and appreciative of the effort involved and family loves you no matter how your crafts turn out and probably have a good idea of how much time you spend crafting.
The worst are the aforementioned people who equate handmade with cheap and easy, and friends outside your most inner circle. Although it is always nice (at least in my own experience) to give handmade gifts to close friends, I think it is important to keep that list pretty short. People outside of your inner circle have lesser known likes and dislikes and are more likely to say the wrong thing. It is harder to make gifts for people who you don’t know REALLY well. There is nothing worse than slaving over a project only to find that the recipient no longer likes that color and has tossed your hard work aside. Maybe I’m too sensitive but I must say that people who are less known to you are more likely to let the first thing out of their mouths when they receive a hand made gift be: ‘this would be better if it was a little longer’ or ‘I think you made a mistake here’. It can be devastating. If you have ever put hours into a gift, you know what I’m talking about!
Now boys are really a fickle breed. They are sometimes the most and sometimes the least appreciative of handmade gifts. I rarely dare to go there, except when I make photo gifts for my family. Everyone loves photos but especially when there are photos of them. My dad and my husband are always appreciative of anything I make. My dad is sentimental and my husband watches me work day in and day out so they are an excellent audience. I say, choose the gifts you make for the men in your like carefully, so as to avoid disappointment. If he’s not a scarf kind of guy stop making him scarves!
Every crafter has gift giving stories of joy and woe. My advice is to use your time wisely and know your audience. That being said: I still get a warm fuzzy feeling whenever I work on a project with a certain someone in mind.
