A writer friend of mine, Carole, recently told a bunch of us about a unique crafting book.
It’s not the crafting that’s different; it’s the medium that you work with.
So what are you guessing? Yarn?
No. Millions of folks work with yarn. You can do better than that…
Paper?
Nope. I know folks who have made everything from wild-looking paper airplanes to origami using paper. I’ll give you one last try.
Pipe cleaners?
Really? I don’t think I’ve used them since I was in art class in school.
Okay, looks like I’ll have to tell you. The new medium to work with in crafting that merits an entire book on the subject…
Cat hair.
And, yes, I am completely serious.
Let that sink in. You make crafts—that you most likely would want to give to friends and family or to display in your home—out of cat hair.
Shudder…
Don’t get me wrong; I’ve got nothing against our feline friends.
But I don’t want something that’s made from their, blech, hair.
I know that there have been items made from hair in the past. I love all things Victorian, and I’ve seen the amazing, intricate, and lovely creations that they made by weaving together the hair of family members.
But that’s different. You know why? They didn’t have great photographs, and this was another way to preserve the family history.
They also didn’t have things like television and the internet. They probably got bored. And someone said, “Hey, let’s start weaving stuff out of all this long hair we’re growing. We’ve got nothing much else to do anyway…other than trying not to pass out while wearing these tight corsets…”
And, behold, a new craft was born.
Let’s face it: today, we’ve got so many options in the world. There are movies to see, sports to play, and even crafts to make.
But I’m sure we can be creative enough to find a way to make beautiful items using something other than the hair you normally complain about and then buy numerous vacuum cleaners throughout your lifetime to get rid of.
Seeing this book got Carole to thinking—what else could folks make from strange things? Some of her suggestions for new books are, “Repurposing Chicken Bones,” “Turning Nail Clippings into Utensils,” and, my personal favorite, “Dust Bunny Art.”
For the last one, I could gather up enough material so that I’d be able to make crafts for the rest of my life.
And, I’d never have to clean again. I’ll bet I could make a fortune! What a win-win situation.
I haven’t bought the cat book, but it’s gotten me to thinking of all the, um, fabulous things you could make: how about a Tabby Tablecloth? What about a Calico Curtain set? And who wouldn’t want a Persian Rug?
See, all these years, when we’ve thought about those stereotypical “crazy cat ladies,” who have hundreds of cats—turns out they’re not hoarding them. They’ve got a side business in providing cat hair for crafters.
I have some dogs, and let me tell you—one thing that drives me nuts is when they shed. I wonder if anyone crafts with dog hair.
Nope. I know that I couldn’t save it. Just because something is really eco-friendly doesn’t mean that it’s not also really gross.
I’m just sayin’…
Michele Wojciechowski, when she’s not sitting around wondering how much money she could rake in from the bust bunny and dog hair tumbleweeds in her home, writes Wojo’s World™ from Baltimore.