I've heard that musicians "see" their life experiences and the world around them in musical notes. Their brains are just hardwired for it and the music just comes to them, or maybe through them. It's almost as if they are led to create and share it.
Its the same with writers who feel it's imperative to capture their observations with pen and paper, or poets who have verse and meter tapping away in their brains even as they do something as mundane as walking down the street, or artists with their brushes, paints and canvases.
And for those of us with a crafty affliction, sometimes a vision just appears in our heads and we know...without a doubt...that we. must. create. it.
That is how Carl came to be.
Carl started out as a birthday gift for Ben's friend Colin. Colin LOVES minions, and his dad is a doctor. What could be a more perfect gift than a game of Minion Operation!!
Today was Colin's party and it dawned on me that I didn't have any 'kid-friendly' gift wrap, so Maeve and I stopped at Target to pick some up.
"I wonder if they make Despicable Me gift wrap?" I thought.
Nope nothing.
"We'll, maybe I could buy some yellow wrapping paper and stick printed out minions on it"
was my next thought. Notachance. No yellow wrapping paper to be found.
It was then that the crafty lightbulb went off in my head.
"Maaayyybeeeeee....maybe I could wrap the gift to BE a minion!!"
Two sheets of colored poster board, one minion eye printable, some glue and a black sharpie later....
Carl was born!
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| The sheets of poster board were less than a buck apiece - cheaper than real giftwrap! |
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| The goggle printable didn't go all the way across the gift, so I improvised with a sharpie to fill in the rest. |
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| Luckily, Carl doesn't have much hair. |
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| I freehanded the overalls and cut them out. |
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| Originally I just drew on a pocket, but then I worried that sticking a card to the gift would ruin Carl, so I made a card-pocket instead. |
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| I love the way it turned out! |
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| Maeve's a fan too...though I think she may jut want to eat Carl. Look out Carl! Teething baby at 3:00! |
I know, I know.
It's not the Mona Lisa, or Leaves of Grass, or Beethoven's 9th...It was just 20 minutes of crafty bliss during naptime and it made me happy for days every time I thought about it.
Crafty fun is my antidepressant. I don't know why it works, I'm glad it does!
Colin liked Carl too. I hope we get invited over for a round or two of Minion Operation - it looks like a riot!
