Friday, September 2, 2016

Unashamed Plastic Canvas Freak

When I was growing up, crafting was really uncool.  I mean, isn't that what fusty old grannies do while watching soap operas?  I'm sure everyone remembers getting a handmade present from a grandma or auntie that was made with love, but you were just too embarrassed to be seen with it in public (think Ralphie's bunny pj's  from A Christmas Story). 

Nowadays, crafting is pretty darn cool.  You can go to any hipster cafe and find cool chicks (and some guys too) knitting or crocheting, or at the very least, wearing handmade items they bought from Etsy.  Let's not get started on all the amazingly cool DIY home decor ideas you can find on Pinterest.  It's how you let the world know that you're different, you're creative, you don't shop at Walmart!  Except for supplies, of course.


That said, there are still certain crafts that are just lame in the eyes of most people.  Basket weaving?  Dull.  Tole painting?  Totally passe.  Painting sweat shirts with puffy paint (you remember that?)?  Oh God no.  But the most hated of all crafts, as far as I can tell, is (DUNDUNDUN)...  Plastic Canvas.

  Eeek!  Call the cool police!

Why are these things uncool?  I really don't know, honestly.  It probably has something to do with current trends, or the fact that some people remember their moms doing those things and deciding they want to be awesomer than their moms.  I'm sure it's just like clothing fashion, with a new trend every six months.

I actually used to think plastic canvas was pretty uncool myself when I was growing up.  I remember my great aunt Lois made Christmas ornaments out of PC; the little kissers, some drums that you could open the top of and put in candy, some ridiculous shaped snowflakes.  I just thought they looked very silly and old fashioned.

Which is pretty ironic, since I have grown to love plastic canvas over the last few years.  I don't even know how it started.  I think I just woke up one day with an urge to do something new, and I just happened to have some PC stuff on hand (given to me by my mother-in-law, who exclusively quilts these days, so she gave me all her old craft things).

What I love about PC is how versatile it is.  You can do so many projects with it, from a wall hanging, coasters, tissue box covers, treat containers, bags, totes, magnets.  I find a new use for the stuff all the time!  It's a lot like wood, only more flexible, and easier to decorate.  It's amazing stuff.  When I craft, for some reason, I like to make things that are actually useful.  That's probably why I could never get into cross stitch; it's beautiful, but usually not that useful.  I can only have so many pictures on my wall or bookmarks.

So yes, I'm a huge fan of a craft that's hugely unpopular.  It's so unpopular, in fact, that hardly anyone designs it anymore.  If you look up just about any (cool) craft, you'll find thousands of free patterns all across the internet.  You can't do that with PC because it went out of style before the internet.  Why did I decide to start designing patterns in PC?  I dunno.  I guess I'm just like that.  I'm like a hipster, only backwards.  I get into stuff way after they fall out of favor.

I hope that PC enthusiasts like me can bring the art back to the forefront.  It's not like it used to be.  Today's designs are so much more intricate and imaginative than they were 20 years ago, and I want everyone to see how cool PC can be. 

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