Thank You Amy Sedaris!

I just snagged Amy Sedaris' newest book, Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People, and it is absolutely freakin hilarious! She pokes fun at creating "useful things" out of pipe cleaners and pine cones while giving instructions on how to create a wide range of kitschy crafts. There is even a chapter on "The Healing Power of Crafting," which includes crafts targeted towards people with specific ailments/disorders, although most crafts are blatantly inappropriate for the group they are selected for, such as rusty nail wind chimes for people suffering from bipolar disorder. (they're supposed to be inappropriate, it's dark humor, dudes!)

Examples of crafts: donut squirrel feeders, crab claw roach clips, tin can stilts, "I can't do anything right" box, and a clothespin Jesus. Most crafts are ridiculous, some are offensive, but rest assured that you have seen several of these at your local high school or church craft fairs.

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw the cover of the book, which shows Sedaris creating yarn pom poms. (One of the crafts in my kit is a fuzzy yarn pom pom caterpillar) Should I be offended by the way she trivializes crafts while I've spent all semester working on a senior thesis that focuses on craft as a healing tool? NO flippin way!! She's funny and clever and reading her book reminded me not to take this craft thing so seriously. I love love luuuurve this book and recommend it to anyone who has ever painted a pine cone or hot glued macaroni to a plate (and isn't easily offended by tasteless jokes).

Last Chemo!!

Yesterday marked my mom's last chemotherapy treatment! She was at Siteman from 7:30am - 6:30pm and was happy to leave at the end of the day. Lucky me, she was willing to be my test subject for the stuffed band aid project. I printed out my written and illustrated instructions and asked her to tell me when a step was unclear. It was incredibly helpful and I was able to edit and make the instructions easier to understand after getting her feedback.

Diligently sewing

Proudly displaying our stuffed band aids

My proudest moment occurred when two nurses and three patients asked us what we were doing. The craft kit is meant to accomplish two things: 1. Be a calming way to pass time 2. Encourage communication between patients. I felt like a proud parent when one patient's husband, Ron, began a conversation with my mom after asking us what we were sewing. We learned that Ron's wife was receiving treatment through a clinical trial, just like my mom, because her type of cancer wasn't responding to chemotherapy. They were from Houston, Missouri and had to drive 3 hours back home that night. After my mom told them she was lucky she lived in Edwardsville, Illinois and only had a 40 minute drive home, another patient joined the conversation, telling us about his experiences in Edwardsville. Our craft project sparked interactions among at least 5 people that day.

I have come to realize that most patients are looking for an non-verbal invitation for conversation. Working on our band aid project provided that invitation. After a simple ice-breaker, like asking us about a silly stuffed pillow, people would immediately tell their heart-breaking or uplifting stories about their fight against cancer. 

The Conversation Starter

Craft #4: Stuffed Band Aid Pillow....revisited

The fifth project in the craft kit is the stuffed band aid pillow. I tweaked the design from the original (which was reminiscent of a pretzel or canoe, I'm told). The illustrated instructions are completed, but only a few steps are shown below.

Band Aid Pillow!

                                                                                        

Caterpillar Illustrations!

I've been working on illustrating each step of the instructions for the fuzzy caterpillar craft this week. Each illustration will be accompanied by text, explaining the steps.

Detail

Complete Illustrations