All You Ever Wanted to Know about Wayward Girls' Crafts

Hello all you newcomers! Today we're participating in Blogelina's 100 Blog Comment Event. We wanted to tell you a little bit about Wayward Girls' Crafts as well as keep our faithful followers (hi guys!) entertained by letting you in on new information. Here we go!

Who are we?
We are four sisters and a mom who love to create. Jordan, Jaime, Brooke, Jasmine and Mom/Diana. We're Wayward and we know it. 

Front row: Brooke, Jordan, Jasmine, Jaime
Back row: Mom/Diana and Dad (Wayward, but not a Girl) 

Why "Wayward"?

The term Wayward Girls comes from a silly answering machine message from long ago. We applied it to our crafting method when we started our blog last year. What's so wayward about it? We are willing to tackle projects without really having a back-up plan and without really knowing what we're doing. We are up for trying to recreate something we've seen elsewhere and without a pattern. We're open with the mistakes we make along the way and we're happy about it. Check out more about waywardness here.


 Getting to know Just Jaime: Why did you all start Wayward Girls' Crafts?

Early last year I started exploring crafting blogs as I researched ideas for a baby shower for Brooke. I discovered a whole niche of blogs I never really thought about before. The wheels in my head started turning. I wanted to have a craft blog, but I knew the responsibility of posting every day (and having that many crafts completed!) was too much. I decided to invite my sisters and mom to craft too. It has become something that has helped us keep in touch and bond. It's always fun to have a project amongst a group of women and I love what we've done with it. I'll never regret starting WGC.

Jaime's favorite crafts (pictures are clickable!):  

    

 Getting to know Jasmine: What's a fun crafting memory you have of the Wayward Girls crafting together?

A fun memory I have of crafting with my sisters and mom (other than giving Barbies make-overs) would be when we had a crafting extravaganza with our aunts as well one Christmas season many years ago. We all brought crafting ideas and made a bunch of crafts. Most of them were ornaments. It was fun to bring together a whole lot of ideas, teach one another about a craft, learn from one another, and most importantly enjoy what we were doing. 

Jasmine's favorite crafts (pictures are clickable!):

   

Getting to know Jordan: What's been the most useful thing you've learned from writing WGC?

To embrace the Waywardness! Like a lot of people, I can get so caught up in trying to do things perfectly, especially on the first try. My crafts--and my life--aren't perfect. Sometimes it feels like they go awry or fall short of my expectations more often than not. But blogging about my crafts has helped me to celebrate the failures as well as the successes, and given me the courage to keep going my own "wayward" way through life.

Jordan's favorite crafts (pictures are clickable!):

   

 Getting to know Mom/Diana What do you get out of blogging?

I get so much! I enjoy that I'm kind of forced to be creative every week. I enjoy crafting but don't always spend my time that way. Because we all rely on each other, blogging together, I know I have to hold up my end of the deal to all our loyal readers. I really love what I've been able to create and share, and I love when people comment on something I've created, and I get to say, "Thanks, I made it myself!"

Mom/Diana's favorite crafts (pictures are clickable!):

  

 Getting to know Brave Brooke: What do you like best about Wayward Girls' Crafts?
The thing that I love most about Wayward Girls' Crafts is there is no illusion that I'm perfect. We try to help our readers feel that we make mistakes and we make the best out of them. It is okay when things don't go exactly as we planned and sometimes they don't work at all. 

Brooke's favorite crafts (pictures are clickable!):

   

So how do you get to be Wayward too? You can follow Wayward Girls' Crafts with Google Friend Connect or RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or join us on Saturdays for Wayward Weekend, a link up party for crafts and recipes. Thanks so much for stopping by!

What it means to be Wayward & Crafty

Being Wayward originally started with an answering machine greeting, but we've realized what an integral part it is of our identities, especially as crafters.

While we like instructions, sketches and patterns, we don't always follow them . . . or even look for them. We see a glorious finished project in our minds and then we just go for it. We attack the problem as best we can, figuring we can figure it out.

Sometimes we take it on because we're cheap frugal. We see a gorgeous creation for $25 or $525 and think it's worth it to save our money. "I can't pay good money for that when I can make that," we say.

Sometimes we take it on because we want something custom. We can (hopefully) get the colors and style we choose. "I won't settle for almost what I want when I can make that," we say.

Sometimes we take it on because we just like to bite off more than we can chew. We like a challenge to help us grow and refine our skills. "I seriously hope I can make that," we say.

I do what I want! is one of our catchphrases—and we do. For the most part, we make it happen. Working by "Braille," we can get through even the most challenging crafts—though sometimes we do have to make the occasional call to our omniscient sources: Mom or Google. Our results are seldom perfect in our eyes, but we usually find a way to make it work.

What do you think? Are you wayward & crafty? If so, grab our badge!

<a href="http://www.waywardgirlscrafts.com" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="220" width="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh5Ue2ID2N3BvSrMTomusRf4vaQ86H1JVkAMz7R9SsgVkcBwiqjdSNPBP8pDg39F5w6kQ5GZ3WRowJgBN1aB9QxiZV7L2098ugS3H4FBA76ZwW99nyUBl3XZQyjECYkSjomeKZNE-5-80A/s320/wgc+badge.png" /></a>

And a little smaller:

<a href="http://www.waywardgirlscrafts.com" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="150" width="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin3sNmUQt-GhoXVr1aBnvUW4Ij_qbptnxBi_eMHeJNfzLCGxlbAzAxDxTBcxbq6QwFuUPOeyCJ48sm7nR6CuwBXTs_RpbYdVUPpVUFwMekNN6E-lvENkXun3PoZ42iiT1JjsI7k8IlLoTS/s1600/wgc+badge+small.pn" /></a>

Top photo by Emmanuelle Bourgue

A little perspective

Newsflash: We haven't heard from PREACHER'S WIFE, the winner of the vintage charm squares. If you are out there, email us at waywardgirlscrafts@ gmail.com. If we don't hear from you this week, we will pick another winner!

Raising 4 crafty (and truly NOT wayward) girls was and is an adventure. We dedicated a closet as the craft closet. There were craft kits and supplies under the Christmas tree. The girls moved from play-do shaped to sculpy art. Two of them went to an arts high school, and the other 2 took art and music classes in school and outside.

Our house is decorated with their handiworks. Their lives are chronicled in their scrapbooks. (Not always up-to-date or even lovely!) We still have remnants of many projects (half finished) though none of them live at home now.

None of this is to say that we are experts at the crafts we try. We have successes and failures. We just like to try to create things.

Why do people like to create? I heard a talk once by Dieter F. Uchtdorf that really struck home. He said, "The desire is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, background, education, or abilities, we all have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.... Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment."

So, for your enjoyment now, take a look back at some of the things the girls created when they were younger.

Recently I was cleaning out some storage under the eaves. I found that I had saved every paper Jordan completed in second grade. Here are two of my favorites.

I didn't find lots of Jaime's paper in the great cleaning (they are in another area, but I did find this that she made in elementary school.)

Scrapbooking diva today, but checkout the early years:

Brooke took the most art classes in high school. Some of the girls think our house is the Brooke Museum. Here is one we love.



These shelves contain works by both Brooke and Jasmine. (I just wish I had taken pictures of taco fish works that all 4 girls made! Alas, they are stored away!)



Finally, a print that Jasmine made in elementary school.

You can decide if we have progressed!

Why "Wayward"?

We weren't always wayward. Once upon a time, we were just crazy, as you might expect in a household with four girls. We tried to hide our zaniness behind a normal exterior, but sometimes the crazy shone through.

Our parents set the standard for this, of course. Mom made sure the first interaction you had with our family was to laugh—especially if you got the answering machine. This was in sharp contrast to most of our extended family, who seldom had an answering machine greeting more interesting than "This is the Tom Johnson residence. . . . Leave a message."

One evening, we were joking about that disconnect and our relatives' greetings when we realized there was something missing. If you know us, you know our dad (okay, well, he's not Mom's dad, but you know who we mean) shares his name with a very famous historical figure. All these elements combined to create a perfect storm of an answering machine greeting, in Dad's cheery baritone:

You've reached the [Thomas Jefferson] Residence . . . for Wayward Girls. Please leave a message. [distorted piano music]

We still embrace this as our calling in life:

Over the years, the message has impressed a number of people, including my soon-to-be-sister-in-law (she wasn't sure she had the right house and hung up without leaving a message). The greeting was unchanged until another perfect storm—lightning struck in the front yard, zapping a good number of electronics in the house. But the spirit of the greeting will live on in our wayward hearts—and we hope in yours too!