Cork Art (or, I Used to be Crafty)

I’ve never been good at video games. Ever. I have terrible hand-eye coordination. Or something. Something that keeps me from being good at most sports as well. I have, however, always been good at crafts. That’s right, you can keep your insufferably hard MarioKart! As a kid, I was whipping out friendship bracelets en masse, puffy-painting every t-shirt I owned, and turning popsicle sticks into all manner of art.

Lately, however, I’m all supplies and no inspiration. Namely, I have a ton of corks. I think I have the cork from every bottle of wine that was ever uncorked in my presence. It’s a disease. They are so small and easy to pocket. At this point, my haul seems too mighty to merely chuck in the bin (and, since I’ve already started the collection, it doesn’t make sense to stop, does it?). I must do something mighty with them! I must craft!

However… what to do?

I made six of them into little place card holders by cutting a slit in one side. I was so proud of my momentary cleverness that I made one for each of the cats.

So, eight of them were sacrificed to a higher purpose – but what about the rest? Believe me, we will never have more than six people to dinner at one time (and Will won’t let me get more cats).

I was going to hot-glue some of them all jazzy-like to the side of this wooden wine rack thing I had… but then I gave that wine rack away. I should have gotten my hot-glue on before the wine rack passed from my possession, but, well, hindsight and all.

I thought of making trivets… but I don’t need trivets. Ditto, DIY cork-boards.

Then, I was walking past Anthropologie and saw cork-art in the window! The creative minds at Anthro had constructed these little cork balls, like this:

{via}

In a fleeting moment of crafy haze I thought, “I CAN MAKE THAT!”

But then… what the hell would I do with it?

I know, right?

Is the problem that I’m less crafty – less creative – than I was as a child? Or is it that my general aesthetic is a little less homespun these days? I’m all for doing it myself (unless it involves plumbing or electricity – know thy limits), but I want whatever I make to have some function. Some purpose.

For now, I will troll the internet looking for cork-spiration. Do share if you have any ideas (or have a need for corks for your own project).

Oh, and P.S. – did you see this? Jessica Quirk is so many shades of amazing.

The Stuff that Surrounds Us: #2 – Spider Plant

Yes, a spider plant holds a special place in my heart.

Each Spring, my dear alma mater would host “Mom’s Weekend.”

I’d attended a football game with my father during Dad’s Weekend and given my sister her first glimpse of college life during Siblings’ Weekend. In April, it was Mom’s turn.

While typical Mom’s Weekend activities included a fashion show in the Illini Union, I took my mother to the Stacks in the Graduate Library (“Did you know, Mom, that most Freshman don’t have a Stacks pass?”). Each visit to the Stacks filled me with amazement and I wanted to share that wonder with my mother (though I didn’t share with her my theory that the Stacks were haunted nor my supposition that I could be murdered there and left to lay, undiscovered, for months).

In addition to bibliophilic activities, I’d heard about an exhibition put on by the horticulture students – a combination garden show and sale. My green-thumbed mother was sure to enjoy. The event was bigger than I had anticipated and featured all types of botanical study from the pretty to the purposeful. Afterward, we looked at the plants offered for sale; with no roommate to consult, I was free to fill my dorm room with all manner of green.

I’m not sure who spotted it first, but once the spider plant was in my hands, I knew it was coming home with me. This had to be the largest spider plant in captivity. Among its long, pointed green leaves were countless shoots – each dangling its own baby spider plant desperate to grow roots and be free of its mother. I had no idea how to separate these babies into viable, independent plants, but I had ample subjects on which to experiment. I gifted several baby plants to other students – they proved to be the perfect dorm-plant as I had a ready supply of replacements.

I brought the plant home for the summer and my parents house slowly filled with spider plants. The plant featured above is either the baby or grand-baby of that original, enormous mama-plant.

My mother made the trip to Champaign-Urbana every year for Mom’s Weekend, and we always attended that Garden Show. While I purchased other plants (I remember, in particular, a tragically ill-fated azalea), none were as epic as the spider plant I got Freshman year. This little green remnant is a daily reminder of those wonderful weekends with my mom.

The Stuff that Surrounds Us: #1 – Hail to the Orange

Inspired by a post I read on The Marion House Book, I want to take a look at my belongings and the story they tell of who I am and what I value. I’m constantly culling. Books are passed along via BookMooch or the book swap shelf in my condo; clothing is given to friends, my sister, or The Brown Elephant. I love nothing more than shedding the items I no longer need. It’s cleansing – for the house and the soul.

With all this molting, what does that say about the things I keep? I want to examine the things I hold dear. While the aforementioned Emma is doing a series of 52 items (one a week over the next year), I’m not sure yet how far this series will go or where it will take me. Along the way, I’d love to hear about the things you treasure in your homes.

Presenting Item #1: My University of Illinois Paraphernalia

I was not the first member of my family to attend the U of I. In fact, my great-grandfather graduated in 1907 with a degree in Engineering. While I was down in Champaign, I was able to access the University Archives to find the addresses of the apartments he lived in during his four-year stay, one hundred years prior to my own. From him, I have the book of Illinois Songs he received as a Freshman in 1903:

It features “By Thy Rivers Gently Flowing” – now the Illinois state song:

The lesser known (and alleged University Hymn at the time) “Watch on the Rhine”:

And the comedic “A Frog Tragedy”:

From a great-uncle graduating the College of Law in 1915, I have the program for the commencement ceremonies:

I also have the commencement ceremony program from a great-aunt who got her degree in the school of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 1935:

Also featured in the “group photo” of all my Illini Memorabilia is my own diploma from U of I. I was fortunate enough to get both my Undergraduate and Graduate degrees in Champaign-Urbana (though I seem to have misplaced said Graduate diploma).

These small documents represent so much for me. I was truly blessed to be born into a family that places such value on education. I can’t imagine the sacrifices made to send a son to college in 1903. I wonder what campus was like in 1915, on the eve of such worldwide change. I am unspeakably proud to be the legacy to a woman who sought higher education in the early thirties (and the family who supported her along the way). While other family members at the time may have sought their education elsewhere, the fact that I attended the same institution as so many forebears makes much of the Campus hallowed ground for me.

I am not a Dork

I have a subscription to Elle Decor.  I regularly read House Beautiful. I save West Elm catalogs to read as though they were magazines. I follow several home-decorating blogs and Twitter accounts. Basically, I’m a lover of all things interior design. It wasn’t always this way. It started last summer, shortly after purchasing my condo. I’ve lived in apartments for years, but now I can paint the walls! I’ve discussed moving a wall! I’m planning on completely re-doing the bathroom! It’s mine, and I want it to be beautiful.