52 weeks to go: The Craft or Bust Project

Once upon a time, I loved challenges. (It was Long Ago, before the age of bloggers was a twinkle in the Internet's eye.) Mmm, fresh new-challenge smell. The feel of challengey wind in my hair. The youthful certainty that I Could Accomplish Anything — even when, in the end, there were items left forever on the to-do list. Because even as a young thing, I knew that feeling ubercreative and uber-me meant a challenge was a Win.

But I dislike failing at challenges; it makes me volcanic, in the pre-eruption, suspicious-steam-from-the-vents sort of way. And failing at challenges is what I usually do now. Oy (to say the least).

This has to do with the others-before-self problem I acquired once a certain movie beamed human-specific compassion capability directly into my brain. Hint: Avoid this if you like your personal space the way it is.

Aaanyway. I've been, frankly, crap about keeping to my personal goals for a few years now. This is Very Un-Me and Needs to Change. But joining other people's challenges just doesn't feel right this year. Maybe another moment of this year will be more right for it.

Until then, I have one choice: Start my own challenge.

And lo, the Craft or Bust Project is born.

I hereby challenge myself:

• to work on at least one craft project per week;
• to capture photographic evidence of said work;
• to post a weekly blog update containing the above evidence and written testimony as to What Has Been Crafted.

Notice that I'm not saying I'm going to finish a project a week. I'd like to ... but the only requirement for the project is that I keep on crafting. This is about creativity and craft endurance training, not instant gratification. Any art or craft counts — knitting, wire wrap jewelry, painting, artist trading cards, you name it. To me: Just craft, already. (Or as my friend Beckka would say: Craft, dammit!) The one craft exception is blogging; see the rules page for why.

And because it's always more fun if multiple people are stressing out (in a good way, of course) over their challenge entries simultaneously, I invite you to join me.

Game rules:

1. Every week, on Sunday, I'll post a new Craft or Bust update. Check in by leaving a comment on the weekly CoB post with the following information:
   
   • Your name
   • A place where I can link to you — your Twitter account, your Web site, your blog, your Facebook page, etc.
   • What you did that week
   • If you blog about Craft or Bust, post a link or links to your CoB-related posts. Make sure you tag your posts with "Craft or Bust" and link back to the CoB rules page (located [here — this spot to be linked once the link exists ;)]).
   • If you take pictures of your Craft or Bust projects, add them to the CoB Flickr pool, and include a link to the related Flickr page(s) in your check-in.
2. Every week in my CoB update post, I'll include a roundup of the previous week's check-ins.

Whatever you link to in your check-in, I'll link to it in my roundup. So if you have a blog, this is a semi-sneaky way of getting exposure and visitors. (Rather like a blog carnival...) If you don't have a blog (or even if you do!), you can upload your photos to Flickr and I'll post them here, so people can see your craftigoodness in all its challenge-inspired glory.

And who knows? Maybe there will be prizes along the way. (Anybody want to donate something? Creativity-enhancing materials? Classes? E-books? Tutorials? Cheesecake?)

Tomorrow will be the first Sunday of Craft or Bust, so for tomorrow's check-in, my compatriots in crafting, give me a heads up in the comments area with as much info as you think is relevant, your reasons for doing Craft or Bust, and your ultimate goal. (And if you haven't yet, check out the rules page to make sure you have everything covered.)

Afterthoughts

This post inspired by Tara of Blonde Chicken Boutique and now A Novel Yarn (that's her new physical yarn studio ... wooeeeooo!). She wrote a couple days ago about year-long craft challenges, which made me think about what challenges I would tackle this year.

And hey, I even used this post as an excuse to flex my New-Year's-lessons-learned muscles, specifically the one on which is written: "It’s all right to take risks, and do what you think you can’t do." Crickets may chirp, I may craft on alone ... but what the hey.