02 Jul SETTING SOME RULES FOR CRAFT

When I pitched my book idea to Penguin, I wanted to make sure it wasn’t like other craft books. I put my branding director hat on and thought about how to do this. (I do actually wish I had a branding director hat…. I might make myself one out of newspaper).

The market for craft books is quite small, perhaps because they are written for people who identity as ‘crafty’. I want to make a craft book for everyone else. Kids love craft because they find it fun, but parents hate it because it’s messy, sticky and often really annoying to set up and pack away. So for this book I set myself some rules…

1. No painting.
Personally I love getting stuck in with paints, but I also know the pain of living in a flat with two small, unpredictable people who are intent on turning a new sofa into a Jackson Pollock painting. There’s also no paper maché in the book or any other sort of messy, sticky stuff. Just a few glue sticks.
2. No sewing. 
Some people love sewing but you need patience and commitment to make a sewing project work. My kids are happier with a project that lasts around 15 minutes, then they need a trampoline break. So all the projects are pretty quick to make and no needles are necessary.
3. No glitter.
I love it, but it’s not for everyone. Especially two weeks later when you’re still pulling it out of your crevices.
So my book is for “parents who think they hate craft”, because it doesn’t need to be messy, and even I hate it when we’re halfway through some paper maché and we need the kitchen table to turn back into a kitchen table and we all end up eating glitter for dinner.

My first ever book, Quick Crafts – For Parents Who Think They Hate Craft is out August 8th, just in time for the school holidays.  Pre-order it here from Amazon.