Do.It.Someone.Else

 D   .I   .S.   E.

D.I.S.E....For the sake of a catchiness we will pronounce this new phrase "DICE" or should it be "DIES"? Hmm...we will circle back to this.

Anyways-- this post is a D.I.Y. backlash baby, so get ready. First of all, let me state that I love "doing it myself". A little history--  I taught myself how to sew when I was in middle school (after being inspired by the wardrobe at the spice girls concert, this led to, as I am sure you can imagine, the creation of a number of strange and impractical items of clothing...) and I sewed my way straight threw High School. My wardrobe was at its best, fashion forward, and at its worse, a) falling off and b) a one way ticket to dress code violation. A week from my high school graduation, the college counselor and semi senior graduation coordinator, pulled me aside and said "Lavinia can you PLEASE BUY a dress for the graduation ceremony?!" I acquiesced.

In college, I worked as the seamstress/designer for the Dance Department,  I sewed everyone's Halloween Costumes and I hemmed tuxedos; young adults come out of the woodwork for a girl with a sewing machine.  I have made my fair share of throw pillows and throw blankets,  and crafts-- little personalized name lunchboxes for my nephews at Christmas etc. I recently took up knitting, and am completely in love. This long rambling introduction is an attempt to impress upon you that I am handy with the D.I.Y.--- and I love it, I swear.

D.I.Y. could be compared to driving standard-- sure it's more "fun" and a lot cooler, but when you are stuck in traffic and just need to get where you are going, you realize why they invented the automatic transmission. There are some stark realities that must be faced about Doing It Yourself and they ain't pretty: 

1. It's HARDLY ever cheaper. In fact, most of the time, its more expensive when you account for:
• fuck ups-- which any true D.I.Y.er has plenty of
• the fact that when you are making something it is usually because you think you can make it nicer and better, which usually means more pricey "ingredients" be it materials, supplies etc
2. The amount of time and effort that goes into its creation, often surpasses it's use i.e. I wanted a cute little scarf, decided to make it instead-- a million hours and a 100 bucks later, I have one. Now it's Spring. Hmmm. Unless I wear this everyday til July, I am not sure it was justified.
3. A lot of the time, despite your best efforts, the creation does not turn out how to envisioned it-- OR takes a turn and becomes a completely different project, leaving you right back where you started, needing to purchase that original trinket that you had decided to make...
4. This may be a personal problem, but I find,  the process of shopping for "ingredients" for whatever I am D.I.Y.ing often leads to being otherwise inspired, resulting in the purchase of materials for multiple projects on top of the one which brought me in...these "project offspring' then result in their own time consuming, semi useful, fuck-ups along the way, incurring further cost. 
5. I find that, in the midst of D.I.Y.ing that little dress, or throw pillow or Christmas present, all the other things I should be D.I.Y.ing, like my laundry, making lunches for the week, cleaning my room, end up getting D.I.S.E.-ed-- laundry gets dropped off, lunch gets bought out-- a slippery slope!

I have to say, when being asked for the 100th time, by a hyper organized, super creative and dexterous, organic eating super-human if I made it myself, I relish in informing them that, no, someone else freaking made it and they are probably not local. Life is busy, and though I would like to stencil flowers onto my walls and lampshades, I can probably wander down to Ikea and get something that will suffice just fine or just go without (which is my usual M.O.)-- saving my creative energy- and creative budget- for the projects that keep me up a night with excitement.

This all being said, the things that friends and family make (sew, bake, paint, craft, knit, write, visit 'here', 'here' and 'here' for some great examples) are truly amazing. Both my parents create such beauty all the time, its hard not to be inspired by their talent and, it is true, only you can make it the best-- it just might take a couple tries....