One of my delights is going to the library and checking out all the new cooking and crafts books. I take these freshly pressed volumes home filled with ambition to cook and to do.  Mostly, however, I just look and dream. One recent find is  Weekend Handmade by Kelly Wilkinson. Her colorful book is filled with amiable & accessible projects requiring merely a few hours or a couple of days. But before I got too deeply immersed or lifted a single brush or glue gun, I read the book jacket bio and found she’s an S.F. blogger with this book an offshoot.

Well, I jumped from kitchen table to the computer and checked out her blog Make Grow Gather . And before I knew it, I was deep into Kelly’s creative life and process. I read her post about last week’s Maker Faire in San Mateo, the uber festival of creative DIYers. Not only is Kelly a successful, published author…but she started another creative venture: Creativebug. So off to there I linked.

Creativebug offers the delicious promise of “all you can make for $25/month.” It’s a site filled with videos by talented crafters and needleworkers.” How can you resist a search bar that asks you “what do you want to make today.” And so I read about some of the talented artisans they recruited and viewed their portfolios and videos (Check out Jenny Doh’s Fish Mobile). Yes, these are, indeed, makers of things. I wish them huge success. I just don’t think I’ll be signing up.

The sad truth is I spent all my creative free time this morning reading about Kelly Wilkinson’s book, blog and website and her amazing coterie of fellow creativistas. I spent my morning not making, not growing, not gathering. All I have to show for my time is this crummy little post.

But maybe you’ll do better. Maybe you’ll click on one of these links and be inspired to start a project or shake loose a passion. If you do, please tell me. I’d feel like I accomplished something!

Related articles

• Dangerous Prototypes at Maker Faire Bay Area (makezine.com)
• Mechanical Flip Books (adafruit.com)
• Weekend Handmade (angrychicken.typepad.com)
• 2012 Maker Faire – San Francisco Bay Arrea (voodoodr06.wordpress.com)
• Adam Savage at Maker Faire: “Why We Make” (theverge.com)