A Recap of Craft Girl Summer

Think of her as the cool older sister of Brat Summer

If you were to ask me if I am artistic, I would say I am more of the crafty type. A craft is way less pressure and much more forgiving than creating a true masterpiece. Think of it like a summer camp activity! As a retired camp counselor, I sometimes feel like friendship bracelets and glue guns are in my blood. With this past summer being the first time in 10 years I was not at sleep-away camp, I had to take crafting matters into my own hands. I lovingly, yet forcefully, got my friends together, and every few weeks we raided Michaels and spent the night creating fun creations while catching up and watching Sex And The City. Craft nights turned into what I looked forward to every week, and I feel it is necessary to share what we made and why these summer nights meant so much to me. 

1. Bejeweled Lighters

The craft of all crafts for my friends and I were decorating lighters. Everyone owns a lighter, and if it is going to sit on my coffee table in between candles it might as well be cute! Like most of the art projects we completed throughout the summer, we found our inspiration on TikTok. And maybe it was the E6000 fumes, but something about beading was so captivating. I loved finding various jewels and fun charms to put on my lighter, and how each one looked completely different yet matched each person so well. I was also a major fan of the price point! The most expensive part of this craft was the glue, making this such an affordable activity for any girls night or get together. 

2. Charm Necklaces

Myself, along with the rest of the world, has been obsessing over charm jewelry. It truly has taken over my Pinterest, and after enough research I could not think of a single reason why I could not make these necklaces and bracelets myself. Though I will say looking back it would have been much easier to buy a necklace from Etsy, the process made the product so rewarding. Jewelry making supplies are not as cheap as beads and glue, and some clasps are harder to open than others. Nevertheless, getting to sit in the jewelry section of Michaels with my friends making fun of pendants and finding ones we loved was such a fun experience and a memory I won’t forget. This crafting endeavor taught me that not everything needs to be DIYed, but regardless the process will be fun. 

3. Felt Flags

My felt flags might be my favorite project of the entire summer. Once again, I had seen a TikTok of roommates’ little name flags for their doors, and I thought it would be so cute to have in my new apartment. Surprisingly, our craft store had a wide variety of fabrics and felt designs, which definitely made the process more fun! I loved the ways turned out, and how easy it was to mix and match different colors and patterns to personalize each flag. It turned into something I liked to do while watching TV instead of scrolling on social media, which my brain definitely thanked me for. 

Craft nights turned into what I looked forward to every week, and I feel it is necessary to share what we made and why these summer nights meant so much to me. Hopefully these three artsy activities inspired you to get out some paint pens and get crafty!