5. DIY Lessons from the Queen, Jen Neitzel

I've always been a hobby dabbler; I get really excited about some medium, like painting, then spend about six months or so obsessed with it.  After six months, the supplies gather dust and I'm on to the next big thing.  In the past few years I've had obsessions with knitting, painting, drawing, jewelry making, baking, dancing, photography, yoga, and blogging.  I've always considered this a good thing; there's a part of me that thinks I'm pretty special for being sorta decent at everything I try (except cooking.  I habitually overcook things and have absolutely no herb and spice comprehension beyond salt and pepper, although I do tend to be pretty good at the part where I drink a glass of wine while the rice slowly burns on the bottom of the pan.  Then I can drunkenly flirt with the pizza man when he shows up an hour later...).

Anyway, after all these years of trying to make shit and being moderately successful, I've learned how to recognize talent when I see it.  Jen Neitzel, dear readers, is the DIY champion of the extended universe and a legend in her own class.   And she just happens to be one of my friends (and a Jazzerciser).  When she offered to let me sit in on one of her projects, I snapped up the opportunity like a Cabbage Patch Kid in 1985.

Check the butt for the birthmark!

The project: makeover a discarded roadside find into a totally (insert current slang adjective here) piece of furniture for a pre-teen boy's room.  The piece: a plaid hide-a-bed loveseat with cat-clawed arms.  The plan: reupholster the arms and create an embellishment for the back to bring the design together.

Jen had already started the project before I arrived, but she took a few minutes to break it down for me.  It was cool to watch her work; she just seems so at home with her ideas and her scissors.  She never hesitated or questioned herself.  Then I realized that that's what it is that really makes her special: she never lets the fear of making a mistake stop her or slow her down.  For Jen, there is no such fear.  There is no expectation of perfection that we adults usually carry with us everywhere we go.  She has learned by doing, while many of us just never bother to try because we we're afraid of what it means about us if we fail.

Has nothing to do with the blog, but it's kinda funny.

Another Jazzerciser, Jocelyn, was also along for the tutorial, which turned out to be more like a daytime slumber party than serious crafting time.  The three of us drank wine, talked about marriage and divorce, learned about each other, and wiled away a hot Wednesday afternoon.  And you know what?  We created a perfectly perfect little day for ourselves on the very first try.

The work in progress.