"Every mix tape tells a story. Put them together, and they add up to the story of life." --Rob Sheffield

I think the definition of crafting is boundless.  It doesn’t have to mean gluing things together or slapping paint on a piece of wood.  Personally, crafting is anything you make—anything at all you get creative about—for yourself and especially for someone else.  It’s kind of the core of my crafting belief system.  So, this post is about how I’ve asked some lovely people to craft something for me.  And even though they would never call what they are doing crafting…I do!         

I have recently fallen into a funk—musically speaking.  I’m not enjoying listening to anything.  I find this particularly distressing since I find it impossible to craft in silence.  Even my all-time favorite crafting music seems blah.  The Beatles’ The White Album has been my crafting constant since high school.  Though in the past few years, I’ve begun putting all The Weepies’ albums on shuffle when The Fab Four just won’t do.  And, lately, I’ve found the Stevie Wonder station on Pandora to be quite the inspiration.  But I realized last week that I need new music in my repertoire for the purpose of crafting and, well, just living my every day life.

 

So, I’ve recruited—okay, maybe coerced—four very different people into taking a blank CD and crafting it into a bit of auditory delight for yours truly.  I’m banking on their song selections having the power to pull me out of my musical funk and to take me out of my usual musical boundaries.  My only guideline is that when they give me the CD filled with their idea of amazing music they will provide me with some information as to why they chose the particular tunes on it.  I mean no mix CD with any integrity is haphazardly put together, right?

I’ve given them no deadline which means the anticipation is killing me…in a good way!  One friend has not only called me about the project but sent me two emails asking for clarification and mentioned it on Twitter…all of which I find quite darling!  And, I have given a final guideline.  The CD crafter must write the date of the day they burned the CD on it.  Not only do I have a crafting belief system, but I also have a CD filing system.