A Man Crafter Among Us

Since the beginning of time, crafting has been considered a past time for women and elementary school children, not for manly men. In fact, I have guy friends who will say: “I don’t sew, I make stuff!” These same guys have re-titled their sewing machines as “Thread Injectors”. It is time for those of us men who like to make stuff to come out of the shadows.  There is no need to hide behind our wives, girlfriends or mothers! Be proud! Embrace your creativity.  How do you think the most brilliant minds in history created the inventions that changed the world? They made stuff!  That truly is all that crafting is.

Russ ‘The Kilted Man Krafter’ and some of his tools

The first time I ever heard the term “Man Crafter” was from my sister in law Gretel.  I was showing off a custom leather sheath that I had made and her comment that coined the phrase for me: “Russ, you are so ‘Man Crafty!'” My family loved the term and that is what they have been saying about my projects ever since. Years later, I work for the greatest company in the world, Cricut! They support my man crafting habit 100 percent and have enabled me to do what I love in addition to my regular job of Electronic Data Engineer. In fact the title on my e-mail signature is “EDI Engineer and Staff Man Crafter”. How cool is that?!? It is fantastic to be able to run my ideas past such an amazing group of creative individuals.  They are always truly excited to see my projects.

When I first started working for Cricut, my wife was teaching science classes two times a week. The Cricut Explore was invaluable for creating engaging crafts for her students. While not all of my projects use my Cricut, I have found many non-traditional ways to use the machine.

Kilted Man Krafter Wallet

I have a passion for simplicity and clean lines. My latest project is an uber-thin wallet that can be made on a Cricut with a single cutting session. My initial intention was to modify a pattern from one of the many duct tape wallet projects found on the web. On Pinterest, I found a picture of a wallet that was made from a single piece of leather with no sewing involved. Given my penchant for simplicity, I fell in love with the idea! Using simple shapes available in Design Space on Cricut.com, I inserted, sliced and welded my way to the final project. This wallet holds some cash and up to eight cards while still being incredibly thin. It is in fact so thin, that I regularly have to check my pocket to make sure it is still there.

My goal is to provide inspiration for you to go out and make cool stuff of your own. So grab your paper, leather, fabric swatches and thread injectors and join me for a journey into all things creative from the perspective of a Manly Man!

A shot of the open wallet

Another shot of the open Wallet