In case you don’t already know, Kathy Cano-Murillo is a crafty powerhouse.

Over the years she has given me amazing advice via several online craft boards and has often amused me with stories of her handmade mishaps! It always comforting to know that I’m not the only one gluing my fingers together or doing things (as I did this weekend) like injuring myself with a felting needle!

I was overjoyed to recently acquire a copy of her new book, Art de la Soul, which is a craft primer of sorts. I love the fact that not only does it contain a list of items crafty newbies might need when starting out, but also that it stresses that being a good crafter doesn’t mean you always produce good craft.

Case in point, this weekend while working on some rugs for part of a book, I made my little test square of felt in my bathtub. The final result was completely bizarre looking, kind of like Pac-Man. However, a less-than-satisfactory result made me look for ways to repair my efforts that I wouldn’t have had to learn if my test piece had come out perfect! While I may not yet be a feltmeister, I am more confident with the process now that they went a little pear-shaped.

As long as we continue to stress that creativity does not equal perfection, we will continue to create. And I fully applaud those who recognize that getting messy (and often messing up) with your art/craft only serves to expand your own production and knowledge.