Wednesday, January 16, 2019 // The Statement 
7B
Wednesday, April 3, 2019 // The Statement 
 
7B

Is the craft blog dead?

T

he first blog I ever read reli-
giously was called “Mod Podge 
Rocks.” It was 2011 and I was 
a devoted decoupager. In fact, I was 
so devoted that my birthday wish list 
resembled the Pinterest board of a shab-
by chic bride; all I wanted was mason 
jars, tissue paper, burlap, and buttons. I 
looked forward to the Sunday morning 
newspaper delivery purely because of 
the craft store coupons and the animat-
ed color explosion from the pages of the 
Michael’s and JoAnn’s advertisements. I 
still remember the home economic les-
son from my mother: Never go to a craft 
store without a coupon.
“Mod Podge Rocks” was founded by 
the Northwestern mom turned craft 
blogger, Amy Anderson, and I read her 
daily posts like gospel. When Anderson 
posted “How to Paint a Colorful Clock 
Face” I ran straight up to my room 
and unhooked my Target clock from 
my bedroom wall, eager to follow her 
step-by-step instructions. After some 
mechanical twiddling, I decoupaged 
the clock face with patterned scrapbook 
paper. Admittedly, after waiting the 
24-hour drying period, the clock never 
ticked again.
As Anderson gained notoriety in the 
blogosphere, I became an even more 
enthusiastic fan of Mod Podge. When 
she published a book with directions of 
how to Mod Podge everything from a 
bike helmet to acorns, I of course bought 
the book and completed all the projects. 
 
Certainly, as a 12-year-old blog read-
er, I was a rare breed. I didn’t grow up 
with the rise of Myspace and LiveJour-
nal that ushered in the era of the blog-
ger. And Instagram had not yet become 
mainstream when I was reading blogs in 
middle school. The year 2011 was a rare 

in-between time in the social media 
landscape where the next big technol-
ogy platform had not been determined 
by the masses yet.
Yet, by the time I reached eighth 
grade, the list of blogs bookmarked 
under “Shannon’s Blogs” on the fam-
ily computer had grown. Added to my 
daily diet of “Mod Podge Rocks” was 
the trendier “A Beautiful Mess” craft 
blog. Founded by two sisters, the blog 
widened my purview of crafting beyond 
the water base sealer, glue and finish of 
Mod Podge.
That summer, I spent countless craft-
ernoons inspired by a slate of bloggers 
to attempt the most ridiculous do-it-
yourself projects. I made a mesh ribbon 
wreath. Concocted a clay formula for 
Christmas ornaments. Ordered bees-
wax from Etsy to make candles. Pressed 
flowers. Scrapbooked. Dyed fabric. 
Beaded chunky necklaces. Sewed a 
skirt.
I even stuffed dozens of cucumber 
spears into mason jars in an attempt to 
make a batch of pickles. After eagerly 
waiting a week for 
them to ferment, I 
learned only certain 
types of cucumbers 
are 
appropriate 
specimens for pick-
ling. Most picklers 
agree Kirby Cukes 
are the best. I 
unfortunately 
did not use 
Kirby Cukes. 
Instead 
of 
crisp 
pick-
les, I was 

left with soggy cucumbers. But it didn’t 
matter. I loved the hokey, do-it-yourself 
world of crafting.
The craft bloggers on my bookmarked 
list did not wear the crisp white button-
down like Martha Stewart. Their sites 
did not feature the polished typography 
of “Real Simple.” Their posts were often 
bogged with junky code and poorly lit 
photos. No one was trying to create a 
brand or win sponsors. There was abso-
lutely no consistency with the content 
— part of the reason why it was so fun 
to read.
 But when I entered high school, 
Instagram took an axe to the doorway 
of the blogosphere subsequently trans-
forming the world and its creators into 
valuable social capital. The authenticity 
of Mod-Podging mothers and crafty sis-
ters dissipated into the observable pres-
sure of these new platforms to maintain 
a brand aesthetic.
Soon the dusty craft blogging cor-
ner of the internet shifted from candid 
posts to much more poised articulations 
of the same projects I had attempted 
in the past. Granted, I 
probably would have 
not missed the memo 
that you have to 
use Kirby Cukes 
for pickling with 
this much more 
tactile shift of 
craft bloggers. 
But there is 
something to 
be 
said 
for 
what was lost 
due to the for-
malization of 
blogging and 
the shift to 

full blown professional influencers. 
It is often glossed over how these plat-
forms have caused more humans than 
ever before to become a brand. Prior 
to social media, branding was reserved 
for celebrities or professional athletes 
with a public presence. But now, even 
craft bloggers are expected to maintain 
a precise curation of their digital selves 
in order to survive the algorithms of the 
search engines.
This became clear as I saw the can-
didness and complexity of the craft 
blogger personality become diluted for 
the sake of easy-to-understand content 
and “reliability.” I don’t think humans 
are necessarily built to become a brand. 
The packaging of a human identity in a 
brand requires the filtration of all the 
paradoxes, complexities, and things that 
“don’t quite make sense” about a person. 
A brand has to be streamlined, succinct 
and intentional — characteristics that 
do not always align with the spontaneity 
of human character. Laundry detergent 
is supposed to have a brand, but people? 
I am not so sure.
A few days ago I logged onto “Mod 
Podge Rocks” and “A Beautiful Mess” 
and saw a completely different interface 
than the websites I remembered visiting 
every day in middle school. New logos, 
a full staff of contributors, sponsored 
content, and product lines crammed 
the masthead. The last remnants of the 
coded blogs I remembered were gone. 
Only the URL remained — the tomb-
stone of the 
hokey 
craft 
blog.

BY SHANNON ORS, STATEMENT DEPUTY EDITOR

ILLUSTRATION BY CHRISTINE JEGARL

