The Thrill of Fame

I've never been all that afraid to be in the spotlight. Sure, I get nervous about it, but I don't suffer from the phobia that seems to afflict most "poor players." Chalk it up to my "Gemini-ness," or my long history of public speaking and stage time, or even the fact that I'm an attention-hungry middle child. Any way you slice it, I kinda like it when people notice me when I'm doing something cool.

My recent fame addiction is Craftster. This is a whole little world in which dweebs like me, and some genuinely talented artists and tradesfolk churn out projects of every size, shape, medium, and purpose, all for the sake of inspiring other crafters to unglue their eyeballs from the monitor and create. New projects get a little automatic limelight on the home page but they are speedily replaced as new projects are posted. If a thread gets a little buzz, its picture gets moved to the "Hot New Projects" section of the home page. If a ton of craftsters think a project rocks, the forum honchos place it in the "Featured Projects" section, and later they archive the post to keep it active for up to 6 months. This is Craftster's equivalent to celebrityhood. And I want it.

I lurked on the sight for about a year before finally posting my own masterpiece. This past week, I posted pictures and a description of the little star books I've been making for about 15 years. [Link] Thanks in part to my not-too-shabby photography, a ready stock of books, and the fact that they are just "soooo cute," my thread became a hit, and my little picture appeared in the "Hot New Projects" list. I just about peed.

Ooooh, and then the good people of Craftster also liked the post I submitted about my decoupaged "In" box. TWO projects in the "Hot New" box!

And Lo! When I submitted my lengthy star book tutorial, check it! I had THREE "Hot New" projects to my name. Modesty failed to keep a smile from stretching, Chesire Cat style, across my face. I had the crafting world eating out of the crafty palms of my crafty little hands. Damn it felt good.

It felt good for a full 24 hours. And then life moved on, other totally wicked projects pushed my posts off the list, and cyber-dust began to accumulate on my threads. Two people-- only two people, sniff-- have responded to any of my threads since Saturday morning. My heartbeat has slowed to a resting rate. My ego has deflated to a less conspicuous size. My wonderland adventure has ended. Ah, it was fun while it lasted.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some cards to craft and photograph.