Craft Fail: When Homemade Goes Horribly Wrong

by Heather Mann

Poor Bridgit, who overestimated the size of her head―her homemade frilly lace shower cap came straight down to her chin. And who can blame Lindsey for thinking “glitter shoes” sounded like a cool, easy project instead of what it turned out to a puddle of sparkling glop. And really, whoever posted that incredible Spaghetti-Stuffed Garlic Bread on Pinterest should be sued. When Mindy pulled hers from the oven, it looked like a “hot mess of intestines streaming out of doughy flesh.” Mmmm, thank you, Pinterest!

Written by Heather Mann, publisher of CraftFail.com, her hilarious blog with millions of page views and hundreds of thousands of followers, CraftFail celebrates the creative process, but from the other side. This is the stuff that gets the “A for Effort” and LOL for outcome. But once the laughter dies down, it also inspires a warm feel-good respect for crafters who aren’t afraid to fail. After all, even if there’s not a mortal alive except Martha who can make a Waxed Heart worthy of hanging in your window to catch the sun, why shouldn’t many try? When it goes wrong, why shouldn’t the rest of us enjoy this Epic Fail? And then look at all the full-color photos that document it.

Home decor fails, fashion fails, holiday fails, food fails, kid crafting fails― as one anonymous crafter “It wasn’t supposed to end this way.” Luckily for us, it did.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Crafts, Adult, Photography, Art, Knitting

169 pages, Paperback

First published September 9, 2014

Reviews

[Jenny Houle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laughed until I cried.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew I was in trouble the first time I said "Ooh, I could totally do that!"

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from Blueprint Social in exchange for an honest review. And I never lie about books...

Hilariously funny. If you've ever wanted to feel better about a craft project that didn't turn out the way you envisioned, this is the book for you. Pictures of the flops, along with quips and comments that had me laughing out loud from cover to cover. Seriously. If you have a coffee table, this book needs to be on it. For the full review, head over to my blog.

[Robyn Welling · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of the CraftFail site, so I was more than excited to see it in paper form - and somehow the book managed to far exceed even my sky-high expectations! New, never-before-seen fails, hilarious writing and funny special features make this a guaranteed laugh-until-you-cry read from cover to cover. After I read (and re-read) it, even my kids snagged the book and kept running back into the living room every five minutes laughing, "MOM, look at THIS one!" For young and old, crafter or failer, and just any lover of humor, I can't recommend this book highly enough!

[Shelli · Rating 1 out of 5]

I suppose CraftFail: When Homemade Goes Horribly Wrong might be okay to gift your crafty-but-Luddite great aunt if you found it in the clearance bin, but (perhaps not surprisingly) it offers nothing to recommend it above its namesake web site. (I suspect I was also ruined for all future "fail"-type blogs by the late, great Regretsy.) The Kindle edition is particularly bland.

[Kandice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book features photos and descriptions of crafts that have gone horribly wrong. I likely would have given 5 stars to this book if I had not already seen the majority of them on Pinterest or Facebook.

[Janet Rosfeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

My friend recommended this book and I laughed until I snorted. Yes I snorted like a piggy all night. How could people have abandoned common sense and tried some of these crafts?

[AquaMoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as funny as Cake Wrecks, but still very LOL

[Bmankiewicz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some very good laughs.

[Savannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little book and honestly helped me see some crafts on my to do list and say “yeah I’d fail that too”. Better than a lot of silly gifty books this size.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely delightful, hilarious book! It shows what happens when crafters try a new project, but don't follow the directions exactly, or just aren't perfectly coordinated. It rings true for all of us failed crafters out here!!

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of these are "fails" because someone didn't follow the directions all the way!

[Theresa F. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is, I feel, very relatable, even for readers who don't do crafts. We've all failed at something on our first try. However, I'm one of those anxious people who, if I don't know how to do something, I don't even want to attempt it. The can-do, 'jump in with both feet' spirit is largely missing from my personality. Therefore, the people showcased in this book who 'just went for it' without actually knowing what they were doing come across less as taking initiative and more as foolhardy, due to my personal biases. I understand that some failures cannot be avoided, no matter how much advance research and preparation someone does. I also respect the courage of the contributers in sharing their failures publically, and potentially exposing themselves to ridicule, even if I do question their judgment in doing so. The book was admittedly entertaining.
Did I like it? It was enjoyable.
Would I reread it? Probably not.
Would I recommend it? Probably.

[Wendy Janett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not amazing, but cute.

Some of these were funny, some of the fails truly not epic enough to be worth mentioning, and some made me wonder who was to blame for the incredible lack of knowledge out there about the basic properties of materials. Yes, plastic things melt when heated. Overheating some things can even start a fire. Food items containing any type of leavening will puff up and change shape. None of these facts is newsworthy. And some of the craft ideas were so bizarre that I couldn't imagine wanting to have the finished items even if they had been executed perfectly. A couple of chuckles on a boring afternoon, but otherwise not too much here.

[Amber Schroer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seen most of the “fails” ironically on Pinterest

If you’re a lover of looking at Pinterest Fails like I am, then you’re probably not going to find anything in here that you already haven’t seen.

It was neat of them to include the “actual”, correct way to achieve a Pinterest Win on a few projects.

[Bryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book was okay. Some of the "fails" looked fine as they were, imo. Some could have been made passable with a bit more effort. Some looked like the crafter wasn't even trying (of course it's gonna look bad if you aren't using the correct ingredients). Overall, kinda aggravating to browse through.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much of a book but more like a bunch of pictures of failed projects. I admit I laughed at many of them but I’d be upset if I’d bought this book. One and a half stars because it wasn’t awful, it made me laugh and it was an okay way to spend a few minutes.

[Deborah Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

Check your ego at the door

Laugh-out-loud funny. My family kept asking what I was chortling about. Yet it was also weirdly inspiring. Just watch out for the insidious thoughts of "Well I could have pulled that off!" Probably not, Smartypants.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

semi-interesting and funny at times.

[Kate Stericker · Rating 4 out of 5]

CraftFail is a fun, light read. I appreciate that the stories are submitted by the crafters involved (and sometimes by the author herself), so the book's tone never becomes mean-spirited.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mom and I almost peed laughing at some of the listings in this book. Oh my god. I feel a lot better about my crafting abilities.

[Shawn L’s Book Notes & Quotes · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I’d kept all of my “Pinterest fail” pics from over the years, I could’ve written my own book!

[Jill Laker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun quick read

[Pug · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many snickers, a few LOLs, and even more SMH.
I just don't understand why people insist on trying such ugly, complicated crafts. You could see disaster looming from a mile away.

[Mouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of it is pretty funny, some of it is just dumb!
A quick perusal is all you need for this one.

[NayDoubleU · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny. Definitely makes me feel better about all my fails. Sometimes you forget you arent alone

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny though I wish there had been more on options to fix or avoid the mistakes.

[Rosie · Rating 1 out of 5]

not funny didn’t laugh but in book form. It’s kind of a cute snapshot of the early 2010s though.

[Dee brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a hilarious book! Made me feel so much better about all my Pinterest fails. Thank you Heather Mann!

[Rowena Knill · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to enjoy this book, but it was just dull.