Loombands Wormhole

One.

So the latest craze I have been hooked on is the Loombands craze. It has apparently been around since the 70's, or so I read.

(I am currently watching Julie and Julia while I am lying here in bed with my mac on my lap, which is distracting me from this first entry already. ) 

So, again, loom bands. It's like a wormhole that zapped me into the looming oblivion. I first saw it on one of the posts in instagram. I admired the colorful bands and how endlessly, one can create color combination arm bands. So I started to search for it online. Of course Amazon has it. I didn't want to spend too much on it. It wasn't expensive. But the shipping is. It is twice the price of the loomband kit.

So I tried to localize the search to Singapore. I found 2 online websites that both sell it at $25. This is the original loombands kit. I was super tempted to buy! So why didn't I? The payment method they accept is Paypal...only. I didn't trust paypal. At least not yet. 

So my dream of creating my own loom bands only stayed there...in my daydreams. Until one day, after our movie date, we dropped by one of my favorite craft stores in Singapore - Spotlight in Plaza Singapura, and THERE THEY WERE! Boxes and boxes and boxes of Loomband Kits all lined up in the front glass display in towering heights, you might mistake it for a wall paper. I literally gasped and ran in the store and had to grab one of them to make sure it was real. 

That night was the night I got sucked into the loom band oblivion in which (i thought) there was no point of return! 

There were simple easy loom band designs but I was so fascinated by one called the 'fishtail' design. 

My first attempt was amazing! It felt so amazing! I made 4 in under an hour. It was past my bedtime and I wanted to create more, but because I had a 7am Shift, I had to stop. It took all the resistance not to make one more and more and more. 

The next day, was crazier, and crazier and crazier. I made at least 100 in less than a week. When I saw  a deal online, selling refill bands, I immediately bought...a few. It was being sold at $1.99 for every 600 pcs. When it arrived, I felt like it was better than the original ones because it was way softer. I thought the quality wouldn't be good but it sure was good. Just be careful when buying them, as some may cause allergies. Soon there were dozens of stores selling the refill bands for almost the same price as the deal. Original bands have better colors but are sold at S$6.99. 

So here are some of my early creations. Used both original bands and those that aren't. You can't really tell the difference, unless you wear them. 

I am still in the craze, but I don't do it as much because of so many things I am doing. People ask me why someone in their late twenties would be interested in a kids craft? I tell them that I make them because I feel peaceful whenever I am weaving the bands. It is very very therapeutic. I have episodes of panic attack and this definitely calms me down. One of the sales lady told me that most people do this not because they want to use it, it's more about the experience of doing it and finishing it. Makes one feel accomplished. And nowadays, when everything is a challenge and when days just can't seem to go right, coming home to this helps you feel that hey, at least I finished this! It's not huge but for people like me, it makes a lot of difference.

This is just one of the things I am is interested in. There's so much more coming and most days I feel like it's an avalanche of awesome things that I want to try, that it will eat me all up. I'm glad I still have the energy to do it. There are days when I would just get overwhelmed. And those days, I would just sit still and stare at nothing and just give out a big sigh. My brain just works differently, I am divergent. I get physically tired but my brain just wouldn't stop. It wants more. And if it doesn't get more, it doesn't let me sleep. 

xoxo

~d