diy
Do it Yourself; Tips and ideas for DIY projects to give a gift that your significant other won't return.
Sunflowers Saved My Creativity
‘Inspirational Creations by Jae’ was the name of the craft business I started when I was 10 years old. I usually don’t tell the story because the people that I do tell think I’m joking about a little kid being a business owner. My mom even went and got a DBA started in that name for me. I attempted my go at handmade cards, beaded jewelry, bookmarks, even purses. I still have a handwritten list of sales from when I attended my first vending event. That day, I made less than $20, and even that seemed like pity buys from older ladies who thought it was a cute idea. I wanted to live up to my name and be inspirational; although my products didn’t feel as beautiful as I had envisioned they would be. Then, there was the period of time I spent trying to improve my products based on the competition around me. Perhaps I could use cardstock instead of construction paper. Or maybe upgrading from stretchy beaded necklaces to sleek wire and glass beads would do the trick. I could even elevate from safety scissors to a paper cutter (with adult supervision of course.) I think my greatest obstacle lay in my limited knowledge of entrepreneurship and access to the resources I needed to make that happen. So, I ended up sticking to gifting my family members nicely handmade items on the holidays and taking art classes in school.
By Jae-lin Mitchell5 years ago in Humans
On My Way
Driven by a Need My life is always changing. I’m one of those people that if you knew me a year ago, you need serious updates to catch up. It is very difficult to keep up with this in any sort of planner or task list. I am always bouncing back and forth between apps, notepads, dot grid journals – you name it. I’ve always preferred the style of a traveler's journal, but didn’t like the fact that I couldn’t add random papers from my life into them. If I’m ever to keep up with my ever changing life in one single format, then it had to be a flexible format that I could adapt any way I needed.
By Rain Emery Chamberlain5 years ago in Humans
The dressing game
It’s always the same. I cross the threshold filled with anticipation, eager to explore what’s inside. I have no idea what I’ll find and that makes the quest all the more exciting. I’m on a mission to find something new (and by new, I mean old, used, pre-loved, damaged even). ‘Let the games begin’, I think, as I navigate the rows of ridiculously low-priced garments. I rummage the racks and piles of clothes for the hidden treasure that I know is in there somewhere, just waiting for me to find it. The chase is on!
By Jania Williams5 years ago in Humans
Cut It Out
I have always made art, but I never considered myself an artist until recently. I grew up in a family of artists who used unconventional materials, made abstract images, and appreciated all types of work, but in my mind, being an artist came with a certain aptitude for recreating the outside world as it is and I just wasn’t apt. It felt like a failing on my part. Surely, if I could commit to the study of figure drawing, take classes in realism, or spend hours practicing the techniques of others, I would unlock this hidden potential passed down from generation to generation. Only then would I be able unlock my own style. I wasn’t able to explore my own unique artistic interests without first mastering all of the “basics.” I think that’s a common misconception when it come to being creative. That misconception is something I needed to step out of and when I did, I flourished.
By Allison Lindsay5 years ago in Humans
Snippets of Sanity
In March of 2020 I was about to round the racetrack after my first full year in business. My shop was a passion project, with 50 percent of the floor dedicated to art and craft classes and work shops and the other half dedicated to art supplies, artisan made goods and ‘objects of inspiration’. We had done pretty well for a first year and our group of teachers and students were thriving.
By Bethany Carlson Mann5 years ago in Humans
Elemental Dreams
My name is Craig Commanda. I’m an Anishinaabe bead-weaver and artist from Kitigan Zibi, in Quebec, Canada. I’d love to tell you the story of what beadwork means to me. I first got into beading back in 2019 when I chose to participate in an Instagram challenge called #beadthisinyourstylechallenge. Little did I know that it was going to be a rabbit hole that I would be sucked into deeply.
By Craig Commanda5 years ago in Humans
Pieces of Life Stitched Together
I believe that quilting is a fitting representation for the human experience. Each piece, as with each experience, is fit together to form a whole. The stitches are carefully measured, each sewn while experiencing life events around the particular piece it represents. When a part of the quilt is torn, such as when a loved one dies, or we're torn apart by illness or neglect, that piece of our heart and life is patched up and sewn into the new fabric that makes up our existence. I've had this theory about quilting and life since I was in my teens, though I never formally learned how to quilt.
By Stacey Klinger5 years ago in Humans
Crafting Magic
Measure the canvas. Chart the space. Choose the colors. Cut the fabric. And then, fall into creating the image. I am three years old, standing on the patio behind the house, looking into the woods. It’s dusk, the magic hour. Mist seems to come into form, trees speak to me. Time does not exist. There is only now, and the magic.
By Natanya Lara5 years ago in Humans
