diy
Do it Yourself; Tips and ideas for DIY projects to give a gift that your significant other won't return.
The Dress Up Box
I don't remember the beginning; that would be like asking a child what the day they were born was like. However, I can tell you about the feeling I've never lived without. It comes to me in doses here and there with butterflies at the beginning of an evening. It's the sound of hangers with metal tops being parted from wooden rails. The satisfying weight of layers of fabric. Fashion fabric, lining, and interfacing, kissed with buttons or zippers. Threads pulling at gathers like the muscles in my cheek as I anticipate the garment in my hand to be the one to wrap around my shoulders like warm air after coming in from the cold.
By Olivia Serino5 years ago in Humans
A Cut Above The Rest
Creativity comes to each of us in many forms, what we are passionate about is as different as the waves in the ocean. Over the years I have enjoyed showing off my creativity in many ways, painting, singing, dancing and now child rearing. It turns out that being a mom has to be the most creative project I have ever been involved in and it is most definitely the one I am most passionate about. I find myself utilizing everyday items for things I never thought I would be doing in my life. Like scissors.
By Sara Elizabeth5 years ago in Humans
Crocheting Happiness with Warm Up America
Back in early January, I was introduced to a group of folks who are helping to warm up America. I hadn't crocheted on a regular basis in more than a year and hadn't really thought about picking up my hook again, until I learned about this amazing organization and all they are doing to help those in need.
By Sandra Lynn5 years ago in Humans
Choosing Excellence
My mother didn't believe in being idle during summer vacation. In my 10th summer, I learned to embroider sitting next to her on a squeaky glider on our screened in porch. In those days, you would buy printed pillowcases or table runners and cover the printing with your stitches. I wasn't very good. My crosses weren't even and my French knots were, well, knots of thread. I embroidered pillowcases to give my aunts for Christmas. Even though they weren't particularly good, I'm sure my aunts loved them. I know I would love and cherish hand embroidered anything from one of my nieces.
By Kitty Kelley Metzger5 years ago in Humans
Healing Through Art
Every strand of fiber holds many stories. The story of the animal or plant the fiber came from; the story of the person who harvested the fiber; the people who washed, dried, combed, dyed, spun the fiber into yarn; the artists who wove the yarn into cloth; the ones who sewed pieces of material together, designed the finished products, packed those pieces into shipping boxes, brought those boxes across sea or land and hung those pieces in shops or windows or galleries, help sell the pieces and packed them into a bag or box. The story of the person who bought the piece. Or the story of the person who received the work as a gift.
By Colleen Borst5 years ago in Humans
My Awful(ly) Great Van Build
Before the project even truly began, it seemed to be falling apart. My girlfriend and I awoke at three in the morning that August to hear my mother frantically yelling, ‘Pack what you can, we need to evacuate - NOW.’ One of the many California wildfires of 2020 was threatening our home. In fact, I didn’t know it then, but it was a mere two miles from our house. Dharia, my girlfriend, and I gathered the solar panels, mini fridge, Maxxair roof fan, and tools into the back of the Chevy 3500 cargo van I had bought two weeks earlier. Within five minutes of my mom waking us up, we were on the road. Visibility was down to twenty feet or so because the smoke was so thick. I put on Gimme Shelter by the rolling stones for full effect. With the van still a hollow shell, the song echoed throughout the van. I could see the orange glow in the air in the direction of my house and realized my childhood home would probably not be there in the morning.
By Raisin Brazon5 years ago in Humans
Stripping with Scissors
Confession: I’ve been stripping for about eight years. Stripping down furniture, to be precise. It’s funny; before I dove into the singular joy and challenge of upholstery, I thought strip as a verb was the sort of thing one definitely did WITHOUT children around. (And to be fair, the tack-pulling IS better left to adults!) But as they learn their warp from their weft, their bias from their grain, their tacks from their nailheads, my kids and I are learning more than a fun skill. We’re learning about recycling and reuse, about how to care for the environment, both the household one and the one whose air we all share. With each project we do together, we gain a sense of achievement, of ownership, and a knowledge that we’re capable to create and recreate almost anything our minds can imagine.
By WordSmithtress5 years ago in Humans
