diy
Do it Yourself; Tips and ideas for DIY projects to give a gift that your significant other won't return.
I was meant to be a designer
I always knew that I would be a fashion designer. When I was a little girl, my two older cousins and I would spend hours upon hours designing and sketching clothes. Movies were our inspiration. We watched the characters with wide eyes, taking in all of the beautiful colors of the garments on the big screen. But as we grew older, we were constantly told that being a fashion designer wasn’t a “real job” and that the fashion world is too competitive, too cutthroat to ever claim success for yourself. Slowly, as elementary idealism turned into adolescent cynicism, the thought of becoming a fashion designer became a distant childhood fantasy for my cousinsーtheir dreams abandoned to the woes and worries of the “real-world.” I, however, could never lose sight of the original aspiration. The light of fashion, the allure to the art of it all, never faded from my eyes. With every colorful shoe that walked down the runway, avante garde silhouette that framed a magazine cover, and draped fabric adorning a mannequin I saw, the more entranced with fashion I became.
By Sabrina Baladad-Perez5 years ago in Humans
Cut, Sew, Wear by Yew.
Whenever I purchased my first sewing machine five years ago, an idea was forged. I wanted to create an independent brand using a new approach. Focused on creating a product that people would love but also enabled them to reflect their personality. Prince Edward Island may be the smallest province in Canada, but the demand for something new was huge.
By Daniel Jabbour5 years ago in Humans
Mandalas
I looked at the fabric in front of me. My scissors were poised to cut around the first pattern piece, and I hesitated for the slightest moment before pressing the blades together and enjoying the sound of metal transforming cloth. The precise ripping snip told the story – there was no turning back now. As excited as I was, the journey to the first cut was a lot like the rest of my life, and included adventure, self-doubt, and overthinking everything.
By Sarah E Robison5 years ago in Humans
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
