diy
Do it Yourself; Tips and ideas for DIY projects to give a gift that your significant other won't return.
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
The Matchmaker's Dirge
What is the creative impulse if not love? Love of the medium, the tools, the process, the result. Certainly there is alchemy in creating; all makers recognize this and revel in its dance. But when we create for others, there is another, secret magic, a tenderness that cannot be replicated elsewhere. In crafting a gift, the maker’s mind can’t help but be occupied with quiet, smiling thoughts of the intended recipient. Like a husband-to-be daydreaming of his betrothed, the maker is captivated by fond memories and anticipation. The challenge of matching a precious loved one to the perfect gift, the hope for delight on their face when the match is a good one, the gratification of a job well done – all these elements combine to transform the unsuspecting recipient into a sort of muse, and to amplify the creative process into something like an addiction. It becomes an urge, a compulsion, a need so undeniable that other obligations might fall by the wayside.
By Mollykin Warble5 years ago in Humans
ME AND MY FASHION DREAM
Ever since I was a small child, I can remember looking for scraps of fabrics in my grandmas’ boxes so I can make dresses for my dolls. My mum was also an avid sewer, I can still feel the scratches from pins whilst trying on the latest dungarees. Scissors and pins spread across the kitchen table as my siblings, and I line up to get fitted. A few years later my family and I emigrated to Australia from Malta. I travelled back to Malta with my mum several times. My sewing machine always travelled with me; I just could not do without it.
By Mrs Natasha Coyne5 years ago in Humans
