This month, I chose to Do-It-Myself. This should come as a surprise to anyone who has ever seen me attempt to make craft like things. I can appreciate crafts and hand made objects, but my ability to create such objects myself, even when presented with step by step, no frills, so-easy-a-kindergartener-could-do-it instructions.
In order to begin my quest into craftdom, I visited my local library. And then I paid a visit to the bookstore, then two craft stores in my town. None of these three places had what I needed (not that I could quite put my finger on what I needed…). I wanted a book that wasn’t kitschy, wasn’t filled with over complex or kindergarten material, and could help me in my quest for summer projects. I couldn’t find a single book that fit that description to a T. Perhaps I was being overly picky, but hey, I’m a new comer, I don’t need a specialized book on collage or jewelry (as cool as that may be).
I got home and continued my search on the world wide web. Since most of the thing I plan on making will probably be from much cooler, more specific DIY blogs and websites, I’ll spare the details here (but I’ll link the site if you are interested in making some of the stuff for yourself). I won’t tell you HOW to make it, but I can sure let you know what I did to make it more personal.
The idea of DIY is that not only is it kind of a cool thought. Taking something that used to be one thing and transforming it into a pillow, a blanket, or a corkboard is pretty awesome. Things with past lives are so much more interesting to look at and think about. Think about vintage jewelry and clothes. Those pieces have seen so much, it’s amazing to think about stories they lived through. DIY is kind of like that. Taking pictures, old clothes, and random baubles and giving them a new life and function gives the thing you are making (and maybe gifting) more depth.
I plan on fully appreciating everything I make this month. In high school, I left my last (mandatory) art class to the second semester of my senior year. I was never the biggest person for creating. Hopefully the things I make this month will inspire me to take stuff I don’t use or wear anymore and breath some life into them.
So what am I going to make this month? Good question. I will strive for 3 items, and we’ll see how well I do. Item one will be made out of my old tee shirts. I’ve always thought of making a blanket or quilt out of them, but I’m not sure I have enough shirts for it. In my web travels, I’m sure I’ll find plenty of things to do with old, soft cloth that’ll give my dorm room a little oomph. My second item will (I think) be some kind of clothing piece. I could try some cool ideas for tie-dying ad revamping, and it’s always fun to get kind of messy. I’m going to try and push to make something I might actually WEAR. No random tee shirt I never take out of my drawer. If I’m not excited to put it on, it is not worth the time and effort I am taking into making it. The last thing I want to make is a cool piece of jewelry. I accidentally left almost all of my jewelry at school (I think) and desperately need something to spruce up my summer outfits. That should be simple, considering the number of jewelry making books available in every nook of the craft stores.
So now I’ve outlined the month, and I have to search for cool things to do myself to keep me busy and my mom (Hi, Mom!) from going crazy with me just hanging around the house all day. If anyone knows of any crafty things, feel free to send them my way in the comment section!
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