I have been doing Do It Yourself projects for a long time. I love the idea of wanting something, working on it, and then enjoying the results. When you work on a project its your love child, you search how to do it, what are the best materials, the best design, how to customize it... how to make it yours. Now I never would have gotten into DIY if it weren't for a cool website called Instructables. This is a website where you can post your DIY project, but now just show to show them off, but to show people how to make them.
As you sure the website you find things as simple as Mother's Day cards, cupcake recipes, or a simple how to sew; but you can also find things as complicated as arudino, House building, grill making, metal smithing, wood carving, solar power,.. ect
Its a lot, but fortunately they have things divided into handy categories:
-Food
-Living
-Outside
-Play
-Technology
-Workshop
All of these are pretty self explanatory, food for recipes, living for house hold projects and kid projects, living for projects to better your life, outside project, play for games and game modifications, technology for tech stuff, and workshop for more crafted instructables. Each one has its own subdivisions, so i suggest you go explore for a while!
Now, as I sadi earlier, this website got me started on DIY projects, so I rounded up some simple projects for you to try and see if you like it...
1) Customizing Headphones {these are links by the way...}
This is an example of one of the simpler instructables, it shows you how to take something like your headphones and make them a bit more 'you'. its a nice way to start with DIY, changing things like notebook covers or painting a design on something is a nice way to help you get out of your shell and see that you can make things yours.
2) Secret Candy Dispenser
One of the most important things to look at in an instructable is its materials. Do you have them? Can you afford to get them? Sure I want to make my house green, but do I have the money for all of the solar panels? This is an example of a simple instructable that uses things you find in the house, while still managing to be really cool~
3) Cheap and Easy iPhone cover
Here's another thing DIY aims to do (aside from please) it aims to give you home-made alternatives. This instructable is just that, an easy and cheap option to something that's pretty expensive on the market.
4) Origami Envelope
This instructable shows you how to add a personal touch to something you're gonna send to someone else. Its an extra feature to make sure you a remembered, its also a very nice way to save paper and look cool doing it.
5) Altoids Tin Watercolors
In the strange world of DIY altoids tins are an oddly prized possession. They are sturdy and well made, the perfect size to carry along with you, and INCREDIBLY versatile, to the point of almost being a sin. From flashlights to survival kits, you can look up entire pages worth of altoid related instructables. This one teaches you how to make a portable watercolor kit for an altoids box, but really its just a great example on how versatile they can be.
6) Make Your Own Sketchbook
Well, youve got some watercolors, so why not a sketchbook. There are many different options on how to make sketchbooks, I picked this one randomly, but you can go looking for a better one. Once more you are using things you have at home to make something that is completely yours.
7) Keyboard Long Cat
Since you've obviously been reading this entire post, then your hands have definitely been on that computer for too long, its probably hurting by now, so why not make a little comfy kitty to lay your arms on? This instructable requires you to go buy some things, but its a cute an easy project to do and it gives you a handy item as well. You can take this design and customize it too. Don't like cats? Change the face and tail and make a dog, or a bunny! its really all up to you.
8) Bath Bombs
Youve been working so hard on all of these projects, why not reward yourself with a warm bath and some fizzy bath bombs to add aroma and fun to your otherwise boring bathing situation? I <3 Bath bombs. They are fun and cool and this tell you how to make them, and I think that's epic.
Now, another thing that really helped me figure out where to get started were the guides. Sometimes there are topics that are so repeated that they choose their favorites and make downloadable guides filled with different instructables. Here's a few that I swear by:
- Your First Robot
Make your own tiny robot and learn the basics for making more complicated beasts.
- Origami
Beautiful origami made easy, both fun and functional items to keep you entertained.
- LED projects
LEDs are the base of so many projects, they're cheap, simple and they are shiny when lit. Whats not to love?
- Pinhole Cameras
Who knew that making pinhole cameras was co easy? go ahead and take a picture with a camera you made yourself!
Now at times all of these options seem too complicated, but look around the website and you'll see that it really has a little something for everyone, adults to kids to cooks to programmers, its all there, and if it isn't make it your self and post it! That is the best part, after a while you aren't limited by what you can or cannot buy, what you can or cannot do. Whatever you want, make it. Even if you don't know how, it teaches you to think outside the box and look for different ways of making things.
As you sure the website you find things as simple as Mother's Day cards, cupcake recipes, or a simple how to sew; but you can also find things as complicated as arudino, House building, grill making, metal smithing, wood carving, solar power,.. ect
 |
| Not exactly like this.... |
Its a lot, but fortunately they have things divided into handy categories:
-Food
-Living
-Outside
-Play
-Technology
-Workshop
All of these are pretty self explanatory, food for recipes, living for house hold projects and kid projects, living for projects to better your life, outside project, play for games and game modifications, technology for tech stuff, and workshop for more crafted instructables. Each one has its own subdivisions, so i suggest you go explore for a while!
 |
| Don't take it too far... |
1) Customizing Headphones {these are links by the way...}
This is an example of one of the simpler instructables, it shows you how to take something like your headphones and make them a bit more 'you'. its a nice way to start with DIY, changing things like notebook covers or painting a design on something is a nice way to help you get out of your shell and see that you can make things yours.
2) Secret Candy Dispenser
One of the most important things to look at in an instructable is its materials. Do you have them? Can you afford to get them? Sure I want to make my house green, but do I have the money for all of the solar panels? This is an example of a simple instructable that uses things you find in the house, while still managing to be really cool~
3) Cheap and Easy iPhone cover
Here's another thing DIY aims to do (aside from please) it aims to give you home-made alternatives. This instructable is just that, an easy and cheap option to something that's pretty expensive on the market.
 |
| And can be a bit useful... |
4) Origami Envelope
This instructable shows you how to add a personal touch to something you're gonna send to someone else. Its an extra feature to make sure you a remembered, its also a very nice way to save paper and look cool doing it.
5) Altoids Tin Watercolors
 |
| I come prepared.. |
6) Make Your Own Sketchbook
Well, youve got some watercolors, so why not a sketchbook. There are many different options on how to make sketchbooks, I picked this one randomly, but you can go looking for a better one. Once more you are using things you have at home to make something that is completely yours.
7) Keyboard Long Cat
Since you've obviously been reading this entire post, then your hands have definitely been on that computer for too long, its probably hurting by now, so why not make a little comfy kitty to lay your arms on? This instructable requires you to go buy some things, but its a cute an easy project to do and it gives you a handy item as well. You can take this design and customize it too. Don't like cats? Change the face and tail and make a dog, or a bunny! its really all up to you.
 |
| One day he'll be long enough.. |
8) Bath Bombs
Youve been working so hard on all of these projects, why not reward yourself with a warm bath and some fizzy bath bombs to add aroma and fun to your otherwise boring bathing situation? I <3 Bath bombs. They are fun and cool and this tell you how to make them, and I think that's epic.
Now, another thing that really helped me figure out where to get started were the guides. Sometimes there are topics that are so repeated that they choose their favorites and make downloadable guides filled with different instructables. Here's a few that I swear by:
 | |
| Your robot will never be this cute though... |
Make your own tiny robot and learn the basics for making more complicated beasts.
- Origami
Beautiful origami made easy, both fun and functional items to keep you entertained.
- LED projects
LEDs are the base of so many projects, they're cheap, simple and they are shiny when lit. Whats not to love?
- Pinhole Cameras
Who knew that making pinhole cameras was co easy? go ahead and take a picture with a camera you made yourself!
Now at times all of these options seem too complicated, but look around the website and you'll see that it really has a little something for everyone, adults to kids to cooks to programmers, its all there, and if it isn't make it your self and post it! That is the best part, after a while you aren't limited by what you can or cannot buy, what you can or cannot do. Whatever you want, make it. Even if you don't know how, it teaches you to think outside the box and look for different ways of making things.
Our apartment is going to be really crafty next year isn't it? Let's see if I can fit our old sewing machine into the car...
ReplyDelete