diy

Do it Yourself; Tips and ideas for DIY projects to create your next family heirloom, personalize your photo album and more.

Art In An Emergency
We called her Mutti Oma. German words that mean "Mom Grandma." As a war refugee, a widow twice over, and a woman who buried her infant son - my great-grandmother knew how to survive hard things. She persevered all the way to her 99th birthday, when she passed away in a nursing home bed.
By Carmyn Effa5 years ago in Families
A Boxful of Traditions
It isn’t much to look at. The large, plywood box has a hinged lid and rope handles on the sides. It creaks loudly when it’s opened. My dad made the box when I was a little girl, intending it should hold toys. When my sister and I had outgrown “toyboxes” the box then became a place to hold our camping stuff. That’s when the rope handles were added, so it could be easily carried. Later, my Mom used the box to hold fabric.
By Caryn Turrel5 years ago in Families
Catch 22
I am a war veteran and I will courageously go anywhere with confidence. I will go into the store to buy feminine products for the ladies in my life. I will walk around the mall holding purses. There is one place I fear to go alone. The fabric store.
By David Lee Black5 years ago in Families
Gener-cre-ations
Snip, snag, snag, snip, snag, thump! “Ugh! These scissors won’t cut,” I’d complain. My sister would whisper, “Let’s go get the ones that work.”
By Viltinga Rasytoja5 years ago in Families
The Element of Craft
In my view anyone can be creative, it's only when you include the element of craft that creativity becomes elevated to art And whereas creativity merely requires materials such as glue, paper and paint, performing a craft requires tools such scissors, knives and rulers.
By Aaron Needle5 years ago in Families
Scissor Thief
The scissors disappeared soon after I’d bought them, I just hadn’t realized they were gone…until it was too late. I was deep in the reeds with raising small children and with little money to spare and the holidays approaching, I scoured my craft magazines and found a project I knew would be treasured. I picked up the supplies and began working late into the evening as I cut various colours of felt into intricate pieces…soon realizing I needed a much better pair of scissors than the ones that had been tossed around my cutlery drawer for years.
By Colleen O'Dea5 years ago in Families
A Story From Bernie's Mitten Maker
Most people know who I am because I made Bernie Sanders’s mittens; you know, the ones from the memes? Yes, I made those iconic mittens for Sanders four years ago because he’s my favorite senator. I used my Fiskars to cut up an old moth-eaten sweater and the Singer sewing machine my mother gave to me on my twelfth birthday to sew the pieces together in the shape of a mitten. But this story isn’t going to be about the mittens. Everyone has already heard that story. Long before I made those mittens, I made something far more important to me. This is the story of my grandmother’s quilt.
By Jen Ellis5 years ago in Families
Red Fiskars
When I was young, probably around 3 or 4 years old, I started watching my mom and dad do all sorts of creative projects. At the time, my dad was taking an entomology class in college and it fascinated me when he would pin beautiful insects to boards for assignments. Later, he would frame them as gifts for our family members. My mother refurbished old furniture and I was always I awe of how she could turn something she pulled from the trash, and turn it into a gorgeous piece of furniture that would sell for hundreds of dollars.
By Corrin Hayes5 years ago in Families
Quilting
"You will take the small pair of scissors and I will use the large ones," my mother instructed me as we sat at our large improvised quilting table. My father had laid a large piece of plywood across two sawhorse beams in the back yard so that mother could engage in one of her favorite leisure activities and as it was summer break I was also to be involuntarily employed in the production of the quilts.
By John Bowen5 years ago in Families
The Art of Tying Flies
My great grandfather Chisholm was a very special man. His nicknames were Chizzy and the Old Timer, and he gave up professional baseball and professional hockey to pursue a career in the less-high-impact sport of fishing.
By Lisa Jensen5 years ago in Families
Creating Holiday Cheer
Ever since I was little, I always wished we could have a white Christmas just like in the movies. The only problem with that is that we live in California. So because we didn’t have any real snow to play in, my dad taught me how to cut paper snowflakes to fill our windows with instead. I fell in love with it right away!
By Erika Birkenes5 years ago in Families
Letting Foster Children Get Crafty!
It’s 9:00 pm on a Friday night and my husband Allan and I are binge watching Schitts Creek. The phone rings and a friendly voice says, “Hi Silvana. Can you take two tonight? We do emergency foster care, so I know that “Can you take two tonight?” means two children have been removed from a dangerous situation and need a place to stay. Foster children come to our house for 72 hours, giving the social worker time to find a long-term foster home.
By Silvana Clark5 years ago in Families