DIY Challenge
Call for Submissions: The DIY Diaries Invention Challenge
Put on your thinking caps, or simply make one!
Hi DIY enthusiasts! Wow, do we have a great challenge for you. You might even say a challenging challenge.
As the summer of 2022 starts to fade for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, there will be fewer outdoor adventures and more time for indoor recreation. So Amanda and I decided what better way to celebrate the Fall than by spending some time with you.
Our inventive and creative writers here at The DIY Diaries have shown us all the wonderful, imaginative things they make, and we thought a little collaboration might be fun.
We have, therefore, devised an invention challenge to bring out your inner MacGyver — that is, if MacGyver could craft even half as well as some of you.
“What are the rules of this challenge?” you ask, eagerly chomping at the DIY bit. Here they are…
Call for submissions
We invite you to enjoy a bit of creative crafting and to make something fun by recycling a few items around your house — and then to share a photo of your creation with us, along with a story about your creative process (or any other text you want to share). The catch is that we’re giving you some limits on what you can use to make your creation.
Below, we will prompt you with four everyday found household objects of our choosing. To complete the challenge, you must use at least two of the items from our list, but the more, the better. Do I hear “extra credit?”
You may also include one other random household object of your own choosing. And you will also have some “free items” to use as you wish.
Invent something with those seemingly random objects; submit your story/photo(s) with us; and make sure to include the tag #diychallenge in your submission.
The details!
Here are your four items. These are Mandytory and Monatory (again, use all or fewer, but include at least two)…
1- Paper towel or toilet paper roll 2- Paper coffee filter 3- Paper clip 4- Bottle cap (metal or plastic)
If you wish to add your own object in making your creation, any common household item is fine, especially recyclables — for example, a plastic water bottle, string, shoelace, aluminum foil, etc. Please don’t spend money to buy an item to add.
Your free items to use as you wish in the creation of your masterpiece are:
1- Glue and tape 2- Markers, crayons, and paint 3- Scissors
Now what?
That’s it. Create something great, fun, inexpensive, and inventive. Then write about it. Tell us what it does and how you made it, and DEFINITELY include those photos.
These are a few ideas to get you going, but everything is on the table: a piece of art, a craft, a practical invention, a human or pet toy — with safety in mind, of course — a game, literally anything your imagination conjures.
Got it? GO! Let’s see what we can come up with together.
Please feel free to share this project with the kids in your life and other family and friends who like to craft. We’d love to see their ideas, too.
I want to add one more thing. Absolutely NO recipes, please, because that would be weird and gross. However, we promise that the next inventive DIY challenge will be a cooking one, using everyday ingredients.
If you have questions…
Let us know in the comments. And if you’d like to be added as a writer for The DIY Diaries, please mention that in the comments, too, and we’ll add you ASAP.
Rather than tag everybody who has signed up as a writer for The DIY Diaries, we’re tagging a few folks who we thought might be interested. Everyone is invited to submit, and if you see this post, we hope you’ll participate. :) If you do participate and want to tag some friends, that would be awesome, too.
Daniella Montage, Celeste Wilson, Stefan, Jess C., Rachel K. Gause, Timpoa, E. Katherine Kottaras, Michele Baumgardner, Amy Lynn Hess, Annie Trevaskis, MN, Penny Goblin, Duvy McGirr, Joel Brown, Gerald Washington, Alicia Domínguez, and of course Mandy Zeller.