DIY
How Public — Like a Frog —
A DIY Diaries digest (with a nod to Emily Dickinson)
If I were to list writers in history who embody the DIY spirit, of course I’d mention the great Emily Dickinson. The line in the title of this post comes from her poem which begins, “I’m Nobody! Who are you?”
In the poem, the speaker doesn’t want to be a “dreary… Somebody” who would be like a frog croaking their name out to imagined admirers. She’s happy to find another Nobody and carry on a quiet conversation.
I’ve always had a romantic idea of Emily Dickinson writing her poems and storing them away in her desk. She sometimes bound them together into ordered sequences, too. If one of the greatest poets of all time could write and write and write, and keep her poems in her room except for those she copied out to send in letters (and a handful she shared with magazines), couldn’t I try and keep writing, too, and not get discouraged?
Emily Dickinson did, in fact, want to get published, but she was also unwilling to compromise her style to conform to the expectations of the day, a steadfastness which I admire.
So although our publication is about do-it-yourself projects, it’s also about doing things in ways that feel right to your creative self, regardless of how others might judge you and/or your work.
Do you have a story of how you persisted in a personally meaningful project despite a lack of support from others — or maybe even in the face of outright criticism or doubt? I would gladly publish such a story if you wanted to write and share it here.
Looking back over the past week, The DIY Diaries welcomed a new writer to the publication: Lindsay Olin, a gardening blogger with a certification in Permaculture Design and a wide knowledge of ways to improve the health and scope of your garden.
She shared an awesome article with instructions for making your own plant fertilizers. Some of these reuse food scraps such as banana peels. I thought Lindsay’s ideas were cool and adaptable, and I hope you’ll check them out. If you have questions as you read them, be sure to leave her a comment as she has a lot of know-how to share.
We also received a new article from MW Mercer with practical, actionable ideas on how to start and stick with a workout routine by focusing on the power of small, sustainable habits. As a believer in small steps, this perspective means a lot to me, and it’s pretty much the only way I get things done, come to think of it.
Can you build up your arms doing one pull-up or bicep curl or push-up at a time? Yes. I mean, are you really gonna just start with 50 and then not be able to lift your arms the next day? Well, you could do it that way, but…
My former foster daughter and my nephews love scratch art, so I was delighted to read this story from Vashni Stories about how to make your own paper for scratch art. If you’re making a list of fun summertime projects to do, add this one to it. Vashni has included a lot of photos from her experience with this project, and the steps are very clear.
Not only does the project use materials that many folks will already have at home or which can be purchased for just a few dollars, but it also has fun variations to try. You can use different colors of card stock to create one-color backgrounds of your choosing, or you can color onto the card stock to create rainbow backgrounds. I could also see using recycled paper like cereal boxes for your backgrounds if you wanted.
I shared a story this past week about how you can get free Priority Mail supplies from the US Postal Service delivered to you. Free boxes, free delivery of said boxes… Pretty cool. I’ve used this service for a long time to help with mailing out eBay sales (I’m a casual eBay seller) and of course with sending packages to family and friends. The flat rate Priority Mail boxes are also great for sending care packages or donations to nonprofit groups.
If I were to count the ways I love postal mail, it would be a very long list indeed, so I used restraint such that the article only includes a few examples of Mail I Have Loved.
I hope you enjoyed the selection of stories from the week. Remember that we have a pretty broad scope of what fits within our theme of DIY. You could write about childhood projects you remember, DIY icons you look up to (from your neighbor to Bob Ross), your current favorite recipe, or what crafts you’ve been making at the kitchen table with your kids or grandkids or nieces or nephews or…
I think you get the idea. If you have an idea and aren’t sure if it would fit, feel free to ask in the comments or even via private note on this post.
Thanks, as ever, for reading!
P.S. If you haven’t followed The DIY Diaries yet, please do. I’d love for us to hit 100 followers soon.