Why I DIY

If you aren't a follow of Kate over at Centsational Girl, you should be.  I read a post of hers this morning that really touched my heart.  You can find it here.  She nailed the answer to the question "Why do you DIY?".

Many people think the time, money, energy, etc. it takes to do something yourself could be better spent elsewhere.  Now, I'll be the first to admit some things aren't worth stressing over doing it myself.  Most car-related things, for instance.  I know, I know, I could change my oil myself, but, quite honestly, I have no interest in learning how to do it.

here

Crafting, on the other hand, I want to learn.  Following Kate's lead, I won't refer to myself as uncreative, but I will say that I am... shall we say... uncoordinated.  I am not a fine painter. Or sculptor. Or musician.  Or a number of other pursuits that take skill and talent.  But what I can do is try something.  I started small, so that if things turned out disastrously I wasn't out a lot of time and money.  But here's the thing.  It didn't turn out to be a disaster, AND it turned out exactly how I imagined.  Now, granted, it was cutting strips from a t-shirt, but honestly, I had zero confidence I could create something.

here

I think that's mostly what it comes down to.  Confidence.  I think this translates to a number of pursuits.  Cooking is a good example.  Most people could probably follow a recipe, particularly a relatively simple one, but I know so many people who won't even try it, for fear that it will turn out inedible and they will have wasted their efforts.

here

My challenge to you, dear friends, is to not sit on the DIY sidelines (if this something you're actually interested in, of course!).  Don't just "pin it and forget it."  There are tons, TONS, of step-by-step tutorials on making simple crafts or recipes, or whatever else you are into creating, out there in the blogosphere.  Try one of 'em and report back.

xo april

P.S. T-shirt scarf tutorial is coming later today.