Who or what inspires you to DIY?

Dreaming up a concept and then challenging myself to bring it alive, just to see if I can do it, then loving the savings and making our home a haven!

I am inspired by simple projects and ones that recycle. If I see one that has literally four steps I can usually remember it and try it later when I come across items that were used.

Wow! Are you ready for a novel? My mom was a DIY and Martha Stewart before there was Matha Stewart. I am a child of WWII parents, where you repaired things instead of tossing and purchasing new. My mom made all my clothes until Jr. High, when I did get store bought items. All this transferred into my adulthood as I would see things I liked but could not afford. I found a way to recreate them. Now I do it for fun and gifts. I always have several things going on at once as I am the type that needs too try, think, pull apart and re-do till I receive the desired look. Start at the dollar store and work my way up. Garage sales are great too. Sometimes I pick stuff with no clue as to what to do with it, toss it in my garage until an epiphany strikes. I have been a dumpster diver as long as I can remember and have found some cool stuff! Just keep my eyes open wherever I go, never know what one might stumble upon. Right now I am finishing up two wreaths using picture frames wrapped in burlap. Also just finished making a few big batches of multi use sprice rubs as a take away gift for a holiday party. Now need to roast and spice nuts and package them up in recycled glass jars. Will make some sort of candy too, also to place in upcycled glass jars, also for a holiday party. Gee, I better get going! Lots to do! Plus mail my homemade holiday cards!

this site really inspires me. I will see something that someone has done and then it seems to give me a idea of something that I'm working on. It can be a totally different type of project, but inspires me. I so appreciate this site!!! It is my most FAVORITE OF ANY OTHER SITE. I just haven't found a site even close to our site!!

I learned to love crafting from my nanny. She taught me drawn thread work, how to draw superman and make wooden beads from the china berry tree in our yard. There is a perfect little wooden bead with a hole inside each ripe berry. She was my inspiration. That and being pathetically broke most of my life.😄

I would say my M.I.Law was my greatest inspiration in my life. As a young Lady and Mom she showed me the way. My own Daddy never threw or trashed anything. He always found a need to use it or repair it. I also believe it was in my blood, if you can use it or recycle it, save it. I have used and re-done so many projects of wood down to a a broom handle. It is amazing, what you can re- use and re- do into something you need or want. If you think it is worth saving, something tells you................DON'T GET RID OF ME...........I will help you down that road........:))))

My parents. They built their first house from scratch in the late 1940s. My dad used wood from structures he hired out to tear down. That included an old railroad tressel that he had milled for structural members. He took a job in another city and sold it. I asked him to show it to me one day and the couple that bought it from him still lived in it almost 40 years later. They let him give me a tour and he told where all the materials came from.

But growing up we had to learn how to do everything around the house there was no hiring anyone! From painting inside and out, removing sheetrock, adding insulation and replacing drywall, reroofing, rewiring, building fences, even a ski boat and house boat to soldering, welding, rebuilding cars, and maintaining cars were things my dad taught my brother and us three girls. Cooking, cleaning, sewing, crafting, and financial matters were our moms responsibility (and she worked along side dad on all the house stuff).

We were taught to reuse items and look for bargains at junkyards, second hand stores, liquidation centers and even the garbage dump.

I am inspired by the ideas right here and I look at profiles of posters to my questions or posts! Many have awesome ideas! Smiles, Cyndi

What inspires me to DIY? My wallet and how thin it is. Reason for DIY, necessity is the mother of invention. When I need something and can't find it, I'll just try to make it.

My grandma used to do DIY work, like she reused the broken umbrella into the new umbrella or dirty clothes to a floor mat...she like to reduce,reused and recycles things.. i found out that it is interesting and can saved money. So, I like to do it myself rather then buying expensive furniture or others..

My mom is biggest inspiration ...she's a natural with sytle and decorating ....I've been lucky ( and I suppose my brother is too Lol ) to have inherited her skills .....I also love nature and take alot of ideas from my environment too : )

Thank you!!!! Being retired, I NEED you all!!!!

DIY began for me as a girl raised on a southern farm and having a mother who worked 40+ hours a week as a nurse and who was a exceptional seamstress. We were not able to shop in stores and shops so we perused magazines and flyers and saw what was in style and she would cut a pattern from freezer paper and often utilized pieces of patterns we had. Before we began on a project, I heard "Well now, let's see what we can create". I never felt I was wearing "homemade clothes" but rather one of a kind "creations". My grandmother had two stock pots, one fitting inside the other. She had my dad drill holes in the sides and bottom of the smaller one.. putting them together she would cook the homemade "saltwater" pasta or egg noodles, pull out the inner pot and drain and run cool water over to stop the cooking. When I asked about the pot she would say "like our lives, everything has another purpose in it. Just let it come to you and create it". Words I live by. My friends and family love to be the receivers of my DIY projects. Keeping in mind my hostess decor, taking the pretty lone salt shaker and the pretty small plate from thrift or dollar store, I create a pedestal for my home made mints and she keeps the pedestal! From lamps and shades to a kitchen island from a salvaged cabinet base, there is not enough room here for my list. The clock I made for my daughter out of a vinyl record 30 years ago that is hanging in my granddaughter's dorm room. That says it all. DIY, thank you, thank you for the inspiration and love that flows in and out of this house!

My Mom She taught me to sew and there I go..my best media has been not only fabric but cross stitch tho now I have to use 11 count!!

Having my children grown and out of the house, and my grandchildren out of reach due to living in different states, the NEEDING OF SOMETHING TO DO is what inspired, or re-inspired me. I used to do many "projects" when the girls where young and when the grandchildren lived close. After empty nesting the second time around, I needed something to keep me from everything betwen boredom to all the way to tears and then some..LOL. So I took a look at painting furniture, re-purposing wood and old items, and now purchasing a silhouette cameo to do even more. Who says and empty nest isn't happy....well, at least the craft room is always FUN!!

My mom did most of the home repairs ,

we lived on a dirt road miles from any where. 9 children in our family and very little money. One of her sayings was "use it up ware it out, make it do, or do without".

I still try and go by that and prefer to create something from little or nothing.I find it satisfys me in ways I find hard to explain . Anybody can buy stuff , I prefer to find a way to"make it do"

if I can make it, fix it bakeit or create it I will ,if I can't I'll check out home talk and learn

Have a great day and God bless. ..

I find so much of my inspiration here and seeing all of the amazing creations people do. But I totally enjoy seeing things take form and come to life the way I visualize it. (Most of the time, lol). Another big motivation for me is that when I had to go on disability retiremental 6 years ago at 44 years old due to several chronic pain diseases, my life changed drastically in ways that I didn't like so much. Against my will, I found myself quickly falling into a depressing rut. Not long after retiring we had to move from the only home I'd ever known to another state due to my husband's job. Not being able to work and not knowing a soul here, I decided I had to find something to do to save my sanity, lol. And that's when I started to DIY and soon realized how much I love it. I do a little bit of everything~crafting, recycling furniture, sewing and now a little bit of woodworking! My husband just bought me my first saw! Look out world, haha!

Ano that's my story :)

I have been sewing since I was 4 yes old. When my daughter was in barbie stage we couldn't afford barbie clothes & I would look at the store ones & make her own & make them as gifts for her friends. Wood working I got tired asking hubby & learned to do my own. I love looking at what other people do & I try my own view of it. What I do the most of is fixing nutcrackers, I have 1000, that's right. From 6 ft down to 2 inches tall. I love this web sight. I check it out every night. Thank you for having it.

I find I am inspired by so many things, I see a tree in full colour in the fall and want to create stained glass, I see blooms in spring and want to do an outside mural, I see other peoples ideas on place like Hometalk and think - hey I could do something like this - but different-

I think having grown up "not well off" and being orphaned and emancipated at 16 ( so NO money) I learned how to build what I needed, plus my dad and mom had always made things themselves to save money, and they were usually nicer than they could have purchased anyway

My Dad & Grandmother were inspirations for me. My Dad was great using tools to build things out of scrap wood. My grandmother was incredible when it came to doing crafts.

Thanks Cori~it's very empowering!!! lol

I have been a DIYer ever since I was a kid, fixing my bike, taking stuff apart to see what made it "tick". I was raised by a single Mom who could not fix anything to save her soul. I took sewing classes in school in Edmonton Alberta and fell in love with it. I always used my imagination to redesign the patterns so no one would have the same as me. When I got married and had children, I sewed for them. As they grew and didn't want hand made, I started wood working in the 70s. That was the big thing to do back then. I designed my own patterns or re-configured from the pattern books. I made good money on my creations at craft bazzars and was able to buy the kids great gifts that I wouldn't have been able to afford otherwise. Hometalk has been my go-to this past year to make all kinds of amazing things that I was able to put my own spin on. Thank you and to all the people posting for stirring my imagination. Merry Christmas to all and keep on posting in the New Year. I have to learn how to post some of my projects so I can share.....need the help of my daughter-in- law for this!

I've been a DIYr for what seems like forever! We were always to broke to actually hire someone to fix a leak or trim the trees so we learned to at least try to DIY and most of the time our projects turned out pretty well.

I guess what motivates me now is when someone tells me: "It can't be done!" Hummmm, Dad taught us that "can't" isn't to be in our dictionary. We had the city Building Inspector out for some project we were working on and I told him that I want to gut the "mechanical room" (220 ft of room that only housed the big green/old furnace) and put in a 2nd bathroom in the house. He told me that it couldn't be done. WRONG! ANYTHING can be done, if you put your mind to it!

PS: The same Inspector came out to see the end project and just couldn't get over how spa-like and beautiful it was. And what did we do with the old furnace, you might ask? Well, we built it it's own separate house outside under the second story deck that we built! It's all warm and cozy and so are we!

Everything ..........from people watching to window shopping.......bad weather to beautiful sunrises........the way paper looks crumpled up......the stillness of a deep bog......reptiles to rocks.......disasters to desserts.....anything that stimulates my senses......inspires me to create........every moment of every day........the possibilities are truly endless.......

My parents grew up in upper Saskatchewan and both had to survive the depression. Being both from farm families, they learned to fix items and how to make chicken salad from chicken s..t. This skill was passed on to me as I grew up. It is also what I passed on to my kids as they grew up. It is a part of me and I don't really understand people that throw away rather then fix or reuse. I'm glad that I discovered this site as there are kindred spirits here.

Most of my work has been given as gifts..I'll have to see what I have left and then I will absolutely share.

My inspirations usually come from a need; like making something more functional; solving a problem or; sometimes; because I have something I don't want to throw away. Like my old tea pot with the broken whistler. Teamed up with a pie tin I'm hopeful it will become home to a bird nest come spring. Not my idea; I saw it in a magazine; but still unique in the way I did it.

Why I DIY? It has changed through the years. It started as arts and crafts, to keep a young me busy and out of trouble. Then it became a desire for uniqueness. I didn't want my home, clothes, yard, car, jewelry, etc to look like everyone else. Cost is a factor, specialized services or artisan products can be cost prohibitive. Occasionally it is quality, I don't want to be disappointed in what I consider shabby work. Hometalk will sometimes just grab my imagination and I have to act on what I see to create something amazing! Now it is a combination of all the above, yes at 58 yrs young I still need something to keep me out of trouble (smile). No matter the project a small decoration or a room remodel I try to keep it fun and just enjoy accomplishing.

My grandmother was one of eleven kids in England and as the youngest in the family she learned how to do handicrafts and eventually helped her parents run a little shop. My grandfather was a carpenter by trade. My Mom obviously learned from both of them and she was the one who initially inspired me to DIY.

When we were young I would watch her sewing, wallpapering, knitting and crocheting and she even finished our basement single handedly; back then panelling was popular! There wasn't anything she didn't do around the house to make it more like a home and save money in the process. She made it seem like there was nothing she couldn't do. I couldn't have had a stronger female role model and I owe all my DIY 'talent' to her work ethic. In those days there weren't any smartphones or computers, so if you wanted to learn something you had to be hands-on and actually be taught. My Mom was only too happy to show me.

As soon as I was old enough to work, I scrimped and saved every penny so I could buy a property. I took everything I learned from my Mom, plus her 'I can do anything attitude' and dove into renovating my first house. My Mom often helped me out on the weekends. Because of her, there's nothing I wouldn't try myself; after all you can't learn if you're afraid to make mistakes and don't even make the effort to try!

When I got married and found the perfect 'partner in grime' we continued on with DIY around the house. Although we don't have kids of our own, I hope I'm inspiring my nieces and nephews like their grandmother inspired me!

My brother Mark inspires me. He does such a wonderful job redoing their house. He finds things he likes and then instead of buying it he makes it. Their house looks like its right out of Better Homes and Gardens.

Many years ago, I told my sister that crafting was "for people who can't read". I know, I know I was horribly wrong. DIY, crafting repurposing allows me a creative outlet that my work does not. I have become an inveterate curbside curator, a saver of stuff and the friend who always says, "Don't throw that away! I can use that!" And, I want to wish all of you Peace, Prosperity and Good Health in 2017.

As a kid, I watched my dad fix and build just about anything my mom wanted, I knew at an early age that if I wanted to spend time with him - his workshop was the best place to hang-out and learn. He taught me about wood-working basics and refinishing furniture - something I still love today. My dad grew up on a farm on an island - where they had to use whatever they had on hand and make it work (his dad was the ultimate repurposer). Dad is 86 now and we live 4 states away from each other. He recently had a leg amputated so he can't do wood working anymore, but he still loves seeing my projects that I send to him via email for his advice. He's the only one in my family that understands my love for crafting, refinishing and repurposing - so it is a special bond.

I remember being a little girl and watching my grandpa make things. It fascinated me so much so I always asked him to help me make something and he would. I don't remember what we made because I was so young and I don't know what happened to them. One time my family went fishing and my mom found this rock that was shaped like a lady bug. I asked her if I could paint it to look like a ladybug. (She's 83 and still has it to this day) It was then I really started doing a lot of crafts and haven't stopped.

I was a pre-k teacher for many years and I would teach my kids how to make crafts. They would make Christmas, Valentines Day, Mothers/Fathers Day gifts. As they got older they would tell me they still have the ornament they made or their parents still have whatever it was they made and they still like doing crafts. I also got my granddaughters hooked on crafting. They said I have so many cool things to make (they are 16, 15, 14, 11).

I had to retire from teaching for health reasons and to keep my stress level down so I don't have a major stroke. (I've had 7 mini strokes before I retired.) Crafting relaxes me so much and my stress level has decreased. My husband and daughters have noticed such a difference in me so much that when I run out of something my husband says go to the store and get it or order it online.

My parents and some of my aunts helped me find my creative side. Many years ago when I was very young I would watch them make so many wonderful things. I had an aunt who didn't have much but she always managed to come up with so many creative projects. My Mom was also very creative in different projects like coming up with different holiday decorations. Over the years I have seen many creative ideas and have come up with my own ideas. I get a lot of my inspirations from nature. Whenever I sit down to draw I listen to music it's soothing or I sit outside and the birds give me my music. I don't know what I would do with myself if I didn't do art and crafts.

I like to DIY due to lack of funds. I live on a very strict budget so if I want something I just make it. I get a lot of things from freecycle and will make do with what I can do with it. Might not be magazine material but it works for me.

I have always been creative. I paint, sculpt, write,a bit musical. I have written a play that was performed by an children's group, published poetry, sold a few paintings. I get my inspiration from the world around me. I love this type of web site, it allows me to see what others are doing. However, I do not copy exactly what I see, but I do put my own spin on things. I like to refer to myself as Eclectic, with a lean to Boho. I love all styles of decor, accessories, painting styles, fashion, etc. But,Everything, has to have My take on it. I have even started to make my own jewelry. My siblings say I am Eccentric, which is OK with me (I do have some Gypsy blood in me). I am 62 years young and have no plans to stop creating things. I just want the World to have Beautiful things for all the senses,

Losing our comfortable income but not wanting to lose our sense of style and comfort has provided the inspiration to find creative solutions to meet our needs. Now I find that I much prefer my own creations and I thrive on the challenges!

I have always been a DIYer from a very young age i was the only girl in high school woodshop class sewing to jewelry making furniture repairs or building furniture i have also wanted to always to be a artists that never happen it's amazing how a person can look at things draw or paint them friends and family thought i was strange when i got older married with children my husband was amazed that i loved to build but was afraid of saws so he would cut whatever i needed he also loves to build now i can't get rid of family or friends with their request for something i redid or built for their own

As a single mom budgeting is impossible for survival. Also teaching my son that "mommy " can do what is necessary to make our house a home. DIY projects help save money and solidify values I want my son to believe in. Best of all the enjoyment of seeing your hard work transform in to a work of art. My 10 year old said, " mom you don't have to buy me anything for Christmas. You can just build me a man cave."

My Grandparents. We lived in the South with meager accommodations. They were hard workers and very honest. they were very creative with recipes, re-inventing furniture and clothes, gardening and Church. i can enjoy the smallest of things. I never feel 'without'. I feel that anything is possible.

We are born this way and we have no control over the desire to create. I cannot remember a time when I did not look at everything as a potential tool/material for my next project. As a small child of 6 or so I would hunt for days for objects (rocks, glass, etc) to glue around a picture on a junky piece of wood or sheet rock so that I could create a frame. My first piece I sold to Mrs. Rodgers across the street from us in Houston around 1946 She paid me 25 cents and an artist was born. That 25 cents bought me a new box of crayons. hip hip hurray!

Thanks. And back then that was a BIG box of crayons. I love Mrs. Rodgers.

I used to be very artistic and loved doing crafts. Life, jobs and kids/grandkids got in the way. Like they say "use it or lose it". I am just becoming more creative since discovering Hometalk. I love the ideas on this website! So very inspirational.

I grew up as an only child. My Mom worked alot. My parents were divorced when I was 6 months old. I really was a very independent child. If I wanted something I had to make do with whatever was around the house or yard. I learned alot through trial and error, mostly error. I use to ask my Mom can I do that and she would say, I don't know Barbara, have you tried? I will always give my best shot to save money, due to my childhood. Things didn't come easy for me and my Mom. We didn't have a car until I was in the 7th grade. We walked everywhere. Good old days. I look at today's world and such spoiled kids and wonder if they could survive should the world go backwards. I think not. I am very fortunate in many ways to have learned to be creative, for my life is much richer just knowing I can DIY anything!

The main reason I chose to take classes to enhance my DIY skills was because of many dishonest contractors...Knowledge is powerful when you know the steps of remodeling your home...Whether you do it yourself, or have the finances to hire someon else, you must be be knowledgeable of what is going on....I have no fear in jumping in ,pulling up my sleeves, and independently taking on a project...A very honest and talented young man has committed to monitor my DIY experience,... As a matter of fact, I am trying to encourage him to start a business monitoring DI Y projects...No he will not do it for them, but he will show them how to do the project, monitoer them making sure they are on track, and inspect all projects thoroughly once completed... He has been such a blessing helping me work through the anxiety of not doing it right.,.Years ago when I was in high school, a Home and Family Living class was required... I loved remodeling, refinishing, and learning all the tools to beautify my home...DIY is the most independent t level of work that any individual can accomplish...It is a very good feeling once your chosen project is finished...

I guess being raised in the mid 40's and early 50's, that in itself had a way of teaching me that to waste not was to want not. We threw Nothing away. We recycled out of necessity long before it became a choice. Now it is just out of habit! I find it really hard to throw something away without first setting it aside and thinking about it and how it could be redone to give it another life. There are so few things that can't be redone, or somehow repurposed, and doing it myself gives me such a sense of accomplishment. We did not have the money to have work done for us, and back then, people were just too darn proud to take favors from anyone.. So DIY was the only way most things were done. Needless to say, it didn't always look professional, but it taught us how to work and be resourceful to say the least. After marrying and starting our family, raising our 4 daughters, the cycle of recycling began all over again. Between my dear husband and I, we did not hire work to be done for the 49 years of our marriage. At least not until we grew too old to be on ladders and couldn't do the heavy lifting any longer. Come to think of it now, it seems only reasonable that I take in alterations to recycle those items that would otherwise be tossed out! I guess at 73, I still can't call it quits! LOL DIY ? I guess it's because no one ever told us there was any other way!