Doin’ it right

Just to get the embarrassment out of the way, here is a list of things I’ve tried and failed to DIY when I was a kid:

1. Lavender-scented candles.

2. Unscented soap.

3. A denim bag out of an old pair of jeans, personalized with a hand-sewn embroidery of my name. With pink sequins.

Besides the fact that the term DIY (short for “Do It Yourself”) makes me feel like a fiercely independent woman, it’s also a recurring impulse in my life — I used to persuade (er, force) a couple of my schoolbus mates to come over, hold the wick steadily in the middle of the mold while I would pour the melted wax, because in my head I was on my way to a candle empire.

And honestly, it was a hobby I thought everyone had. I was young, with many bootleg ideas — but what I lacked in originality I tried to make up for with initiative, best illustrated when I tried to be enterprising with my lackluster skills. I used to make what I now call the Puerto Galera anklets —   you know, accessories that look like they’re peddled at the beach. No one bought it. You get the idea.

It didn’t take too long for me to realize that I was a disappointment in the arts and crafts department. My hands were not born to create beautiful, useful or sellable things; a sad, sad realization at 12 or 13 (puberty was not enough to torment me!). So, ceasefire to the scissors and the beads and the threads and the candle wax. No attempts have been made in between then and now.

But the bug hit me again in my 20s. I’ve begun to obsess over decorating and furniture. This time the Internet was on my side. I became an Apartment Therapy junkie and a compulsive Selby visitor, screencapping and dragging whatever cute decor idea I can find — how to repurpose shoeboxes! Clothesline clips as photo clips! All these nifty tricks are filed in a folder ingeniously called “MY ROOM” (127 photos, as of late). When we moved houses late last year, I figured that it was time I put that folder to use, keeping in mind only one thing: no sewing and no sequins. Period.

I started small, with something mass-produced: I ordered a DIY cardboard stool online, assembled it and saved magazine, hotel and event freebies from gathering dust in storage. I plastered stickers, old Polaroids and exhibit opening souvenirs on one panel of the stool, and it became one of the first new personal things I had since moving houses. And to update the good ‘ol photo album, I made a live Instagram feed (Museum of Me, way ahead of ya!) and printed some photos from my account to display in a medium-sized standalone frame in my room. That’s the thing about DIY — it’s a coach and cheerleader in one. It won’t coddle you, but it builds you up with sporadic assurances that as it turns out, you’re not too shabby.

This time I felt like I was on a roll. I’ve started a couple more projects, some still unfinished, but none of them make me as proud as my riskiest one yet: distressing furniture (a.k.a. making something look aged and weathered). I did my research, and found out that there are a couple of places here that can do it professionally. But if you want t to be frugal about it — and I did — DIY is the way to go. Let me tell you, my mother watched me disapprovingly as I “ruined” a table with sandpaper for hours, only to paint over it and then sand it again. Let me also tell you: it was worth it.

Tips:

1. Do your research. Google as many step-by-step instructions as you can. Find common ground with them, so you can customize how you want to proceed.

2. Know your limits and choose your battles. I stop at anything that may involve any sort of carpentry. Or sewing.

3. Map out a plan. Think about color schemes, or how it can tie in with the rest of your stuff. Just because it’s Do-It-Yourself, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t a process.

4. Prepare for contingencies. You can’t always get it the same way as the pictures or instructions you refer to for various reasons (product availability, brand variation, etc.), so make sure to have a Plan B for when it doesn’t turn out the way it should.

5. If you really screw up, just go with it. Chalk it up as a lesson learned for your next project.