And in that time I’ve become really good at it. I’ve always loved to dig and to research and to find something I haven’t seen before, something that scratches an itch I didn’t even know I had. An urge to be more artistic, seek things that are interesting, to live a more beautiful, considered life. And in that way, I have. It sounds silly to say that a website has shaped my aesthetic sense, my goals and vision for the future, how I take care of my body and my mind. It has opened up new kinds of creativity and curiosity that has, in one way or another, shaped the life that I’ve built up around myself. Even with all those damn ads, it holds a very special place in my heart.

But in those early days it wasn’t something I defaulted to, it was a part of a bigger ecosystem of places I would look. I had a shortlist of my favorite blogs that I routinely checked. I would pull from my college library, checking out ten books at a time for every new design project. I took myself to galleries and shows and thoughtfully watched movies and fashion shows. Pinterest served as a tool to remember, to store, to organize, and to occasionally scroll to pass the time.

Somewhere along the way, that changed.

The boundary between research and procrastination has been closing in on me, leaving me frustrated, overwhelmed, and a bit directionless. And if you’re someone who was willing to click on the title of this article, you might feel the same way.

I’m not messily jumping into things for the sake of exploration or curiosity. I’m looking for the ideal reference. I don’t play in my own closet, trying on my own clothes for fun. I open Pinterest trying to curate the perfect outfit made entirely of things I don’t own, to make a mental note of what to buy. I struggle to take more interesting photos because mine look nothing like the dreamlike, perfectly lit images I’ve been pinning to my ‘shot list’ board that I created to help me take more interesting photos in the first place. I’m getting overwhelmed by my current craft plans because every day I’m diving deep on something new, adding to the noise instead of just getting my hands dirty and making something from my very long list of things I want to make.

Scrolling on Instagram or TikTok, I know that’s not productive. I’m not researching, I’m indulging. I have screen time limits there and feel guilty when I linger too long. But Pinterest? Oh, that’s just moodboarding. That’s a part of the equation, a critical part of the process on the path to my next great idea. When in reality, it’s not at all.

So I’m taking a little break.

For the month of April, I’m off the app. It’s already off of my phone, and aside from one final lurk this morning to pull references for the projects I’m actively working on, I logged out on the browser. And no, I won’t be replacing it with Cosmos, or Aren.a. I’m taking a little “idea generating app” detox in general. An information diet for my own sake.

Really, I’m just working towards refining my own creative process, which I’d like to invite you in to join with me as well for the next few weeks. So here’s what I’ll be focusing on this month:

1. Curated digital: this is my shortlist of approved digital research platforms that I can, and will be relying on when a new idea starts to form in my mind. I’m bookmarking these and will keep them top of mind for when I inevitably feel an urge to scroll. Some of these have depth, some of these have novelty, some of these have history. But all are curated, interesting and have been some of my favorites for years.

   1. The Public Image Archive I talk about this from time to time, but it’s really great if you need a quick hit of an oddity.

   2. https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows Vogue runway archive! I want to spend more time scrolling older shows and going deep on some of my favorite designers and this is the best place to do it. It is a paid membership, but I do indulge and consider it fully worth it.

   3. Designboom One of the oldest publications in the game and one of my longtime most favorites - I used to check designboom at least once a week throughout college.

   4. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection History! Research! The Met has a little bit of everything but their fashion archives are also delightful thanks to The Costume Institute.

   5. https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections The V&A is one of the things I miss most about living in London; the archive is the closest I've got for now. The arts and crafts slant makes it a delight to peruse and makes it quite unique compared to many other museum collections.

2. Building my reference stores offline. One thing I can go on about at length is revisiting and revising your visual inspiration to create new connections and ideas. I will still be doing that. My problem is I keep a lot of that on Pinterest, which gives an impulse to scroll, so we’re going to try to remove her from the equation for now. I’ve downloaded some of my favorite and most used boards for reference this month, but otherwise I’m going to be trialling Obsidian for notetaking, substack ideating, etc. etc. while Notion will continue to be my project tracker of choice. I will report back at the end of the month on my findings and how that works. If I was feeling more adventurous I’d try to go fully analogue but that’s begging for a disorganized mess, to be honest.

   

3. A weekly creative theme/tasks!!! I will be sharing these every Wednesday, here on Substack, if you’d like to join in with me, and will be opening up my subscriber chat to talk about it together. My hope is that these will be open ended enough that any discipline or craft could indulge, while still being straightforward enough that you can try something completely new to you. Without giving away too much (and in case I decide to switch up the tasks), here will be the weekly themes:

   Week 1: Document

   Week 2: Reflect

   Week 3: Edit

   Week 4: Expand

If you want to tackle this with me feel free to pick and choose any of the below. I’m giving myself five to complete across the week, but you can do any that speak to you. It’s all for good fun. It’s kind of The Artist’s Way, but I’m not going to tell you about God or shame you for not waking up at 5:30 in the morning to write your morning pages.

You could interpret this as photography, poetry, illustration, a short video essay - even just a five minute journal prompt.

Week 1 Prompts:

1: Collect a handful of your most loved or most used posessions and document it however you see fit. Compose a still life, style an outfit, sketch the tiniest details, write out an itemized list.

2: Find a place or a path that you pass by but never enter. Turn left on a street you never turn on. Sit for an extra 10 minutes at a cafe you haven’t been to before. Write a list of observations. Go on a color hunt. Shoot a roll of film (or pretend your phone is one by going in airplane mode for 15 minutes).

3: Imagine something you once had that is no longer in your possession. Write or draw everything you remember about that item, in as much detail as you can possibly go. How would you redesign or recreate this item now, if you could?

4: Set a timer for 15 minutes, create a self portrait. Repeat as many times as you like.

5: Find something that will not be here tomorrow: a meal, the weather, a smell, ice melting down a glass. Capture it.

So here’s to a month of actually making things. I’ll see you next Wednesday.

Regardless - there was lots of good inspo for some project ideas and since I’m simply incapable of making everything that my heart wants to make, I have to share them with you all. So here we go -

Dimensional Appliqué

From military inspired epaulettes at Khaite to scilicone floral details at Chanel, (scilicone!! you could totally make these!!), and feathery details at Ulla Johnson, there’s a little bit of everything that falls into this category, but I think that just means more opportunity for creativity, so have! at! it! Fabric or leather flowers from leftover scraps, a simple line of trim could save a pair of loved but stained trousers - there’s something for the miniamlist to the maximalist and everyone in between.

Voluminous victorian collars

Inevitably this will speak to someone, although it’s not me, I don’t think? Don’t hold me to it though. I could totally see this as a much more practical layering accessory than expected. The dramatics at Khaite, Simone Rocha and Valentino I think are tempered alongside these iterations by McQueen which are more subtly sculptural, but so delightfully textured. All I think are as simple as gluing and sewing ribbons of tulle or feathers onto a band choker necklace (or onto a ribbon you simply tie around your neck)

Fringe, ofc.

We can’t escape her but I couldn’t not mention it for a fashion month recap. I love how delicate and dramatic Nanushka took it this season, but the sequins at Area and dramatic, sweeping trim at Gabriela Hearst (you can find fringe like this) would transform any jacket or coat instantly.

Knew Knits (metallics, mixed media, 3d!!!)

My fellow fiber artsits, I’m basically writing this entire post just for the knitwear because we have to plan our projects out so far in advance. If you’re starting to think about what you want to make this year, I beg of you to think about materiality and mixed media!

These chainmail sweaters at Alexander McQueen are likely too elaborate and uncomfortable to wear (take a look at this BTS if you haven’t already seen it, please) but you could add a little touch of metal here and there - I’m thinking you could adapt one of these techniques for adding beads… If that’s too much for you, these metallic polka dots at Tory Burch or these full blow mettalics at Ulla Johnson are bold alternatives.

On top of that!!! I LOVE the incorporation of these sheer fabrics at Pauline Dujancourt and I am imminently planning how I can reimagine this for my summer projects. These ribbons at Sandy Liang and Nina Ricci also caught my eye. Not to mention, the weaving is just a great upcycle, no previous fiber artistry needed.

This colorwork inspiration from Diesel is also extraordinary, if you still are not yet a knitter, this would be a good excuse to learn how to duplicate stitch to add to your visible mending repertoire and if you are actually a Master Hand Knitter we (I) need you to tell us (me) how it would be possible to do this without a machine (pls).

Good. Hardware.

Just a little touch, nothing fussy, nothing over the top, but fun. A touch of chain fringe at Chanel. Hems reinforced by hidden hook and eye closures at Diesel. A little clasp peeking out of Gabriela Hearst. The opposite of the knits, little to no expertise required for these.

Deconstructed suiting

A bit more of a labor of love, but I do think these slightly more technical sewing projects would have an incredible payoff. Reimagined stripes at Eckhaus Latta, deconstructed coats at Emilia Wickstead and Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen. This double blazer/coat at Fforme is so great as are these little cut outs at Monse. Lots of little moments to transform the rogue thrift flip or stained piece sitting in the back of your closet.

Drapery

Sculptural but billowy, I adore the textural juxtaposition that this can create. It could also be more of a styling thing than necessarily a proper project, but nonetheless, you should attempt. This coat by Clay Hattam was one of my favorite pieces of the entire CSM graduate show, but tthese more traditional takes at Area and Altuzzara are beautiful, too! A great excuse to break out your brooch collection and have fun with it!

So there she goes - starting points for some great makes (imo) that may be fall inspired but you also totally could start and wear in the spring (now!) as always if you’ve got something that you’re working on, or are planning, or just generally want to show off the comments are a welcome space for that!!

xx Naomi

In the sprit of my own recency bias, we’ll be going from last to first, but also because I know you’re probably here for the first one on the list (hint: it’s inspired by Dior) I made a lot this month, and I’m really, really proud of it all - so I hope you enjoy it, too!

Dior Inspired Snail Bag Charm

Possibly the most perfect little thing I’ve ever made - I do think the materials on this one is kind of make or break so that it feels very polished. they require a few different orders, so shipping might add up, if you can find things in person, nothing in particuar is too expensive. Just be mindful of the width of tape measure and size of thimble. I’ll update this post with the tutorial once it goes live on Tiktok and Instagram.

• Leather Cord - $12.99

• Thimble (size 11) - $6.50

• Tape Measure - $2.95

• Safety Pins (1.25 Inch) - $3.49

• Snap kit I used (Amazon link - 20L is the size you want for this width) $15.99

• JB Weld - $8.99

• Also reccomended: a small button, some mixing tool, sharp object of some kind, hammer, scissors, pliers and painters tape

  Jean-Pierre Lepine Studded Pen

This DIY was inspired by ‘s tutorial! I love how it turned out and so many of you did, too. Some comments mentioned that a sticky object to pick up the cabachons would also have been helpful. I couldn’t find one in stores, but I agree it probably would have been handy so I found one just in case you have no idea what I’m talking about.

• Vintage Glass Cabachons - 4mm

• Mahjon Q1 Mini

• Diamine ink in ancient copper

• Superglue, I’m a fan of this one with the brush

• Rhinestone picker pen

  Margiela Inspired Trench Coat

My personal favorite make of the month was this trench coat inspired by Margiela couture (2020 and 2019 fall) - I have a tutorial forthcoming, but in the meantime here’s my reccomended supplies:

• Ebay! Trench! Coats! (Always the best)

• Dritz water soluble marking pen

• Leather circle cutters

• Clear ruler

• Self healing mat

• Good hammer and detail scissors

Thea Wrap Trouser

One of my more challenging makes of the month were the Thea trousers by Jessica Capalbo (Jessilou’s Closet) - they are labelled as adventurous begginer, and i’d say that’s a pretty safe bet. They were fun and challenging and delightful to make, i’m very proud of them (although they are definitely imperfect) and I will definitely be making another pair!

• Pattern

• Mid-weight linen from Mood (not available anymore)

Antique Inspired Dice Box

I saw this bad boy on firstdibs and immediately was desperate to make one. It was shockingly easy and I had a great time. Would absolutely reccomend this one.

E6000

Dice

you’ll need 220 for this 7x7 box - so keep that in mind. these are aso .5 inch so it’s a smaller box than you might expect, but perfect for storing, well, other dice.

Valentines Photobooth

A rouge, random little project I made one night catching up on bridgerton. It’s just a trifold poster board I grabbed from Walmart, hot glue, and some leftover fabric from Joann’s closing. My son is still obsessed with it, so I had to include here because it really is that cute.

Toddler Girl Set

And then I made a few little bits for my niece for her birthday using random other joann’s leftovers! The top is the Lucia swing top and then pants and heart bag were both self drafted.

Thanks for hanging around this month and I promise I have big, exciting, fun plans incoming for the rest of March.

Reminder my comments are always a welcome space to share your projects, too <3

x Naomi

Creating in our spare time should be joyful and fluid, not another chore, or to-do list item, sure. But when you’re also trying to get creative work done in between all of life’s other responsibilities, having a system in place is fundamental to developing a meaningful practice. At the end of the day, a creative practice is just that - practice. You must flex the muscle, you must come back to it again, and again, and again.

For some, this could be as straightforward as scheduling a specific hour every day day to work on a manuscript, or an afternoon a week to paint, but for someone like me who has a constant, long, evolving list of different things I want to make, I need structure and focus about what to work on, not just when or how.

That’s where the techy part comes in - meet my creative backlog:

The Backlog

The Backlog is borrowed from Agile (a development system I was once technically certified to manage) which accounts for the many different pieces of work that a team might be responsible on to continuously improve a product. At it’s heart it is a giant, well organized to do list of everything that a team needs and wants to do in the near future. In Agile, the backlog would be considered the stuff that you will be working on and have not been scheduled yet, but for my purposes I use it to refer to the whole system (and my Notion database in particular).

This is the backbone of my entire workflow. It serves two main purposes: to capture all of my ideas and to keep them organized and tidy.

Collect inspiration → categorize ideas → prioritize → repeat

1. Collect inspiration - anything and everything! Some may call this commonplacing although it doesn’t just go to one place for me. I take photos & screenshot, write down random thoughts in my daily notebook, sketch and use apps (pinterest and are.na but sometimes cosmos or my notes app) with random thoughts. I worry less about what or how and just follow vibes, moments of interest or excitement. It doesn’t need to be a complete thought, but enough information or context to remind me what I liked about it if it isn’t just a photo.

   Worry less about the finer details here, the best ideas I think come from passive observation, look to unexpected sources, follow the random threads for absolutely no reason. This is ongoing. This is constant. This is not a thing that you stop and start. But you must, absolutely must, capture everything. Do not trust yourself to remember your ideas. It won’t matter if it was a good or bad idea if you forgot about it entirely.

   “You don’t understand — if I’m not there to receive these ideas, God might give them to Prince” - Michael Jackson

2. Categorize ideas - this is going back into those inspiration banks look for common threads. Extract something that doesn’t exist just in one image, or one scrawled note, but is a continual, persisting color, silhouette, or curiosity. It’s looking for connections and what are the things that get you the most excited, finding themes amongst the mess. This is where my notion backlog starts - where I tie up loose threads and distill them into a specific and tangible projects. This is not a daily task, maybe once a week, maybe once a month, whenever I feel the itch.

   

3. Prioritize projects - I’m always going back, going forward, bouncing around. I’m checking in on the things that I put into the backlog and deciding if I want to move them up all of the time. I’m keeping an eye on materials I might be interested in purchasing so I have a mental note if I find something cool out in the world. I’m tweaking, updating, changing as we go along and nothing is static.

   Do I have a specific deadline or reason to finish something? Can I give myself one? Why should I start this thing next, what am I the most excited about? This helps me decide where to put my energy, from both a logistical and emotional standpoint. All this looks like is moving something up or down the list so the thing that makes the most sense to start next is, well, next. This is also pretty ongoing. I roughly organize this as in progress (3 project strategy!!), upcoming (I’m doing this on a monthly basis right now) and later (everything else)

4. Repeat - as I move things into in progress, I keep on doing the leg work. Everything above is separate from the actual “creative” bit although it’s the groundwork that sets me up for success.

3 Project Strategy (keeping the boat afloat)

I didn’t mean to brand this like I did, but hey - here we are. 3 project strategy, let’s go!

It’s not that I only have 3 project in progress, but I always have one in each category going. I’m always planning something, progressing on something, and polishing up something. The plan is frustrating, but rewarding, the progress is satisfying but sometimes mindless, and the polishing is a great motivator when i need it.

When I’m sitting down to work on something, I’ll pick and choose based on what makes sense for that day - how much time do I have, what’s my mood, is there a deadline? When I finish planning and get started on progressing, I’ll move something up to planning. I’ll hold off on polishing (finishing) something until I get something i’m progressing on closer to done, etc. etc.

This is something I’ve done for a long time, although the designation is new, and I find works really well for managing the highs and lows of the creative process.

1. Planning - This is digging in deeper on those ideas and starting to decide what the final object will really look like. For some things, it’s as simple as “I want to knit that sweater, I’ll buy the pattern and the exact yarn” but it’s usually a bit more complicated. If I tried to do this for every single idea in my backlog I’d never actually start anything, so I consider this the first actual stage of making. This usually involves prototyping, sketching, shopping for materials, watching tutorials, testing, etc. I love this part, but it can be hard, so I don’t like to put pressure on it. It’s so important to me to be able to mess up here. Really. Do it bad. Figure out why it’s bad. Move on.

2. Progressing: Once I’ve figured out the technique or found all of my final materials and I can kind of zone out or get lost in this without much consequence. Maybe I can work on this on the couch! Maybe it’s going to take me a month! This is the scheduled, repeatable work that just needs time to get done. The more time I spend planning and preparing the less time a project spends in this stage. I tend to save things for this when I have longer, uninterrupted blocks of time to get lost in it. Sometimes I’ll have a bunch of things going so I can switch if I get bored, or if I get stuck it’s nice to be able to put something down sometimes.

3. Polishing: When everything comes together. This is all about the finer details, which is sometimes finicky. Inevitably, it will take longer than expected but it is ever so satisfying to finish. I always like to have only one thing at this stage, because it forces me to keep moving, but also keeps the motivation of seeing the end in sight at all times. The proverbial carrot to this entire damn thing.

Being “Original”

Part of what I cherish most about this approach to creativity is that I have my own database of ideas to return to. When I’m in the mood to make, I’m not going to pinterest, or instagram, or wherever to find something - I’m going back to myself and the connections I’ve already started to make in my own mind. I’m not letting my algorithm decide where I put my creative energy, I’m doing my best to remove it from the process where I can.

Even if this whole system seems like way too much to you, I encourage you to try to grab a thing or two from my approach and implement them for this reason alone. Start a new note in your phone and every time you see or think of something interesting, write it down - do this for a week. Spend a little time just prototyping a random idea you have with no expectation of it being the thing. Give yourself a random but reasonable deadline or intention to finish something (a submission! make a gift! something to wear on vacation!)

I hope that this has brought you a little inspiration to get moving on something over the weekend, and if it did, I'd love to hear what that will be. Remember: you can’t make good art if you’re afraid to make bad art. The first step is just to get moving.

Thank you as always,

xx Naomi

I’ve gotten quite a few quesitons about how to make it since I posted a quick video the other day, and I wanted to share the template I made myself! In the spirit of, well, this taking me a lot of work to pull together, this will be my first paid post. The tutorial is available to all over on tiktok, but the template itself and a step by step photo walk thorugh will just be for our little crafty crew.

This template has been slightly modified (and improved) over the tiktok tutorial, so keep that in mind if you saw that prior to this.

Expect little bits like this, creative briefs (starting points for your own projects) and a more open dialogue between us as part of the paid membership. I’m working on lots of fun ideas for you all, and have high hopes about where we can take it and your support really means the world. I’m still planning plenty of free content, so don’t worry this will still be a fun place to be.

Now, onto the tutorial:

Materials:

• Template (below)

• Cardstock paper - i used 65 lb white

• Glue (I reccomend this one although I’m using rubber cement on this walk through, which is

• x-acto blade (scissors could work but not as refined)

• straight edge

• Some kind of creasing tool

• optional: 4x printed photos for tunnel effect

Read more

Victorian Cobwebs

For lack of a better word, enchanting. I think these are so delicate and lovely, and although these historical references are highly intricate, creating the technique doesn’t look quite so bad (or at least can be simplified). I haven’t found any downloadable templates, but I did find this tutorial which I found to be helpful for the technique, although the imagery itself isn’t all that refined. I’d scour The Public Image Archive for some cool imagery if I was attempting this myself.

Paper Cut (Scherenschnitte)

I’ve been obsessed with these part snowflake, part folk art decorations for a few months now and they’re absolutely perfect for Valentines. I love this antique reference with a poem inscribed for any of our writers out there. The actual german name for this form of artistic paper cutting is Scherenschnitte - there are plenty of great free patterns if you search using that term (although fun to draw yourself, too)

Spicy Cyanotype

Maybe this is more of a gift, because to make it valentine card sized you’d have to scan it, shrink it, and print it. But that is also perfectly achievable. I desperately want a bride to do this in place of a boudoir photo shoot to surprise their partner to be the morning of their wedding - a beautiful way to memorialize the expensive lingerie that may never be worn again. I’ve seen a handful of tutorials on these - here’s one by the Denver Art Museum and a clever one from one of my favorite creators, Justin Miller. Pick up this set and you’ll be able to make plenty of different prints.

Modern collage

I’m simply a sucker for a good collage and I think it’s a surefire way to elevate a sentimental photo that maybe isn’t quite the “look” you’re going for. black and white, cut out, hidden love letter on the inside, maybe it peeks out a little? So many photos to chop up, so little time.

Heart in Hand

Fokly, victorian… I’m becoming predictable, I’ll admit. Here’s more. These are great, so playful and an easy way to use up random paper scraps you might have lying around if you’re literally anything like me at all.

A Swan Box

I’ve seen so many iterations of Ann Wood’s delightful articulated horses, specifically Rachel Spencer’s horse tree over christmas really caught my eye. Which got me wondering about any of Ann’s other patterns and I think that this swan ornament is absolutely perfect for this occasion, I love her.

Or, a Card Box

Not a card in the traditional sense, but you could put a little chocolate in there or a love note or something and call it a day. I say it stands! Here are some video tutorials, too. The little a frames are particularly sweet.

Knock, knock.

Your front door! But miniature! Particularly good if you and your love have moved into a new place together recently-ish. This would be easy to create in cardstock, or the below tutorial by model maker and CSM lecturer David Neat uses stencil card, of which I know nothing but he seems trustworthy. Paste to the front of a card or turn it into a little book. Sweet and sentimental and great to display as a special memento.

For Your Littlest Valentine

The mom in me needs to throw in something for our littles, so here’s my suggestion of the year. I can’t get over how adorable these painted animals are - I might have to save this one for later (as my little one is still in the everything goes in his mouth stage, so paint is not our friend) but I think this would brighten anyones day, little or big.

I’ll close out with the card that I made Cam last year, which I still think is quite cute (and you should also totally copy if you’re so inclined)

Happy making and wishing you a season of loooooovvvveeeee

xNaomi

To be invested and curious about how we make beautiful things is to be connected to the world around us. Crafting is, and always has been, inextricably linked to the culture, creativity and resources of indiginous and marginalized people. Fashion, design and art are all at the intersection of a cultural exchange fueled by the human impulse to immigrate and share ideas. Craft as a cultural discipline has also been heavily plagarized and appropriated through imperialism and capitalism - and therefore in service of white supremacy. In line with this, the modern production lifecycle of trends has been built on the backs of a heavily exploited, global labor force largely consisting of non-white people. And this is of course far before I even get into crafting in the context of the rise of conservatism and the tradwifery of it all.

Simply put: design and craft is inherently political and to pretend otherwise would simply be a lie.

I started writing this draft a week ago. Before the murder of Alex Peretti, after the murder of Renee Good, very much in the midst of everything happening in Minneapolis. My parents both grew up in Minnesota and most of my family still lives there, I have been paying very close attention to what has been happening for weeks and have been profoundly disgusted. It is difficult to feel like this kind of “work” is of significance in the face of the horrifying reality that I still, as a white woman nestled away in a wealthy suburb in California, am largely shielded from. Myself and many of my fellow white Americans are being faced with the terror that our country inflicts onto people of color more directly than we ever have been before. This is not a new, unusual America, it is just new to us - it is harrowing, inexcusable, and profoundly wrong.

I do not want to make this about myself, or my feelings, or my pain. But I do want to offer a few links ahead of giving you some ideas for art (which I desperately want us all to partake in for our collective sake!!)

• if you’re local to Los Angeles - Suay Sew Shop is doing some incredibe things this weekend (closed tomorrow in observance of the national strike)

• Ochre Objects is hosting a raffle to support The National Immigration Project and The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights

• Daughter Judy is donating all pattern sales this week to support Minnesota aid orgs

• Teach them Young by latinxparenting - a virtual workshop for parents, caregivers, and educators I will be attending!

• 5 Calls makes it so easy to call your reps. Do it!! do it!!

• Consider supporting mutual aid networks and legal defense funds: Stand With Minnesota, Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, Immigrant Rapid Response Fund

If you are feeling stuck and overwhelmed by it all, I can deeply relate. I encourage you to start with something small, that little step is the first one you need to make. Worry about the rest as they come. We cannot fix all our wrongs in one fell swoop - myself included.

This is a small note which is part of a much bigger picture, but I simply cannot continue writing or putting myself out there without making my stance and my beliefs crystal clear. This is not a safe space if you support this administration, and neither am I.

Onto Valentines:

Admittedly, if you caught my last couple of Tiktoks you have seen all of these ideas. But you haven’t seen the direct links to any of them. So, there’s something new and fresh in here at least. If you aren’t familiar - I made a handful of DIY gift guides for Christmas last year, which are chock full of fun ideas I think are completely appropriate, too. So, in the spirit of upending the quintessential commercial holiday (which I secretly love) with craft, I pulled together some DIY inspo for the Valentine’s I wanted to share with you.

I will also be sharing some fun templates and downloadable Valentine’s Day cards SHORTLY I promise. But for now here’s some regurgitated short-form content for ya.

In the event you aren’t feeling crafty I’ve added in some links to thinks to shop. A handful are affiliate, but that’s mostly to see if anyone actually clicks on anything and if it’s worth the effort to add them, but I may earn a small commission.

Vintage Inspired Hand Fans

I can’t contain how partial I am to this one, I will be making a handful of the smaller paper cut outs as cards for friends, but I can’t get over how beautiful these could be. It would be easy enough to get a handful of pre-made fans and paint or decoupage paper onto them, but you could also easily make one basically from scratch. And it’s a delightful gift for anyone attending a wedding or travelling somewhere warm this summer.

Charm Pins

A brooch, some charms, any of it. These ones by Chan Luu are so stunning, but what I love most about this is how personal you can get. I vote you get a pack of these on Etsy, and pick up a mystery jar of jewelry from Goodwill to host a diy pin/brooch bar evening for Galentines.

Belted Crossbody Necklace Accessory(?)

I don’t really know what to call this one but I clearly can’t get over beading and I love a good belt and I think this is a fun take on jewelry for a jewelry based holiday. I like that it’s multipurpose, I think you can have fun with it. I like a charm version, a beaded version, a chain version, lot’s of options!

Sewing Projects

A delicate little fabric envelope is incredibly chic, and I think would be easy and charming and I found a pretty basic tutorial for one here. I think everything in these round ups is charming though. However, I think this fabric sewn swan is to die for. She’s really really charming.

Giant Feather Brooch

Okay, maybe this post is now tooooo broochy? I don’t know. But I’m completely obsessed with these and I think you could quickly (ie, in a night or two) do a batch of these for friends, which I think is great, too. Galentines is technically better than Valentines IMO. And It doesn’t actually have to be feather, fabric would work too! I love this quick tutorial by @whatsaragrae316 on the tok for reference!

@whatsaragrae316#greenscreen I tried to explain it as best I could, but this was pretty quick and easy! #diy #feathers

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Book Sling

Is it a bag, is it a pouch, it’s both! Perfect for the person in your life who doens’t carry a bag but likes to be well read and sit in a coffee shop. I particularly love the Jil Sander interpretation

A Chess Set

One of my 2026 goals is to get good at chess (I functionally know how to play, but no strategies or anything) I’m not making great progress on this one but I think it’s because I don’t have a chic, handmade chess set. So I plan on making one myself. But I do think this is a sweet idea for air dry/polymer clay! Also - you have to watch the video that Pottery to the People made about this ceramic chess set made of candles because I love insanely creative people.

Paper Flowers!!!

I want you to make these for a boy in your life, ideally. I accidentally bought my husband flowers for the first time last Valentines day and he loved them. But generally i think men would love something that doesn’t die even more than the real thing. I understand this is a generalization - feel free to prove me wrong. But we can get weird with them, since theyre.. not real. You know? Fun.

And to finish off with the two things I’m for sure making…..

Dior Bag Charm

I’m just obsessed with this. I’m making one for myself for valentines day. My tutorial won’t be ready in time (sorry) so maybe this is a mean one to put in. But the ribbon version of it looks easy enough and also very fun!

Tunnel Book Cards

This is what I’m making (in part) for Cam (my husband) for Valentine’s this year because I love to make him a good card. These are so delightfully delightful. That’s all I really have to say about them, I just love them so much. I’ll be making him one that looks like an airplane window inspired partly by Jim Darlings work. Hang tight for that!

And there she is. My long, probably slightly too late, list of Valentines DIY ideas. I hope you enjoyed and keep an eye out for cards, coming soon. I really, really promise.

x Naomi

As always, I want to see pictures of anything you make following this idea, or really, anything you made even if it’s entirely unrelated.

@naomi__vizcainoReplying to @Gemma Louise Lawrens Answering the DIY line… 📞 episode one of craft on demand (open to series title suggestions if we hate this lol) featuring this very lovely necklace as requested by @cornbreadsurvivor 🪡 special thanks to @_gulligull_ for inspiring this phone moment ☎️ Leave ideas below and let’s tackle the diy list together ok? Ok #diy #crafttok #crafty #beading #hobbies

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This is a decidedly easy project that only requires seed beads, some kind of clasp, wire and (in my case) some superglue to finish off the ends and seal the project in tight. I made mine 13.5” so it sits high up on my neck similar to a 90s tattoo choker, which is a delicate detail I love.

In the future, this kind of project will be a paid resource, with more in depth content and descriptions, but I’d love feedback on how I can make that offering as strong as possible, so definitely let me know if this is something that you’d enjoy.

Thanks always,

Naomi

It’s been a few weeks - I can’t start without saying a huge thank you to everyone who has signed up already (like 600 of you, what?!) - clearly I wasn’t expecting such a wonderful reception, otherwise I would have had much, much more ready to go for you.

I did have a draft I was working on over Christmas, a round up of all the things I made in 2025 - but in reality, 2025 was not always the kindest to me, and parts of it I was not desperate to relive. So the draft has been staring at me, unfinished, making me wonder what it is I even want to say. But instead of having a little pity party I thought it would be more fun to think about big crafty plans for the year. I posted a cheeky couple of images the other day, but in reality I actually plan my projects out pretty thoroughly, so this was a good exercise in consolidating all of my thoughts and prioritizing what I want to make.

This is a lot of things. Inevitably most of these will not happen - but where’s the fun in realism. This is crafty escapism, let’s indulge!

January

There’s really just two categories for January: Home and Fashion. I’m working on a few things already, namely getting started on my husbands Valentines day gift (a dice shaped ceramic box, although do I need to remake this vintage dice box too?) and a beaded necklace (this was actually a request from a sweet viewer on Tiktok and I really hope I do it justice - it’s turning out pretty cute so far).

1. Beaded Choker Necklace

2. Dice Box

3. Knit Sleeveless Top

Amongst those things, I plan to start a new, easy to knit top this week (maybe). This pattern has an Isa Boulder-esque quality that I love, and feels very different from a lot of the popular knits out there right now (no shade! at all! knit what you love!) and looks like a fun and easy project.

….But if you see me trying to work on this cable piece instead, you saw nothing. Or If I don’t start this until the fall, you saw nothing. Basically, you saw nothing here - I’ll knit when I knit when I knit.

4. Margiela! Trench!

This idea I’ve been sitting on for a while. I have the coat! I have the die cuts! It’s going to be a raging bitch to execute, but I am a sucker for a meticulous and repetitive craft so… I’m going to try to upcycle this punch hole Margiela Trench coat

5. Paloma Dress

I have some serious sewing projects I want to take on this year and I need to get comfortable using the machine again. I love love love the silhoutte of this dress and it looks reasonably chalenging but also accessible, so, this is where we will start. I also need a few more dresses in my rotation ahead of Spring and I live in California anyway so I can wear whatever I want, except for what I want most which is fabulous coats. But this would look great peeking out of my Margiela trench. So.

February

6. Large Scale Paintings

Can’t even lie, this was originally in Jan, and then I stressed myself out and pushed it to February even though these are completely arbitrary and made up deadlines for projects which are literally just for me, but I digress. A dear friend gifted me a few 5x4 foot canvases - two, to be specific. So I’d like to paint an abstract diptych situation and stack the two of them to go in my staircase because it’s the only place in the house that would comfortably fit both. I’m obsessed with all these artists, so think a poorly executed mishmash of the below.

7. Large Scale Headboard

We’re going big in Feb, okay? My husband and I don’t always see eye to eye on home decor ideas, but this one really has him interested for once, so I’ve got to run with it. We still don’t have a headboard in our bedroom because I hate everything that isn’t horrifically expensive (not on purpose), so we’re going to build out a massive wall panel behind our bed and I couldn’t be more excited.

8. Thea Wrap Trouser

Jess and I have been mutuals online for a little while and I’ve been eyeing her Thea Wrap Trouser ever since she released them. I’m saving this for Feb because I’m slightly scared of it, I haven’t made a pair of pants with a zipper before, but I have a big scary project in the books for March, and want something to challenge me a little first.

9. Funky Wooden Frames

I just need to borrow my father in law’s jigssaw and ask the fine men at Lowes for very soft wood. I think these are charming. I’m desperate to make them now, honestly. And then I need to make some art to go inside of them, but whatever - we’ll get there.

10. Valentines Cards

Should I make one for my husband? Yes. Do I want to make them for my friends more? Also yes. I’ll just have to do a handful, I suppose. I’m working on a bigger post filled with lots of fun ideas for this including tutorials and templates, because I’m getting a little ahead of myself, hence the need to PLAN out me doing these damn projects - but here’s a teaser.

11. Sophie Buhai Pouch

This was originally in a DIY gift guide I posted a few months ago where I suggested the idea and had every intention of actually figuring it out, but a lovely gal, Amy, on Tiktok has beat me to it, and I kind of appreciate it because I have probably too many things on my plate. I loved the idea then, and I love the idea now. Maybe I should start with this instead of doing a full garment, but I need to give her time to finish her tutorial so I can copy her, because her first draft is GORGEOUS.

March

We’re going to leave march “light” because two things will inevitably be true. One, I will not finish things in January and Feb and they will bleed over into March. And two, I want to make a dress that is very special and will probably be much harder than I expect for a wedding in April. So I want to be sure I have time to make that actually happen.

12. Leather! Project!

I still have SO much scrap leather from a rogue FBMP purchase last year and I want to make a bag with it. I’ve done a belt, a Polene flower, and a woven leather collar for a jacket, but a bag would be fun. I love this one so much - apparently it’s made to order by a Portuguese brand called Prothabitau and is an incredible upcycle project.

Or maybe I’ll try to maneuver a top of some kind, this silhouette by Holli is very chic, although I would maybe lose the fringe.

13. Silk Dress

Listen. The plan is bold. I’m a little scared. I saw a photo of this magnificent vintage wedding gown that I desperately wish I could have worn to my own wedding. Luckily, we are going to a black tie wedding in April, and I stumbled on a very similar formal gown sewing pattern that I think I could easily adapt (and appropriately wear). I asked the bride what color she would love to see guests in and she said blues and greens - so we’ll see what I can find, but these would be the dream color shades.

14. Start my Philip Treacy Hat

If you saw my trend forecast for 2026 - you’ll remember the party hats (I’m sure). This one likely will get pushed to the spring because I do not have a party to wear it to and it’s decidedly Springy, but we all have stretch goals and this is one of many of mine. So maybe, we’ll see. Fingers crossed.

I’m specifically drawn to his Orchids from SS 2000 - the MET has incredible photos of this one so that’s where I’ll be starting as inspiration, but I very much want to put my own spin on this concept!

And there she is. The top 14 things I hope and dream of making this Spring. I have no idea if/how/what I will end up doing, but if I can achieve half of these I will be a happy gal. If I can achieve 75% I will be over the MOON. If I can do all of them I will simply never stop talking about how productive and capable I am which is entirely not going to happen, but we’ll see. As any good crafty girl knows, there are more things I aspire to make, and sudden inspiration will (hopefully) strike, but trust I will be back in March with a full update and report, even if it’s just to tell you I didn’t make any of these things.

x naomi

This is to say, a lot of people already are making these things, so some may not be new or fresh, some are more my hopes and dreams for the crafty girls (and guys) out there - but maybe you might get a fun idea or two. And always, I encourage you to make what gets you excited, this really is just for fun.

Lace Everything

This has been alive and well, but I want to see the girls take on it themselves this year. It’s prime for upcycling, for DIY’s, and I think unexpected uses as well. I think we’ll see some people dive into handmaking lace, as well - may that be knitting (PLEASE) lacemaking, embroidery, or even painting/drawing.

Lucilla bonaccorsi, @markahsabine on IG, unkown, Vintage dior, Münn, Ruby Silvious

Novelty Party Hat Parties

Now this is by no means a kids-only trend, but I really feel like I saw someone making a felt crown for their kid every time I logged online this year - and playful paper crowns for adults, too. If this is your tradition with your family I by no means think you should stop, but I do think you should get a little crazier (and I think you will) with some novelty hats. These are prime for making with older kids, too, because you can experiment with paper mache and really dig into their interests.

Cult Gaia, Unkown, Juy Rose Jewelry, Chappel Roan, Bode, Robert Wun

Macrame Beading

From my personal style you might not expect just how much I love beading, but I really do - sadly it’s a bit too delicate in my every day life, but I think we’re going to see a lot of DIY macrame bead projects, they’re chunkier, easier (more foolproof for begginers) and can be made into both functional and decorative projects - also, pretty cost effective.

Bodha, Prum, Peim, GQ, Margiela 2008 Haute Couture

Coin Purse Necklaces

Coach showed these dainty coin purse necklaces for spring this year, and I think they’re going to be all over instagram, and then I think the crafty girls are going to eat it up. It’s the perfect thrift flip, novelty case, little gift for a friend, all around a winner. Cute, versitile, practical, and very unique and personal (if you do it right). Bonus points if you go for the Margiela glove pouch upcycle!

Coach SS26, Cos, Margiela, Paco Rabanne

Tassles. On. Everything.

This one has been cooking, but I don’t think the DIY girls have gotten their hands on it fully, and we really should go full send. Definitely lots of fringe on things, but not enough DIY tassles or fringe. Leather. Beads. Embroidery. Chain! I love it for so many reasons. Throw it on your phone case. Throw it on a purse. Throw it on a necklace. Make ‘em, Buy em vintage, whatever. Fringe works too!

Calvin Klein x 2, Unkown, Givenchy, Alexander McQueen, Unkown

Brooches (kinda)

Pinterest called this one and I’m still not fully sold, mostly because I don’t think it feels very fresh, but they’re probably right. Here’s my take on it though - I think the cool girls are going to be a bit more subtle with it. It’s not just covering your clothes entirely in brooches. It’s a specific accessory, or covering the hood of your workwear jacket (Like Louis Vuitton). It’s the edge of a blazer collar, or just one single, ridiculously cool one. But most important to this, is the cool girls will be finding these vintage or be pulling from their collection. Don’t buy a big pack off of amazon. Buy a vintage lot on ebay. PLEASE.

Unkown x2, Louis Vuitton, Schiaparelli, Unkown, Iris Eichenberg

Commonplace > Junk Journal

Now, these have lived peacefully side by side (in my opinion) for a while, but I do think the craft girlies have been particularly attached to the junk journal. While I support it all the same, I do think that intentionally looking for media and things that inspire us is going to be a bigger part of peoples lives in the new year, versus the “documentation” era that it’s felt like we have been in. The nouveau internet intelligentsia is coming and they want their journals to look like well studied pieces of literature with a little punk/diy/modern mideval flair.

@chloexchristian & @brooke.pizio on Tiktok, Remaining unkown.

Going Metal

The tin embossing that has taken over the christmas season feels primed to stay, baby, and I love to see it. I used to make etchings in tin foil all the time as a kid and seeing people make some really beautiful pieces with this has been so fun to watch. That said, I think people are going to upskill on this and tin might be a bit of a gateway into more serious metal work. Maybe it’s soldering, maybe it’s casting, maybe chainmail or even more people picking up metal clay, I don’t know - but I think this will become more accessible to people this year.

Or, if you just want to go hard on tin embossing all year I support that too.

Grace Ling, APOC store, Floating World, Marthe Wauters, Mia Gosset

Papercraft

I don’t think it’s an understatement to say that paperchains were the craft of Christmas this year. Everyone did it. I did it. They’re great, cheap, accessible to make, festive and whimsical and easy to adapt to anyone’s style. But I think we’ve barely scratched the surface of the fun papercrafts that are to come. I think mixed media, paper flowers, sculptural objects, and a little bit of weaving, too.

K. Dantz, Unkown, Almeja Striber, Unkown, Aurora Robson, Giacomo Balla

So there we are, what I think a crafty 2026 might look like. If you want to come check out how I try a few of these out myself or you’re interested in more craft & diy design inspiration that scratches a deeper design itch, then please, hang out. That’s what Material Studies is going to be all about.

Cheers,

Naomi