Rather than sinking deeper into the couch watching the ceiling fan twirl, sophomore Kayley Gilman decided to start painting again and learned to sew a dress during quarantine. Gilman could not find the time for it during her regular school schedule, but while staying home she picked up her brush and needle for some DIY.

DIY, short for Do It Yourself, is the activity of decorating, building, and making repairs at home by oneself for home improvement, fashion, “hacks”, or art. Over 100 YouTube channels are dedicated to creating DIYs, such as 5 min crafts, LaurDIY, Karina Garcia and TroomTroom. Several companies also make DIY crafting kits for bracelets, painting, squishies, slime, soap, perfume, and more. 

Students like Gilman have found that making DIYs during quarantine has been a fun way to occupy time. 

“I’ve done DIYs my whole life,” sophomore Kayley Gilman said. “Sewing, painting, redecorating our house, tie dye, pottery, making paper for birthday cards, really anything.”

Similar to Gilman’s previous DIY projects, she already has most of the materials she needed at home such as the acrylic paint, canvas and fabric pattern she had bought a couple months before quarantine. 

Gilman sat outside to paint by herself, but also FaceTimed her friends so they could paint together. For her dress, she got help from her mom, who had previous experience with crafting and DIYs. Although the dress is not complete, Gilman is proud of her painting and excited to see the results for her dress. 

Like Gilman, junior Ashley Munro says DIYs have been a part of her life, from doing them in her spare time to pottery and painting.

Munro was asked to make a ping pong table for her older brother while making some money. All Munro needed was for her brother to make the table with wood from Home Depot, then she began painting the logos as accurately as she could. 

After two to three weeks of painting, Munro got used to painting every day. 

“I felt accomplished because it took so long and I was glad to be done with it,” Munro said. “I finished and grabbed a canvas and painted some more.”

Sophomores Lauren Andres and Abby Nicolas took the fashion approach to their DIYs. 

Andres participated in the half-bleach jean trend and Nicolas cropped some shirts, or cut the shirts to a shorter length, that she had got from thrifting. Both girls decided to revamp their clothes by adding a twist. 

Andres bleached her jeans after she saw it trending and thought she could do the same with an old pair of jeans. She found that the DIY was cheap and affordable since she had all of the materials at home. 

“I was proud of what I did because they turned out really nice,” Andres said. “I felt accomplished because I wasn’t just wasting my time on Netflix or other things.”

Other than being proud of the result, Andres added that after doing the DIY, she wanted to do more up-cycling with other clothes she has.

Nicolas was also happy with her results and being able to see the end goal of having better looking shirts.

“I like learning to make new things and continue working to improve,” Gilman said. “I really enjoy being able to have the freedom to create, especially in a time like this where it is important to de-stress.”

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@a.madlangMy take on a quarantine DIY♬ original sound – a.madlang