DIY Projects People Attempted That Are More Don’t And Less Do

The DIY movement is huge. As of right now, YouTube channels dedicated to the practice have amassed huge numbers. Some in the millions of subscribers. Do It Your Self started out as a grassroots movement by many individuals who wanted a way to cut back on their repair expenses and entertain themselves. It slowly transformed into something besides simply trying to save on home refractions and repairs. It became a passionate trend among individuals that, after buying so much off the counter and getting others to do it for them, suddenly dawned on the pride of what it meant to get their hands dirty and, more importantly, bring something to life. To have everything come together properly, skills, tools, craftsmanship, and personality. DIY became a huge market, and right now, the trend only keeps growing. What began as simple videos or tutorials on fixing a small stress-point in your house and has slowly evolved into people putting their elbow grease in and even building – from scratch – their own home. It’s a huge hobby, and some have even transformed it into a career. Then, there are those bizarre, mad and oftentimes strange folks that let it get away from them… and stuff like this, photos below, come to the surface.

Cellophane

Sometimes you simply have to find a way to cut through all the bull and get to the practical aspects of things. That’s what happened to this person. Out of options, out in the cold, raining cats and dogs, and needing to think outside the box.

Cellophane is one of the most practical and durable materials that has ever been invented. The polymer is really great for this sort of space-age fixes. This person was quick on their feet, and we give them kudos for thinking on their toes.

Fuzzy Toilet Seat

Did you know that Millennials lead the march on DIY projects? They are the generation most embedded with the craze and the one that has the biggest market share. If you were born into this group, there might be an errant DNA strand that makes you a DIYer.

There’s nothing worst than on a freezing mid-winter night sneaking awake at the crack of dawn and having to go to the bathroom. That awful moment when your skin meets the toilet seat and your behind freezes. Absolutely horrible.

The Curtains

Injuries obtained by DIY’ers are unfortunately rather common. They can happen on account of multiple factors. And, studies have shown that most DIY injuries happen during the hot blazing summer months. Why? Because that’s when DIYers are most active.

And that’s why photos like the one above are just accidents waiting to happen. Yeah, it’s a great way to save a buck, but in the long run, it will cost you. But time! Why? Cause that curtain is going to fall.

The Stanley Door

Shrinks, doctors, and psychology recommended DIY projects as a means to combat stress and lead a more healthy lifestyle, especially during the last year where everyone’s anxiety levels were through the roof. People that work on home repairs feel more satisfied and have fewer stress-related issues.

It makes them feel less stressed because they can focus on minimal and funny things. They can get creative. They can, like the photo above with the kitty door, give you an out to let your imagination fly free.

Curtains 2

It is estimated that an average American household has over 9 DIY jobs that need completion. And of those jobs, half can be accomplished in less than a day for as little as 20 bucks. And can save homeowners a lot of money on costly repairs.

Save on repair like the one above—a two-for-one deal. Not only did the savvy DIYer install some crafty shades, but they also managed to lock their house down with a nifty little extra security measure. It might take a minute to see what we are referring to, but be patient with yourself.

Watermelon Crawl

More than 57% of homeowners feel that their house is still “a work-in-progress,” and of that lot, more than 67% are adamant about the DIY lifestyle. They love fixing their home and repairing it. Some claiming it makes them feel good.

Feeling good is the main reason why most DIYers do just about everything. Take that fellow up above, why in the world would they wrap their hand-held console in a watermelon? Well, I bet feeling good and groovy was partly to blame.

A Good Fit

Sustainable and recyclable materials are the next DIY trend that’s hitting the net. Over 65% of DIYers prefer to pay more for materials that don’t contaminate or have been recycled than for brand new products. It makes them cheaper and helps the environment.

Part of the great thing about DIY projects is that they allow us customization. The idea that they can be tailor-made to our requirements. And, sometimes, like that photo above, they can really help when you REALLY REALLY want something to fit.

Just Odd

81% of the worldwide DIY market is focused primarily around 8 distinctive countries. The United States, India, China, and Germany spearhead that group. Most viewerships come from those 4 countries, and in many cases, they have the most amount of DIYers.

Why would anyone want to do that to their sneakers? There has to be some hippy-dippy mindset behind that. Wonder what prompted that fellow to cut out his soles and start strutting about barefoot? A mystery for the ages, no doubt.

5-minute crafts

Craft hobbies really help to combat stress and allow a person to relax. Small projects of the DIY persuasion help people cope with the anxieties of the day. Doctors are constantly subscribing DIY to people going through a period of emotional turmoil in their lives.

When you just need somewhere to put your coffee mug and everything else is taken… You improvise a 5 minute DIY with a week-old toast and some cement in a bottle. Quick, simple, and super cheap. And a real head-turner.

Mood Ring

How important are influencers to the whole DIY craze? Well, over 47% of DIYers confessed to becoming enamored of the whole culture thanks to influencers. They started their first project once they saw something posted online on social media.

Mood rings are made out of liquid crystals that change color depending on the wearer’s temperature. That above is the same idea; only they directly applied said thermochromic element to the seat of the toilet. Why? Your guess is as good as mine.

ART

ETSY is the DIYers preferred e-commerce site. It is the place people go to not only buy handcrafted items that drive the industry as a whole but also as a source for DIY projects. Other marketplaces, like Facebook Shop, Amazon Handmade, and Facebook Marketplace, pale in comparison.

DIY doesn’t just mean home repair and renovations… It also means art. The whole term has been adopted by millions of people to describe anything that’s done without the need of an expert. Art, if done by an amateur, like the one above, fits the bill.

Ants

Over 87% of all of the merchandise sold on ETSY that was handmade and considered DIY projects were sold by females and created by them as well. Woodworkers like April Wilkerson have a huge following, and her carpentry skills are unrivaled.

There’s nothing yuckier than having ants all over your meal. Your plates. Your tea set. Your Household. They get everywhere. So, we’re a bit stumped as to why the person above thought it was such a nifty idea to do that. Was it meant as a practical joke?

Steel Toe Crocs

The trend really took off in the mode 2010s on account of social platforms. Most people that later became livelong DIYers started off by watching a video or two on a social platform. And the platform of choice? Well, Facebook of course.

Platforms like that give people great ideas or inspiration landmines like the one above that cost the fella’ his job. Guess it really was hot at the worksite. I know Crocs are comfortable, but, really, this is too much.

A Good Fit?

Did you know that small-scale DIY projects and home repairs drive up your houses’ price? Landscaping, new flooring, new bathrooms, or simply fixing a lighting fixture can improve your home’s overall value by at least 10%, which is a lot.

Part of the DIYer mindset is the certainty that everything has a workaround. Like when your picture frames simply won’t fit, and you have a corner completely available for them. Another person would shrug. A DIYer simply gets out their tools.

Yard Fences

People are sidestepping contractors by almost 41% and opting to do their repairs and renovations. They are no longer hiring out to fix their home or get the job done. Most folks are now embracing the DIY lifestyle and doing the work themselves.

One of the most viewed topics in the DIY repertoire is fences. Everyone wants a fence, and everyone wants to build one themselves. That’s why recyclable materials are always hot for projects like the one above. Creating a unique fence at half the price.

Not enough rope

Although it might have started on Facebook, the two places most people get inspiration for their DIY projects are on Youtube and Pinterest. People more frequently search online for resources and help on how to go about tackling and completing renovations. Here is another example best left alone.

A simple hack, like the one above, can really change everything, and not always in a good way. A DIYer always, no matter what, has a MacGyver-like solution to life’s little hiccups, and the sense to know when to find another solution.

Roach’s eyelashes

The most important things people look for in online websites and platforms when comparing DIY projects to try out for themselves are pricing, the experiences of other people who have done said project, and if the How-To Video is well recorded.

And then there are those happy, strange, and maybe insane few that go online and just need, no – dare I say – YEARN for something like the item above—an eye-lash set made out of jumbo roach legs. You really can’t leave home without it.

Give me a hand

DIY means “Do It Yourself.” It is, in essence, a method of building and renovating something without the direct aid of a contractor, expert, or trained personnel. It’s been at the fringe of consumer mass-production since the 18th century.

And that pic above is a clear example of some of the odd fringe movement’s mentality. It’s very punk. The sort of shift drive a serial killer might envision. Very creepy and very strange… and, to an enthusiast, hauntingly beautiful.

The Fall

A number of motivations can trigger DIY behavior. The main one is the need for an individual to engage with raw materials and produce or transform something into something else new and beautiful. Something that, given the current social trends, is rather hard to achieve.

Something like that pic’ above. Created out of raw materials and recyclable wood. It really is a bizarre and unique table. Nonetheless, it seems incredibly useless, and with a couple of hiccups and hazards, we can point out from just one glance. What are you supposed to do, put your meal in little life-rafts?

The Pogo Stick

When you simply have a toilet that really needs a good unclogging. This is taking a plunger to the max and giving it a massive power upgrade. Projects like this bring DIY to the forefront of the internet on account of its odd nature.

Another great motivator is that DIY projects have huge economic benefits. They really bring a project’s cost down. A person has complete control over how to approach a certain project and, more importantly on how much to spend on it.

The plates

The term Do-It-Yourself, and later DIY, started appearing in print at the beginning of the 19th century – late 18th century. It really skyrocketed into the limelight in the 1920s, with women’s magazines and periodicals specializing in hobbies and crafts.

Women were one of the main focus groups for certain magazines. Things like the pic above – making a garden bed border from discarded china plates – was, in fact, a relatively common project seen in some of those magazines. Periodicals are meant to stimulate the mind.

Huge Headlights

In the beginning, when it finally – mid-1950s – entered into standard English and DIY was recognized by the dictionary, the term referred to undertaking a home improvement project for recreational purposes and to save a buck or two.

Not only home improvement projects but all types of mechanical and tool-worthy endeavors. Car improvements and maintenance were big during the early days of DIY and, more to the point, upgrades. Some, like the pic’ above, were way off the left field.

Jeans

Over the decades, DIY has become a catch-all term with a really broad meaning. It covers a wide range of sills and has become linked at the belly with the “self-made-culture.” It has become a social concept, an industry, and a community ideal.

A commercial ideal partly inspired by the idea of being the radical, the lone wolf, and the one who recycles and can do anything with just about anything. DIY became MacGyver’s, so to speak. That’s why a staircase made out of discarded jeans isn’t that off base.

Baby

DIY, many people theorize, can be seen as a reaction to modern technology and our increasing specialization and academic segregation. With DIY, we can come out of our niches and explore other venues. Focus on other areas and different contexts.

Folks trying things they wouldn’t normally do. Like making a night-light for their daughter. That project up above was made out of love and devotion. A mother wanting their kid’s favorite toy to illuminate their nightscape… Boy, who would have guessed that it would come out as nightmare fodder?

Cowboy Rollers

When you need to line dance after a gruesome roller derby match, those below are just too good to be true. A strange and bizarre mix of too many trends and fads to truly be able to wrap your head around.

The main idea behind the DIY mindset is the ethical need to be self-sufficient. The drive is to complete a task without the aid of paid experts or professionals. It is the one thing all DIY projects and fields have in common.

Fanta

Interestingly enough, some cultural professors say that there’s a clear connection between IKEA and DIY. The model IKEA works too, having to build your own furniture, is partly responsible for the popularity of the whole affair. Both coming into the limelight almost simultaneously.

The idea of building something new out of something old isn’t all that uncommon. Most DIYers love to think outside the box. Or, in that hat’s case, outside the soda can. You have to give it to whoever thought that up.

Rocks and Pebbles

Italian archeologists, given that DIY and IKEA are linked have unearthed an ancient 6th-century Creek village and called it “the ancient IKEA buildings.” Why, because each had detailed assembly instructions for our forefather DIYers. Ok, obviously we are only kidding, but ….

Toilets were made – in that ancient villa – like the ones from the pic’ above. Maybe a bit more rudimentary and raw but still more-or-less along those lines. Rock and pebbles to assemble just about everything needed in a restroom.

Doll’s Head

In North America, given that many people at the start of the 20th century still lived in rural and semi-rural regions, the whole DIY mindset really soared. Particular on account of certain magazines feeding and meeting these people’s demands.

Folk’s back in those days improvised. They made footwear from just about anything on hand. That’s why to a certain degree, those heels shown above aren’t all that strange. They simply align with the original spirit of DIY. Working with what you have.

Duct Tape

One of the most influential magazines of this niche – back at the beginning of the 20th-century – was Popular Mechanics and Mechanix Illustrated. It offered a way for readers to stock their rural homes and fix their tools without the needs of experts… Experts that weren’t even available in their outskirt regions.

And it was in those magazines that Duct Tape became the go-to tool for many fixes. Folks, once the materials were available, started using it for just about anything and everything under the sun, including trying to prop up cracked support beams like the one shown above.

Life Hack

Home Depot and Lowes are the two go-to places most DIYers go to for their vast range of supplies. They have the biggest market share and, to a certain degree, are the most sought after by people who are in need of some materials for their next big project.

Another great thing about the whole DIY mentality is that everything can be hacked and made a little bit better. That’s why when a Do It Yourself enthusiast sees a pint of Ice ream and no bowl; they don’t spot a problem… they spot a chance to get all Macgyver on it.

Christmas Tree

In the late 70s, DIY spread from North America to other places in the world. College-graduates partly galvanized it. Folks that were starting off their lives and now needed to somehow afford homes. They would buy run-down buildings and fix them up.

Like that Christmas tree, they would build things to try – at least – to have a measure of luxury in their lifestyle. Adopting and adapting oddball things to simulate what they lacked or needed. What they still couldn’t afford.

The Remote Control

The most basic DIY book, with page-layout and typesetting, was published by a young legend called Steward Brand in 1968. It was an easy-to-follow manual with basic instruction on how to improve what you already had without too much investment. On how to, maybe, get a better remote control. Back when TVs didn’t have infrared sensors and remote controls were reserved for the Jetsons, one of the most popular DIY projects involve finding ways to switch channels without having to walk up to the TV.

In the late 70s, something else also made the whole thing take off… VCRs. DIY instructors, like Bob Vila, seized the technology and started putting out their own home-improvements videos. It was a huge success, and network television quickly picked up on the trend.

The Rock

By the early 90s, every channel and network had a DIY show from home improvements to knitting each, and at least one that catered to the whole community. Demographics made many execs rethink their models… It turned out most DIY enthusiasts were women.

And most women loved to spend their time doing art projects. Projects like the one above, made from whatever they had lying around the house. Most DIY projects were hodgepodge things like that. Articles pasted together hap-hazardously with no apparent use or purpose.

Bling the Remote

In different cultures, the whole movement was partly viewed as a sub-culture. Not something to be taken seriously. So much so that by the late 70s, the DIY movement was intricately linked to the Punk Movement. Bands began recording, manufacturing, and merchandising their own albums.

They started to bling out their wardrobes with whatever they had on hand. The movement sort of stayed and was later stolen by Pop radicals of the 80s. Blinging out everyday items, like the remote above, was a major trend during those days.

The Earring

Experts in DIY like to point out a couple of things. It’s important to note that your project will most likely take two or even more times longer to complete than what you think or from what the “manual” told you.

Something as simple as an earring, done with the help of a 3D printer, might end up taking you an hour or more than what you thought, or the DIY guru you stole it off, might have sold you.

Wax

During any DIY project, it’s important not to rush. Research is critical, and you should really never try to cut corners. Only approach a project once you have everything in-sync and you have the mindset for it. Otherwise, you might get frustrated.

Research like the one that the user up above had to do in order to come up with the idea of making candles out of the wax wrapping of tiny little cheese snacks. That person not only had to think on their feet but figure out if the whole endeavor was doable.

Go On and Glitter those floors

Instagram, in 2019 alone, made over 20 billion dollars in ads attached to DIY influencers. Why? For most people that plan to do a DIY project, over 87% first do research online and particularly go to social media platforms for inspiration and tips.

Sometimes you just need a little disco glitter in your life. Just a tiny bit of that old 70s smack dab era of great songs and wild parties. This is a great example of how something small, a tiny project, can really put a smile on your face, and on your guest’s faces too.

The Skateboard

Plan ahead and, if possible, talk to someone that knows about what you’re doing. Another DIYer. Also, it’s key to understand that what works on the other side of the world won’t necessarily work for you. Supplies and tools may differ.

For example, that wooden skateboard from above had to be made from solid fig or pine. Two types of woods which are normally found only in certain regions and climates. That why, it’s important to understand that sometimes what worked for someone won’t necessarily work for you.

The Plant

It’s better to order online. Why? Most home improvement stores won’t have everything you might need in stock, so it’s better if you simply contact them and get all your orders and materials beforehand. It saves time, money, and, above all, head-aches.

Knowing what plant you want to disguise the fender bender you just had, is critical. Will the plant be able to survive the harsh environment and conditions of a highway? Will it prosper in that improvised flowerpot? Will it look ridiculous to everyone driving past you?

The Truck

Some projects WILL cost you more than simply buying a new thing in the first place. Always create a budget and, above all, add 15-20% more for incidentals. It’s important to understand that DIYers aren’t about getting it cheaper but about making it yourself.

Of making something that will astound and amaze. Something that will have people talking. Something like that frightening art project up above. No matter what you might think of it, it still one hell of a conversation piece, and once you see it, you simply can’t get it out of your mind.

Baby Teeth

It’s about making everyone stand up and take notice. DIY stopped being about simply fixing something and became more about expressing yourself. It’s every person’s casual way of making art. Of being artistic and feeling that thrill. The thrill of creativity.

That’s why, to some, that lights up above is disgusting and horrible and absolutely bizarre. But to other people, to its maker above all others, it’s a way of expressing some vision or impulse they had within themselves. Something only they felt.

Microwave

DIY right now is used to describe everything from an independent game developer to a self-publishing author. It no longer has to limit itself to home improvements and renovations. DIY even describes the creation of punk and indie music instruments.

Or about creating mailboxes out of an old microwave. We received that photo a couple of days back and what still has us stumped, aside from what lightning bolt of inspiration caused it to happen, is why on earth is that microwave plugged in?

Being Creeped out

What some people might claim is nightmare fodder, others might claim is nothing short of a dream come true. That’s art in a nutshell. It makes you think and have disagreements. And DIY became just that an artistic vein and avenue.

Plus, let’s be honest, like that up above, some DIY projects are simply great for that key scary season of the year. Some simply scream Halloween. The above is a clear example, and Pinterest is full of them. Of deeply unsettling inspirations.