We're going to make something

Hi. I think you should try to make a tangible thing that doesn't involve your phone or computer. A project can fill your hands while you watch TV (ask anyone's knitting grandmother), talk on the phone, listen to podcasts, wait for dinner or laundry, attend Zoom meetings, etc. etc. When I'm writing this, it's also about to be the HOLIDAY CORRIDOR of U.S. Thanksgiving followed by all the wonderful winter holidays and then the New Year. I'm going to just slug through a lot of ideas here and then add tips and examples where I can.

Recently, I've felt inspired by my pal Nora Reed, who is learning to draw using a tablet and sharing really nice thoughts about that process. Their comments have helped me realize that many people have baggage around anything creative because of how they were raised or taught. We're not making something with a goal that you will sell it or submit it to judging by anyone. I want you to end up with something handmade, hand sewn, hand crafted, visibly drawn with regular pens or markers, using plain paper, the back of a handout, recycled newspaper, whatever you have. There is tape or glue. It is knit or crocheted very simply using inexpensive yarn. Maybe you use up some beads or other supplies you already have around from a lifetime of hobbies or gifts. Maybe you go to Michaels etc. and spend $10 on a couple of special supplies if you want.

Nothing is ever perfect, you will not be perfect, I am not perfect, and I don't want anyone's projects to sit amongst and imitate factory made goods. Manufactured things are so important, the world revolves on the hard work of many many people in factories, but that's just not what I'm trying to do here. If my examples look aspirational, please remember I've been drawing like this all my life, it's fast, and it's a lot of fun for me. I want you to have fun, feel relaxed, and not demand perfection from yourself either.

A Philosophy of Finding Materials

You'll see some special materials in my photos. I'm privileged to be able to buy supplies when I need them, like colorful paper, metallic pens and markers, and stickers. But I'm always looking out for materials that would be fun to use. The translucent vellum paper in these pictures, I found in an abandoned section of a large office building where I worked about 10 years ago. I have a treasured four-color colored pencil that I bought when I was about 13. It was a treat at the time, and it still is.

Here are some inexpensive things I like that you may have access to:

• Old magazines or coffee table books
• Out of date planners or calendars
• Colorful junk mail or envelope linings
• Old newspapers and coupon flyers
• Craft supplies from garage sales, thrift stores, people giving stuff away, family members with too much
• Closeout section at Michaels etc.
• The paper recycling bin at someone's workplace

If you just mentally commit to finding this kind of stuff, you'll start to notice more opportunities to find it. Many years ago, a department at my job gave away hundreds of archived magazines, and I took home an armload of beautiful cooking and home decor magazines. A children's museum near where I grew up sold interesting scraps and bits of things by the pound. I got a stack of probably 300 sheets of scrapbooking paper at a thrift store. People always have reasons to give away, or sell for cheap, fairly large caches of stuff they're not interested in. Remember that taking someone's annoying problem off their hands is doing a good thing for them too.

Paper "Textiles"

For the last week or so, I've been making paper textiles. I don't know what else to call them. This is just printer-sized paper that I'm decorating with some kind of repeating pattern. You can use whatever paper you want, though if you have construction paper, that can be brittle when you're trying to fold it into things.

What are these for?

• Decorating
• Collaging
• Wrapping small gifts
• Making envelopes
• Turning into chain garland
• Making flat or 3D ornaments
• Folding into origami or kirigami
• Making paper boxes
• Covers for booklets or zines

What can I draw or decorate with?

• Any pen or pencil
• Any marker, highlighter, felt tip pen
• Any metallic gel pen, Sharpie, or paint pen
• Stencils, or stuff you can use as stencils (cookie cutters, container lids, etc.)
• Sponge, potato, crinkled plastic bag, paintbrush, old toothbrush
• Stickers, including weird stuff like "I Voted" or free address labels
• Any type of paint or ink
• Food coloring in a spray bottle
• Thread, very thin ribbon
• Decorative tape
• Stripes of newspaper
• Flat sequins
• Glitter? (This will always make a mess, don't do it)
• Nail polish

What should I draw or make on the paper?

I'll suggest a bunch of design ideas and show you examples below, and you can freestyle your own based on what you like. But remember your design can be really, really simple. If you take five minutes to draw some simple stripes and a few hearts on a sheet of paper, then you use that to wrap a gift, that has now become a more special gift.

• Stripes of many kinds
• Small circles of many kinds
• Hatching (tiny lines close together)
• Little stars, hearts, flower-ish shapes
• Overlapping large shapes

Some patterns to give you ideas

Here are some very basic best practices

• Large areas of lighter colors, like backgrounds, should go on the paper first
• Use light markers first then darker colors second, so there isn't bleeding
• Remember stickers, nail polish, some paints, etc. are "shiny" surfaces that will act weird if you color over them
• If you use something watery, let it fully dry before you draw over it -- can use a hair dryer on low to help
• Save metallic pens or markers for the last step so the shine is on top
• If paper ends up warped even after it's all the way dry, press it in a book or use a really low iron and a towel
• It's much faster to use thicker markers or paintbrushes, you don't need to fiddle with tiny details unless you want to

Some full examples from me

I want you to look at these and think, "That looks fun to try, I would want to use different colors, my neon highlighters might be cool to use," etc. and then just sit down with some paper and put on a podcast or call a friend and just make some shapes and lines. If you end up making something, please let me know! You can reach me many places listed below. Feel free to ask me questions if you have any.

This page is under construction. Last updated November 6, 2025.

I'm aetataureate, or aeta. I'm an artist and writer.

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