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I have ALWAYS wanted to do The Strategist, "What XX Can't Live Without" Series, in New York Magazine, but I have never been asked. So, I am taking my wanting and turning it into doing.
Today's theme is DIY!
I am an absolute sucker for all sorts of craft projects. My small Brooklyn apartment doubles as a makers factory.
NAPKINS
What grown adult doesn't own proper napkins?
ME!
So, I decided to make them. Here's how I did it.
I had raw cream colored linen that I had bought at a stoop sale with the intention of using them one day.
The day had come.
I bought dye at Blick.
I dyed the linen in two batches, using Retayne to set the dye.
The first batch was blue, and the second batch was a customized dusty pink (must mix it with this to get the dusty pink color)
Once dried and rinsed off in cold water, I put them in the washer (on cold) and dryer and then ironed them. I then folded down all the edges and sewed.
After that, it was on to stamping and stenciling. Et, voila! (You can buy all these supplies at Hobby Lobby, JoAnn, Michael's or Etsy)
Some people won't like the look of the discolored bits showing through, but I think it gives them even more character.
I don't love the pink one as much. Plus, I forgot to sew the edges on this one.
I get bit by these specific phases that last about a month and then leave. A couple years ago I HAD to paint. I'm not a painter, but I was seized by some other worldly need.
I used to take a ton of photos on the street when I was a teenager and into my twenties, so I decided to choose one and paint it.
This is my friend Sade holding it up.
My best friend Nelly was turning 50 and I wanted to make her something that showed her how much I loved her. I had taken a photo of her and her son when he was a baby, and I used to paint this.
When I am upstate, I either watch birds or paint them. When I am downstate, I either play with my dog or paint her.
And you, are you a DIY obsessive?
What do you make?
Until next week, I remain...
Amanda
Paid subscribers read essays examining the psychological forces that determine behavior; why we repeat patterns we claim to reject, how we mistake performance for authenticity, why we pursue desires we've inherited rather than chosen.
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Quick note: Nope, I’m not a therapist—just someone who spent 25 years with undiagnosed panic disorder and 23 years in therapy. How to Live distills what I’ve learned through lived experience, therapy, and obsessive research—so you can skip the unnecessary suffering and better understand yourself.
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