Clothespin airplanes – just one of many repurposed craft ideas from Diana Wulf.
Dinah Wulf is the celebrated blogger behind two very resourceful blogs about crafting and design. One of the things that makes her projects stand out is the extensive use of repurposed and recycled items.
Her consistent serving up of delightful crafts, design tips, and resourcefulness has earned her a lot of recognition. She was named one of Mashable’s Top 10 Mom Blogs Full Of Inspiring Advice; she is a member of Martha’s Circle, a collection of bloggers recommended by Martha Stewart’s editorial team; and she has earned over a dozen other honors.
Dinah brings professional communication skills and experience to her blogging. Having fully embraced her life’s new course as a mother and stay-at-home mom, she started blogging to challenge and document her crafting adventures. Just a couple years later, she has certainly become a blogger to watch.
We got the chance to ask Dinah some questions about her creations and her full-time mom-blogging life.
You have received much recognition for your blogs. How do you balance being a full-time mother, blogging, and completing projects?
Dinah Wulf blogs with a passion about reusing everyday things for amazing crafts.
I’ll admit it’s difficult! I do treat blogging as my full-time job, however. It’s amazing what I can accomplish while my daughter is in school two days a week. I also have a very supportive husband who helps me if I need extra time on the weekends. When my daughter is not in school, I include her into my projects or have her with me while I’m making something. I’m lucky enough to have a craft room, and my daughter has her own organized section of supplies, so while I’m creating she’s creating too!
How has your prior professional and academic experience, including teaching college classes, helped you in your writing about design, crafting, and home life?
It has helped tremendously. I honestly think having a graduate degree and all that comes with it were certainly factors in writing interesting posts and articles for others. Both being a student and teaching students have helped me to be everything I need to be a good blogger, including organization skills, discipline, patience, and communication with fellow bloggers and brands. As far as creativity, design, and crafting goes, perhaps I have a little of each in my blood but I can attest that I have grown over time in those aspects the more that I blog.
Besides inspiring your Inheriting Our Planet blog, how has your daughter helped you with your projects?
She challenges me in so many ways. For example, if I am feeling uninspired I just ask her, “What should we make today?” Whatever she answers, I think of a way to make it. One day she said, “an airplane,” so we made a clothespin airplane. Another day she was admiring my jewelry, and I decided that I should display more of it, so I ended up making a repurposed cabinet door jewelry organizer.
Repurposed toy storage by Dinah.
What are some of your favorite repurposing projects that you have done?
Some of my most favorites were literal trash to treasure posts. I found a plant hanger on the side of our house by the garbage can when we moved in. I cleaned it up and turned it into stuffed animal toy storage for my daughter’s room. I also really love a reading nook I made for my daughter’s room where I used picture frame ledges. I also made a “read books” sign out of a frame I found in my friends neighbor’s trash.
In your opinion, what are the most important factors in teaching our children responsibility for our world?
I’ve been a mom for less than four years – not very long. I think the most important factor in teaching our children responsibility is to lead by example. Whether it’s as simple as bringing our recycle bags to the store or as important as treating others with kindness and respect, they are watching and learning both good and bad by model behavior. I call my daughter “mini me” for a reason!
A video roundup of some of Dinah’s creations. You can find more of her videos on her YouTube channel.
Check out Dinah’s main blog, DIYInspired.com, and her child-centered, planet-friendly blog InheritingOurPlanet.com. You can also follow her on Pinterest.