Adding Digital Tools to Your DIY Tool Belt
D.I.Y – Digitally.Integrate.Yourself a #topicof2020. Detroit Deco is adding digital DIY tools to its tool belt! With the opening of Detroit Deco’s Digital Shop and a free Digital Slides Notebook to start the school year off with!
Dealing with the virus, quarantine, and distance learning, It seems that everyone has been forced to step outside of their digital comfort zone and become more web-savvy. I know my crash course on Google Drive and Classroom has opened up a whole new world for me!
The Opening of Detroit Deco’s Digital Shop
Whether you are a fan of technology or not. Digital DIY tools are taking over and we will be forced to use them. As we have seen.
This started out as a downside for me, as a DIY-er hands-on type of person, but actually digital can add some very useful and interesting tools, to your DIY tool belt!
That’s why I figured now would be a great time to bring in the digital DIY tools to start Detroit Deco’s Digital Shop off with classroom resources for teachers and supplies for students!
In celebration of Back to School and the Digital Shop Opening, I made you a digital DIY tool of your own, a free digital notebook!
DIY Tools – Digital Notebooks
If you are not familiar with digital notebooks, don’t worry!
Digital notebooks are basically a collection of .pdf’s or files organized and formatted to look like and act like an actual binder or subject divided notebook. You could even consider the images, videos, files, etc. As items in the pockets of the binder, behind the tab of your choice, just as it would in a real binder.
What’s so Special About Digital Notebooks?
As you would probably guess, the benefits of digital DIY tools and digital notebooks are convenience, better for the environment, and cheaper than buying ink and paper. Which are all great!
…but the underlying excitement of all of that!…. Is that pages can be as pretty and colorful as you would like! AND you can actually save pages, articles, recipes, patterns, projects, videos, images, and links; that you (most likely) wouldn’t have been able to keep. If it had to be printed out or copied on a disk.
For instance when you are surfing the web (detroitdeco.com) and you find the perfect digital DIY Free Family Halloween Costume Planner. Decorated with pretty with orange pumpkins. A perfectly 😉 detailed list of things you would have forgotten!…. Well, now you can save it! You don’t have to miss out on the pretty graphics and you don’t have to feel guilty about wasting paper nor ink. Just save it in your digital notebook, under the tab of your choice. Then when October rolls around, you’re ready to go with your pretty checklist in hand! On your phone, ready to shop!
You can really make some useful pages which are always available to you. Very handy digital tool for planning DIY project instructions, cut lists, supplies, measurements, and even mood boards.
Here is Your Free Digital DIY Notebook Tool
The digital notebook is sized specifically for PowerPoint/Google Slides, for all the distant learners. Organized in appreciation of all our wonderful teachers, as a weekly agenda or lesson plan. You can grab your free digital slides notebook below.
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Digital Tools in DIY
Okay, so let’s explore the digital DIY tools! First off I want to start by saying…There are many digital products out there! The list could go on and on. I want to get to some exciting finds, so I’m going to make it quick!
To start, Cricut and Etsy, both are at the top of the list for digital DIY tools. Cricut and other circuit cutter machines are number one, in digital DIY tools for utilizing all the .png, .svg, .dxf, and .bmp files. Second, is Etsy for selling all of your digital prints, patterns, planners, printables, scrapbook pages, and more. Not to leave out CreativeMarket and other digital product market places. Sites like Etsy, are not only the place where you can purchase the right digital tool but also a place where you can find other ways of using your digital files.
Digital DIY Tools Allow Circuit Cutter Machines to Really Make a Difference
HGTV has put together an extensive list of ways companies are giving back and stepping up to help out during the pandemic. Almost all of them include digital DIY tools. You can check that list out here.
Circuit Cutter Machines
Circuit cutter machines really should be in a whole, digital DIY tools category of their own! You can make a version of almost all of the most common DIY projects, with a circuit cutter machine. It may be your own unique version, but the versatility that a digital file adds to the machine. Allows you to cut any shape you want. Opening up a way to make just about anything.
Below you can see Cricut circuit cutter machines have been hard at work. DIY-ers have been working to #stopthespread. A big brand for DIY projects. They have made almost 2 million masks with circuit cutters. At just this one project.
A challenge to make 2 million masks cut with circuit cutter machines. The project website you can find here, as of August 18, 2020, they were at 1,881,892 masks. If a Cricut machine is one of your digital DIY tools. Then, check out their project page and help them reach their goal!
You may join the project and get started by filling out their form and telling them how many masks you made that were cut by circuit cutter machines, to go towards the 2 million masks goal. Don’t have a Circuit cutter machine? You can still join if they are cut by hand. They two different forms listed and how to donate. They also encourage you to share your mask creations on their social media and have provided their digital DIY tool…face mask patterns!
Downloadable Craft Patterns
Or like this one that is both! From Collective Gen. “How-To Macrame Dreamer.” Which was featured at thesprucecrafts.com In their round-up of “20 Free Macrame Patterns for Making Wall Hangings, Plant Hangings, and Jewelry.” You can visit that post here to get those patterns.
Patterns! Other Digital DIY tools we source and download. No not circle, square, circle, square…, but patterns to follow for sewing, knitting, crocheting, and embroidery. The recently popular macrame and dreamcatcher patterns.
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Downloadable Wall Hangings
Other very popular digital DIY tools are downloadable wall hangings. A.K.A digital prints, art prints, graphic designs, and drawings. Etsy is a popular place for digital prints. They can be purchased, downloaded, printed, and DIY-ed into your favorite frame. You can purchase a design or logo to DIY a gift or make merch for your channel. By printing on a transfer made to be ironed on a t-shirt or pressed on a mug. You can also print out photos for mod-podge projects. Design albums to be printed professionally or keep it hybrid and pick up digital scrapbooking!
….. As you can see the list of digital DIY tools can go on and on. So out of my lack of patience and just so much to share, let’s move on.
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Digitally.Integrate with.Your Favorite Brands
Teachers and Homeschooling Parents, I have rounded up some big brands that have integrated digital tools in unique and useful ways recently. I’ll show you where to find them!
West Elm Zoom Backgrounds
Check out Better Homes & Gardens feature on West Elm and their FREE downloadable virtual Zoom backgrounds. With beautiful West Elm designed interior or exterior as a backdrop behind you.
You can even sit poolside and attend a meeting in the West Elm Designed Backyard.
Minecraft for Education
Of course, as we know Minecraft is already a digital company. Though, they are making extra efforts and reaching out to help bridge the gap between our I and Z generation and teachers. Students’ familiarity in the digital world of Minecraft can be a helpful tool in making sure kids really “get” the material in class.
Teachers have had to deal with an unexpected emersion into the digital world. The effort from Minecraft to provide a familiar platform for students to learn is an awesome way of using digital DIY tools in the classroom! A huge help for educators to be as effective with their lessons online, as they are in the classroom.
If you are a teacher you have to check out Minecraft Education Edition! They have lessons, museum tours, you can even create challenges for your class and much more.
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Downloadable Coloring Pages
Downloadable coloring pages are a great tool to remember. For your kids, your class, an office, or waiting room. They are great digital DIY tools for teens and adults to relax and destress. You can find all sorts of free downloadable coloring pages on the web. To print out or download to open in a Paint or a Markup program and color digitally. Even more fun on your tablet or phone when you’re bored.
Below are two coloring page collections that I thought were interesting. The first, Color Our Collections are historical and scholarly coloring pages. They could be helpful for teachers and professors. The second it fun for tweens!
Galleries and Museums from all over the world have come together to create a gigantic FREE collection of downloadable coloring pages for students and adults. There are 117 participating museums, galleries, libraries, and universities contributing to #ColorOurCollection. The article from Better Homes and Gardens gives you more information about the program.
#ColorOurCollection invites you to share their image on Pinterest and Facebook. You may also click on the image to visit the Color Our Collections site, at the New York Academy of Medicine.
You have to check out this impressive collection!!
Tweens! Get in on the fun! I just couldn’t resist! The fun, funky, not to hard, good for fine tip markers, pet collection at Better Homes and Gardens! You can download them here. They have pretty cute pages!
Digital Time for Kids Magazine Library Subscription
Time for Kids is open for free subscriptions to their digital library of magazines. Helping to keep kids reading and exploring during the 2020-2021 school year. While they may not always have access to the library. You can sign up and log in to your digital library here at the Time for Kids website.
Digtal DIY Tools For A Virtual Field Trip
Another finding from Better Homes & Gardens is live videos of the animals at the zoo. Digital DIY tools you can use to make your kids a virtual field trip to the zoo! Visit six different zoos online for FREE! You can check that out here. You can also find many virtual field trips on YouTube and school designed trips with lesson plans on Pinterest!
Virtual Pre-School
Yes! You heard it! Virtual pre-school! Even the youngest group wants in on the digital DIY tools! Companies are tailoring digital tools to create interactive experiences for digital users as young as two! Getting as close to the real thing, as they can.
An article in Forbes Magazine led me to the discovery of BumoBrain. A newly launched virtual pre-school for those parents who work from home and need their 2-6-year-old to be digitally engaged. Just as they would be if they were at regular pre-school. Complete with a real live teacher, 1 on 5 class interaction, 1 on 1 online encouragement, and guidance for hands-on activities when they get off the web. Check it out! Pretty Interesting!
Digitally.Integrate.Yourself with Digital DIY Tools
I hope you have enjoyed a look at some of the tools you can add to your digital DIY toolbelt. Most of all I hope you grabbed your free digital slides notebook!
If you haven’t grabbed your free Hand Sanitizer Welcome Sign Sayings for #thenewnorm! You can find those here and in Detroit Deco’s Digital Shop.
Don’t Forget to check out Detroit Deco’s Digital Shop for Back to School Supplies! You’ll find downloadable templates, thinking maps, classroom posters, note-taking pages, whiteboard and jam board pdf’s, themed slides for digital classroom decor, agenda’s, checklist, and other fun accessories for your digital notebooks!
Subscribe for a monthly update to your inbox! Look forward to a growing collection of digital freebies and products to come! I will be adding graphic designs, DIY niche stock photography bundles, files for digital DIY tools for project how-to’s, and sayings for signs and decor to the shop! So Don’t Miss out! Subscribe Below.
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