Inspiration to Action: How Tinkerly helps you get organized to build
Do you ever find yourself overflowing with brilliant DIY ideas? A magazine spread sparks a furniture revamp vision, a friend’s social media post ignites a home decor project, and suddenly you’re swimming in a sea of inspiration! But where do you begin? How do you capture these fleeting sparks and transform them into actionable projects?
Fear not, fellow DIY enthusiasts! Tinkerly, your soon-to-be ultimate DIY companion (coming soon!), is here to help you navigate the journey from inspiration to a finished masterpiece. Here’s how Tinkerly will empower you to organize your creative dreams and turn them into reality:
1. Unleash the Brainstorming Bravado
The first step is embracing the inspiration! Tinkerly provides a platform to capture those fleeting ideas before they disappear. Let your creativity run wild:
What does inspiration look like?
Inspiration comes in many forms, and Tinkerly aims to set you up so you can collect and organize whatever sparks your imagination. For each project, you can capture inspiration in the form of:
- Tinkerly Projects: Our community is extremely talented and we are certain that you will find some amazing ideas by perusing projects by your fellow DIYers. Expect to see projects of all types – small to big, simple to complex, quick and dirty to fine woodworking, rehabs to fresh builds.
- Tinkerly Plans: Not everyone needs a project plan to get a project done, but they sure can help you shape your vision and offer something to learn. Tinkerly will host free and paid plans for users to explore.
- Images: Gone are the days of taking a screenshot or digging through your camera’s photo album to find the picture that inspired your project. Tinkerly will allow users to search, snap, catalogue and tag pictures to their projects all within the app.
- Videos: We’ve taken video functionality a step further. Not only can you search relevant (appropriate) videos uploaded by users, but you can also import YouTube videos with a simple link. For you influencers out there, this is a great place to grow your audience and teach a thing or two about DIY. Whether a video is for inspiration, or a acting as a tutorial for your project, you’ll be able to add it to your project so it’s ready when you need it.
Organizing your Inspiration Chaos
Chicken or Egg?
Sometimes, inspiration motivates you to start a project; but other times, a project need is clear, you just need ideas on how to execute. Then there are times where you don’t have a project, or intention of doing a project, but want to bookmark an idea just in case. Regardless, Tinkerly is ready to help with the “Inspire” feature.
- Scenario 1: You are scrolling and you see a cool closet project that you hope to someday get to… save it to your “My Inspiration” tab for later. We’ll also get a better sense of what you like and send similar projects your way!
- Scenario 2: Your better half says we need a new built-in-office that works for two work-from-home parents. You have no idea where to start, but you know it’s now on the project list. So go ahead and hit that “plus” button and create that project. Then you can start to gather your inspiration, tools, supplies, etc.
- Scenario 3: You see this nifty bedroom closet design that you had no intention of building for your daughter at first, but it inspires you to make it a top priority. Simply click the inspiration bulb, and create a new project based on that project or image.
2. Plan for Success
Once you’ve captured and organized all your initial inspiration, the next step is to prepare. What tools and supplies will you need? Should you use a preconfigured plan, or wing it? This is where the Project Details page is your friend. Here’s a rundown of what you can do as you plan to conquer your DIY project:
Add more inspiration
Yes, you can count on finding new ideas to incorporate in your project. This is where it will go!
Gather Tools & Supplies
Envision your project, and think about what tools and supplies you will need to get it done. Search the Tinkerly Database or Your Virtual Workshop (more on that later!), and designate your needs for this particular project… If you’re building a workbench, you probably don’t need to gas up the lawn mower! Not only will you be getting yourself situated for your project, but you will be helping others new to DIY figure out what it will take to take on a similar project. If you are working off of a Tinkerly Project plan, you will also be able to import the tools and supplies right from that plan.
New projects are a great excuse to buy new tools. If you “need” something you don’t have, you can add it to your shopping list for later, or we can point you in the right direction right away.*
Create/Link a Project Plan (100% optional!)
We’ve tried to make project plans fun and engaging on Tinkerly. With the option to create your own plan or use a plan that someone else created, you can link it directly to your project to track progress, ask questions, get feedback, and more. When it’s all done and polished, you can even list it on the Tinkerly store to make some dough!
3. Build with Confidence
You are now ready for battle! Take all that inspiration, planning, and input from the community to tackle your project with confidence. While you are dominating that project, check out some of the features that will help you document your journey so us watching on the sideline can revel in the process too:
Decorate that Gallery
The gallery is where you’ll want to document those images and videos of your project. Users can view, comment, like, and share your gallery entries. Additionally, your content will likely inspire others for their own projects. Perhaps our favorite feature is a dedicated before and after section, so you can showcase your transformation. Tip: You can include more than one before/after!
Log Key Milestones with Timeline
By popular demand, we have implemented a Timeline feature. Here you will be able to track and log key milestones throughout the project to give a holistic view of your journey. We suggest logging project start dates, key hurdles you overcame, changes in project status from inspiration through completion, etc. Have fun with it!
So, what will your next project be?
The next time you’re struck by DIY inspiration, don’t let it fade away!
- Sign up for the Tinkerly newsletter so we can keep you up to date and let you know when the app is ready to download.
- Can’t wait? Apply to join our Beta Program