Welcome to

   Elkins D.I.Y.

Above is an example of something I do on the side, which is Plein air painting. You will find images of my work and my Extreme Doodles in the Arts tab above. These original drawings are for sale.

Contact me if you find one that interests you.

I've been obsessed with drawing different ideas since childhood. As a young adult, I started building some of these ideas, starting with a recumbent bicycle, then shelters and other odd mobile contraptions after discovered Burningman back in 2000.  After thinking people might enjoy seeing some of my creations, I started a blogspot in 2005, then graduated to this website and later creating my YouTube channel (link above). 

Many of my ideas are pictured below. I call them proof of concept prototypes or one-off's. Most are minimalist ideas in shelter, transportation and boat design, with a sprinkle of other ideas that interest me. 

The 'Projects' tab above will guide you to more pictures and story line of the items shown below.  Most catagories have more than one page. 

The intent of this website is not to just showcase my creations, but hopefully inspire you to make something with your own hands. If making something is new to you, I encourage you to try. Don't be afraid to fail. That's how we learn. Remember, YouTube is a great source for ideas and instruction.  

There are no advertisements here, so you can browse the content without pesky distractions.  

With that said, you can help support my website by sharing any picture on social media, or you can purchase my 81 page 'Human Powered Transportation' eBook, which includes loads of early pencil drawings with humorous and insightful woulda, coulda, shoulda commentary.

Sharing simpler living and alternative lifestyle ideas just might save us, and hopefully bring us together. I love hearing what other people are up to and have to say. If you need advise on an idea or want to chat, feel free to contact me, No charge  🙂

Thanks for stopping by,

Paul Elkins