4 DIYs Worth a Try: Crafting Olympic Pride

I'm far from alone in my passionate nationalism during these London 2012 Summer Games: more than 40 million people tuned in to the opening ceremonies (and NBC's prime time coverage has averaged more than 19 million viewers each night). And the DIY crowd is determined to rival the tenacity of the Olympians themselves, feverishly crafting new Olympics-inspired crafts to show their national pride and capture the hearts of the Pinterest masses.

The Games themselves even sport hundreds of custom-built structures, as showcased in this Facebook album by CustomMade.com, including the Olympic torches (above), designed by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby of Britain.

The first Olympics DIY that caught my eye was this craft from Marisa at NewDressADay.com — a gorgeously simple embroidery thread-covered key ring necklace that definitely seems like it would stand the test of time for a return Olympics or many, like Michael Phelps. (Get Marisa's entire step-by-step tutorial here.)

I've also been glued to the set watching the US Olympic swimmers kick ass & take names in the Aquatics Centre, marveling at the trendy nail art women's swim team medalists Missy Franklin & Allison Schmitt are sporting, in particular. (Britain's Rebecca Adlington had a pretty sick metallic Union Jack mani going on, too.) If you've spent any time on Pinterest this year, you know that DIY nail art is a huge trend, and an easy way to show your national pride while watching the Olympics coverage at home or at an Olympics party with friends. Stylelist has a fab DIY Olympics nail art video (above), and StyleBistro has 9 more DIY nail art videos, if you're really into it.

Last but not least, families can get in on the fun with these two Olympic DIY crafts perfect for inspiring the kiddos:

Pool noodles covered in upcycled fabric! Genius. And large enough to command the center of attention hung in front of the house for the whole neighborhood to see or propped up in the backyard for an Olympics viewing party. And, to complete that Olympics party for kids:

Medals and torches! I get hit with Olympic fever pretty hard every two years, nostalgically reminiscing the one time that I had a gold medal hanging around my neck in a foreign country. At 14, I watched with my skating teammates as tears were welling our eyes and pride filling our hearts, the American flag slowly raising high above the ice in a Finnish arena and the national anthem booming and echoing off the stadium seating, fulfilling our dreams and rewarding all the sacrifices we'd made (and our families had made on our behalf) since first lacing up our skates at the ages of 3 or 4. I can't think of anything more inspiring for young children than to play act these Olympic ceremonies, visualizing what it might be like to someday stand on the medal podium. Plus, there are cookies hiding in the medals when play time is over!

What are your favorite parts of the Summer Games? Or your favorite Olympic-inspired crafts and DIY projects? We want to hear from you!

Story: Copyright 2012, Shoestring LLC & Melissa Massello.
Photo: Copyright 2012, Michael Regan & Getty Images.