Amber Kemp-Gerstel: Colorful DIY and 200K+ Instagram Followers
Amber Kemp-Gerstel has built Damask Love around colorful DIY and more than 200,000 Instagram followers as of October 2026. Her journey connects a former career in child psychology with craft tutorials, brand partnerships, product design, and television.
Behind that audience is a recognizable approach: bright projects that make creativity feel welcoming. Her work invites readers to try an idea themselves, whether they want a small decoration or a gift with a little theatrical flair.
Connect with Amber Kemp-Gerstel
Website: Damask Love
About Amber: About — Damask Love
Instagram: @damasklove
A Creative Interest Became a Career Change
Crafting was part of Amber’s life long before it became her work. In her biography, she recalls negotiating for an allowance paid in stickers and stationery, then trading stickers and exchanging handmade craft boxes with friends.
Her professional path initially went elsewhere. She worked as a child psychologist with children, teenagers, and families facing emotional and behavioral challenges.
In December 2015, she put that career on hold to explore crafting professionally. Her biography describes the resulting move into full-time crafting, blogging, and television.
That turning point matters because the creative interest already existed. The business developed from something she had returned to across different stages of her life.
Colorful Projects With an Approachable Starting Point
Damask Love’s appeal is easy to see in her watermelon-inspired summer letters. The tutorial builds sturdy lettering by layering matching cardstock shapes, then adds painted details.
The finished banner is playful, but the instructions explain the material choices behind it. Readers can see how ordinary supplies become something expressive without needing an elaborate studio.
For another way to experiment with paper, our beginner quilling guide introduces the tools and shapes used to create decorative designs.
Original tutorial.
A Bigger Idea for Handmade Gifts
Amber’s giant heart box takes a familiar Valentine’s gift and changes its scale. Her project uses foam board, a craft knife, glue, and a large cardboard or chipboard piece to create oversized packaging.
She suggests filling it with art supplies, gift cards, or other presents rather than limiting it to chocolates.
The project shows how an everyday object can become a memorable visual idea. The recognizable heart remains, while its size and presentation create the surprise.
If handmade details are what draw you in, these paper flower ideas offer another direction for personalized decorations and gifts.
Original tutorial.
How the Creative Business Expanded
Amber’s business includes several kinds of creative work. Her partnership page describes brand campaigns, ambassador roles, speaking engagements, and television appearances.
It names past campaign partners including Toyota, Clorox, and Crate and Barrel. These examples show how her ability to develop a visual concept can serve a commercial brief as well as a reader’s weekend project.
Products created another route. Riley Blake Designs lists her fabric collections, including Hand in Hand, Rainbowfruit, and Hand Made.
In a 2020 Proof to Product interview, Amber also discussed YayDay Paper Co., a digital subscription business offering printable creative products. The model gave customers designs they could print at home, extending her creative work beyond individual blog tutorials.
From the Blog to the Screen
In 2018, Amber became a finalist on NBC’s Making It. She later hosted Disney Family Sundays, bringing her craft teaching to another format and audience.
Her website, products, partnerships, and screen work demonstrate several ways one creative identity can travel. A reader may discover a tutorial, recognize a fabric design, or meet her through a program.
For aspiring creators, the useful takeaway is practical: a clear style and an understandable project can support more than one kind of offering. Amber’s story makes room for both the pleasure of making and the work of building a business around it.
Meet More Creators, Discover New Possibilities
Explore Lia Griffith’s paper-flower business, Sarah Zimmerman’s crochet journey, and Isabella Strambio’s macrame career for three more examples of creators developing tutorials, products, and teaching around their craft.
0 Comments