This Week, I Made ...
Week 009 | Until my credits ran out (Claude Code)
So I’m late to post. Sorry!
But it’s not because I didn’t make anything this week. It’s actually because I made too much, and I didn’t want to stop long enough to write about it.
That’s the joke. But it’s also very true.
This week, I unboxed the “bug”: Claude Code. And it’s not really a bug, right? What I mean is: once you feel what it can do, suddenly every idea you’ve been sitting on feels buildable.
And honestly, the only reason I’m writing this right now is that I ran out of credits and they don’t reset until tonight.
So I’m forced to pause. And I thought… ok. Now is the time to write this post.
The unlock
Claude Code shrinks the distance between an idea and a real build.
You describe what you want. It shows up in code. You see it in the browser. You refine the direction. Repeat.
That loop is addictive in the best way.
It’s also why I’ve been jumping between multiple projects. I keep running out of credits because I’m moving too fast — and it’s hard to stop once you’re in the flow.
Is it shiny object syndrome? Maybe. But it also feels like that moment where long-shelved ideas suddenly have a path to reality, and I want to ride that wave.
What I made (snippet #1): a new CREATINEERS website
One of the things I made this past week, my little snippet #1, is a new CREATINEERS website.
The old site was doing its job… but not the job I need for the future. I need it to clearly tell the story for the people who decide whether kids get access to programs like this.
Principals. After-school directors. School leaders.
So this felt like the perfect opportunity to build a new site from scratch with Claude Code.
And this is where my production brain kicked in, too.
I didn’t want to start with code first. I wanted to start with direction.
Why do I need to build this site? What does the new site need to do? What tech stack makes sense for the capabilities I want down the road?
So I wrote a single project brief as the source of truth — so the build had a clear audience, voice, structure, and constraints.
Once that was in place, the process became a loop: build a section, review it, adjust the direction, repeat.
And honestly, it became this really fast implementation-to-prototype, then design iteration loop that felt weirdly familiar.
It’s almost like sitting down with an engineer, except I’m the designer and I’m giving feedback live. We try it, we see what works. If it doesn’t work, we keep going.
It’s really satisfying.
And in one evening and one morning, I had a working first version I could click through, refine, and push forward.
It’s not finished yet. I’m still auditing copy and visual content. Honestly, I could post it now if I wanted to. But I’m choosing to do one more pass before I call it ready.
Either way, the foundation is there. And it’s solid.
The part I keep thinking about
It’s not that “AI built my website.”
I mean… really, I built my website. You can see it in the iterations, the back and forth, the decisions.
But the infrastructure that used to require weeks or months, a team, or an agency now feels like a conversation plus your design decisions, plus the engineering decisions, plus whatever your skillset is.
You can pull and push and shape it, and have Claude (or whatever assistant you’re using) complement you, fill gaps, and help you move faster.
And if you come from a production background, you already have the advantage in this era.
You know how to direct.
You know how to evaluate.
You know how to iterate toward a goal.
And yes… There are other builds in progress
I’m not sharing everything yet because I’m mid-build on a few things. That’s also why I’m so excited.
This week felt like opening a door and seeing a hallway of ideas I can finally bring to life.
So I’m going to keep making.
And tonight when the credits reset… I’m going to set a timer and I’ll be right back in it.
On the plus side, the forced pause is making me go outside, which is probably a good thing.
It reminds me of grad school: getting so deep in the flow that I didn’t want to move. I’d only get up when I hit that render button, because that was the one moment the computer couldn’t ask anything else of me.
It’s nice to be in that vibe again. In that energy of excitement.
Always making. Always curious.
This week, I Made … a lot of things!!