With most people’s social lives a bit less active than they would normally be, many people are taking the chance during the pandemic to find new hobbies and interests they can work on at home. Making crafts of different sorts can be a good option if you’re looking for a hobby because it can give you something engaging and rewarding to put your time into, that may also help you save money by allowing you to make things you will use.
Of course, there are countless hobbies involving crafting, and so it can be hard to pick one to get started with. Here is a list of a few ideas that might help inspire you to take up something new:
Woodwork
Woodwork can involve large or small pieces and can be a really interesting thing to learn and master over time. Imagine being able to make your own furniture, or do something small and intricate as a project, like making a wooden chess set? If you want to get started in working with wood, then one of the most important things to learn about at first is all of the different tools you will be working with to create the kind of pieces you want to make. Naturally, you can find out everything you’ll need to know online, and it can be fun to do your research while you’re first getting into a new hobby. Check out this article about elements of an electric hand planer, for example.
Knitting or Crochet
Knitting and related things like crochet are becoming really popular again, as people have started to value having unique items they made themselves to wear or have around the home. This means if you haven’t tried turning your hand to knitting since your grandma taught you as a kid, you may be surprised to find there are lots of great patterns and resources available to help you make some really cool things with wool or yarn! You can choose a type of knitting to specialize in, whether it’s clothing, toys, or things for the home, or you can just take up whichever projects catch your eye!
Paper Crafts
Paper crafts can include all sorts of things, including actually making your own paper through to things like decoupage and origami. You can find lots of inspiration online. You can use techniques from paper crafting to make decorative things for your home or to make things like greetings cards for the holidays. Another thing you can consider is learning a form of calligraphy if you are interested in making nice cards or other decorations using paper.
Upcycling Clothes
If you like the idea of unique clothing but don’t really want to learn to knit or invest in a sewing machine, then you may find upcycling to be a fun alternative. Upcycling means taking old things you own or things you can find cheaply in places like thrift shops and using crafting techniques to turn them into something a bit more special and fashionable. This can involve using dyes, embellishments, fabric pens, or sometimes even just cutting or otherwise distressing the clothes to get a new look.
Making Your Own Cosmetics
A great way to save money and also have an interesting thing to make is to learn some recipes for homemade cosmetics. There are all kinds of things you can make to use yourself including facial scrubs and hair treatments, many of which use easy to find natural ingredients you might even already have at home, like honey and coconut oil. If you want to learn to make something you can not only use but also give as gifts or even sell, then you might want to consider making your own bath bombs, too.
Jewelry Making and Bead Crafts
Jewelry making allows you to get really creative, as well as working with different materials and tools depending on what you are interested in. You can learn metalwork or to work with leather, or you can do things with beads and threads if you don’t really want to invest in specialist tools – there are all kinds of approaches you can take to making beautiful jewelry in your own style.
These are just a few ideas for things you could learn how to do and take up as a new hobby. Most of them are also things that will result in some nice stuff you can use or give as gifts, and there is also always the option to try selling your own crafts online if you find you really enjoy making things! A lot of people are using the extra time at home during the current period to learn new skills or do more of things they used to be interested in, and so it’s a great time to be thinking about crafting!
