know I’ve been banging on about it for months now but I started crocheting this year and it’s totally saved my brain. Blogging used to be my hobby and when I came home from a day of teaching, I’d jump on the computer and blog away but now writing and blogging is my job, I needed something to do to signal the end of my working day. I’ve had a few people ask me about finding great hobbies so I decided to pop together a little list specifically for people who aren’t naturally art and craft inclined. Here are 5 creative hobbies for art and craft rookies…
Collage
I recently went to Unleash Creative and one of the sessions was run by Pete Cromer. I admit I had no idea who he was before I went but it turns out he’s somewhat of a celeb in the collage world. The great thing about collage is that you don’t need to buy anything special – you can just use paper, scissors and glue which most people have lying around their houses. Check out these collage artists Laura Blythman, Anna Mulcany and Kelly Sullivan for a bit more inspo!
Colouring In
Colouring in has become MAH-HUSIVE in the last few months and I’ve seen lots of my online buddies posting beautiful pages from their colouring in books. I found this one at the airport but I didn’t have time to buy so I grabbed it on Booktopia when I got home. Even just spending 20 minutes colouring in half a page can make the world of difference to your wellbeing. BTW: I refuse to say ‘coloring’ because I’m from Australia and here we ‘colour in’.
Hand lettering
Hand lettering is not my bag, as much as I wanted it to be but when I did a class with Kate Pullen, I found it remarkably relaxing despite the fact that I was totally rubbish at it. Again, it’s a fantastic activity you can do at night in front of the TV and it’s also dead useful. You’ll never have to buy another greeting card again. I’ve got Sean Wes’ online course on my to do-list so check it out if you’re keen to get awesome at hand lettering.
Crocheting or knitting
I couldn’t not include this one. I spent most of my life trying to make knitting happen and it just never happened so I finally booked myself into a crocheting class at Yarn and Co and it was the actual best thing I’ve done this year. I learned to crochet a granny square and it totally set me up with basics and now I’m making all kinds of crazy things. There are lots of great crochet blogs I’ve been using to teach myself additional skills (All About Ami, Attic 24 and Crochet in Color are major favourites of mine) and I’ve bought a few books too. Crocheting is the actual bomb – I do it almost every day as my wind down and I carry a hook and ball of yarn with me almost everywhere I go.
Cross stitch
I taught a student many years ago who had anxiety problems and when she felt overwhelmed I’d give her some little cross stitch kits to complete. Sometimes if I had a spare moment, I’d sit down and do them with her and they were amongst the best afternoons I ever had as a teacher. I’d just grab a few cheap kits from my local $2 shop and they came with all the equipment and instructions. Cross-stitch is a really cheap (unlike crocheting…) hobby that’s a fairly low commitment too.
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Do you have a creative hobby? Or are you on the search for your spirit craft?
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