Getting creative is an important part of my self-care routine. Switching off from social media (and the internet in general), and making something helps me feel accomplished and mindful. Today I'm sharing 5 Creative DIYs & Crafts To Do At Home!
A lot of people have spent the past few months in lockdown, quarantine, or on furlough. With the 'extra time' you may have at the moment, why not cultivate your skills in a new hobby? Finish those DIY projects you've been putting off, go through your wardrobe, or simply spend some time writing to yourself.
I wrote a blog post a while ago featuring 5 things to do while stuck in self-quarantine, and now I'm back with another 5 activities to do at home. This time, I'm focusing on creativity: arts, crafts and DIYs. These are all things I've been doing recently, now that I've finished my Master's degree but can't go back to work yet.
Keep reading for 5 Creative DIYs & Crafts To Do At Home.
1. Upcycle Your Furniture
Get the paint out!
Have a browse on Pinterest, it's full of brilliant upcycling ideas for your furniture. I've seen some great uses for wallpaper over on there.
My white bedroom furniture features some adorable roses and bows, so I jazzed them up a bit! Spending some time painting while listening to chill music was a great distraction, and a nice way to pass the evening. I used nail polish and glitter, so I didn't have to buy any paints.
2. Refashion Your Clothes
I'm certainly not a pro seamstress, but I'm learning.
First I prioritised fixing clothes with holes, tears or missing buttons. Then I made a pile of jeans and trousers that need hemming with the sewing machine (I'm short!). After that, I decided to get creative!
I've sorted out the majority of my wardrobe. I'll be selling some clothes, donating a lot when I'm able to, and refashioning some clothes too.
Again, Pinterest is a great platform to check for ideas, as well as YouTube. Side-note: I recently started uploading YouTube videos again!
One refashioning project I decided to work on recently involved a pink metallic skirt. It didn't fit me any more, and was a bit worn so I wasn't happy to sell or donate it. I decided to cut out some heart and star shapes, and sew them on some plain tops. Cute, huh?
If you want to live more ethically, refashioning is a great way to find a new purpose for the clothes you don't enjoy any more.
3. Drawing, Colouring & Painting
Colouring is my go-to when I'm feeling a bit lost and uninspired. I love to draw, but sometimes the inspiration doesn't come to me and I end up staring at a blank page or screen. I have two colouring books for such occasions!
You can also find a lot of brilliant free printable colouring pages online.
Some of my favourites:
I've also been creating more digital art, using the free program Sketchbook on both my Macbook and Samsung Tablet. I finally learned how to make vector art on Photoshop, which has become another new obsession of mine!
If you're interested, check out my greetings cards on Thortful, and my Redbubble Shop, featuring some digital art designs I've created over the past few months. I have also reignited my old Tumblr, to showcase some of my art and photography.
4. Scrapbooking & Journalling
I'm a big fan of both scrapbooking and journalling. I use a bullet journal on the daily for organising my life, and a book of shadows for witchcraft. I also have several scrapbooks focused around different 'eras', e.g. childhood + school, life during my undergraduate degree, and life during my master's degree.
Journalling is a brilliant way to get in touch with your emotions, improve your writing skills, and focus on your mental health. I can't recommend it enough.
5. Learn a New Craft!
Many of my friends have decided to try their hands at new hobbies over the past few months, from knitting to baking to macrame or crochet. I've been loving seeing their creations pop up on Instagram.
For me, embroidery stood out as a crafty hobby I wanted to try. I'm a big fan of slow styling, creating things for myself, and enjoying the therapeutic process!
LoveCrafts got in touch, and asked if I'd like to try out one of their crafting kits for a bit of creative self-care (gifted). After having a browse, tempted by so many different crafting kits, I settled on this beautiful embroidery set from Hawthorn Handmade.
Just look at how beautiful the floral design is! The kit comes with full instructions on how to make the different stitches and put the hoop together - it's perfect for a beginner like me.
LoveCrafts have a huge array of crafting kits, for beginners as well as experts. Check out their Beginner's Hub, and find their Embroidery Kits here.
I'll update you when I finish my embroidery hoop, and if all goes well, perhaps this is the new hobby for me!
I hope you enjoyed these 5 Creative DIYs & Crafts To Do At Home, make sure to let me know if you try any of them out.
If you're looking for some more ideas about Creativity or Self-Care, have a read of my other blog posts!
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All the best,
Disclaimer: The embroidery kit featured was sent to me by LoveCrafts to feature in a blog post. This post is not sponsored, and all opinions are my own.
