During these trying times, it’s easy for anyone to feel easily overwhelmed. When almost everybody is remotely working at home, there’s a need to step back from the demands of job and family life. You shouldn’t be guilty for feeling this way, however. The pandemic has made everybody’s life challenging. Mental health, therefore, should be a priority.
Fortunately, there are a lot of things that you can do at home to get away from it all and relax your mind. You can take a nice stroll outdoors, listen to music, do yoga, meditate, or read a book. If you want a relaxing, but stimulating activity, however, you should do arts and crafts. In fact, practicing ways to become creative is one of the most frequent pieces of advice that’s been given to people to keep them sane while the world is in a pandemic.
One of the best things about doing arts and crafts is that there’s no pressure to create a masterpiece. You just have to enjoy doing everything.
The Best Inspiration for Doing Arts and Crafts
In the October 2021 issue of the American Craft, a magazine by the American Craft Council, experts have predicted that animism will affect how crafters design their work starting this year. The pandemic apparently has made people reconnect with their surroundings; with nature.
In today’s post, learn about different crafts that you can make at home and how to use natural elements in your design. In the end, you’ll also learn easy ways to sell and promote your work. You can start with the following ideas for your craft.
Pressed Framed Leaves
Pressing leaves is a time-established craft taken from old encyclopedias. They’re easy to make and if you find the right leaves, they can become beautiful works of art.
Go to your garden, a nearby park, or just anywhere outdoors with plants and trees. Collect some leaves and twigs. Press leaves in an old book and waits for a few days until they are completely dried. Glue the leaves on cardboard and use the twigs as the frame. If you know the name of the leaf you used, print it using a nostalgic font and glue it on the cardboard.
Don’t throw away the rest of the leaves and twigs. You’ll still use it later.
Leaf Painting
Prepare some wooden clothespins, watercolor paintbrushes, watercolor paint, and sketch paper. Pin leaves on one side of a sketch paper. Brush over the leaves with watercolor paint and let it dry. When your work is dry, you can remove or leave the clothespins. Frame the paper and hang it on a wall.
Christmas Tree Ornaments or Leaf Candler Holders
Prepare some clear ornaments, dried leaves, and flowers, and tie ribbons. You can use any color of clear ornaments, but choose leaves and flowers that can complement its color.
Glue the leaves on the outside of the ornaments and hang them on a Christmas tree. You can also put flowers inside the ornaments and tie a ribbon at the top.
You can also use this design method on candle holders. Choose clear candle holders and glue dried leaves on the outside. They will look beautiful when illuminated. Just make sure that dried leaves will not reach the rim of the candle holders.
Flower Cloche
Martha Stewart magazine suggests creating a flower cloche. Pick fresh flowers and leaves. Get a small bowl with floral foam at the bottom. Stick the flowers and leaves in the foam. Arrange them beautifully and put them inside a cloche. You can use it as a table centerpiece or create several pieces and place them as focal points in your living areas. If they have enough water, these displays can last for a week.
How to Sell and Promote Your Crafts
You can also earn extra income from your crafts. You can sell and promote them on your social media. A website can also help you market your work. If everything goes well, you can build a small home-based business out of your hobby. In fact, the leading online selling platform, Shopify, is encouraging crafters to sell their work online. You just need to consider the requirements for selling items with craft materials such as paints, solvents, polymer clay, candles, and dyes.
When you have the space for a small office, you can look into digital signage companies to showcase your products and the process in making them. They can provide large screens that can be displayed outside your office. You can show your customers your work through these displays.
Take Advantage of Nature as a Means of Income
Thankfully, you have nature to keep you sane and provide a way to earn extra income. You can try many other crafts using natural elements. Be creative and look for more ways how you can use nature in your work. Use the ideas here as a starter.
