Let's Share How Our Crafting Benefits Us

I googled "hobbies" and got this many responses: About 1,750,000,000 results (0.66 seconds)

WWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHOAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

Ok, that's a honkin' big number and we don't need to include it in any goal setting.

But, there are many crafters here; let's share what we craft and why we love it so much because we might inspire someone here to try something new or learn a new skill!

Ok, I'll start!

For me, looking back over my life, I realized that I have been making things for myself since I was a little girl. The first thing I remember making was a blue and white polka-dot poncho to wear with my red and white swimsuit, LOL

I sewed for my Barbie, making her a matching purse to go with her dresses I made which were all strapless, LOL

I also remember changing a recipe around and ended up with a one layer of a cake that was so solid, we threw it around like a frizbee, LOLOL

All crafting is is taking ingredients and making something from them. Bonus if it is useful! Or it can be artistic and decorative; but that is still useful.

For me, the benefit is how crafting makes me feel better about myself, plus when I get compliments, well, that is really the best.

I love making pieces that are unique to me and are one of a kind. I get to pick the colors I want; that alone for me is HUGE because color is super important to me. Also, individuality is also high on my to do list. I don't want to blend in.

That said, I crochet very simply, make beaded jewelry, write and blog, paint simply also, sew, again simply, lol. I am learning to knit, and I make ornaments and beads out of polymer clay. I love to try new things. And some pieces I have made are in an album here on PC.

How about you? Do you craft or do you want to learn something?
What do you like about it?

I used to love sketching people.

I also loved making altered board books.

I also loved painting abstracts (acrylic on canvas).

I also loved creating holiday cards, where I'd buy blank cards, glue sticks, a glue gun, some small trinkets, safety pins, miniature ornaments, and more to create a unique holiday card for everyone. It's more expensive than just purchasing cards, btw, so it then becomes more about the love of crafts than being money-conscious.

I also loved writing song lyrics (I only wrote two song lyrics, but gave one away) and writing poetry (no real talent there, but just a bunch of words; I still have not learned how to properly write poems in iambic pentameter or otherwise).

Today, I'm about decorating my home and purchasing artifacts at the very end, once I can afford them.

I'm also about enjoying others' artwork, and if I can afford it, purchasing them as keepsakes.

I don't know how to sew, and I'm not that great of an artist. I'm also way behind on technology, so graphic design is out. Nevertheless, I love seeing all the wonderful things others can do when they turn their creativity into reality.

Photography is also what I admire in others - when they capture the right kind of light vs. dark, empty space vs. filled space, points and lines, etc.

Those who can sew - now that amazes me! I cannot even hem a pair of pants, but those who can make blankets, socks, clothing, doll clothing, and more - that's amazing! I love purchasing quilts and unique scarves, apart from all the other creative works that are pieced together with needle and thread.

Thanks for this awesome post @HappyCrafter

I'm a long-time home bread baker. I got started way back when I was in my late teens. At the time I was into all things Russian... literature, music, etc. (This was around the time of the movie "Doctor Zhivago".) One Sunday I happened to see a recipe in "Parade Magazine" for Russian black bread. (I still have the recipe.) And so I decided to give it a try. I had never made bread before & the Russian black bread recipe I found was actually pretty complicated. But it turned out well. And I was hooked (dough-hooked you might say?)

A few years ago I actually had an opportunity to study professional bread baking with 2 French master bakers. So I know quite a lot about bread baking. (It's the only thing I do know quite a lot about.) If any new members sign in here on PC due to bread-baking-related depression & anxiety I'm ready, willing & able to help!

Thank you both for your sharing!

@Lilly2

I have seen some handmade cards that are just Gorgeous! And the options are like fabric and beads, it is endless! Do you have an pictures of anything you have painted? And what are altered board books?


@Skeezyks

You bake bread!!! I do too, but I use a bread machine. I can't do the kneading and the raising and punching down like I could when I was a youngster, LOL I remember baking bread and using it for Texas Toast. Omg, it was heaven!
Parade Magazine, that's a walk down memory lane.
I want to hear more about your studies with the 2 French master bakers! Did you gain weight? LOL I would have, I am sure! What all did you learn to make? Not minute detail, just an idea, LOL OMG, French baking! I am drooling.

Unfortunately, the pictures of my art that I have will reveal who I am, if someone searches the Net in a certain way, so I won't be able to share them. They're not that great, save two, but they are sketches of real people whose identity I wouldn't want to disclose for their own privacy (and mine). If I find the photo with a painting I had made (and then gave away), I will do my best to share it (through the steps you've revealed in a different post - the coffee post, I think).

As for altered board books, I'll post a few links below to offer examples. I gave away the altered books I had created in the past, and I reluctantly didn't take photos of them.

Altered Books

Altered Board Book | Stamphenge

Altered Board Book | San Francisco Center for the Book

The Artistic Life: Altered Board Book Tutorial

There are books sold through Amazon and other places, as well as tutorials on YouTube. I just posted the few links I found on a Google search that didn't include Pinterest (I don't have an account) or Amazon.

Oh, and in the trauma treatment facility, they had this ceramics group, where I started off painting this ceramics piece before it broke. And then I decided to turn a mistake into a "mosaic," so I broke it some more - to represent the seven lands in my inner world, and to represent the alters. I created another mosaic for the trauma institution, which they placed on their wall, I believe. I don't know how to do mosaics, but I love to pretend that broken ceramics make great mosaic pieces once painted and then fired up to finish.

@Lilly2

Honey, no pressure from me at all, so it is all ok. I understand what you are saying and I respect your choice.
I looked up Altered Books. WOW! Those are really cool and individual. I had no idea they existed! Thank you for broadening my world! xoxox

Quote:

Originally Posted by HappyCrafter @Lilly2 Honey, no pressure from me at all, so it is all ok. I understand what you are saying and I respect your choice. I looked up Altered Books. WOW! Those are really cool and individual. I had no idea they existed! Thank you for broadening my world! xoxox

No worries! But, if I ever create *new* paintings, sketches, and more, I will try to upload them. I just haven't had the time or money to do those things yet.

I'm glad you like the altered board book idea; I learned it from an old friend a while back. She did amazing things with board books!

My so-called crafting has nothing to do with cooking, @HappyCrafter. But I knit jumpers. These are for financial reasons because Icelandic and Scandinavian jumpers such as those from Norway can cost over £200. That is too much money, so my daughter and I spend much of our evening times kitting jumpers because it's also a form of self-care because knitting is very relaxing.

Another super topic! Interesting, too.

Great idea for a thread!

Over the years I've done a lot of different crafts. I used to knit, but there's not a lot of use for knitwear i Florida. I also crcheted, but stopped for the same reason. My most ambitious knitting project was a spread for a friend's bed. It had all kind of Celtic patterns in it. That was probably 30 years ago and she's still using it.

I like to color. I have a collection of colorin books ranging from kid type books to more intrcate ones aimed at adults. Coloring is relaxing for me. It also makes my inner Little One happy.

I love jewelry making, but haven't in awhile. I like using gem stones to create a piece with a particular person in mind.

Been a long time since I worked on it, but I enjoy scrapbooking.

Breadmaking brings back memories!😁

Some times I'll use colored pencils or chalk to draw. By technique they are not very good, but they allow me to express something I'm feeling.

Back to your oringinal question about how crafts help us. In many different ways for me. a distraction, relaxes me, lets me express emotions, most importantly it brings me pleasure

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skeezyks I'm a long-time home bread baker. I got started way back when I was in my late teens. At the time I was into all things Russian... literature, music, etc. (This was around the time of the movie "Doctor Zhivago".) One Sunday I happened to see a recipe in "Parade Magazine" for Russian black bread. (I still have the recipe.) And so I decided to give it a try. I had never made bread before & the Russian black bread recipe I found was actually pretty complicated. But it turned out well. And I was hooked (dough-hooked you might say?) A few years ago I actually had an opportunity to study professional bread baking with 2 French master bakers. So I know quite a lot about bread baking. (It's the only thing I do know quite a lot about.) If any new members sign in here on PC due to bread-baking-related depression & anxiety I'm ready, willing & able to help!

That is so cool! I saw Doctor Zhivago when I was a young teen and was fascinated by it. I'm 1/2 Russian...my grandfather certainly enjoyed his black bread!

Arts and crafts! One of my favorite subjects. Gosh, I have to do some thinking...

When I was in high school I was lucky enough to have a wonderful teacher whose wife was a professional artist and calligrapher. She taught at a local university and I was able to attend her classes at no charge. I really took to calligraphy and graphic design and occasionally was commissioned to paint signs and do art work (signs for businesses, wedding invitations, that kind of work). So, instead of having to work in a fast food joint I was able to make some decent $ as an artist in my last couple of years of high school.

Since then...gosh, beading, sewing (mostly re-designing clothing), making cards...hmm...those are some crafts that come to mind.

For a couple of years I ran an etsy shop; I made hair ornaments and crocheted bracelets and anklets out of silk. Also made boho garlands to be hung. I loved running my shop and it brought in a nice bit of money. The only reason I stopped was the time factor with regard to my "real" job.

For the past few years I've been painting rocks, pieces of old brink, and broken pieces of concrete. I hide them around my town and other towns/cities for people to find. It's completely anonymous & it's something I absolutely love doing. One of my favorite "hiding places" is at the medical clinic where I go for my healthcare. Hopefully, finding my little art pieces helps to ease anxiety people might have about being in a medical clinic.

I also paint little rocks for preschoolers and hide them in the children's section of my local library. Usually I paint an image (say, a tree), then neatly write the word "tree" on the rock to help a preschooler learn how to read the word.

Well, that's all I can think of right now. Great thread, HC!

I got into the no knead bread a while back.....far to lazy to knead but fresh bread tastes excellent.

I am trying to rekindle my crafting spirit, it comes and goes--I do keep a plain knitting project at hand for daily relaxation, just finished a scarf. Crafting pleases the eye and the heart...the best is when it lasts, when you still love what you've made, and it gives you pleasure weeks later, years later...
anyway, have supplies enough for christmas stocking, dry needle felting, embroidery (I think this is where I am headed) Happy Crafter you are a WonderFul resource here on PC.

I did the rock painting thing for a while.....some I couldn’t part with and they ended up in my planters, the rest went out to the world to spread joy 😀

I’m not 100% it qualifies as crafting but I do like to paint (watercolor mostly) and to take photographs. I use one of those web services to make photo books which are super fun. Some I keep for me because my memory of events seems to fade quickly(thanks bipolar), some I give as gifts to loved ones. AS far as the art I do it primarily for therapeutic purposes it helps stabilize my mood...some of the best does make it to the wall or fridge though. I like a lot of bright colors, often more so than most artists use so why not make my own? I also enjoy Asian Art rather than the three dimensional European stuff, it’s a weird mix I suppose. My latest toy is a brush pen that I’m using to draw everything before painting...the ink is waterproof if you wait long enough before starting but it’s similar to the dark outlines I used to do after finishing a painting.

I love knitting woollen hats. So easy to make and keeps ears warm.

@HappyCrafter

Thanks for asking about this! No I didn't gain weight. (I certainly could have. But I was careful.) Most of our focus was on the baguette because the techniques required to produce a true baguette are the foundation of all artisan bread baking. However we also produced quite an array of other breads as well. I also studied pastry-making. However I haven't kept up with that the way I have bread baking. It's just my wife & I & we can't (& also shouldn't) eat it all!

The 2 primary things I learned were, first, to bake according to the French technique. In most American bread books (at least the older ones... this has changed somewhat over the last few years) the liquid (typically water or milk) is constant & flour is added to create a workable dough. In the French tradition, the flour always remains the constant & all other ingredients, including the water (or milk) are added as percentages of the total flour. The other major thing I learned was how to work with what is called the "baker's percent". And, as a result of that I'm able to create my own recipes & have no real need for recipe books. I calculate my bread recipes in grams which are much easier to work with than pounds & ounces. And this technique has spilled over into our regular cooking which we now do in grams.

@Skeezyks

How COOL!!! And Fascinating! When I lived in St. Charles, MO,(early 1990's) a local restaurant owner was a high school Chemistry teacher. I remember her telling me that chemistry and cooking were the same thing.

What improvements have you seen in your regular cooking?

Sorry,late to the party.I used crafting a s distraction since childhood. I tried many things.I am hooked on cooking,knitting, sewing( I made some wonderful dresses and gave away as gifts).I also do rug hooking.There is bear and bunny rug project in making,for which there is already a taker in tow.A young adult girl wants to hang it in her future baby's room.So I am motivated to finish it in....5_6years.LOL.I have knitted 100s and gave them away as gifts.I never made a single one for myself.

@HappyCrafter

We don't do a lot of fancy stuff. We eat pretty basic foods. But, over the years, we've filled 2 large loose-leaf notebooks with recipes (not including my bread book) all written out in grams. I've also learned some things about sautéing & making white sauce... which I'm pretty good at.