The Art of Crafts
By: Mason Braasch
Summer is the season of long, sunny days and new adventures—or at least it used to be. Trapped inside an office while the sun blazed outside of my small window, the type of summer fun that I once cherished felt almost unattainable to me as an adult. Sure, I could meet my friends on an outdoor patio for drinks after work or head to the beach on my day off, but between a 40 hour work week and other adult responsibilities like grocery shopping, doing laundry, and keeping my apartment clean, I found myself lacking the energy (and money) to make my summer days count.
Reflecting on the summer days of my childhood, I found a way to bring a little bit of that magic into the sometimes mundane summer routine that comes with adulthood: Crafts.
On any given day in the summer, you could count on ten-year-old me to be working on a friendship bracelet. I loved choosing the colors and design for my bracelets, and it was a great activity to fill the long summer days without turning on the TV. As it turns out, making bracelets felt just as fun and fulfilling as an adult!
Aside from the obvious benefit of having a cute creation when you’ve completed your bracelet, crafting has been shown to have other advantages as well. Research has shown that crafting—whether you’re making friendship bracelets, knitting a sweater, or painting a canvas—can improve your self esteem, reduce stress, and support a happier overall mood.
Whatever your craft, finding ways to create tangible objects with your hands is a great way to replace doom-scrolling after work and bring back some of the magic of summer. From beginner to master-crafter, here are 5 ways to get creative and crafty this summer!
Friendship Bracelets
The classic summer-time craft! Embroidery string, which is used to create the knotted look of traditional friendship bracelets, is cheap and easy to find at most craft stores. The most basic patterns consist of repeatedly knotting your string, and there are lots of online resources to help get you started. As you learn the ropes, you can start to incorporate patterns like hearts, flowers and other fun designs into the bracelets. You can also use beads to create colorful bracelets with fun sayings (think Taylor Swift). Plus, they are fun to share with friends!
Collages
Collages are a fun craft that are completely customizable to your style and aesthetic. Use magazines, old books, stickers or any other supplies you want! For a cheap girls night, you can even invite your friends over to create collages together. If you’re on a budget, download the “Shuffles” app, which lets you create digital collages on your phone that you can use as your wallpaper for free!
Sewing, Beading and Embroidery
As a recent trend, people everywhere have been DIYing their own clothes, creating customized shirts and adding personal touches to spice up jeans, sweatshirts, and bags. With a sewing needle, some string and a ribbon, you can upgrade old jeans to add sewn-on bows on the pockets or the bottom hem. Using simple embroidery materials, you can patch up a hole in your old t-shirt and give it new life with a dainty embroidered flower. For more advanced crafters, the latest trend is using small beads to create fun designs on tank tops or t-shirts.
Clay
If you want to get a bit more messy, using clay is a fun way to dig into the world of crafts! Air-dry clay is beginner-friendly, and is perfect for creating your own trinkets and home decor like jewelry holders, magnets for your fridge, or wall art.
Knitting and Crocheting
Perhaps the most classic forms of craft, knitting and crocheting allow you to keep your hands busy and create something beautiful. Projects like scarves and baby blankets are easy to achieve as a beginner through video tutorials on Youtube. For more advanced knitters or crocheters projects like sweaters, tank tops and even dresses and pants are fun ways to customize your closet through craft!
Photo Credits:
Beaded Friendship Bracelets: @furbelow.ph on Instagram
Collage: freyamaemoss on Pinterest
Beaded Tank Top: Aeshank03 on Pinterest
Clay Magnets: lauragreenaway10 on Pinterest