5 Reasons to Consider Crafting as a Hobby

 **Collaborative Guest Post**

Whether you are a lover of handmade items, love gifting handmade personal items, or you just love the idea ofhaving a go at making things yourself, crafting can make a great hobby and one that can be really useful too. Whilst creating handmade items isn't always easy to begin with and can take a little time to build up and learn new skills, you’ll be pleased to know that it’s actually one of the best hobbies out there that you can have. 

From adding pottery wheels to the balcony to create your own plates and ceramic products, to adding toner cartridges to the home office so that you can print whatever you want, there is a lot that you can do when you choose to craft as a hobby. And the best bit about it all is that it can be done from home but be warned, it can be a bit of an addictive hobby and before you know it you will be turning every spare room and empty draw into crafting space!

Before you get going and start buying, however, here are five reasons that crafting is an excellent hobby to have!

1. It can help with anxiety and depression. Did you know that when you put your mind into something else such as a hobby, the symptoms of anxiety and depression that you deal with are often less as having a hobby you enjoy can provide you with a mental space to escape to and take your mind off any intrusive or sad thoughts you might be having. Also, when you make something, you feel productive and proud that you have created something yourself, a personal accomplishment. But it's the engagement and the exploration involved with using your hands in conjunction with your mind that can truly elevate your mood.

2. It could make you happy. It can make you happy because the whole point of them is to make you feel good and to make you feel productive. Crafting hobbies give you an end result and seeing that you have created something useable or beautiful from a pile of craft supplies is bound to make you feel a little proud. For example, start crafting with knitting needles and a ball of wool, and you end up with a blanket or a scarf that is totally usable and has saved you from having to spend money purchasing these items at a store too. You might start with ingredients in the kitchen and end up with an amazing cake that you can share with friends or family. It's always the result of your work and your concentration that can make you feel good.

3. It's good for the brain. When you are involving yourself in self-expression, you increase your brain activity and stimulate the somatosensory and motor cortex of the brain. This process of stimulation creates more connections between different parts in the brain and makes you more intelligent along the way. Learning new skills and figuring out solutions to issues you may face during your new hobby will ultimately help you use different parts of your brain and keep your brain focussed.

4. You can give your life a little meaning. Whether you are crafting to make vases at home, or you are crafting to make baby blankets for your grandchildren, you can find some meaning in it. Beading, woodwork, making something from scratch, all of these things can make you feel good especially when you can then use these items or even more so, gift them to friends and see how happy your handmade gift makes them.

5. It can be a great way to save money. Whilst there is always an initial outlay for any craft as you will likely need some form of materials, you can actually save money over time for both you and potentially friends and family too. Over time as you hone your skills and get better, faster and more efficient you might find yourself being able to make items you need from baking cakes and other items to sewing and making your own clothes, the possibilities are endless when it comes to useful craft hobbies.

There are plenty of reasons to craft at home, and we've just given five of them to you to get you started. Think about what kind of crafts you enjoy buying or you enjoy being involved with outside the home, and that can give you a jumping off point to determine which hobby you would like to have. Remember you don't have to just choose one, but it is worth considering the cost as sometimes starting up a hobby can have initial outlay costs and if you are trying multiple hobbies the costs can soon add up. However, it is worth remembering that if you can really excel at your new skill, you could go on to sell your items and recoupe some of your costs too!

Do you have any crafting hobbies that you love doing? I would love to hear about them in the comments below. 

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