7 reasons why you should start crafting in the New Year
- Read time: 4 minutes
- Written by: Crafters
With the turning of the year comes the New Year’s resolutions. Hands up, who’s ever stuck to one? But why not choose one for 2020 that you can stick to, like picking up a crafting hobby? There’s more benefits to crafting than meets the eyes, so we’ve put together this little list of reasons why you should start crafting in the New Year!
1. To help you find ‘me time’
With busy and hectic schedules, it can be difficult for us to find time for ourselves. By picking up crafting as a hobby, we’re allowing ourselves time to work on and complete projects, letting us justify having ‘me time’. And we all know that there are tons of benefits that come from having ‘me time’, but the main one is just being able to step away from the chaos and indulge a little in what makes you happy!
2. To improve your confidence and self-esteem
There’s nothing quite like completing a project to help boost your confidence, especially if it gets a positive reaction from the people that you care about. It can also help to boost your self-esteem – there’s something about pouring an incredible amount of effort and time into creating something beautiful that can make you feel so good!
3. To learn something new
If you’ve been looking to try your hand at something new, 2020 could be the year! Your brain never stops learning, so teach it something new by picking up a new craft. It’ll help to get those neurons firing, improve your memory and increase your reaction times, so this is a brilliant reason to pick up a craft, no matter which one you choose.
4. To help with hand-eye coordination
Picking up a craft that requires a fair amount of concentration, such as embroidery, cross stitching, crochet or knitting, can really help to improve your hand-eye coordination. The repetition of the hand movements and the focus required to help you create the finished piece will train your muscle memory, and you’ll notice that your coordination significantly improves with it!
5. To reduce stress and improve your mood
Remember that ‘me time’ we mentioned? Reducing the pace a little bit and taking a moment to work on a project is extremely soothing and is an ideal to reduce your stress levels. Unwinding with a craft can clear your mind and bring your blood pressure down, so if you’re someone that suffers from stress or anxiety, crafting is a sure way to relax you. With a fixed way to reduce negative emotions, you’ll find yourself feeling so much happier and free!
6. To help you meet new people
What’s better than crafting? Crafting with friends! By picking up a new craft, you open yourself up to the possibility of attending classes, workshops, fairs or conventions, so you have the potential of meeting new, like-minded people and forming new friendships. How lovely is the idea of hosting crafting mornings and cuppas with your new crafting friends?
7. To express yourself
It’s not obvious, but when we choose shapes, colours, sizes and create something new, we’re expressing ourselves, showing our tastes and maybe even expressing our emotions. What an amazing thing to be able to do! There is no better way to show a bit of yourself off than making something from scratch or adding a homemade, personal touch to a piece. Get creative and have fun with experimenting!
We hope that we’ve managed to convince you to pick up a crafting hobby in 2020, so let us know what you’re going to try on Facebook UK, Facebook USA, Twitter, Instagram UK, Instagram US, Pinterest UK or Pinterest US using the hashtag #crafterscompanion.
