Those of you who have been following my blog for a while will know that I love doing a range of creative arts and crafts and find them really beneficial for my mental health due to the mindfulness aspect of the activities. So, today, I’m sharing 5 quick and easy ways to get creative during the winter season. Let me know which one you fancy giving a try.
Mini cross stitch
Doing a large cross stitch can be a very time-consuming activity and generally takes months to complete. However, if you’re new to counted cross stitch or want something that you can make in a short time frame, I recommend the mini kits that you can pick up in places like Hobbycraft. This winter fox design, which is just 3×3 inches, is perfect for the season. They also offer plenty of other more Christmassy ones too. If you’re a complete beginner, I highly recommend Mouseloft kits as they’re great quality and have a decent set of instructions on how to get started.
Festive biscuits
Homemade biscuits are fun to do and make your kitchen smell delicious. I’m planning on creating some snowflake and Christmassy shapes using cookie cutters and I’ll be personalising them with icing patterns, edible bits and pieces such as metallic balls and tiny shapes like holly and stars. If you want to make the activity even easier and would like to avoid having to purchase lots of different ingredients, there are plenty of kits on offer in the supermarkets or places like Lakeland. I’ve also seen DIY gingerbread houses whilst out shopping too.
Dried orange slices
I’ve seen dried orange slices in various festive decorations for sale in garden centres and you can buy packets of pre-made ones in craft shops but I think it would be much more fun and rewarding to make your own. I’m going to put mine with all of the pine cones I’ve collected and add fragrance to create my own winter pot pourri. There are lots of tutorials on You Tube and various ideas on how to display your dried oranges such as hanging them from your Christmas tree branches, stringing them as a simple garland attaching to a branch of fir or, making pot pourri. These instructions show how to dehydrate them and string them but there are many more helpful videos around.
Holly felt garland
I found a lovely online tutorial for making a holly garland out of felt which doesn’t involve any sewing and simply uses a hot glue gun to attach the pieces. As well as the glue, you need two shades of green felt (preferably as A4 sheets), plus some red pompoms. Again, you can buy pre-made but some I’ve seen to purchase online are in the region of £30-£50! If you create your own, you can enjoy the benefits of mindful activity as you cut and glue, plus you can see the fruits of your hard work for the whole of the winter period, not just for Christmas.
Paper snowflakes
I used to make these as a child and I also taught the kids in my classes when I was teaching. This YouTube tutorial from Martha Stewart, shows a version where you fold a square diagonally twice and then fold into thirds for a six pointed snowflake. Once you get the hang of them you can make more intricate designs and even use sparkly paper or add glitter to the edges after you open out your flake.
Final words…
I hope these ideas for crafting projects have inspired you and you’ll give at least one of them a go over the winter period. I’ve already started my fox cross stitch (which I purchased last year and didn’t get around to due to December Daily taking up so much of my time) and I have two cute Christmas Mouseloft designs on display in my living room already. My oranges are purchased too and I can’t wait to give the pot pourri a go when I’ve found a suitable fragrance for it. I’ll be sure to let you know how it turns out if it’s a success.
Happy crafting!
Keeping it creative 