Artsy, but not Artistic
You don't need to be artistic to have hobbies that are artsy and creative. You also don't need a lot of money to do something you love. Below are some activities you can do in your free time that are fun, reasonably priced and don't require any sort of real talent or artistic abilities. Most of these Craig and I do together as a couple, while a few of the things on the list are my own personal "art" projects.
In general, Craig has a much shorter attention span than I do, so these all fit his personality perfectly. Some of the activities are one and done short-term projects, while others are longer but can be broken up into multiple sittings over an extended period of time. If you want a creative outlet, but aren't sure of your abilities or talent then these might be great for you as well. Craig is always worried his contributions are not as "pretty" as mine, but I just remind him that this is all for fun and anything he creates is perfect.
Artsy Activities
Paint By Numbers
I can't take credit for coming up with the idea to do a joint Paint By Number with Craig. It was actually a friend of his, Shefali, who sent us a custom painting as a gift. She had asked Craig for a recent photo of the two of us and she was able to turn that into a Paint By Numbers project through a company called Winnie's Picks. It was an extremely thoughtful surprise and I was super excited to get started on it right away.
I have always loved doing creative things, but I am not a very artistic person and don't consider myself to be talented when it comes to artsy activities. I never even realized they had Paint By Numbers for adults, so I was very happy that she introduced this craft to us. Craig was definitely nervous at first - worried that the painting would look bad and it would be extremely noticeable that it was finished by two different people. In the end though, I assured him it was just something fun for us to do as a couple and no one would even need to see it when it was completed.
From there, we decided that the best approach to the project would be to dedicate space on our countertop to keep the canvas, paints and brushes out. The only time we would put the materials away were when we were having company over. In this manner, it wouldn't be a hassle to work on the painting for short periods at a time. If we had a free 30 minutes, we would just sit at opposite sides of the canvas, turn some music on and paint. It took us a few months to complete at this pace, but that was okay with us. It wasn't meant to be a rush.
By the time we had finished the custom piece, we both agreed that we had a great time when we painted together and decided this would be a fun couple activity for us to continuously do in the future. Since it wasn't something we ever planned to display, we figured we could just pick out cheap pictures and sets from Amazon going forward. It took us a few months again, but we just finished our first ready-made painting today (which came out great!). We already have a third Paint By Numbers set queued up and waiting for us for next winter.
If you look on Amazon now, you will see all sorts of Paint By Number kits available for very reasonable prices. On quick glance, there are a lot of highly rated sets that cost between $10-20. The ready-made set we bought (photos below) only cost us $12. That's $12 for hours and hours of entertainment. No matter your taste and what you want to paint, I am sure there is a set for you out there.
The most important tip I can give you when it comes to Paint By Numbers is to make sure that all your paints are sealed tightly after each use. Also, if you see one starting to dry out or clump, make sure to add a few drops of warm water to it right away. In both sets we worked on, we had one of the colors dry out completely before noticing, which ended up being a bit of a headache each time. For the custom painting we did, we were able to reach out to the company and have them send us a replacement paint container. For the Amazon order, we actually just recreated the color ourselves with paint we already had in the house. It wasn't exact, but it was close enough.
Amazon Ready-Made Photo
Custom Photo
Adult Coloring Books
Coloring is probably the activity where you get the most value for your money. For the most part, it just requires a one-time initial investment to stock up on adult coloring books, colored pencils and crayons. Unless of course you color your way through all the books you purchased very quickly (No judgement!).
When I first decided that I wanted to add coloring to our routine, I went straight to Amazon to order all my materials. Like the other "crafts", they have a huge selection of themes to choose from at very reasonable prices. For myself, I chose books that were funny, cute and entertained me with their animals and sayings. For Craig, I added in a few that had more adult content and language. That being said, if you want this to be more of a serious hobby they have many choices that are more intricate and artistic out there as well.
We don't break out the color bookings that often - we usually save them for a warm day or night where we can sit outside with a few drinks. At this pace, I am pretty sure my initial investment will last us an entire lifetime.
Diamond Paintings
Diamond Paintings are one of the activities that I do by myself - they have never caught Craig's interest because they tend to be very repetitive. That's actually what I love about them personally though. I enjoy just sitting there going line by line, placing the diamonds perfectly in their spots and watching the picture slowly come to life.
My sister-in-law Megan was the one who introduced me to Diamond Art. She had done a few of the sets herself, along with working on some with my niece Cailyn. She even had special storage containers to organize the diamonds as she worked. I can't compete with that though - my "storage" approach is to cut open the little bags they give you and hope not to accidentally spill them all on the table or the floor!
For my first set, I bought a partial picture - where the background was not part of the activity. I didn't want to commit to a full piece until I was sure it was something I liked. I had no reason to be hesitant though - I immediately loved it. I am currently working on my fifth "painting" now and have done a variety of styles and sizes throughout the years.
This hobby won't break the bank either - I have even gotten sets for less than $10 on Amazon. Each one takes a decent amount of time to finish, so the value is definitely there.
Scrapbooking
Scrapbooking is definitely the hobby that I have been doing the longest - I started my first book before Craig and I were even dating, which was 18 years ago! The desire to Scrapbook came from my struggles to try and remember all the details of the vacations I took with my family, especially my mom. She has been my lifetime travel partner and over the years, we added in Craig and Rudy, my step-dad, to the adventures.
I wanted to go everywhere and see everything. More than that, I wanted to create memories that I wouldn't forget, which was the most difficult part of the plan. If you've read my previous blog posts, you know by now that I have an absolutely terrible memory. It's part of the reason I take so many photos and why I started this blog. It's also why my Scrapbooking began.
For each vacation we went on, I put together a page or two in my Scrapbook recapping the adventures we had. In addition to photos, I added in little mementos from the trip such as ticket stubs, maps, and even currency from the countries we visited. I also purchased background paper and stickers/embellishments that focused on travel in general and the specific places we went to. Jolee's used to be my favorite manufacturer of Scrapbook stickers, but they don't make them anymore - I could get embellishments for just about any country, city or activity made by their company. Ebay also used to be the best outlet for purchasing my materials because I could get all these extras at a discount from sellers around the country. These days, I can still find themed stickers in Michaels and Hobby Lobby to use on my pages. They aren't as good and they don't have as big of a selection as Jolee's had, but they do the trick.
The cost to Scrapbook can add up bit, depending on how many pages you are doing and what you are buying for each. That being said, it is still a reasonably priced hobby. The books themselves usually cost $20-$30, but I have always been able to get a sale for 50% off or buy one, get one free. The background papers cost between 50 cents and $2 each. The sticker packets typically run $3-6. Plus any sort of extras (ribbons, brads, glue dots, etc.) will run you a few dollars each to stock up on as well. I would estimate the cost of a single page is $5-10 in materials.
For me personally, I was dedicated to the hobby enough to have made a slightly bigger investment in it. When we bought our house and refinished our basement, I decided to purchase myself a scrapbook table. In my mind, traveling and scrapbooking was a big enough part of my life to deserve a small craft corner. Having this space to organize and store my materials, as well as to work on the pages themselves, has been absolutely worth the price. Over the years, I have put together 7 Scrapbooks filled of travel memories. Craig and I try to find time each year to sit down and look back on them and reminisce about the trips we have taken.
Travel Scrapbook Page Examples
Wedding Scrapbook Page Examples
I have also put together one separate scrapbook outside of travel and that was for our wedding. This was a huge event in our life and something I wanted help remembering the details of as well.
Bonus: Holiday Hobbies
Christmas Village Houses
Craig's mom Hillary is actually the one who purchased all the unfinished Christmas Village houses for us to paint. She had a set herself and wanted us to be able to create our own village in our own apartment. She had bought them a long time ago and held on to them for many years, just waiting for the day we took them off her hands to start painting.
Once we decided to take on this project, Craig and I each picked different buildings to work on; Craig claimed dibs on the Bakery and the Church and I started with the Tavern and the Diner. When it came to painting our structures, the only rule we had was that there were no rules. We could each pick whatever colors we wanted, no judgement. Now anytime we have company around the holidays, Craig enjoys asking them which of the houses they think he painted and which they think were completed by me. They definitely get a little nervous about guessing wrong!
These days the unfinished village houses are much harder to find. Hillary had been searching for years for new ones without any luck. This past Christmas though, she finally came across some unpainted ones at Michaels. They weren't the same manufacturer as the old ones and they were not created to the same scale, but we loved them and painted them just the same. All Christmas Houses are welcome in our village.
Pumpkin Carving
Ok, so maybe Pumpkin Carving is not the most unique suggestion but I am putting it out there to remind you that you are never too old to enjoy this activity. Craig and I have even thrown Halloween parties where pumpkin carving was the main focus. The photos from that night are a little too inappropriate to share, but I can tell you that all our friends had a great experience. We've also done them as a date night activity and with family during fall weekend getaways.
The easiest way to go about pumpkin carving is to buy one of the kits at Target or CVS that include patterns and the tools you will need to scoop out, poke and cut your pumpkin. The tools they provide are a little flimsy though, so expect those to last you just a few uses. If you think its something you want to do every year, then you might want to invest in a better set of tools like some of the highly-rated ones on Amazon. Additionally, the patterns are not reusable, so you will have to invest in new ones each year. However, if you are cheap like me, you can just print them out yourself for free from websites like Pumpkin Pile. Using a website affords you the opportunity to choose from hundreds, if not thousands, of different characters and designs. This past Halloween, Craig and I went with a Ghostbusters theme.
As for the pumpkins themselves, Trader Joe's usually has a big selection that they sell for a fixed price, no matter the size. In the past they cost between $3-5 per pumpkin, which is extremely reasonable - especially when supplying pumpkins for an entire party's worth of people.
Assorted Gingerbread Structures
We are all familiar with Gingerbread houses and probably have all built one at least once in our lives - or tried to build one unsuccessfully, in my friend Alanna's case. Craig and I have put together traditional houses on multiple occasions, plus a village of mini houses one Christmas as well. I can't claim to have ever tried making a homemade house - all our experiences have come at the hand of a purchased kit. The quality of the kits available are across the board - some have better and more candy, some have easier icing to work with and others won't stand up no matter how much icing you put on and how many times you try to erect it. Just ask Alanna.
Gingerbread doesn't just stop at houses though - there are plenty of unique structure choices available these days. To keep things fun and different, you can try building a gingerbread train or a gingerbread stadium instead. That's what we did! Do you want to decorate gingerbread for Easter instead? If so, Target has you covered with their Pre-Built Bunny and Bee houses. The possibilities (and holidays) are endless.
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