Right now, it’s hard to tell apart weekends from weekdays, especially if you have kids at home and are juggling the whole full-time employee/full-time parent/full-time teacher thing that so many of us are trying to balance right now. Even if the lines are a little blurry, it’s still important for your mental health and wellbeing to create some kind of distinction. One way you can do that is to dedicate your weekend to learning a new creative skill. I love learning new skills because you’ll never know when they come in handy! So while you might not become an expert in 48 hours, you can still get the ball rolling with these creative skills and flex those creative muscles!
Graphic Design
It used to be you had to have inside and out knowledge of seemingly complicated programs like Adobe Illustrator, which, if you’ve never used anything like that before can seem incredibly foreign. But graphic design is much more accessible these days thanks to programs like Canva. I personally like to scour Pinterest for design and typography inspiration and then try my hand at my own version of Canva. Now, don’t be a copycat, but replicating your own interpretation of other designs is a great way to test your skills and get a better understanding of design concepts like layout and typography. After you’ve played around with that for awhile, try checking out some tutorials on YouTube for the more advanced programs like Illustrator and Photoshop.
Embroidery
Embroidery is all the rage right now, and that’s because it’s a fun and accessible hobby that most people can tackle in a weekend! There are some great kits out there that can get you started with everything you need. Try both traditional embroidery and cross-stitching to see which one you enjoy more. I personally find cross-stitching easier to follow along with, but I know other people who feel the opposite. You’d be amazed how quickly time flies by when you’re concentrating on your next perfect stitch!
Suminagashi
Never heard of Suminagashi? It’s the ancient art of Japanese marbling and it’s mesmerizing. The process involves creating intricate patterns by transferring floating ink from the surface of water to a sheet of paper. Most Suminagashi patterns are made by alternating ink droplets with soap droplets, a technique which then creates dazzling concentric circles in the water. You can learn the basics online in a weekend, and by Christmas, you’ll be gifting your new masterpieces to everyone you know.
Floral Arranging
My personal favorite creative skill, arranging flowers is such a treat. All you need is a few bunches of flowers from your local farmers’ market or Trader Joe’s, a pair of shears and a creative mind. YouTube has some great beginner tutorials that will teach you the basic formulas for arranging flowers to get the ball rolling. Pro tip: Watch a tutorial video prior to buying your flowers so you know what to look for when you shop!
Candle Making
Candle making is one of those hobbies that offers a lot of room for variety and experimenting creatively. You can try out a variety of different styles of wax, fragrances, dyes, etc. You can get started easily with some simple kits and by the time Monday rolls around, you’ll have a batch of candles to gift to your co-workers!
Lace Making
There are two different ways to make lace: needle lace and bobbin lace, so be sure to try out both techniques before honing your craft. If you enjoy sewing or embroidery, this could be a fun new skill to add into your creative repertoire. Who knows, it could become a fun little side project for you!
Here are some great kits that will get you started on your new creative skills this weekend!
