March is National Crafts Month!

For a long time, crafts were a lost art form due to the removal of arts and craft programs from school funding. DIY projects were mostly done by women who were retired or those who learned crafts from their mothers and grandmothers.

The do-it-yourself game has changed.

There’s yawn movements (globally), knitters are speaking out against lack of diversity in the craft community, the number of males in the craft space keeps growing, homeschoolers using creativity to make learning fun, and the millennial generation is shifting demands within the craft industry.

Let me dis-spell a few myths related to crafts:

1. DIY projects don’t need to take an entire weekend to complete. Matter of fact, you can complete a project in little as 30 minutes.
2. A project don’t need to have a hundred steps in order to feel a sense of accomplishment.

Seven ways in which you can benefit from doing diy craft projects:

1. It is therapeutic. With all the madness happening in the world, keeping up with constant demands takes a toll physically, emotionally, and mentally. Sitting aside 30-60 minutes a day to complete a craft project will calm your nerves and take your mind off the nonsense going on around you.
2. Increases focus. Doing craft projects requires attention to detail. Working with your own two hands increases blood flow and energy. It’s also mental exercise.
3. Forces personal interaction. Not only has technological advancement made us lazy but less social. Grab a bestie and work on a craft project together. During that time together, you’re talking to a real person while making wearable art.
4. Medical Benefits. Doctors are now prescribing craft projects to patients that carry high stress levels. Another medical benefit is for those who’ve undergone surgery and are in rehabilitation. DIY projects (jewelry, knitting, crocheting) are excellent ways to improve hand and arm movement.
5. Opportunities. Now that you can make with your own hands, there’s an opportunity to bring in additional source of income. The “11-Year old Crochet Prodigy” has landed his first book deal due to a video of his crochet skills gone viral.
6. Gives a sense of accomplishment. When trying anything for the first time, it seems overwhelming but making an effort to take on a task is half the battle. As time goes on, you realize that making something isn’t hard as you perceived. Once complete, you feel great because you made it!
7. Possibly make new friends. We all have fallen into the trap of keeping the same people in our lives just because we’ve known them so long, rather they are good for our mental/emotional health or not. The reason we do so is because change requires a challenge to step out of our comfort zone. When you enter the craft arena, you will be eager to attend conferences, workshops, expos, and other industry related events where you will meet others who share the same interest as you.

Are you inspired to try a new craft?