Let me be lame for a second: sometimes, going out sounds like a nightmare. Ruining my freshly tidied room trying to find a cool outfit? No thanks. Blistering my heels with shoes I wasn’t even sure about? I’ll pass. Losing my voice just trying to hold a normal conversation in a deafeningly loud bar? No can do. But, I shouldn’t have to sacrifice my social life in order to have a calm and relaxing night in, and neither should you.
I am a self-proclaimed “craftonista.” Remember when your kindergarten art teacher would throw random supplies at you like glue, scraps of paper and glitter and force you to make something useless but adorable? This is just like that, but mature and still as enjoyable! Crafting as an adult is an amazing opportunity to connect with friends and build community without having to leave your apartment or dorm. Because, let’s be honest, being in college is tiring, and sometimes you have no energy left to be out at Phebe’s until 3 a.m. Some of my best memories include a hot glue gun or scissors and paper, so I hope some of these craft ideas do the same for you.
Bow Garland
What did I do last weekend you may ask? Party? No. Bar hop? No. Tie almost 90 bows out of ribbon and hot glue them together for two hours with my roommate? Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! This adorable craft is the perfect decoration to add a bit of whimsy and color to your room. Tying bows and gluing them together is objectively easy. But tying 50 to 100 bows? Maybe you should recruit backup and invite some friends, throw on a movie and have yourself a wholesome night of memory making and bow tying. Run to your nearest craft store and pick out some ribbon and a cheap hot glue gun. You could do one color of ribbon or a combination of colors and patterns, whatever you fancy. Cut and tie your ribbon into bows and hot glue them on the edge of the bow loops, making a string of bows. Hang the garland up using Command hooks or tape and instantly your room will be the talk of the town — or dorm building.
Personalized Sweatshirt
This craft will have your friends and classmates asking where you got your awesome sweatshirt. And you can hit them with the totally nonchalant, “Oh this? I made it myself.” Run to a craft store or pull up Amazon and get yourself a plain old Gildan or Hanes sweatshirt for as low as $10. These sweatshirts are the quality of good concert merch but without the sore feet from waiting in line and the regret of spending an absurd amount of money. You could use a needle and thread to sew cut fabric scraps into letters and write your name on your sweatshirt, or use ribbon to tie a bow and sew it on. You could also buy iron-on heat-transfer paper to print a design and iron it on or draw designs using fabric markers. Try cutting the collar off to give your sweatshirt a grunge flair. The possibilities are endless — not to mention, with the holiday season coming up, this craft makes the most thoughtful gift.
Easy-Peasy Stickers
Am I the only one who has noticed someone else’s laptop or water bottle stickers and thought, “Where in the world do you find cute stickers?” I’m tired of being uncool and stickerless. If you’re in the same boat, make your own stupidly easy stickers that require only three materials: paper, packing tape and parchment paper. That’s it. Seriously.
It may look like a lot, but trust me, this craft is super intuitive and simple if you read through it. And, the end goal is a bunch of custom stickers that you can put anywhere from your phone to your refrigerator.
Memory Box
Save your old movie tickets, silly photo booth pictures and dried petals from those flowers your bestie got you with this adorable memory box. For the container, I find that an old shoe box works best. If you don’t have one lying around, consider this an excuse to buy those shoes you’ve been eyeing. To give yourself a clean surface for decoration, try using a brown paper grocery bag to wrap the body and lid of the box. Then, let your creativity run wild and get to decorating! You could have a collage night with friends and plaster pictures and letters from old magazines on your boxes and even decorate boxes for each other. For a more personal touch, try making some of those homemade stickers and completely cover the box in colorful decorations. This craft is simple, but it’ll be something you’ll be grateful you did in five to 10 years when you look back on your time in college.
Contact Brianna Ly at [email protected].