Crafting has been one of my main stress relievers this year. It’s fun to learn new skills, you can make unique design pieces for yourself, and you can do it at home. Basically a requirement for 2020!
After spending years bookmarking a long list of DIYs, I decided to – gasp – actually try a few of them.
And while my content is usually travel-focused, I’m sharing a round-up of these projects here in case it’s helpful for you. Maybe you’re looking for some de-stressors yourself. (If you’re not, tell me your secret.) If you are, here are some ideas to get you started. One for each month of the year, in fact – perfect with January right around the corner.
Keep scrolling to check out 12 DIYs for 12 Months!
Tassel Wall Hanging
This piece was inspired by Elsie at A Beautiful Mess. I absolutely love this blog, and over the past year or so have really enjoyed listening to their podcast as well. Also, one of the ABM teammates shares a 10 Things I Love Sunday blog post every week, and I love reading it with my coffee.
There are so many DIYs on this blog that I’d love to try, but I tackled this one first. Click here for the look I was going for. I wasn’t able to pull off the woven section at the top, so in the end I just continued my tassels throughout the entire piece.
I added some neon Omegacryl at the end to add a little more texture. While it didn’t turn out the way I had initially hoped, I love seeing it hanging in our apartment now!
ABM’s tagline is Stay Home and Make Something, which resonates with this homebody regardless but feels especially relevant this year.
Pom Pom Circles
2020 – a year of many struggles, but also the beginning of my love affair with pom poms. These little fluff balls are so fun to make, and you can create a lot of really cool pieces for your home with them. The inspiration for these circular wall hangings came from Sugar and Cloth. I also love this one from We are Scout.
Wrapped Omegacryl and Macrame Wall Hanging
When I first saw this craft from HonestlyWTF, I assumed it would be too hard to make myself – it just has that look! But it was surprisingly easy and the perfect activity while watching TV or listening to a podcast. The one I made isn’t quite long enough to create a good knot, so I’m going to make a second one that’s longer and then intertwine the two.
This craft was my first time using Omegacryl, which comes in really bright colors and is super fun to work with.
Dried Orange Garland
I first saw DIY examples of dried orange garlands about a year ago from The Merry Thought and François et Moi. I gave it a try around Thanksgiving with my mom and my brother’s girlfriend. It was a really easy and fun (yet sticky) activity.
At first I hung it up with no greenery, but it definitely looks better with some added in. It’s still hanging up in my apartment but when I take it down eventually, I’m going to store it in plastic and see how it holds up for next year!
Macrame Plant Hanger
I spent so much time looking for indoor hanging plant baskets that weren’t plastic, outdoorsy, and just not that nice to look at. I never succeeded at finding any, so I decided to make one myself. Enter: this macrame plant hanger by Persia and Lou.
Having never tried macrame before, I was a little intimidated, but the knots were pretty easy to pick up. I ended up making several over one weekend. There can be a little trial and error in getting the knots to hang evenly and making the right size depending on your planter, but it’s easy to go back and redo a step if needed.
Dyed Bottle Brush Trees
This holiday project came from The House That Lars Built. It wasn’t as easy to find sisal brush trees as I thought it would be (in order for the dye to hold, they have to be wooden, not synthetic), but eventually I found some here and here.
This activity felt a lot like dyeing easter eggs. If you don’t want to display all of them, they’d look cute tied on presents, too.
Air Dry Clay Ornaments
I love seeing all of the handmade ornaments that Paper and Stitch has made and I decided to give these terracotta clay ones a try. I love that after the clay dries, you paint the ornaments with nail polish and it looks like a shiny glaze.
I loved this mushroom cookie cutter and was originally just going to paint it one solid color, but Dan suggested going for the full-on mushroom look and I love how they turned out!
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I gave a few of these as gifts this year and will definitely make more next year!
Paper Bulb Garland
This is another project from The House That Lars Built. I left out the advent calendar aspect and just made the bulb garland. The tutorial actually recommends using something like a Cricut machine to make the cutting faster and easier. I don’t have one of those, so I traced over and over again and then cut everything out by hand. It was *slightly* tedious, but just throw on some Parks and Rec or your favorite holiday movie and you’ll be all set!
I probably would have done a different color scheme had I bought new paper, but I wanted to use some that I already had. I still love the final product and I plan on keeping it up all year!
Lap Weaving
I’ve wanted to try weaving for a while now, and I finally treated myself to a beginners kit from Hello Hydrangea. The kit comes with everything you need to get started, and I opted to purchase her Foundations e-class as well.
This one is still a work in progress because I got distracted by the holidays and was working on other things. I’ll update this post with a photo once I’ve finished!
Photo Displays and Gallery Walls
In my posts Five Ways to Display Your Travel Finds at Home and Five More Ways to Display Your Travel Finds at Home, I share a few ideas for working photos, maps, cards, and other paper items into your decor. A few favorites are washi tape gallery walls, wooden hanger gallery walls, repurposed photo frames, and curtain rod photo displays. Click through the links above for all the details!
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Paper House Plant
One more from The House That Lars Built! This paper polka dot plant is so cute. It only took a few materials and a couple of hours. I’d like to work on adding depth to the leaves with more defined veins, but I’m happy with it as is for now.
I actually used to have a polka dot plant but I tragically could not keep it alive, so I’m excited to have a “heartier” version now!
Rainbow Wall Hanging
This large, colorful wall hanging from Studio DIY is next on my list. I’ll share a photo here once it’s done!
More Ideas For Next Year
- These Valentine’s Day cards and paper candle Christmas tree ornaments from The House That Lars Built
- This punch needle rainbow from Sarah Maker
- These paper stars from Linda Lomelino
- This felt snake plant from the Crafty Lumberjacks
- These glitter photo frames from A Beautiful Mess
What do you think about crafting – yay or nay? I’ve found it to be such a good way to occupy my mind with something other than anxiety this year. While projects don’t always turn out exactly the way I’m hoping, I figure it’s all good practice and time well spent regardless – just cut yourself a little slack and have fun with it!
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