Quarantine Crafting

Creative crafts to pick up while in quarantine

By Abby Doeden

These four crafts are fun ways to distract yourself and have some fun during quarantine.

If you’re like me and need something to keep you active in quarantine other than work or school, crafting is a great hobby to pick up. Whether you coordinate with friends and do a craft happy hour, or turn on a movie and paint a little, these crafts will use up a few hours of your day and give you something to be proud of when you’re done. 

Here are some popular crafts to make while using items commonly found in your home. And if you don’t have these items, you can pick them up at any local craft store doing pick-up orders, or order them on Amazon!

Home Sign

This home sign is a super fun craft and can be adjusted for any state you’d like! This is also a craft that can be adjusted for any piece of wood or canvas you have at home, any paint you may have (I used ceiling paint) and any design you’d like.  

Although I’m a Badger through and through, I’m a Minnesota girl at heart and wanted to make my sign with that in mind. Follow these steps to make your own home sign!

What you’ll need:

  • Printed stencils of the letters and state, sized for the wood
  • Wood 
  • Paint (of any kind – I used ceiling paint and acrylic paint for the MN)
  • Paint brushes or sponges
  • Scissors or a X-Acto knife

Directions:

String Art

String art is a fun craft to get out stress from a long day and can be adjusted for any picture you want to create. I decided to create a Wisconsin for my string art because I’m hoping to use this in my apartment at UW next year! Follow these steps to create your own string art.

What you’ll need:

  • A stencil of your shape, sized for the wood 
  • Embroidery thread
  • Wood
  • About 200 nails
  • A hammer

Directions:

Bleach Tie Dye

String art is a fun craft to get out stress from a long day and can be adjusted for any picture you want to create. I decided to create a Wisconsin for my string art because I’m hoping to use this in my apartment at UW next year! Follow these steps to create your own string art.

What you’ll need:

  • A stencil of your shape, sized for the wood 
  • Embroidery thread
  • Wood
  • About 200 nails
  • A hammer

Directions:

Macrame

Macrame is a craft that is coming back into style and can be either very easy or very difficult depending on the pattern you follow. For my marcame, I loosely followed this guide and adjusted it for the pot I wanted to use and the amount of string I bought. Follow these steps to make a macrame plant hanger.

What you’ll need:

  • Macrame cord – I used 3mm cord
  • A metal hoop
  • A pot
  • A ruler
  • A pencil
  • Scissors

Directions: