I love spring. It reminds me of the TinkerBell movies with the fairies preparing for spring, with the flowers in bloom and the animals being out and about once again. While in LA, we don’t truly get to experience the full breadth seasons: it never snows and the leaves don’t turn red in the fall, but you can still mark when spring is here when the pink flowers bloom in the bushes. I find it to be the prettiest season ever. There’s a sort of magic that’s in the air with everything growing and in bloom.
If you think about it, creating art in a way is magical, too. The ability to create something from nothing, so when you combine the two, you get a special sort of whimsicalness. Lately, I’ve been connecting with my childlike self through art, and today I want to highlight some crafts that can awaken that childhood self in you and bring a bit more of the whimsical self into spring.
Oil Pastel / Crayons
Okay, listen, I know you might be reading this and thinking, “but Jesille, I don’t have a single creative bone in my body.” I would like to argue against this; we all have creativity within ourselves. It’s just that some of us have been drawing on our creative wells a little more often, so it comes more naturally to some than to others. Because of this, I suggest everyone go back to the basics and pick up some crayons, and if you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, some oil pastels.
I say crayons and oil pastels, one because crayons tend to remind us of our childhood, and because of this, the expectation to create a masterpiece is significantly lower, but also, oil pastels are messier. Oil pastels are a medium where you either go with the flow, or it’ll end up frustrating you in the long run if you try to force it into something that isn’t. Like trying to treat them as if they’re color pencils.
Both crayons and oil pastels, while you can create a masterpiece with them, you can also very easily create something simple if that’s what you desire. So break out some crayons or oil pastels and open up Pinterest to gather some inspiration, and allow yourself to create something simple and imperfect without the worry of creating a masterpiece.
beaded embroidery
If you want something a little bit less on the drawing and painting side, and something a bit more textile, I suggest getting into embroidery, specifically beaded embroidery.
Beaded embroidery has lots of history and roots in various cultures, such as Indigenous communities here in the United States. When it comes to beading embroidery, I would first suggest learning a bit more about the history and how different cultures around the world utilized beaded embroidery before diving in. Of course, this is not a mandatory thing, but rather a way to respect where the craft first originated.
For this, you’d need beads of your choice, they can be seed beads or various other beads of your choosing, bead weaving thread, a needle, an embroidery hoop and the fabric you’d like to place your beads on. Once again, pull up Pinterest to find your inspiration, and below I linked a YouTube video to help guide you through the process of sewing the beads onto the fabric. The results of beaded embroidery will not catch my eye with the beautiful colors and the glittery shine when the sun catches onto the sun!
Scrapbooking / Junk Journaling
Scrapbooking, junk journaling, and collaging, no matter what you call it, all have to deal with gathering different types of paper, pictures and stickers and combining them to create a spread. If you want to make something more personal to you and show your growth over the years, I’d highly recommend picking up scrapbooking.
All you really need is a notebook, glue and some paper; everything else is extra, and your choice on what to add. Some people do scrapbooking more simply and just have paper glued down, some do things a little bit more elaborate by adding photos, stickers, washi tape and receipts. The fun part about scrapbooking is how it’s all personalized to fit you, and you can put as much effort in or as little as you want.
miniature Houses
https://www.instagram.com/p/DLTRD5aSY18
Now, to wrap up this small list of whimsical crafts to bring into spring, there is one that inspired me to write this article as a whole. Miniature houses, whether it’s a fairy house like the one from Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue, or maybe a little book nook, or whatever tiny things you want to make, since the list is endless.
Making a miniature house for small creatures is something that brings out the childlike wonder in all of us. There are various ways that you can approach this, either by buying a premade kit, where all you have to do is glue the pieces together, or you can do it all from scratch, gather the materials yourself, and pull directly from your imagination.
While I only listed four potential crafts that you can indulge yourself in for the spring season, there are countless of different crafts that you can find yourself falling in love with. Allow this spring to be a season of growth and creativity as we all let ourself to be a bit more free and open-minded.