20 Creative Hobbies To Try
Feeling stuck creatively? Simply wanting to bring more joy into your life?
Studies have shown that people who actively participate in a hobby are happier, healthier and live longer than those who don’t.
For creative people, having a hobby separate from a main creative outlet or career can be stress relieving. It can also help bust through creative blocks and spark new ideas, by allowing us to focus on something else and think in new ways.
Sylvia Plath kept bees, Agatha Christie was an archaeologist, and Leo Tolstoy loved to play chess. For artists, writers, and other creatives, having a hobby has always been essential and beneficial.
Read on for 20 fun and creative hobbies to bring more joy and creative inspiration into your life today, and some resources for getting started.
Creative writing
A creative writing hobby is a fun and imaginative way to spend free hours. You can work on novels with big, complex plots and characters, or write for 15 minutes from a prompt to get your creative mind going. You could write flash fiction or poetry, short stories or memoir essays. The possibilities with creative writing are endless, and stretch as far as your imagination.
Find advice, ideas and exercises for creative writing here.
Acrylic pouring
Acrylic pouring, or acrylic paint pouring, is the technique of mixing and pouring paints over a canvas to create beautiful, flowing abstract art. I love this kind of art work. No two paintings are ever the same, even when using the same colours. The finished product can resemble anything from an ocean, to a swirling galaxy, to marble. Check out this article for a beginner’s guide to acrylic pouring.
Pottery
Bring out your inner Demi Moore/Patrick Swayze with some pottery. Whether you invest in a pottery kiln and wheel for your home, or visit a local pottery studio, making your own mugs, plates, vases and bowls can be a fun and satisfying experience. And they also make a great gift!
The Little Pot Company has an article here on all you need to know to get started.
Ceramic painting
Now you have all that lovely handmade pottery, it’s time to decorate!
Or, if you prefer pre-made pottery, lots of towns and cities now have studios and workshops where you can paint beautiful pieces which will then be dried in a kiln for that glossy finish.
If you’re in Scotland and fancy trying this out, Doodles in Edinburgh is a great place to try!
Jewellery making
Whether it’s a simple beaded bracelet or funky polymer clay creations, make the jewelery you’re always hunting for yourself. You can find supplies in your local craft stores, or on Etsy or Amazon, and a wealth of tutorials on YouTube. I particularly like this tutorial on making polymer clay earrings.
Plus, is there any better way of answering “I love your necklace” than with “thanks, I made it!”?
Photography
My dad took up photography when he was in his late 40’s. Ever since, he takes his camera everywhere and is always learning new things and how to take better photos. From capturing a little robin in a tree, to taking pictures of the full moon, it fills him with a palpable joy.
If you are interested in feeling the same joy as my dad, the Digital Photography School have a great blog post on how to approach photography as a hobby which you can read here.
Digital art and mandalas
One of the most stress-relieving creative hobbies I've come across is creating digital mandalas on my iPad with Procreate. I’m not much of an artist so mirroring the screen in 4 quadrants and playing around with colours to make beautiful mandalas is very satisfying for my creative brain.
And if you make a mistake, just hit undo!
For the more artistic among you, digital art can be a great creative outlet with lots of different tools and layering that you might not be able to get your hands on otherwise.
Check out this video on creating digital mandalas.
Musical instruments
From ukulele to piano, guitar to bagpipes, playing a musical instrument can activate parts of our brain which lend themselves to creativity. Whether playing sheet music or freestyling your own song, playing instruments can inspire new ways of thinking, perfect for sparking creativity.
I have always wanted to learn ukulele and this YouTube channel has been my go-to for learning.
Journaling
Needless to say, I’m a big fan of journaling. I have a whole section of this blog dedicated to it which you can find here.
Journaling can help you work through situations you’re in, give you clarity on what you really want in life, or even simply give you a space to clear your head.
For creatives or those longing for more creativity in their lives, Julia Cameron has long advocated the use of stream-of-consciousness writing in the form of Morning Pages to increase creativity. Read her thoughts on it here.
If you’re interested in starting a journaling hobby and want some more structure to get you started, you can download 10 of my favourite journal prompts below.
10. Drawing
Landscapes to portraits, doodles to life drawing; learning to draw is one of the first ways we express ourselves as children and one of the things most of us think we just can’t do. But you too can learn to draw well. Like everything, its a skill to be developed and with each new sketch you will see little bits of progress. Even the great artists began with terrible first passes.
Get started by learning the basics of sketching here and you’ll soon be on your way to masterpieces of your own.
11. Embroidery
Ever wanted to be a heroine in a Jane Austen novel? Embroidery will make you feel like one. With a myriad of stitches to master, from cross stitch and back stitch to lazy daisy and the french knot, there are endless ways to create unique and beautiful designs. Whether it be flowers in an embroidery hoop to hang on your wall, or embroidering patterns and phrases onto t-shirts, pillows or bags, the possibilities abound.
Check out one of my favourite embroidery Instagram account here. (Taylor Swift inspired, of course.)
You can learn how to do various stitches with the help of this wonderful blog post by Cutesy Crafts.
12. Knitting & Crochet
Knitting and crochet are two of the most hygge hobbies out there and the possible projects are near endless: from knitting cosy hats, to making a crochet blanket for the perfect stormy night, to creating mini animals with the Japanese art of Amigurumi.
These activites are also known to be stress-relieiving and can calm an anxious mind through their repeated, rhymic actions.
Learn the basic knit stitch with this video which helped me remember how to knit after years of not picking up my needles.
13. Dance
With dance, you become the only thing you need to express your creativity. No other tool necessary. While you could attend a dance class in your local area, that is not essential either with a wealth of tutorials online.
There are so many forms of dance from all over the world that dance can be a great creative outlet no matter how you prefer to dance. Learn to do classic ballet dances or the choreography from your favourite k-pop song (guilty!), or simply throw on a 2000s playlist and freestyle wildly to your heart’s content.
As a bonus, the exercise you get from dancing boosts creative thought for hours after, as studies like this one have shown.
Personally I have always wanted to learn ballet, and this at-home ballet workout is a good place to start.
14. Baking & Cake Decoration
When I was a kid I loved to watched Cake Boss on TLC and the insane cakes they came up with - as well as the insane drama. The success of The Great British Bake-Off has also shown how much people love to see the wild and/or wonderful possibilities of baking and cake decoration. Give it a go yourself and wow your friends and family with delicious new cookies, incredibly decorated cakes and more!
Feast your eyes on these decorated cakes and learn how to replicate them at home.
15. Candle making
Nowadays, candles come in all shapes, sizes, colours and scents, though they can be a little pricey too. The good news is, it’s completely possible to make candles at home cheaply, and it’s easier than you think.
You can buy sets online or from local craft stores which are aimed at beginners and contain everything you need to start. Once you’ve got the hang of it, you can buy ingredients and moulds to make your own. Mix scents, colours and candle moulds to make unique candles good enough to gift to a friend or hard-to-buy-for family member.
Check out this article on how to make candles in 8 easy steps.
16. Soap making
Similar to candle making above, soap is something you can make at home and make as creative as you wish, while also making a great gift! Choose from different scents, shapes and textures or mix colours to make beautiful bars of soap that you’ll love.
This great blog post from The Spruce Crafts will have you running to your local craft store to make these creative soaps!
17. Reading
Lose yourself in fictional lives and worlds, while also increasing your creative powers. Studies have shown that reading lends itself to creativity by sparking new pathways in our brain.
If you love to write fiction like I do, reading is a way to figure out what you might like to write yourself; what inspires and intrigues you. Loving crime or fantasy fiction could open the door to trying your hand at them yourself. As Stephen King says: "If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”
18. Film making
All the best filmmakers started out with home videos and you can too. These days you don’t even need a fancy camera to get started, just a phone that’s able to take video. Whether short films with your friends or surreal documentaries, every filmmaker has to start somewhere.
Worried about the cost of making a film yourself? Video Maker’s article gives you tips on how to make a film with no budget.
19. Painting
Have you ever looked at a painting and thought ‘I could have made that’? Why don’t you?
Painting has long been the hobby people associate with creativity. Even former world leaders have taken it up. From portraits to landscapes, watercolour to abstracts, with a myriad of different techniques, brush styles, paint types and colours to choose from, painting really is one of the best ways to express your creativity and spend spare afternoons.
To get started, learn the basics of watercolour painting here.
20. Nail art
I recently got my nails done by a professional for the very first time, and while picking out the design I wanted I couldn’t help be amazed at the designs on offer. I can barely create designs like those on paper, let alone on a nail!
If you want to wow others with your nail art, read this article from Byrdie for easy nail designs to try on yourself or willing test subjects - I mean, friends.
And there you have it - 20 creative and fun hobbies to do at home to bring more joy into your life.
What hobbies do you enjoy? Did anyone of the above intrigue you?
