Kim Kesti
Did you know that January is National Hobby Month? What a grand time to take stock of why crafting makes us such happy campers.
Since I was a small child, I’ve loved crafts. I’ll never forget the first little cross-stitch turtle I made. Then, it was on to painting plaster, macramé and who could forget the era of “dip ‘n drape”? As a young married woman, I sewed dolls and painted chunks of wood for a local craft fair. Many a happy hour was spent working on these crafts.
Today, I think I need to follow my friend Mel’s advice and hang a “New Hobby Need Not Apply” sign on my front door. I’m already up to my ears in fabric for quilting, yarn for knitting and of course, my beloved paper crafting. There are not enough hours in the day/week/month to accomplish everything. But, it’s really not the finished product that matters – it’s the joy of creating.
I combined a little bit of sewing on this card I created with the new BasicGrey Hopscotch collection. The patterned paper reminds me of a quilt, too.
To see more BasicGrey cards today, check out the other Go-to Gals:
I would love to hear about your hobbies, past and present. Leave me a comment about what makes your hobby special and I’ll pick one lucky winner to take home this fun collection from BasicGrey! All comments must be received by midnight (MST) on Thursday, Jan. 27.
Kim Kesti,
Paper Crafts Go-to Gal
P.S. The Craft & Hobby Association Winter Show is this weekend for the trade. Watch our Paper Crafts and Moxie Fab World Facebook pages for updates and sneak peeks of everything new in the crafting world.
Nice card. When I was a kid I cross stitched. Quit crafts during high school. Once out in the working world, I picked up crocheting (which I still love to this day), but due to wrist hand problems cannot do any more (nor can do cross stitching). So now I am into card making and rubber stamping and have fallen head over heals in the craft. Thanks for the opportunity to win.
I’ve cross stitched and crocheted. I still love the look of those handmade items too. I still cross stitch occassionally. Scrapbooking is something I just adore! I’m dabbling in card making and altered art now, but scrapping is my main focus.
I love the feel of the papers in my hands and paper piecing. I love my children’s reaction when I’ve created a new page for their albums. 
For quite a long time I did a lot of rug hooking and really enjoyed it. But once I was introduced to paper I was first hooked on scherenschnitte, then cardmaking and scrapbooking. There was no looking back!
I have been a crafter since the early years of making clothes and houses for my Barbies and troll dolls. Needlepoint,tole painting, decoupage,beading,pottery… My true passion is collage and paper mixed media.
I read which is my other hobby and it takes me away to different places and world. Helps me relax.
scrtsbpal at yahoo dot com
I make cards and rubber stamp for my hobby. What makes it special is that it took me many years to FINALLY find a craft that was right for me. I grew up with a crafty family and I never seemed to be able to find a craft that I loved. THEN I went to a stamp party and fell in love. I have never looked back. In fact the friend who introduced me to it teases me and says she created a monster.
Thanks for a chance to win an awesome prize.
Other than paper crafting, I cross stitch. I’ve also done flower arranging.
I’ve always did crafts also since I was a small child, made my own doll clothes by hand then in Junior High I learned how to use a sewing machine (I literally wore out my first machine, lol) then learned to chrochet and then took a Tole Painting class and fell in Love with painting! I’ve tried Many crafts and still do some of them and always looking to try something new. I still sew and paint and incorperate it into my new obsession, Paper Crafts! All aspects of paper crafts, layouts, cards, Home dec and LOVE Altered Art. Thanks for the chance to win more paper, lol!
I need that sign for my door too! I love making cards, dream of a day that I’ll get back to scrapbooking, still cross-stitch & sew (sometimes on non-paper items!)…. so many creative outlets, so little time!!!
I have many hobbies. My mom taught me to cross-stitch when I was younger and I still continue, reading, cooking, paper crafts and painting ceramics. Thanks, J
I feel like I’ve done so many – candle making, sewing, crocheting, painting on pots and mugs, the odd bit of knitting… but stamping cards is the one that has lasted the longest. I have a great group of friends that I do it with and have made some long lasting friends because of it – that’s what makes it the most special.
Glad to know there are others who struggle with trying not to pick up another craft hobby – it’s always so tempting. I’d have to say my top two are paper crafting and fabric art/quilting. What makes them so special is sharing them with my Mom. It is so fun to create with her and spend the fun and quality time together.
Love your card – it definitely reminds me of one of the 20′s fabric style quilts.
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Oh my Hobby started as learning embroidery, then to cross stitch, tatting and crochet…this was till I reached my teens. Then I was interested in sketching, drawing and now stamping. Still love them all and try to do a bit of this and that…according to time I have. Thanks for this lovely article.
I have made counted cross-stitch items for over 30 years. It’s my relaxation therapy even with arthritis in my hands. And I love making my great-nieces & nephews birth samplers, one more on the way in April!
Mine (apparently) is collecting crafting supplies.
My name is Kay, and I’m a hobbyaholic. Past hobbies include: cross stitching, sewing (did LOTS of that, clothing and stuffed animals, etc…), crocheting (still do some of that), jewelry making, polymer clay work (made my own beads and pendants for the jewelry), and general crafting. Oh, and there was the doll collecting phase, too (ask me about my Barbie collection sometime- tee hee!) These days, I’m mostly a paper crafter; I love working with paper, and products are always changing with new product being released almost daily, so never a dull moment with paper!
I used to be an avid crochet-er (is that a word?) — I would sit for hours and hours creating blankets and gifts. There was something so meditative about it. Then, my fingers cramped so badly that I had to give it up. It still makes me sad! But, now I am a card-maker and scrapbooker — easier on the hands and it’s something that makes so many people happy!
I love to sew (crafts, curtains, clothing), knit, decorate cakes, and among othre things I love doing folk-art painting. However, my latest addiction is scrapbooking. I can’t get enough of it. Life gets in the way and I get grouchy when I haven’t done it in a while.
Is there a 12 step program somewhere for Crafts? I need it-I’ve done a LOT of different crafts, and collected a lot collections! Thankfully, as I’ve gotten older I’ve learned how to let go of all my “I’ll try this someday” items and donated them to people who want them. Right now, I love stamping, card making, and scrapbooking-which will tell our famililes who we were and what we were like “back in the day”.
My mother started us with embroidery as far back as I can remember. I also did sewing, macrame, painting ceramics, crewel, needlepoint, origami, candle making and anything else that came along. My first papercrafting project was when I was about six – I made a robot by cutting paper shapes out with zig-zag siccors. I wish I had the money I spent on all those supplies!
Oh my, I’ve had some crazy hobbies – a bit of embroidery and cross stitching, candlemaking (too messy!!), and scrapbooking. Thankfully I’ve found a hobby I love and do every day – card making!! Adore it!!
I would love to receive such a lovely card! Such great colors! Thanks for the inspiration!
Hobbies…pulling weeds…otherwise known as gardening..Ha! But I do love flowers..the more the merrier!
i started out crocheting when i was in my teens! mom and grandma used to do it all the time. then when i was about to graduate from HS, i started to scrapbook. its been off and on, but now i really love cardmaking!
I did cross stiching, punched tin and needlepoint as a child. As my mother and grandmother are both crafty and right brained it help me to learn to value creativity. As a left-brained statistican it is invaluable to have right-brained creative releases.
Like you, I don’t need any more hobbies – I’ve made my own clothes, quilted, crocheted, knitted, needlepointed, made scrapbooks since I was a teen, made cards even longer, kept a journal and now a blog, I take photographs, decorate (who doesn’t?), and probably a few more.
Hey Kim, I’ve had a bunch of different hobbies over the years! But my favorite has to have been cross stitch. I love the way the finished piece looks with all the tiny stitches. But now I have arthritis and it’s painful to hold a needle. My best piece is a street scene from Charleston SC that is called ‘Rainbow Row’. It’s a beautiful street, with all it’s different colors,and it’s a beautiful piece of art work too.
My thumbs are the worst, but I can still play with paper! Sometimes I have to turn my punches around and figure out a different way to use them. But So far, so good! I still have a couple of unfinished pieces I really want to try to finish. We’ll see.
For my 7th birthday, my parents gave me a stamp album and a little envelope of foreign stamps. I collected for some years. I especially loved the ones with bright colors and animals or birds. I still have the album, but I now I steal stamps from it to use on scrapbook layouts.
I’ve been very loyal but selective in the hobbies in my life….in order from most important (aka most $$$ investment):
1) Stamping/Card-making/paper-crafting (but so far no scrapbooking – it terrifies me!!)
2) Counted Cross Stitch/Embroidery
3) Crochet
4) Earring-making….JUST earrings……
I LOVE fabrics, but I think it’s more the design elements rather than DOING something with them that attacts me. I yearn to learn to quilt but I know my time & financial limitations – so far, I’ve been able to Just Say No….so far…..
Crafting is most definitely my therapy and it’s so cool that it’s a 2 for 1 deal. I get the therapy AND when I’m finished with a project, I have a nifty little gift to give!!
I love to sew! I love to quilt! Right now scrapbooking is my main hobby, but I literally just have to swivel my chair around to start sewing….which makes it easy to add a little stitching to my pages.
I have a few projects that I sew from time to time. Like aprons, purses and things like that.
I adore textiles!
I’ve been craft-crazy since I was a small child. I always had paper and pencil in my hands, doodled a lot, wrote a lot. Learned to crochet when I was eight. I’ve been through the sewing phase, quilting, needlepoint, and so much more. Right now most of my time is spent making cards and scrapbook pages, and writing. I still knit and crochet to relax, or when we’re on the road, or at doctor’s waiting rooms. I don’t get how anyone can ever be bored, when there’s so much to do. My problem is finding enough time to do it all!!!!
I did some stained glass years ago, but never continued with it. Also did some yarn weaving, a bit of jewelry making, and sewing. It seems like paper arts is the one hobby that has retained my interest over so many years. Never get tired of it as there is always something new to learn.
DeniseB
My mom gave me her love of crafting and I’m so thankful to her for that. My past hobbies have included counted cross stitch, ceramic painting, sewing etc. My current hobbies are really all about papercrafting but I’ve also joined the jewelry making craze in a small way by completing some of Scarlet Lime’s great watch and necklace kits.
In addition to paper crafting…I also crochet. In any of my hobbies, I love to make gifts for others. Over the years I have dabbled in polymer clay, quilting, and other crafts. I always come back to card making, scrapbooking, and crochet.
I am a paper crafting girl and what makes is so special is that it is something that I do that is for me but at the same time preserves memories for the future!
I never really had a hobby until I took up scrapbooking and papercrafting
I have a lot of hobbies. I sew, punch needle, sculpt, scrapbook, paint, etc. I am always willing to try a new craft.
This card is adorable. I am also a cross stitch gal and am working on an angel stocking for Christmas…I hope to finish before I die. Have a great week!