New Hobbies to Pick up with a Lot of Free Time

Don’t know what to do with all your extra time? Try these!

Emory Gardner, Staff Writer|March 28, 2020

We all know that being stuck at home can be frustrating, but it does give you a lot of extra time to try new things. Why not make your quarantine productive and learn a new skill or find a new hobby.

1.Embroidery

Here are a pair of shoes that Clara Cullum has embroidered.

I know this might seem like your grandma’s past-time, but trust me on this one. It can be fun and really rewarding. Go grab some thread and any clothing item, and boom, you have yourself a personalized, one of a kind piece of art. It is very satisfying to finish a project that you put a lot of thought and meaning into. Don’t knock it before you try it.

Here are another pair of shoes that Clara has personalized.

2. Pick up an instrument

This one is a bit limiting because you have to have the instrument to play it, but your dad might just have his guitar from when he was in college lying around the house somewhere. Maybe you still have the instrument you played in the middle school band; you could always pick it back up. There are tons of videos on Youtube to help you get started on your musical journey. It is very enriching for your mind to think in a new way.

This is a picture of an acrylic pour painting. To do this, you put the paint you want in a cup, and then cover the top of the cup with a canvas. You turn the canvas over and pick up the cup. You can then move the paint around to create a beautiful piece of art.

3. Art

This one may be hard for our perfectionists out there, but you could start drawing or painting again. Even for our artistically challenged, you could do acrylic pouring or graffiti art with spray paint. There are lots of art project ideas that are easy and fun on Youtube. Always remember the point of this hobby is to have fun, it doesn’t matter what the end result is. It’s the journey, not the destination.

4. Sharks teeth/shell/rock collecting

This is a picture of some of my family’s shark teeth collection.

Collecting anything is a fun hobby, but since we live on the coast, more specifically sharks teeth, shells, or rocks. If you travel on a boat around the marshes here, you could find little banks that are filled with shark teeth. They are hundreds of years old and you can find some pretty interesting ones. Also, if you can get to a beach, collecting different types of shells is fun. For rocks, you could just go on a walk around your neighborhood and see what treasures you find. The hunt is very fun and I highly recommend it if you are bored. Also, it gets you outside in the sunshine. 🙂

5. Jewelry making

Here are two pictures of Katherine Ray’s earrings that she makes herself.

Another fun hobby is jewelry making. You could make the string friendship bracelets that we all used to in middle school, or you could even break out the Rainbow Loom. If you don’t have those supplies, you could always make jewelry with beads. Another interesting way to make jewelry is to use acrylic and molds. Then once you make your new statement piece, don’t forget to wear and style it and photograph your new accessories.