Nothing brings out an inner crafter quite like a quarantine. And that crafter may appear after a stint as a baker (trying 17 different banana bread recipes), a film critic (binging Netflix for three days straight), and a budding yogi (thanks to streaming yoga classes and a beach towel subbing for a mat on the living room floor). But whenever that inner crafter appears, you will be ready with a great craft idea with these 20 easy quarantine crafts to do at home!
1. Make Cards for Every Holiday
Get ahead of the game by crafting your own cards for any occasion, from birthdays to bar mitzvahs. Use old cards and gift tags, along with construction paper, stickers, paints, and any other craft supplies you already have on hand to make one-of-a-kind cards.
2. Make Wrapping Paper, Too!
While you’re in the gifting mood, take ordinary brown kraft paper and turn it into personalized wrapping paper with stamps or paints. If you don’t have stamps at home, you can go back to one of the oldest crafter’s tricks around and grab a potato from the pantry, and presto! You have a stamp you can personalize.
3. Put a Cork in It
If you have consumed quite a few quarantine bottles (no judgment here), take those corks and make them into art or use them for other art activities. A cork wreath or a cork vase are popular choices, and you can even make it fun for the kids by letting them paint mini “cork people.”
4. After the Junk Drawer is Cleaned Out, Line it!
Let’s face it, who hasn’t cleaned out at least one junk drawer during quarantine boredom? And here is a fantastic finishing touch for that clean-out: line drawers with pretty papers. They can be leftover scraps of wallpaper or wrapping paper you already have on hand. You will smile each time you open the freshly organized drawer with a pretty pop of design!
5. Get Rid of the Crayon Nubs Once and For All!
If your child’s art supplies are littered with tiny crayon nubs, gather them up and recycle them into new ones! Pour the melted wax from the nubs into small containers (old glue stick containers work well) to quickly “upcycle” your old nubs into new crayons.
6. Pucker Up
In addition to melting old crayon nubs, you can also melt items you have on hand at home to create your very own lip balms. Most at-home recipes will call for coconut or almond oils, beeswax, and honey. Placed in small jars, these balms make great gifts for friends and family, too!
7. Clearly, You Need Some Color
If you have a surplus of clear glass florist vases or a mason jar, consider painting them for a great accessory and a cheap and easy way to brighten up a room. They can still be used to hold flowers, or you can use them for utensils, pens, and pencils, or makeup brushes on a vanity.
8. The Mat Matters
One of the quickest and easiest ways to refresh your artwork or framed pictures is to paint the mat. Give a boring old white mat a new lease on life with a pop of fun color to liven up any room’s décor.
9. Preserve Your Memories
Scrapbooking is the perfect quarantine pastime, and you can also use the time at home to simply organize photo albums too. You can take the simple route and organize by date, or you could also make albums by themes, such as sports/hobbies or family vacations.
10. Label It!
Perhaps it’s not the “craftiest” of suggestions, but quarantine is the perfect time to get yourself a label maker and go to town! (I mean, stay at home. But you get that.) Use a label maker to get everything in your home clearly identified and organized.
11. Sweet Scents
An easy way to keep your drawers smelling fresh is to make sachets out of old nightgowns or pillowcases (or any soft and silky fabric you have on hand). In addition to the fabric scraps, all you need is dried flowers and herbs and a few drops of essential oils!
12. Box it Up
A more extensive project for quarantine would be a shadow box. This is a great way to preserve keepsakes, whether it’s a baby’s first booties or a sports fan’s collection of stadium ticket stubs. You can order a ready-make shadow box from a craft store or really go all out and make the box by hand.
13. Overflowing T-Shirt Drawer?
Make a T-shirt quilt! This is a project-specific to quilters as it’s going to take a skill level beyond the novice crafter. T-shirt quilts are great gifts for sports fans, recent graduates, or even concertgoers.
14. Tie-Dye More Than Shirts
Speaking of T-shirts, tie-dying is a great quarantine craft. But it doesn’t have to be limited to shirts! Tie-dye some dishcloths to liven up your kitchen, or let the kids tie-dye a sheet to make a tapestry.
15. Make Your Bath the Bomb
Bath bombs are all the rage, but they can be costly in stores! With an easy ready-made mold and some common ingredients, you can make your own bath bombs at home.
16. Playing with Dough
To keep stir-crazy kids occupied during quarantine, there’s no better trick up your sleeve than easy homemade playdough. Use bright food coloring to make it extra fun!
17. Treat Yourself to Flowers
Who doesn’t love a bright bouquet? And you can make one with staying power by using craft items. Felt or paper flowers are fun quarantine crafts to keep you busy and create something that will bring you joy.
18. Repurpose Jewels
Pull out the various broken pieces or remnants in your jewelry box – an earring that has lost its match or beads that fell off a brooch and re-use them by attaching them to a bracelet or other accessory.
19. Paint Little Pops of Color
Use up leftover paint from old projects by finding little “nooks” that could use colors, such as the backs of bookcases or stair treads.
20. Warm it Up with Wax
Candle aficionados may have cabinets full of almost fully used candles. Remove those last bits of wax to use in candle warmers to keep your home smelling divine during the long days of quarantine.