When I was scratching my head and trying to figure out how to start my introduction for this article – “11 reasons you should start crafting”, I came across an inspiring video at the right time.
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A 77-year-old grandma who’s still dancing, teaching, and performing! It’s not just any dance, it’s ballet!
This reminds me of other amazing “old” folks I came across some time ago. I can’t remember their detailed stories, but all I can recall is that they are simply marvelous. The age is above 60 years old.
Note: You may find some links at the end of this article should you want to know more. I read the information from the local newspapers which I don’t have the details as I don’t keep the papers.
- A 60+ years old lady learns ballet around this age and excels
- 100-year-old still plays the piano very well
- 70+ years old man received his degrees and excelled in his studies
- An elderly man still runs a marathon
Okay, another man I read in the comment that he just picked up to learn ballet at 30+ age… Wow!
He said that he still got decades to master his dancing skill!
These are just a few examples that I came across. There are many more inspirational stories online or even someone you know in person!
Imagine if you were to put more than 10,000 hours into practicing your chosen art, what would it be like a few years down the road?
Have you thought of how long you can live or how long you want to live? Someone mentioned to me that they just wanted to live until 60 years old, which is good enough to experience life. I was shocked to hear this as I never thought about the length of life…
Well, this is something we all can’t control and determine.
Before you are curious as to why I mentioned age and stuff like this on Washi Magic Blog here, please bear with me.
However, with the help of advanced medicine and technology nowadays, it’s quite possible to live longer. What about 120 years old? I haven’t read the book yet – I’ve Decided to Live 120 Years by Ilchi Lee – but I knew about it via Lavendaire’s YouTube channel.
With that being said, my point here is that regardless of your age right now, you’ll still have time to learn and possibly master your chosen art. Even though I’m sharing this article – 11 reasons you should start crafting – it doesn’t have to be related to washi tape or other crafts in general. For example, music is an art, a sport is an art, dancing is an art, and even cooking is an art too!
On the contrary, I was surprised to read that more than 70% of young people found that they feel bored. I came across this article in a paper quite some time ago while I was in a rush. I wish I had taken a picture or two. But somehow I still remember this article.
How can this be? How can people feel bored when there are so many fun hobbies and activities waiting for us to explore?
Anyway, let’s explore one by one - 11 reasons you should start crafting now:
1. Arts and Crafts is a Great Hobby
You can do it by yourself if you wish to spend some time alone or you can do it with your kids, family, or friends. Perhaps craft with someone you hardly know. But no worries… you will find yourself chatty as crafting is a good conversation starter.
2. Easy To Start Now
The main reason I started with washi tape is that it’s easy and to use. You don’t even need to use glue and scissors if you don’t want to. It’s easy to make any project on different occasions. What about using washi tapes and some drawing papers from a sketchbook like the picture shown below?
The 2 extra things I used are a stapler and scissors as I wanted a “neat” feel for the gift. Click here to find out more in this post!
3. Learn New Skills
Is it important to learn new skills? Yes, it is.
It can help stimulate our minds. The skills can be related to your current career or something totally different. Sometimes, we are so fixated on one particular thing, be it art or hobby, etc, that we become quite used to it.
It becomes routine.
For example, if you’ve been eating something very bland, how would you feel when you eat spicy food all of sudden? It’s just an analogy. So if you’ve never tried crafting before, why not give washi tape crafts a try?
This is because…
Update: I recently came across some people, students and adults, who take the time to learn musical instruments after school/work. I sincerely admire their learning attitude.
4. When You Retire
Have you thought of what you want to do when you retire? Watching TV or reading the newspaper all day long? Taking care of children and grandchildren, cleaning, cooking, and more?
You can, of course, continue doing all the routine stuff in life. But, I believe it’s really important to do and create something actively when you have spare time, even just 15 minutes a day.
There are many things to learn and do such as card making, jewelry making, cooking, decorating, knitting, sewing, scrapbooking, coloring, drawing, etc. What about singing, dancing, baking, gardening, flower arrangement, learning a new language, playing a musical instrument, or a sport suitable for you?
You see, it’s not limited to just crafting.
5. When You Feel Unmotivated
We normally do our best to be cheerful and optimistic no matter what. But, there are also times when we feel down, unmotivated and melancholy. Well, this is life as we all deal with all sorts of things, people, and challenges.
I know… you may not want to do anything at all, especially when you feel upset. Why not just spend a few minutes looking at your beautiful crafty stuff and see if you can come up with some gorgeous projects? You will feel so much better.
6. Use The Tools That You Have
Yes, please use what you have now, like colored paper, white cardstock, ribbons, buttons, glue, scissors, etc. No washi tapes yet? Then create some yourself or use the stickers that you have.
It’s not necessary to buy all sorts of tools and supplies right away if you are unsure if this newfound hobby will last or not. The point here is to do something actively.
7. See Your Artwork Instantly
The beauty of washi tape crafts is that you can see and admire your artwork right away since it’s so easy to make a few. Click here to view the gallery.
I actually learned about jewelry making first when I was abroad. Stumbled upon an advertisement about jewelry making. I then went to the class and got hooked ever since and now expand to other projects! It’s fascinating to see how easy it is (of course with some practice) to make a pair of earrings!
8. Relaxing
It’s therapeutic and relaxing to indulge yourself in the world of creating your artwork, be it in the traditional format where you glue and join all the materials together or in the digital format.
I’m not yet a huge fan of coloring but I did give it a try. It’s surprisingly relaxing. I found myself lost in the wonderland of colors because I was busy trying to figure out what color to use. I was also amazed that I wanted to keep coloring until it’s done!
What about having your favorite music on whilst creating your masterpiece?
9. Keep In Touch
Have you ever experienced such a situation when you wanted to call someone but you hesitated? Or, both of you are now on the line, and all of sudden, you are not sure what to say.
Making your snail mails, greeting cards, or postcards and sending them to your family, relatives and friends are wonderful ways to keep in touch if you feel awkward talking. Plus, handmade art makes the connection even more special and touching.
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Snail mail series
10. Share Your Masterpiece
Once you have started creating some projects, you might want to make more and more. Why not share your artwork with others? Let your family and friends know that you are indeed artistic and creative.
This will help build your confidence over time. Furthermore, the internet and social media make sharing so much easier and faster nowadays. And this might lead to a…
11. Full-Fledged Career Or Home-Based Business
If you have been creating some arts and crafts by now and the response is good, you can try selling them. Perhaps you can try first at a charity fair, flea market, bazaar, or online marketplace. Who knows you might have discovered something creative in your new career path.
Phew! Hope you find this – “11 reasons you should start crafting” is convincing enough to get you started.
There’s a difference between learning actively and passively. Reading is a good hobby. But simply reading and not applying what you’ve read will not help improve what you want to improve in the first place. Okay, maybe not you… but I’m telling myself definitely.
Likewise, collecting decorative tapes and crafts stash and admiring them from afar is simply not enough. We need to take action and use them. Even if all you do is adorn your monthly planner.
All in all, no matter what kind of art you choose to learn and master, as long as it’s legally and morally right, no matter how old or young you think you are, you can start learning and creating something today.
Instead of going through life aimlessly, we now have something to aim for, be it crafting, dancing, journaling, sports, etc.
Instead of complaining it’s too boring, we can find a hobby or two to learn and get better at it every day. Remember at the beginning of this article, the guy who said he still has decades to learn and master his dancing skills?
Instead of having regrets (or at least doing our best to minimize our regrets), we can do something creative today to nurture and nourish our mind, body, and soul.
It’s never too late or too old to…
…start crafting.
…start learning something new.
…continue learning something you’ve stopped earlier.
The only question is, “Are you willing to learn? Do you want to?”
So, what are you going to learn today?
Sources:
A 77-year-old grandma who’s still dancing and teaching ballet!
A 60+ years old lady learns ballet… If I’m not mistaken, she started learning ballet in her late 50s. Sorry that I don’t have the exact details for this one which I read ages ago. I always feel the urge to learn now whenever I read their uplifting stories.
100-year-old still plays the piano very well… watch here and here.
Read more about this book – I’ve Decided to Live 120 Years by Ilchi Lee via Lavendaire’s YouTube channel. The video starts at 5:54.
Update: These links are not mentioned in the article. But, whenever I overthink or have self-doubt, I’ll re-read the articles to remind myself – Never too old and Success has no age limit.
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