For this week’s blog post I thought I’d share three different ways to get crafting on a time limit. I love doing these activities when I’ve got a few spare moments and not enough time to settle down for a big project. I also love tuning into one of my favourite art podcasts whilst I make, I’d love to hear any of your podcast suggestions in the comments!

1) Make papers to collage with

This activity is suitable for all levels! If you’re into collage this is a great little warm-up, or if you’re trying collage for the first time this is a perfect way to start! All you’ll need is some paper and any arts and crafts materials you have at home. You can use as little or as many things as you like, the key is to have fun!

Some starting points include: repeated patterns, lines or circles. Stick to a limited colour palette per page, 1 or 2 colours. Don’t worry too much about making a ‘final piece’ as afterwards you will rip, cut out or layer them up in future pieces.

2) Abstract photo postcard

For this project, you’ll need a photo or an image out of a magazine, you could even use an old holiday postcard. The idea is to turn the photo over, cut it up randomly or cut out different shapes. The next step is to turn the pieces over to reveal the different fragments or shapes and rearrange these pieces into a nice composition on a blank postcard (you can buy watercolour postcards from most craft shops which make sturdy substrates, or you could use any thick paper/card and cut out a 6x4 inch rectangle).

Optional: once you’ve glued everything down, you could add pencil marks, paint, tape etc. to your composition. I would keep it fairly simple, but these little extras can add something special!

3) Swatch Gift Tags

If you don’t have any pages of swatches ready to go, this is a 10-minute activity in itself so you’ve got a bonus activity here! If you do have swatches, you’re ready to create your unique gift tags. For this activity you’ll need:

Swatches on pieces of paper

Scissors

Gift tag (or a ruler and pencil to create your own template)

Pen (to handwrite names or messages)

Hole punch

Ribbon or string

Turn over your page of swatches, use a ready-made gift tag as a template or measure out a shape with a ruler and pencil. Fill your page with gift tag stencils, don’t forget to mark in where you want to hole punch, too. Once you’ve done that you can cut out each tag and use the hole punch to make one hole at one end where you can thread some string or ribbon through. Lastly, turn them over for the reveal!

Optional: add handwritten text with messages such as ‘Happy Birthday’, ‘Especially for you’, or label it with the recipient’s name.

That’s it! I hope you enjoy doing these mini crafting activities, and please feel free to share your work!

Keep crafting!

Eve