Whether you are watching someone do it or you are doing it yourself, the act of creating something can be very relaxing and is a perfect way to pass time.

Arts and crafts have many benefits such as being a wonderful way to relieve stress, improve one’s self-esteem, and help process complex feelings, such as the ones you might be feeling during this global pandemic.

According to rutor.org, arts and crafts can be used as a form of therapy in order to offer an emotional release and help reduce stress. With COVID-19 forcing many of us to be confined to our house, now is the perfect time to pick up a new hobby.

Here is a step by step guide on a few of my top arts and crafts that anyone can do during their quarantine.

The first one is creating origami paper stars, or as they are sometimes called, origami lucky stars. Origami lucky stars even have a legend surrounding them, which says if you make and collect 1,000 lucky stars in a glass jar, you get to make one wish. All you need to craft them is either buy origami paper strips, which can be bought off of Amazon, or you can simply cut any paper into 1 to 3 cm strips.

1.  Now that you have your strips, you bring the right end of the paper over and down, then bring the bottom end up and over the left end.
2. Now that you have a loop, feed the top end behind and through the hole.
3.  From there continue to pull the end through the loop, also pull the bottom end to tighten the knot.
4. Continuing wiggling and pulling the knot tighter, flattening it as you go.
5. Now fold the excess end behind. If the left-over end is too long, it can be cut off as needed.
6. Next fold the end on the left behind, keeping the bottom edge aligned with the bottom edge of the shape in the center.
7. From there continue wrapping the pentagon, and then fold the strip on top, over to the top left.
8. Continue wrapping the pentagon, then fold the strip down behind to the bottom. Fold the strip up and over to the right, then fold the strip over behind to the left and continue until you only have a small section left.
9. Once again if the strip is too long you may cut it as needed. Now insert the end of the strip inside the pocket, and then inflate the star by taking your index finger and thumb and pinch in one of the points of the star.
10. Continue doing this until all points are correctly star shaped.

Congratulations, you have made your first origami lucky star, now only 999 left for that wish. More information for this craft can be found at https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/make-origami-lucky-stars-4107161

Do you have a bit of an addiction to eating popsicles and buying potted plants?

Well if so, this next craft is for you. This Popsicle Stick Hanger can be made quickly and is quite simple. All you will need is yarn or rope, a hot glue gun and some hot glue sticks, and lastly popsicles.

1. First lay two Popsicle sticks parallel to each other flat on a table; use a hot glue gun to glue two more sticks flat on top to form a square.
2. Continue stacking and gluing sticks until you create a square five sticks tall.
3. From there, cut a length of rope or heavy yarn double the distance your planter will hang from the ceiling.
4.  Now fold in half, then thread the halfway point through the square toward the outside on one corner of the square.
5. Next take the ends of the rope and thread through the loop before pulling tight. Continue to do this on all four corners.
6. Now take all four strands and pull them upward together so the rope is taught, then tie a knot roughly halfway up. Now tie the ropes once more at the top.

All that’s left is to  pick your favorite corner to hang your plant from. More information about this craft can be found at https://www.omaha.com/momaha/easy-diy-terracotta-planters-are-perfect-for-the-home/article_255c528c-ea0f-11e5-a9e1-673398bc8cba.html

The last craft that we’ll be looking at is a blast from the past.

All you’ll need for this one is your canvas of choice whether it’s a paper plate, a piece of paper, or even a paper towel.

Next you’ll need some dry pasta and some glue. With all your materials gathered, let your imagination go wild and create whatever pasta art you want. If you want to be extra fancy you can add glitter or even dye your pasta with some paint. Let your imagination be your guide and watch the time pasta-way as you create art that your childhood self would be jealous of.