Cheap and Easy Craft Ideas

When you’re wondering what you want to do today or wish to make a gift for a loved one, it can sometimes be tricky to figure it out. Money may be tight, inspiration could run dry, and sometimes your dream projects are too ambitious for your current skill level. However, there is a chance you may want a project to do with someone else as a bonding activity. Such as with a partner or a child.

These are five craft ideas that are easy, affordable, but most importantly of all: fun. While some will push you to new limits and give a learning experience, they all should be perfectly doable.

Nightlight Jar

The first two crafts you can do are ways you can reuse glass jars, and the first one is a nightlight jar. Essentially, you decorate a jar and put in a string of lights. What you get out of it is a unique yet cute light made out of a reusable material.

Chances are, you already have everything you need to make such jars lying around. Paint, hot glue gun, and ribbons are all you really need to decorate the jars and basic string lights are cheap and easy to purchase.

You can purchase the second jar highlighted at my shop. Check out the listing!

Pen Holder

The other jar-themed craft you can do is making a pen holder. While this craft is better for pickle jars, being able to make a unique pen holder will be both cheaper and more satisfying than simply buying one.The process is similar to making a nightlight jar, but you can do more things to the jar itself as you don‘t need to ensure that you have light shining through.

Customizing Thrifted Bags

When you score a good bag at a thrift store, it is either something cute you got for a bargain, or potential for something unique. But with some paints, sewing materials, or decorations, you can turn that potential into reality. The difficulty and expenses of customizing bags depend on how ambitious you want to go.

For instance, adding pockets usually requires some fabric and sewing supplies, but it is simple enough to get started on learning how to sew. Painting a character or a design requires some paints, and having a good quality look will depend on the type of materials you use and your skill in painting.

The example images are bags modified into an expensive type of bag known as ita bags. While the bags themselves may be cheap, being either thrifted or hand-me-downs, collecting the buttons is an expensive endeavor.

Music Box

There is a type of music box you can get online where you can punch a strip of paper and run it through to play a song. You can bolt this music box to an object for more amplification and better sound quality. While making music for a box can be fun, one of the best parts is bolting the music box to a wooden box you decorated.

You can paint the box, create a diorama, or even make the box yourself if you know how to work with wood. The best part is that if you get a box bigger than what you may need, you can decorate the inside as well. 

Scrapbooking

If you wish to make a unique book that is dedicated to something special to you, then you can always try scrapbooking. You can make collages out of previous art projects or memories kept in the form of photos, using magazine cuttings and objects you can find. It is possible to use scrapbooking as a way to explore ideas or test concepts before going ahead with whatever it is you have in mind.

Conclusion

There are plenty of cute things you can do when you are on a budget and short on skills. It is all about thinking creatively and seeing what you can scrounge with what you already have. Not everybody is going to make fancy stuff, but the things you make don’t need to be fancy to be worthwhile and uniquely yours.

Thank you to Pexel for the images of the scrapbook. It doesn’t endorse this article or the contents in it, nor is it a sponsor. However, it is a useful resource for people who need free to use images or references to use while drawing.