Confession time: the last hobby I wrote about was my strawberry paint by numbers, and then summer happened. Travel, training a service dog, a market booth, and a very full work/travel calendar all got in line ahead of my blog notes. If you read the strawberry post you may recall a major oops and #facepalm moment. Let’s use this space to quickly recap what I’ve been up to, including the stuff I never told you about.
The makes that found a purpose
Magnets and candles were the stars of the summer. Add decoupaged ornaments and wine charms and I had a small collection of things I actually wanted to hand to other people. That mattered more than I expected. As I’ve said before, my play sweet spot is a low learning curve plus a reason to exist.
The reason turned out to be a vendor booth. I ran one for the first time in a while as a seller (I used to host a few tables of resale products back in my 20s, so it felt like muscle memory mixed with new nerves). The booth was part of my 2026 goals for my SoQue Society second-hand business. Spoiler: it went really well and I signed up for the same market next year! (TBD what I do between now and then and my storage unit stuffed with…stuff 🥴) Current status? A few of the summer makes are about to land on Etsy, so stay tuned for that!
The [Skinny] Details:
Magnets: I made two versions. Both botanical themed (you’ll quickly see florals are kind of my thing). I had a 2-inch square magnet making machine - yes, machine. I did have to buy a 2-inch square punch but I did the cheap way not the expensive way (hard corners not round corners). I also did 1 inch round glass cabochons. Honestly both were pretty simple and had similar set up. Cut or punch paper. Assemble. I included a glue process with the square ones which was not technically required but I found them to be more secure.
Candles: I had originally used Claude (AI) to help me with measurements and the process and we were way over on the estimates, enough so that I sent stuff back instead of hanging on to extra materials for another rainy day go. I also forgot I had purchased some candle-making supplies from Facebook marketplace so oops with the doubles. I had every intent to sell these at the market (very dreamy beach/coastal type scent) with super cute green floral vessels - when my candle warning labels didn’t arrive in time. I decided to go with flameless (candle warmer, not a fire flame) but I still needed a disclaimer in order to sell these as retail. So instead, I’ve got 24 that may become gifts this season 🤣
Decoupage: I kept calling this papier-mâché, which I mean honestly isn’t that far off (yes I know it’s different). I have been obsessively collecting pretty floral napkins from antique malls, discount stores, etc. and finally took a go at three items: (1) 4 inch round wood disc ornaments, (2) 1 inch round wood disc wine charms, and (3) making photo mats (to complement those diamond art paintings). I learned this is fairly simple to do, albeit time consuming and can be messy. I also failed to look up enough tips and tricks and then got served up a Decoupage Facebook group that is giving me major inspo if I keep this up. For now, I’m about to list a few of these to a new Etsy shop.
Lego: I fully intended to do a whole month of lego and kit building. I have two 3-in-1 sets, a pretty flower arrangement, and even a bookstore shelf kit. I only made it to one single build done in a few hours with my nephews during our August summer trip. (Naturally I gifted them the new Pokémon digital play kits they had a ball with). I very much appreciated the literal step-by-step guide in my kit. I very much did not like having to squint at pieces trying to match them up to their photos. So many pieces are so much alike!
The things I started and didn’t finish
I finished my diamond art kits, but my plan to build cool frames for them to sell is stuck at about the halfway mark. The kits are done. The frames are in a “someday this year” pile. (This was supposed to be decoupage napkins instead of white photo mats.) Was really hoping to display them at the market but alas, had to make a time crunch call to shelf them for now.
I also started a dot painting (kind of like diamond art but with literal dots of markers). I have cross stitching lined up next. To warm up, I practiced sewing a hole in my mattress topper. Not glamorous, but it counts as needlework and I’m calling it #training.
The crochet chapter I skipped
I never wrote about my crochet attempt, mostly because it did not go well. Was it a #FailForward moment? TBD. Then my nephew had a crochet kit, so we tried again together. We watched a bunch of YouTube tutorials side by side, pausing and rewinding and squinting at hands. Challenges for him? He’s left handed so trying to figure out tutorials for the opposite way most people hold materials was a challenge. Although like most kids, he picked up the first knot pretty quickly. I did too at that age. Challenge for me? Finding the time to really learn something new. I, too, knew how to crochet a single knot at his age and made a huge long rope chain. Then I tabled the skill for 20+ years. Needless to say I am confident he will beat me to finishing his crochet kit before me.
What got in the way
Some months I traveled so much that starting something new felt impossible. I truly believe hobbies need to give you energy, not feel like a chore. So I found myself slipping back into binge reading during the weeks where I felt less inspired. I’ve already surpassed 120 books for the year which is pretty wild considering my attention has been divided. I started and then subsequently abandoned a new hobby-based YouTube channel. Content consistency is hard. (Three months of silence, but I’m coming back to it.)
I’m not treating any of this as failure. Permission to play includes permission to drift, and the pattern is data. The hobbies I finished all had an end point and something I enjoyed as the final product. I’m also starting to consider some hobbies that are less “make” and more “do” because I find myself collecting more clutter with things I want to try.
What’s next
My annual client mailing campaign is next on the list to assemble. This is something I’ve done every year through The Social Question and is usually a major creative expression outlet. This year I had to do a little less in the personalization department due to aforementioned obstacles. The Etsy shop launch is super close, and I have a post coming soon on the Quirk’s article about work and play. Hint: You may see me on a research stage next Spring on this topic, too!
