YEP Opinion: why not beat the January blues with a brand new craft?

As the January boredom rears its ugly head, why not keep the fear at bay with a new craft?
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January is always a tricky month.

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You've wined, dined and overeaten your way through Christmas and the New Year, so now what?

In the spirit of 'New Year New Me' and a desire to make myself feel useful, I turned to the crafty world of pottery. Photo: Bruce RollinsonIn the spirit of 'New Year New Me' and a desire to make myself feel useful, I turned to the crafty world of pottery. Photo: Bruce Rollinson
In the spirit of 'New Year New Me' and a desire to make myself feel useful, I turned to the crafty world of pottery. Photo: Bruce Rollinson

This year especially I've found myself wallowing in the post-fiesta blues, with even endless reruns of Seinfeld failing to pick me up out of my grump.

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So, in the spirit of 'New Year New Me' and a desire to make myself feel useful, I turned to the crafty world of pottery.

With only a few minutes of searching online I was able to find tens of companies selling starter kits, with all the paint, clay and tiny tools you could need to make a vase or a dish without the fuss of a potter's wheel.

A few days of patiently waiting for the postman to come knocking and I was handed a parcel full of what I was sure would give me a newfound purpose for January, but knowing myself I've fallen under the spell of short-term hobbies before.

Look around my flat and you'll find crochet and knitting needles tucked into balls of yarn, paint, colouring books and sketch by numbers - all hobbies I was obsessed with for around a week before the 'been there, done that' crept into my head and forced me to move on to the next thing.

But no, no! This one was going to stick, I was sure of it.

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Now, as we edge closer to the start of February and even further away from my previous record of craft abandonment, I can proudly announce that I have broken the seven day spell.

No towel has been thrown in, no huff expelled after the boredom or impatience starts to creep back - this is my new 'thing'.

Nearly 30 days in and I'm still spending my evenings making all the ceramic bits and bobs I can fathom, and it seems to have pulled me right out of my beginning of the year slump.

If there's one thing I can encourage you to give a go this year, it's sticking to your arts and crafts for a little while longer.

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Those extra few days clinging onto the hope that your new hobby will stay around might just find you filling your time - and feeling more fulfilled whilst you are at it.

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