My wife and I are looking to spend more time together and are looking for a hobby we both can pick up and enjoy together. Does anybody have any suggestions? We would be open to trying anything so feel free to suggest whatever you enjoy, no matter how unusual it may be! We are ideally looking for something that is easy to begin, takes some time to master, is relatively cheap to do, and can be done year round. Thanks in advance!
My wife and I took up decoupage as a fun and rewarding hobby. Yes this can be done year round and is as expensive or inexpensive as you want to make it. Decoupage is a great and easy art form that you can learn and turn out some fantastic results. You will find as you gain experience that you will have some products that people would gladly even pay you for and could be sold in a craft fair, etc. You can decoupage furniture, glass, dishes, plates, cloth and more.
If you want to take a free look at what you can do with decoupage, just go to the link below.
If you have even a little space in a sunny backyard you can garden. My husband and I study seed catalogs in December and January, order seeds in February, plant seeds in March… you get the idea.
In the off seasons you can visit other folks’ gardens and take classes, many of which are free. You will get exercise as well.
If you have no indoor space, houseplants are fun, and can be cheap if you want them to be. Shows abound, and you can meet people as well as enjoy a hobby together.
Dog walking, if you like the exercise. Do it as a favor to shut-ins or the very busy people, not for profit. It’s just a hobby.
Gardening — indoor and outdoor.
Knitting or crocheting. Yes, men do these very well, too. You can do this for Christmas gifts or for charity or for yourselves. You might begin with an afghan that’s crocheted or knitted in 9″ or 12″ squares. You both do several squares, then stitch or crochet them together.
Model making.
Materials can run from expensive kits to scrap cardboard.
Paints – your choice
Hobby stores sell kits for aircraft, cars, buildings, railroad stuff and lots more. Supplies from a local chain store, art supply, model hobby shop
I do model railroading, and the most expensive stuff are the locomotives, but I also to scenery, buildings, etc. a lot of which I scratch build – no kits – just materials. I make the plans, cut the pieces out and put them together and decorate them. The cost can range from
Great idea!
What you’d chose would depend a lot though on the kinds of things you both enjoy (check out my looong answer in a previous question for some help in figuring out just what one might be interested in:http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;… )
One suggestion I’d make for consideration though (especially because I know of several couples who do this quite happily) is similar to the miniatures idea above, but not necessarily for a model railroad set-up. A decent size “dollhouse” would take up lots less room than a rr, but still be open for loads of different things to make for it.
Even smaller “room boxes” or dioramas could be created, and some fun ones could be for times like Christmas or Halloween as well as on any topic/scene you might want …perhaps even a passtime or hobby someone else is interested in, then give it as a gift.
The “dollhouse” wouldn’t have to be frou frou, etc., at all if you didn’t want… it could be a hunting lodge, or old Western place, or based on something historical, etc, etc…and could even concentrate on items you’re interested in (old toys, space things, sports paraphernalia, etc.)
Just for some ideas about Christmas, Halloween, or any type of “scenes,” as well as lots of lessons on making all kinds of miniatures (with polymer clay or not), you might want to check out at least these pages at my site:http://glassattic.com/polymer/kids_begin… (click on Scenes & Dioramas)http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/sculpt… (Settings & Bases For Sculpts)http://glassattic.com/polymer/houses_str…http://glassattic.com/polymer/miniatures… http://glassattic.com/polymer/Christmas.…http://glassattic.com/polymer/Halloween_…
And also other things online:http://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+do…
If you’re both into “big” things, another idea might be doing up Christmas or Halloween around or on your house in a big way… some people prepare all year for those seasons and their decorations, then store them between events.
Btw, ANY of those things could be done as cheaply as you want if you’re creative about the materials you use, and even recycle various items/materials.
HTH, and good luck!
Diane B.