Exploring New Hobbies: Pottery, Painting, and Crocheting

Engaging in hobbies like pottery, painting, and crocheting brings joy and reduces stress, enhancing overall well-being.

### Exploring New Hobbies: Pottery Making, Pottery Painting, and Crocheting Coasters
* 🏺 "I am trying a bunch of new hobbies. I've literally been wanting to do this video for like **over a year now**, and I'm **finally doing it**."
* 🎨 "I am getting ready to go to a pottery making class finally. It's a **wheel-throwing class for any skill level**. I've **never done pottery on a wheel before**."
* 🏺 "I had the best time. I have texted several of my friends since I've gone and told them that I want them to come with me because I think they would **love it**."
* "I watched a YouTube video, sat here for 2 hours, and learned the **very basics of crocheting in the round**, which is just **crocheting a circle**."
* 🏺 "I made a little bowl and a plate, and I'm waiting to go back and **paint them myself**. I'm so happy that I finally did it and went to a **pottery class**."
* 🎨 "I went to a pottery painting studio called Color Me Mine with my friend. We got to **pick something out**, **paint it**, and then **go back to pick it up**."
* "I made my first crocheted coaster by following a YouTube tutorial. I made a few mistakes but was **proud of the result**."
* 🎨 "I made **five coasters in total** and was so happy with them that I immediately **ordered new yarn to make more**."

I used to be such a hobby girl. I was always making things, always DIYing, always trying new forms of art, and I had so much fun doing it. And there's a reason for that. Hobbies have proven to reduce stress and enhance well-being. One study showed approximately 75% of participants' cortisol levels were lowered after making art. But then I graduated from college, I moved away, started focusing on a lot of different things, and my hobbies weren't one of them. But as Sid Caesar once said, In between goals is a thing called life that has to be lived and enjoyed. So we're back, baby. [Music] Good morning, everyone. It is Sunday. It's about 9:40 in the morning right now. I wanted to kind of intro what I'm about to do because obviously you saw the title of this video. So in this video, I am trying a bunch of new hobbies. I don't know how many I'm going to put in the video, but this is so exciting. I've literally been wanting to do this video for like

over a year now, and I'm finally doing it. And today we are starting this off with a bang because I am doing something that has been on my 2024 goals list that I made in January. I am getting ready to go to a pottery making class finally. So it's like a class for any skill level. I'm obviously a beginner. I've never done pottery on a wheel before, so this is a wheel-throwing class. It's 2 hours long. I think the first 30 minutes, they're doing an instruction, so we're just watching them, and then they're going to give us clay, and we're going to each have a little wheel station, and they're going to come around and help us and everything. We can make as many pieces as we want in the 2 hours, but only one piece is included in the price I paid for the class, which is like $120, I think, or something. And you can pick out a color for them to glaze whatever you make and then go pick it up, or you can choose to come back and you

can glaze your own piece with your own design whatever you want. That costs extra, but I'm going to do that because I really want to not only make the piece but then paint it. I feel like that'd be so fun and special. I don't exactly know what I'm going to make yet. I want to try to make either like a little vase for flowers or a bowl like a pasta bowl, sort of situation. I love those. We'll see. I don't know. I just need to get there. Like I just need to learn how to start it in the first place, and then we can go from there. The place I'm going is called Happy Media. It's in Two Bridges. It's an art Cafe, which is so cool. I've heard so much about this place. Yay. I'm so excited. I'm about to head out. So let's go to Happy Medium, take a pottery class, and that is all the pressure you need to actually make. As you pinch things, things just get. [Music] It feel like that was a little

[Music] Much really want to pass. Okay, we really want to push the crayon around, and we want it to essentially take up the empty space in our hands. And what we're looking for is a person sitting here last night was a l. Oh my God, that going. You kind of feel you can backside, right? So we're going to kind of push until that's gone. It's not fighting us anymore. And then they're good to start, okay? So we're just going to go straight down the middle and WI. [Music] La. [Music] On your right. [Music] Oh, it. You do, but. [Music] Nice. J. I did it. It look like a b. Me. Y right. [Music] And I never came back in and updated you after I did this class, and I had the best time. This was so much fun. I have texted several of my friends since I've gone and told them that I want them to come with me because I think they would love it. I'm going back in a couple of weeks already with a friend.

and it's going to be. I was not good at it. It took time to get the hang of it, but I ended up making stuff. Like I figured some things out, I made it work, and I learned. And I feel like I got better. And it was so cool. Like, it was just so fun to take a ball of clay and mold something out of it all by myself. So I made a little bowl, as you saw. I made a plate, and I decided, like I said, I want to go back and paint them myself. So I'm still waiting for them to email me and tell me that it's ready for me to come back. And then I go back during the cafe hours, and I pay. I think it's like $24 for 2 hours. And I can glaze as many pieces as I can fit in two hours. I guess I can use any colors. I don't know. I'm sad though because I won't be able to include that in this video because I still haven't even gotten the email to go back.

and then I'm going to glaze them, and then they have to fire them, or whatever, and then I have to go back again. So this is probably going to be a process over the next few weeks, but I'm going to update on my Instagram. So if you want to follow me on Instagram, it's right here. You can see the updates of my pottery that I created, and when I paint them, and then like the final look. I'm so happy that I finally did it and went to a pottery class. This is literally something I put on my 2024 resolutions list. Like I wanted to go to a watery class, and now I'm going to another one because I had so much fun, and I'm excited to just keep getting better. And I love making stuff. It's so much fun hand making stuff is one of my favorite things ever. It was a complete success. I loved it so much. I loved happy medium everybody there. All the employees were so nice. The place was so fun, so cute. They had actual like Cafe items too.

like coffees, tea, stuff like that that you can get and drink while you're working. Just such a fun concept. I absolutely loved it. Couldn't recommend anymore. My next activity that I did goes along the lines of the Ceramics theme, but instead of making something by hand, I just went and picked something out and painted it. And I did this with my friend. We went to a pottery painting Studio. It's called Color Me Mind. I think there's a lot of locations around. There's a couple in Manhattan. I've been to the one on the upper west side. So we went to the one and tried. Becca, tell me right now you found your shot glass. Oh my God, oh my God, shut up. That is so cute. Looks like a mason jar. [Music] Colors. Oh yeah. [Music] This is going to be so [Music] ion now for the squares. [Music] All right, talk. All right, come on. She looks so cute. Yeah, I think we should paint pink. Would be fun. No, literally. We got to just sit and pick

out some colors and paint, and then we get to go back and pick them up. I'm so sad because it won't be ready by the time I'm posting this video, but again I'll post my finished product on Instagram if you all want to see it. I have more hobbies that I want to try with painting. I want to try watercoloring, so I'm honestly debating making a part two to this and maybe making it a little series of trying new hobbies. If y'all would want to see that, let me know, and I would be more than happy to do another part 'cause I have more stuff that I want to try that I ran out of time for. I am having so much fun. Hobbies are the best. I knew that this would make me so happy, but it's just I'm proving it to myself that it is and that these things are important to do. It's not work-related. It's not working towards a financial goal. It's not working towards any other external validation goal. It's just for me and

it's just to express creativity and have fun, and it makes me happy. Calms me down. It makes me feel proud of myself when I learn how to do something, even if I'm not good at it at first. That is okay. I have this issue where I just don't want to be a beginner ever. Like, I want to start something and then just be instantly good at it, which is not reality. Can't be good at something right off the bat when I've never done it before or when I've done it but I haven't done it often or haven't done it in a while. And it's like, that's okay. Like, the fun of it isn't in being good at it, it's just in doing it. My third and final hobby that I wanted to learn how to do in this video is crocheting. So when I was home after my brother's graduation, I went over to the craft store and I took a look at the yarns. I wanted to pick out a pretty yarn to make

some coasters with and I looked up what the best material would be to make those and it said cotton and I don't know like the selection of this place. It looks like there's a lot but there wasn't a lot of cotton but I found this pretty one. It was mostly cotton, a little bit acrylic. Hopefully that's not a problem. I looked up a list of supplies that you need for an absolute crocheting beginner. I got a 9mm crochet hook, which it's said to get on the back of the package of the yarn. I also got Stitch markers, I got yarn needles, I think they're called, and a little cute case to put everything in. Here are all my supplies. We're almost ready to go except we still need to set the Vibes because this is such a cozy activity. Any needle crafts, knitting, sewing, which I've done before, and now crocheting, I feel like are just such cozy activities so we need to set the Vibes accordingly. [Music] and now we're

ready. Hello, everyone. The next hobby that I've been wanting to try for a while is crocheting, and specifically crocheting coasters. Hold on, I want to show you my inspiration. I bought these coasters; they were made in Australia. These are beautiful. I love these. And you know what? I don't know how to do all this. I don't know how to change colors. I don't really know how to do anything because I'm a beginner, but I wanted to learn in hopes that maybe someday I can make beautiful things like this. I just love coasters so much. I know you can make a million things crocheting, but that is just what I have been wanting to do and wanting to learn how to do. So yesterday, I watched a YouTube video. I sat here for 2 hours, and I learned the very basics of crocheting in the round, which is just crocheting a circle if you're wondering, which you probably aren't, but if you are, why I didn't film that and why we're here now.

and I'm telling you about it. It's because um, bottom line, you should be thanking me for not filming that because I sat there for 2 hours, tried and errored my way into understanding what exactly I was doing. Even when I was watching the video, it was helpful with the concepts, but I just, I did not even know what the hell I was looking at with what I was making. I would get to a point, realized it was definitely wrong, unravel the whole thing, start over. I probably unraveled and started over like four or five times, and then I finally started to get the hang of it, and I ended up with this. Now, is it perfect? No, but it is my first one that actually looked semi-correct, and then I think I did right. So I'm really proud of it, and I think it's so adorable, so I'm going to make it a friend today. My mom said she wanted one, so I'm going to make her a matching one. And if there's one thing I will do, it's mixed

Stu for people. I think that's my love language is making stuff for people. Like handmade things are just my favorite thing ever. Few things that I learned yesterday during my trial run. Number one, I think this was the wrong yarn to pick to start off. It's too fluffy. I don't know how to explain other than that. Like it was hard for me to discern what stitches were what, what pieces were what. Like I should have picked a different yarn to start off with, but I didn't know, obviously because I'm a beginner, so it's fine. I'm figuring it out. I got better with it. I also learned that there's a lot more concentration to this than I thought there would be. I don't know why I thought there wouldn't be because obviously I have to pay attention to what I'm doing, but I know how to knit and at a point like knitting becomes pretty mindless. So I wasn't sure how crocheting would compare to knitting, but with the pattern that I have to do.

for the circles, you're counting every stitch you're making on every individual one. So it's like, okay, one, then two on each. Then one, two, one, two, one, two. I was really zoned in, which honestly is nice. Like, I had nothing to distract me. I was putting all of my focus into one thing for once. It was a great change for me. I also learned that I really should use these things that I bought. Okay, I went to the craft store when I was home, and I looked up crocheting supplies for beginners. They recommended to get stitch markers to mark where you are so you don't lose your first stitch. And I realized yesterday why this was necessary because I kept losing my first stitches because I wasn't using the stitch markers. I was already overwhelmed just trying to figure out how to do it that I didn't want to throw the stitch markers in when I'm realizing now that probably would have helped. I've got these today. I'm going to use these, see if they actually help. I'm sure they will.

keep my place so I know exactly where the next row needs to start because that was something I kept messing up yesterday. I would either go past the Stitch or I like wouldn't remember exactly which one it was 'cause it all started to look the same at one point. Those are the things that I learned, and you know what, I'm just proud of myself for making this, and I'm already using it. These are one of my most used items. I always have a fun little drink, often times multiple drinks at once, so I can always use these. I'm having fun, so that's all that matters. I'm going to try to crochet a coaster exactly like that one from memory. We're going to see how it goes. [Music] Okay, do nine stitches. So, one, 2, 4, 9. Okay, that's round one. And then we pull it tight to make a circle. We find Stitch number one. This is where I get freaking confused 'cause they all look the damn same. Okay, that's the first Stitch. Then we do a slip stitch, and then whatever.

the this is called, and then two stitches or whatever crochet stitches in each of these stitches. One, two, and then we move on. Wait, the stitch marker thing is actually kind of helpful. See, this is where I'm like, wait, what am I doing? I hope that's right. [Music] I okay, wait, I'm slaying so [Music] far. What is the last stitch? Oh my God, this is where I get confused. Okay, we got to count backward. One. I can't figure out which ones or stitches is the problem. Did everything look the same? That's 18, so that's it. Now, this is the first stitch right here. Dude, these markers are so convenient. What am I doing this whole time? Now I have to slip stitch again, and we do one of these, which I don't remember what that's called. Something one, I don't know. And then we do one, two, one, two. This is where it gets confusing, bro. So that's one, and now we do two. I'm going to shut up now 'cause I need to count one.

[Music] Like, is this correct? Now we've landed back at the first one. Oh my God, I did so much better this time. Okay, how do I finish it? Pause. Making up at this point and hoping that it works. Damn, this camera is heavy. As I saw someone online say that you should just cut and then do one of these. Can't see what the I'm doing, but do one of these. That I don't remember what they're called. And pull it all the way through. Oh, that worked, yeah. I still feel like the starting point is like bigger than it should be. Like, I feel like this area where I'm starting the stitches is not correct. This right here. I don't know why, but that was so much better than yesterday. Are you kidding me? Holy. Okay, so now I just have to tie off, which I don't even know how to do that either, to be honest. I just have been doing like what I know from like sewing and making a little knot as close down as I can, pulling it tight so that

it doesn't unravel, and then I can cut that off. I usually do a double knot 'cause I'm scared, but then for this part, I don't really know. Like, how do you do? What do you do with this? I need to Google that. This is so exciting. I love learning new. I haven't figured out the focus on this camera yet. I'm like not mad about this. Like, is it a perfect circle? Probably not because I still can't figure out what I'm supposed to do with the very end with this Stitch. Like, I feel like I wasn't supposed to go into that. Like, I did, but also I don't know what else to do. Who gives a like? I think it's more fun if it's not perfect, you know? This whole thing I'm realizing is just a bunch of knots. That's what crocheting is. It's just making a bunch of knots. I think that should be good. I did it. Look at it. It's adorable. I'm obsessed. Oh my God, it's so [Music] cute. This is so exciting. Okay, this is my

mom's way. Yay! I don't think you guys understand how happy this is making me. That I'm figuring it out and getting better and making these things. Like I'm making my own Co posters. I'm so excited. I just want to keep going, make another one. I love Hobbies. This is so much fun. I'm so happy. Like that's so adorable. I can't stop. I can't stop being obsessed with them. And I remembered all the steps. Is everyone proud? Thank you. You said yes. Next time note to self: get different yarn. Besides that, I'm kind of figuring this out. I ended up finishing up the rest of the yarn and I made five coasters out of it. I'm so happy with them. I was so excited to start making more that I ordered new yarn immediately. Got a new crochet hook for the yarn. And I just can't wait to keep making things. So that concludes this video. I had so much fun doing this. And I hope that you had fun watching. And again, if you want to see

more parts to this and see me try more Hobbies. I would love to do that. You don't have to ask me twice. You don't have to twist my arm. Thank you so much for watching. If you like this video, make sure to give it a thumbs up. If you stay until this point in the video, comment down below I'm a real one because you're a real one. If you want to see more videos from me, make sure you hit the Subscribe button. I post a new video every Sunday. And if you forget that I post a new video every Sunday or you just want to get notified right when I post a new video, make sure to turn on my post notifications for my channel. It's a little bell icon so that you never miss an upload and you get notified right when I post a new video. And yeah, I think that's it. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day. I love you guys so much and I'll see you guys in my next video. Bye. [Music]

trying new hobbies in my 20s

Hannah Elise

Exploring New Hobbies: Pottery Making Experience

Engaging in hobbies can reduce stress and improve well-being, as shown by a study demonstrating lowered cortisol levels after art-making.

The individual in the video fulfills a long-time goal of trying new hobbies by taking a pottery making class at Happy Medium, an art cafe, and thoroughly enjoys the experience, planning to return with friends.

The speaker had a great time hand-making pottery and is excited to continue improving their skills.

They also visited a pottery painting studio with a friend, where they had a fun time picking out colors and painting.

The experience has inspired the speaker to potentially create a series of trying out new hobbies and is finding joy in these non-work-related activities.

Crocheting brings happiness and a sense of accomplishment, even as a beginner.

The speaker is excited to learn and improve, despite struggling with the desire to be instantly good at it.

The inspiration to crochet coasters comes from a desire to create beautiful things and the enjoyment of the cozy activity.

Learning to Crochet and the Joys of Handmade Gifts

Struggling through a two-hour learning process, the speaker finally mastered crocheting and is proud of the result.

She plans to make a matching piece for her mom and loves creating handmade items for others.

During the process, she realized the importance of using the right yarn and tools like stitch markers for beginners.

Crocheting a Coaster: A Fun and Challenging Project

Struggling with keeping track of crochet stitches and the starting point, the maker is proud of the progress and finds the stitch marker helpful.

The process involves doing nine stitches in the first round, using a stitch marker, and feeling confused about the crochet stitches.

The speaker is excited to learn crocheting and is happy with her progress in making coasters.

She expresses a strong desire to continue and explore more hobbies.

The video ends with the speaker encouraging viewers to like and subscribe for more content.