Going stir-crazy at home is a good excuse to shop online, but if your eyes are sore from watching Netflix or you’ve finished that book you’ve been meaning to read, it’s time to get crafty with how you spend your spare moments. Use your hard-earned cash toward helping a local business or artist in Colorado by purchasing a DIY kit instead. With step-by-step instructions, you can start a new hobby without ever leaving the comfort from home. Plus, it will make quarantining a little more bearable.
Hot Cocoa Candle Kit
Business: Adults & Crafts, LLC in Denver
Cost: $34
The Lowdown: Nothing’s cozier than a scented candle during a self quarantine. Adults & Crafts based in Denver is devoted to keeping grown-ups entertained with step-by-step arts and crafts projects, plus right now $2 from every sale will be donated to the CDC Foundation to help fight COVID-19. Their DIY hot cocoa candle kit comes with the glassware, wax, scent, dye and accessories needed to make an adorable candle that looks just like a mug of hot chocolate. Just make sure your friends don’t try to drink it.
Clock Making Kit
Business: Adults & Crafts, LLC in Denver
Cost: $34
The Lowdown: Adults & Crafts also has 31 other DIY kits to choose from, but we love this adorable clock making kit. Choose from a whimsical geometric pattern or a dreamy watercolor design and get started building a new home accent. The kit even comes with the clock mechanics and battery to make it tick.
Cocktail Bitters Kit
Business: Bespoke Bitters Co. in Denver
Cost: $15
The Lowdown: If you want to craft a mean cocktail for that team happy hour on Zoom, you’ll need some bitters. Getting through COVID-19 sure is better with alcohol and this DIY kit from Bespoke Bitters Co. in Denver will allow you to make your very own bitters. The kit includes a mason jar to infuse the ingredients, a cheesecloth for straining, a funnel, a glass bottle and the spices needed to become a true mixologist. Choose from the key lime, cranberry and root beer bitters kits on Etsy.
Embroidery Kit
Business: Rabbit Hat Designs in Denver
Cost: $30
The Lowdown: Cross-stitching and embroidery aren’t just for grannies anymore. What was once a popular pastime in Europe that also entertained pioneers exploring the New Frontier is now a cheeky form of expression among hipsters everywhere. Rabbit Hat Designs out of Denver has an Etsy shop and teaches you to embroider a beetle, tropical leaf, moth, butterfly or honey bee using a step-by-step tutorial for just $30.
Tree of Life Macrame Kit
Business: Red Earth Knots in Colorado Springs
Cost: $45
The Lowdown: Red Earth Knots in Colorado Springs typically hosts macrame classes, but you can still learn this form of knotting from home. The tree of life macrame kit is available on Etsy and includes a recycled cotton rope, gold metal hoop, assorted beads and steps for getting started. It’s a great project for ambitious crafters!
Dried Flowers Kit
Business: Hop Rabbit Flowers in Steamboat Springs
Cost: $55 to $85
The Lowdown: Hop Rabbit Flowers is known for its exquisite bouquets arranged for special occasions in Steamboat Springs, but the shop’s newest venture, Pretty Dead Flowers, is a little edgier. Designed to repurpose leftover flowers and reduce waste, Pretty Dead Flowers features dried flower bouquets, boutonnieres, crowns, chokers and more and you can even buy a DIY dried flower arranging kit on Etsy.
Garden in a Box
Business: Resource Central in Boulder
Cost: $84 to $158
The Lowdown: Attempting to grow basil or cherry tomatoes in your own home can be a frustrating feat, so why not order an entire garden instead? Garden in a Box by Resource Central in Boulder includes up to 27 starter plants to cover up to 100 square feet in your yard, so you can start planting the garden of your dream without having to shop at Home Depot. This is a DIY kit that’ll definitely keep you busy for some time.
Cupcake Kit
Business: My Make Studio in Edgewater
Cost: $43.50 to $49
The Lowdown: The My Make Studio in Edgewater knows you can bake at home without purchasing a cupcake kit, but it wouldn’t be as much fun. Choose from the “we bake” or “you bake” options to get the plain cupcakes ready to ice or to find instructions and ingredients on how to bake your own. Frost intricate flowers or squirt “ketchup” on your mini cheeseburger cupcake. This DIY kit isn’t just for kids.
If you are going to do another boredom buster article, we would like to be considered. Denver Bookbinding has two kits for sale: My Own Story Book and Build a Book. My Own Story Book lets a person write and illustrate a story and at the end will receive a professionally bound book, Build a Book is a craft kit and makes 2 hard cover books.
We are a 91 year old business located in north Denver.