Flash forward to today: I am all about nature crafts—my home is decked out in decor I made out of sticks, flowers, and leaves—and I highly recommend you get into it, too. Here’s why.
Searching for nature mementos is an act of mindfulness.
Last year, I mapped out a hike through a large Pennsylvania state park with the sole purpose of collecting leaves. Everyone goes leaf peeping in the fall, but I wanted to create a collage out of foliage that I could hang on my wall year-round. I spent the afternoon slowly trekking uphill, picking up red, yellow, and orange leaves that popped with color.
I hike all the time, but this felt different. And of course it did. Typically, my mind is on anything but the trail—I’m thinking about work, for example, or what to eat for dinner. “You can go on the hike or be at the beach but not even be there because you’re so preoccupied,” Lurie says. But when I was hunting for leaves that stopped me in my tracks, I appreciated my surroundings in a way that I, sad to say, normally would not.
Research shows that merely being in nature improves well-being. But when you venture into the outdoors with the intention of finding something striking, you really tap into your senses—mainly sight, since you’re looking for cool stuff, but also touch and smell. You become fully immersed in, and deeply connected to, the moment, Lurie says. And this added mindfulness component can further boost your mood. My hike in PA was so much more than a workout—sorry to sound cheesy, but I really felt one with nature that day. It was just me and the woods.
You also get to loosen up and play.
Searching for mementos on a hike or at the shore also encourages you to play as you did when you were a kid, according to Lurie. “As adults, we’re often so busy and going from task to task, trying to be productive and efficient, and we don’t often give ourselves permission to go out and look for beauty in the natural world,” she says.
When Lurie explained this to me, I thought, That makes so much sense! During a superbloom in Los Angeles—for you East Coasters, this is when it downpours in the desert and wakes up all the seeds that have been hibernating underground, creating a marvelous blanket of wildflowers in the mountains—I journeyed into Griffith Park and collected heaps of vibrant purple and yellow petals. When I found a truly eye-catching bloom, I felt like I won the lottery. I put them in my pack so I could later dry them out in books and frame them.
Julia Ries
Hunting for treasures—like special seashells at the beach, smooth rocks at a pond, or, hey, wildflowers in a superbloom—can make you feel young, wild, and free again, Lurie says. And if you can add some movement to your play (by, say, walking, hiking, or biking), even better. Research shows that getting physically active outdoors can decrease tension and lift your mood. Convinced yet?
Turning your nature mementos into home decor is surprisingly gratifying—even if it’s hideous.
As if being totally immersed in the natural world’s insane beauty isn’t enough, taking your treasures home and creating something new with them can be incredibly fulfilling in and of itself. So many of life’s daily tasks and demands are stressful and never-ending. Crafting, on the other hand, often has a clear, uncomplicated start and end point, Kelly Scott, LMHC, a therapist in New York City, tells SELF. “There’s something very satisfying about completing something in that way,” Scott says. (Unless, of course, you turn your art project into a major undertaking, in which case, godspeed, you’ve got this.)
Read the full article here
