Gardening is a great way to enjoy the outdoors, keep fit and be creative. For me, the outdoors provides a sort of open canvas to experiment with colour, shape and texture as I grow plants ranging from edibles to those that attract bees, birds and insects.

I’m not sure how my interest in gardening started, but I recall as a child visiting my grandparent’s house and being fascinated by their vegetable plot. I would help dig up potatoes, and was bemused by a rubber snake they kept in their fruit bushes to deter birds. Best of all was going on slug safari to capture slimy plant-crunching creatures.​

Later, as an adult, I loved two things: being outdoors and being creative. That is how my interest in gardening began to sprout.

Taking part in arts and crafts is so important, not just for children, but it’s also essential for adults! Crafting is beneficial to our health and wellbeing, from keeping our mind active by learning new skills, to the way it enables us to form social connections, to developing problem solving skills and increasing our feeling of purpose and self-esteem.

There are so many great merits to crafting and working with your hands, with a multitude of studies and research providing evidence of the health benefits, including the positive impact on our mental health.

The benefits of crafting include…

Based in Newtownabbey, Let's Craft Northern Ireland's founder, Kelli Johnston, has over 15 years' experience of facilitating learning and development and has a lifelong passion for making and creating, and promoting arts and crafts for all ages.

Kelli tells us...

​In response to the covid-19 pandemic, Let's Craft NI has launched a series of FREE 'how to' videos to encourage 'crafting at home', suitable for adults and young people, and great for family weekend activities and projects.  The videos provide ideas and inspiration to encourage the uptake of new hobbies and self-care.

Video themes include...