These cheap hobbies for women to try at home are creative, unique, and surprisingly fun – think fermentation pets, blackout poetry, terrariums, and thrift flips.
Doing things. For absolutely no adulting benefit in sight (like to earn money, to get the house clean, etc.) – just for the pleasure of doing them.
It’s called a hobby…and I daresay (after briefly asking around in several women-focused Facebook groups) that we ladies don’t have enough of them.
I’m actually working on getting back in touch with my hobbies and that side of me, as well.
So, I got to wondering: what cheap hobbies are women doing at home (that you or I can get in on?
It turns out, the hobby landscape has changed quite a lot since last I looked (hint: in my early 20s, pre-marriage, pre-child).
Cheap Hobbies for Women to Try At Home
I reached out to lots of my friends, colleagues, and read tons of forums/watched lots of videos to find the answer to this:
What are the current coolest, most affordable hobbies a woman can try at home?
1. Start Home Fermentation “Pets”
Fermentation has been around for tens of thousands of years.
And while ladies from even a hundred years ago might think us funny for this – they likely fermented seasonal produce as a matter of course – it seems like fermenting foods at home is making a comeback.
Like my friend and her husband, who grew a SCOBY and called it their “pet”. Haha!
My aunt recently took a fermentation class and created a few things at home, including her own kimchi.
You basically just need glass jars with lids, produce, and salt to get started with something.
You can make things like kimchi, SCOBY, yogurt, sourdough starter, etc.
And, you get to do cool things with your new “pet” (like remembering to “burp” your fermented produce, or having to “feed” it)!
Here are some fermentation starter tips.
2. Take Part in Craftivism
Do you have something to say, a point you want to get across, a movement you want to raise awareness for, all in a gentle way?
Then you might want to take up this hobby.
What makes it cheap is that you don’t have to worry about buying the expensive materials (Dollar Tree yarn and crafts will work!). It’s all about the message and the process.
Craftivism is the act of gentle activism through crafts that start conversations and make people think twice.
Think guerrilla knitting, removable crocheted graffiti, and more.
Learn all about it in this great BBC Documentary.
3. Paint with Bob Ross
There’s a trending new hobby you can do at home – painting together with Bob Ross.
Of course, painting supplies can get quite pricey. But you don’t need to invest in them at first.
Start out cheap on supplies, such as small canvases, paints, and paintbrushes from Dollar Tree (yep – all supplies in my photo are from Dollar Tree).
You can stream Bob Ross episodes (the guy with the rounded hair on PBS from our childhoods) free on YouTube.
Then book a hobby painting session with yourself (and Bob) once a week.
Could be life-changing. Could be just fun. Either way, it’s better than sitting on the couch and scrolling TikTok.
4. Build Interesting Terrariums
You can use various-sized glass jars you already own to create mini ecosystems and worlds in your home.
You can even create one in a used glass spice jar!
Joel Teston says his terrarium-building hobby, “…started a few years ago when I saw a video of this guy who had a terrarium he hadn’t opened for quite a while, and I started doing research here and there. After that, I bought a beautiful little bottle with life in it, and it sat on my shelf for a year, never opened, only touched by the sun. I made a few open vessels without understanding what I was doing…I find it’s very empowering (at least for me) to have a little world that I’m in total control of with its own weather pattern and creatures coexisting just sitting on my shelf…”
Check out some of his.
Thanh Phong started this hobby when his wife was pregnant, and he was quite stressed.
He says, “This is a game to relax, reduce stress, and it's a form of therapy… While my wife was pregnant, I was stressed because it was my first time being a father, so I looked it up online and started learning how to make terrariums. After making them, I felt quite relaxed, my mood improved, and I even managed to sell them! People need healing, and I think this is a good solution for that.
Look at his first creation! Here’s why he chose a dragon: “My son was born in the year of the dragon on September 2nd, Vietnam's National Day, one of the most special days in Vietnam.”
5. Start Bible Journaling
Wow, are there some COOL bible journaling pages being created by women.
It’s such a fun home hobby – combining bible study with artistic expression. What a creative way to take in God’s word!
Supplies are cheap – markers, washi tape, really whatever you have lying around that you can use to call out verses and artistically transform the margins of your bible pages.
Also, as a person who reads her bible several times a week but would never dream of writing on it…I’d say you might want to get a second bible that you don’t mind getting QUITE creative with.
6. Hunt for Old Recipes + Try Cooking One
Do you get really excited by trying new recipes from bygone eras? So does this guy (his videos are hilarious! He’s got a book, too).
This new hobby is two-part, because part of the fun is in hunting down those old recipes and recipe books. You can treasure hunt yard sales, research them online, go to library book sales, church book sales, hunt through your family’s 200-year-old dumping grounds attic (is that just us?).
Also, some historical cookbooks have been digitized and are free – check out HathiTrust and Google Books.
Once you find the recipes, the second part is to actually choose one, buy the ingredients during your weekly grocery shopping trip, and make it.
Do a taste test for your family!
Here's a woman who found a cookbook from 1927 and is using it.
7. Make Fairy Gardens
I’m in Carly’s Facebook group, and figured out long ago that she absolutely loves to make miniature fairy gardens.
And not just any fairy gardens. She is a pro at making all kinds of magical accessories like this mini fairy BBQ!
Her motivation? Being on a computer for far too long every day made her want to get her nails dirty, get outside, and do something physical with her hands.
She’s found it deeply gratifying.
Just look at what she did with a broken pot!
8. Try Recipe Journaling
I was watching an old Nigella episode, and she had this very creased, overfilled notebook of tons of notes and recipes, and kitchen wisdom goodies in it.
I was intrigued.
Then, I found this person who does what’s called Recipe Journaling, which I think is sort of the same thing!
It’s a new project hobby of hers. The first spread is all about her daughter being a great helper in the kitchen. Then, she’s got pages of what I’d call ingredient mind maps, and dedicated pages for cherished recipes.
She uses washi tape and fun colors throughout – I just love this hobby idea! Plus, you can pass it down one day to your kids.
9. Host and Attend a Virtual Book Club
You no longer have to leave home to attend a weekly book club (though doing so is nice, too – I did one at our church last summer with a fabulous group of ladies, and it meant a lot to me).
Use BookClub.com to find a book club to join, or to manage your own.
10. Create Fanfiction
Do you ever feel like some of your favorite authors and books have left out scenes? Or juicy sequels you’re just dying to see come to life with a set of characters taking up space in your head?
You can write what’s known as fanfic, or hobbyists writing fiction pieces from existing characters, plots, and books (it’s non-commercial, for obvious reasons).
The two biggest fanfiction sites seem to be FanFiction.net and archiveofourown.org.
And here’s a YouTube channel to help beginner fanfiction hobbyists.
11. Make Miniature Food Crafts
Cassie loves to create miniature food, like these fake donuts, or these real-looking s’mores.
Cassie says, “I use them mostly for decor or gifts, but I used to sell some on Etsy. I enjoy teaching other people to make them more than selling because I think crafting and using your creativity is empowering. I want to help other women experience pure joy and pride when they finish making something with their own hands.”
12. Create Blackout Poetry
Thrift shop for old magazines and books.
Black out all the words you don’t want included in your poem with a marker, and the words that you’re left with are your poem.
How cool!
13. Do Sourdough Baking Experiments
I started my own Sourdough Starter three years ago (thanks to my sister!), and have since really enjoyed the process.
There are ladies out there who experiment in all kinds of wonderful ways to use and work with sourdough, and it’s quite inspiring.
From using your discard in actual cooking, to deciding whether to shape or not to shape… you’ll not get bored with this hobby too soon.
But seriously, just start with the basics. It’s very simple, and you technically can do it without any extra equipment besides a jar with a screw-on lid (though the equipment can help as you progress).
14. Thrift Flips
I absolutely love a good thrift shopping session. I usually do them 2-3 times a year, as one of my hobbies.
However, I’ve never delved into Thrift Flips, or taking something you find at the thrift store for cheap and upcycling it into something new.
Khairil Azhar has such a cool Thrift Flip he does. “I love visiting thrift stores to hunt for unique glass containers, and my favorite terrarium so far is one I built inside a large glass chandelier.”
He started collecting plants back in 2020, but ran out of space. So, he says, “I adopted a simple rule of thumb for new additions: nothing larger than my hand. That shift led me to fall in love with miniature plants—especially those suited for terrariums. They’re easy to maintain, require minimal watering, look wonderfully artistic, and best of all, they stay alive.”
This year, he entered his terrariums into a contest at the Philadelphia Flower Show and won 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places across different categories!
Here’s a whole playlist from a woman who does lots of Thrift Flips.
15. Do Puzzles with a Roll-up Puzzle Mat
If you had asked me, even a year ago, if I would ever do a puzzle…I’d have said absolutely not.
Then I went thrifting and started seeing all of these really chic and modern-looking puzzles for like $2.49 each. Suddenly, it started looking…fun.
Around the same time, I found this puzzle mat that you can use to roll up your pieces and finished puzzle areas so that you don’t need to keep the puzzle out on your kitchen table, 5% done, for the next six months.
And I was sold!
There’s just something gratifying and dopamine-hitting when you find a new piece that clicks into place.
I’m so glad I gave puzzles another look.
Most of these you can start quite cheaply with supplies you own, or supplies from Dollar Tree and nature. Of course, if you get really into the new hobby, you can build out your supplies little by little. Just start with something, engage your creative side, and see what comes of it!
Amanda L Grossman
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