9 Inexpensive Hobbies You Should Try This Month

Since you've already watched everything on Netflix.

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1. Revive your childhood love for flip books with stop-motion animation for free.

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It's not as hard as it looks! The most important thing to remember when making stop-motion animation is that you need to have a clear, polished story. Draw it out or take pictures, and the number of stills you need depends on how you want the animation to look. If you want it to be smooth, you'll need more photos.

After you've collected all your stills, you'll need to string them together in an editing software. A common one that most people use is After Effects. You just upload your photos, drag them into the timeline, and — like magic — your story comes to life. Full tutorial here.

Of course, After Effects isn't necessarily cheap (since you'll have to pay for the Creative Cloud subscription), but if you're a student, $20 per month isn't bad, considering you get access to 12 programs. If you want a rudimentary program for free, try qStopMotion.

You can even do it with your phone by using a free stop-motion app.

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Stop Motion Studio and iMotion are both ridiculously easy to use and FREE. Simply set up your pictures, capture them with the app, and the app will string them together. You can also customize the number of frames per second, which designates how quickly the video will play.

2. Get started with wood carving for just $30.

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Your most basic kit includes basswood ($5), a carving knife ($22), and a sharpening stone ($4).

If you want to try some wood alternatives, there's balsa ($8.50), pine ($7), and butternut ($11). Once you've nailed the whittling basics, you can opt for a hook knife ($16) to carve out finer details. And while the $4 sharpening stone mentioned above is a steal, this ceramic one ($22) will give you a much higher-quality edge. Lastly, it's a good idea to wear safety glasses, which you can purchase here ($5).

Once you have your materials ready, nail down these basic cuts:

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With the paring cut, you're cutting toward yourself so you need to be careful with your thumbs (your cutting hand's thumb acts as a stopper). If you're worried about injuring your thumb, get a thumb guard ($5) or carving tape ($8.50) for added protection.

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For the push cut, press your non-working thumb against the carving thumb. This gives you more control as you carve away from your body.

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With the stop cut, you're creating a block that'll halt your carving. In order to do that, press your knife straight down into the wood and make a small push cut to create a barricade.

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The V cut is exactly what it sounds like — making a "V" — and you can do that by making two angled stop cuts in opposite directions.

All right, you got that? Now jump into it with this simple spoon-carving tutorial!

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With this tutorial, you don't need a hook knife to shave out the spoon shape. Instead, you can use a stone to smooth out the chunk that you cut out with a regular carving knife. Apparently, this guy makes these types of spoons with a knife, a stone, and wood all the time when he's out in nature. Check out the entire tutorial here.

3. Learn some spiffy yo-yo tricks for less than $10.

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OK, so you probably can't learn how to do that immediately, but you can start "walking the dog" with your yo-yo easily.

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When selecting a yo-yo, start with a cheaper, beginner-style, like this one ($8). There are three types: the classic, the butterfly, and the modified yo-yo. If you want to learn tricks, the butterfly may be a better option because its wide gap makes it easier for the string to reattach to the yo-yo. But if you're just wanting something quick and slick, get the classic ($11).

Before you jump into tricks, you'll need to learn some basics, like winding and adjusting the string, and mastering a basic throw. After that, you can tackle all sorts of tricks.

You can get all your beginner tutorials here and here.

4. Like watercolors? Try watercolor PENCILS for $20.

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It's the best of both worlds. Not only do you get dreamy results from blending with watercolor paints, but you're also able to draw with greater precision. When using these, you can either dip a brush in water and paint it over your drawings, or directly dip your watercolor pencil in water to get a thicker, smudgier look.

Get a set of 72 pencils with the brush included for $20. If you don't like having to constantly rewet your brush, try these water pens ($13). And if you want your works to look nice, definitely use watercolor paper ($9).

5. Get crafty and low-key rich with thrift-store flipping for as low as $1.

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Yes, flipping thrift-store purchases into valuable gems IS a hobby, especially if you discover that you've got a knack for it. First, you'll need to know what to look for, but if you're not sure, do a quick search on eBay or Etsy to see what similar items are selling for.

Common items that collectors go nuts over are vintage blue bottles or mason jars, name-brand workout clothing, Pyrex, and special-edition books. If you think you've stumbled across a rare book, check AbeBooks for its value.

6. Become friends with a quadcopter and fly it around like champ for $13.

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Whether you're great at or terrible at Mario Kart, flying a quadcopter is like playing video games IRL. Just make sure you're in a big, open space with no people or large objects surrounding you. Take it easy and get comfortable with flying low and hopping around before adding some height. Tutorial here.

Get a mini quadcopter from GearBest for $13 and a regular one for $19.

7. Remember these crafts you did as kid? Bring them back as your favorite Pokémon and other characters for about $30.

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If you forgot how to make them, the process is simple. You'll need beads ($14), pegboards ($6), parchment paper ($6), and an iron ($11).

For patterns, you can find most video game sprites here. Once you have your image set up and the number of colors you'll need, you'll be able to create your sprite on the pegboard. If your image is larger than the pegboard, tape a few of them together. Cover it with parchment paper, iron until the beads have fused together (the back as well), and let cool under a heavy object to help keep its shape. More instructions here.

If you can't find the beadsprite version of the image you want to use, Perler or Bead It will create a pixelated picture for free.

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Perler works on computers, and Bead It is an app you can download on your phone. If you want more info on the types of colors you can buy, go here.

8. Steal people's hearts by making your own chocolates with ingredients starting at $15.

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The basic ingredients list includes cacao butter, cacao powder, maple syrup or icing sugar, and vanilla extract.

Once you've perfected the art of making plain chocolates, add in any kind of toppings and flavorings. And best of all, you can pour your chocolates into really cute molds ($7)! Or just stick with regular bar molds ($7).

Check out this tutorial to start and this one for flavor ideas.

9. Quill paper into elegant (or cheeky) compositions using just paper, glue, and scissors for as low as $5.

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With paper quilling, you don't need any advanced art skills: just a few materials. Start with computer paper ($10) to get the hang of it and cut them into strips with a ⅛-inch width. Then, roll them into loose coils and secure them with a dab of glue ($4).

Once you get the hang of it, you can upgrade to quilling strips ($12), which you can also buy at the quilling superstore. Many people use a quilling needle ($5) to make the strips easier to curl, but you can also make one with a needle and a cork. And if you want to add texture to your paper, you can crunch them into an accordion with a crimper ($9).

You only need to know how to make a tight coil and a loose coil in order to make different shapes.

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For loose coils, any protractor with circle templates ($8) will work. See full tutorial here.

Like this eye:

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Learn how to make this eye as well as other basic shapes here.

And maybe one day, you'll be able to make this 🌹rose🌹

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Full tutorial here.

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