Crafty Witch Academy
Find your inner magic and engage your inner child.
Some of you haven’t made potions out of random leaves, berries, and twigs since your childhood and it shows.
Art is Healing
“Engaging in just two hours of arts and crafts per week can have a substantial impact on your mental health. ”
What does brushing your teeth and doodling have in common? They both play an important role in improving your health. Seriously. In 2023, 36.4% of women in the United States reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression. 1 Those numbers increase for women who are under the age of 44, or who identify as black or Hispanic. 2 This has resulted in 22% of Northern American adults reporting experiencing depression or anxiety so extreme that they could not continue regular daily activities for two weeks or longer! 3
This is why regularly engaging in arts and crafts, such as drawing, sewing, cooking, gardening, etc. is so important!
A research study conducted in 2016 found that participants who “engaged in 100 or more hours/year of arts engagement (i.e. two or more hours/week) reported significantly better mental well-being than other levels of engagement.”4 A similar study in 2020 found that “frequent arts participation and cultural attendance were associated with lower levels of mental distress and higher levels of life satisfaction, with arts participation additionally associated with better mental health functioning.“5
Which is a really long way of saying its time to GET CRAFTY! The best part is, that the benefits of getting artsy have nothing to do with the final product. The health benefits come from engaging in the process of making - slowing down, using your hands, and stepping away from the computer screen.
Your Instructor
Dr. Stephanie Smartypants
Stephanie has never known a time when she wasn’t crafty. Her favorite place to go has always been the art store. Consequently, she gives Smaug a run for his money in her ability to hoard away anything that she feels could later be used to create. Professionally, Stephanie is passionate about health equity, especially in the area of women’s mental health. She has developed master's level coursework for university in health equity, has a doctorate in healthcare administration, and has spent the majority of her career working with nonprofits across the central Virginia area to address and improve the social determinants of health. Founder of the Society, Stephanie loves all things weird and spooky and wants every woman to feel comfortable being true to themselves, even (especially) if that makes men uncomfortable.
Stephanie’s coping mechanisms include:
Fiber arts: knitting, spinning yarn, Embroidery, and learning to sew
Ceramics: Wheel-thrown pottery and sculpture
Graphic arts: painting, drawing, photography, and graphic design
Farming: Chickens. She has chickens.
DIY: anything with power tools and wood
Outdoors: Learning to enjoy long walks and climbing up mountains to find pretty rocks that she then has to carry back down the mountain.
Crafty Witch Academy
Because taking time to create is an important step in finding your inner magic, we have created the Crafty Witch Academy to provide you with crafty inspiration - totally free of charge. Take a quick trip to your local art reuse center and log in your 2 hours toward better mental health!
DISCLAIMER: All resources provided by the Crafty Witch Academy are the intellectual property of the Society of Spooky Ladies and is intended for personal use only. Resources, worksheets, and other provided sheets may not be resold, distributed, or commercially exploited in any manner. Any unauthorized resale or distribution of this product is strictly prohibited.
Citations
Santilli, M. (2023, July 13). Depression statistics in 2025. Forbes Health. https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/depression-statistics/
Strand, C. (2024, September 3). Depression statistics in 2023 – Forbes — Rural Minds. Rural Minds. https://www.ruralminds.org/mental-health-news-for-rural-america/depression-statistics-in-2023-forbes
Witters, D. (2023, May 17). U.S. depression rates reach new highs. Gallup.com. https://news.gallup.com/poll/505745/depression-rates-reach-new-highs.aspx
Davies, C., Knuiman, M., & Rosenberg, M. (2015). The art of being mentally healthy: a study to quantify the relationship between recreational arts engagement and mental well-being in the general population. BMC Public Health, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-2672-7
Wang, S., Mak, H. W., & Fancourt, D. (2020). Arts, mental distress, mental health functioning & life satisfaction: fixed-effects analyses of a nationally-representative panel study. BMC Public Health, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-8109-y