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Stress relief activities for college students

6. Coloring and Cocoa

Good crafternoon! Drawing and coloring help take the focus off busy schedules and stressful exams. Adult coloring books, printed coloring pages and mandalas are popular and relaxing without taking up too much time from your busy study timetable. (Bonus: You might even take home a new masterpiece!)

Help students channel their inner artists with Crayola, creativity and hot cocoa (for the fall semester) or iced lemonade (in the spring).

Want to set up a crafternoon event on your campus? Learn about creating your first group and event now.

7. Cram Jam Study Break

Exams can be extremely stressful, both physically and mentally. For many people, getting a massage is one of the most effective ways to relieve mental and physical stress. Massage helps to clear your mind, improves focus, concentration and well-being. It can also help alleviate pain and stiffness in your neck, back and joints.

Create a peaceful, soothing setting for students to stop by for a quick, rejuvenating massage to calm their nerves and uplift their spirits! Free food and giveaways will help ensure students take some time to relax and unwind in the middle of their studies and exams.

Would you like to organize a study break event at your school? Ask us about creating your first group and event now.

8. PlayDoh Power Hour

Spending a lot of time in overcrowded study spaces can easily frustrate students. Whether you’re gearing up for your next exam or you’re done studying but still feeling jittery, nervous energy can be very distracting. A fun and therapeutic way to release tension is simply working your stress out through your hands. Clay and Play-Doh stations provide an outlet for creativity and invigorating sensory stimulation.

Keep those fingers moving: Board games and puzzles help students to shift focus away from homework and other daily demands and as such are also excellent stress reducers. Take a break from studying and have some relaxing fun with friends!

Tactile play with colorful clay! Want to help your students squeeze out their frustrations with everyone’s favorite childhood dough? Learn about creating a group and your first event now.

9. Stress Relief Yoga

Exhale. Stretch. Pose. Hold.

When students are drowning in lecture notes and reading assignments, it can be easy to get overwhelmed. Practicing yoga, controlled breathing, and meditation is a great way to clear your mind and help with focus. Plus, yoga is one of the most popular and recommended forms of stress relief. It can be a powerful reminder not to let our stress get the best of us.

Namasté. Group yoga and meditation will give students a fresh start, leaving them refreshed and confident!

Find your tribe: Gather your students together for some stress-relieving and restorative yoga!

Would you like to create a stress-relieving yoga event for your campus community? Ask us about starting your first group and event now.

This post is all about stress relief crafts for college students.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I do earn a small commission when my links are used, at no extra cost to you.  Find full disclosure here.

Best Stress Relief Crafts for College Students

Are you looking for the best stress relief crafts for college students?!

These crafts go over all the crafts you will want to make instead of stressing out about midterms or finals.

I have included both activities and decorations that you can make for your dorm room or college apartment.

Let’s get started!!!!!!

Art Projects for Stress Relief

Painting with Watercolors to Decorate Your Room and Relax Before Exams

One of the best art projects for stress relief is watercolor painting!!

You can create anything you want without having to stick to a script.

It is perfect for creating mesmerizing art pieces for a loved one back home, your room’s decor, or for your own craftin’ sesh.

Places to get watercolor painting supplies:

  • Dollar store
  • Michaels

Gather Wall Art for a Dorm Room Wall Collage!

More stress relief crafts for college students:

Whether you are a college freshman, sophomore or upperclassmen, we can all revamp boring white walls in your dorm room or college apartment.

You can create a beautiful dorm room wall collage that reflects your personality!!

A lot of you have requested for me to make wall art printables that you can have in your dorm room.. So here they are!!

You can add other images of you alongside these wall art printables to make it YOU.

Diamond Art Painting:

DIY Diamond Painting Kits for Adults

One of the most underrated art projects for stress relief includes diamond art painting!!

The biggest appeal to making a diamond painting is seeing the end result once your finished <3

I personally love diamond painting kits for adults because they include different painting options such as Disney, Nintendo or your choice in art!

This one’s my fav 😉

Interested in more creative projects?  Check these out:

Make a College Memory Box

More stress relief crafts for college students:

In college, you will make so many memories that you will want to see later on after you have graduated.

Making a college memory box is something perfect to make to collect all your memorabilia that you have gathered over the course of four to five years in university.

You can even share these memories with your future family and look back at how college life looked for you. 🙂

DIY Stress Relievers for School

Macrame Kit to Decorate College Apartment

If you have a college apartment or freshmen dorm room that needs some decorating, macrame is perfect for you.

When I was in college I always wondered how people in their dorm rooms had beautiful macrame wall hangers.

I included this macrame kit to help you decorate your room because it has instructions and supplies to make your craft!!

String Lights Art:

 Photo Clip String Lights

More stress relief crafts for college students:

Another SUPERB stress relief craft for college students is string lights art for your room!!

This is the perfect DIY stress reliever for school that can help you decorate your room, while also adding some college memories that you want to keep.

I was always jealous of other people who had beautiful string light art decor in their rooms, so I just had to show it to you guys 🙂

Create a Shadow Box for Your Accomplishments with a

White Shadow Box Display Case

Sometimes college can be really burdensome, and you will want to have a place to just look at all of your accomplishments after receiving a bad grade, or having a rough day at school.

If you fill a shadow box with all your accomplishments, you’ll be able to have something to look at that is really rewarding to look at.

Your shadow box will be the perfect reminder for what you have accomplished to lead you into college in the first place!

Checkout ideas on Pinterest for your shadow box here.

Make Affirmation Cards to Boost Confidence While in College

Another great craft activity includes creating affirmation cards to give you a boost of confidence!

College can be really hard on your confidence when you are trying to figure out career choices, classes for next semester/quarter, or balancing life in general.

I f’ing hated that part of college, tbh.

This DIY stress reliever for school is perfect for being in college to remind yourself of the bada** you always are.

Check out our huge list of affirmations here: 120 Positive Mental Health Affirmations for Self-Care

Calming Crafts for Adults: Make Coasters for Wall Decor or For Your Study Desk

I know this craft can sound kind of dumb, but trust me it is not.

Coasters are not just for mugs, nowadays.

I love them because they are one of the best calming crafts for adults.. that is also great for room decor!!

You can paint wooden coasters to display them on your desk while studying or stick them on your wall.

Easy Crafts for Anxiety

Scratch Art Craft Kit:

Scratch Art Rainbow Painting Paper

More stress relieving crafts for students:

Do you remember those colorful scratch art pieces that you played with as a kid?!

You can have fun using a scratch art crafting kit while relieving stress.

I personally love scratch art because it reminds me of scratching lottery cards lol.

Sculpting with DIY Play Dough for Self-Care

When I was researching easy crafts for anxiety that you can make in college, I came across DIY playdough!!

It is actually really easy to make and it is perfect to play around with while you are in class twiddling your fingers.

You can also use it while you are studying for midterms stressing the F out at the library.

Checkout ideas on Pinterest for DIY playdough here.

Make Jewelry to Accessorize During College

More stress relieving crafts for students:

Making jewelry is one of those stress relieving crafts for students that everyone knows.

You can make bracelets, necklaces, or ankle bracelets that you can use every day to accessorize your college style!!

The best part about this jewelry kit is that it makes jewelry easy to make with all the supplies already packaged for you. <3

How to Make a Stress Reliever Toy at Home: Stress Squishy Ball Using Water Beads

Another easy craft for anxiety includes making stress balls using water beads.

It is really simple to make a squishy stress ball with a stress ball kit that already has the materials prepped for you.

You can make a stress ball to cope with college stress (which let’s be honest catches up to all of us sometime in the semester/quarter).

DIY Stress Relievers for Adults

Make some Galaxy Jars Using Glitter and Mason Jars

If you hop on to Pinterest, you’ll find that galaxy jars are huge.

They’re one of the best stress relievers for adults because they are fun to make, pretty to look at, and you could shake them around to see their beautiful colors.

Check our more ideas on Pinterest for a galaxy jar here.

Decorate Your Desk with a Zen Garden

More stress relieving crafts for students:

After making a Zen Garden with my best friend in college, I had to share with you this craft.

A Zen Garden is perfect to bring a little bit of Zen into your room and it’s also really fun to make!!

You can add little accessories that you want or use a zen garden kit such as this one to get you started.

Making Keychains to Hold Keys While Walking On Campus

I know this might also sound like another odd stress reliever for adults, but making a keychain for your keys or Wendy’s Frosty keychain was so useful in college.

You can relax while making a key chain made out of lanyard material or strings.

These key chains are perfect to hold your keys while you’re out and about.

Relaxing Paper Crafts

Make a Vision Board for Your Career and Personal Goals

If you love crafts, you will love making a vision board displaying your career and personal goals.

I have found that making a vision board with everything I want to achieve in the future gives me motivation to work towards what I want.

Origami for Relaxing During Downtime

More stress relieving crafts for students:

If you are looking for some crafts that just require paper, then we cannot forget about origami!!

Origami is so fun to make.. if you have the proper instructions to do so (and patience lol).

There are a lot of tutorials online to help you make origami pieces or you can make origami with paper that you have lying at home as well.

List Complete!

Well there you have it. These are the perfect stress relief crafts for college students!! I hope you enjoyed this massive list of crafts I honestly wished I had known in college.  It would have made coping with difficult times and stressful situations a little easier, and more fun!

Summary of post: This post goes over stress relief crafts for college students.

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