January 13: Papercrafting and Felicity: The Link Between Happiness and Creativity

If you’ve been following this blog, you know that January is National Papercrafting Month, and that Close To My Heart is celebrating with a fabulous papercrafting kit called the Felicity Collection . You’ve learned that “felicity” is another word for “happiness.” So, papercrafting…happiness…where’s the link?

Scientists have conducted numerous studies on happiness and its ties to creativity. J.R. Minkel wrote in the Scientific American that creativity increases when people feel happy. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi studied the phenomenon of “flow,” when a person is fully engaged in creative work. He noted that people emerge from such creative absorption “feeling good” and wanting to repeat the experience. And Robert Epstein, a pioneer in research about creativity, wrote, “greater creativity breeds greater happiness. The creative process is itself a source of joy for most people. And with new creative powers we're also better able to solve the little problems that beset us daily.”

So, if creativity is linked to happiness, how do we become creative? Not everyone is a Picasso or a Galileo or a Henry Ford. For those of us who are less self-assured when it comes to creativity, Psychology Today offers this advice: get a hobby. “Hobbyists are amateurs - that is to say, the most intrinsically motivated of lovers. They court their pastime, not for conquest or for gain, but for pure pleasure. Hobbies are, quintessentially, forms of play.” In other words, passing time with your hobby is the same as doing what you love, and doing what you love is what makes for happiness.

Now you can see where we’re going with this: happiness --> creativity --> hobby --> papercrafting --> happiness. No wonder our paper kit is called Felicity!

Nothing makes us happier than giving away free products. You can win the Felicity Collection by leaving a comment on this post. Tell us what creative projects you do to make yourself feel happier. One lucky person will win—you got it—Felicity.