Long Island DIY classes: Make your own sourdough, floral wreaths and more 

When she wants to get her creative juices flowing and indulge in self care, Jill Olish heads to GrowinShade in Islip, where she’s taken paint and sip, terrarium, candle making and flower bouquet workshops.

"I love how small and intimate the groups are," says Olish, 36, who owns woman’s support group Mama Outspoken and lives in Patchogue. "The attention we get from whoever is leading the workshop is super personal, one-on-one, pretty much."

On self care nights, Olish usually goes solo to the workshops, she says, "So I could focus on me," adding she’ll also sometimes bring a mom who could also use a fun, creative diversion in her life.

Several boutiques and art studios host DIY classes such as watercolor painting, sourdough baking, sewing and flower arranging. 

Make sourdough at Village in Sayville

36 Railroad Ave., Sayville

Village, which opened last spring, is primarily a "general store" for women and moms that also hosts up to four workshops per month. Workshops run the gamut from embroidery to calligraphy, watercolor, sourdough and candle making.

"We plan, when it starts getting warmer, to do floral arrangement," says owner Ashley Kost. "We have a large, 12-foot table in the middle of the store and I clear that table off during workshops and we have them right inside the store."

Leandra Bakker has taken a handful of workshops at Village, including candle making, needlepoint — where she embroidered a beanie cap — and watercolor using oyster shells as paint palettes, and often brings friends along with her. "I love an experience gift," says Bakker, 28, who lives in East Moriches. 

Upcoming workshops Watercolor with artist Christie Jones, 6 to 8 p.m. March 6 ($50); soap-making workshop, 6 to 8 p.m. March 19 ($50); floral arrangement workshop, 6 to 8 p.m., April 17 ($99); sourdough workshop, 6 to 8 p.m. April 30 ($99).

More info 631-256-5571, villagesayville.com

Join a pressed flower book workshop at GrowinShade 

566 Main St., Islip

An indoor tropical plant shop, GrowinShade runs workshops centered around plants. The shop also partners with other small businesses to run watercolor, pressed flowers, candle-making and pottery-making workshops.

"We have a lot of things that we cycle through the shop and every month we have a different schedule," says owner Kandice Rogers, adding, "We usually post the schedule two months before the upcoming month."

Most workshops run about an hour long and cost $46 to $70.

"We try to be as reasonable as possible with our workshops," says Rogers. "Everybody’s going home with something with the price of the workshop and we usually have food and drink as well."

Upcoming workshops Candle making workshop with Bonita Fierce, 7 to 8 p.m. March 21 ($70); Tillandsia (air plant) workshop, 6 to 7 p.m. March 23 ($48); pressed flower book workshop with Long Island Flower Farm, 7 to 8 p.m. March 28 ($46).

More info 631-623-5707, growinshade.com

Design flower crowns at Hometown Flower Co. 

333 Main St., Huntington 

Since they only work with locally grown flowers, Hometown Flower Co., a full-service, floral shop, hosts workshops with dried flowers during the winter months, notes owner Jaclyn Rutigliano.

"We do find that people love the crafty element of dried flowers. You can make wreaths, but you can also make letters and shapes, and it’s also really family-friendly, too," she says. "But, once we have fresh flowers, I would say our most popular workshop is our Flowers in a Bag workshop." In this class, participants arrange flowers in a mason jar, which is then placed in a decorative bag.

Rutigliano teaches technique but doesn't hold up a sample for participants to copy.

"At the end of our workshops, everyone’s designs really reflect their own personalities," she says.

Hometown Flower’s workshops, which generally run about 90 minutes — about 45 minutes for kids — are more of a social activity and geared toward the amateur.

"We get groups of friends that come, a lot of multigenerational groups that like to come in," she says. "Occasionally, we’ll have couples that like to do it as a sort of a date night."

Upcoming workshops Flower crown and wreath workshop 6 to 7:30 p.m. March 8 ($90); springtime front door wreath workshop, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. March 23 ($135); dried floral bunnies workshop, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. April 5 ($70); flowers in a bag workshop, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. April 6 ($90); Easter centerpiece workshop, 1 to 2:30 p.m. April 19 ($150); dried floral fairy houses workshop, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. April 26 ($65).

More info 516-644-9105, hometownflowerco.com

Take an intro sewing class at Veme Studios

214 Front St., Greenport

People can use the art bar at the studio and choose from a menu of various media to create artwork at their own leisure. Or, they can take a scheduled workshop with an instructor.

"We’re offering sewing this year and always trying to offer a dynamic schedule," says co-owner Verona Peñalba, who teaches painting. Her business partner and co-owner Melissa Gabrielsen teaches pottery.

For Veme's new sewing workshop, people bring their own portable sewing machines and each makes a tote bag.

"We just want to give different options for people to spend their time and get to learn new things," says Peñalba, noting that they bring in other artists who specialize in different media to teach some workshops.

Upcoming workshops Abstract art, 5 to 6:30 p.m. March 15 ($65); pet portrait painting, 5 to 7 p.m. March 22 ($65); intro to sewing, 6 to 9 p.m. March 29 ($70).

More info vemestudios.com 

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the date and time of Hometown Flower Co.'s events. The March 8 flower crown workshop is $90; the springtime wreath workshop is slated to take place March 23.