Whether it’s cold outside, rainy, or your house just has a big case of boredom, sitting down to do crafts is fun for both kids and adults. When you’re working with little ones, though, it’s best to stick to crafts that are easy to do, but still look beautiful and exciting when they’re completed.
Flip through the gallery for 20 easy craft ideas to do with your kids, most of which can be made with simple household items like toilet paper tubes, popsicle sticks, and tempera paint.
Using food coloring, glitter, and water, it’s easy to make fun sensory bottles that will keep kids engaged for hours. You can also combine substances like oil and water for both a fun look and a science lesson at the same time.
Every kid loves stickers, especially when they’re special and homemade. Use coloring book pages, DIY drawings, or images from magazines paired with clear packing tape to make your own stickers that look just as cool as store-bought options. Check out this guide from Crayola for more tips.
Once emptied of their paper, humble toilet paper roll tubes can be transformed into everything from a fire-breathing dragon to an easy DIY organization station perfect for the playroom.
Slime is all the rage right now, and it’s easy to make at home with ingredients like liquid glue, Borax powder, and saline contact solution — plus fun add-ins like glitter and small plastic toys. Try this easy slime recipe from Elmer’s Glue first.
Whether or not it’s the holiday season, it’s easy to use birdseed and a little coconut oil to make bird feeders that look great all year long. Mix birdseed with melted coconut oil, then shape using cookie cutters or silicone molds. Chill the birdseed ornaments, then hang them in the trees in your yard to give your woodland friends a little snack.
Using salt and flour, it’s easy to make a DIY play dough that’s also cheap. Add color with food coloring, or mix in glitter for even more brightness.
Brown paper bags may not be popular in the lunch line anymore, but they’re still great for making DIY puppets with the kids on a rainy day. After creating your puppets, put on a puppet show or play to make the fun last longer.
Now that most of us don’t hang our clothes outside on a line anymore, clothespins are mostly used for attaching kids’ art to the refrigerator. But with a little paint, some pipe cleaners, and imagination, clothespins can be transformed into a wide variety of characters, like these holiday-appropriate snowmen or beautiful butterflies.
Paper plates can be used for a wide range of crafts — your imagination is the only limit! Keep bad dreams at bay with a DIY dream catcher that’s easily made from paper plates and strings, or create your own animal masks with tempera paints, paper plates, and string.
If you’re really low on craft supplies and in need of a fun activity, shaving cream to the rescue! Add a few drops of food coloring to shaving cream in a bowl, then allow kids to “paint” with the colorful foam on a non-porous table. It can be a little bit messy, making shaving cream painting an activity that’s best done outside or in the playroom.
Pinwheels are a fun craft for all ages, and when you use the right paper, they can be stunning additions to the decor in your child’s playroom. Consider making an installation on the wall from rainbow-colored pinwheels, or take them outside and allow your kids to see the magic that happens when the wind starts to blow.
Origami, the Japanese art of folding paper, is challenging but fun. Score a pack of origami paper, then set out to create designs that range from simple flowers and frogs to more complicated creations like an origami dragon.
Using a cookie sheet, some paper, and fun magnets, it’s easy to make a magnetic board that your child can use to learn counting skills, play tic-tac-toe, or practice spelling words.
Need a little sunshine on a cloudy day? Try this easy craft that transforms simple (yet colorful) cupcake liners into beautiful flowers.
Pretty much everyone remembers building things with popsicle sticks back in the day, and there’s a reason why this iconic craft staple is still so popular with little ones: they’re fun. Use popsicle sticks to build everything from a colorful wreath to a picture frame perfect for displaying more of your kiddo’s art.
You’ll definitely need some help from the adults for this one, but everyone can appreciate the colorful appeal of a DIY kaleidoscope. And, as a bonus, you probably have all the necessary supplies right at home.
After washing out those cans of green beans and corn, take them to the craft table! Use Mod Podge and pretty paper, perhaps wrapping paper or fun images cut from magazines, to easily decoupage leftover cans into cute pencil holders.
Paper egg cartons are biodegradable, making them perfect for starting little seedlings. In the spring, stock up on a few cartons and plant herbs, flowers, and other seeds in the cups, then simply transfer them to the ground or larger pots once they’ve sprouted.
Amy McCarthy is a Texas-based journalist. Follow her on twitter at @aemccarthy.
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