45 Easy Summer Crafts to Inspire Your Kids' Creativity
Young kids, teens and adults will love these fun crafting ideas.
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From warm-weather vacations and camping trips to summer parties shared with friends and family, summer is a busy season full of time spent outdoors. But, what about those relaxing days at home when your children are hunting for a new activity, game or craft to stay entertained? It's the perfect time to bust out the art-supply bin and have your kids flex their imagination with one of these quick and easy DIY summer crafts. We've rounded up an array of craft ideas that are fun for all ages — from toddlers and preschoolers to tweens, tweens and adults.
For younger kids, we've highlighted step-by-step instructions for handprint frogs, ice cream necklaces and sea shell girls. More experienced crafters can try their hand at paper flowers, a popsicle stick ferris wheel or a large cardboard sun — but don't worry, there's plenty of ways kids can help out. If you fancy an upcycling idea, try the toilet paper bees, egg carton lily wreath or bottle wind stock. Any of these cool ideas will keep the whole family engaged until you're ready to sit down for summer dinner.
Truffula Trees Painting
They don't need to be a big fan of The Lorax to appreciate this interactive craft, which involves spreading paint by blowing through a straw.
Garden Stepping Stones
Let kids create a design using pebbles, glass beads and sea glass. Add the embellishments to mortar for a custom stepping stone you can actually use for years.
Lily Wreath
Turn natural egg cartons into a cheerful summer wreath to display on the front door. While you will need sharp scissors or a craft knife, kids can help with assembly and painting!
- To create the flowers, cut the tall pointed peaks from an egg carton. Cut the base of the peak into four petal shapes.
- Paint the outside of each flower with white craft paint thinned with a little water. Once completely dry, paint the inside with a contrasting color — like pink.
- Poke a hole through each flower using a skewer. Cut a 30" piece of sturdy floral wire. Thread seven flowers on each end of the wire, using hot glue to secure each in place.
Handprint Frog
Whether or not you're spending time by the lake this summer, kids will have a blast turning their handprints into silly frogs. A painted paper plate becomes the lily pad.
Paper Bag Kite
This paper bag kite is both a fun craft and warm weather activity. After they decorate the kite, adding streamers on one side and yarn on the other, they're ready to fly their creation.
Tissue Paper Butterfly
Inspired by the beautiful butterflies they love spotting outdoors, this tissue paper insect is fun and easy to make. Just note, you'll need bleeding tissue paper to get the look.
Paper Flowers
Kids can make these paper flowers to spruce up different parts of the house. Have them fold dyed cupcake liners in half and cut out petal and fringe shapes. Then fold a piece of floral wire in half and twist around the faux flower stamen. Poke the wire through the center of three to four paper liners. Finish it off by wrapping floral tape around the base of the liners and bringing it all the way down the stem.
Shell People
What can you do with your kids' shell collection when they get home from the beach? Turn them into fashion! Some glitter turns them into pretty skirts for craft-stick people.
Cardboard Sun
What better way to show appreciation for the summer than with a giant DIY sun?! You can make different sizes to scatter inside the house and backyard.
Craft Stick Octopus
When the weather gets hot, head under the sea! White beads stand in for the "suckers" on the octopus' craft-stick "tentacles."
Accordion Paper Flowers
Walk your kids through making their own accordion paper flowers to hang in their rooms. Download these templates before following the steps below.
- Cut out 4 pieces of yellow or white paper (depending on what color daffodil you would like) using the first template.
- Fold the paper in half both vertically and horizontally and open again. Fold the bottom up about ¼" and crease it down.
- Flip the paper over and fold all the way to the top until you create an accordion.
- Fold the accordion-folded paper in half and attach the two middle pieces together with double-sided tape.
- Repeat steps 2-4 with the remaining 3 pieces of paper.
- Connect all 4 together with a strip of double-stick tape to create a flower shape.
- Cut out a rectangle of orange paper about 2" x 1.5" and cut little points on one of the long edges.
- Roll the rectangle loosely to make a tube shape and connect with a small piece of double-sided tape, folding the bottom edge down to create a flat bottom.
- Glue the little cup you made into the center of the flower to finish your daffodil.
Paper Plate Lady Bugs
Recommended for kids six and up, this adorable lady bug craft costs less than $5 to recreate. You'll just need colorful paint, paper plates, felt and googly eyes.
Scented Rainbow Bubbles
With essential oils and food dye, you can give homemade bubbles the rainbow treatment. Choose scents you like best, or try to match it to the color — yellow bubbles scented with lemon, for example.
Pressed Flowers
If your kids are nature lovers, they'll enjoy making pressed flowers for their handmade cards or art. It's also a great way to recycle old flower bouquets.
Finger Printed Cherry Tree
This one's so easy: Turn their fingerprints into cherry blossoms and use newspaper for the trunk and branches.
Toilet Paper Roll Bees
Save money on craft supplies and use toilet paper rolls to make googly-eyed bees. Don't forget black pipe cleaners for the antennas! Your kids will buzz around the house with these cute bugs.
Ice Cream Necklace
Since ice cream is on their mind 24/7 from June through August, turn their favorite treat into a sweet accessory. You'll need different color pom poms to mask as different flavors.
Paper Bag Journal
Not only is this summer journal fun to make, it'll inspire kids to store their favorite memories of the sunny season.
Popsicle Stick Ferris Wheel
If you can't take them to the amusement park, have them build their own attraction using popsicle sticks and wooden blocks. They can make it their own by painting the ferris wheel and each car different colors.
Sidewalk Chalk Pops
This neon-hued sidewalk chalk is a 2-for-1 deal: It's fun to make and even more fun to use.
Alyssa Gautieri (she/her) is the associate lifestyle editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covers all things home and interior design. Prior to joining GH in 2022, she wrote for publications including ELLE Decor, Chairish, BobVila.com, Unique Homes Magazine and LODGING Magazine, in addition to crafting product copy for home brands like BrylaneHome and VIGO Industries.
Mariah Thomas (she/her) is an assistant editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covers home and lifestyle content. Mariah has more than four years of editorial experience, having written for TLC, Apartment Therapy, Women's Health and Avocado Magazine. She received her master's degree in journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and published her first book, Heart and Soul: Poems of Thoughts and Emotions, in 2019. She's also the founder of RTF Community, a platform for creatives of color to connect, learn and showcase their work.
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