8 Easy and Creative Crafts for Kids

*Collaborative Post

Arts and crafts are not only highly engaging, but they inspire creativity. And, as an added bonus, craft activities can help keep your little one busy and out of mischief!

Here are eight easy crafts to do with your kids to keep them entertained during the school holidays and to nurture their talents – they are all easy to make, and they require just a few materials.

1. Paint With Toy Cars

What could be more fun than painting with paintbrushes? Painting with cars, of course! Roll out a large piece of butcher paper and “drive” toy cars through some washable, non-toxic paint that’s been poured into a shallow pan. Then, get your little one to “drive” the cars all over the butcher paper.

2. Leaf Rubbings

While making crayon leaf rubbings are a great way to get out in nature and have fun with a craft, small children may find it difficult to hold a leaf with one hand and make the crayon rubbing with the other.

To make leaf rubbings easier for your child to make, simply cut two long sheets of butcher paper, tape them to the floor, and push the leaf in between them. This makes making leaf rubbings so much easier because the leaves will stay in place.

3. Pop-Pom Bouquets

There are few things more fun and satisfying to make than pop-poms… and you can make the squishy pom-poms into cute evergreen bouquets.

To make them, simply place a green pipe cleaner parallel with the tines of a fork and make sure it extends at least three inches above the tines. Take some yarn and wrap it at a perpendicular angle around all the tines, then fold the pipe cleaner down over the yarn.

Then, slide everything off the fork, taking care to wrap the two ends of pipe cleaner together. Finally, cut the wrapped yarn, and trim off any uneven ends. Repeat the process to make more pom-pom flowers, and wrap them together neatly with a ribbon. 

4. DIY Watermelon Bowling Set

For a seriously fun game that you can play outdoors, all you need is a watermelon and some empty plastic bottles. For the miniature bowling pins, paint the bottles white (get your kids involved) and fill them with water until they are about a third full, and then screw the caps back on.

Now that you have your bowling pins ready, all you need is a watermelon. The shape and size of the watermelon will make it bounce and roll unevenly on grass. This fun twist on ten-pin bowling makes for a hilarious outdoor activity that the whole family can enjoy!

5. Clay Change Bowl

Does your child love getting his hands dirty? Creating a clay, flower-shaped change bowl will allow him to do just that.

You can use regular, oven-baked clay like Sculpey to form the large circle that will become the flower’s outer petals, then make a smaller circle and place it inside the large one to create the inner petals.

Shape the individual petals by hand and pull them upwards to form the concave, bowl shape. Then, simply place plastic beads in the bottom of the bowl and bake per the instructions on the packet of clay.

6. Rock Paper Weights

All children will love making a functional paperweight that they can keep on their desk, and it’s so simple to make. Begin by collecting a smooth, palm-sized rock from the garden.

Cut pieces of scrap fabric into strips (anything you have lying around the house will do) and glue them all around the rock with glossy Mod Podge until it is completely covered.

Cut out an initial and any other shape you like from another piece of material, and glue them onto the rock. Allow everything to dry completely, and viola! Your child has their own paperweight bearing their initial.

7. Play Dough Dinosaur Fossils

This craft is educational, fun, and easy to make. Simply grab some playdough (or find a playdough recipe and make it yourself) and a few plastic dinosaur toys and you’re all set. Flatten the play dough into a disc and press the dinosaur toys into it so that leave realistic-looking impressions.

If you don’t have dinosaurs or if your child would prefer to use other toys they have to create fossils, let them experiment.

8. Salt Dough Ornaments

Making salt dough ornaments is the perfect activity for you if you don’t have craft supplies and materials – all you need to make them is flour, salt, and water.

Kids just love rolling the dough out and cutting it into different shapes. If you have some food coloring or paints lying around, you can decorate the ornaments, too. When you’re done, simply bake them in the oven.

*This is a collaborative post. For further information please refer to my disclosure page.