10 Easy Summer Crafts for Kids
Summer and boredom are a dangerous combination — but a few simple supplies can fix that fast.
We’ve pulled together 10 crafts that actually work for kids, from painting rock garden markers to making seashell wind chimes. No complicated techniques, no expensive kits.
You’ll also find DIY tie-dye t-shirts and paper bag butterfly puppets in the mix. Most of these use things you already have at home.
Grab some paint, scissors, and a free afternoon. Let’s get into it.
1. Painted Rock Garden Markers
Grab some smooth, flat rocks from the backyard or a dollar store bag, and let kids paint the names of their garden plants right on them — tomatoes, basil, sunflowers, whatever they’re growing.
Acrylic paint works best because it sticks well and holds up in light rain. A coat of Mod Podge over the top keeps the paint from chipping through the whole summer.
Kids can go simple with just the plant name in big letters, or get creative with little drawings of the actual vegetable or flower on each rock.
2. DIY Tie-Dye T-Shirts
Tie-dye never gets old, and kids absolutely lose it when they unfold the rubber bands and see what they made.
You only need a white cotton t-shirt, rubber bands, squeeze bottles of fiber-reactive dye, and a plastic bag to let it sit overnight.
The rubber bands do all the work — wrap them tight around pinched sections of fabric to block the dye and create spirals, stripes, or bullseye rings.
Rinse the shirt in cold water before removing the bands, otherwise the colors bleed together into a muddy brown mess.
3. Seashell Wind Chimes
Seashells from a beach trip finally have a second life here. Grab a stick, some fishing line, and a handful of shells with natural holes — or use a hand drill to add holes yourself.
Thread each shell onto its own length of fishing line, spacing them at different heights so they’ll knock together in the breeze.
Tie the lines along the stick, hang it from a porch or tree branch, and the wind does the rest. Kids can paint the shells first with acrylic paint to add color before stringing them up.
4. Paper Bag Butterfly Puppets
Lunch bag puppets are a classic for a reason — they’re cheap, quick, and kids actually play with them afterward.
Grab a brown paper lunch bag and fold the bottom flap down to create the butterfly’s head and upper wings. Paint or color the bag with bright patterns — think bold stripes, polka dots, or ombre fades using watercolors.
Cut wing shapes from tissue paper or coffee filters and glue them to the sides for extra flutter. Pipe cleaners twisted into antennae and taped inside the flap finish the look.
Once the glue dries, kids slip their hand inside and put on a show.
5. Backyard Bird Feeders
Pine cones make the easiest bird feeders you can put together in about ten minutes. Roll one in peanut butter, coat it in birdseed, tie a string around the top, and hang it from a tree branch.
Kids love checking on it each morning to see which birds showed up overnight.
If pine cones aren’t around, a toilet paper tube works just as well — spread it with peanut butter, roll it in seed, and slide it onto a stick or hang it with twine.
Sunflower seeds and millet attract the most backyard birds, so skip the plain mixed seed bags and look for those specifically.
6. Melted Crayon Sun Catchers
Old broken crayons finally have a use here. Peel off the paper, shave them into small pieces with a grater, and sprinkle the shavings between two sheets of wax paper.
Set a cloth over the top and press a warm iron across it for about 30 seconds — the crayon bits melt together into a swirly, colorful panel that actually glows when light hits it.
Cut the cooled sheet into shapes like suns, stars, or simple circles, then punch a hole at the top and hang them in a window with a piece of string.
7. Pressed Flower Bookmarks
Summer is the best time to collect flowers, and pressing them turns a simple walk outside into the start of a real craft project. Grab some heavy books, parchment paper, and whatever blooms your kids can find — clover, dandelions, and small wildflowers all work great.
Lay the flowers between two sheets of parchment, slide them inside a thick book, and stack more books on top. Leave them for about a week until they’re completely flat and dry.
Once the flowers are ready, cut cardstock into bookmark-sized strips and glue the pressed flowers down with a thin layer of Mod Podge. Brush another coat over the top to seal everything and give it a slight shine.
8. Cardboard Box Fairy Houses
Grab a shoebox or small cereal box and let kids go wild turning it into a tiny fairy home. Cut out arched doorways, add popsicle stick window frames, and paint the whole thing in mossy greens and earthy browns.
Bits of twigs, dried leaves, and pebbles from the backyard make great outdoor details stuck on with a hot glue gun (a grown-up job).
Kids can tear small pieces of tissue paper and Mod Podge them onto the roof to mimic shingles or flower petals. The layering dries surprisingly fast in summer heat.
9. Yarn Wrapped Popsicle Stick Bracelets
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Popsicle sticks bend slightly when soaked in warm water for about ten minutes, which is all you need to curve them into a wrist-sized bracelet shape.
Let them dry completely in a curved position — a small glass or jar works great for holding the shape overnight.
Once dry, kids wrap the stick tightly with colorful yarn from one end to the other, switching colors whenever they want stripes or patterns. A small dot of craft glue at the start and finish keeps everything secure.
Embroidery floss works just as well as yarn and gives the bracelet a thinner, friendship-bracelet look that older kids tend to love.
10. Leaf Print Tote Bags
Grab a plain canvas tote bag, some acrylic paint, and a handful of leaves from the backyard — that’s really all you need. Press a leaf paint-side down onto the bag, press firmly, then peel it back slowly to reveal the print.
Different leaves give wildly different results. Maple leaves make bold, recognizable shapes, while fern fronds create delicate, feathery patterns that look almost fancy.
Let kids layer colors and overlap prints to fill the whole bag. Once the paint dries, it’s actually usable — great for carrying library books or beach snacks for the rest of the summer.
