Top 10 Summer Crafts for Kids

Crafts are every mother’s summer salvation. They keep your kids occupied for hours, allow you to connect, and it’s always a new and exciting experience. Summer chores don't have to be the only activity around the house for your kids.

Here are 10 craft ideas to get your creative juices flowing as you turn those long summer days into moments you want to hold onto forever.

1. Tie Dye Fun

Say goodbye to intricate rubber bands and replace them with this fun tie dye experience.

What you need:

• Tape
• Tie Dye
• Spritz containers
• Towel (or substitute another fun alternative)

Use tape to create a design on your towel or other cloth items of choice, and let your kids go to town using the spritz container or water gun. You not only have fun creating this, but it’s also a practical item you can use all summer.

Another version of this craft uses acrylic paint instead of tie-dye. Because this type of paint is thicker, add some water to thin it so it can easily pass through your water gun. Your kids can wear white shirts and spray each other or spray a canvas you can later turn into greeting cards and other personalized gifts.

2. Bubble Painting

Are your kids part of the summer bubble fan club? Turn their love of soapy magic into a creative way to perform art.

What you need:

• Bubbles (with bubble wands)
• Food coloring
• Paper

Squirt food coloring into several bottles of bubble solution to make your child’s favorite colors. When your kids blow bubbles on and around the paper, it will leave artistic splatters of bright colors reflecting those cheerful memories.

If you use card stock or thicker paper, you can turn these one-of-a-kind masterpieces into cards or photobook covers that make the ideal personalized gift for a loved one.

If you want to make your own bubble mixture for this craft, check out this video on homemade bubble solutions.

3. Dot Paint Cards

Birthdays, anniversaries, and just because–the occasions for sending cards are endless. Summer is ideal for catching up on your greetings. You can get your kids involved by setting them up to make these adorable crafts.

What you need:

• Card stock
• Dot paint
• Masking tape

Place a paper shape on the center of your card and secure it with tape. Just a side note, Scotch tape will stick securely and might cause you to rip the card, so use masking tape or another form of light adhesive.

Your kids will enjoy stamping their favorite colors all over the card. You can adjust this craft using other coloring methods like watercolor, washable paint, crayons, and stamps. You can also let them use glue and glitter to coat the card if you feel brave.

Once they finish their masterpiece, remove the shape from the card, and you’ll have an adorable handmade card, unlike anything you’ll find in the store.

4. Summer Solstice Suncatchers

Does your child love to pour more glue than you reasonably need? Then, this is their dream craft. Capture those warm summer rays and the fleeting moments of childhood using this simple craft.

What you need:

• Washable school glue
• Food coloring
• Toothpicks or skewers
• Plastic lids
• String

Let your child fill a plastic lid with glue. Make sure it’s the washable type you can easily peel off your skin and furniture. Once you fill the lid, add six to ten drops of food coloring about an inch apart. Younger kids might need help with this part as you don’t want too much color.

Gently swirl the colors through the glue using a thin stick, like a toothpick or skewer. Once it’s fully dry, gently peel it out of the lid. You can attach a string to the top and hang it in your child’s window or attach it to personalized gifts for relatives.

For a creative twist, find other containers around your house with fun shapes you can use in place of the lid.

5. Melted Crayon Art

When the school year ends and your kid comes home with a box of partially used crayons that you can’t throw away with a clear conscience, this option is for you.

What you need:

• Crayons
• Pencil sharpener
• Paper
• Parchment paper
• Iron

First, remove the paper from the crayons. Then shave the crayons into small pieces using the pencil sharpener. Your kids can then spread the colorful shavings on a sheet of blank paper, cardstock, a book cover, or a drawing.

Once they finish distributing the crayon shavings, sandwich the paper between two sheets of parchment paper. Run an iron over the parchment paper to melt the shavings onto your paper. You will have a textured piece of art you can use when creating personalized gifts.

6. Spun Art

Let’s face it, some kids aren’t built to sit at a table to complete an art project. They need to use their whole body, or they will lose interest faster than you can say, “But this will be fun, I promise!” This art project will get those wiggles out while creating a colorful gift for your family or friends.

What you need:

• Paint
• Canvas (or another sturdy, stiff medium like scrapbook covers)

Dress your kids in clothes you don’t mind getting a little messy. They will enjoy squeezing out large globs of paint all over the canvas, making sure to leave space between the paint streaks.

Now send them into the yard where they can throw the canvas. You heard that right. Tell them to give the painting a big, old toss. After several throws, the paint will smear throughout the canvas in a colorful splash as big as the smiles they’ll have afterward.

7. Water Bombs

Spruce up your water play with this craft you might remember from childhood. Now you can share this fun memory with your little ones.

What you need:

• Several colorful sponges
• Scissors
• String

Cut up the sponges into long strips. Your kids can choose six strips and tie them together at the center. Now you have a water ball you can use in the pool or with a bucket of water during the next heat wave.

8. Pool Noodle Floats

These pool noodle floats are as entertaining to play with as they are fun to make.

What you need:

• Pool noodles
• Scissors
• Straws (or sticks from your yard)
• Foam sheet

Cut a pool noodle into three-inch rounds while your kids have fun cutting and decorating foam sails. When ready, stick the straw through two slits in the sails and attach it to the boat by sticking it in the foam. Finally, top the vessel with a small flag or other decoration.

Use these boats when your kids have friends over. They’ll enjoy having boat races. They can also use their imagination to see what other creatures and inventions they can make with the pool noodles and a few water-resistant craft supplies.

9. Sidewalk Puff Paint

Get your kids outside and use their imagination with this fun alternative to sidewalk chalk. Bonus, this sidewalk chalk is HOA friendly because it washes off easily when they’re done.

What you need:

• 2 ¼ cups of water
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup baking soda
• Food coloring

Whisk the ingredients, minus the food coloring, together until well combined. Then pour them into separate containers. Add food coloring into each container to create bright puff paint. When the colors are thoroughly blended, you can add them to squeeze bottles for your kids to play with outside with their friends.

Try another variation that uses ground chalk, flour, water, and shaving cream to create sidewalk paint your kids can enjoy with paint brushes.

10. Scratch Off Art

This is a craft for kids of all ages that you can use for creating unique cards, scrapbooks, and artistic gifts.

What you need:

• Paper
• Crayons
• Black paint
• Skewer

Thoroughly cover the paper’s surface with colors using crayons. Now coat each piece of colorful paper with a thin layer of black paint.

When the paint is fully dried, your kids can use skewers to scratch off part of the paint and reveal the bright colors beneath for creative cards and scrapbooks.

How Will You Capture Your Summer Memories?

Time for you to make unforgettable memories and share them with friends using these crafts as inspiration. For parents that want to go the extra mile and preserve these memories, check out our guide on how to turn your kid's art into its own photo book. For even more summer inspiration, check out these eight kid-friendly summer activities to do at home.