UPDATE: The winner is…Brenda A!
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This summer, we’ll have four kids underfoot. The two older ones have part-time jobs and driver’s licenses, so I’m not so worried about keeping them occupied. The 13-year-old and 8-year-old will present tougher challenges. I was thinking of maybe trying to get them excited about some crafty projects. Maybe tackle one every couple of weeks. I’d love to pass along my “craft bug” to someone!
Something my dd and I did a few years ago was make soap. We tried just one recipe, and it actually turned out very, very nice! It was an oatmeal-honey-goat’s milk recipe, and we added some essential oils for scent. The project didn’t take more than an hour to put everything together, and after we stuck it in the fridge while it hardened, we had lovely bars of soap!
This was us putting together our ingredients before sticking the measuring cup in the microwave to melt the mixture.
We found some cheap, basic molds on Amazon. All we did after stirring our hot, melted mix was pour it into the mold.
And we had pretty, nicely scented, smooth-as-butter soap!
So, I’m going to hunt for my old molds and purchase ingredients to be ready!
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, share your ideas for crafty summertime activities!
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i plan to make some jewellery with resin, or candles to gift at christmas
you could sew with them or crossstitching it does take a moment
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Nice suggestions! I might look for a kid’s cross-stitch kit for the little one! She might actually have the patience for that. And candle making? I soooo want to try that! I have a ton of old teacups I’d love to fill.
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Birdhouses – if you can’t cut out your own, there are a lot of kits. Build them & paint them – maybe paint on some flowers & trees. I’ve seen some birdhouses out of ‘found things’ like an old teapot that doesn’t have a lid & it’s hung by the handle with the spout down & opening to the side – try a rummage sale or thrift store to find good containers.
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Never tried making soap… I have made candles, slime, play dough, bird houses, bird feeders, picture frames, etc.
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Yes, Bird feeders are fun to make. Home made cards are another fun activity and I know that the people receiving them are always appreciative.
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Crafting jams and jellies with all the fresh produce and herbs of summer.
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You can find patterns or fabric for sewing like a pencil pouch. I’d look to Etsy for a couple easy patterns. If interested I can post on FB a link to one I know has a video to help walk you and them through it. It looks like a backpack. There’s another that looks like a Kitty coin purse I’ve had my eye on. A couple steps but still easy.
Coasters with plastic canvas or cross stitch. You can look for those small acrylic coaster you can put anything in the bottom and it be sealed.
Or a wooden serving tray they can paint or decorate the inside with scrapbook paper and Mod-Podge. My 17yr old gets those deep frames and does it to those now to have a place to toss keys and such on her dresser. Now and again she makes a new one to have a different paper options and it’s incredibly cheap that can be done at any age.
There’s punch needle, crochet, & knitting. I learned them when I was barely a toddler. Granted I didn’t make anything good until I was in mid-elementary age.
You can grab those 5×5 or whatever size flat canvas where there’s 4 or so to package and one of those small acrylic or small watercolor paint sets if you want to see if any like painting without breaking the bank. I grabbed a the smallest painters tarp and cut sections big enough to cover my table and then a little extra from the hardwood store and just fold it up everytime I’m done. It’s lasted 3 years and I have plenty of tarp left uncut. 🤣
You can make chalk. I did a chalk night with mine when they were younger with their cousins and they loved walking around writing positive messages and drawing around the neighborhood.
The SMALL cake molds, resin molds, soap making molds are all pretty much interchangeable. You can likely find one that they’d be interested in and reuse it for different crafts. If you have to poke a small hole for candle making keep it small and do candles last. I have a skull mold that used for a huge brick of soap and a candle and it didn’t leak when I made another candle. Still, JIC.
I’ve done pencil erasers. There’s molds and kits on Amazon as well. I have a kit I’m still waiting to do with my daughter again. We’ve done them off and on since she was in kindergarten.
There’s teacherspayteachers .com that you can buy some fun little lessons from for cheap. I used a few when I was a Elementary Teacher. They have some fun activities that can be used for the younger one.
I know I’m still missing some. Ooo you could get the DND essentials kit and DM them a little game. With your story making skills you can create or have them help you create their own world to fight off monsters or use the one that comes in the kit. I picked up the kit as I’ll be looking after one not mine that mom asked no video games. You can use the base set to create whatever world you want. I think we are doing a Seven Deadly Sins version it’s the kid’s favorite anime/cartoon instead of the box edition. The kit has practically every thing need. Your imagine can come up with new monsters and just copy the stats from the monsters in the essentials kit to keep it easy. I haven’t played since I was kid, but it’s easy to catch on with the essentials kit. The starter kit is okay. The essentials kit is a little better in my opinion. Might get them interested in story telling while exercising their minds. A little creativity you can turn the fantasy tabletop game into any cartoon or even book world. Or look at other tabletop games.
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I love this soap making idea. You make it sound so easy! I may have to give it a try. What crafty things to I do? I enjoy the thread arts – knitting, crocheting, cross stitch, even some quilting. I learned most of these skills from my grandmothers and I continue to honor them by continuing their legacy. BTW, I was five when grandma taught me to knit, so 8 and 13 should be good. I had the best dressed Barbie Doll in school. And have you seen the things that can be made for the 18″ dolls? (American Girl) There’s also the scarves, slippers, hats that are easy and fun. If you have a boy saying that’s a girl thing, my favorite crochet blog is done by a guy. Mikey does wonderful how-to tutorials as well has tutorials for his designs. (AND, is was actually a guy who taught me to crochet on CQ one night when I was in the Army.) More info than you wanted, but I tend to get passionate about my crafting. Have a wonderful summer.
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I am no longer a crafty person. 🥰 The soap making looks like fun, though.
I will be spending my summer reading and going to the movies. 😊
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making snow cones
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I’m thinking birdhouses. You can buy kits & work on putting them together & painting them. I’m also thinking of having my granddaughter help me paint our shed….maybe she can do some little designs on the parts she can reach. Another thing we do together is bake. I try to come up with some kind of cupcakes, muffins or cookies for us to do.
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Thank you all for the fantastic ideas for summertime projects you shared! There are a few on this list that I will definitely try out!
The winner of the gift card is…Brenda A!