Looking for summer activities for your kids? From glow in the dark jellyfishes, to sandpaper t-shirts, here are 15 Simple Summer Crafts for Kids Guaranteed to Delight, and keep boredom at bay.

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Amusing the kids during the long Summer school holidays can take a bit of juggling not to mention patience, but at least the warmer weather means you can get them outdoors for art and crafts! Here are some the should help keep the occupied and having fun for a few hours!

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Simple Summer Crafts For Kids

#1. Paper Flowers

My girls had lots of fun creating these pretty paper flowers using crepe and tissue paper with pipe cleaners.

To make your own:

• Cut your chosen paper into A5 size (approx)
• Lay 4 to 6 layers of different coloured paper on top of each other
• Folding from the long side, fold all the pieces as you would when creating a fan ie. in lines of approx 1 inch depth
• Once folded secure in the middle with a pipe cleaner
• Then pull each layer apart gently to create petals. You can add texture by shaping the edges of the paper before pulling the layers apart.

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#2. Bubble Painting

Turn your bubbles into ever lasting pieces of art! To get started, cover the area you are working on.

• Using a shallow basin, add a few drops of your favourite Tempera Paint or food colouring to your bubble solution.
• Use a baster, or straw for older children, to add some air to the mixture and create bubbles on the surface.
• Hold your heavy paper on top of the bubbles, without getting it wet.
• Allow the bubbles to burst
• Leave to dry and you will have a funky bubble pattern left behind.
• Repeat the process to get other colours onto the painting. Or do smaller areas in different colours.

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#3. Sun Catcher

You can create a very simple sun catcher with 2 squares of clear, sticky backed book covering, coloured tissue paper or cellophane sweet wrappers.

• Peel backing on bottom sheet and stick on your coloured paper/wrappers.
• Once happy with the design remove backing from the 2nd sheet and place on top to hold everything in place.
• Add string and a suction cup to have a beautiful homemade Sun Catcher.

Or for something a bit more advanced, Babble Dabble Do has this fab cosmic sun catcher.

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#4. Make a Plaque with Treasures

Using quick dry plaster is a great way to create a keepsake of all your treasures from the Summer. It is easy to use and dries quickly, ensuring everything stays in place just how you set it.

You will need:

• Quick dry plaster which can be bought from some pharmacies or craft shops
• A disposable pie tray, preferably aluminium foil
• Treasures – shells, coloured pebbles, sea glass, buttons, beads or anything small that is water resistant
• A straw

To Create:

1. Wear old clothing and setup your work outside!
2. Gather together all your treasures.
3. Mix up your plaster according to the instructions.
4. Pour into the pie case.
5. Gently add your treasures in a pattern or randomly, whatever you think works best
6. Add your straw standing upright at the top. This will create a hole to add string or a hook to your creation.
7. Wait for it to set and remove from the case. Trim the straw so only the hole remains.
8. Paint the background if you wish.

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#5. Make a Sand / Glitter Picture

Create a pretty textured picture using sand you have gathered from a beach trip, and add extra colour with glitter.

You will need:

• Card
• Stick of Glue
• Sand
• Glitter
• Shells for an optional border

To Create:

1. Your child can draw the outline of their picture onto the card using black maker or pencils.
2. When they have finished use a stick glue to ‘colour’ the section they wish the sand or glitter to go on.
3. Hold the page over a tray and gently shake the sand or glitter on top.
4. Shake off any excess and allow to dry.
5. Move onto the next colour until you are happy with the results.
6. Create a border of shells to frame your work of art.

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#6. Glow in the Dark Jellyfish

I found this great craft on Craftiments and had to include it for you to try yourself. Using just paper bowls, yarn, paint and a few more items you too could have amazing glow in the dark jellyfish hanging in your home.

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#7. Tie Dye Socks, Tops or Towels

You will need coloured dyes, cotton socks, towels or t-shirts and elastic bands for this one.

Find out how to Tie Dye Socks on our Fun St Patrick’s Day Crafts article. For a more simple approach, use acrylic paint and follow the instructions on Justbehappylife

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#8. Sandpaper Art T-Shirts

These sandpaper art t-shirts from Alex Nguyen Portraits Blog look great and are very simple to master.

All you will need is a cotton t-shirt, wax crayons, sandpaper and an adult with an iron.

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#9. Summer Mobile

Let the kids captures their favourite memories of summer on a fun mobile.

Items to include could be treasures from beach visits, tickets from places visited, photos with friends, trinkets bought or even things that have been printed and coloured, or cut out from magazines.

You will need:

• A clothes hanger or a cardboard inner tube from paper towels or gift wrap, painted in your favourite colour or wrapped in crepe paper.
• Add your objects using thread, wool or nylon line, looped around the hanger.
• If using a cardboard tube, thread a longer piece of string through the centre and knot at the top to create a hanger.

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#10. Papier Mache

Using only a balloon, old newspaper/crepe paper, paste (made from flour and water) and paint you can create fun papier mache crafts. This is an ideal summer activity as you can make your creations outdoors where the mess won’t matter!

Check out our Chick Pinata post to find out how you can create lovely papier mache decorations.

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#11. Salt Dough Animals & Shapes

Create cute salt dough animals and other interesting shapes using our homemade salt dough recipe and decorate them as keepsakes. None of the steps are difficult so children of all ages can create masterpieces!

This craft can be done over a couple of days as you will need to make the dough, create your shapes, bake them and decorate them and glaze them. Turn them into magnets by adding glue-on magnets when they are created.

#12. Airplane Fridge Magnets

I found this cute idea for Airplane Magnets on Make-Happy. You will need:

• Wooden Clothes Peg for each airplane
• Lolly-Pop Craft Sticks (different sizes ideally)
• Paint
• Glue
• Foam
• 2 x strong but small magnets for each airplane

Simply paint your peg and sticks in your favourite colours, or you can buy pre-coloured sticks from most craft shops. Once they have dried glue them to the peg and add your tail using a piece of craft foam. Add the magnets to the bottom and your airplane is ready to hold your summer schedule on the fridge door!

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#13. Paper Lanterns

I found these really great up-cycled paper lanterns on TheSwellDesigner.com.

All you need is:

• An inexpensive paper lantern
• coloured tissue paper
• Scissors
• Glue

Your lantern will be instantly transformed into a beautiful rainbow coloured design statement. This would be a great activity for teenagers who want to change the look for their room but are on a budget.

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#14. Tea Light Holders

Create simple tea light holders using:

• Old jars that have been washed well
• PVA Glue mixed with equal parts water
• Crepe or tissue paper
• Paint Brush

Paint the jar with the water/glue solution and stick on your paper pieces to create a pattern.  Leave to dry for a short while and coat in the water/glue solution to make it waterproof. You could add a handle or simply dot around the garden to enjoy on summer nights.

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#15. Owls

We love these cute cardboard tube owls from the Natural Kids Team. Created using inner tubes from wrapping paper, paper towels etc., paints and a few accessories they will keep kids of all ages amused for a while.

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Have your say! Have you got a great Summer Craft Idea that you would like to share with us? Please add it to the comments box below.