Summer Craft Projects for Adults and Children

Here we go! The summer holidays begin and I have rounded up my favourite Summer Craft Projects for adults and children. If you need easy craft inspiration to keep yourself and your children occupied, this selection of posts should inspire some easy summer family activities.

I have been crafting and making alongside my children for (nearly) eleven years. It has always been most successful when we work together using similar materials but with different outcomes. Giving children space to explore and see what happens can be a parenting lesson in letting go but also gives plenty of opportunity for new ideas. Some of my favourite projects and moments have been during simple crafternoons.

There is now a whole page on my Lotts and Lots Amazon shop with a full selection of our favourite craft materials. From Mod Podge and gold leaf, to fabric paints and pens and bedazzling kits, you should find a fully stocked craft cupboard waiting for you. My children have checked the list and given it their seal of approval. The craft page is here and shop front here.

Let’s get messy!

The first project is a Tie Dye Tablecloth featured in this post – Lotts and Lots | Setting a summer table with jam jars % . The original post was from 12 years ago but the tablecloth is still going strong.

Take a length of 100% cotton fabric and gather sections. Tie tightly with elastic bands and then machine wash using fabric dye. Finish the fabric as per the instructions. Once dry lay the table!

When dying my own tablecloths, I rarely finish the ends, if you’d prefer a more polished look you could hem the edges with a simple machine running stitch or even use Wonderweb.

Next up Stitched Watercolour Cards. Paint a few simple flowers onto a sheet of watercolour/craft paper. Stitch a few lines with a sewing machine or hand stitch. Cut and stick onto a card or leave as a painting. Easy, you could always get a little one to draw the flowers and you do the stitching.

When all else fails bake a cake. There couldn’t be an easier cake than my Lotts and Lots | Simple Summer Holiday Sprinkle Cake % . However, if that feels too much, pop some popcorn! Dried popcorn is my secret weapon for quiet days!

It was a delight to find this photo of little driftwood boats. Originally they were made as part of a table set up but don’t have to be. Gather driftwood or sticks from the beach. Take a long wooden skewer, cut off any sharp ends and glue to the wooden base, making a ‘mast’. Cut a piece of scrap fabric in a triangle shape to make a sail and fix with hot glue. You could add bunting or little flags made using ribbon to finish.

There are two materials I always have stocked; Air dry clay and sticks. Sticks we gather on our adventures, Air dry clay from any art or craft shop or here!

Both are wonderful as they give us all something to do with our hands that feels productive and calming at the same time. When making with my children, I often use the clay to make easy gift tags using cookie cutters to make simple shapes.

These Air Dry Clay Silver Fish are a lovely whimsical project. We made these over the course of a few weeks, you can see the video explaining how here. There is also an Air Dry Heart tutorial here. My advice, keep it simple, there are always tears when someone tries to make a highly detailed Pokémon character or elaborate dish!

You don’t have to just make fish, simple abstract shapes/beads, look great painted and strung together to make a garland. If in doubt add a layer of gold or silver leaf. It transforms ANYTHING!

These wooden decorations were made for Christmas but don’t have to be. On my travels I always look out for interesting wrapping paper and ribbon. These simple wooden shapes are transformed with Mod Podge and pretty paper. The garland has been hanging in my dining room for years!

Flower pressing remains a favourite activity around here. Obviously we have flowers in abundance but a handful of foraged buttercups and grasses will do the job or even a bunch from the supermarket (if you have too) . Inspired by this vintage flower press, I’ve added a mini and full size flower press to my shop.

Flower pressing is the simplest way of creating natural craft supplies. Dried flowers can be used in so many ways; from creating your own artwork to making floral tea light holders. Get pressing people! If you don’t have a press, use a book, I have a page of them too ;-)!

To continue the floral theme, making mini floral books is definitely something to try. I make simple journals/notebooks using my sewing machine. At the July Quickie workshop these went down such a storm. Mini versions using this paper – take 5 sheets, fold in half and stitch down the centre – are ideal for making and taking on any travels this summer.

I like to gather and store bits within the pages, returning back a few years later to see what caught my eye.

Talking of going back, it was fun to re-read this post for DIY -Magic Wands. My daughter and niece were only two when I made them. Now they are nine and nearly nine – yikes! You could use the tutorial to make wands or combine them with free hand embroidery and have a little decoration to hang about.

If you’d like to know how to craft with children under five. Have a read of this post. Even now I wrote some good advice.

Okay, we’re nearly there. At this point I need to say you don’t have to do everything on the list. These are years worth of ideas and projects. Pick and choose the ones that best craft projects to suit your family.

The last project on the list are these hand drawn napkins. Napkins aren’t everyone’s cup of tea but fabric pens can transform anything into something. Less mess than fabric paint, which has it’s place. We’ve used them over the years to draw onto old fabric and then turn those drawings into toys. Think little pillows. I’ve written on ribbons and so much more. They are great as they work just as well for little children as they do adults.

That’s it, I hope you find some inspiration among the posts. Apologies for some of the photos, there were a few gem’s I really wanted to share from my archive. If you’d like EVEN more creative summer activities search Summer or DIY there is a whole world of Lotts and Lots posts to get lost in.