13 SIMPLE CRAFT IDEAS WITH HOUSEHOLD ITEMS
Crafting with your kids is more than a clever way to make gifts for the grandparents. Kids crafts can actually help with your child’s development and foster creativity, motor skill development, cognitive abilities, problem solving, and patience. All that from cutting, pasting, and painting? YES!
Plus, let’s not minimize how much kids love to make art and express themselves. That alone makes me want to make it a part of my everyday routine! However, the cost of craft supplies can make you think twice about incorporating creative activities into your schedule. But, you actually don’t need any specialized supplies, elaborate kits, or fancy pieces of furniture to set up crafts for kids! Regular household items and supplies are more than enough to bring to life some pretty cool activities.
Really, our homes are a treasure trove of artistic inspo and creative opportunity. From toilet paper rolls to plastic cups, there are probably dozens of potential art projects within arm’s reach. So, today we’re going to dive into some simple craft with household items. Better yet, most of these great activities below come right from my Mothercould In Your Pocket resource, made with your kids' development in mind!
We have plenty of fantastic craft activities and so much more in this resource, all for a great one-time fee of only $44! If you want peace of mind, engagement for your little ones, and activities tailored to their development, sign up today. Now, without further ado, here are crafts, projects, and activities you can do with your kids right now with only the things found in your home!
13 Simple Craft Ideas with Household Items
Play Dough Roller Stamps
Have you ever wanted to elevate your kids' play dough time to re-engage them in this family-favorite sensory tool? Well, this play dough roller stamp craft is a super entertaining, inexpensive, and simple way to do exactly that! You can make your own personalized roller stamps with one of the most common household items recycled paper rolls!
You can use toilet paper rolls, but they can be a little flimsy. I instead recommend using the inner cardboard roll from something like aluminum foil, plastic wrap, and parchment paper. These rolls are a bit thicker, making it easier to roll on play dough without squishing it.
Materials
Recycled strong paper roll
Play dough (Here’s my homemade play dough recipe)
Instructions
Heat your hot glue gun. Make sure you do this away from little hands!
Choose a pattern you want to make and create that design using a thick layer of hot glue on the paper roll.
Wait for it to dry and then let your child roll it over the play dough to see the pattern.
Plastic Cup Ornaments
My kids favorite type of craft is one they can easily display to admire for weeks to come! This plastic cup ornament activity allows children of any age to create beautiful, personalized ornaments using recycled clear plastic cups. These are a favorite around Christmas time, but you can really do them any time of year!
Materials
Tin foil
Permanent markers
Cord, ribbon, or pipe cleaners
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 250° F on the broil setting.
Get a sheet pan ready by covering it in tin foil.
If you are using recycled plastic cups, wash the used cups before using them to get rid of any leftover liquid or germs. Then, ensure the cups are completely dry.
Create a space where your children can use permanent markers stress-free. (However, here’s how to remove permanent markers.)
Once you have your space set up, have your kids draw all over their plastic cups.
After the cups are all designed, place them 1-2 inches apart on the sheet pan.
Place the sheet pan in the oven.
When each cup is melted and completely flat, remove them from the oven. (This will only take about 30 seconds.)
If some of the cups are a little wavy or wrinkled, use a porcelain or metal bowl to press them flat.
Let the cups sit to cool for around 5 minutes.
Now, take them back to the craft table for extra embellishments! Children could write on the ornaments, add more designs and patterns with glitter glue, or even decorate with stickers.
Once they’re complete, punch a hole in the top of the ornament.
String cord, ribbon, or pipe cleaners through the hole and tie.
Help your little ones hang the ornaments and enjoy!
Bubble Painting Art Prints
When it comes to kids activities, bubble painting art prints are a classic! Seriously, I even remember this activity from then I was a kid! Talk about full circle.
My kids cannot see a straw and not blow bubbles! This is why they are so fond of this super fun activity. Blowing bubbles isn’t just about fun, blowing bubbles is also REALLY good for developing a child’s lungs, chest, and motor skills.
Materials
Reusable cup
Water
Food coloring
Scissors
Ingredients
Fill the cup halfway with water and add a bit of dish soap.
Add a few drops of food coloring. The more you add, the brighter the prints will be. (But, it’ll also get messier the more you add. If you need it, here’s how to get food coloring off hands.)
Grab the straw and snip it where it bends. Make sure you try it out before handing it to your child. You should be able to blow out, but not suck up any liquid. Keep cutting until you achieve it, but don’t cut the straw all the way in half..
Let your little one place the straw inside the cup and blow bubbles.
Remove the straw and smash the bubbles with the paper making awesome prints for your little one to showcase!
Toilet Paper Color Tie Dye Painting
Sure, when you look at this craft, it may look like a waste of a perfectly good toilet paper roll but it’s definitely not a “waste.” Not only does the craft keep kids busy, refine their fine motor skills, and develop their hand-eye coordination, it creates a material for future activities! That means this craft keeps on giving. Once it’s dry, think of it as a colorful recycled paper that can then be used for other crafts and activities. If you need inspo, my daughters love to have these on-hand as homemade streamers for all their make believe parties!
Materials
Water
White toilet paper
Instructions
Add one or two drops of food coloring to a little bit of water. If you have liquid water colors, you could skip the water.
Let your child decorate the toilet paper roll on all sides using the dropper.
If the toilet paper starts to unroll or fall apart while you’re coloring it, you can wrap a couple of rubber bands around it to hold it in place. Just make sure to move the rubber bands around if you don’t want white stripes included in your colorful design!
Leave it to dry overnight!
Tubes of Emotion Activity
Teaching your kids about emotions in a fun and engaging way? I say absolutely YES! Colors can represent emotions and are a wonderful way to help kids build their emotional vocabulary and encourage them to talk about their feelings. That is why I love this tubes of emotion activity.
This activity helps our little ones learn about feelings and emotions and aids in social emotional learning. Basically, emotions are natural and normal, and helping identify them can make them easier to deal with. For example, yellow is typically a happy color and red represents anger. This fun visual helps associate colors with different emotions for improved identification and control.
Materials
Recycled paper rolls (I used towel paper and cut them in thirds)
2 tbsp baking soda per roll
Instructions
Draw faces with the appropriate facial expression on the front of each paper roll.
Stand them up on a tray.
Ask your little one to carefully add 2 tbsp of baking soda to each roll.
Get them to add a drop of food coloring right on top of the baking soda. No need to mix it.
Let them pour vinegar inside the paper roll and watch it erupt with emotion!
DIY Painting Easel
Gone are the days of buying overpriced and overmarketed toys and furniture for your child’s activities. Nowadays, it’s better to see what you can DIY so when it inevitably gets ruined, you can just make another! I have always been a fan of the beautiful glass easels, but when I really thought about it I went “Hmm, I can make that myself!”
All you need to do to get started making your own DIY painting easel is to find some recycled cardboard and paper rolls. It is the perfect recycle and play idea for your little ones!
Materials
Recycled cardboard
2 recycled paper rolls
Hot glue gun
Paint
Instructions
Cut a rectangular piece of cardboard as the base of the stand.
Use the hot glue to glue the paper rolls on to the base. Space them 1-2 feet across from each other depending on how large your base is. I used thick paper rolls like the ones from aluminum foil to make it sturdy.
Add hot glue down the sides of the paper rolls. Let it dry. (It just serves as grip for the plastic wrap.)
Wrap plastic around the rolls making a see-through easel!
Have your little ones paint, create, and have fun!
Recycled Cap Stamps
Recyclable materials like these cap stamps are my go-to when upping my play dough game. And, don’t make these on your own! Part of the fun is creating the stamps together before the play dough time even begins. You can get your little one to sort the caps by color, count them, and even take them off of the bottles for you!
Materials
Recycled bottle caps
Hot glue gun
Instructions
Clean the top of the cap really well.
Use the hot glue to make any shape, letter, or number.
Let them dry and they are ready to use.
Practical Life Skills Egg Carton
Teach your kid plenty of important life skills with this awesome life skills egg carton activity. Funnily enough, my daughter learned how to tie her shoes using this multipurpose recycled egg carton! This free activity can do wonders for your toddler’s development with zipping, looping, twisting, sorting, coloring matching, tying, and more! Get creative!
Materials
Cardboard egg carton
2 Plastic bottles with cap
Hot glue gun
Instructions
With the hot glue gun, glue zippers to the inside of the carton.
With markers, have your child color the both cotton ends of the cotton swabs with different colors and cut them in half.
Punch holes directly in the egg carton and label them with the same colors as the Q tips for a color match activity.
Punch holes on every egg space and criss cross the laces to tie them at the bottom.
Cut bottle tops and glue them onto the carton and label them “big” and “small” for a pom pom sorting activity.
On the opening side of the carton, glue a button to the top lid.
Open the carton. Punch two holes in line with the buttons. Use the Q tips to help you insert the rubber bands into the holes and loop to secure them.
Have your kids practice their fine motor skills with one recycled multi purpose box!
Word Family DIY
This is one of my absolute favorite craft ideas for kids! It’s a great way to introduce reading in a positive light that encourages a lifelong love of reading. Using paper towel rolls and popsicle sticks, your beginner readers will be able to make words using various ending sounds. This was one of my daughter Nicky’s favorite activities when she was learning to read!
Materials
Recycled paper rolls
Knife
Instructions
Use a marker to write “at”, “is”, “ad” on the paper roll. One word per roll.
Cut out a square window using the knife. Also make a cut right above and below the square cutout to insert the craft stick with letters
Write letters going down the popsicle sticks. You can use both front and back sides of the sticks for more word options!
Insert the popsicle sticks through the slots and slide it to make new words with your kid.
Paper Plate Painting
I love painting, and my children love it even more! If you don’t normally buy disposable products, you know that paper plates only ever come in packs of 20 or more. So, if you have a few left over from your next birthday party or outdoor dinner event, you can have your kids painting away!
Materials
Paper plates
Paint
Instructions
Create a space where your child can paint freely.
Set out a paper plate or two in front of them.
Have them paint, create, and enjoy! They can paint animals, portraits, or anything they desire!
Fine Motor Tubes DIY
If you’ve been here a while, you know I’m huge on helping kids develop their motor skills! I find it is something so simple to encourage, yet so incredibly important. These Fine Motor Tubes are one of my favorite ways to foster those early skills!
Materials
Recycled paper rolls
Paint (optional)
Q tips or toothpicks
Something sharp to make small holes, scissors or a knife work.
Instructions
Choose a theme and paint the paper roll accordingly.
Make small holes to fit the toothpick or the Q tips. If you are using Q tips, paint the ends accordingly and cut it in half.
Have your little one insert the picks into the holes.
Popsicle Stick Bird Feeder
All you need for this super fun activity is some popsicle sticks and bird feed! I love this activity as it combines creativity with an appreciation for nature. It is a really wonderful way to teach kids about caring for wildlife by letting them observe birds in their natural habitat.
It can require adult help with gluing the popsicle sticks together, but it is relatively easy and can be easily adapted to different age groups. It’s a GREAT activity for fostering a love of nature.
Materials
Popsicle sticks
Hot glue gun
Bird seed
String
Instructions
Set out your popsicle sticks in your desired shape. By overlapping the popsicle sticks, create a shallow box with an open top. If you want, you can create platforms for the birds to stand on or a roof for shade. Let your kids help you with the design!
Allow your little one to pass you the sticks as you glue them together.
Let it dry overnight.
Hang it up outside and fill it with bird seed.
Watch the birds enjoy their new house with your kid!
Paper Plate Animals
This activity is very versatile and can be easily customized. With this activity, you can teach your child about different animals while encouraging creativity and imaginative play. These animals are easy for kids to make both independently or with minimal assistance.
Materials
Paper plates
Scissors
Paint
Instructions
Help your little one cut out an animal of their choosing. If they require minimal help, you can simply draw the outline and let them cut it out.
Once fully cut out, it’s time to paint!
Let the animals dry and let your little ones proudly display them!
Avoid boredom with these inexpensive craft ideas with household items!
Looking to keep your little ones busy? If so, the easy kids crafts above can definitely help you out with that! For access to SO MANY more activities like this that encourage sensory play and keep kids busy for hours, sign up for the Mothercould in Your Pocket Resource it’s a ONE TIME fee and we're always adding more for you to enjoy!
I cover everything from simple craft ideas with household items to more detailed and intricate sensory play ideas! I really hope you enjoy these activities and all my blog and resource have to offer!