Young children aren’t the only ones who enjoy doing crafts. Older kids and teens like doing craft projects too but they prefer to call it “art” instead of crafts! Here are some ideas for teenage or older kid’s crafts.
Decorated Vase
Whether your kids are tweens or teens, they will love doing this craft. You can use recycled glass on this project. Here’s how you do it:
Materials:
- Clear bottle with a slender neck such as a sparkling water bottle or juice bottle.
- Enamel glass paints will become permanent when baked in the oven. They can be found in your local craft store.
- Hot glue gun
- Any decorative items, buttons, or beads can be used to decorate bottles if you have no paint.
After washing and drying the bottle then your tween or teen can paint any kind of design that they choose on the outside. Now it’s time to bake the bottle to seal the paint. Check the directions on the paint bottles.
Variations:
- Instead of a glue gun, you can use white glue and coat the outside completely then roll the bottle in small beads.
- Cut out magazine clippings to decorate the bottle with. Cover with decoupage medium. You can also use a colored glass bottle.
Keepsake Trinket Box
Not only does this craft project have a useful, practical purpose, but it is also a great way for the artist inside to be able to show their artistic flair.
Materials:
- Paintbrush
- Decoupage medium such as Mod Podge found at your local craft store.
- A variety of magazines that your child can cut pictures out of
- Any empty cardboard box that has a lid such as a shoebox
Your child can determine the design and make it like a collage or cut the pictures with the edges squared to make a more uniform, tailored look. After the design is finished, apply the decoupage medium (Mod Podge) on top and below the cutout designs. If you would like to make your own Mod Podge see the post by Lulastic.
Necklaces
There’s an endless variety of possibilities when it comes to creating a necklace. One of the simplest kid’s craft necklaces is made with simple thread and beads. Here’s how you make it:
Materials:
- Needle nosed pliers
- Small sewing needle
- Necklace clasps (only needed if the necklace is too small to go over the head)
- Beads, seed beads, and other sizes
Start by planning out your design. You may decide to have a central bead or pendant, or maybe you choose to just put a random bead pattern on your thread. If you decide to go with the central bead or pendant, the key is to mirror the beads on both sides of the pendant so that it looks symmetrical. The ideal way to do this is to lay out your design on the table or floor before you start.
Then you thread the needle with whatever length thread you want your necklace to be. Now, poke the needle through the holes in the beads and string them in your chosen order and colors starting with the end beads, not the central bead.
If you have decided to use spacer beads to space between the larger beads evenly, be sure to count your beads so that the spacing is even. If you have beads that are too small to fit over the needle you may need to use the pliers to gently coax them over. When completed, tie the threads off using several square knots or attach the necklace clasps.
No matter which kid’s crafts projects you decide to do, remember these are ideal moments for building memories with your children. For more great kid’s craft ideas, see our previous post, Top Three Kids Green Crafts.
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