40 Cool Summer Crafts for Kids

Have the coolest summer ever with fun beach, camp, and outdoor crafts.

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Woven Tie-Dye Wall

This outdoor art installation lets kids try a variety of tasks -- tie-dyeing, fabric ripping, and weaving.
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Solar Flare T-shirt

With this simplified batik technique, kids can turn a plain T-shirt into a summery top that will brighten up even a rainy day.
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Mermaid Wand

Collect sand and shells for a magical craft that memorializes a trip to the beach.
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Waterproof Beach Bag

This colorful, rinseable carryall is the perfect beach bag for kids -- great for packing up gear, collecting sandy treasures, or toting wet suits and towels.
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Cockleshell Critters

Perched on their driftwood stand, these salty characters really dress up a child's night table or desktop.
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Campfire Caps

Make Campfire Caps, fun hats for kids to wear while camping.
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Tie-dyed T-shirts

These tie-dyed T-shirts make a great party activity, take-home favor, and brilliant fashion statement all in one!
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Silly Sunglasses

Let your kids have some fun with their very own cooky personalized shades.
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Sand-cast Bass

There'll be no lamenting about the one that got away in this fish story. Cast right on the beach from plaster and assorted found treasures, this fine specimen makes a unique and lasting souvenir.
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Thumbprint Garden T-Shirt

Girls will love making these Thumbprint Garden T-shirts that they can personalize.
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Friendship Sticks

These vibrant sticks are banded with six colors, one for each letter in the word friend.
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God's-Eye Memory Keeper

Kids love this traditional Mexican yarn craft because of its fun weaving technique, and this framed variation is perfect for displaying your family's summer vacation mementos.
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Personalized Nature Pals

This take on a classic camp craft inspires your family members to create versions of themselves with natural treasures from your own backyard.
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Stick Art

Help your child create a winsome window decoration using nature objects.
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Cute Cover-Up

Here's a quick and easy way to turn a towel into a stylish cover-up for the beach and pool.
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Mailbox Makeovers

Three simple designs that lend personality to your postbox.
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Sandy Hand Mosaic

Use plaster of paris to preserve your kid's sandy treasures in a handy display.
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Sand Castle Scrapbook

A scrapbook that contains the memories of your exciting summer adventures deserves a cover with true grit -- such as this castle made of sandpaper.
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Preserve Backyard Flowers

Bone up on botany and save some mementos of summer by pressing plant leaves and petals.
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Wildflower Crown

Celebrate summer with these fanciful flower headdresses, called venki in Russian.
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Seaweed Still Life

Transform seaweed into an undersea still life with this great summertime craft.
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Rock Necklaces

A variation on the age-old nature necklace, these wire-wrapped pendants are fun for kids to trade. Some girls paint their names on one side and their best friend's on the other, and wear them as a proclamation of their unbreakable bond.
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Spaghetti Yarn Bowl

Simply lay pieces of glue-soaked yarn onto a ball to make this loopy bowl.
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Nature Mobile

Give all those treasures you find on your hikes a proper showcase with this simple mobile.
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Fluffy Flip-Flops

Slip into something cute and comfortable with these fabric-adorned flip-flops.
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Family Faces Totem Pole

Like a friendly welcome sign, these smiling paper plates offer greetings to fellow campers and help kids remember whose tent is whose.
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Pierced Sun Catcher

These colorful, perforated window decorations can really brighten up a room when sunlight shows through all the pinholes.
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Super Sailboat

Take to the high seas with a trim little sailboat fashioned from a soda bottle.
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Slide Sleeve Treasure Holder

To pull together the miscellany of summer, try sorting your smaller, more lightweight mementos in the clear pockets of a slide sleeve. It's a great way of saving summer keepsakes and memories.
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Mini Pinwheel Charm

Put a fanciful spin on your summer style with a paper pinwheel that can be donned as a twirling ring, a ponytail charm, a pin, or even a shoelace decoration.
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Swirly Stones

Make your own collection of colorful gemstones from ordinary rocks and crayons.
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Cardboard Boomerang

It's hard to watch a boomerang soar off through the air and return to the thrower without imagining that some kind of magic is at work. In fact, it's not magic at all -- just physics taking flight.
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Nature T-Shirt

Capture the shapes of natural objects on a summertime shirt
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Walking Stick Grip

Personalize a favorite walking stick with a braided grip and wrist strap.
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Whirling Bird

Take this toy for a run and watch it spin in the wind
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Sponge Crown

This colorful crown makes a cool king or queen out of anyone -- especially when you give it a good squeeze.
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Paper Sand Dollars

Card stock and dry barley are used to make these sweet sand dollars.
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Monster Mural

Need a fun idea for a backyard party? Dip rubber spike balls in tempera paint, then toss them at a paper-covered wall to create monster-shaped splats. When the paint dries, draw on zany faces to make your mural come alive.
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Spiral-art Pendulum Pen

This cool contraption is lots of fun to watch in action!
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Super-sized Rolling Stamp

This easy-to-make stamper lets you press one-of-a-kind designs onto paper or fabric fast. The capped cylinder -- we used a mailing tube for durability -- doubles as a storage container.
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