guides
Arts and Crafts for Kids: 30 Ideas Using What You Have
Try 30 arts and crafts for kids using paper, card and cupboard basics, sorted by time and mess, with age suggestions and simple steps.
What can you make with paper and cupboard scraps?
Easy arts and crafts for kids include paper puppets, torn-paper pictures, cardboard animals and homemade puzzles. Start with paper, crayons and empty packaging, then choose a project to suit the time and mess you can manage. These 30 ideas cover quick drawings, stick-and-build makes and painting projects, with suggested ages for each.
How do you choose without emptying the craft cupboard?
Pick an idea before getting everything out. Ages are suggested starting points with adult help, not skill milestones. Times are hands-on estimates, excluding preparation, drying and clearing up. Dry means drawing, folding or cutting; sticky means tape or glue; paint means you'll need space for drying.
- 5 minutes, Mess: Dry; Ideas: 1 to 10
- 10 minutes, Mess: Dry or sticky; Ideas: 11 to 20
- 20 minutes, Mess: Sticky or paint; Ideas: 21 to 30
Gather paper, crayons, tape and children's glue. The NHS suggests cereal-box insides and opened envelopes as drawing surfaces.
Before you start: supervise scissor use, with a grown-up preparing thick card and box openings. Keep small pieces away from under-3s and children who mouth objects: small objects can cause choking.
If a child has allergies, check craft materials and reused food packaging for anything they react to. Avoid packaging that held foods they are allergic to; use unused paper or card if you're unsure about the packaging.
Leave cords out of these makes, following the NHS warning about loose strings and ribbons. Button batteries and powerful magnets stay out of the craft box because they can cause serious internal harm if swallowed.
Which of these 30 crafts will you try?
Choose a drawing or folded-paper make when you need the table back soon. Pick a building project if your child wants something to play with afterwards. For painting, put out the materials for the chosen make and leave somewhere for it to dry.
1. Scribble creatures
Ages 3 to 8 | 5 minutes | Dry
Turn a pencil squiggle into a character. Draw a loose scribble, then say, "Where could its eyes go?" Add feet, whiskers or wings and give it a name.
2. Hand-outline birds
Ages 3 to 8 | 5 minutes | Dry
Make a bird from a hand outline. Spread your fingers on paper and draw around them. Turn the thumb into a beak and decorate the finger feathers.
3. Cardboard texture rubbings
Ages 3 to 8 | 5 minutes | Dry
Make patterns with corrugated card, paper and a crayon. Lay the paper over the ridges and rub with the crayon's side. Turn the sheet and try another direction.
4. Secret picture flaps
Ages 3 to 8 | 5 minutes | Dry
Fold paper in half to make a reveal. Draw a closed box on the front, then open it and draw something hiding inside. Ask someone to guess.
5. Card bookmarks
Ages 4 to 8 | 5 minutes | Dry
Decorate a prepared strip of cereal-box card. Draw a favourite animal at the top and patterns underneath. Write your name on the back, then tuck it into a book.
6. Envelope puppets
Ages 3 to 8 | 5 minutes | Dry
Turn an empty envelope into a talking character. Draw a face on the front and slide your hand inside the opening. Give your puppet something ridiculous to announce.
7. Concertina fans
Ages 5 to 8 | 5 minutes | Dry
Make a folding fan from paper. Colour both sides, then fold a narrow strip forwards and backwards across the sheet. Pinch the bottom together and spread the top.
8. Tiny treasure maps
Ages 5 to 8 | 5 minutes | Dry
Draw an imaginary island on scrap paper. Add a starting point, a winding path and a treasure spot. Invent obstacles along the route, then explain the journey.
9. Cereal-box postcards
Ages 3 to 8 | 5 minutes | Dry
Make a postcard from a prepared rectangle of cereal-box card. Draw somewhere imaginary on the blank side, leave a border for your message, then deliver it by hand.
10. Continuous-line portraits
Ages 6 to 8 | 5 minutes | Dry
Draw a face without lifting your pencil from the paper. Let the lines wander between eyes, nose and mouth. Afterwards, colour the spaces to make a patterned portrait.
11. Homemade picture puzzles
Ages 6 to 8 | 10 minutes | Dry
Turn a drawing into a jigsaw. Draw boldly on thin card, then cut it into six large pieces with adult help. Mix them up and rebuild the picture.
12. Torn-paper rainbows
Ages 3 to 8 | 10 minutes | Sticky
Build a rainbow with paper scraps and children's glue. Tear coloured paper into broad pieces and arrange curved bands. No coloured paper? Colour scrap paper before tearing it.
13. Name collages
Ages 4 to 8 | 10 minutes | Sticky
Turn a name into a picture. Write large letters on card, then glue torn paper along their outlines. Use different colours for each letter or choose a repeating pattern.
14. Cardboard-tube owls
Ages 3 to 8 | 10 minutes | Sticky
Make an owl from an empty toilet-roll tube. Press opposite sides of the top inwards to form pointed ears. Draw its face and glue broad paper wings onto the sides.
15. Paper-loop caterpillars
Ages 4 to 8 | 10 minutes | Sticky
Make a caterpillar from paper strips, tape and card. Tape each strip into a loop, then tape the loops side by side onto the card. Draw the face.
16. Shape robots
Ages 3 to 8 | 10 minutes | Sticky
Build a flat robot from prepared paper shapes. Glue a rectangle body, square head and strip arms onto card. Draw its controls and decide what job it does.
17. Paper-strip flowers
Ages 4 to 8 | 10 minutes | Sticky
Make flowers from paper strips and glue. Arrange strips like spokes, glue their centres together and cover the middle with a paper circle. Add a paper stem underneath.
18. Standing card animals
Ages 5 to 8 | 10 minutes | Sticky
Make an animal that stands on the table. Fold a card rectangle in half like a tent, draw its body and tape a prepared paper head to an end.
19. Paper pockets
Ages 5 to 8 | 10 minutes | Sticky
Make a pocket for drawings. Fold the bottom of a sheet upwards, leaving a flap above it. Tape the sides, fold down the flap and decorate the front.
20. Tube binoculars
Ages 4 to 8 | 10 minutes | Sticky
Make pretend binoculars from empty cardboard tubes. Tape two tubes side by side and decorate with paper bands. Hold them in your hands and spot pictures around the room.
21. Shoebox theatres
Ages 4 to 8 | 20 minutes | Sticky
Make a stage inside an open shoebox laid on its side. Tape a paper backdrop inside and add folded-paper scenery. Bring in the envelope puppets for a show.
22. Cardboard towns
Ages 4 to 8 | 20 minutes | Sticky
Turn empty food boxes into a town. Wrap them in paper, draw doors and windows, then tape them onto a card base. Add paper roads connecting the buildings.
23. Paper weaving
Ages 6 to 8 | 20 minutes | Sticky
Make a woven picture from paper strips. An adult prepares parallel slits in a sheet, leaving its edges intact. Weave the first strip over, under, over; start the next strip under, over, under. Alternate these patterns for each row and tape the ends.
24. Springy paper animals
Ages 5 to 8 | 20 minutes | Sticky
Make a springy body from a long paper strip folded backwards and forwards. Glue a prepared card head to one end and a tail to the other. Decorate.
25. Lift-the-flap books
Ages 5 to 8 | 20 minutes | Sticky
Make a book of hiding places. Fold paper into a booklet and draw a creature on each page. Tape paper flaps along their top edges to cover the creatures.
26. Folded-paint butterflies
Ages 3 to 8 | 20 minutes | Paint
Make a butterfly picture with paper and children's paint. Fold the sheet, reopen it and dab paint on one half. Close, press and reopen. Add details once dry.
27. Crumpled-paper prints
Ages 3 to 8 | 20 minutes | Paint
Use crumpled scrap paper as a stamp. Dab it into a thin layer of children's paint, then press onto paper. Arrange the marks into trees, clouds or imaginary creatures.
28. Card-edge city pictures
Ages 4 to 8 | 20 minutes | Paint
Make a skyline with cardboard edges and children's paint. Dip a short card edge into paint and press lines onto paper for buildings. Add windows when the lines dry.
29. Tube-ring patterns
Ages 3 to 8 | 20 minutes | Paint
Make circle patterns with an empty cardboard tube. Dip its rim into a shallow layer of children's paint and stamp onto paper. Overlap the rings or make a trail.
30. Painted-paper mosaics
Ages 5 to 8 | 20 minutes | Paint
Make collage material from your own painting. Cover scrap paper with broad painted stripes and leave it to dry. Tear it into patches, then glue a picture onto card.
How can a few makes become an afternoon?
Pair a make with something you can do with it afterwards: puppets need a stage, a town needs a map, and a picture puzzle needs someone to solve it. You don't need to finish another craft before playing. Use what you've already made.
- A quick puppet show: make an envelope character, then perform behind an open box. Leave the theatre decoration for another day.
- A longer town project: build the cardboard town, then draw a treasure map with your buildings on it. Hide a paper treasure and tell a story about finding it.
Keep unfinished pieces on a tray. For games to mix in, browse our rainy day activities and screen-free activities for ages 3 to 8.
For a movement break after making your paper animals, explore our children's yoga mat. It has 15 numbered poses laser-engraved into the surface and is designed for ages 3 to 8.
What if the craft stays untouched?
If your child doesn't want to make anything, leave the invitation open and move on. Offer a job such as choosing colours or inventing the puppet's voice, without expecting a finished piece. You can also put your example aside and see where their own idea goes.
England's Department for Education recommends materials children can choose how to use. Try making alongside them without a running commentary, or let them dictate a story for you to draw. If they only want to tear paper or build a wonky box tower, let that be the activity.
Frequently asked questions
What are good arts and crafts for kids?
Start with something your child can change: a scribble creature, torn-paper rainbow, envelope puppet or cardboard town. Choose from the materials you already have and the mess you're willing to clear up. A drawing that becomes a game is just as welcome as something you keep.
What craft supplies do you need at home?
Start with scrap paper, empty cereal boxes, crayons, children's glue and tape. Add envelopes and cardboard tubes as you collect them. Paint is optional, so leave it out if you want a dry activity. You can draw decorations instead of buying extra bits to stick on.
What is an easy five-minute craft?
Try a scribble creature: make a loose pencil squiggle, look for an animal in it, then add eyes, legs and a name. An envelope puppet or decorated card bookmark is another option. Five minutes is a suggested session length, so stop or carry on when it suits you.
Which crafts would you choose for a three-year-old?
Offer torn-paper pictures, large crayon drawings or an envelope puppet with a face they design. Prepare the card pieces yourself and let your child choose what happens next. These are suggestions, not milestones: you can do the folding and joining while they decide on colours and characters.
