Summer Craft Ideas for Grandparents

Whether the sun’s shining, or the weather is less-than-perfect, the summer holidays provide the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time with the grandkids. And there’s no better way to foster intergenerational bonds than with summer crafts.

It’s not just about making things – it’s about bonding with your grandchildren and having fun together. Whether you’re painting or turning your recycling into beautiful handicrafts, you’ll be creating special memories that your grandchildren will look back on fondly for years to come.

Here are four easy craft ideas for grandparents, using easy-to-source supplies. All you need are a few household items – and some enthusiasm!

The British weather isn’t always predictable, but you can have sunshine all year round with these bright and happy homemade crafts.

You’ll need:

• A paper plate
• Yellow tissue paper cut into squares
• Yellow and orange paper
• PVA glue
• A black marker pen

Instructions:

1. Turn your paper plate onto the reverse and cover it in PVA glue. Generously stick on the yellow tissue paper squares, adding any more PVA where needed. Allow to dry.
2. Cut the yellow and orange paper into long strips – these can be different lengths if you prefer. These will become the sunshine beams.
3. Turn the paper plate over (non-yellow side) and stick the sunshine beams around the edges of the plate with the glue. Allow to dry.
4. Turn the plate back around onto the yellow side and draw a lovely smiley sunshine face.

Painted pebbles are simple yet creative craft, perfect to display in your garden and here’s how you make them.

You’ll need:

• A good-sized clean flat pebble
• Red, black and white acrylic paint
• A paintbrush
• Varnish – spray varnish works particularly well

Instructions:

1. Begin by painting the top of your pebble red. Once it dries, give it another coat so that the colour is nice and strong. Allow to dry completely.
2. Use the black paint to draw a straight line directly down the middle of the pebble, and then a semi-circle at the end for the head. Add antenna where the line meets the semi-circle. Paint on the spots in symmetrical areas on either side of the middle line for the ladybird’s famous spotted wings. Allow to dry completely.
3. Cover the whole painted area in varnish – the spray varnish works very well for this as it mitigates the risk of any of the paint smudging.
4. Allow to dry and then display in your garden for all to enjoy.

Not only will these be a beautifully bright way to bring some colour to your fridge door display, but they will also be a way to remember how small your grandchildren’s fingers once were as they grow up!

You’ll need:

• White paper
• Poster paints in a mixture of colours
• A bowl of soapy water

Instructions:

1. Open your paint pots, or squeeze a small amount of each into tubs. Help your grandchild to stick the tips of their finger into the paint – not too much, and dab it onto the paper to create the flower centre spots.
2. Wash the finger in soapy water and dry.
3. Dab the finger into the next colour and decorate around the middle spot in the form of round petals. Then repeat the process until you have a page full of pretty colourful fingerprint flowers.
4. If you’d like to have a contrast in fingerprint sizes, why not make the centre spot with your finger, with your grandchild’s prints around the edge. This way there will be a variety of sizes and will also be a lovely thing to look back at.

Have a look in your recycling bin and dig out a few empty toilet roll tubes to create these sweet butterfly crafts.

You’ll need:

• Toilet roll tube
• Coloured paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Poster paint
• Black marker pen

Instructions:

1. Cut a strip of coloured paper to cover your cardboard tube, attach with glue. Alternatively, you could paint it using poster paints.
2. Cut out the shape of the wings and decorate the front and back as brightly as you like. Don’t forget to make the pattern symmetrical! You could either cut out and glue shapes onto it, or use the poster paints. Allow to dry.
3. Put a wide strip of glue down the middle of the wings and attach it to your decorated toilet roll.
4. Cut out antenna shapes and glue the ends to the inside of the tube. Finally, draw a smiley face on your toilet tube.

Crafting offers therapeutic benefits for grandparents and grandchildren alike. Engaging in creative activities can reduce stress levels, helping you to relax and forget about your worries. Spending time getting creative is a good mental break, allowing your brain to recharge and refresh.

It can also improve cognitive function, by stimulating your brain. You have to problem solve, make decisions and use your fine motor skills – all of which stimulate different parts of your brain, helping to keep them active and healthy.

Plus, it’s a great sense of accomplishment when you complete a crafting project. For grandparents, it’s satisfying watching your grandchildren create something from scratch, while grandchildren will get a confidence boost – and an outlet for self-expression.

Crafting can be messy - That means it’s a good idea to set up a designated crafting space at home, which could be a corner of a room, or a dedicated crafting table. Safety should always come first when crafting, so make sure there aren’t any hazards or sharp objects in the area and keep scissors and any other potentially dangerous crafting supplies out of reach of little hands.

Maintaining a clutter-free workspace will help to improve productivity, as well as creating a safer environment for crafting. Put bins within easy reach so your grandchildren can clean up as they go – and encourage them to tidy up after each crafting session, to ensure the space remains tidy while promoting a sense of responsibility.

When choosing materials to craft with, pick washable paints which should be easier to clean from clothes and furniture should any little mistakes happen. And if you want to minimise the impact on the environment, opt for eco-friendly crafting materials to ensure that your crafting sessions are good for you and good for the planet.

You’ll also want to take some measures to protect your furniture. Choosing durable, easy-to-clean materials for your sofa or chairs will reduce the impact of any mess. You may also want to consider using armchair covers to ensure that you’re less worried about spillages – so you can focus on spending quality time with your grandchildren.

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading our simple how-to guides on child-friendly crafts. For more ideas of how you can entertain the grandchildren during the summer months – both indoors and out, have a look at our article, Top 10 activities to do with the family this summer.