5 Summertime Upcycled Crafts for Kids

School’s out for summer! But now what do you do with the restless kids? In between family vacations and playing chauffeur to the pool and play dates, find some calm indoors (or while enjoying the sun from your backyard) with up-cycled crafts. These fun and inexpensive ideas will keep your kids entertained during summer storms or when a code red makes too hot to get outside. They also make great party activity ideas too. This will teach kids how to get creative and value resources with the recycled elements by creating crafts using everything from empty juice cartons to cereal boxes.

1. Carton Wallets: They can easily be made from empty, half-gallon washed out juice or milk cartons. They are easy to make using the print out stencil and close with the carton’s cap to fit into your pocket or wallet.

2. Cereal Box Journal: Let your kids chronicle their summer adventures with an up-cycled cereal box journal. Using empty cereal boxes, yarn, and your paper of choice, you can create a unique place for writing and drawing with your kids.

3. Recycled Birdhouse Play Set: This can be made from cardboard, so your preschooler’s imagination can run wild. The instructions come with cut out templates, but get creative by letting your child paint and decorate the outside of the birdhouses for a personal touch.

4. Homemade Snow Globes: Instead of recycling all your empty jars, up-cycled them into a midsummer winter wonderland with these homemade snow globes. Customize the inside with plastic cake toppers from a party store or past birthday celebrations and have your kids participate by filling the jars with water and glitter “snow.”

5. Do it Yourself Screen-Printed Shirts: These shirts can easily be made by using sandpaper and crayons to revamp an old shirt or customize a new one. Partner with your kids to decorate a large sheet of sandpaper with crayons, then flip the sandpaper onto your T-shirt of choice to iron on your personal style.

Image Source: Amy Gizienski/Flickr

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