Are you looking for a fun activity your child can engage in that doesn’t involve technology? We’ve put together 5 easy kid crafts with paper you’ll want to try even if you feel like you’re not good at arts and crafts.
Don’t get me wrong, I love technology because it has improved our productivity and efficiency and, made life easier and the world smaller so we can connect with people from different regions. However, sometimes you just want to go back to the good old style of doing things by hand.
There are so many ways arts and crafts contribute to a child’s development. For example, it allows children to explore their creativity, improve their fine motor skills (since it involves cutting, folding, sewing, and other actions that require hand coordination), and also boost their self-esteem when they see what they’ve created.
This is also an amazing way of spending some quality time with your child.
Let’s look at some easy kid crafts with paper that will light up your child’s face and keep them entertained.
Fun and Easy Kid Crafts With Paper You Can Make At Home
1. Stitched (sewing) paper cards
Your child can keep these cards in their room or give them out as a gift because they usually come out looking beautiful. The process involved helps improve their coordination and focus and refine their fine motor skills.
What you need is medium or thick craft paper. If you want it to be more colorful, you can use cards (for example, Christmas or birthday cards) and cut them to form shapes. Using cards, you can cut around the image. If you go for craft paper, make the shape of something you like, such as a flower.
Next, create holes around the edges/borders using a hole punch. Then, use embroidery floss, wool thread, or yard to stitch around the card, following the holes you made.
You can guide your child, or each of you can do a particular part. For example, they can cut, and you can thread.
Your kids can sew in any pattern they want. If they are beginners, you might have to help them place the card in a way that it is easier for them to make stitches.
Once you finish stitching, tie a knot or two on your side of the card or use tape, whichever you find more convenient. Leave the other end free.
Put a dot on the other side of the card, or have your kids sew a button. You can also write a message and use it as a greeting card.
Additional Resources
2. DIY Stickers
Kids love drawing, coloring, and sticking things on surfaces (including where they shouldn’t be, haha). Therefore, they’ll love creating some stickers with you.
Start by making drawings. This can be fruits, animals, heart shape, stars, moon, whatever your child likes. Allow them to use their imagination. Then color the drawings using coloring pencils or crayons.
Cut out the drawings from the paper, following their outlines.
Lay a parcel paper down and put some clear tape on top of it, with the sticky side of the tape facing down. Place your cut-out paper on the tape, facing up. Then add another tape on top of the sticker, with the sticky part down again.
It is important to ensure the sticky part covers the whole drawing sticker and some of it is left around the edges.
Repeat these steps for all the stickers you made so you can have all of them in different parts of the parcel paper.
If you want an amazing outcome, smooth out the stickers so they can be very flat and eliminate any bubbles.
Now peel the stickers one by one. Then, take a pair of scissors and cut around each sticker leaving a small amount of clear tape (like 1 cm) all around them.
Your stickers are now ready and since they are sticky on the bottom, you can put them on any surface. For example, your child may want them on their school bag, study table, laptop, etc.
They also make great DIY gifts for friends making them very inexpensive yet extremely special.
This DIY craft can be made with materials available at home and is perfect for kids of all ages. It’s simple to do by following the instructions above, yet your kids will love adoring their work.
Moreover, DIY stickers are the best DIY crafts to decorate kids’ stuff, clothes, gifts, and mugs.
Additional Resources
- DIY Stickers Craft By Crayola
- Make Your Own Stickers with Contact Paper
- How to Make Stickers with Seal Gum
3. Superhero cuffs
Superhero cuffs are an excellent option if you are looking for simple easy crafts with paper that will excite your child.
Most kids have their superheroes and so all children would love to make them, regardless of their age. Your child’s superhero can be the inspiration for these cuffs.
You need 4 toilet paper rolls for this. Cut all of them in the middle and then flatten two of them and draw the superhero of your choice (your child can pick the superhero).
Cut out the drawing from the two tissue rolls and then paint the cut-outs. Also, paint the two remaining toilet paper rolls that weren’t flattened.
Apply glue on the cut-out drawings and stick them on the two painted rolls (that weren’t flattened).
Punch holes on the edges of the toilet paper rolls (6 holes can do) and then put a thread or yarn through the holes and tie the ends of the thread or yarn together and voila! You have your superhero cuffs.
Additional Resources
4. Paper hat
Your child has probably tried to make this on their own because it’s an easy fun craft with paper idea that kids love, especially for birthdays or when they’re pretending to be magicians.
They don’t need to put on this hat only during special occasions. It’s something they can play with on a normal day.
You can use old newspapers, print paper, or even wrapping paper you don’t use. To make these hats more colorful and interesting, you can choose papers with great colors or images.
Start by folding your paper in half, when in a horizontal position. Press down the folded area in the middle so it can be flat.
Fold that paper in half again.
It’s now time to create the peak of the hat. Take the top 2 corners/edges of each side and fold them so they can meet in the middle.
There will be a piece of paper left at the bottom, which will look like flaps. Fold one side of the flap facing up, flip the paper, and fold the other side, facing up.
Now you have your hat! You can open it and wear it on your head.
But if you’d like to make it more interesting, create a fun paper hat for kids with a paper brim.
To do this, cut a paper strip that is twice as long as your head size and half an inch wide. Fold one end of the paper strip and glue it on one of the edges at the bottom of your paper hat. The paper strip will look like a paper brim.
Additional Resources
5. Paper rainbow
This is a type of easy kid paper craft that will help your child learn how to handle scissors (how to cut), sharpen their decorating skills, and also know the colors of the rainbow.
You first need to cut the papers you’ll use. These can be normal printing paper, craft paper, or manilla paper.
The first one will be in the shape of a cloud. Next, you need to cut out strips of paper in different colors (to symbolize the colors of the rainbow.)
If your child is too young to handle scissors then you can do the cutting. Otherwise, it’s nice to let them do it so they can feel like you made these easy kid crafts with paper together.
Apply glue on the strips of paper and stick all of them on one side of the rainbow. If you’re using a type of glue that takes time to stick (like the white school glue) then leave it for a few minutes.
Turn the rainbow cloud on the other side and draw eyes on it to give it that smiley rainbow feeling. Alternatively, you can put wiggle eye stickers on it. This last step will excite your child because the rainbow won’t look too serious.
You are done with your rainbow paper. What an easy way to make kid crafts with paper!
Concluding Thoughts
If you are looking for something fun you can do with your child that stimulates their creativity and doesn’t involve screen time, I hope these easy kid crafts with paper ideas have helped. Your child will not only enjoy them but they’ll also develop patience, creativity and improve their fine motor skills that will help in their development and later on in life. If you need more ideas on how to entertain your kids at home, read our ideas on how to do it affordably.
Hi – I’m Alina and I am a soon to be mom going through the journey of becoming a parent. I am a writer at heart and I love sharing about pregnancy tips and other busy mom hacks.