Easy, Inexpensive Crafts for Kids to Make Now

If you can’t afford to craft with the grandkids these days, try some of our inexpensive craft projects for tight budgets. Plus, take note of my moneysaving tips for crafting below.

At “Call Me Grandma!” many of our projects make use of recycle items, but they also tend to require additional materials that aren’t free. So, I’ve culled through our archives to find craft projects that will work on a shoestring.

Remember that the success of your craft project is not based on how much you spend. It’s about how you engage the grandkids to trigger their imaginations and stretch their creativity.

Make Rainbow Crayons from Old Crayons

Turn broken crayons into new crayons. Have the grandkids peel off the paper, then cut crayons into bits. Put them into a muffin tin fitted with cupcake liners and bake to create new rainbow crayons.

Another good project for old crayons is broken crayon art. Simply shave crayons with a pencil sharpener and sprinkle them over cardstock. Lay waxed paper or parchment paper over the whole, then iron on low. If you don’t want to buy cardstock, try using recycle cardboard.

Eggs are Expensive but Shells are Free

Eggs are exorbitant but eggshells are free. When you do buy eggs, start saving the shells now so the grandkids can make cascarones, Mexican confetti eggs, in time for Easter.

Tap the top of the egg with a table knife to crack it and peel out the cracked top, empty the egg for cooking and rinse out the shell. Let the grandkids decorate the shells and fill with homemade confetti.

Make Puppets from Trash

Bring inanimate objects to life by making puppets from trash. This is a project that stimulates imagination. Bits of yarn, scraps of cloth, snippets of ribbon, and other found items can be used to dress these trash puppets. Buy googly eyes from a discount variety store; Dollar Tree sells a package of 125 eyes for $1.25.

Kids can make up their own stories as they manipulate the puppets, or you could go the extra mile to write a script, make a puppet theater from a cardboard box, and put on a puppet show.

Save Throwaway Items for your Next Projects

Marie Kondo, would frown at the idea of saving trash. But to me, they “spark joy” and are raw materials for future craft projects:

• Empty toilet paper rolls and other cardboard rolls. Use them to make a marble run or a sports car.

• Shoe boxes–use them to fashion dollhouses or dioramas (ours was for Halloween, but you can recreate Jurassic Park, a fairyland, or any environment you like).
• Yarn scraps–essential as hair for clothespin dolls or trash puppets.
• Small jar–turn it into a terrarium, a vase for a flower frog, a love jar for Mother’s Day, or a snow globe.
• General junk like cardboard boxes, pill bottles, etc.–use them to make puppets, or create home furnishings for a dollhouse.

• Magazine images–if you subscribe to snail mail magazines, save photos to help grandkids make simple books. Our books used clear plastic sheet protectors and binder rings, but for cost savings, you could skip the sheet protectors and staple the book together.

Crafting Essentials

Here are the materials I consider crafting essentials when working with kids.

• Paint–tempera paint and/or acrylic paint. You need paint to turn recycled trash into colorful toys or art. I bought 12 colors of tempera paint in 16-ounce bottles four years ago and we are still using them. To save on cost, buy just the three primary colors, red, yellow, and blue, and mix them to make other colors.
• White school glue–I bought a gallon jug of Elmer’s School Glue-it’s cheaper in the long run than buying individual bottles. Also, you’ll have plenty of glue for slime and sun catchers. You could buy a gallon and split the cost with friends.
• Glue gun–some materials simply won’t adhere without one. A simple glue gun can be had for about $5. While my glue gun is more expensive, I bought Miss T a low-temp, mini glue gun for about $5 from Joann. I bought us 100 hot melt mini glue sticks for $8 from Amazon.
• Glue sticks–this is still the simplest and neatest way to adhere two pieces of paper together for such projects as gift tags made from scraps or a light saber.
• Markers–they’re essential for adding detailed designs to your projects. Use them to decorate cardboard rolls for napkin rings or for making greeting cards.
• Black Sharpie or other indelible ink pen–because black outlines really make designs pop, such as with this Star Wars piñata or the dragon puppet made with toilet paper rolls.
• Small, sharp scissors–for fine work and small jobs, as in cutting paper fish for our fishing game. You should also have children’s blunt scissors with rounded tips for little crafters.

Budget Tips for Kid Crafters

• If you have leftover paint after doing a project, don’t rinse it down the sink. Paint toilet paper rolls. Then you’ll be able to use these pre-painted rolls for craft projects later.

• Save colored tissue paper, good-quality ribbon from gifts, and cardstock scraps. Many of our projects need just a little of a particular material, such as small pieces of tissue paper to make tissue paper bowls.
• Keep a lookout for sales on craft materials. For example, Joann often has cardstock for 40% off. I also buy paper punches and ink stamps when they go on sale.

Where to Store your “Treasures”

I’m lucky to have a dedicated craft room with drawers and bins to store craft supplies. If you are space-challenged, consider under-bed storage, the top shelf of a linen closet, or a section of the garage. Ideally, store everything in plastic bins, clearly labeled.

How to Find Stored Items

Even in my craft room, I sometimes forget where I’ve stored what. In fact, I’m still hunting for the cardstock valentine hearts Miss T and I made last year.

So, I’ve started to add notes to my iPhone, titled, “Where to Find.” I describe where I’ve stored objects, such as plastic Easter eggs, so I won’t have to buy more again this year.

More Inexpensive Crafts for Kids

Check out our Grandma Crafts section for more ideas. Some craft projects require nothing more than everyday household items.

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