A collection of summer vacation craft ideas made with 100-yen shop materials
The 100-yen shops are incredibly convenient because they have a wide variety of items.
Nowadays, they don’t just offer low prices—there are plenty of high-quality products too.
Here, we introduce fun craft projects you can make for summer vacation assignments using materials you can get at 100-yen shops, as well as projects that are great to try when you have some extra time.
Many of these summer crafts can even be used as everyday household items.
Please use this as a reference and enjoy making them together with your children!
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Summer Vacation Craft Ideas Made with 100-Yen Store Materials (21–30)
Powerful! Chopstick Gun
Prepare seven pairs of disposable chopsticks and plenty of rubber bands as materials.
First, use five pairs of chopsticks to make the main body.
Stack the chopsticks for the body alternately left and right so that about two-thirds overlap.
Secure them firmly at two points with rubber bands, then cut a notch at the front end to hook a rubber band.
Attach a short, cut chopstick to the rear of the body as the trigger, and glue another chopstick fixed in a V-shape behind that as the grip.
Your powerful chopstick gun is complete!
Rubber band gun with two materials
Here’s a simple rubber band gun idea you can make with about three pairs of disposable chopsticks and around ten rubber bands.
Split all the chopsticks into single sticks; leave three as they are, and cut the rest into three different lengths.
If you use a utility knife for cutting, handle it with care.
It’s also a good idea to sand the cut edges for safety.
Combine the cut chopsticks to build the body, grip, and trigger, and finally create a notch at the front end of the body where the rubber band will hook.
The body tends to be long and unstable, so reinforce it by bracing it from below with shorter chopstick pieces.
Summer vacation craft ideas made with 100-yen shop materials (31–40)
Easy handmade candle
If you have about half a day, “homemade candles” are a great option.
You’ll need candles, gel candle wax, crayons, an ice tray, paper cups, and a clear container.
First, cut the candles into small pieces and put them in a paper cup, add some crayon shavings, and melt the wax by placing the cup in hot water.
Adding a few drops of essential oil would be lovely, too.
Pour the melted wax into star- or heart-shaped ice trays and let it set in the refrigerator.
Once the shapes have hardened, arrange them in the clear container, fix a candle wick in place, and fill the gaps with the gel candle wax to finish.
Since you’ll be working with heat and flames, children who aren’t confident handling fire should make these together with an older sibling or an adult.
Diorama
Building dioramas is full of the fun of creating your own world.
By making the most of items from 100-yen shops, you can bring a variety of ideas to life.
First, prepare a clear plastic container and attach paper clay to create a base.
From there, you can make the sea or mountains, or even outer space—freely recreate places you want to visit, places you’ve been, or a fantastical world.
You can use stones or shells you’ve picked up, or characters you have at home.
Using your favorite figures makes it even more enjoyable, so it’s highly recommended!
Marble-rolling game made with 100-yen shop items
How about making a marble-rolling game like pinball or smart ball using 100-yen shop items? First, prepare a thick document file (the kind used for storing papers) and cut a piece of cardboard to the same size to use as the base.
Paste construction paper on it, then cut out faces of your favorite animals or characters from more construction paper and stick them on.
Punch a hole where the animal’s or character’s mouth is, create a starting point, and slide it into the file—done! Instead of animals or characters, you can also make ramps so the marble slides down, which is highly recommended.
It’s portable, so it’s great as a time-killer for kids when you’re out and about.
A marble coaster with interchangeable tracks!
When you keep playing with the same toy, you can get bored, right? At times like that, try making a marble run with interchangeable courses so you can keep it fresh! First, build the base track out of cardboard.
Using bamboo skewers or similar materials, create features like an escalator-like lift that carries the marbles upward, or a spiral where the marbles twirl down.
For the swap-in courses, prepare pieces of cardboard shaped to fit into the base track, and on each one attach small cut pieces of cardboard, straws, or short wooden sticks to make a variety of course types.
By swapping these in and out, you can enjoy your marble run for a long time without getting bored!
Marble Rolling Tower
How about a stylish marble run, a Marble Rolling Tower, made from toilet paper cores and colored construction paper? First, stack three toilet paper cores vertically to make one long tube.
Next, let’s create the tracks where the marbles will roll using colored construction paper.
Prepare a rectangular sheet of colored paper, cut it lengthwise in half, then fold the half sheet in half two times.
Unfold the second fold, and along the crease you just made, cut a series of deep, fine slits from one edge to the other.
Once that’s done, fold it into a long, thin triangle to form the track.
Finally, attach the track diagonally to the tube like a slide, and glue a piece of cardboard to the very bottom of the tube as a base—done! Try making it with different colors of paper.