A collection of summer vacation craft ideas made with 100-yen shop materials

Last updated:2025/9/18

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.
lighterutatane
A person from the melodic hardcore boom generation who loves music, photography, and eating. I’ve been going to live houses for over 20 years. I’m at the age where summer festivals are starting to feel tough physically. I sometimes try shooting live photos and videos for MVs. I’m not great at English, so I often listen to straightforward Japanese rock that hits directly, but if someone recommends something, I’ll listen to anything—Western or Japanese—broadly and casually. I like cooking while listening to music; it’s a nice way to relieve stress.

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!

Summer vacation DIY craft ideas made with 100-yen store materials (1–10)

Handmade okonomiyaki craft

@n.annlee321
I already posted how to make okonomiyaki before. ☺️✨#HandmadeToys Summer Vacation Craft Childcare
♬ Athletic Meet “Heaven and Hell” (No Introduction) – Shinonome

Let’s try making okonomiyaki and yakisoba—just like the ones you see at summer festival stalls—using craft materials! Here, we mainly introduce how to make the griddle and spatula.

Feel free to create the okonomiyaki and yakisoba themselves using yarn, felt, and other materials.

For the griddle, cut 2 cm-wide strips from both long edges of a color foam board and attach silver origami paper to them.

Then cover the remaining center piece with black construction paper to form the griddle surface, and glue it between the cut side pieces.

Also attach 1 cm-wide strips of silver origami along the top and bottom edges of the griddle.

Draw in the vent openings, and it’s complete! For the spatula, cut a milk carton into a spatula shape and cover it with aluminum foil—that’s all you need!

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sasashina

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Flower fidget spinner

@n.annlee321
A festive plum blossom hand spinner ☺️✨#2022 #tiktok classroom Life with children #VideoYouCan'tHelpButWatch
♬ Relaxing cute everyday BGM – Hiraoka

How about making your own hand spinner that twirls between your fingers or on a desk, finished in a cute flower shape? Use two circles cut from cardboard for the finger pads, connect them with a toothpick to form the axle, and attach the spinning flower piece between them, leaving a slight gap as you assemble the axle.

The way it spins will change depending on the gap between your fingers and the rotating part, as well as the size of the hole the toothpick passes through, so try building it while experimenting with ways to make it spin longer.

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kappamaki

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An hourglass made of straws

https://www.tiktok.com/@silk_haru3mama/video/7387370933188578568

Let’s make a toy where short straws fall like an hourglass.

First, cut a wire to 40 cm and wrap it around a pencil to make a spring.

Prepare two small paper cups and make a hole in the center of each bottom; thread one cup onto one end of the spring and secure it.

Stretch the spring and thread short, cut pieces of straw onto it.

Then thread and secure the other paper cup on the opposite end.

To prevent the spring from expanding and contracting, bridge two chopsticks between the two cups and glue them in place, and you’re done! Decorate the paper cups and chopsticks with masking tape or stickers to make it cute.

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sasashina

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Flower Hand-cranked Spinning Top

@n.annlee321
A hand-spun top that you spin with your palm ☺️✨Summer Vacation Craft #tiktok classroom Life with children #HandmadeToys
♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey

Let’s make a hand-spun top that you spin vigorously with your hand, designed with a cute, flower-inspired look.

We’ll use a disposable chopstick as the top’s axle, and wrap long, folded strips of paper around it to form the shape of the top.

Everyone should clearly imagine their favorite flower and think about which colors of paper will best match that flower.

Wrapping the paper tightly is the key to making the whole piece sturdy and ensuring it spins well.

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kappamaki

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Cute shaved ice piggy bank

https://www.tiktok.com/@n.annlee321/video/7264136172731944194

Here’s an idea for a shaved-ice coin bank made from a milk carton.

It’s adorable because a little face pops out when you put a coin in.

Prepare a small milk carton and peel off the outer printed layer so it’s white.

Cut the spout into a mountain shape.

Draw the syrup part with a pen, attach an iridescent (aurora) sheet, and create the slot for inserting coins.

Next, pierce a rotating cardboard piece with a bamboo skewer and fix it inside the milk carton.

Thread the face piece onto the part of the skewer that sticks out of the carton and glue it in place, then decorate the other end with beads.

Attach thick paper around it to hide the skewer, and close the spout to finish.

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sasashina

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Cream soda trinket case

@n.annlee321
100-yen store DIY/arrangement ☺️✨Summer Vacation Craft #HandmadeToys Parenting #100-yen shop DIY
♬ Utopia – imase

When it comes to summery drinks, cream soda is a classic! So let’s make a cream soda-themed trinket holder.

This idea uses a flower vase sold at 100-yen shops.

It’s shaped like a rectangle topped with a half-circle, and it already looks like cream soda, doesn’t it? Apply green iridescent origami paper to the rectangular part and white masking tape to the half-circle to represent the drink and the ice cream.

Glue a cherry made from a pom-pom and a craft pipe cleaner to the outside, then insert a straw.

Add iridescent round stickers to mimic bubbles for an even cuter finish.

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sasashina

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Bead and pipe cleaner ideas

@n.annlee321
▼For details on materials, click here▼ 📕My book has been reprinted—thank you so much! 😭🙏🥺❤️ The link is in my profile 🥰 🔎 “New Handmade Toys” (Available on Amazon, Rakuten, and in bookstores!) Learn through play! Simple, fun ideas 💡 ☆*:.｡.┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈.｡.:*☆ I share fun activities you can enjoy with kids☺️ I’m An 🌸 Bracelets made with beads and pipe cleaners ✨ Make them short and they work as cable ties too♪ (I use them all the time) You can decorate jars, use them as headbands for stuffed animals… so many ways to use them!!! Pipe cleaners keep beads from slipping, so they’re easy for kids to handle! Threading beads onto the wire helps kids focus and improves fine motor skills 😊 I tried different ways to finish the ends, and the method in the video is the simplest and cleanest! The tightly coiled pipe cleaner looks like a pom‑pom—so cute, right? 😆💕 You can enjoy arranging bead patterns and adjusting the length ✨ I used 30 cm pipe cleaners. Beads around 8 mm to 1 cm are easy for kids to handle! Pipe cleaners also fit through 6 mm beads, so choose what you like 🙌 Pipe cleaners will basically fit through anything except ultra‑tiny beads! ☆*:.｡.┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈.｡.:*☆ Thanks so much for watching 😆 I’m a mom of a 4‑ and 7‑year‑old who love making and playing (Toy Consultant & Picture Book Instructor). I share crafts, play ideas, and handmade picture books—fun things to enjoy with kids ♡ I’d be happy if we can be friends!#HandmadeToys work #I love crafts Childcare #LifeWithKids Life with children #AtHomePlay #EducationalPlay Educational Finger Dexterity Education #tiktok classroom
♬ Talking Box (Dirty Pop Remix) – WurtS

Thread beads onto pipe cleaners to make all kinds of little accessories.

First curl one end of the pipe cleaner, then thread on a bead.

Insert the curled tip into the bead’s hole, pull the other side to lock it in place, and after that just add your favorite beads and form a loop.

Make it larger for a bracelet, or use flower-shaped beads to create a flower crown for a doll.

You can also use them for cable ties, tiny bottle decorations, and many other situations.

Because you’re using pipe cleaners, the beads don’t slip off easily after threading, making this an easy activity for toddlers and lower-grade elementary school children.

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sasashina

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