Crafts you can make with 100-yen shop items! A collection of fun project ideas that elementary school kids will love

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.
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSICsasashina
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSIC. JFC-certified fact-checker. I’m Sasashina, a mom currently raising an elementary schooler and a preschooler. During my student years at Kyoto College of Science and Technology, I studied a wide range of fields including sound, lighting, and video technology, building a foundation in comprehensive stage production and creative expression. After graduation, I joined a music production company, where I still work, consistently building experience in production and engaging in a variety of music-centered tasks. Currently, I mainly handle articles for children, drawing on what I’ve learned about parenting and what I feel and discover through daily interactions with my kids. I hope my work can be of help to you, even in a small way!

“Amazing crafts from dollar store materials!?” Eye-catching ideas like these are hugely popular among kids right now.

From original keychains and colorful lanterns to fluffy squishies, you can actually make surprisingly high-quality projects with materials you can find nearby.

Here, we’ll introduce fun craft ideas using dollar store supplies that even elementary school children can easily try.

Find your favorite project and enjoy making it!

Food Craft Recipes (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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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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Handmade croissant craft

@n.annlee321
Pretty hard to do in real life, huh? 🥹#ElementarySchoolMom Summer Vacation Craft Parenting Childcare Handmade #100-yen shop DIY #100-yen-shop
♬ Touch – KATSEYE

Croissants, whose toasty aroma practically comes through just by looking at them, are a popular bread across generations.

Let’s recreate that delicious croissant appearance using materials you can get at a 100-yen shop.

For the base, cut a puzzle mat into three different sizes, then glue them together while creating steps.

Once the base is complete, apply double-sided tape across the entire surface and wrap brown yarn around it to mimic the look of a croissant.

Since the layered dough and variations in browning are part of a croissant’s appeal, experiment with how you wrap the yarn and also use paint to reproduce these details effectively.

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kappamaki

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Rice made from yarn

@n.annlee321
What kind of rice do you like? 🙂#tiktok classroom Life with children #HandmadeToys #AtHomePlay
Good music – neguse.

Let’s make a rice mascot that conveys warmth by making the most of yarn’s soft look.

The steps are to bundle yarn wound around a fork and then cut it; the key is shaping it so it ends up looking like rice.

Place it in a bowl or lunchbox-style container you made separately, and aim for an even more appetizing look with additional decorations.

Plain white rice can look too simple, so try mixing in other colors as you wind the yarn, or add side dishes you’ve crafted separately—both are great options.

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Easy Ice Bazooka

@picoton_craft
A bazooka you can make with a balloon and a paper cup ✨✨ The “Takoyaki Bazooka” I made before was really popular, so I made an “ice cream version” 🍨 It’s a blast, so definitely give it a try 💕Life with children 　#HandmadeToys Simple craft　#AtHomePlay
♬ summertime – cinnamons

Let’s make an Ice Bazooka that everyone can play with after making it! First, take a sheet of origami cut in half and draw your favorite ice cream on it.

Wrap it around a rolled piece of paper, grip it together, and secure it with tape.

That completes the bazooka ammo.

Next, cut out the bottom of a brown paper cup and draw a cone pattern on it.

Take a balloon with the tip of the part that inflates slightly trimmed, stretch it over the bottom of the paper cup, and tape it in place.

Finally, make a target using a paper cup and construction paper, and you’re done! Pull the balloon to launch your Ice Bazooka and aim for a high score!

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sasashina

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How to make strawberry jam

@n.annlee321
Strawberry jam 🍓Parenting Childcare Childcare #HandmadeToys #100-yen-shop #100-yen shop DIY
♬ Pokopoko cute game style BGM(1527385) – sanusagi

One charm of strawberry jam is its vivid red color and distinctive translucence; it even seems like its appearance enhances its deliciousness.

This project focuses on that colorful aspect of strawberry jam and aims to cutely recreate the look of jam in a small jar.

Use a tiny jar—like the kind that once held craft parts—and pack it with pieces of clear plastic sheet painted red to resemble strawberry jam.

By decorating the inside of the jar, you can convincingly replicate that unique translucence and shine.

It’s also a great idea to plan jar decorations that highlight the contents inside.

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kappamaki

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