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

“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!

Handmade Toys (11–20)

Fukuwarai (a traditional Japanese “lucky laugh” face-making game)

Here’s an idea for making an Anpanman fukuwarai out of felt.

Fukuwarai is typically a New Year’s game, but by changing the motif it’s perfect for everyday play too! Cut out the base face and parts for your favorite characters—like Anpanman, Baikinman, or Dokin-chan—from felt.

Once it’s ready, put on a blindfold, feel each piece with your hands to guess what it is, and place it on the face! You can find felt in a variety of colors at 100-yen shops, so be sure to check them out.

Coin Drop

Perfect for independent research: A coin drop piggy bank made with 100-yen shop items. #handmadeToy #easyCraft #atHomePlay #simpleCraft #independentResearch #summerVacationCraft Summer vacation craft
Coin Drop

Handmake a coin game where every coin you insert becomes yours, using materials from a 100-yen shop! Prepare a transparent drawer case, corrugated plastic board, and tape.

First, remove the drawers, stack them to create steps, and tape them together.

Set the bottom drawer in its normal orientation so it collects the coins, and set the second and third drawers upside down so coins can slide down.

Then, make an outer box from the corrugated plastic sized to fit the drawers, insert the drawers, and you’re done!

Cool rubber band gun

[Rubber Band Gun] How to Make the Latest, Super Cool Pistol! [Easy Summer Vacation Craft]
Cool rubber band gun

Let me introduce a strong and cool rubber band gun.

Prepare 17 bendable straws, a clothespin, tape, and scissors, and let’s make it.

Take two straws and tape their bendable sections together to secure them.

Attach one clothespin to the gap of the joined straws to create the base.

When bundling straws, secure them tightly so the stacked pieces don’t shift.

Stack eight straws by grouping them in sets of four, extend the bendable sections, and build the structure.

When attaching parts together, make sure the straws are firmly fixed so they don’t slip.

Once it’s finished, hook on a rubber band and give it a try!

pull-back car

A toy that runs on rubber power! 'Corrugated Plastic Pull-Back Car' [Easy Craft] #HandmadeToy #Craft #SummerVacationCraft
pull-back car

This craft lets you experience the fun of a car you built yourself zooming forward powered by rubber bands.

Cut corrugated plastic (plastic cardboard) to match the size of the car body.

For the wheels, use bottle caps: make a hole in the center, then pass a bamboo skewer through to create the axle.

If you firmly attach this to the body with hot glue, it will start to look like a real car.

Hook a rubber band onto the rear axle and wind it by turning the axle forward, and you’re ready to go.

When you let go, the car surges ahead under the power of the rubber band.

You can freely design and color the body, so you can get particular about the appearance too.

Using everyday materials and a simple mechanism, it’s a hands-on project that’s both fun to build and a great way to learn, delivering dynamic motion.

Cardboard guitar that makes sound

Let's Make a Sound-Making Guitar! [Cardboard Craft]
Cardboard guitar that makes sound

Let’s introduce a fun-to-make cardboard guitar.

Prepare one cardboard box, five rubber bands, a food tray, packing tape, glue, scissors, and a cutting mat, then let’s get started.

Draw a rough outline of a guitar on the opened cardboard and cut out each part along the lines.

Make slits along the long side of the food tray; the depth of the slits will change the sound it produces.

Thread the rubber bands through the slit area.

Attach the food tray to the hole in the guitar body part using packing tape.

Glue the neck and head together.

Then glue the neck and head onto the guitar body to complete it.

Paint it and add decorations to finish your own original guitar!