[For Seniors] Practical Crafts to Make in Day-Service Recreation: Idea Roundup
At day service craft activities, there are times when participants make items to take home.
I imagine many people display them at home, too.
This time, we’re sharing craft ideas for older adults that you can make and actually use!
We’ve gathered practical crafts you can keep using after you make them, as well as stylish pieces that look great on display.
Simply changing the origami patterns or the types of beads and ribbons can create a completely different feel, so have fun using these ideas as inspiration.
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- Take-Home Craft Ideas for Winter: Perfect for Day Services for Seniors
- For Seniors: Come, Spring! Recommended March Craft Ideas for Daycare Services
- [For Seniors] Simple Handicrafts Recommended for Finger Exercise
- [For Seniors] Recycle Everyday Materials: A Collection of Flyer Craft Ideas
- [For Seniors] Have Fun Making Things Based on Today’s Mood! Today’s Recommended Craft
- [Day Service] Craft Ideas for Seniors to Make in October
- [For Seniors] Easy Construction Paper Crafts Activity
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- [For Seniors] Color Your Care Facility’s Spring: Wall Decoration Ideas
[For Seniors] Practical crafts to make in day-service recreation: Idea roundup (181–190)
Pine cone wall-hanging decor
When it comes to autumn flowers, cosmos definitely come to mind.
This time, let’s make a wall-hanging interior decoration that recreates cosmos using pine cones.
First, use nippers to cut off the scales of the pine cones.
For safety, it’s recommended to wear gloves.
Have a staff member assist with the hard parts.
Attach each pine-cone piece, decorated with acrylic paint, onto a cutting board available at 100-yen shops.
A cosmos wall-hanging made with autumn materials will instantly fill your entryway or room with an autumn atmosphere.
Shaker-style goldfish from the 100-yen shop
This craft uses paper quilling parts shaped into goldfish and flowers, arranged so they can move inside a case.
By inserting a sheet of paper in the center of the case and attaching pillars to both the front and back, you can enjoy two different worlds—one on each side—which is a fun feature.
It’s important to decide how to spread and combine the coiled paper: make the elements you want to stand out, like goldfish or flowers, larger, and create the surrounding decorations smaller.
By changing the colors of the paper and how you coil it, you can design your own beautiful world inside the case.
Macaron keychain made with 100-yen shop materials
Here’s how to make a cute, round macaron keychain.
Prepare cover buttons, a tassel, fabric, Edo braided cord, jump rings, keychain hardware, and adhesive.
Place the fabric into the cap, set the button, and press it in with the setter to make a cover button.
After making two, bend the loop on the back of the buttons, apply adhesive, and stick the two buttons together.
Attach the Edo braided cord to the clasp of the joined buttons, threading it through the button’s jump ring partway and wrapping it around as you go.
Thread the tassel onto a jump ring, then likewise thread it onto the Edo braided cord and continue wrapping.
Secure everything firmly with adhesive, check the overall balance, and you’re done.
One-Stitch Coaster
Here’s a coaster you can make with just one line of stitching.
Prepare five pieces of your favorite fabric and cut them into circles.
Fold four of them in half, use the remaining one as the base, and layer the four folded pieces on top so that each overlaps and the edges are visible.
Once the balance looks right, sew all the way around the edge in a single loop.
Trim any excess fabric, turn the piece right side out, and your coaster is complete.
Planning and carrying out the steps while picturing the finished result engages your brain’s executive functions, which may help prevent cognitive decline.
Why not make some for your home or as gifts?
Two-drawer accessory organizer
Here’s how to make a drawer-style organizer using two milk cartons.
One carton will be the outer case, and the other carton will be used to make two drawers.
The outer case should be sized to fit two milk-carton drawers, but since you’ll be covering both the case and the drawers with felt or similar material, leave a little extra room.
Use glue or wood glue to attach felt to the sides.
For the drawers, use an awl to make holes, thread elastic cord through, and tie it to create handles.
Decorating with felt patches and other accents will make it extra cute.
Making the April calendar
How about making calendars as one of your monthly recreation activities? Both the process of discussing and choosing seasonal motifs and the actual crafting after the plan is set are sure to be lively and fun! Using your hands can have a positive effect on cognitive function, and working together to create something—then seeing what you made actually being used—will likely bring great joy! Even things that were difficult before can improve in quality as you repeat the activity.
Give it a try!
Strawberry wreath
Here’s a spring-like strawberry wreath you can make with supplies from a 100-yen shop.
First, prepare the wreath base.
Apply glue and wrap yarn around it so there are no gaps.
For the strawberries, use red felt—you can also use red gingham fabric.
Cut the felt into circles, then fold each circle in half and cut.
Stitch small seed patterns with thread.
Fold each half-circle in half again, sew along the top edge, open it once to stuff with filling, then close it up.
Make the calyx from green felt and glue it on to finish the strawberry.
Use more green felt for leaves and white felt for flowers, then glue them onto the wreath to complete it.
The arrangement can create many different looks, so you’ll end up with a unique wreath of your own.
Give it a try!