Lovely senior life

[For Seniors] Practical Crafts to Make in Day-Service Recreation: Idea Roundup

Social worker / Care workermoko
My name is Moko, a mother of three who admired my mother and worked in the care industry as a care worker and as a medical social worker (MSW) in a hospital. I will be drawing on my previous experience to write mainly about caregiving. Thank you in advance.
Certified Care Worker / Former Day Service StaffAbe Eri
I worked at a day service for seven years and obtained my Certified Care Worker qualification in 2019. I have provided meal assistance and bathing assistance, as well as led recreational activities that involve physical movement and cognitive stimulation. I enjoy drawing and crafting. My motto is: “With a smile, anything is possible!” and I try to live joyfully every day. I’m also doting on my beloved Chihuahua.

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.

[For Seniors] Practical Crafts to Make in Day-Service Recreation: Idea Collection (191–200)

Making the April calendar

[Calendar Making] A classic event at our day service. We choose a seasonal theme and create next month’s calendar. (Shōwa Wago-kai Social Welfare Corporation)

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!

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Strawberry wreath

[100-yen shop DIY] Handmade Strawberry Wreath with Felt / No Pattern Needed / Easy / Spring / felt / handmade / craft / wreath / strawberry

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!

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Rabbit ema (a wooden Shinto votive tablet featuring a rabbit)

Video on how to make the 'Raku-Reku Kit' | Theme: 'Ema Rabbit'. If you're wondering what kind of product the Raku-Reku Kit is, please take a look.

Rabbit ema (a wooden Shinto votive tablet featuring a rabbit)

Let’s try making an ema plaque featuring the zodiac using a kit.

Many facilities probably create New Year’s crafts around the year-end and New Year holidays.

Using a kit makes preparation easy and allows you to create lovely pieces.

Cut out the parts with scissors and attach them to the ema plaque that serves as the base.

The process of applying glue to the small parts and sticking them onto the plaque seems like something you can really focus on.

There are reports suggesting that, for dementia prevention, concentrating on new tasks is more beneficial than doing familiar ones.

By using a kit to create a beautiful piece, you can also expect brain-training benefits.

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Stylish ribbon tray

Ribbon tray made from a milk carton

Stylish ribbon tray

A stylish and cute ribbon tray is perfect for keeping track of tiny items that are easy to lose.

This ribbon tray is made using the bottom of a milk carton.

Decide the height, cut off everything except the bottom section, and snip the corners as well.

Then simply cover it with fabric, but since the corners will be tied with ribbons, attach ribbons to the milk carton at the corners.

The key is to glue over them once more from the top so they won’t come loose.

The bottom is softly padded with quilt batting.

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a flower bouquet

Origami how to fold flowers, bouquet, Mother’s Day – how to make a paper flower bouquet

a flower bouquet

A bouquet gathered from colorful flowers conveys a happy mood and feels perfect for spring.

In this project, we’ll make such flowers with origami, bundle them together, and finish them like a colorful, three-dimensional bouquet.

The key lies in how each flower is made: first create a crease by folding toward the center, then use that crease as a guide to shape the paper so the petals spread out.

Because we add many fine folds, some wrinkles may appear along the way—but that might actually contribute to the flowers’ softness.

Let’s use a variety of origami papers and aim for a vibrant bouquet.

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[For Seniors] Practical Crafts to Make in Day-Service Recreation: Idea Collection (201–210)

Spring flower wreath

[Cut and paste only] Spring wreath made with felt / 100-yen shop DIY / How to make a felt wreath / cherry blossom wreath / spring wreath

Spring flower wreath

Introducing a spring-like floral wreath you can make with materials from a 100-yen shop.

Wrap yarn around the wreath base so there are no gaps, and attach a hanging string with glue.

For decorations, use yarn balls made by wrapping yarn around tissue paper, along with felt flowers.

To make the flowers, cut the felt into small triangles and glue them together.

When you open up the connected felt, the flower is complete.

It’s fun to add your favorite embellishments like ribbons to create a one-of-a-kind wreath.

Since the steps are simple, it’s also recommended as a recreational activity in senior facilities.

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A Japanese-style small container for sweets or accessories

[DIY] A Small Organizer Made from a Milk Carton!

A Japanese-style small container for sweets or accessories

Some of you might want a Japanese-style accessory box that matches your room’s atmosphere.

For this project, you cut off the bottom of a milk carton, trim it into a hexagon, and finish it by attaching washi-pattern origami paper.

At the same time, you use the remaining part of the milk carton to make a lid and cover it with origami paper as well.

Both the shape and the look let you enjoy a distinctly Japanese feel.

Its shape and size also make it perfect for storing sweets or small items.

Another appealing point is that you can easily add originality by changing the pattern of the origami you use.

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