[For Seniors] Simple and Fun: Craft Ideas You Can Make with Everyday Items
What we introduce here are easy craft ideas for older adults.
They’re all easy to incorporate into recreational activities at senior facilities such as day service centers.
Using familiar, everyday materials, these crafts are simple to make, making it easy for seniors to give them a try.
We hope you’ll use craft-making to help stimulate both mind and body.
Since it involves using the hands, it also serves as brain training and can help prevent dementia.
Be sure to read this article and use it as a reference for craft activities.
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[For Seniors] Easy and fun: Craft ideas you can make with everyday items (121–130)
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.
Flower message stand
Let me introduce a flower message stand made with felt, cork, and wire.
Prepare felt in the colors you like for the flowers and leaves.
For the flower, cut a strip of felt and make three slits along it; thread the felt through the slits to create twists.
After threading through all three slits, apply glue and roll it up from one end.
For the leaves, cut the felt into leaf shapes.
Bend the wire into a circle, extend one end downward, and stick it into a cork.
Use two more corks and attach them so the wire stands firmly.
Once you decorate the cork area with the leaves and flower, it’s complete.
With a message stand like this, you’ll find yourself wanting to tuck little notes into it.
Tonton Sumo
This is a sumo wrestler shape that uses creases to stand upright and can also be used as a piece for tabletop “ton-ton” sumo.
It’s important to be mindful of exactly where you align the folds; the more precise the creases, the more stable the balance when it stands.
The feet are firmly layered using reverse folds, so the shape is less likely to lose balance even when the ring is tapped.
By folding the wrestler accurately, you can develop fine finger movements, and then, when playing ton-ton sumo, focus on how to apply force and control your taps.
Easy-to-make quilling
This is an easy paper quilling method that anyone can try, using strips of colored paper cut into long, narrow pieces about 5 mm wide.
Basically, wrap the strip around a bamboo skewer, then remove it and make lots of parts! You can use them tightly wound, loosen them and shape them as you like—the creative freedom is part of the fun.
Since you’ll attach the pieces to a backing at the end, work while imagining the design you want in advance.
Once you’ve mastered the basics, why not try various shapes like teardrops and hearts?
Origami-Only Spinning Kaleidoscope
This craft uses eight colors of origami paper, creating a twirling motion that looks like a kaleidoscope.
The key is the shape of each piece: making precise, fine creases and producing uniform parts will ultimately enhance its beauty.
After unfolding the parts and connecting them in a straight line, extend both ends to link them together; once you form a large ring, it’s complete.
By fitting the parts together firmly, the shape won’t collapse when you rotate it inward or outward, and you can enjoy the beautiful pattern changes that make use of the white on the reverse side.
[For Seniors] Simple and Fun: Craft Ideas You Can Make with Everyday Items (131–140)
Finger-knitted acrylic scrubber
Finger-knitted acrylic scrubbies are an easy craft idea that uses readily available acrylic yarn.
Their soft feel and colorful look make them appealing, and they’re also highly practical—they clean well and dry quickly.
Since the process involves hooking the yarn with your fingers as you knit, it’s perfect for finger exercises, and the fine motor movements can even provide brain-training benefits.
By experimenting with colors and shapes, you can create your own unique designs, and sharing the finished pieces with one another can turn the activity into a great opportunity for communication.
Rocket
We’ll show you how to make a fun rocket that soars into the air just by stacking paper cups.
All you need are two paper cups, some rubber bands, and construction paper.
First, mark four evenly spaced points on the bottom of one cup and cut slits at those marks.
Next, make rocket parts out of construction paper and decorate them with the hope that your rocket will fly high.
Link the rubber bands together and hook them into the slits on the paper cup—now you’re ready.
Stack the other paper cup over it and press it firmly down.
When you let go, the rocket will shoot out with amazing force.
It’s also fun to play a game to see whose rocket travels the farthest!