[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] Simple and Fun: Craft Ideas You Can Make with Everyday Items (181–190)
clasp coin purse
Sometimes you need a hanko (seal) when receiving deliveries or mail.
Here’s a perfect clasp-purse project for storing a hanko and small items.
First, sketch the design on paper to fit the clasp frame and make a pattern.
Place the pattern on both the outer and lining fabrics, trace, and cut them out.
Attach the outer and lining pieces together with double-sided tape, then insert them along with paper cord into the metal clasp to finish.
Besides a hanko holder, you can adjust the size to make other items too.
How about making a coin purse with a clasp together with seniors?
kimekomi patchwork
Using a kit makes it easy to create patchwork projects.
Insert fabric pieces cut to shape into a die-cut foam board.
You can achieve a patchwork-like look without sewing the fabric.
It’s a project that even older adults with little sewing experience may find approachable.
The finished piece can be hung on a wall, so it’s nice to take it home and display it.
There are many types of kits available, and creating seasonally themed pieces can also help older adults feel the seasons through the crafting process.
[For Seniors] Simple and Fun: Craft Ideas You Can Make with Everyday Items (191–200)
Spinning Aquarium Craft
This is a fun spinning aquarium craft idea where the drawings keep changing.
You’ll use two paper cups for this.
Cut a square window out of the side of one cup.
On the side of the other cup, draw illustrations of sea creatures.
When you’re done, stack the cups so that the cutout cup is on the outside.
Then, when you rotate the inner cup, different illustrations will appear one after another.
Of course, you can customize it by drawing animals, flowers, or anything else you like.
Bamboo shoot magnet
Let me introduce a cute bamboo shoot magnet that brings a touch of spring.
You can get everything you need at a 100-yen shop, so it’s easy to prepare.
First, cut a circle out of thick paper, layer small pieces of felt on top, and make the face.
Imagine the bamboo shoot’s husk as a kimono and stick on four strips of tape to form the collar.
It stays in place better if you secure the back with tape.
Use eye stickers, yarn, and felt to add features to the face you made, giving it an adorable expression.
Attach thick paper and a magnet to the back, cover it with felt, and you’re done.
The steps are simple, making it perfect for recreational activities at senior care facilities, too.
Daruma Fukuwarai
Some seniors may remember playing fukuwarai with their families during the New Year.
Here’s a craft kit that will bring back those happy times.
Using fabric, you can make a daruma fukuwarai decoration.
Paste fabric pieces cut into each facial part onto felt.
Since it only involves cutting and pasting, it’s recommended even for older men who have never done any sewing.
The most enjoyable part of this kit is placing the facial features.
You can start with the eyes or the nose—either is fine.
Let seniors arrange the pieces however they like.
It’s a fukuwarai kit that makes the crafting process itself a fun time.
Small peach blossom ornament
Let me introduce a peach blossom decoration that’s surprisingly easy to make.
All you need is a small bottle, three colors of colored sand, and artificial peach blossoms—that’s it.
First, pour the colored sand into the bottle in the order of green, white, and pink.
If you level it carefully, it will look neat without unevenness.
Once all three colors are in, cut the artificial peach blossoms to a size that fits the bottle, and insert them into the colored sand while adjusting the balance—and you’re done.
The color scheme is inspired by Hinamatsuri (Girls’ Day) and carries wishes for protection from evil, longevity, and good health.
It’s easy to make, so it’s also recommended as a recreational activity in senior care facilities.
Sakura in tsumami-zaiku
Cute little rounded tsumami-zaiku are perfect for recreational activities for seniors because they make good use of fine motor skills.
They help train focus and creativity, making them great for dementia prevention as well.
Fold small pieces of chirimen fabric to create round petals.
Make five round petals, attach them to another piece of fabric, and arrange them into the shape of a cherry blossom.
The key is to work carefully using tweezers.
Fix small flower stamens in the center of the cherry blossom, and your tiny sakura is complete.
You can attach it to a keychain or a hair clip, or make many and turn them into a lovely sakura bouquet.
