[For Seniors] Recommended for Craft Activities! Handmade Name Tag Ideas
Many facilities place name tags on tables used by older adults or have them wear name tags during recreation and events.
Using name tags they’ve made themselves may help residents feel more attached to the facility.
Here, we’ll introduce name tags and ideas you can create in craft activities.
We’ve also collected ideas for clips and other accessories that pair well with name tags and could be adapted for them.
Some older adults, due to conditions like dementia, may find it difficult to remember other people’s names.
If they don’t know the names of those seated nearby, it can be harder to speak up, and opportunities for conversation may be lost.
Name tags can help spark communication.
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[For Seniors] Recommended for Craft Activities! Handmade Name Tag Ideas (1–10)
Cute felt name tag
Let’s try making a cute name tag with felt! Felt is easy to find at 100-yen shops, comes in all sorts of colors, and is sold in various sizes.
If you combine your favorite characters or animals to create a name plate, it will really stand out—and best of all, you’ll grow attached to it.
If using a needle and thread feels difficult, you can simply cut the felt with scissors and glue it onto fabric with fabric adhesive.
You can write your name on the felt with a permanent marker, or you can even make the letters of your name out of felt as well.
Laminated pressed-flower card
Why not make a vibrant, long-lasting nameplate using pressed flowers and a laminating card? Pressed flowers might sound time-consuming, but if you use a microwave, they dry in no time—you can make pressed flowers in about a minute.
Carefully place the finished pressed flowers with tweezers onto a piece of paper with the name written on it so they don’t tear, then seal it in a laminating film to finish.
These days you can find easy-to-use laminating films at 100-yen shops, so take advantage of those.
Punch a hole and you can hang it from a bag, too.
Japanese-style name tag
This is a name tag made by layering various materials such as origami paper and fabric with traditional Japanese-style patterns.
The key point is how you arrange the layers, and it’s a great way to use leftover origami or fabric scraps from other crafts.
Cut unwanted cardboard to your desired size and use it as a base, then wrap it with origami paper or fabric.
If you’ll use it as a name tag, it’s recommended to leave a space for the name when wrapping, or attach the name afterward.
Rather than expressing a Japanese feel with patterns alone, adding three-dimensional motifs like flowers could also be interesting.
[For Seniors] Great for craft activities! Handmade name tag ideas (11–20)
Origami name tag
Let me show you how to make a name tag out of origami that looks like a woven ribbon.
We’ll fold it using a rectangular piece made by cutting a square of origami paper in half.
It’s very easy to fold, so you can make two tags from one sheet, and you can even use the leftover paper for decoration.
You can place it like a place card and use it as a nameplate, or attach this ribbon tag to crafts made during an activity to write the creator’s name—it’ll look cute either way.
For the ribbon’s tail, you can either cut the notch with scissors or create it by folding, so choose whichever method you prefer.
Swatch name card
Let’s make a name holder you can wear around your neck using a card case, a neck strap, and your favorite fabric! You’ll need fabric large enough to cover both sides of the card case, and you can even use fabric scraps, which makes this a great way to use leftovers.
Apply fusible interfacing to the back of your chosen fabric, cut out an opening so the front of the card case is visible, and finish the fabric edges.
You can sew it by hand or with a machine, but considering safety, effort, and ease of handling, why not try using fabric glue instead? It feels more like a craft project than sewing.
Great for events! Rosette-style name badges from the 100-yen shop
Why not make a name badge that looks like a rosette brooch—cute and eye-catching? You might imagine making a rosette by pleating ribbon and sewing it together with a needle and thread, but here’s a no-sew method.
Stick double-sided tape on a round piece of thick paper that will serve as the base for the rosette, then attach the ribbon all the way around while forming pleats as you go.
Finish by sticking a name label made from a covered button, felt, or similar in the center.
Add a safety pin or clip to the back so it can be attached to clothing, and you’ve got a name badge that will come in handy in all sorts of situations!
Simple gradient-style
This activity uses water-based pens and a spray bottle to create soft gradients on a card.
Place a plastic bag over the card and, using the visible outline of the card as a guide, freely draw patterns on the bag with water-based pens.
When you’re done, spray water to let the ink bleed, then flip the bag over to transfer the ink onto the card.
Let it dry to finish.
Try various colors to create your own gradients.
When a name is written on a card with a beautiful gradient, it may also convey the person’s gentle character.