[For Seniors] Enjoy the Hot Summer to the Fullest! A Collection of Easy Craft Ideas
Summer is the season when we start to sweat more and more.
Even indoors, you may sometimes feel the heat.
However, some older adults seem to have a harder time sensing heat.
This time, we’ll introduce some simple, recommended crafts you can do indoors during the hot season, when outdoor activities tend to decrease.
By creating summer-themed pieces, you can help people feel the season, even if it’s become harder to sense it.
After making them, you can take them home or display them at a facility, which can also give a sense of accomplishment!
Crafting involves fine motor movements of the fingertips and thinking through the steps in your head, stimulating the brain and serving as brain training.
Please enjoy making them at your own pace.
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- [For Seniors] Introducing Fun Crafts Made with Plastic Bottle Caps
- [For Seniors] Sunflower Crafts: A Collection of Ideas to Brighten Up Your Indoor Space
- [For Care Facilities] Let’s Enjoy the Summer! A Collection of Wall Decoration Ideas
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- [For Seniors] Styrofoam Craft Ideas: Simple and Recommended
- [For Senior Daycare Centers] Ideas for Summer Take-Home Crafts
- [For Seniors] Easy Craft Ideas to Make at Day Service in July
- [For Seniors] August Wall Decoration Idea Collection
- [For Seniors] Small craft ideas: for yourself and as gifts!
[For Seniors] Make the Most of the Hot Summer! Easy Craft Ideas (71–80)
Crepe ice craft
“Crepe Ice Craft” is a recommended idea for summertime recreation for older adults.
Draw a waffle pattern on brown construction paper to represent the cone section.
By cutting copy paper into thin strips and wrapping them, you can create a soft, fluffy three-dimensional look like soft-serve ice cream.
Adding tube-shaped candy made from origami as toppings makes the piece look more realistic and cute.
The hands-on work encourages concentration, and once completed, it brings a cool, summery atmosphere.
It’s a simple yet satisfying wall decoration project.
Sea and palm trees
@craftishcorner Already missing summer vibes??🌞🏝️ This is a perfect beach scene craft before summer ends! This beachy paper scene brings all the sunny vibes. Palm trees, waves, and sunshine—perfect for squeezing in some last-minute summer feels. ☀️🕶️ Tag me if you create your own beachy scene @craftishcorner 💙💛🩷 #papercraft#beach#beachvibes#summer#summercrafts#diy#fyp
♬ Simple, light and bright song – Kohrogi
Palm trees are a perfect match for the summer seaside, aren’t they? If you add palm trees to the decorations on a facility’s wall, some older adults might be reminded of summer and the ocean.
So let’s try making palm trees out of construction paper.
Palm fronds are green and look like feathers, right? By making fine, narrow cuts in the paper, you can create palm leaf–like pieces.
Let’s also decorate with an ocean made by cutting the paper into gentle wave shapes.
For the sandy beach, you can tear construction paper to express the texture of sand.
These palm trees are great not only for wall decorations, but also for calendars and wreaths.
Tanabata decorations made with straws
For those who are unsure where to put a bamboo decoration, we recommend a straw-made bamboo display that can sit on a table.
Use a small paper cup as the base and insert green straws so they form a bamboo-grass shape.
Like grafting plants, attach small, finely cut pieces of straw here and there between the main straws, and it will start to resemble bamboo leaves.
Once the bamboo grass is done, use other straws to make decorations like tanzaku strips and combine them.
Since there are many small, detailed steps, it might be best for care facility staff to prepare the parts in advance and have older adults assemble the pieces.
[For Seniors] Make the Most of the Hot Summer! Simple Craft Ideas (81–90)
decorative photo frame
Of course, there are plenty of summer-themed activities, and with family visiting during Obon, July and August are full of fun events.
That also means more chances to take photos.
So here’s an idea I’d like to share: decorated photo frames.
It’s a simple idea where you decorate photo frames purchased from 100-yen shops.
Using seashells and sand gives them a summery, beach-inspired vibe.
It’s perfect for preserving your summer memories.
Fruit cross-section coaster
For staying hydrated during the hot summer, fruit is a great choice—their vibrant colors also boost that fresh, summery feeling.
Let’s make some colorful coasters inspired by the cross-sections of fresh fruit.
It’s a simple project where you attach things like origami paper or masking tape to coasters to create fruit cross-sections.
Since they’ll hold wet items, finish the surface with a water-repellent material like a plastic sleeve.
To make them look even more beautiful when you place a glass on top, consider adding decorations that reflect light.
A star-shaped ornament whose shadow is cute
Let’s make a craft you can stick on a window and enjoy both the decoration itself and the shadows it casts.
Cut black construction paper into star shapes with a Tanabata feel, and hollow out the center a little.
Cover the cut-out area with clear packing tape (the kind used for shipping).
Then randomly stick on small pieces of colored cellophane.
It looks beautiful if you combine various colors.
Once you’ve finished sticking them on, place another layer of clear tape over the cellophane and trim off the excess.
Attach strips of colored cellophane beneath the star like Tanabata tanzaku, and you’re done! Instead of sticking it flat against the window or wall, leave it slightly free to sway—you’ll see vivid, colored shadows projected onto the window or wall.
Goldfish made of origami
Goldfish are a common sight at summer festival stalls.
But when it’s hot even at night and you can’t easily get to a goldfish scooping game, why not make some with origami and enjoy the festival mood at home? You can stick with the classic red or black paper, or use unusual colors to create a more luxurious-looking goldfish.
Try different papers to make goldfish that are a feast for the eyes.
The size of the paper will change the size of the fish, too.
Add eyes and other details after folding to make them even cuter!