Lovely senior life

[For Seniors] Enjoy the Hot Summer to the Fullest! A Collection of Easy Craft Ideas

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.
Care Worker Initial Training Certification ObtainedNakajima Junko
Leveraging my experience working as a care worker at a day service, I am currently active as a writer in the caregiving and welfare fields. Beyond writing, I hope to expand my work into web design and illustration. I am a mother of three who has begun studying to become a certified social worker.

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.

[For Seniors] Make the Most of the Hot Summer! Easy Craft Idea Collection (101–110)

bamboo leaves

[Tanabata Decorations] Bamboo Leaves Papercraft | How to Make Bamboo Leaves | Paper Crafts

bamboo leaves

How about making the essential “bamboo leaves” for Tanabata out of origami and enjoying a decoration full of seasonal charm? Fold green origami paper into long, slender shapes and you’ll have refreshing bamboo leaves that sway in the breeze.

A single leaf looks lovely, but combining several creates a more three-dimensional decoration.

Display them together with stars, tanzaku strips, and kusudama balls to instantly enhance the Tanabata atmosphere.

The steps are simple, so even seniors can work on them with confidence, and it’s effective as finger exercise, too.

Why not start preparing for a fun Tanabata with origami?

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Simple goldfish

How to make an origami goldfish – easy | Origami Goldfish #origami #easyorigami #goldfish #shorts

Simple goldfish

Though origami goldfish may sound difficult, this version is relatively easy to make.

To briefly explain the steps: start by folding a kabuto (samurai helmet), which is a popular and commonly folded model, and stop partway through.

Turn it sideways and squash-fold it.

Make a small cut where the fins will be, then reverse-fold that section to finish.

Try using colors that resemble real goldfish, like red, orange, or black.

It’s also fun to let them “swim” on blue construction paper, or cut strips of origami to make algae and stick them on a glass window for a cool, refreshing look.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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Flower kusudama with streamers decoration

Origami Tanabata Decorations: How to Make a Cute Flower Kusudama Streamer Decoration (niceno1)

Flower kusudama with streamers decoration

Would you like to handcraft a “flower kusudama with streamers” out of origami—perfect for the Tanabata season? Make multiple flowers from colorful origami paper, assemble them into a sphere to create a kusudama, and then attach long, slender origami streamers to complete a vibrant decoration that sways in the breeze.

The delicate, finger-intensive work stimulates the brain simply by doing it, making it potentially effective as rehabilitation.

Once finished, you can enjoy it as a Tanabata ornament by displaying it on the wall at a facility or at home.

Spend a moment feeling the season through origami.

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fireworks

Origami [Fireworks] Origami fireworks

fireworks

This firework is quite a piece that makes you think, “Is it really this easy to make with origami?” It’s not that difficult, but thanks to the trick with black paper and an optical illusion, it looks like a very complex origami work, which is fascinating.

You insert black origami inside petal-like parts made from colored origami.

I’m using about three colors of origami here.

Once it’s finished, mounting it on a black backing makes it look even more like fireworks spreading across the night sky.

Please give it a try.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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wind chime

[Easy Origami] How to Make a Wind Chime – Summer Vacation Craft, Wall Decoration, Great for Elementary School Kids, Preschoolers, and Senior Activities

wind chime

Why not make a summer staple—the wind chime—out of origami and feel a touch of coolness with your eyes? Fold a round body and attach a dangling strip, and you’ll get a gentle look as if it’s swaying in the breeze.

Using translucent colors or patterned origami gives it a cool, seasonal appearance.

The simple steps are enjoyable even for seniors, and using the fingertips can naturally offer a rehabilitative effect.

Display them on a wall or by a window to create a space that quietly evokes the charm of summer.

It’s also appealing that you can get all the materials at a 100-yen shop.

Give it a try!

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[For Seniors] Make the Most of the Hot Summer! A Collection of Easy Craft Ideas (111–120)

goldfish bowl

[Origami Activity] How to Make a Fishbowl and Build Creative Arrangement Skills for Seniors

goldfish bowl

Let’s make a goldfish bowl using clear folders that are also sold at 100-yen shops.

Insert an illustration of a goldfish bowl into the clear folder and trace the bowl with a pen.

You can easily create the goldfish bowl illustration by downloading one from the internet.

Use tissue-paper aquarium plants, goldfish cut from origami, and colorful stickers of goldfish to build your goldfish bowl.

Because seniors can choose various materials to suit their preferences, it helps develop their ability to arrange and improvise.

They’ll be able to create pieces with individuality.

When a work they made with care is displayed on the wall, it will likely give them a sense of accomplishment and joy.

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Sunflower brooch made with tsumami-zaiku

[Daiso & Tsumami Zaiku] Doesn’t look like 100-yen materials! Summer flowers! Detailed tutorial on how to make four types of sunflower brooches and how to trim scraps [Handmade]

Sunflower brooch made with tsumami-zaiku

Introducing a sunflower brooch made with tsumami-zaiku using materials from a 100-yen shop.

The charm is that you can get everything you need—chirimen fabric, a pin-back button kit, glue, and more—at the 100-yen store.

After adhering the chirimen to the button kit, fold small pieces of fabric to create petals.

Attach the petals, then add “seeds” in the center by repurposing a mesh hairband, and in no time you’ll have a bright, summery brooch.

If you make the sunflower seeds with tsumami-zaiku as well, it gives a different look.

Enjoy making it in the style you prefer!

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