[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! A Collection of Easy Craft Ideas (171–180)
watermelon lantern
When it comes to fruits that symbolize summer, watermelon surely comes to mind.
Its vivid red and green look also boosts that feeling of summer.
Here’s a craft that fuses an essential summer watermelon with the lanterns that brighten summer festivals.
The key is layering green construction paper over red, so that the red peeks through from inside the green, evoking a watermelon.
Make slits in the green paper and shape it so the inner red shows through.
If you add black stripes and black seeds, it will look even more like a watermelon.
Roll the paper into a cylinder with a hollow center, attach a handle, and your lantern is complete.
Placing a light inside is also recommended.
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.
Beach sandals in decalcomania
Beach sandals made with the decalcomania technique are a cute way to capture the feeling of summer, so I highly recommend them.
First, fold a piece of construction paper in half and cut it into the shape of a sandal.
Make sure to keep parts connected so it doesn’t come apart when you open it.
Open the cut paper, place paint freely on the surface, then fold it again.
Press firmly with your palm from above for a clean finish.
When you open it, you’ll have a symmetrical pattern! Finally, while it’s still folded, punch holes and use chenille stems (pipe cleaners) or similar materials to create the sandal straps.
Sunflowers made with beads
These are delicate beaded sunflowers that are perfect as summer accessories.
Arrange them into a necklace, earrings, a ring, or a brooch to add a stylish accent to your outfit! They also make great gifts for friends or grandchildren, so give them a try.
You’ll start by making the center, then move on to the petals.
It involves threading beads onto fishing line in small, detailed steps, but once you get the hang of it, it’s mostly repetition, so I think you’ll find it easy to make.
Mini uchiwa with marble-painted patterns
Would you like to try making a handmade uchiwa fan that captures the feeling of summer? This method uses marbles to create patterns on the fan, so it’s also great for craft activities in adult day services! Dissolve paint in a paper cup, add a marble, and coat it evenly with color.
Next, place drawing paper in a tray, then roll the paint-covered marble over the paper to add color.
You can layer two or three colors if you like! Prepare two sheets of the painted paper cut into the shape of a fan.
Finally, glue the two sheets together with a split craft band along the edge, and you’re done! The lines made by the rolling marble are unique and result in a stylish uchiwa.
Sunflower made from felt
These felt sunflowers are a great option for summer decor.
They’re perfect for seniors who aren’t comfortable going out—you can easily enjoy sunflowers at home, so give it a try! Cut a strip of felt into a ribbon shape, make lots of slits in it, then roll it up and secure it with a glue gun or adhesive to create the sunflower’s center.
Using yellow and brown felt gives it that classic sunflower look.
Next, cut yellow felt to make the petals.
Finally, attach all the parts and you’re done.
Add wire to display it in a vase, or make a smaller version to enjoy as a hair accessory or corsage!
[For Seniors] Make the Most of the Hot Summer! A Collection of Easy Craft Ideas (181–190)
felt ice
Let’s use popsicle sticks to make colorful, decorative popsicles.
They look cute and pop when you stand them up on a display.
Cut a puzzle mat—which you can buy at 100-yen shops—into any shape and size you like.
If it’s thin, glue two layers together and insert a popsicle stick in the center.
Glue felt in your favorite color to the outside, and make toppings from felt as well and stick them on to finish.
With a bit of creativity, you can make adorable popsicles.
