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! A Collection of Easy Craft Ideas (11–20)

gel candle

Simple, cute craft: gel candles, Daiso arrangement, easy 100-yen shop DIY

gel candle

Let’s try making a gel candle with a wonderfully cool look! Prepare a heat-resistant glass and first secure the candle wick to the bottom.

Next, layer a few colors of colored sand around it.

Once you’ve filled about one-third of the glass with sand, add decorative items like shells.

In a separate heat-resistant container, warm and melt the gel candle, then pour it over the sand and shells in the heat-resistant glass.

It’s recommended to mix about two colors of gel as well.

Once the gel sets, you’re done! It’s very easy because you’re simply adding the materials step by step.

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Tanabata decoration streamers garland

[Elderly Recreation] Easy Tanabata Streamer Garland Decoration

Tanabata decoration streamers garland

This tanzaku streamer garland is perfect for Tanabata decorations on July 7.

Let’s adapt the streamer, one of the traditional Tanabata ornaments, into a room decoration! Make the streamers by cutting slits into tissue paper.

For the stars, fold washi-patterned origami, cut out star shapes, and crease them to give a three-dimensional finish.

Combine these two parts to create multiple streamers.

You can also switch up the chiyogami patterns and streamer colors for a colorful look! It will work not only as interior decor but also as decorations for Tanabata events.

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Morning glory leaves and vines made with origami

Origami [Morning Glory Leaf and Vine] How to make Origami Morning Glory Leaf & Vine*

Morning glory leaves and vines made with origami

This project combines not only morning glory flowers, but also leaves and vines.

By carefully layering parts like flowers and leaves that are crafted with clever folds, aim for a three-dimensional, soft appearance.

While the flowers and leaves tend to stand out, paying close attention to the length and shape of the vines will enhance the overall beauty of the morning glories.

Create the flowers and leaves in a three-dimensional way using reverse folds, then decorate with vines made by twisting thinly cut strips of origami paper in a simple process.

It’s also recommended to consider how the vines overlap and finish them as if they’re twining around other decorations.

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Sea photo frame

A Little Craft: Ocean Photo Frame

Sea photo frame

Since mobile phones and smartphones have become widespread, we’ve had more opportunities to take photos.

Summer is also a season when we go out more often with our grandchildren and families.

Why not make those memory-filled photos even more special with a sea-themed photo frame you make yourself? What you’ll need: a wooden frame as the base (a ready-made photo frame is fine), paper clay, paints, seashells and sea glass, plus optional decorations like glass marbles and glitter powder.

How to make it: press the colored paper clay onto the wooden frame, then arrange the shells and sea glass before the clay dries.

If you make them with classmates at the daycare or everyone at the day service, it will spark lots of conversations about your memories.

And if you use shells and sea glass you collected yourself, it will feel all the more meaningful!

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Goldfish hanging ornament

Origami hanging decoration “Goldfish Swaying in the Wind” = Goldfish swaying in the wind. The gently swaying goldfish look lovely and refreshing.

Goldfish hanging ornament

Let’s make goldfish out of origami and create a cool-looking hanging decoration! We recommend making the goldfish in a three-dimensional style.

Use origami in various colors or color them freely as you like.

For the decorations above and below the goldfish, make rings in refreshing colors, create round ornaments, or combine any decorations you prefer.

Once each piece is finished, attach them all to a single string—and you’re done! Make several of these strands and hang them from a single rod to create a curtain-like display that adds an extra touch of coolness.

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catapult

A catapult made with ice cream sticks 🤗 Target practice makes it even more exciting! 💕 #icecreamsticks #craft #funcrafts #catapult #easycraft

catapult

Let me introduce a fun-to-play catapult.

Paint some color onto the popsicle sticks, stack five of them together, and secure both ends with rubber bands.

Take the remaining two sticks, band them together, then insert the stack of five between them and fix in place.

Secure the center by crossing a rubber band, and glue a plastic bottle cap to the end to finish.

Put a pom-pom in the bottle cap and launch it to play.

Making a target to aim at will make the game even more exciting.

It’s also fun to write numbers on the targets and turn it into a point-scoring game.

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[For Seniors] Make the Most of the Hot Summer! A Collection of Easy Craft Ideas (21–30)

goldfish ornament

[Summer Festival Pretend Play] Goldfish Decorations #SummerFestival #PretendSummerFestival #PretendFair #AtHomeFestival #SummerFestivalCrafts

goldfish ornament

Here’s an idea for a summer take-home craft to make at day services: “Goldfish Decorations.” Shaping goldfish from red or orange tissue paper is great for finger movement and rehabilitation.

Place the finished pieces in clear wrapping bags and use blue or light blue cellophane to represent water for a cool, seasonal look.

Display them by a window to let the light create a summery atmosphere—your families will love them.

It’s a fun, soothing project.

Give it a try!

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