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[For Seniors] Enjoy and Beat the Summer Heat! July Craft Ideas
With the end of the rainy season, July brings the heat and the full feeling of summer.
It becomes difficult to do outdoor activities like taking walks.
This time, we’re introducing craft ideas perfect for summer that you can enjoy indoors.
We’ve gathered many projects that add vibrant summer colors or create a cool, refreshing atmosphere.
Craft activities are very popular among older adults, and using the fingers provides brain-training benefits.
Displaying the finished pieces at home or in a facility also gives a sense of accomplishment.
Let’s help older adults enjoy summer with wonderful creations.
[For Seniors] Have Fun Getting Through the Hot Summer! July Craft Ideas (1–10)
Summer wall decoration
Wall decorations that capture the feeling of summer are appealing because you can arrange them with vibrant materials.
Attach paper straws to both ends of a sheet of origami paper to create a sturdy base.
Place another piece of origami paper in a small plastic bag, then freely add stickers and beads inside.
By combining colorful pieces, you can express a lively, festive sense of summer.
Once you’ve finished the decorative piece, attach it to the base and thread a string through to complete it.
Hang it on the wall to instantly brighten the room and enjoy the season’s atmosphere.
The simple steps make it easy for older adults to do without strain, so it’s also recommended for summer events.
Goldfish hanging ornaments
Goldfish hanging ornaments are a charming craft idea that evokes the coolness of summer.
Gently wrap a balled-up tissue with colored crepe paper and secure it firmly with a stapler.
Attach fins with rounded corners, and you’ll have a softly shaped goldfish.
For the background, prepare a round piece of paper to suggest an aquarium, and add cellophane tape to create a translucent effect that enhances the refreshing look.
Finally, attach a string to hang the goldfish, and it’s complete.
You can choose any color scheme you like, making it a unique summer decoration.
The steps are easy for older adults to try, allowing them to enjoy the season while crafting.
A hanging scroll style with three-dimensional morning glories
The hanging scroll-style 3D morning glories that gracefully evoke the feeling of summer are a craft that brings seasonal color to your space just by hanging them on the wall.
Fold a sheet of origami into quarters, open one quarter, and fold it again at a 30-degree angle.
Mark and cut the petal section in a gentle arc.
Cut another piece of origami into a small circle and attach it as the flower’s center to create a three-dimensional morning glory.
Add leaf and stem parts to complete the composition, then thread a string through a straw to finish it in a hanging scroll style.
Although there are many fine steps, it’s a task that engages concentration and creativity, making it ideal for stimulating seniors’ brains and exercising fine motor skills.
After finishing, display it in your room and enjoy the cool, summery atmosphere.
sunflower wall decoration
Sunflowers are one of the flowers that symbolize summer, aren’t they? Seeing sunflowers blooming on a hot day can make you feel energized.
Let’s make a wall decoration with a sunflower motif.
Using crinkled crepe sheets to create the sunflowers gives the piece a nice textured look.
Fold and cut the crepe sheets to make the sunflower petals.
We’ll form the center by crumpling tissue paper, and here’s a fun method: put the crumpled tissue paper into a plastic bottle cap for the center, or press the tissue crumpled with the cap.
This leaves a round imprint on the tissue, adding a nice accent to the sunflower’s center.
Glue the sunflower onto a backing sheet, place it on a stand made from a disposable chopstick, and it’s complete.
It’s a lovely piece that seniors can take home and display in their homes.
Fireworks Milk Carton Fan
On hot summer days, many older adults have probably fanned themselves with a hand fan.
Here’s a perfect summer craft idea: a handmade uchiwa (Japanese fan).
Using an empty milk carton, you can make a sturdy fan.
Cut the milk carton into a circle and tape a chopstick to the outer (printed) side to serve as the handle.
Then cut another circular piece from a milk carton and attach it on top with the white side facing outward.
Draw fireworks on a round piece of construction paper, stick it onto the fan, and you’re done.
The fireworks motif enhances the summery feel and will help older adults enjoy the sense of the season.
Strip with mesh
Tanabata, one of the major events in July.
In senior care homes and welfare facilities, many hold Tanabata events or decorate the interiors, don’t they? Tanabata is also a day when people attach wish slips to bamboo.
Let’s add a creative touch to those tanzaku by making slits that form a mesh pattern.
There is originally a net-shaped decoration for Tanabata, and as the name suggests, it carries the wish for an abundant catch of fish.
Fold down the top of the tanzaku paper, then make many cuts.
When you unfold it, you’ll have a mesh-like pattern.
If you like, you can also make Hikoboshi and Orihime and place them alongside the mesh of the tanzaku.
As they make these, some older adults may recall past Tanabata memories.
Tanabata decorations
July 7 is Tanabata.
Even as adults, many of us still get excited, don’t we? This time, let’s make Tanabata decorations using construction paper.
First, we’ll recreate the Milky Way.
Make slits with scissors in a sheet of blue construction paper, and the Milky Way is complete! You can also recreate a star-filled sky with origami—just cut yellow origami paper into star shapes.
Attach them to the Milky Way, and you’ll have a splendid celestial river.
Even if it’s rainy and you can’t see it outside, you can enjoy Tanabata at home by gazing at your own Milky Way.
