[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] Easy Craft Ideas to Make at Day Service in July
- [For Seniors] Enjoy the Hot Summer to the Fullest! A Collection of Easy Craft Ideas
- [For Seniors] Early-summer-themed wall decorations: Recommended ideas for July
- [For Seniors] Exciting Summer Wall Decoration Ideas
- [For Seniors] Making a July Calendar: A Collection of Summer-Themed Motif Ideas
- For Seniors: Simple and Lovely Crafts – A Collection of Take-Home Project Ideas for Day Service
- [For Seniors] August Wall Decoration Idea Collection
- [For Seniors] Summer Haiku: Ideas to Feel the Season
- [For Senior Daycare Centers] Ideas for Summer Take-Home Crafts
- [For Seniors] A Collection of Craft Ideas Using Paper Cups
- [For Care Facilities] Let’s Enjoy the Summer! A Collection of Wall Decoration Ideas
- [For Seniors] Small craft ideas: for yourself and as gifts!
- [For Seniors] Have Fun Making Things Based on Today’s Mood! Today’s Recommended Craft
[For Seniors] Have Fun Getting Through the Hot Summer! July Craft Ideas (1–10)
Pseudo stained glass
Let’s make a cool and refreshing faux stained glass.
Real stained glass uses glass, but for our faux version we’ll use aluminum foil and a photo frame.
First, draw your favorite picture in color on the transparent film of the photo frame.
On the backing board side of the frame, spread out a piece of crumpled aluminum foil and attach it.
Place your drawing on the backing, fit everything into the frame, and you’ll have a sparkling, beautiful piece that looks like stained glass! The aluminum foil creates that shimmering stained-glass vibe.
Try drawing a summery picture and give it a go!
Goldfish wind chime
A wind chime that brings a cool breeze in the hot summer.
Let’s make one with a goldfish design! A recommended method uses a round cheese box and a clear plastic sheet.
Take just the rim of the cheese box and decorate it with colored washi paper or similar materials.
Cut a clear sheet to fit the rim and stick on goldfish stickers and other decorative stickers.
Once that’s done, combine it with the rim and attach a string and a paper strip (tanzaku) to finish! If you add a small bell to the tanzaku, you’ll have a wind chime that makes sound.
You can also try other methods, such as cutting a plastic bottle into small pieces or using a capsule from a gashapon machine and drawing goldfish on it.
Give it a try and make your favorite style!
Diorama
Hydrangeas and sunflowers, seaside scenery, summer festivals—just hearing the word “summer” brings a variety of scenes to mind.
This craft recreates those personal visions of summer inside an empty box, like a photograph.
From classic, quintessential summer scenes to nostalgic memories, there are many directions to explore and enjoy.
Preparing a variety of illustrations that symbolize summer and letting people freely combine them to express a summery feel is likely the clearest approach.
It’s also recommended to take advantage of the box’s depth to create a three-dimensional diorama.
[For Seniors] Enjoy and Beat the Summer Heat! July Craft Ideas (11–20)
Summer interior frame
Summer brings various events like Tanabata, trips to the beach, and summer festivals, and many people may want to capture those moments in photos.
If you put some thought into the frames you display them in, your memories might be beautifully enhanced.
By simply adding summer-themed decorations to a photo frame you can even find at a 100-yen shop, you can easily create a summery frame.
A frame painted entirely in blue and adorned with shells or sand motifs strongly evokes the ocean, making it perfect for displaying beach photos.
In this way, choosing a frame theme to match the photo seems like a fun idea.
You could even use frames as decorations on their own, not just for holding photos.
Washi Paper Aquarium
When you think of refreshing summer imagery, water motifs are essential, right? Let’s try making an aquarium themed around creatures that live in the water.
It’s a simple process: arrange sand and artificial flowers in a jar, add figures shaped like aquatic creatures, pour in a special oil, and seal the lid.
If you craft the creatures from washi paper, the softness of the material adds a gentle feel and a sense of dimension—highly recommended.
Pay attention to the design and balance of what you place and where, and create your own unique aquarium.
Stained glass-style fireworks
This stained-glass-style craft lets you feel the beauty of fireworks bursting in the night sky and is a vibrant project recommended for older adults as well.
Fold a sheet of black construction paper in half and mark the areas to cut so they form the shapes of fireworks.
After freely drawing the firework patterns, carefully cut along the marks.
Layer and attach colored cellophane—such as red, yellow, and blue—onto a piece of parchment (baking) paper to create multicolored fireworks.
Finally, place the cut black paper on top, and you’ll have stained-glass-style fireworks you can enjoy by holding them up to the light.
Display them by a window to catch sunlight or the evening glow for a sparkling effect that’s a treat for the eyes.
Using scissors and glue, this summery project offers gentle, hands-on work that’s enjoyable without strain, making it especially appealing.
Fluffy shaved ice
Known as a classic symbol of summer, fluffy shaved ice is an easy craft that’s also recommended for seniors and helps everyone feel cooler.
Use crayons to freely draw letters and patterns—like ice or a shop name—on a paper cup.
Then gently place cotton on top of the cup to form an ice-like shape.
Finish by painting the surface of the cotton with your favorite colors—red, green, blue, and more—to create a piece that looks just like real shaved ice.
Adjusting the amount of water in the paint and how the colors blend is part of the fun, as it lets you express different “flavors.” The fine finger movements provide stimulating brain activity, allowing you to enjoy a creative time that reflects the season.
It’s also visually striking and can instantly add a cool, refreshing touch just by displaying it.