[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] Enjoy and Beat the Summer Heat! July Craft Ideas (161–170)
Tanabata decorations made with ribbons
Let’s make colorful Tanabata decorations using ribbons.
Prepare several thin ribbons cut to about 10–15 cm.
Combine and line up about two colors of ribbon, then secure both ends of the ribbons with masking tape.
Once secured, roll them into thin tubes or twist them slightly and roll them so they form a shell-like shape.
Adjust the shape and you’re done.
It also looks great combined with ribbons tied in a bow.
Try different color combinations, different ways of rolling, and different sizes to create a vibrant decoration for your Tanabata bamboo branches!
Tanabata mobile
Let’s try making a cute, gently swaying Tanabata mobile! Using origami or construction paper, create various shapes like stars and circles, then string them vertically with thread to complete the mobile.
You can fold decorations like origami, or combine identical cutouts to make three-dimensional ornaments.
It’s also recommended to mix in felt balls or drawings made on shrink plastic.
Have each older adult make one strand and combine everyone’s to display on the wall, or have each person make about three strands and display each set as an individual piece—use these ideas to create festive Tanabata decorations.
Tanabata-style calendar
This time, we’ll introduce a July calendar craft centered on Tanabata, the July festival.
Many of you may be thinking, “I want to make a handmade calendar.” There are various calendar-making kits available for purchase.
A kit featuring bamboo branches decorated for Tanabata is especially handy.
If you use a craft knife to cut out the bamboo leaves on the double-layered calendar base, you’ll get a three-dimensional finish.
And of course, be sure to add tanzaku—wish strips imbued with the feelings of the seniors—onto the bamboo.
Including tanzaku will help you create a calendar with a unique, personal touch.
Tanabata Decorations – Double Heart
Let’s make a heart-shaped decoration that looks like a Tanabata casting net! Prepare several strips of origami paper cut into long, thin pieces in a few different colors.
Use each strip to form a heart shape, then link the hearts together so they connect like a net.
A stapler is handy for attaching one heart to the next.
Rather than using a single color, combining about two colors is recommended.
Linking around six hearts is enough.
Try hanging it as a wall decoration or as one of the ornaments on bamboo for Tanabata!
[For Seniors] Beat the Heat and Have Fun! July Craft Ideas (171–180)
Summer Juice
On a hot day, gulping down juice lets you enjoy a deliciousness that feels different from usual.
Let’s use that juice as our theme and make a July calendar.
Prepare construction paper or origami in juice colors like orange and grape.
Cut them into the shape of glasses and color them with crayons as you like.
Make ice shapes out of plastic bags and create fruit with construction paper, then paste them inside the paper glasses.
Add straws, or place ice cream made from tissue paper on top of the glass.
Attach the finished juice glass to the calendar, and it’s complete.
The three-dimensional feel of the piece is sure to satisfy older adults as well.
Summer wall decoration
A summer-themed wall display lets you feel the season and brightens the mood, doesn’t it? This is a wall art project that’s easy for seniors to make, too.
How about a design with sunflowers stretching energetically up toward the blue sky? For the sunflower blossoms, tissue paper or colored paper works well.
For the stems and leaves, crumple paper into a ball, open it up, and cut it into shape after giving it a wrinkled texture—this brings out a natural, plant-like feel! Using materials like crepe sheets that already have a wrinkled texture makes it easy, so give it a try.
Adding clouds, the sun, and summer insects will make the display look even more charming!
Wishes in a Jar of the Universe
Stories about the stars shining in the night sky are an essential part of Tanabata.
Here’s a fun craft inspired by that starry sky, with a bright look that evokes space and the near future.
Fill a small bottle with cotton and water, then layer in paint and glitter to decorate.
The cotton absorbs the paint, letting you create gradients inside the bottle—another enjoyable feature.
If you keep Tanabata in mind and add your wish, it should be easy to incorporate as a seasonal decoration.
