Easy and fun to make! Sunflower craft ideas
How about incorporating sunflowers—blooming energetically toward the sun in the hot summer—into your crafts? In this feature, we’ll share creative sunflower project ideas.
You’ll find plenty of ideas, from origami to using everyday materials like paper cups and paper plates, as well as techniques that let kids enjoy interesting textures, such as stamping and finger painting.
By adapting the steps, these projects can be used with children from infants to kindergarteners.
Be sure to include this in your summer childcare activities and have everyone make adorable, energetic sunflowers together! Because we focus on ideas that emphasize children’s free expression in their creations, we use the term “seisaku” (制作, production/creation) rather than “seisaku” (製作, making/manufacturing) in the text.
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Easy and fun to make! Sunflower craft ideas (1–10)
Sunflower made of origami
Let’s have fun folding sunflowers—the summer flowers that lift your spirits just by looking at them—using origami! If your child has shown an interest in origami or has folded it before, encourage them to give this a try.
You’ll make the sunflower by creating the petals and the center separately, then combining them at the end.
Adding a stem and leaves will make it look even more like a real sunflower! Tackle each step according to the child’s age and ability.
It could also be fun to make lots of them and aim for a whole sunflower field.
Sunflower with paper plates
This is a sunflower you can make using a simple paper plate! First, color the rim of the plate yellow and cut it into petal shapes.
Next, prepare plenty of torn pieces of origami paper and stick them onto the center of the plate to finish.
Depending on your child’s age, let them handle the tearing of the origami or the cutting with scissors.
For the center of the plate, you can also try other techniques besides torn-paper collage—such as sponge stamping or marble rolling—to bring out the children’s individuality and make it even more fun.
Easy Sunflower Origami
Even young children who are just starting with origami can enjoy this easily! First, fold a yellow piece of origami paper in half into a square twice to make crease lines.
From each corner, fold toward the center along the creases you made.
Then open each folded section outward, leaving a small edge, and the sunflower’s petals are complete.
Next, take green origami paper, fold it once into a triangle and unfold it, then fold both sides toward the center along the crease.
Fold one of the sides toward the center once more, and fold the sharpest tip upward to finish the leaf.
Combine it with the flower you made first and display it!
Easy and fun to make! Sunflower craft ideas (11–20)
The hole punch is cute! Sunflower paper cutout
How about making sunflower kirigami out of origami paper? Kirigami is a fun craft that lets you enjoy the surprise and excitement when you unfold it.
Fold a sheet of yellow origami paper twice to make a square, and once more to make a triangle.
Fold it in half again, then use a pencil to draw the shapes and patterns of the petals.
Cut along the lines you drew with scissors, punch some holes with a hole punch, and then unfold it.
Thinking about what shape it will become as you cut—only to open it and find something completely different!—is one of the real pleasures of kirigami.
Be sure to add your favorite patterns and try making your very own original sunflower.
Paper-cut sunflower you can even make the leaves for!
With a single sheet of origami paper, you can make everything from the sunflower’s bloom to its stem and leaves! First, fold the paper in half vertically with the colored side facing inward.
Next, draw half of a sunflower—from the flower through the stem and leaves—on the paper.
Then simply cut along the lines you drew! By adding fine slits, you can show the border between the yellow petals and the brown center, as well as the veins on the leaves.
If you like, add facial features with round stickers to finish a cute sunflower!
A sunflower field made from toilet paper rolls
Why not make sunflower stamps that bloom with energy even on hot days? First, align the tips of about ten cotton swabs and bundle them with a rubber band.
Next, cut many 5 mm slits down to about one-third of a toilet paper roll, then flare them out.
Apply yellow paint to the flared section and stamp repeatedly on drawing paper, imagining sunflower petals.
Dab brown paint onto the bundled cotton swabs to stamp the seed center, and put green paint on your finger to stamp the leaves.
That’s it! The steps are simple, so even younger children can enjoy this activity.
It’s also fun to try a variety of colors.
Paper cup sunflower
Here’s an idea for making a three-dimensional sunflower using a common material: a paper cup.
Cut off the rim of the paper cup, then wrap double-sided tape around the bottom part.
Use the double-sided tape as a guide to cut the cup into 16 equal sections.
Peel off the tape and attach each strip by rolling it inward one by one.
Add color with pens or crayons, and the sunflower’s blossom is complete! For the finishing touch, make the stem and leaves out of origami paper to create an even more realistic summer scene.
Some steps can be tricky for children to do alone, so it’s best to enjoy making it together with a teacher or guardian.