[Summer Vacation Crafts for Lower Grades] Make It with Everyday Materials! Simple Yet Awesome Craft Ideas
Have you ever had the experience of working hard on a summer vacation craft project, only to have someone say it looks “simple”? In fact, with a little creativity, you can make projects that really impress people, even using basic materials.
Here, we’ll introduce craft ideas that even lower elementary school children can enjoy.
Using familiar items, you can create lots of projects that are more fun and interesting than they look.
Be sure to use these ideas to find a favorite craft that you’ll be proud to show off to your friends once it’s finished!
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[Summer Vacation Crafts for Lower Grades] Easy but Awesome DIY Ideas Using Everyday Materials (131–140)
Well-spinning paper cup top

This is a spinning top made with a paper cup that spins well and is fun to watch because of its colorful look.
All you need are a paper cup and two plastic bottle caps.
First, cut slits into the paper cup and spread them out like propeller blades, then attach an axle made by combining the two caps.
That’s enough to complete the basic shape, but it’s recommended to decorate the “propellers” with an eye toward how it will look while spinning.
The impression changes depending on whether you spread the propellers before decorating or decorate first and then cut the slits, so try out various patterns.
A flying octopus? Tako-copter

It’s a toy that combines paper cups and a round chopstick to spin like a bamboo-copter and soar into the sky.
By spreading “wings” that catch the wind and coloring it mainly red, it takes on a curious form—a flying octopus.
You’ll use two paper cups and a round chopstick: attach the chopstick and the octopus’s facial parts to a paper cup with only the bottom left to create a launcher.
Then cut slits into the other paper cup, spread it out to form propeller-like blades, and attach it to the launcher to finish.
Fine-tune the propeller angles to make your octopus fly even higher.
Cute mysterious bottle

A pretty liquid inside a small, cute bottle—it’s separated into two layers, and even if you shake the bottle it stays syrupy and doesn’t mix at all.
A mysterious liquid.
This beautiful, mysterious bottle is actually very easy to make! First, prepare a bottle you like.
Fill it about halfway with baby oil, then pour in water colored with food coloring on top.
You can also add beads or glitter, and then close the lid to finish.
How about decorating the outside of the bottle with your favorite stickers or rhinestones?
Japanese-style pancake made of clay
@pinksoda_yumi I’m going to make Japanese-style pancakes out of clay!Handmade#SweetsDeco#FakeSweetsResin clayJapanese confectioneryclay#handmade#fakesweets#wagashi#japanesesweets#clayPink Soda#Wagashi
♬ Happy Music – Mystix Instrumentals
Perfect for a summer vacation project! Why not try sweets art with “Japanese-style pancakes made from clay”? Recreate pancakes in clay to look amazingly real—fluffy batter topped with whipped cream, sweet red bean paste, chestnuts, and sweet potato, inspired by traditional Japanese ingredients.
It’s a stylish and fun craft that results in Japanese sweets that look just like the real thing.
The key to making it realistic is carefully reproducing details like the browned, toasted color.
Try adding the browning with a sponge.
You can also display your creation in your room and use it as decor!
How to make a Disney kids’ lunch (bento)

A full-on adorable independent study on “How to Make a Disney Kids’ Lunch.” Think up and create your own Disney-style kids’ lunch that looks cute and exciting—like Mickey-shaped chicken rice, an omelet, fried shrimp, a hamburger patty, potato salad, and more! It’s an edible work of art, perfect for people who love cooking and design.
You can make everything with paper clay, so it’s super easy.
Even if you can’t easily go to Tokyo Disneyland, making this craft will let you feel like you’ve enjoyed a kids’ lunch there.
soccer game

How about making a handmade soccer game as a summer vacation project—something you can enjoy crafting first and then get excited playing afterward? Especially if you love soccer, you might experience surprise and delight.
It’s great that you can make it simply with familiar materials and tools like toilet paper tubes, rubber bands, wire, and bamboo skewers! With a bit of creativity, you can stylishly and coolly finish the design of the soccer field’s grass, the stands, and the players.
Playing a game you made yourself will surely become a wonderful summer memory.
Cute molded doll
https://www.tiktok.com/@picoton_craft/video/7458288878953188626A cute doll that conveys a sense of three-dimensionality and softness is assembled using chenille stems (pipe cleaners).
You’ll use thicker, fluffy pipe cleaners, twisting and combining them, then shaping them to achieve your ideal form.
How many pipe cleaners you use is an important point: proceed while considering a size that allows the whole figure to be sturdy and a quantity that gives it dimensionality.
Once the overall shape is set, attach parts like the face to finish it—your choice of parts here adds originality to the craft.



