[For Senior Care Facilities] Easy! September Craft Ideas to Feel the Autumn Season
When it comes to September events and observances, the Mid-Autumn Moon, Respect-for-the-Aged Day, and the autumn equinoctial week come to mind.
These are long-standing traditions in Japan, so they should be familiar to many older adults.
In this context, we’re introducing simple craft activities suitable for senior facilities such as day service centers.
We’ve gathered many projects perfect for September, featuring motifs like moon-viewing rabbits and themes of longevity and health.
They’re fun to make, attractive to display, and likely to give a sense of accomplishment! Although summer is ending and autumn is approaching, some regions still experience hot days.
Craft activities are great because they can be done indoors and are accessible even for those who find physical movement challenging.
Please give them a try!
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- [Day Service] Handmade Autumn Crafts: Take-Home Project Ideas
- Moon-Viewing Wall Decor Ideas for Seniors
- [For Seniors] Fall Wall Decoration Ideas
- Simple, Recommended Autumn Crafts for Seniors
- [For Seniors] Enjoy September’s Autumn Fun! A Collection of Craft, Game, and Exercise Ideas
- Useful in care facilities! Ideas for autumn wall decorations
- [For Seniors] Simple Craft Ideas to Feel the Autumn Season with Fall Foliage
- [For Seniors] Easy Snack Activity Perfect for September
- [For Seniors] Introducing Fun Crafts Made with Plastic Bottle Caps
- Wall decoration ideas for seniors recommended for September
[For Senior Care Facilities] Easy! September Craft Ideas to Feel the Autumn (91–100)
Cosmos made of paper tape
What often concerns people when making cosmos flowers is that there are so many intricate steps: finely cutting the petal shapes, and dealing with leaves and stems that have lots of thin lines—very detailed work.
But this method for making cosmos is very simple! For the petals, use paper tape and just cut the tips all at once with pinking shears.
For the stems and leaves, simply cut and twist green pipe cleaners, so even those who aren’t good at delicate tasks can give it a try.
With this method, you can make lots of them—an entire wall covered in cosmos isn’t just a dream!
mochi-pounding rabbit
On the beautiful full moon night, there just might be a rabbit pounding mochi.
Let’s make a cute rabbit decoration inspired by that dreamy, delightful story.
You can craft the rabbit and the mortar and pestle used for mochi pounding out of origami, or, if you prefer, cut each shape from construction paper—both are great options.
Once you’ve made the shapes, assemble them and finish the piece by sticking them on a wall or mounting them on a large sheet of paper.
You could even make lots of rabbits to create a lively scene of mochi pounding on the moon.
Moon viewing and pampas grass
This is a moon-viewing craft made with origami and tissues.
You’ll make six items: pampas grass, rice dumplings, a sanpō (offering stand), a rabbit, the moon, and clouds.
For the pampas grass, soften an edge of an origami sheet by rolling it, snip fine cuts along that edge, and wrap it around a bamboo skewer.
The rice dumplings are simply made by rolling tissues into balls.
Templates for the sanpō, rabbit, moon, and clouds are available for download—place them on origami paper, draw guide lines, and cut them out with scissors.
Arrange and paste each piece on the wall to complete your autumn wall decoration.
Let’s all enjoy the autumn scenery together.
3D origami cosmos flower
Cosmos, a flower that represents autumn, is simple and cute when you look at each blossom individually.
But a field covered in blooming cosmos is truly overwhelming and spectacular, isn’t it? How about recreating that cosmos field by scattering three-dimensional cosmos flowers all over a wall? You can make the cosmos flowers by cutting folded origami paper; by leaving the base intact and cutting away part of it, you create a gluing tab, resulting in flowers with a three-dimensional look.
For the leaves and stems, use the technique of detailed paper-cutting with fine-tipped scissors, and be careful not to overcut.
Cosmos in 2 Minutes! Easy Version
Here’s a very easy way to make cosmos flowers using scrap materials.
Fold origami paper three times, then use pinking shears to make cuts on one side.
Snip between the petals with scissors, apply double-sided tape to the bottom, and roll a plastic bottle cap onto it to secure.
Stuff the inside of the bottle cap with crumpled yellow tissue paper, curl the petals, and you’re done.
If you’ve got lots of spare plastic bottle caps, why not take this opportunity to put them to use?
Cosmos Plate Artwork Made with Tissue-Paper Collage
How about making cosmos flowers out of tissue paper and decorating a paper plate to create a cosmos picture plate? Fold the tissue paper into thirds, then fold a corner into a triangle to make a square.
Fold that up and cut out petal shapes—this lets you make three cosmos flowers at once.
Use your preferred colors of tissue paper, such as red, pink, or white.
Brush a layer of glue thinned with water onto the paper plate, then arrange the cosmos on top.
Brush more glue over the flowers to set them in place.
If you also decorate the rim of the paper plate with tissue paper in colors you like, let it dry thoroughly and you’re done.
Knit Ball Moon-Viewing Dango
Cute, round tsukimi dango you can make with crochet.
Some seniors may enjoy sewing and needlework, so how about working on a little each day starting a bit before the moon-viewing festival? You can get all the yarn and tools at a 100-yen shop, so it won’t cost much.
Even if you’re new to crochet, feel free to give it a try.
Since these are made with yarn, once you make them you can reuse them every year—that’s a nice bonus.
You can also make a sanpō (offering tray) to go with them and enjoy a lovely autumn display.