30 Best Summer Camp Crafts for Kids
We've got all sorts of fun crafts and activities from painted rocks to popsicle stick crafts and more. Check out the full list of creative ideas below!
You might also like these lists of summer crafts and activities:
- Summer arts and crafts for kids
- Summer activities for preschoolers (good for big kids too!)
- Water play activities (for toddlers and preschoolers upwards)
Or for something a little different check out our list of easy pop art projects for kids.
Our painting prompts are perfect for a last-minute art and craft idea. Simply print them out and provide a selection of paints.
Related: More art project ideas
Fun Crafts for Camp from Messy Little Monster
Camping-Themed Painted Rocks
Our camping themed painted rocks are the perfect summer camp craft. Kids can paint their own designs and exchange them with friends. They make wonderful souvenirs! These painted rocks can also be used as story stones when telling stories around the campfire.
Nature Suncatcher Craft
Gather some flowers, leaves, and grasses from around camp to make fun and colorful nature suncatchers. All you need (after you find your nature goodies) are popsicle sticks, glue, Press N'Seal, twine, and paint if you plan to add a little color to the popsicle sticks.
Fingerprint Bugs Craft
Make a fingerprint bug jar in memory of all those bugs buzzing around during summer camp. This is such a fun and quick craft. You only need a little bit of drying time for the paint, and then you can use markers to draw in the rest of the bugs' features. Make dragonflies, spiders, bees, ladybugs, June bugs, and more.
Clothespin Dragonfly
Grab some clothespins, paint, pipe cleaners, and sparkly adhesive gems to make your own clothespin dragonflies. They're super simple, fun, and easy to personalize. You could even add a magnet to the back to turn it into a fridge magnet.
Water Pistol Painting
Fill water pistols with paint and water, set up some canvases, and let the kids get to work making some summer cool water pistol paintings. No two pieces of art will look the same, which is part of the fun! These paintings will make cool mementos to take home and display in their rooms.
Clay Tree Faces
Make a collection of nature and use it to make some Clay Tree Faces. These sculptures are so easy and fun to make and they are perfect for all ages.
Toilet Paper Roll Frog
How fun is this toilet paper roll frog? He comes complete with a tasty fly at the end of the string that you can toss into his mouth when playing with the frog. With just some toilet paper tubes, colored paper, string, and a few other simple crafting materials, you can put this fun frog together in no time.
Homemade Bubble Wands
Nothing keeps kids entertained better than making homemade bubble wands and providing lots of bubble solution for them to play. They'll spend hours blowing bubbles, seeing who can blow the biggest one.
Cheerio Bird Feeders
One of the most important things kids learn at summer camp is taking care of the earth and its creatures. This Cheerio bird feeder is a great way to drive that point home. Using pipe cleaners and cereal, you can assemble a bird feeder in just a few minutes.
Nature Owl Craft
Collect pine cones to make this fun nature owl craft. We also made owls from conkers, but those are a little harder to find sometimes. Add felt wings, eyes, and a beak, and you have an adorable little pinecone owl to display.
Clay Leaf Bowl
Our clay leaf bowl would make an excellent summer camp craft for kids. With some air-dry clay, leaves, and a bit of paint, you can make and decorate your own bowl to your liking. Use it at home to hold change, keys, jewelry, or give it to someone as a gift.
Painting Kindness Rocks
Painting kindness rocks is a fun summer camp craft that kids of all ages will enjoy. Kids can have fun finding rocks and then using their imagination to design their own fun painted rocks. Use paint pens and fill the rocks with positive messages before hiding them for others to find.
Summer Camp Ideas (printable bundle)
This printable bundle of summer camp ideas available from the Messy Little Monster shop is perfect for anybody running a summer camp at home. It includes not only summer camp crafts, but also activity ideas, games and a summer camp planner.
Easy Summer Camp Crafts
If you're crafting with toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners, you need easy camp arts and crafts that don't require many materials. That's where these crafts come in! They're super simple, usually requiring three materials or less, and can be put together in a few minutes, which is perfect for wiggly kids.
Handprint Campfire
This handprint campfire craft by Simple Everyday Mom is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers. Not only is it easy to make using the log templates and colored paper, but it makes a great memento, both of the camp experience and your child's little hands.
Mini Camping Set
Build your own mini camping set out of paper and popsicle sticks. It's perfect for playing with small toys and figures, pretending that they're going on a camping trip of their own. This is a super easy summer boredom buster idea.
DIY Skipping Rope
In 10 minutes or less, you can make your own DIY skipping rope like this one from And Next Comes L. All you need is a nylon cord, plastic straws, and duct tape. If you don't have plastic straws in your area, paper ones will work, too, and you can get them in all kinds of pretty designs. However, the paper ones won't hold up as well to play, especially outdoors.
Popsicle Art
When the weather is scorching, make some popsicle art indoors. This cute printable from Artsy Momma allows kids to color in and decorate their popsicles with colorful Fruit Loops cereal. This is a terrific activity for day camp with preschoolers!
Watermelon Card
Tell someone they're "one in a melon" with this totally adorable watermelon card from The Best Ideas for Kids. What a fun project for kids who've gone away to summer camp who are perhaps missing their family or friends. Of course, you can make it for your own backyard summer camp, too.
Easy Button Bracelets
If you're hosting a summer camp of littles, these easy button bracelets from 123 Homeschool 4 Me need to be on your crafting list. All you need are some large buttons in fun designs and pipe cleaners. That's it!
Yarn Butterflies
Yarn wrapping is a popular camp craft, usually in the form of a God's eye. But these yarn butterflies from The Craft Train are another fun option. They're easy to make by wrapping yarn around popsicle sticks and then adding beads and pipe cleaners to make the butterfly shape.
Classic Summer Camp Crafts
DIY Camping Lantern
Make a DIY camping lantern out of a recycled container. The Crazy Outdoor Mama added bear silhouettes to the lantern, which looks really cool when it's lit up. To change things up, you could add deer, squirrels, campfire silhouettes, tents, or loads of other camping-related images. Use battery-operated candles, glow sticks, or a flashlight to make your lantern glow.
Ice Cream Painted Rocks
Don't you love all the fun ways you can paint rocks to make something cool? These ice cream painted rocks from Projects with Kids are perfect for summer. Provide some flat rocks, paint, and paint pens, and get to work making silly little ice creams with faces. Their watermelon painted rocks are super cute, too!
T-Shirt Bracelets
Kids of all ages enjoy making bracelets, especially tweens and teens. These recycled t-shirt bracelets from Crafts by Amanda are fun to make and are a great way to teach kids about recycling and upcycling. Keep them as souvenirs and give a few to your camp friends as well.
Classic Friendship Bracelets
Speaking of friends and bracelets, it's just not summer camp if you don't make a few classic friendship bracelets to exchange with your besties. The handy picture tutorials from Moms and Crafters show you how to braid the bracelets, the knots you need to make, and a few different techniques and styles to make.
Bug Observation Box
This bug observation box by Barley and Birch is easy and educational. Find out what types of bugs live nearby by catching them and observing them for a little while. The mesh side provides lots of air for the bugs, so you don't need to worry about hurting them. Just catch, observe, and release! Decorate your box with crafty flowers and leaves. Don't forget to put some real ones inside for the bugs to munch on while they're there.
Popsicle Stick Bird Feeder
Turn colorful popsicle sticks into a bright, fun, and useful popsicle stick bird feeder. This craft by Grace, Giggles, and Naptime is even easier if you use popsicle sticks that are pre-painted. You can find them in craft stores and usually even at the dollar store. It's a neat craft and great STEM activity in one.
Plastic Bag Kite
With the right materials, a few minutes, and some patience, you can create an awesome plastic bag kite like this one from Glue Sticks & Gumdrops! We love this project because it's easy to do with kids, inexpensive, and will keep them occupied for hours. It also doesn't require any special tools or sewing skills. If you don't have any wooden dowels, don't worry. You can easily use sticks you find lying around outside.
Zipper Stitch Lanyard
Lanyards are another classic camp craft. Turn them into keychains, put them on your travel bags, or give them as gifts. This tutorial for a zipper stitch lanyard from Moms and Crafters will show you everything you need to know to make your own lanyard at camp.
Shrinky Dink Keychains
Encourage the kids to write positive messages to each other on shrinky dinks to make these sweet shrinky dink keychains by Coffee and Carpool. Turn those larger rectangles into smaller ones in the oven. They'll be perfectly sized to make feel-good keychains with lots of positive vibes. What a nice way to remember camp friends!
More Fun Camp Crafts for Kids
Campfire Necklace
What better way to remember summer camp than with a cool s'mores-themed campfire necklace? It's easier than you think to make this craft from The Crazy Outdoor Mama. You'll need clay, paint, twine, pony beads, and a bit of jewelry wire to loop the pieces together.
Clothespin Airplane Craft
Popsicle sticks and clothespins come together to make these easy clothespin airplanes from Glue Sticks & Gumdrops. They're super fun to make and even more fun to play with.
Paper Plate Campfire Craft
Get some fine motor practice while making a gorgeous paper plate campfire craft from Non-Toy gifts. The flames for the campfire are made by threading orange yarn through the holes. Little kids will need some help punching the holes into flame shapes, but older ones can probably handle this just fine on their own.
Duct Tape Water Bottle Holder
You can make incredible things with duct tape. This duct tape water bottle from There's Just One Mommy is a fun and practical project for summer camp. They'll be able to use their water bottle holders all summer long to stay hydrated and keep their water nearby hands-free.
We hope you’ve found some new summer camp crafts for kids that your child can enjoy making and playing with. What are your kids most excited about doing at camp? Share your favourite camp craft with us.
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