Popsicle Stick Crafts for Kids of All Ages

Popsicle sticks are an excellent medium to use when making crafts with children. They are easy to work with, versatile and can be bought anywhere. There are many crafts that can be made using popsicle sticks and the projects can range in difficulty based on the age of the crafters.

Magnetic Paper Holder
Children love making gifts their parents can use, which is why this is a wonderful craft idea. When finished this craft can be placed on your refrigerator and can be used to display important papers or art work. Each child will need a large popsicle stick, a clothes pin, a one inch section of craft magnet in a roll and decorative items. You will want offer the children sequence, paint, fake flowers, stickers, feathers and other small items to decorate there craft before completion. Each child will glue the clothes pin to what will be the front side of their craft. After the glue has somewhat dried they will peel the sticker of the back of their magnet tape and stick the magnet to the back of their craft in the middle. Once all the glue has dried and everything is set they can decorate the front of the item with their desired theme.

Popsicle Puppets
This is a fun idea for a class or child that has just completed a book. They can make the characters of the story come alive with their own mini puppet theater. To make the puppets you will need googly eyes, yarn for hair, fake fur, fabric for clothes, markers, paint and glue. Making the puppets is pretty self explanatory and giving the children creative freedom over this is a nice way to foster their imagination. Using the puppets can be done by either going behind a desk or another piece of furniture. Additionally, a stage can be made from a cardboard box about two times the size of the average shoe box. Making the stage is simple, you will cut out the bottom of the box and sit the box on its side. You then decorate the box and make theater curtains for it. The puppets go through the back of the stage or what was previously the bottom of the box.

Pencil Holder
Older kids tend to want to make things that look a bit more complex. Making a pencil holder using popsicle sticks is fairly easy, but it has the nicer presentation that an older child is looking for. Each child will need a empty cardboard toilet paper tube, several popsicle sticks, paint, decorative items, and a small piece of cardboard. First the kids will paint and decorate their popsicle sticks. Then they will use the toilet paper roll to trace a circle on the cardboard. They will cut out the cardboard and glue it in to the bottom of the toilet paper roll. To finish up they will glue the popsicle sticks around the toilet paper roll after they have dried. They can make a similar craft to hold larger items like kitchen utensils using a paper towel roll, however they will need to double up on the popsicle sticks when gluing to the roll.

Picture Frame
The popsicle stick frame is really a craft for all ages. It can be made simple for smaller kids or more elaborate for older kids. The simple way requires popsicle sticks, decorative items and glue. The children will make two squares of equal size. They will decorate the square that will serve as the front of the frame and leave the back square frame. To finish they will glue the two squares together on all seems except the top. When the frame has dried they can trim and insert their photo. Older kids can use transparency paper to make the front of the frame more complete and they can make a solid back by gluing popsicle sticks together to form an equal square to the front. They will need to cut a piece of cardboard for the base of the back. Ideas for frame decorating would consist of foam pieces, candy, puzzle pieces, markers, sequence, macaroni and paint.

All these ideas are timeless and can varied from user to user. Crafting with children is all about letting them explore their creativity, so don’t be afraid to let them mix it up a bit.