10 Summer Craft Ideas

Although I appreciate a cute arts and crafts session all year round, nothing beats crafting in the Summer. Whether it's making bracelets whilst sitting on a blanket in the park or sketching at the beach, the Summer season always seems to bring a wave of inspiration for my creative projects. Below you can find 10 Summer craft ideas to get started!

1. Flower pop socket using shrink plastic

Shrink plastic is a simple craft that is customisable in so many ways! My personal favourite idea has to be flower pop sockets.

Simply draw and colour your own flower design on to some shrinkable plastic, or print your desired image -- make sure that the plastic is printable if you do. The flower should be 40--50% bigger than the final size of the pop socket, because shrink plastic shrinks! (There's a clue in the name.) Then pop them into the oven (following the instructions of your shrink plastic).

Once the flowers are hardened and cooled, use glue (I recommend hot glue) to stick onto the pop socket. You could re-use an old one or buy a blank one!

Here are some ideas for flower designs:

Tip: Use glossy Mod Podge for a nice shiny finish.

2. Friendship bracelets with embroidery thread

This is another super easy craft to learn -- I have been making these since I was 10! They make the cutest gifts, and are a convenient activity to bring with you anywhere, since you don't need any crazy supplies that take up room in your bag.

You'll need some embroidery thread in a few colours, some scissors, and some tape to stick down the end of the bracelet whilst you are making it. You can also add beads if you want; I love using lettered beads to add my friends' names for a personal touch.

There are endless patterns for creating friendship bracelets -- check out this youtube video here for a tutorial on my favourite method!

https://youtu.be/yfw7Wm6E40w?si=-2Wn1ZHcUhDWgCkb

3. Keychains with embroidery thread

Using the same method used for friendship bracelets, you can also create keychains! I purchased some key rings from HobbyCraft that also had a circular clear frame to put a photo in, and ended up with the cutest creations.

I made an A$AP Rocky one for myself (I'm a huge fan of him), and a Sabrina Carpenter one for my sister. These are so customisable -- you can add any picture you want and there are endless colour combinations to use. And they make the most adorable gift!

4. Decorate a wooden jewellery box

This shell jewellery box I made is just the cutest craft for the Summer! Most craft stores sell a range of blank wooden boxes that you can decorate however you like -- and they're usually very cheap. The little wooden box I bought was just £1.50 from The Works! I used light blue acrylic paint for the base, and used hot glue to add sea shells. For the finishing touch, I used Mod Podge to glue on some pearl beads to fill in the gaps.

5. Bedazzle a wooden hairbrush

Using a similar method to the previous craft, you can also create a gorgeous hairbrush covered in sea shells and pearls, perfect for lovers of the mermaid aesthetic!

6. Sew patchwork onto clothes

If you have any plain cami tops or T-shirts laying about, why not customise them into your own unique piece? This is a great way to use up any scrap fabric you have lying about. If you need some inspiration, check out the Pinterest board I made here:

https://pin.it/4H9XG0JBp

7. Pipe cleaner flowers

There are so many different ways to do this one! I personally used yellow and purple pipe cleaners to make the flower from Tangled. All you need are some pipe cleaners, but I'd also recommend getting some green flower tape to secure your flowers to their stems. I made a Pinterest board here with some inspo:

https://pin.it/5vf4udfrb

8. Shrink plastic buttons

Another craft with shrink plastic -- it's just too fun! Making custom buttons is another great use for shrink plastic. Once again, you can design your own with coloured pencils or print out your designs on printable shrink plastic. Remember to make your designs bigger than your desired final size, as shrink plastic decreases about 40 - 50% in size in the oven. Use glossy Mod Podge for a nice shiny finish!

9. Button bracelets

This is a great way to make use of the buttons from the previous craft. Button bracelets are so easy -- you're essentially just using the buttons as beads. All you need is some thread/elastic/string, and, of course, buttons!

10. Book Marks

This craft gives you lots of creative freedom, and you can use any supplies you have lying around: scrapbook paper, felt, ribbons, etc.! It's a great way to use leftover supplies.

Check out this one I made below, out of some patterned scrapbooking paper and ribbon.

For more bookmark inspiration, check out this Pinterest board:

https://pin.it/1JF97s69O

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I hope you guys like these ideas! Let me know if you try any!

Love from, Lois <3