Toddler Crafts

Happy March!  It’s national craft month! Keeping a toddler entertained inside on a chilly or messy day is not for the faint of heart.  It’s not quite spring here yet and I hate the cold so to be honest… I have no interest in venturing out to the park just yet.  What does that mean? It means that I have to get really creative some days with entertaining my active 2.5 year old on days that we don’t have a scheduled activity.  I have to admit that after we get bored of playing with the countless toys, I often resort to TV because honestly mommy sometimes needs a break.  That said though, a toddler craft day can be a lot of fun.  Here are a few crafts that we have recently made.  I know that you could probably spend a few hours on Pinterest and come up with them yourself but I figured I would make it easier and share four that I’ve already found and toddler tested!  I hope you have as much fun making them as we did!

*Note: The first two are winter themed crafts because it still feels like winter here in Connecticut!  I shopped for all of the supplies for these crafts at my local dollar store or in my craft bin so they were super inexpensive.  Plus shopping at the dollar store is a great way to spend a day with a toddler too!

Toddler Craft #1: Cotton Ball Snowman

Believe it or not, this craft is actually one that I remember from my own childhood.  It’s fun, pretty easy, and not a huge mess! (Total bonus points in my book!)

You will need:

• A paper plate
• Cotton balls
• Construction paper or computer paper and crayons
• A stapler
• Glue stick or bottle of glue
• Scissors

Instructions:

The paper plate is the body of your snowman.  I started with creating the head.  Draw and cut out a white circle a little bit smaller than the plate that you chose.  Your toddler can help with the cutting if you feel comfortable but in our case I did all of the cutting.  Then, staple the “head” that you just created onto the body.  You can also use glue but my toddler tends to be a bit rough so this was a sturdier option.  After you have the head and the body attached together allow your toddler to glue the cotton balls to the plate to create the snowman’s “snow.”  This is the fun part!  I gave my son a glue stick because it was less messy but it did make it harder for the cotton balls to stick so you might find yourself making repairs later is some “snow” falls off.  Lastly, embellish your snowman with a nose, eyes, a smile, and feet (if desired).  You can either use colored construction paper or use regular white printer paper and have your toddler color/decorate it with crayons or any other desired art supply that you have on hand.  Have fun and make it your own.  Here’s a picture of how ours turned out below!

Toddler Craft #2: Hat and Mittens

This is another fun “winter themed” craft.  This one is a lot of fun and uses your child’s own hands to create!  This was partly Pinterest created and partially created by me.

You will need:

• Construction paper (computer paper will work too but my toddler had fun picking out the color)
• Scissors
• Cotton balls or pompoms (you could also just use construction paper)
• Glue stick
• Stickers or crayons/markers to decorate

Instructions: For this craft I started with the mittens.  Trace your child’s hand to create the mitten shape.  Then cut them out.  Next draw and cut out a half oval shape to be your “hat.”  Cut out a smaller circle to be the base of the hat’s “pom pom.”  Have your toddler decorate and embellish using craft supplies and a glue stick.  We used cotton balls to create the pom pom on the hat and fluffy cuff on the mittens but you could also use pom poms or skip this step all together.  My toddler thought this was the best craft ever!  He loved making it and wanted to hang them on the wall immediately.  My son has a dinosaur obsession so ours are decorated with dinosaur stickers.  You can see a picture below!

Toddler Craft #3: Ladybug

Spring is right around the corner so what better way to celebrate than to make a ladybug!  Here is a link to the original craft instructions that I found when I started this craft but I’ll discuss a few changes below that I made to the original project.  https://nontoygifts.com/paper-roll-ladybug-craft/

You will need (for my version):

• Empty toilet paper roll tube
• Construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Tape
• Pipe cleaner
• Googly eyes
• Black crayon

Instructions: In the original instructions, toddlers are supposed to start by painting the toilet paper tube black.  I fully admit that I’m a bit type A and am a bit scared to use paint with my toddler because the idea of the mess gives me massive anxiety.  In light of this, I had my toddler wrap the tube with colored construction paper and glue it on.  I also traced his hands on construction paper instead of having him stamp paper with his hand coated in paint for the same reason.  I helped my toddler to make the black spots with a black crayon.  Then I helped him cut out his hand prints and then we glued the finished “wings” to the tube body.  Then we glued the googly eyes to the tube and created the antennae with pipe cleaners.  I did not attach pompoms to the top of the pipe cleaners.  Instead I created curly tops by wrapping the ends around my toddler’s finger.  He thought this last step was great fun.  I ended up taping the antennae on because the glue stick just wasn’t strong enough.

*Note: I had my toddler use materials that I had laying around the house so full disclosure my lady bug is not the correct colors.  Our body is purple (my son chose the color) and our antenna are green (again it was what my son wanted.  I just went with it. It’s a craft.  Might as well let him have the colors he wanted right?  In light of this however, we may call ours a butterfly instead.  You can find a picture of our finished product below!

Toddler Craft #4: Cupcake Liner Fish

In my opinion, fish are great for every season!  They just seem fun.  These cupcake liner fish are easy to make.  Ours weren’t quite as colorful as the sample so I attached their picture instead as the example.

You will need:

• Construction paper
• Googly eyes
• Marker/crayon
• Cupcake liners
• Sequins or jewels for bubbles if desired

Instructions:

This craft is deceptively simple but lots of fun.  As you can see in the example photo, the more colorful your cupcake liner, the more fancy your fish but when I did this one at home my toddler used the pastel colored ones that I had in my cupboard.  You can always have your child decorate them with marker if you want to spice them up.  We gave ours stripes with a black crayon! Flatten the cupcake liner into a flat circle to create the body of the fish.  Then cut a triangle out of construction paper for the fish tail.  Use a glue stick to secure it to your paper and add googly eyes.   Draw on a smile with a crayon or maker and you are all set!  Easy peasy but so much fun!  If you would like to create bubbles you can either draw them on or use sequins/jewels.  I want to do this craft again but on a big blue poster board!  It would be so much fun to create an entire ocean scene.

Photo Courtesy of Pinterest.com

I hope you have fun crafting with your kids and that this blog post inspires you!  Don’t be afraid to change the instructions to make it your own.  That’s half of the fun!  I’d love to see your versions.  Share them with me in the comments!! Have another simple craft that you love?  Please share with me! Happy crafting mamas! Spring is almost here.