10 DIY Projects to Make Summer a Breeze

6. Home planetarium

Paint Tray • LED Light • Glass Jar

Give your child’s room a little atmosphere with a DIY planetarium. While mapping out constellations, kids won’t even realize they’re learning something new in this uber-creative at-home project. Cut out the bottom of a paint tray and trace constellations. Poke out the stars using a pin. Roll it up to form a tube and tape the sides together. Wrap the tube around a glass jar and place the LED light inside. Turn on the night and sit back and star gaze, or grab some binoculars for a
closer look.

7. 4 eyes DIY

Toilet Paper Tubes • Ribbon • Duct Tape • Scissors • Paper

Does your kiddo have the curiosity of a four-legged feline? Nurture it with some DIY binoculars! Give them the chance to take a day trip through the jungle or bird watch in the trees. With two toilet paper tubes, duct taped together and then decorated, your child will be seeing double in no time. Tie a string around the back to let the binoculars hang on their neck while getting a closer look at the animals they’ve spotted.

8. Juice-box sailboats

Empty Juice Boxes • Toothpicks
Tissue Paper Or Fabric

How do you know when the water is nice? It waves. That’s also how you know it’s the perfect time for sailing. Get your kids out and about by making juice-box sailboats, an easy-to-do dream project that will keep them having fun in the sun. Just tape some toothpicks together from tip-to-tip to form a mast, and decorate a right triangle to form the sale. Tape the sale to the mast and stick it into the juice box for some
smooth sailing.

9. Coffee filter flowers

Coffee Filters • Food Dye

Ask your child to name your favorite flower. If she says self-rising, then get out of the kitchen and into the craft box. Teach her about roses and tulips and daisies the fun way with these fool-proof coffee filter flowers. Fill bowls up with different colors of water and food dye. Dip the filters in and then wait for them to dry (or throw them in the oven at 350 degrees for instant gratification). Once dry, cinch the decorated filter in the middle and twist the end of a pipe cleaner around it to hold it in place. The pipe cleaner forms the stem, and you can display the array in a vase.

10. Paint pets

Paint Samples • Scissors

Making a paper giraffe that stands on its own feet can be a pain in the neck. But not when you use paint samples. They’re sturdy and come in all shades and colors. Simply cut out the body of a giraffe, an elephant or even a pig. Use another shade of the same color to cut out feet. Cut two same-sized slits in the body of the animal and insert the legs. Get creative and make your own pets, like a teddy boar or a polar hare.