If you’re hunting for easy (and fun!) arts and crafts for kids, then you’re in the right place. You’ll find a massive variation of fun painting projects and craft activities on this list for all ages. It doesn’t matter whether they’re interested in toilet paper crafts, acrylic painting, or want to work with pom-poms. These fabulous arts and crafts for kids will boost their confidence and improve their fine motor skills. Now, doesn’t that sound like great fun if you’re spending an afternoon at home?
Can’t get enough of these awesome crafts? Try these easy painting ideas for kids, Disney rock painting ideas, and acrylic painting tips to get those little artists started.
Have slightly older artists? Then take a look at these 60+ Craft Ideas for Teens and Tweens.
Arts and Crafts Ideas for Kids
Are you searching for fun (and easy!) arts and crafts for kids? These ideas are perfect for the whole family and should keep them occupied.
How to make a cardboard castle
If you have Lego lying around, make a castle fit for a king out of cardboard. Cut out a drawbridge, build some windows, and create a few turrets!
How to Make Pom-Pom Ice Pops | Highlights for Children
You’ll ALL scream for ice cream after making these fun and colorful pom-pom treats.
Rock Painting Ideas - Easy, Simple Designs To Follow
Let your kids practice fine motor skills by painting a small rock with everything from flowers and butterflies to pizza toppings.
How to Draw a Sea Turtle : Easy Step-By-Step Tutorial
This beginner-friendly tutorial helps you create a beautiful (and colorful!) sea turtle in just a few steps. Just remember to have a ruler on hand to keep things symmetrical.
How To Paint A Seahorse – Beginner Acrylic Painting Tutorial
Kids will enjoy painting this vibrant seahorse using acrylics and glitter for a sparkly finish!
Cute DIY Father’s Day Card – Fish Cupcake Liner Craft
Don't have time to rush out and buy a Father's Day card? This at-home craft combines simple household supplies to create a cute and meaningful card for the books!
Paper Loop Pufferfish Craft
There's nothing quite like a mishmash of textures and colors. This cardboard rainbow collage combines scrap materials and pom-poms to create the ultimate rainy-day craft.
Heart Painting on Canvas- 3 Easy Ways! { For Kids & Adults}
It’s never too early to teach children about love and compassion. So, why not turn that lesson into a wholesome (and affordable!) craft using Q-tips and acrylics?
Galaxy Jars DIY: Hold the Galaxy in your Hands!
A galaxy jar is the perfect sensory activity for little ones and couldn’t be easier to follow. Plus, it even glows and glitters!
Tissue Paper Art and Rock Fish Craft
The kids will have a magical underwater adventure creating this underwater scene with this incredible tissue paper bleeding art. They can collect a bunch of rocks and use them as different sea creatures like jellyfish, sea turtles, narwhals, fish and star fish!
The Easiest No Sew Easter Bunny Craft
Forget hunting eggs. Making these charming sock bunnies will make you see Easter Sunday in a whole new light (and make the cutest place settings for dinner!).
Easy-to-make DIY Cupcake Liner Flower Card Craft {Kids, Teens and Adults Craft}
A few cupcake liners, tacky glue, and a sharpie are virtually all you need to pull this effective craft together. The serrated edges mimic petals, creating a cool, 3D look against the plain brown card.
How to Paint Lavender Flowers in Acrylics (Simple & Easy)
Grab those spare Q-tip bundles and get to work on this lavender painting. Basic acrylics and cotton swabs create gorgeous buds that even young kids find easy as pie.
Diy Mermaid Wand Kids Craft
This DIY mermaid wand can be customized with your kid’s favorite colors for a fun trip to the beach this summer.
Coffee Filter Turkeys Thanksgiving Craft for Kids
These super-cute coffee filter turkeys are a great way to spice up Thanksgiving this year. You'll tie-dye the filters, stick them to clothespins, and use acrylics to add color and detail!
Best Acrylic Flower Painting Techniques for Beginners
Watch the kids blossom into artists with these easy-peasy flower painting techniques. From finger painted blooms, to using vegetables in a stamping method. No painting experience is required for all kids to become mini Picasso's/Frida Khalo's with this activity.
Moon Craft
Embrace that childlike wonder by getting them to recreate this gorgeous moon craft. Create the background with paint splattering and fill the rest with stickers and cut-out shapes.
Paper Plate Farm Animals
These adorable paper plate animals come to life with googly eyes, colored card, and a few markers. Get creative with triangles and ovals for the noses!
How To Paint a Snowman For Beginners {Paint and Sip Idea}
Get into the holiday spirit by getting your kids to paint this adorable snowman with acrylics. The detail in this painting makes it perfect for children seven and up.
Paper Bag Butterfly Puppets
Imaginative play is always a good idea, and this paper bag puppet lets kiddos explore symmetry and color while embracing their creativity. Score!
Pipe Cleaner Finger Puppets
Mess-free arts and crafts for kids that'll keep them busy for days? OH YES. These pipe cleaner puppets are ready to rumble in minutes, and little ones won't put them down!
Bubble Art
Oh man, kids love making art with bubbles. Food coloring keeps the artwork bright, while white cardstock offers plenty of contrast against the bubble solution for a striking finish.
How To Draw The Moon
The kids will learn how to draw that big chunk of rock in the sky they see every night with this step by step tutorial. From learning how to draw the moon craters and coloring it in.
Curled Paper Spring Flowers Kids Craft
I recommend this craft for older kids as there's quite a lot of scissor work involved. But watch the wonder in their eyes as the scissors turn paper strips into curly shapes that resemble petals!
How To Draw A Mermaid Step-By-Step
On the hunt for an easy way to paint a mermaid? This tutorial shows you how to sketch a mermaid with flowing hair without any tricky steps.
Shape and Color Sorting Caterpillar
If you need a creative way for your preschoolers to practice shape identification, this is IT. Use bold foam shapes to boost their color recognition, and just place the antenna and eyes on with a glue stick.
Rainbow Popsicle Sticks
Turn their frowns upside down by painting a few popsicle sticks in rainbow colors. Grab buttons and googly eyes for those all-important finishing touches.
Paper Cup Bunny Craft
This is one of my favorite easy paper crafts to keep kids creative around Easter. You need card, pipe cleaners, cups, and a couple of pom-poms for the noses!
Four Seasons Tree Painting | An Easy Art Project for Kids
With two printable tree portraits available, this craft is accessible and easy enough for kids of all ages. And hey, you can’t beat the gorgeous mix of colors and clever Q-tip blossoms.
Pineapple Finger Painting
This bright and fun finger painting can be jazzed up with different color paints and a few paper plates. It couldn’t be easier!
Q-Tip Lamb Craft
Speaking of Q-tips, why not ring in spring with this adorable lamb? It’s a great craft to stick on the mantle for some festive cheer around Easter time.
Kite Painting – Acrylic Step By Step Tutorial
This acrylic kite painting is a fantastic idea for kids at a beginner to intermediate skill level with their artwork. Plus, you can’t beat the vibrant colors and whimsical setting!
Tulip in a Heart Card
If you need a Valentine's or Mother's Day keepsake, you can't beat this pop-up tulip in a heart card.
Yarn Wrapped Monster Craft
This super interactive and tactile craft project is terrific for using up leftover art supplies. I love this one for preschoolers as they’ll practice coloring, threading, sticking, and coloring in a single project.
How To Make A Valentine's Day Tree Craft
This is one of those easy craft ideas ideal for older children with decent hand-eye coordination. Cut the felt stickers, choose a colored background, and pop everything onto a traced hand for personalization. Lovely!
How to Make Sticky Nature Cards - Best Kids Craft Ever! • Craft Invaders
The best part about spring rolling around is creating craft projects with real flowers. Experiment with different leaves and flower petals for texture-filled artwork you’ll want to frame.
How To Draw a Butterfly - Easy & Fast
The kids will feel empowered after learning they can draw a beautiful butterfly in a few simple steps. They can then color it in with markers, watercolor paints, or pencil crayons.
Toilet Roll Flower Stamps – Spring Art for Kids
If you’re looking for art activities that’ll keep kids occupied during the school holidays, I’ve got you. Empty toilet rolls, acrylic paints, and Sharpies let them experiment with color and stamping (without much adult help!).
Cloud Dough
This step-by-step tutorial shows you how to make squishy, vibrant cloud play-dough for little kids. Let them choose their own food coloring and go nuts with painting the rainbow!
3D paper ice cream craft
Is there anything better than ice cream during the warmer months? These 3D cones are super colorful and help kids work on their cutting and pasting skills with colored cards, tissue, and glue.
Rainbow Necklace Craft for Kids
Turn your little artists into fashion moguls with this fun project. Simply string paper clouds through colorful straw pieces to boost the fine motor skills they’re already learning at preschool.
DIY Fingerprint Glass Magnets
These fingerprint glass magnets are an easy way to keep kids occupied (and require just a few basic crafts supplies). Painted fingerprints form the base, and they can add details with marker pens before placing their artwork on the fridge.
Fork Stamped Tulips Craft
Looking for easy-peasy art ideas that are easy to clean up? This idea uses washable paint and a fork to stamp your "tulips" (so there's no need to worry about staining!).
Paper Plate Caterpillar Craft For Toddlers
This is one of those simple crafts that’s bursting with color, and you’ll need pipe cleaners, pom-poms, and paper plates to hand. Oh, and all that cutting and sticking is awesome for honing their fine motor skills, too!
Stained Glass Heart Suncatcher
This is a fun craft for older kids with slightly more dexterity. Sharpie markers, black glue, and recyclables come together to make this gorgeous window decoration that the entire family will love!
DIY Paper Spinner for Endless Fun
If you’re looking for easy crafts for kids, you can’t go wrong with this vibrant paper spinner. It comes with a downloadable template, and kids can go wild decorating their circles with marker pens.
Fun DIY Kaleidoscope Craft
Younger kids will need some help with this craft, but it gives you a fabulous opportunity to talk about the science behind light reflection and color. Watch as they spend hours peeking through their new creation!
Flapping Butterfly Craft
Using plastic straws will make this paper butterfly really look like it’s flying. This is the perfect craft for kids of all ages and is a great way to teach them about engineering and mechanics.
Easy Painted Fairy Houses for the Garden
Let your kiddos experiment with detail by painting these plant pot houses. They’ll have so much fun adding doors, hearts, windows, and flowers to the mix.
How to Make No-Sew Sock Worms
These no-sew sock worms help you avoid pricky needles and repurpose old, mismatched socks. Googly eyes, pipe cleaners, and imagination will pull this craft together in minutes.
Pool Noodle Boats
Hosting a pool party? These unique party favors are made with a cut-up pool noodle, washi tape, foam sheets, and straws. They bob around on the water like a dream!
Popsicle Stick Airplane Craft
These craft stick airplanes will keep toddlers occupied for hours in the backyard. Pre-glue the parts and let the kids go to town on the decorations.
Fun With Flip Flops: Kids Craft
If you want to boost their hand-eye coordination, grab glow-in-the-dark paint and glitter glue. The perfect summer craft that they’ll be itching to show off!
Water Bottle Flower Craft for Kids
Give old water bottles a new lease on life by turning them into vase-worthy blooms! They're ideal for Mother's Day gifts or brightening their bedroom during spring and summer.
Craft: Glitter Sensory Bottles
Keep their little hands busy (and messy!) by making a glitter sensory bottle together. Any plastic bottle will do; you can customize the filling with their favorite colors!
How to Make a Simple DIY Hand Drum Craft for Kids
This is one of the best crafts for children interested in music. Combining colored yarn, decorative tape, and beads, it’s a great activity for rainy days.
Recycled Yogurt Cup Zoo Animals
Turn your counter into a bonafide zoo by recycling yogurt bottles into adorable animals. Have a bunch of assorted paints, scissors, and fuzzy sticks to hand to give this craft a glorious texture.
Milk Carton Birdhouse + Bird Feeder Kids Craft
Don’t throw away your spare juice cartons just yet. Instead, grab cardboard, tissue paper, and solid white paint to create colorful birdhouses. So easy (and reduces waste!).
Cherry Blossom Tissue Paper Flower Craft (Tree printable included!)
Kids with more patience will love boosting their fine motor skills with this tissue paper craft. Stick with pink tissue, or go rogue and turn those cherry blossoms into multi-colored marvels!
How to Make a Bouncy Ball
Forget stopping by the dollar store for bouncy balls, as these three-ingredient gems are so much better. Borax, clear glue, glitter, and boiling water are all you need for this scientific craft.
Salt Painting For Kids
The glittery texture and vibrant colors in this three-dimensional salt painting make it a great sensory activity for younger children. Just make sure they’re supervised to avoid any accidents.
Awesome Galaxy Chalk Pastel Art Project for Kids
Transport your little ones to infinity and beyond with this colorful chalk galaxy art.
3-Ingredient Homemade Puffy Paint – an Easy Microwaveable Recipe
This tutorial is so much for kids of all ages and teaches you to make your own puffy paint. It requires just three simple ingredients and pairs a science experiment with a fun art process (and hey, they can paint whatever they want!).
Monster Windsocks
These fun monster windsocks will brighten up the backyard during spooky season and are so easy to make.
How to Make a DIY Sharpie Mug that's Washable!
This kids will learn an art lesson in pointillism with this DIY Sharpie mug project. They'll take a sticker to create the negative space, then use Sharpies to create a multitude of overlapping dots. It'll be like magic after they peel the sticker back to reveal they're beautiful design.
DIY Ornament Balls - Swirl Paint Method
The kids will have a jolly time shimmy, shaking and swirling they're ornaments with different paint colors. They'll use inexpensive dollarstore plastic ornaments, pour some dollarstore craft paint inside, then shake, shake, swirl! These would make wonderful keepsakes for your Christmas tree and as a holiday classroom craft.
Easy Bird Finger Puppet Origami
These super cute bird finger puppets are colorful and require very little supplies. Just basic printer paper and markers. Kids can have fun customizing they're bird designs.
Chewbacca Paper Bag Puppet Craft [Free Template]
Have some brown paper bags laying around? Use them in this out-of-this-world craft idea! Kids can make they're favorite Star Wars character using this tutorial which includes a free template you can print.