Beat Boredom with These Creative Craft Ideas

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Cool and simple crafts for kids and adults to make at home

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IN THIS ARTICLE

1 Melted Crayon Art

2 Slime Stress Ball

3 Glass Bottle Tissue Paper Centerpieces

4 DIY Bulletin Board

5 Cardboard Dollhouse

6 Pencil Bag

7 Decoupage Jars

8 Paper Rings

9 DIY Lampshade Decorations

10 DIY Mug Designs

11 Lucky Paper Stars

12 Rubber Band Guitar

13 Jewelry Holder

14 DIY Jack-in-the-Box

15 No-Sew Pillow Cover

16 DIY Sensory Bottles

17 Felt Car Freshies

18 Paper Clock

19 Hanging Cloud Decoration

20 Bouncy Ball (Without Borax)

21 DIY Can Pencil Holder

22 Homemade Chalk

23 Bubble Snake Maker

24 Handmade Rope Basket

25 Homemade Pop It Fidget Toy

26 Candy Cane Reindeer

27 Ceramic Spoons

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Co-authored by Amy Guerrero and Cheyenne Main

Last Updated: September 11, 2024 Fact Checked

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If you’re bored at home with nothing to do, what better option than to use your arts-and-crafts skills to create something fun and interesting? No matter your age, skill level, or materials available, we have a ton of awesome projects for you to choose from. In this article, we’ll give you all the most unique trendy crafts to bust up your boredom and give you a neat item to show off to your friends and family.

Steps

1

Melted Crayon Art

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1. Use a blow dryer or hot glue gun to create colorful crayon designs. Melted crayon art is a fun way to create an art piece for your home or a stunning background for your project or poster board. Plus, you only need a canvas and a pack of your favorite colored crayons! Use a hot glue gun to make a drippy piece or a hot glue gun to make fun shapes and designs. For more information, check out our simple guide.
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2

Slime Stress Ball

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1. 
   Make a squeezable stress ball with glue, water, and borax. DIY slimy stress balls are a great way to let out your frustrations. Simply mix together the ingredients, knead the slime with your hands, then funnel it into a balloon to create a cool colorful stress ball. You can also wrap a fishnet stocking around it to create a satisfying bubbling effect. To learn how to do it yourself, see our easy-to-read article here.

3

Glass Bottle Tissue Paper Centerpieces

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1. 
   Create beautiful decorations using glass bottles and tissue paper. Not only is this a great way to reuse those old bottles lying around, but you get to create a beautiful centerpiece, gift, or decoration that you can use for any festive occasion. There are a couple of ways you can make them, too—whether you want to wrap the tissue paper around, decoupage it with Mod Podge and a sponge, or paste printed paper, hearts, or circles on for a more festive look. Be creative and have fun with it! For more detailed instructions, check out our step-by-step article.
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4

DIY Bulletin Board

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1. 
   Post your photos, to-do lists, and notes on a homemade bulletin board. Need something beautiful and useful to decorate your new office space? This craft is fun and simple—all you need to create your own customized bulletin board is a sheet of cardboard, scissors, pins or hot glue, and a piece of fabric. You can also add a criss-cross ribbon to add some pizazz and make it easy to slide in notes and pictures that you don’t want to damage with a pin. Try out our easy guide if you’d like to make one for yourself.

5

Cardboard Dollhouse

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1. 
   Make your doll’s dream house using cardboard and decorations. Whether you have a shoebox or a large moving box lying around the house, this craft is a great way to recycle those old materials and give your dolls a place to call home. Just use scissors or a razor knife to cut out the walls, floor, and roof, and use acrylic paint, old magazines, or scraps of fabric to beautifully and uniquely decorate your brand-new dollhouse. Learn how to do it here!
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6

Pencil Bag

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1. 
   Show off your crafty talent with your own DIY pencil case. Just choose a sturdy fun fabric, cut out two equal-sized rectangle shapes, sew them together back-to-back, then add a colorful zipper on top. If you don’t have a zipper, you can also add a couple of buttons or a strip of Velcro to the top so that your pencils won’t fall out. This craft is a great way to express your unique style and use up those old scraps of fabric. Try out our helpful tutorial so you can make one yourself.

7

Decoupage Jars

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1. Use decoupage glue, paper, and fabric to easily decorate your glass jars. This craft is great for anyone who has a ton of scraps of different materials that they want to use but don’t know what to use them on. Paint decoupage glue (like Mod Podge) onto the surface, paste on your cut-out images, and apply 2-3 layers of glue on top to seal your beautiful design. To learn how to do it yourself, check out our handy expert-backed guide.
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8

Paper Rings

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1. 
   Make rings out of paper in this cool easy jewelry project. Whether you’re a kid or an adult, paper rings are simple and fun to create. You could fold a colorful wrapped paper ring, a “jeweled” wrapped origami ring, turn paper money into a flashy dollar bill ring, or make a butterfly-shaped origami ring. Use whatever colored paper you’d like to express your style, and use glue or tape to attach the ends of the ring together after you’re done folding. You can find our paper ring instruction guide here.

9

DIY Lampshade Decorations

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1. Upgrade your lampshade with our decorating tips. If you have a plain lampshade that you’re not sure what to do with, use paint, stencils, trim, paper, fabric, and other materials to make your lamp stand out. This craft is a great boredom-buster that allows you to personalize your space and turn your lampshade into a work of art, inside and out. Check out how to make your lampshade pop here.
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10

DIY Mug Designs

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1. 
   Personalize a plain mug with your own unique designs. This is a cool craft to do when you’re bored at home with a plain, undecorated mug by your side. Whether you have oil-based paint pens, acrylic paint, or a printed image and packing tape, you can beautifully customize your very own drinking vessel with ease. Try our easy-to-use guide here.

11

Lucky Paper Stars

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1. Fold a collection of lucky paper stars with this origami activity. This craft is simple and relaxing to do—all you need is a couple of sheets of paper and some scissors. Cut the paper into long strips, then fold the strips up into little hexagon shapes that you can puff up by pushing up the corners to make little paper stars. You could make a whole bunch of them to display in a jar, make into a string to hang in your living space or mix them with glitter to use as party decorations on a table. You can find our detailed article here.
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12

Rubber Band Guitar

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1. Jam out with this homemade toy guitar. Grab 4-6 rubber bands plus a shoe box, a tissue box, or a paper plate to try out this versatile activity for both kids and adults. String the rubber bands over a hole in your guitar, decorate the outside with paper, markers, or whatever decorations you have, and be the rock star you were born to be. Find our simple instructions here.

13

Jewelry Holder

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1. 
   Create a custom organizer for your necklaces, earrings, and more. If you’d like a better way to store and display your jewelry, you’ve come to the right place. You can use anything you’d like, whether you have cardboard tubes, real or fake tree branches, a cheese grater, a clothes hanger, a silverware tray, or a corkboard. Create and decorate your very own jewelry holder using our helpful guide.
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14

DIY Jack-in-the-Box

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1. Build your own cardboard Jack-in-the-Box using a spring and hot glue. A Jack-in-the-Box is a classic fun toy that’s surprisingly easy to make yourself—no engineering knowledge is required. All you need is a little creativity, a hand puppet, a spring, cardboard, a couple of magnets, and some hot glue. You can even decorate the outside of the box with whatever you like. Whether you’re an adult or a child, you’ll love this homemade Jack-in-the-Box toy. You can find the instructions to make your own here.

15

No-Sew Pillow Cover

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1. 
   Change up your decor by making a no-sew pillowcase. Making a pillow cover is a great activity for any crafting beginner. You could measure and cut two squares of fabric and adhere them together with fabric adhesive, wrap the pillow in fabric for a tied-together look, or cut and braid two pieces of fleece together at the edges to make your own braided decorative pillow case.
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16

DIY Sensory Bottles

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1. 
   Create your own sensory bottle to help you relax and destress. If you’re looking for a fun, calming craft for people of all ages, grab a clear empty bottle and some glitter or food coloring. You can also customize your sensory bottle by adding different sizes and colors of glitter, themed sequins, water beads, googly eyes, or dried food items like rice, beans, and pasta. Learn how to make your own sensory bottle here.

17

Felt Car Freshies

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1. Mold your own car air fresheners using aroma beads and cookie cutters. Add a fragrance oil of your choice to 1 cup (8 oz) of aroma beads in a glass jar, let it absorb for 24 hours, fill metal cookie cutters in the shape of your choice with aroma beads, then bake them in the oven until the beads melt together. You can then hot glue a string on the back to hang them in your car, and add puff paint, ribbons, or other decorations to personalize your new freshies. Read our simple step-by-step guide here.
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18

Paper Clock

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1. 
   Make a clock with a paper plate, a brad, and whatever decorations you’d like. Paper clocks can teach kids how to tell the time, be used as a prop in a play or a skit, or decorate your home with something you made yourself. Just draw and cut out a minute hand and an hour hand, poke a hole through the center of the plate and the end of the hands with a pen, and attach a brad to make your very own moveable clock. Learn how to decorate and create your own here!

19

Hanging Cloud Decoration

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1. 
   Hang up your very own cloud decoration to enjoy inside. This craft is perfect if you’re looking for a fun activity that will give you a little cloud-shaped decor for your home. You can use wire or a paper lantern and polyester stuffing to create a realistic ceiling cloud, and string LED lights on the inside to light it up. If you’re looking for a cute party decoration or a more cartoony look, you can also make 3D paper clouds using cardboard and white cardstock. Check out our handy article here to learn how to make it yourself.
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20

Bouncy Ball (Without Borax)

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1. Create your own bouncy ball with this borax-free fun craft. Whether you’re a kid or an adult, if you have baking soda or cornstarch in your kitchen pantry, you can easily make this cool functioning bouncy ball. Simply combine baking soda with school glue and water or cornstarch with water and make a bouncy toy you can play with at home. You can also customize your ball by adding a couple of drops of whatever food coloring you’d like, or by adding glitter if you’d like your ball to be shiny. Learn the steps to make it here.

21

DIY Can Pencil Holder

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1. 
   Reuse those old cans by making this cool pencil holder. Just grab an old aluminum or soda can, wash it out, remove the lid, and decorate the outside. You can also cut incisions around the can with a box cutter to create a pin-cushion-style holder that you can poke your pens and pencils into. Accessorize your pencil holder with paint, paste on your own paper cutouts, or cut out shapes with an old box cutter. See our complete step-by-step guide here.
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22

Homemade Chalk

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1. 
   Mix together your own chalk with Plaster of Paris, eggshells, or cornstarch. Kids and adults alike will enjoy creating their own chalk to draw with on those hot summer days. Simply stir together your chosen mixture and add in a food coloring of your choice. Create a mold for your chalk using cardboard tubes, ice cube trays, or any kind of tube or carton that you don’t want to reuse, then add in your mixture and allow it to harden for 12 hours. Find how you can make your own homemade chalk here.

23

Bubble Snake Maker

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1. 
   Create a bubble snake maker out of a plastic bottle. If you’d like a quick way to make your or your child’s day, you can turn nearly any plastic bottle you have at home into a stream of bubbly fun. Simply cut off the bottom of your chosen bottle, cover the bottom with a piece of fabric or a washcloth, and secure it with a rubber band. Dip your bubble tool into a bowl of soapy water and blow through the open end of the bottle to create a cool bubble snake. Read our complete article here!
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24

Handmade Rope Basket

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1. Make your own rope basket with just a few crafting supplies. If you have a length of rope just waiting to turn into something gorgeous, this could be your sign to create a rustic basket. Whether you’d like to use hot glue, a sewing machine, or your hand-sewing skills, we have all the steps you need. You could use your new basket to hold your other crafting supplies, or you could tie-dye it and give it away as a cool funky gift. Here’s our helpful instructions so you can learn how to make it yourself.

25

Homemade Pop It Fidget Toy

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1. 
   Construct your own DIY Pop It for a fun craft to enjoy at home. If you love those silicone Pop-It fidget toys, why not try to make your very own? Plus, after you’re done you’ll have endless hours of fun to pop away. You can make them out of construction paper and cardstock, an empty gum package, or foam paper placed on top of a marble and heated with an iron or hair straightener. Find our handy-dandy guide here and make your own Pop It.
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26

Candy Cane Reindeer

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1. Decorate a candy cane to make it a festive reindeer. If you’d like a fun way to enjoy the winter holiday season, you can use pipe cleaners, hot glue, little pom poms, and googly eyes to make your own little candy cane reindeer. This craft makes a cute little decoration that you can hang on your Christmas tree, tape to the top of a wrapped present, or put a few into a jar to create a festive fun centerpiece. For more info and more detailed instructions, check out our article.

27

Ceramic Spoons

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1. 
   Make your own utensils out of ceramic clay. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced ceramic crafter, you can mold your own ceramic spoons and other flatware for a fun addition to your kitchen or home decor. Just roll and form the handle with your fingers, pinch another bit of clay for the spoon, then attach them together. Wait for your creation to dry, paint it with glaze, then place your painted spoons in a kiln to harden your beautiful utensils. Learn more about how to start the process here.
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  How can I make myself look artsy?

  

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  Grab a pencil and stick it in your hair. Make a bun and stick two pencils through it diagonally.

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Expert Interview

Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about crafting, check out our in-depth interview with Amy Guerrero.