9 Fun, Creative Arts and Crafts Projects: Coloring Pages to Clay Pots

Arts and crafts are some of my favorite hobbies. I enjoy the thought of all the endless projects I can create, I spend hours crafting alone, or with my three grandchildren. I really love teaching them how to be creative. I also enjoy doing arts & crafts with the senior citizens at the retirement home that I work in, as it brightens their day and cheers them up. Arts and crafts are good therapy for the senior citizens, as it keeps their hands busy, as well as giving the hands a workout, which helps the hands with stiffness from being inactive, also it helps their minds to keep busy and alert, not to mention it is a social gathering for the senior citizens as well. After our craft sessions , we have coffee, tea and cake or pie, we sit around chatting and sharing stories, a good time is had by everyone.

There are many easy and simple craft projects the children and seniors can make. My grandchildren and my seniors enjoy making crafts for every holiday as well. My grandchildren decorate the house and windows with their decorations, and my seniors enjoy showing off their crafts in our resident dining room , also visitors enjoy seeing what they have made and my grandchildren and seniors face's just light right up with joy!

Some of my favorite projects are:

Coloring Pages : I print them out on my computer for them ( even my seniors enjoy this project). I guess we are all kids at heart!

Pine cone Decorating: We use many different colors of paint and glitters for this project, we then decide what to do with them when we are done. I let them think up their own designs and creations.

Simple magnets: We can make magnets from just about anything, glass stones, jewelry, toys, seashells etc. Sometimes we even make simple straw hats and wreaths.

Bracelets & necklaces: The grandchildren and the seniors enjoy working with all the colorful beads and other little trinkets, they also make great gifts.

Trinket boxes: These boxes come in many different shapes and sizes, we paint and stencil the boxes, or whatever strikes our fancy at the moment.

Ceramic Painting: I buy ceramics from the dollar store, there are tons to choose from, they can be hung on the wall, or even have little knick knacks to paint. Everyone enjoys painting these ceramic pieces.

Stick People: What can I say, these stick people are so much fun to make! , both Popsicle or craft sticks work very well, you can use just about any materials & craft items to create these cute stick people, you can even make stick animals. You can even use clothes pins if you want to. The kids get such a kick out of playing with them!

Paper Plate Faces: The kids really love this one! All you need are cheap paper plates, crayons or paint, glue and ribbons. Paper plate faces can be made as a wall hanging, a mask or just display it on mom and grandma's fridge. You can also make paper plate clocks ( I remember this when I was a child ) and teach younger children to tell time.

Decorative Clay Pots: This is a fun project for young and old alike, decorate any size clay pot anyway you want, you can paint them, stencil, add buttons, OR just mix it up, anyway you want to, Then just add a plant to the pot, and there you go, keep it for yourself, or give it away for a gift.

These are just a few of the craft projects we do, and most of the craft items we use can be bought at the dollar store. Crafting is a wonderful way to spend time with children and our Senior citizens, it's not just about making something, it's about spending quality time with others, enjoying each others company and having fun!