Crafts for Kids: Paint Stick Scarecrows

Paint stick scarecrows are so fun and easy to make. This is a good craft for kids of all ages. Younger kids will have fun dressing up their scarecrows with simple clothing cut from paper. Older kids can expand and make elaborate paint stick scarecrows with outfits constructed out of fabric and embellished with lots of buttons and bows!

Click here to get an idea of what a paint stick scarecrow can look like. This is a more complex one that would be good for older kids to make. You can make the project more simple for little kids by using paper for the clothing.

You will need one paint stick for each scarecrow. You can get paint sticks for free in the paint section of just about any store. If you need lots of paint sticks, you can buy them at any hardware store or paint store.

You will also need paper or fabric to dress up your scarecrow. Construction paper, card stock, colorful magazine pages and newspaper are all good options for paper. For fabric, any type of fabric scraps will do. You can also use craft felt or faux fur.

Other supplies you need are basic craft supplies like glue, paint, markers, buttons, glitter, stickers, yarn, raffia, or whatever else you can think of to dress up and decorate your scarecrows.

Start by laying the paint stick on your work space and drawing or painting on a scarecrow face. You want make sure you paint the face about two inches from the top of the stick so you will have room for the scarecrow's hat. When the face is done, it's time to dress the scarecrow.

Cut a shirt shape out of paper or fabric. Also cut out a pair of pants. If your are using fabric, you might want to stiffen the fabric by gluing it to a piece of paper or card stock so it will hold its shape. Cut a hat too. Then glue the clothing and the hat in place.

When the clothing is glued down, you can glue yarn or raffia to the sleeves and hem of the pants to create hands and feet. You can also glue on buttons, patches, or whatever else you can dream up. You can add a bandana, a bow tie, jewelry, and more! You can also add flowers to the hat. You might even try to find pictures of birds in a magazine and cut them out to glue on to the scarecrow's hat or his shoulders.

If you want your scarecrow to look good from both the front and back, cut two matching pieces of paper or fabric for the shirt, pants and hat, and glue them on each side of the stick. Then the paint stick will not show on the back side.