Popsicle stick, paper plate and toilet roll crafts for kids

Some of the best kids' crafts come from the simplest materials. Popsicle sticks, paper plates, toilet paper rolls and egg cartons are cheap, easy to find and endlessly versatile. This guide has popsicle stick crafts, paper plate crafts, toilet roll crafts and egg carton crafts for kids, with tips for saving materials and ideas for every age.

Start a craft recycling box

Before you begin, start saving. Rinse and dry egg cartons, flatten toilet rolls and paper towel tubes, and keep clean paper plates, bottle tops and cardboard boxes in one box. Buy a pack of popsicle sticks (craft sticks), and you are ready for weeks of crafting. Add glue, tape, paint, markers, pipe cleaners, googly eyes and a stack of coloring pages to color and cut out.

Popsicle stick crafts for kids

1. Picture frames. Glue four sticks into a square, decorate and add a photo.
2. Puppets. Color characters from the animal coloring pages, cut them out and tape them to sticks for a puppet show.
3. Snowflakes. Glue three sticks into a star and decorate with sequins.
4. Rafts. Glue sticks side by side, add a paper sail and see if it floats.
5. Bookmarks. Decorate a stick with washi tape and markers.
6. Magic wands. Glue a star to a stick, like our star wand page.
7. Puzzles. Line up sticks, tape them together, draw a picture across them, then remove the tape and mix them up.
8. Houses. Build a small house or a log cabin with sticks and glue.
9. Butterflies. Glue tissue paper wings to a stick body.
10. Flags. Paint sticks and glue them side by side to make flags.
11. Catapult. Older kids can build a mini catapult with sticks and rubber bands.
12. Number sticks. Write numbers on sticks for counting and math games.

Paper plate crafts for kids

1. Masks. Cut eye holes, decorate and add string or a stick.
2. Sun. Paint a plate yellow and add paper rays.
3. Fish. Cut a triangle for the mouth and glue it on as a tail.
4. Tambourine. Fold a plate in half with dried beans inside, staple and decorate.
5. Wreath. Cut out the middle and decorate the ring for any season.
6. Snail. Paint a spiral shell and add a paper body.
7. Clock. Write numbers around the edge and add paper hands. Great for telling time practice.
8. Animal faces. Lions, bears, cats and frogs.
9. Rainbow. Paint stripes on half a plate and add cotton wool clouds.
10. Pizza. Paint a pizza and cut it into fraction slices for fraction practice.

Toilet paper roll crafts for kids

1. Binoculars. Tape two rolls together and add a string.
2. Owls, cats and bunnies. Fold the top in to make ears and decorate.
3. Rockets. Add a paper cone, fins and flames. See space activities for kids.
4. Marble run. Tape rolls to a wall or box.
5. Pencil holder. Glue rolls to a cardboard base and decorate.
6. Bird feeder. Spread with seed butter and roll in birdseed.
7. Castle. Glue rolls together and cut the tops into turrets.
8. Fireworks stamps. Cut the end into strips, fan out and stamp in paint.
9. Animals and dinosaurs. Add legs, tails and spikes.
10. Telescope. Join rolls end to end and decorate with stars.

Egg carton crafts for kids

1. Caterpillars. Paint a row of cups and add pipe cleaner antennae.
2. Flowers. Cut out cups, paint them and add pipe cleaner stems.
3. Seed starters. Fill cups with soil and seeds. See gardening activities for kids.
4. Sorting trays. Sort beads, buttons or small toys by color.
5. Chicks. Paint cups yellow and add beaks.
6. Turtles. Paint a cup green and add a head, legs and tail.
7. Paint palette. Use the cups to hold different paint colors.
8. Counting tray. Write numbers in each cup and add the right number of objects.

Crafts by age

Toddlers

Toddlers can paint paper plates, stick tissue paper and stickers, and decorate rolls with crayons. Adults handle cutting and gluing.

Preschool

Preschoolers can make puppets, masks, binoculars, caterpillars and simple frames with a little help.

School age

Older children can build catapults, marble runs, castles, rafts and stick puzzles, and invent their own designs.

Tips for easy crafting

• Use white glue for popsicle sticks and let them dry flat.
• Paint egg cartons with thick paint or add a little glue to the paint so it sticks.
• Clothes pegs hold pieces together while glue dries.
• Cover the table with newspaper and keep wipes nearby.

Why recycled crafts are great

Recycled crafts are cheap, creative and good for the planet. They teach children to see possibilities in everyday objects and to reuse instead of throwing away, a great lesson for Earth Day and every day. For 50 more ideas, see our crafts for kids list.

Seasonal ideas with everyday materials

The same four materials work all year round:

• Spring: egg carton flowers, paper plate rainbows and popsicle stick butterflies.
• Summer: popsicle stick rafts, paper plate suns and toilet roll binoculars for nature walks.
• Fall: paper plate pumpkins, toilet roll owls and egg carton acorns.
• Winter: popsicle stick snowflakes, paper plate snowmen and toilet roll penguins.

Holidays work too: toilet roll bats and mummies for Halloween, paper plate turkeys for Thanksgiving and popsicle stick stars for Christmas.

Crafts and learning

These crafts are full of learning. Counting sticks, sorting egg cartons by color, measuring paper plate pizza slices and making a paper plate clock all practise math. Cutting and gluing build fine motor skills for writing, and building rafts and marble runs is real engineering.

Most of all, let children experiment. A toilet roll that becomes a rocket one day and a castle tower the next is exactly the kind of creative thinking these simple materials encourage.

Frequently asked questions

What can kids make with popsicle sticks?

Picture frames, puppets, snowflakes, rafts, bookmarks, magic wands, puzzles, houses and simple catapults.

What are easy paper plate crafts for preschoolers?

Masks, a sun, fish, a snail, animal faces and a paper plate rainbow are all easy for preschoolers.

How do I store craft recycling?

Keep one box for clean, dry recycling such as toilet rolls, egg cartons, paper plates and small boxes, and sort them by type so they are easy to find.