50 Summer Art Projects for Kids to Beat Boredom
The long summer days stretch out, and by mid-July the "I'm bored" chorus starts around lunchtime. We hear it too, at our own kitchen table, most afternoons.
So we pulled together fifty summer art projects that have actually worked for us, grouped by theme so you can jump to whatever fits the day. Some are quiet, tidy afternoon projects. Others are gloriously messy backyard days. All of them use supplies you probably already have, and most are easy enough for little hands to manage with a bit of help.
You do not need a craft budget or a Pinterest-perfect setup. You need paper, paint, and a little willingness to let things get colorful. Let's get creative.
Why Summer Is the Best Time for Kids' Art
Summer takes the pressure off. There is no homework racing the clock, and the light lasts until bedtime, so a project can spread across a whole lazy afternoon.
We have found that keeping art within reach changes everything. When the supplies live somewhere the kids can grab them, they create on their own instead of asking us to set things up each time. That small shift is what carries the whole season.
Warm weather also opens the back door. The bold, splattery projects that would wreck a kitchen become perfectly welcome on the patio, where a garden hose handles the cleanup.
What You'll Need (Basic Summer Art Supplies)
You can run almost every project below from one well-stocked box. Here is what earns its place in ours.
Start with washable kid-friendly paint, a stack of paper plates, cardstock, glue sticks, safety scissors, and a set of markers. Add googly eyes, ribbon, and a bag of craft sticks for the ocean and puppet projects. Keep cornstarch, food coloring, and shaving cream on hand for the homemade paint recipes.
None of it has to be new or fancy. We buy the big washable paint bottles when they go on sale and refill smaller cups all summer long. The recycling bin fills in the rest, with egg cartons, tin cans, and cardboard tubes waiting their turn to become bees, pencil holders, and paper fish.
Parent tipSet up an accessible art cart or a low shelf the kids can reach themselves. When supplies are within reach, children create independently all summer long instead of waiting on you to fetch and pour.
Ocean & Under-the-Sea Art Projects
The ocean is the summer theme our kids come back to most. These eight lean on blues, greens, and a lot of imagination.
1. Paper Plate Jellyfish
Cut a paper plate into a dome, paint it a bright sea color, and glue ribbon tentacles of different lengths around the cut edge. Add felt-circle eyes and staple a ribbon loop on the back so it can hang. Our eight-year-old did the whole thing solo, while our five-year-old needed a hand with the cutting. You can get the full tutorial from Arty Crafty Kids.
Parent tipGlitter divides kids and grown-ups in every house we know. Swap in sequins or shiny embellishments and you get the same shimmer without finding sparkle in the couch cushions for a week.
2. Whale Stick Puppet
This one turns into a puppet the kids actually play with afterward. Print a whale template, color it, and glue it to a jumbo craft stick with a little rolled paper water spout on top. The Kids Craft Room version comes in nine color choices plus a black-and-white one your kids can color themselves.
3. Black Glue Jellyfish
Outline a jellyfish in black glue on paper and let it dry into raised lines. Fill the sections with watercolor the next day. The dried glue holds each color in its own little bay, which our kids find oddly satisfying.
4. Ocean Salt Painting
Draw waves with glue, sprinkle salt over the wet lines, then touch a loaded watercolor brush to the salt and watch the color travel. It is a small bit of science tucked inside a craft.
5. Coral Reef Collage
Tear scraps of orange, pink, and purple paper into branching shapes and glue them into a reef. Cotton swabs dipped in paint make quick coral dots. It is a forgiving project with no wrong answer.
6. Torn-Paper Ocean Scene
Layer torn strips of blue and green tissue to build water, then add paper fish on top. Little ones love the tearing part as much as the gluing.
7. Tissue Paper Ocean Suncatcher
Press small squares of blue and green tissue onto sticky shelf liner, seal it with a second sheet, and hang it in a sunny window. Keep the sizing loose and let the kids fill the space however they like.
Watch outAny suncatcher or stained-glass style project that needs an iron stays an adult-run job. Hand the kids the fun parts and keep the hot tool firmly in grown-up hands.
Paper-Plate Summer Crafts
Paper plates are our reliable low-friction pick. There is almost no prep and almost no mess, which makes them the answer on the days when everyone's energy is running short.
8. Paper Plate Sun
Paint a plate yellow, glue a paper sun face in the center, and cut ray points from orange cardstock behind it. Two or three thin coats of paint give the brightest finish. You can grab the printable face from Simple Everyday Mom.
Parent tipPaint-heavy plate crafts genuinely need those thin coats to dry, and waiting tests everyone's patience. A hairdryer on low rescues an impatient afternoon and gets you to the gluing step faster.
9. Paper Plate Watermelon
Paint the plate's rim green and the center red, then dot on black seeds with a marker or a fingertip. Fold it in half for an instant watermelon slice.
10. Paper Plate Crab
Paint a plate red, fold it in half, and add folded-paper legs and two big claws. Googly eyes on paper stalks finish the face.
11. Paper Plate Fish
Cut a wedge from one side of the plate and glue it on as a tail. Paint on scales, add an eye, and you have a fish in about ten minutes.
12. Paper Plate Sunflower
Paint the center brown, glue yellow petals cut from cardstock around the rim, and press on real sunflower seeds if you have them. A cheerful window decoration for the season.
13. Paper Plate Ice Cream Cone
Cut the plate into a scoop shape, paint it a fun flavor, and glue it onto a brown paper cone. A pom-pom cherry on top is optional but popular here.
Ice Cream Crafts & Painting
Nothing says summer to our kids quite like ice cream. These five let them build the treat instead of eating it, which lasts a good deal longer.
14. Puffy Paint Ice Cream Cones
Mix equal parts foam shaving cream and white glue to make puffy paint, then pile it onto a paper cone for a scoop with real cloud-like texture. Use the foam kind, not gel, or the scoops go flat instead of fluffy.
15. Popsicle Print Painting
Cut a popsicle shape from a sponge or potato and stamp it in bright colors across a page, Warhol style. A row of mismatched popsicles makes a poster the kids are proud of.
16. Paper Ice Cream Sundae Collage
Layer paper scoops, a paper cherry, and squiggles of glue "sauce" into a towering sundae. Older kids like adding a paper straw and a real napkin under the bowl.
17. Cotton Ball Ice Cream Scoops
Dab cotton balls in a little watered-down paint and glue them onto a paper cone as fluffy scoops. This one suits our youngest perfectly.
18. Ice Cream Watercolor Cards
Paint soft scoops in watercolor, let them dry, and fold into a card for a summer birthday. The bleed of the colors looks just like melting.
Handprint & Footprint Art
These are the keepsakes. Once the paint dries, a handprint craft lasts the whole season, and it is worth the drying-time wait to catch this year's tiny hands.
19. Handprint Fish
Press a painted hand sideways onto paper so the fingers become a flowing tail. Add an eye and some bubbles, and the fish practically swims.
20. Footprint Flip-Flops
Print two painted feet side by side, then draw on the flip-flop straps and decorate them with dots. A funny, giggly project that needs a wet cloth close by.
21. Handprint Octopus
Print a hand with fingers spread, flip it so the fingers hang down as eight-ish legs, and add a face and suckers. Nobody minds that it is short a couple of arms.
22. Handprint Sun
Paint palms yellow and print them in a ring to make sun rays around a painted center. Toddlers love that they are the stamp.
23. Footprint Popsicle
One painted footprint becomes the popsicle, and a craft-stick drawn at the heel becomes the handle. Sweet and quick.
24. Handprint Palm Tree
Print a brown handprint and forearm as the trunk, then add green paper fronds at the top. A tropical scene starts from one arm.
Painting & Watercolor Projects
When we want color without a specific end product, we lean into process painting. The doing is the whole point, and the results always surprise us.
25. Ice Cube Paint
Freeze watered-down paint in an ice tray with craft sticks for handles, then paint as the cubes melt. There are no tins or palettes to spill, which makes this one genuinely mess-friendly for the youngest hands.
26. Bubble Painting
Add a squirt of paint and dish soap to water, blow bubbles with a straw until they dome over the cup, then press paper on top to capture the burst pattern. Endlessly repeatable.
27. Salt Watercolor Resist
Brush watercolor over a page, sprinkle salt while it is wet, and let the crystals pull the pigment into frosty blooms. Brush the salt off once dry.
28. Watercolor Beach Scene
Wash blue across the top for sky and sea, leave a sandy band below, and add a tiny paper umbrella. A calm, satisfying afternoon project.
29. Splatter Painting
Load a brush and flick it across a big sheet, Pollock style, in every color at once. This is a backyard job. The bold, messy ones really do need to go outside to protect the house.
30. Fly-Swatter Painting
Dip a clean fly swatter in paint and thwack it onto paper for a burst of dots. Loud, silly, and best done on the grass.
Outdoor & Sidewalk Chalk Art
Summer earns its keep outdoors. These projects want fresh air, and most of them rinse away with a garden hose.
31. Homemade Sidewalk Chalk Paint
Mix cornstarch, water, and food coloring into a pourable paint and let the kids brush it across the driveway. It washes straight off the pavement with the hose, so even a big patio mess cleans up in minutes.
Parent tipWhen a painting session is going to be big, skip the tempera and reach for cornstarch chalk paint on the pavement. It hoses off completely, so you can say yes to the mess without dreading the aftermath.
32. Spray Bottle Painting
Fill spray bottles with watery paint and let kids mist a big sheet taped to a fence. The squeezing builds little hands' grip strength without them noticing.
33. Water Gun Painting
Load water guns with thin paint and fire at paper pinned to the fence. It is as fun as it sounds, and it belongs firmly in the backyard.
34. Chalk Pastel Sunsets
Blend chalk pastels into a smudgy sunset with fingertips, layering warm colors into cool ones. Older kids get lost in the blending.
35. Sidewalk Shadow Tracing
Trace a friend's shadow on the driveway in the morning, then fill it in with chalk details. Come back at noon and see how far it moved.
36. Nature Paintbrushes
Bundle grass, leaves, and small twigs onto sticks with rubber bands, then paint with the textures they make. A free craft that starts in the yard.
Rock Painting & Nature Crafts
The best supplies for these are the ones the kids find themselves. A walk becomes the shopping trip.
37. Painted Story Rocks
Paint simple pictures on smooth rocks, then line them up to tell a story. We keep ours in a jar and rearrange them into new tales.
38. Ladybug Rocks
Paint a rock red, add black dots and a head, and you have a garden ladybug. Preschoolers can manage the whole thing.
39. Pressed Flower Suncatchers
Press summer flowers flat for a few days, arrange them between sticky sheets, and hang them where the light catches. Slow but lovely.
40. Nature Collage
Glue leaves, petals, and seed pods into a picture on cardboard. There is no right way, which is exactly why it works.
41. Leaf Rubbings
Lay a leaf under paper and rub the side of a crayon over it to bring out the veins. A quiet classic that never fails.
42. Fork-Print Hyacinth Flowers
Dip the back of a fork in paint and stamp rows of little petals up a stem to build a hyacinth. You can find a tutorial for this handprint-style flower from I Heart Crafty Things, and it adapts easily to whatever colors you have.
Recycled & Everyday-Materials Crafts
The recycling bin is a craft store in disguise. These five turn everyday castoffs into something worth keeping.
43. Egg Carton Bee
Cut a single cup from an egg carton, paint it yellow, and thread black yarn through slits for stripes. Add googly eyes and paper wings, then hang it on a string. Get the full steps from Buggy and Buddy.
Parent tipIf your egg carton is dark or printed, brush on a white base coat before the yellow. That one extra layer is the difference between a bright bee and a muddy one.
44. Egg Carton Flowers
Cut cups into petal shapes, paint them in bright colors, and add a bead or button center. Glue them to a paper stem for a bouquet that never wilts.
45. Tin Can Pencil Holder
Wrap a decorated paper base around a clean tin can to make a watermelon or a pineapple holder with a green paper crown. It is a quick upcycle that carries nicely into back-to-school season, and Red Ted Art has the template.
46. Cardboard Tube Fish
Flatten one end of a paper tube, staple it into a tail, and paint on scales. A whole school of fish comes from a week of paper towels.
47. Watermelon Greeting Card
Cut a red half-circle on dark green cardstock, glue on nine black paper seeds along the edge, and write "You're one in a melon" inside. It is simple enough for preschoolers and great cutting and gluing practice, with the printable via The Best Ideas for Kids.
Toddler & Preschool-Friendly Summer Art
The littlest ones want in on everything. These three keep the mess low and the joy high for our youngest crafters.
48. Frozen Ice Paint
Freeze blobs of finger paint and let a toddler push them around a tray as they melt. No brushes, no pots to tip over, just cold color and busy hands.
49. Contact Paper Collage
Tape a sheet of contact paper sticky-side out to a window and hand over torn tissue and pom-poms to press on. No glue and no fuss, and it comes down clean.
50. Sponge Stamp Painting
Cut sponges into simple shapes, dip them in paint, and stamp away. Chunky sponges are easy for small fists to grip, and the shapes come out crisp.
How to Display Your Child's Summer Artwork
A season of art deserves better than the recycling bin. A little display turns the effort into pride.
We string a length of twine across a wall and clip the week's work up with clothespins, then swap it out as new pieces arrive. A cheap frame with a hinged front lets you rotate a favorite without a fresh nail each time.
For the keepsakes, especially the handprints, we snap a photo of the whole collection and print a small book at summer's end. The originals fade and curl, but the little hands are captured for good. A few favorites go up in a cheap frame in the hallway, and the kids beam every time they pass one. Displaying the work tells them the making mattered, which is half the reason they keep coming back to the table.
Summer Art FAQ
What summer art supplies do I need to get started?
Less than you think. Washable paint, paper plates, cardstock, glue sticks, safety scissors, and markers cover most of the projects here. Add googly eyes, ribbon, and craft sticks for the ocean crafts, and keep cornstarch, food coloring, and shaving cream on hand for the homemade paint recipes.
What are easy summer art projects for toddlers and preschoolers?
Stick to the low-mess, no-cutting projects. Frozen ice paint, sponge stamping, contact paper collages, and handprint crafts all suit little ones well. Ice cube paints are a favorite because there are no tins or palettes to spill, so the youngest hands can go at them freely.
How do we do summer art projects outdoors without a big mess?
Take the bold projects to the backyard by design. Spray painting, chalk bombs, and splatter work belong on the grass or patio, not the kitchen. Cornstarch chalk paint on the driveway is the tidiest option of all, since it rinses straight off the pavement with a garden hose.
Which of these work for a group of kids or a summer camp?
The paper-plate crafts and process painting projects scale beautifully. They need almost no prep, forgive a wide range of ages, and let each child make their own version. Set up a supply station everyone can reach and let the group work through it at their own pace.
Final Thoughts
Fifty projects is more than enough to carry a family from June to August, and you do not need to do them all. Pick the ones that fit the day's mood and the supplies in your box, and let the rest wait.
The real trick is keeping art within reach and saying yes to a bit of mess. Do that, and the boredom takes care of itself all summer long.
