Kids' Summer Crafts

Help your child transform her beach discoveries into adorable shell creatures.

On the Fourth of July, teach kids how to make these patriotic whirligigs that spin in the wind.

Any beachcomber will enjoy this beachy project, which requires nothing more than shells, sticks, and string.

On your next nature walk, don't keep the treasures your child picks up in your pockets -- make instant jewelry with just a little tape.

This fun project is easy to make with items you have on hand -- all it takes is white bread, glue, a few drops of lemon juice, and acrylic or tempera paint.

Give any plain pair of specs movie-star status with a few embellishments.

Whip out those pinking or scalloping scissors and start cutting this simple summer craft.

Teach your child to recycle by transforming those odd buttons in your sewing kit into a cute bracelet.

Blowing the perfect bubble depends on equal parts science and magic. With a few twists of wire, you can make fantastic bubble wands and spend long, lazy days practicing your technique.

You can keep vacation memories a little stronger a little longer with vacation memory jars. Filled with souvenirs collected on trips and pictures developed afterward, they are like little worlds that can be visited again and again. Kids can also add to them or rearrange them anytime they like.

A picnic at the beach deserves the proper dishes -- what could be more fitting than colorful plates posing as a lobster, sun, and seagull?

All kids need to create a seaside-inspired diorama are food tins, natural objects, and old maps.

This toy jungle was made out of toy packaging; kids can cut their own frame from cardboard and tape or glue it to a box.

Great for a game of tag on a scorching hot day, squishy sponge balls (made from kitchen sponges) are summer's alternative to snowballs. They also make a family chore like car-washing more fun.