20. Spongebob and Patrick straws
Print a black and white drawing picture out on yellow and pink paper, or draw them yourself, the kids can glue socks and eyes on them and add some colors. Stick them with double- sided – tape on the straws.

19. Recycled tetra packs boxes
Remove the top and bottom from the tetra packs. Cut strips from 1/2-1 inch and braid them into a square mat. And tape all over. Then, as you learned in your period on nursery school, fold a box. For the lid, you make the strips a little bit broader.

18. Are Glossy magazines recyclable?
Yes, they are. I always found it a shame to throw those beautiful Glossy’s in the old paper box, so we found a way to recycle Glossies. We have made a purse from it, but you can even make a creative paper bag from it. Glossy paper is very sturdy and perfect for crafting.


A purse from Glossies
Tear pages out of the Glossy and fold them into strips of 1/2 – 1 inch, braid a square mat of it. Stick the mat completely with adhesive tape cut the mat straight and fold it into three.
Sew a button on it and make a Velcro closure
There lies a real artist in every child, one of them asks: “Can you print out “I love you” a hundred thousand times for me? So I can fold an I love you purse, a wonderful idea for a homemade gift for Valentine. Kids are inventive in making art and elevate it into a craft.

You can see on the above picture what you need for transferring Glossies into purses or boxes.
17. Jenga Keychains
In the second-hand circuit, I found the game Jenga.
For fathers day, mothers day or birthdays you can make this present.
We searched in the store’s wallpaper samples and we used a vinyl tablecloth and lace, further, you need a particular type of bracket (see picture) and double-sided tape.
When you have a smooth wallpaper you can personalize the key chain by printing the person’s name on it.

And you can pimp it up with ribbon, beads, rings and clips
16. Painting with leaves
You get the most creative results when you use leaves as a brush
Just dip the leave in the paint, put it on the paper and watch!and when you have finished your painting, you can use it to wrap or decorate anything.



We used empty soap boxes
and we have made a handle on from an old bicycle tire
15. “I -DAD”
I love dad
What a joy to get such a present as Dad
For this you need a printer, to print the apps, black cardboard (in this case an old shoebox, had a lovely shine) and a lot of inspiration to invent what you place behind the apps.
f.i. we printed an I love you mail in letter form 8, we made a thumbs up foto film, made the keyword “(love)”, made up an “I’m here, daddy twitter account, put a picture in, etc.
15. Every app contains a message

We created an “I love DAD” envelope as gift wrap.
14. Magic Beer Cans
Give beer cans a new life as a flower pot or tealight holder.
Use an old scissor.


Prepare the cans for the children in advance, so they only have to fold
The kids have to be warned to be careful, it can be sharp




13. Money-box
For this, we used a pringle bus. Make in the lid a money slit. We have pasted it with blackboard foil. On top of that a few thumbnail pictures from the boy or girl with funny faces. Accompanied with inscriptions such as Wealth and Treasure and a piece of chalk with it. At last, we made a hanging cord from lace and beads.

Art and Crafting Ideas at Low Cost that Kids will Love
12. An other cup of coffee


For this, you need a cup and saucer, a wooden stick, some seeds and peanuts, and a glue gun.
The kids where so proud of their homemade gifts for the birds.
The birds loved them!
11. Flowers and feathers


Go into the garden and pick a few flowers, or if you don’t have flowers, take some twigs, combine it with the feathers and put them in a jar or pot.
Wow. Can’t believe how MANY ideas you have here. This could keep kids busy for YEARS!
I still have hanging on our bedroom walls the “greatest hits” of our kids art through the years. As the years go by I actually see more in them than I did at first. Little geniuses!
Number 6 looks cool. Did your kids do that??
Thank you, yes my son made #6 when he was 9 years of age, I have here a couple of real artists in my daycare. You may want to bookmark this page, for when the grandchildren invade your home 😉
Thank you for your nice comment, Loes
I love this site. The layout is quirky and fun, the colors are happy and it is so full of great ideas for kids. I would like to link it to my site familieshavefun, which is about things families can do together.
My gran daughter is coming to stay soon so I will be checking up thisiskidsart regularly for the 3 months she is here.
Thank you Loes for all the work and creative ideas.
Thank you, Judy, very nice to hear that:) And I welcome you to link to my website, I ♥ it:) You may even use one of my banners for it


or this one
Have some great creative days with your granddaughter, Judy
Kind regards, Loes
Hi Loes! I love your site. So professional and colorful. So many great ideas to engage children. What would you say is your most popular item?
Hi Tim, thank you, I think the most popular item are the magic beer cans, easy and very rewarding 🙂 See you around! More will follow….
Loes