Crafting with wood is very popular with children, especially when they can choose the materials themselves. Wood is a wonderful natural material that can be found everywhere outside. This means that the children are given two tasks at once - first collect the materials from nature and then make beautiful things with them. Wooden crafts also last well and can be enjoyed for a long time. Additionally, crafting with natural materials promotes manual skills. The children work with their hands and create something beautiful themselves. Crafting with driftwood is a creative but also useful hobby for old and young. We present 8 great DIY projects.
Crafting with wood – collecting materials
To help children become familiar with wood as a material, we suggest choosing driftwood as a wood alternative. The best thing to do is take the children for a walk in the forest or along the coast and let them collect pieces of wood. You can make beautiful decorations or a small, fine gift from branches and twigs. Another option would be to use scrap wood from a carpenter. Crafting with wood offers children the opportunity to familiarize themselves with this natural material. You will also learn where this material comes from and what can be created from it.
Before you start crafting with wood, you should consider the age of the child. However, children under 3 years of age are not able to handle special tools and materials and are not allowed to do so. In any case, the craft work should take place under adult supervision. In order for them to actually be a success, the little hands need a little support and maybe a hole or two here and there.
Make a kite out of driftwood with children
The first DIY project for children is to make a kite out of driftwood. The following materials are required:
- Driftwood sticks
- Papier
- cord
- Wooden beads
- Hot glue
- Scissors
- Watercolors, water and brushes
Children make a kite with driftwood
First, so to speak, the frame for the kite is made. For this you need four driftwood sticks of relatively the same size and two additional ones. With the first four you form a square; a diamond-shaped structure is recommended. Place the remaining two rods in between for support and fix them with hot glue at the points where the parts intersect. A sturdy wooden frame should be made from the pieces of driftwood.
Make and color a dragon
Have the child draw something on a piece of blank paper that fits the self-made wooden dragon frame. It can just be colorful spots or a beautiful family picture. They can use colored pencils or paint the entire area completely with a brush and watercolors. For younger children, you can offer paints from a tube that they can easily apply to the paper sheet using a plastic card. Any kind of blobs are allowed here. The main thing is that it is beautiful and colorful. When the picture is already finished and the colors are dry, measure and cut according to the dragon frame. Then fix it in some places with hot glue. You can leave these steps to children ages 5-6 and older.
Make and decorate a kite with children
All small elements can be used to decorate and decorate the driftwood dragon. These mainly have a natural origin. These can be wooden beads or wooden balls from the craft store or ones you make yourself. You can simply use driftwood and lightly sand or process it. You can also insert handmade paper bows. A loop consists of two triangles connected at the tips. Use the hot glue again here. You make the kite line out of string. Show the children how to braid the string. You are also welcome to use different colors of yarn.
We don't know whether a homemade kite made of driftwood could rise and fly properly, but crafting with wood is certainly fun not only for children, but for adults too. Because self-collected driftwood captures beautiful memories from your last vacation by the sea. Great pieces can also be found by the lake and river. You can make great decorations with a maritime look or simply arrange them beautifully. But one thing is very important - children have a task and what they make has a use later.
Create sailboats out of driftwood with children
Another beautiful thing you can make out of driftwood is great sailing boats that even float. To make a boat you need two pieces of driftwood - one slightly wider than the other, and a small piece of fabric. Depending on how many sailing boats you want to create, you should keep your eyes open for a moment the next time you take a walk on the beach with your child and look for driftwood. This project is intended for slightly older children, but with a little support it will work great with smaller ones too. Let's see how much of it is actually needed.
Make your own boat with a sail out of driftwood – materials
The following materials are required for the sailboats made of driftwood:
- Driftwood
- light cotton fabric - here white cotton lace
- Hot glue
- Scissors
- craft knife
Make driftwood sailboats: one piece serves as a mast
Pick some driftwood - the flat ones will become boats and the thin, elongated ones will become sails. You can sand the pieces of wood a bit and shape them into the shape you want. But you shouldn't overdo it because the products should ultimately look authentic.
Now make a hole in the thick piece of wood, but it doesn't have to reach the bottom side. Here you can also use a wood drill or use a craft knife to score a little bit, maybe scissors would also work. The slightly smaller piece of wood should act as a mast and will then be glued in place later.
A sail fabric is then fixed to the mast piece. A piece of coarse cotton fabric goes wonderfully with the vintage look of the product. A small piece of white cotton lace is often used, as in the example. To get the characteristic triangular shape of the sail, cut the fabric triangularly or as shown here, fold it and then fix it with hot glue.
In the meantime, the finished pole can be inserted into the other piece of wood and fixed. When selecting and assembling the pieces of wood, consider the length of the mast. You can also use wood glue for this to avoid unsightly stains on the driftwood.
Crafting with driftwood: make your own sailboat garland
This great idea is an extension of the previous one. Here the sailing boats are smaller and built a little differently. The mast here consists of a small wooden skewer. The sail, on the other hand, is made from two triangular pieces of fabric tied together at the top of the mast. This means that a string is pulled through and a garland is created from the several sailing boats. Really cool decoration idea for decorating in a maritime look.
Paint the driftwood
Children can easily design driftwood sticks and simply paint them in a colorful way. All you should do beforehand is clean the driftwood. Take an old toothbrush, brush and wash thoroughly with a little soap or detergent to remove any remaining water and salt from the sea.
Make funny dolls out of driftwood
Now children can playfully design the driftwood. These sometimes become funny dolls or monsters. They look really funny with googly eyes added, right?
Create stars out of driftwood with children
In just a few steps and with a little support, every child can make something really beautiful out of driftwood. Ultimately, it's surprising how you can suddenly transform a piece of wood and give the material more character.
