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The clouds are finally starting to break, the air is getting warmer, tiny flowers are peeking through the soil and — hallelujah — it stays light past 6 p.m. Spring in Puget Sound is making its grand entrance!
With the change in seasons, my kids get so excited to spend more time outside and dive into fun spring-themed crafts. If your little ones are the same, you’re in luck! From colorful pinwheels and fizzy paint to adorable “dirt” snacks, there’s something here to spark joy and creativity for everyone.
Coffee filter butterflies
These sweet butterflies are easy to make and use simple supplies that you probably already have at home (or can get at a dollar store). Start by drawing a pattern on a coffee filter with markers. Next, spray the filter with water and watch the colors bleed together, making a beautiful tie-dye pattern. After the filter dries, gather it together with a clothespin and you’re done! Head to Organized Island for more details.
Pressed flower suncatcher
Don’t you wish you could enjoy flowers from your garden all year? With this craft, you can! As flowers start to bloom, gather your favorites from the yard and make this sweet suncatcher, sure to bring springtime joy all year long. Kim at The Best Ideas for Kids will walk you through this project step-by-step.
Toilet roll flower stamps
I always love a craft that makes use of something that is already lying around my house (extra points for pulling something out of the recycle bin!). Michelle at Taming Little Monsters has a great tutorial, including detailed instructions and a video, that will have you and your kids stamping up flower patterns in no time.
Handprint lilies
There is something sweet about projects made from your child’s handprint. This cute paper lilies spring craft is made by cutting out a tracing of your child’s hand and simply curling back the fingers and attaching a few pipe cleaners. Head to One Little Project for a great tutorial and start making bouquets today.
Bug rings
One thing that comes along with the return of spring, for better or worse, are bugs! Kids can wear their favorite bugs on their fingers with these cute (and simple!) printable bug rings. You can download the templates for this spring craft at Easy Peasy and Fun, color your favorite and sport your new bug bling today.
Signs of spring
We love these colorful garden markers featured on Imagine Childhood. Using well-known street signs and a color-coded system as inspiration for each veggie, these neat markers are yet another easy way to get your kids involved in the garden — and you’ll only need a handful of craft supplies to make them!
Be sure to check out the site for the full scoop (and fantastic photography) on this neat spring activity. I love the very clever “lettuce crossing” sign.
Color matching
We love seeing the clever ideas out there for using colorful paint chips in crafts — and this DIY outdoor color-matching spring activity featured on Inner Child Fun is no exception!
Mom Valerie says that this homemade game was an absolute hit with her daughter, as they scouted a nearby park for the various colors and hues included. To get started on your own spring color-matching adventure, simply punch a hole in the corner of your paint chip cards, connect them with a binder ring, and you’re all set for a colorful day out!
Standing tall
Dad Joel of the ever-amazing craft blog Made by Joel features this spring activity idea for making wooden stilts for toddlers. And, really, nothing beats clomping around the yard on a warm, sunny day!
To make your own, you’ll need to have rope, wooden blocks and a drill on hand. Joel chose to make his blocks with two-by-four pieces of wood, though he notes that as his little ones get older, he plans on making the blocks a little taller. Be sure to check out his full post for plenty of close-up images of these cool DIY toddler stilts!
Let it glow
We love this idea for transforming a plain Mason jar into a beautiful spring craft lantern, like these gorgeous DIY jars featured on We Bloom Here.
To make this great project for younger children, simply paste some white kite or tissue paper onto a jar or vase with Mod Podge and then attach your desired colorful shapes or decorations. Mama Margaret recommends brushing a final coat of Mod Podge onto the jar to give it a shiny look and to ensure that your spring-inspired decorations will stay put for years to come. Overall, this is a super-simple project that will look beautiful on any windowsill or mantel.
Edible art
Wondering what to do with that extra lemon balm or rosemary in the garden? Check out this fantastic idea from Seattle blog Kids Haus for making ice cubes with edible flowers and herbs!
Mama Michelle explains that she and her daughter froze various herbs and flowers into ice cube trays with fun shapes and then drank the cubes with a refreshing batch of homemade lemonade. Certainly one “cool” idea that even the adults are sure to enjoy — plus, it’s a great way to take advantage of your backyard’s delicious edibles.
Shadow caster
Crafty Mama Rachelle of TinkerLab shares this neat afternoon spring activity for tracing your child’s shadow. Perfect for when you’re in a pinch and in need of a little outdoor time, this project is simple in premise, yet has plenty of promise for a creative spring day!
Rachelle recommends this activity for when the sun is low and says that it provides a great opportunity for children to look at things from a new perspective (a key ingredient in creative thinking, she notes!). As expected, it’s incredibly easy — all that is required is a little bit of sunshine, some colorful sidewalk chalk and a pint-sized muse who is willing to sit for a shadow portrait. (Butterfly wings are optional, but are always a bonus!)
Spring flowers
Head to Make and Takes for a tutorial on making a spring flower accordion collage. What a gorgeous idea!
Easy for small hands to create, this project is a great one for younger kids who love to get busy at the art table. To make your own spring collage, you’ll want to start with a sturdy piece of light cardboard or poster board for the accordion base, and have glue on hand for adding floral flair. Amy offers up a variety of ideas for materials that can be used on your spring blooms, including pipe cleaners, ribbons, yarn, craft foam, straws, painted popsicle sticks, felt, strips of colorful paper and much more. Check out the full post for additional ideas and tips on getting started.
Stick stack
Though Mom Sarah of Imagine Childhood came up with this clever “Stick Stack” game for summer, we think it’d be just as fun for spring days filled with T-shirt weather and plenty of outdoor play!
To make your own Jenga-esque “Stick Stack” game, simply gather up some backyard sticks and crafty odds and ends from around the house that won’t be missed after they’re painted in bright colors and included in your new handy game sack. Sarah’s clan made wooden point tokens that were given for structure placement and they assigned different values for objects ranging from easy to hard. The options for what you can include in your own game and the structures that your little ones can make from them are truly endless. Check out the rest of Sarah’s great “Stick Stack” ideas for more tips.
Dirt treats
For the kids who are hungry for actual food, we love this idea for whipping up a dirt dessert — compliments of No Time for Flash Cards.
Made using gummy worms, Jell-O, rock candies, chocolate pudding and Oreos, this is certainly one worm-filled dirty dish that will leave everyone smiling after a day of digging in the garden. Check out the rest of the post for the full recipe, a fun worm song and recommendations for children’s books that recount neat gardening-themed stories.
Dino dig
Got a couple of young dino lovers at home? Don’t miss out on Motherhood on a Dime’s excellent idea for making a dinosaur excavation sensory tub. Perfect for a home sandbox or for a sunny day spent on the porch, this activity is easy to put together, and we’re sure your young paleontologists will have a blast seeing what they can discover.
Wind chimes
Mom Jamie of Hands On As We Grow shares how she and her preschooler made these neat DIY wind chimes with tin cans found in the recycling bin. Talk about upcycling your trash into treasure!
After gathering their cans and lids in different sizes, Jamie taped the edges to prevent cuts and then let her son get busy adding plenty of paint (and glitter) to the cans. For hanging and plenty of clanking, they nailed holes into the top and threaded yarn through with washers of various sizes (Jamie notes that rocks or heavy nuts would also work well for sound). Needless to say, this project was a big hit — and a bang!
Fizzing fun
Want to make your homemade sidewalk paint really pop this year? Kids Activities offers up this nifty idea for making homemade sidewalk paint that fizzes!
To make your own sidewalk paint, you’ll need to assemble cornstarch, baking soda, warm — almost hot — water and food coloring. Once your pint-sized Picassos are busy painting their sidewalk masterpieces, fill a spray bottle with vinegar and let them spray away for plenty of magical fizzing fun. The very best part about this activity: Mom Rachel says, “This paint dries very quickly — but washes off with ease!” Gotta love that.
Perfect pinwheels
We love these darling spring flower pinwheels featured on the Alpha Mom blog. Perfect for party favors, decoration or simply as a colorful afternoon craft, these mini spring twirlers are sure to please.
Easily made with colorful cardstock, jumbo paper clips, beads and dowel rods, these sweet blooming spinners may also require a bit of plier work on Mom’s part, but the rest of the construction is a matter of cutting and assembling. Be sure to check out the full post for the complete pictorial and walk-through.
More springtime fun:
Editor’s note: This article was originally published a few years ago, and updated most recently on April 3, 2025, by ParentMap’s associate editor, Kari Hanson. New crafts were added, and all other crafts on the list were fact-checked.
