It's a well-known fact that arts and crafts make us happy and calm, as does spending time outdoors. So this summer, let’s combine the two!
Whether you're heading to camp or spending time at home this season, meet our favorite summer-camp-inspired crafts to get everyone outdoors. While you’re here, don’t forget to get creative with our very own DeeBee’s Koozie Catcher template and Summer Coloring Page Template!
The Health Benefits of Crafting More Often
Aside from being a fun way to spend time alone or with friends, engaging in arts and crafts has numerous health benefits. The relaxing, repetitive motions we make while creating work to ease muscle tension and reduce any mental stress we may have. In addition, crafting with peers or a community circle is also a great way to build our social skills, and bond with unexpected people. This is why crafts and creativity are a beloved part of summer camps—they keep us calm and help foster friendship! But what are the direct benefits of creating more often?
- Working on arts and crafts projects helps reduce stress
- Crafting increases serotonin and makes us happier!
- Working on crafts with the people around us can help build community and interpersonal understanding.
- Immersing ourselves in creating something new helps reduce irritability or restlessness
- Repetitive arts and crafts projects are a great way to fall asleep faster
- That great feeling when finishing a project helps build self-esteem and confidence!
Meet the Best Arts and Crafts Projects of the Summer
Ready to start crafting and share these fantastic benefits with those around you? Bring summer camp back home with our favorite arts and crafts projects of the season. Psst: did we mention you can join in on the fun with our exclusive Koozie Catcher template and Summer Coloring page available here?
- Create a fun Koozie Catcher using this DeeBee’s Koozie Catcher template! If you're a fan of fortune tellers or activity-based crafts, simply print our template, cut along the dotted lines, fold, and head outdoors! Our favorite part about this summer-camp-inspired activity is that it not only provides some quiet creative time, but also lets you explore the outdoors with friends!
- Spend an afternoon creating friendship bracelets. Fiber arts are one of the most engaging crafts out there, and can easily be done in the sun too! Enjoy an afternoon in the backyard weaving together embroidery floss or thin yarn, and adding beads with friends. You can even make bracelets solo to exchange with others as tokens of friendship, and incorporate scrap fabrics and felts found at home to make each bracelet unique.
- Combine reusing an egg carton, painting, and the outdoors with this color-matching game! Just watch our 30-second video tutorial on painting the bottom of each depression of an egg carton with a different color of the rainbow, then get outside and fill each of the 12 sections with natural items that match the corresponding color! This activity is a great way to enjoy an outdoor scavenger hunt, paint, and appreciate the colors of nature all at once.
- Make beautiful nature crowns for each other. Start by making a basic crown from construction paper, then apply double-sided tape along the length of the crown and head outdoors! Next, collect your favorite flat objects from nature (like leaves with interesting shapes and beautiful flower petals) and stick them to the tape, making a beautiful nature crown. We also love to swap these with friends at the end to see what everyone's favorite parts of nature are.
- It’s always a good time to bring out the crayons and start coloring! We love to spend sunny afternoons coloring on the deck, so we created this exclusive summer-camp-inspired coloring sheet just for you. Invite some friends over, enjoy a SuperFruit Freezie or two, and experience the delight of adding color to a page. We even love to cut and exchange the colored badges!
- We love creating shadow paintings outdoors using objects from nature. Hold a flower, leaf, or pinecone approximately a ruler’s distance from the paper, allowing the shadow of the object to fall on the sheet. Next, paint the outline of the shadow you see and get creative for the inside! This is a great activity to do with friends in a backyard, garden, or forest.
