20 screen-free summer crafts to keep children busy for hours

Crafter extraordinaire Haeley Giambalvo of Design Improvised worked with Country Living US to create this super colourful bird feeder made from an empty milk or fruit juice carton. Children will love making this colourful project!

To make: Cut a house-shaped hole in one of the large panels of an empty one-litre paper milk or fruit juice carton. Paint carton with craft paint. Once dry, add details using washi tape. To create a perch, poke a hole just below the opening, and insert a painted wooden dowel; glue in place. Cut 10 rainbow craft sticks to size; glue onto slope to create shingles. Add a card stock paper eave above the opening; glue in place. Glue twine under the top of the carton, and tie together to hang. Fill opening with birdseed.

A jaunt through the garden for pretty colourful flowers will provide the supplies children need to get started with this project.

Get the instructions here.

Whether your children love Taylor Swift or just making a million little knots with embroidery thread, this is the craft for them!

Get the instructions here.

Children will have so much fun crafting this game and then playing with their friends once it's complete.

To make: Use craft glue or Steam-a-Seam to attach lengths of ribbon to a small burlap bag. Gather buttons to use as the game pieces.

Whether your child loves bird-watching or spying on the neighbours (only joking!) these cardboard binoculars will keep them occupied for hours.

Get the instructions here.

Children will love watching all the birds who these pine cone feeders will bring to your garden. Let the fluttering begin!

To make: Wrap a length of string around the top stem of the pine cone. Fill the opening of the pine cone with peanut butter, then roll the whole pine cone in birdseed. Hang outside from a tree branch. Remove and refill as needed.

Children will have fun searching around the house for objects to stamp on dishtowels or napkins.

To make: Spread a thin layer of fabric paint, or an acrylic paint mixed with a fabric fixative, on a paper plate. Dip found objects, such as flower-shaped cookie cutters and oversized paper clips, in paint and stamp on dishtowels.

The children will show up to parties looking like fashionistas with their hand-painted bracelets.

To make: Use acrylic paint or paint pens to paint designs on wooden bracelets. Finish with a layer of Mod Podge if desired.

Hand-painted flowers add colour and help elevate an everyday terracotta pot from the garden centre or DIY shop. Once they've painted their pots, children will love planting flowers, ferns or herbs in their artwork.

To make: Use acrylic paint pens to draw and paint flowers on a terracotta pot. When dry, fill with a fern or a herb.

Take the kids for a quick trip to the kitchen and a stroll around the garden to gather the materials needed to make these perky bean and seed flowers.

To make: Cut flower shapes from cardboard. Use craft glue to glue beans and seeds to the cardboard. Once dry, use hot glue or tape to attach a thin branch to the back of the flowers. Fill a small pot with beans and insert sticks.

Celebrate the children through their growing years by memorialising their little hands on a dishtowel.

To make: Sew or use fusible bonding web to attach ribbon to the bottom of a flour sack dishtowel. Spread a thin layer of fabric paint, or an acrylic paint mixed with a fabric fixative, on a paper plate. Have little ones press their hands into the paint and then onto the towel. Iron to fix the paint as per the manufacturer's packaging instructions.

These DIY flowers are made from dyed coffee filters and pipe cleaners. So easy! Tip: Make these outside – dye can be quite messy and get into and onto unexpected things.

To make: Dip paper coffee filters in Cherry Red Rit Dye. Lay flat on a cooling rack fitted in a rimmed baking sheet or hang over a washing line. When dry, kink and fold the filters so they have a little movement. Use a dab of hot glue or a glue stick to glue the centres of two filters together to create petal layers. Cut a six-inch piece of black pipe cleaner and roll into a flat circle; use hot glue to glue to the centre of the poppy. Twist three green pipe cleaners together; use hot glue to glue to the back of the poppy. Arrange poppies in bud vases.

When you slice the bottom off the head, the shape mimics that of garden roses! (File that under: "Who knew?!") When dipped into a stamp pad, kids can use it to make everything from stationery to pretty tea towels.

To make: Cut two to three inches off the bottom of a head of celery. Pat the cut end dry with a paper towel. Press the cut end on a stamp pad – choose a classic rose colour like yellow or pink, or opt for a personal favourite shade. Place the cut end onto a blank note card, tapping the root side to help make an even print. Once dry, add a sweet greeting.

Kids love getting their hands dirty, and creating this fun flower-shaped bowl out of oven-baked clay will allow them to do just that. Fun for all ages (with an adult’s help with the oven).

To make: Use Sculpey (or another oven-baked clay) to form a large flower petal. Form a smaller petal and press it into the centre of the larger petal. Place plastic beads in the bottom of the bowl. Bake, as per package instructions, to melt plastic and harden clay.

There is nothing more fun and satisfying than making pom-poms! Turn the soft squishy puffs into flowers for an evergreen bouquet. Fun for all ages.

To make: Start by placing a green pipe cleaner parallel with the tines of a fork so that it extends three inches above the tines. Wrap woollen yarn perpendicularly around all the tines. Fold the three-inch section of pipe cleaner down over the yarn, slide everything off the fork, and wrap the two pieces of pipe cleaner together. Carefully cut the wrapped yarn and trim any scraggly ends. Repeat as desired. Wrap stems together with a length of ribbon.

Technically there is no crafting needed to set up this simple outdoor game. No mini bowling pins, no worries: use small plastic bottles partially filled with water instead. Let the gourd times roll! Fun for all ages.

Children will love keeping their desks in tip-top shape with a handcrafted paperweight bearing their initials. Fun for all ages.

To make: Start by cutting fabric into strips. Adhere to a small rock (2 to 3 inches) with glossy Mod Podge. Cut an initial and a heart from felt and adhere to the top of the rock. Allow to dry completely.

Children will love crafting these hand-stitched cards that they can gift to a friend or hang on their bedroom wall. Bonus, you probably have most of the supplies on hand for this project. Fun for all ages (with an adult’s help with the needle).

To make: Start by cutting a shape (try a flower or an animal shape) from medium to thick craft paper. Punch holes along the border with a small hole punch. Stitch, using embroidery thread, thin twine or yarn. Add additional flair like a pipe cleaner stem and a pretty vintage button.