Paper Crafts for Kids: 20 Easy Projects With Steps

Paper crafts are the easiest crafts to start because almost everyone has paper, scissors and glue at home. The 20 paper crafts for kids below come with short steps, a materials list and a rough age guide. Pick one that fits your child's skills, or try a couple in a row for a full craft afternoon.

What you need

A basic paper craft kit fits in one box:

• Plain paper, construction paper or printer paper
• Child-safe scissors
• Glue sticks and liquid glue
• Tape
• Crayons, markers or colored pencils
• A ruler
• Scrap paper or old magazines for collage

Use a plastic tablecloth or newspaper to protect the table. Young kids need an adult for scissors, and any craft with small pieces like googly eyes should stay away from children under three.

Quick guide by age

Easy paper crafts (ages 3 to 6)

1. Paper chain

1. Cut paper into strips about 1 inch wide and 8 inches long.
2. Make a loop with the first strip and tape or glue the ends.
3. Thread the next strip through the loop and fasten it.
4. Keep going until the chain is as long as you like.

Make one chain for each day you count down to a birthday or holiday.

2. Handprint animals

1. Trace your child's hand on colored paper and cut it out.
2. Turn it into a turkey, a bird, a dragon or a tree by adding eyes and details with crayons.
3. Glue it onto a background sheet.

3. Torn-paper collage

1. Draw a simple shape, like a fish or a sun, on a sheet of paper.
2. Tear colored paper into small pieces.
3. Glue the pieces inside the outline.

Tearing is good practice for little fingers. See our fine motor activities for more.

4. Paper plate faces

1. Give your child a paper plate.
2. Add eyes, a nose and a mouth with markers or cut paper.
3. Add yarn for hair and a paper strip for a headband.

5. Paper bag puppet

1. Use a small paper bag, lying flat with the flap on top.
2. Draw eyes on the bottom of the bag and a mouth that spans the fold.
3. Add ears, a tongue or a hat from paper scraps.
4. Slip a hand inside and make it talk.

6. Crayon-resist rainbow

1. Draw rainbow stripes with a white crayon on white paper.
2. Paint over them with watery paint. The crayon lines show through.

This one teaches color, and you can compare with our color mixing chart.

Medium paper crafts (ages 6 to 9)

7. Accordion fan

1. Fold a sheet of paper in half the short way.
2. Fold the paper back and forth in narrow strips, about 1 inch each, like an accordion.
3. Pinch the folded paper at the bottom and tape or staple it.
4. Open the fan.

Decorate the paper first with markers or a coloring page.

8. Paper boat

1. Start with a rectangular sheet. Fold it in half the long way, then open.
2. Fold the top corners in to meet at the middle crease.
3. Fold up the bottom strip on each side to make the brim.
4. Open the bottom, flatten it into a diamond, then fold the bottom corners up.
5. Open it again and pull the top points apart to make a boat.

Float it in a tub or large bowl.

9. Paper airplane

1. Fold a sheet in half the long way and open it.
2. Fold the top corners into the middle line.
3. Fold the new angled edges in to the middle again.
4. Fold the plane in half along the first crease.
5. Fold down each wing so it lines up with the bottom edge.

Hold a contest to see which flies farthest. Try different designs.

10. Pinwheel

1. Cut a square of paper, 6 inches on a side.
2. Cut from each corner toward the center, stopping about an inch from the middle.
3. Fold every other corner point to the center and pin it with a brad or a pushpin onto a pencil eraser, with adult help.

11. Woven paper placemat

1. Fold a sheet of paper in half and cut slits from the folded edge, stopping an inch from the open edge.
2. Cut strips from a different color of paper.
3. Weave the strips over and under through the slits.
4. Glue the ends.

12. Bookmark corner

1. Fold a square of paper in half to make a triangle.
2. Fold the triangle in half again.
3. Slide it onto the corner of a page. Draw a face or pattern.

13. Paper snowflakes

1. Fold a round or square sheet of paper in half, then in half again, and again.
2. Cut small shapes along the folded edges.
3. Unfold carefully.

14. Paper lantern

1. Fold a rectangle of paper in half the long way.
2. Cut slits from the folded edge up, stopping an inch from the edge.
3. Open the paper and roll it into a cylinder, gluing the short edges together.
4. Add a paper strip across the top for a handle.

Use it as decoration only. Don't put a flame or a hot bulb in paper.

Harder paper crafts (ages 9 and up)

15. Origami jumping frog

1. Start with a rectangular sheet. Fold one corner to the opposite edge to make a square, then cut off the extra strip.
2. Fold the square into a triangle, unfold, and crease along both diagonals.
3. Collapse the paper into a smaller triangle shape using the creases.
4. Fold the two bottom corners up, then the sides in.
5. Fold the back legs and press down on the back to jump.

There are many guides to this classic. Look for one with diagrams if the steps are confusing.

16. Paper flowers

1. Cut a circle of paper and cut a spiral into it, working inward.
2. Start rolling from the outer edge toward the center.
3. Let the roll loosen, then glue the center to the base.

17. Pop-up card

1. Fold a sheet of card stock in half.
2. Make two parallel cuts about 2 inches long on the fold.
3. Push the cut section inward to form a box shape.
4. Glue a drawing or paper figure onto the box.

18. 3D paper animal

1. Draw a simple animal on a sheet of paper, with a body, head and legs, and cut out the shapes.
2. Fold tabs on each piece and glue them together.

19. Paper bead necklace

1. Cut long thin triangles from magazine pages.
2. Roll each triangle from the wide end around a toothpick or straw.
3. Glue the tip, slide the bead off and string it on yarn.

20. Paper city

1. Fold and cut rectangles to make houses, stores and towers.
2. Draw doors, windows and trees.
3. Arrange them on a long piece of cardboard.

Color and decorate

Many of these crafts get better with color. Print a coloring page, color it in and fold it into a fan or cut it into a mobile. You can browse printable pages by theme in our coloring pages. Good starting points are flower coloring pages, shark coloring pages and mandala coloring pages, which make pretty fans, lanterns and bookmarks.

If you want a page of your own, use the AI coloring page generator to describe a scene, or turn a family photo into a page with photo to coloring page. Generating uses credits.

Tips for happy crafting

• Crease folds with a fingernail or ruler.
• Choose heavier paper for crafts that need to hold a shape.
• Use glue sticks for small hands and liquid glue for heavy pieces.
• Let glue dry before moving a craft.
• Accept messy results. Kids learn from making things, even when they don't look perfect.
• Save finished pieces in a folder, or hang them with tape on a wall.

For more ideas, see easy crafts for kids, fall crafts for kids and preschool activities. If you are looking for a quiet afternoon plan, try our guide to rainy day activities for kids.