Summer crafts for adults are such a fun way to relax, get creative and make something beautiful or useful for around your home, garden, wardrobe or next sunny day get together. The best part is that you don’t have to be super skilled, or have tons of craft supplies to make lovely things this summer. A few simple supplies, a chunk of time and perhaps an iced tea at your side is really all you need!
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This roundup is chock full of easy summer craft ideas that are beginner friendly and feel mature, functional and actually worth making. There are easy crafts for home decor, patio styling, DIY gifts, summer accessories, homemade candles, painted planters, beach themed crafts, and creative projects to while away summer break, rainy days, or those nights when the summer heat finally decides to let up.
Select summertime crafts You’ll Love to Wear, Make or Display
When choosing a summer craft to start with, it can help to look at where you’ll display the finished project. A painted planter can look cute on your patio, pressed flower candles could decorate a shelf or tabletop, and handmade bead bracelets can jazz up your summer outfits.
It also helps to choose crafts that work with your time frame, supplies you have on hand, and skill levels. Some of these DIY ideas use budget-friendly supplies from the dollar store, some take less than an hour to make, and others are better for when you have a slower weekend where you want a relaxing break with a project you’ll truly enjoy.
Make Easy Pressed Flower Bookmarks
Pressed flower bookmarks are a great project to keep your hands busy if you’re looking for a summer craft that is relaxed, pretty, and useful. You’ll need handmade paper or cardstock, dried flowers, ribbon scraps, and some Mod Podge to secure everything in place. Make a few for yourself to keep on hand with your summer reading books or turn them into a lovely handmade gift!
Paint Happy Summer Diy Planters
Hand painted pots are such a cheerful way to add bright colours to your indoor space, especially when your style is bright, cheerful, and garden inspired. Grab some plain terracotta pots or planters from the thrift store, acrylic paint in rainbow colours, then finish them off with easy daisies, leaf shapes or polka dots. Pretty painted planters are fun for any skill level.
Make Seashell Trinket Dishes
If you love coastal decor but still want things to feel functional in your home, these seashell trinket dishes are just what you need! Keep them white for soft beachy vibes, or paint the shells with ocean blues, crushed turquoise, shimmering gold paint, or metallic edging. Use them to store rings, earrings, or other small treasures you collect at the beach.
Paint Adorable Mason Jar Vases
Painted mason jar vases are such a sweet summer craft that will instantly brighten up a table, shelf, or outdoor living space. Use acrylic paint and paint sunflowers, lavender, poppies, or simple leafy stems. You can fill them with fresh cut flowers from your garden for easy summer bouquets at your next outdoor get-together or summer weekends drinking icy cold tea on your patio.
Learn to Knot Macramé Plant Hangers
Did you know you can make a trendy macramé plant hanger without a sewing machine or lots of fancy equipment? Once you learn a couple knot styles, macramé plant hangers are fun summer crafts you can make again and again to display trailing plants on a sunny windowsill or covered patio.
Stamp Fun Citrus Tea Towels
Want to turn inexpensive supplies into cheerful and useful kitchen towels? Cut a lemon, lime, or orange in half. Dip the fruit cut-side down into fabric paint. Then press it onto plain tea towels to make funky citrus prints that’ll add a handmade touch to your kitchen or table this summer.
Hang a Lemon Wreath on Your Front Door
Citrus and lemon wreaths are a fun way to make your front door feel summery without overhauling your entire decor. Grab a grapevine wreath base, faux flowers, eucalyptus, ribbon, and fake lemons from your local craft store or the dollar store. Just layer them together loosely for a full but natural look.
Make Beaded Sun Catcher Plants
Summer crafts for adults don’t always have to take you outdoors. Make a beautiful beaded sun catcher to hang near a window this summer. Hang it where it can catch the sunlight on those long summer days. Use glass beads in greens and ocean shades, clear sparkly glasses, or sunset inspired colors.
Pour DIY Citronella Clay Candle Holders
Citronella candles are great for keeping bugs away when you entertain outdoors. Make them even cuter by crafting your own clay candle holders to pour the candles into. Create a homemade candle with citronella essential oil, then pour it into your own handmade clay vessel for a stylish and functional summer craft.
Create a Citrus and Herb Candle Holder
Grab a shallow tray, dried orange slices, rosemary, candle wicks, and wax. Make this easy citrus and herb candle centerpiece for your summer dinners, backyard gatherings, or next summer party. It feels very seasonal, homemade, and way more special than store bought candle holders.
Create Beautiful Beach Glass Flower Art
If you live near the ocean, or regularly find bits of sea glass when you walk along the shore, turn it into gorgeous beachy flower art this summer. Arrange your beach glass pieces into flower petals, leaves and stems on a solid background. Frame it for summer wall art anywhere in your home that could use a splash of beachy inspiration.
Paint Happy Summer Rocks
Painted rocks are an awesome craft to make for any skill level because no painters have to be perfect. Use acrylic paints to turn plain rocks into cheerful illustrations of strawberries, sun icons, bees and flowers. Or keep them extra simple with cute little beach houses. Hide them around your patio or garden for an easy summer craft that adds pops of colour.
Make Easy Napkin Hydrangeas
Napkin hydrangeas are such a clever summer craft project. They give you gorgeous blooms without needing fancy supplies. Layer or scrunch pink and green napkins or tissue paper together into flower petal shapes. Then attach them to faux flower stems to make a pretty bouquet for your table, shelves or summer gatherings.
Paint Summer Landscapes on Small Canvas
Mini canvas paintings are perfect for enjoyable summer crafts that don’t require tons of time or planning. You can paint small beach scenes, sunflowers, cottage gardens, or summer lake scenes. Try to keep your colour palette simple with ocean blues, leafy greens, soft yellows, and orangey sunset colours. Want to try painting this summer? Don’t miss my recent post that has over 20 awesome summer painting ideas to try!
Crochet Summer Cup Coasters
Raffia style crochet coasters are perfect for summer afternoons when you’re constantly filling up your glass with iced drinks. They add an earthy, stylish element to your outdoor entertaining space. They’re also an easy beginner friendly crochet project when you want something useful that you can finish quickly.
Make Beautiful Pressed Flower Coasters
Pressed flowers make everything feel more grown up and polished. If you want summer crafts that look impressive enough to gift to friends, try making these pressed flower coasters with resin. Arrange your dried flowers in coaster molds. Carefully pour epoxy resin over the flowers. Add gold paint around the edges if you want a decadent finishing touch. They’re perfect for coffee tables, bedside tables or summer party beverages.
Crochet a Floral Mug Cozy
Don’t let the word cozy fool you. You can totally make this crochet mug cozy for summer with the matching coasters to tie it all together! Grab cotton yarn in pink, white, and green to keep things bright and summery. Cozy up your coffee or your next glass of iced tea indoors or out.
Decorate Candles with Pressed Flowers
Pressed flower candles are just perfect for pillar candles! Use dried flowers, ferns, and tacky glue or wax to secure to the sides of your candle. You can display them on shelves, or even as pretty summer table centrepiece to enjoy summer evening drinks.
Make a Raffia Paper Ribbon Flower Garland
Want trendy summer craft ideas for your home? Turn colorful raffia paper ribbon into DIY flowers. Follow the tutorial to easily create bright floral shapes. String them together to make a colorful summer craft to dress up your bedroom, craft room, or party table.
Make Colorful Summer Bead Bracelets
Beaded bracelets are truly one of my favorite summer crafts! They work for any age because they’re simple, colorful, and easy to customize. Use alphabet beads to spell out messages or words. Tassels, sea shells, gold bead spacers, or bright clay beads to make bracelets for your summer wardrobe, party favors or simple handmade gifts.
Make Tons of Beachy Bottle Lights
Do you have lots of glass bottles? Why no turn them into beach themed bottle lights this summer. Paint sand, ocean blues, seashells and add starfish jewelry charms. The battery powered fairy lights turn a simple summer DIY into a craft that looks gorgeous on your fireplace mantle, summer party table or evening drinks station.
Paint a Bikini Crate Full of Summer Vibes
Not only for your bikinis, keep your pool towels, bathing suits, flip flops and summer pool toys corralled with a bright and cheerful crate! Grab a plain wooden crate and give it a stylish touch with poolside-worthy paint colors, shapes, surf boards, flowers, sea turtles… so cute!
Before You Go...
Summer is such a fun time of year to work on crafts you can use, wear or display around your home and garden. Whether you DIY painted terracotta planters, learn to make pressed flowers, craft with beach glass, decorate candles, or whip up a simple colorful bracelet, enjoy the journey of creating these cute summer crafts.Spend some time this summer trying one or more of these best summer crafts!