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I love a good toddler craft activity around here. Little gets SO excited at the mention of an “activity”, and I of course love that so much. Whether it means we are going on an adventure, or making something fun at home, he is always beaming to find out what his activity is for the day. Because I want encourage him to use his imagination and be creative, I really love to find toddler friendly crafts that we can do together at home and with friends.
When it comes to said crafts, I have a few criteria that are important to me:
- Simple to put together
- Simple to clean up
- Encourages creativity and imagination with Little
- BONUS: can be adapted to various themes and seasons
Today’s craft meets all those criteria perfectly. It was the second time we’ve done this project (you’ll remember it here from Valentine’s Day). I’m happy to report that it was just as big of a hit the second time around as it was the first.
Tissue Paper Sun Catchers
This is the perfect craft activity for introducing crafting to your toddler. There’s no glue, no right/wrong way to do it, and they will love all the tissue paper colors.
You can adjust this craft to fit any theme. Of course, I made hearts for Valentine’s Day and I think Christmas trees would be fun in the winter, but this time we opted to do a “things that go” theme since Little is really into vehicles these days. We had friends over to do this craft with us, so I opted for three different vehicles – a car, a boat, and an airplane.
What You’ll Need
- Contact Paper
(I recommend clear, matte paper) - Different colored tissue paper cut into squares
- In the spirit of full disclosure, this part does take a little bit of prep work. I recommend just choosing 1 sheet of several colors that you like, cutting them up and storing them in a gallon size zip-loc to save for multiple projects. If you only want to do the craft once, the equivalent of one sheet is probably enough.
- Construction Paper
- Scissors
- Stencils for your shapes (I typically free hand my shapes or go online to find free coloring sheets. I got these here. *Be sure if you use these free coloring sheets that you use them only in your home for personal use.)
(I recommend clear, matte paper)
Instructions
- Print and cut out your stencils
- Trace onto construction paper twice. (Once around the stencil and another just outside to make sort of a “frame” for the tissue paper.)
- Cut out the shapes
- Stick the shapes to the contact paper
- Add tissue paper however you like
- Once finished, place a separate piece of contact paper on top to seal.
- Trim away the excess.
- Be sure to leave a little contact paper on the outside edge to be sure it stays sealed. If you cut right along the construction paper, the contact paper won’t hold as well.
That’s all there is to it! We had tons of fun with this craft and I’ve still got lots of tissue paper left for our next one!
We loved this activity and I bet you will too! What are you favorite toddler and preschool crafts or activities?
P.S. If you love this post, please share it so that others can also enjoy it!
This is so cute, but simple- which I love 🙂 I usually end up tossing crafts right away, but this is definitely a keeper!
It really is so simple and we love to play with them!
Cute. My kids are no longer toddlers and I’m sure they would still enjoy making these, especially because you can display them around the house and they love that. Thank you for sharing at The Really crafty link Party this week. Pinned!
Absolutely! I think they are so versatile! I appreciate you stopping by and sharing the post with others!
This is super cute! I’ve made a sun catcher before by laminating tissue paper, it kinda melts in laminator which is quite cool and gives a nice effect. Found you via the Really Crafty Link Party x
Wow! That does sound neat! Thank you for stopping by!
That looks like such a fun activity! I love that it’s not overly complicated too!
Right? So simple!
A great way to engage little ones in crafting. Thank you for bringing this to Fiesta Friday
Thanks so much. We love this craft!
This seems like such an easy and fun project!
Yes – it totally was!
What a creative and fun activity!
xo, Lee
Thanks, Lee!
These look so cute!! Thanks for sharing at Fiesta Friday party! I hope you are having fun!
Thank you for hosting – there are always lots of great links to look through!
I did something very similar to this when I was younger! I remember loving it, and thinking it was so cool the way the light shone through the colors. 🙂
It’s a really fun way to practice colors!
This is so cute, my kiddos would love to make some! I pinned so we can make some soon, thanks!
Thank you so much! They are so easy to make (and clean up!) Let me know if you end up making them; I’d love to see!
What a fun activity and you lay out the directions so well. I can’t wait to make them at home with my kids!
Thanks so much! I hope you are able to make them! They are SUPER simple!
Great job! Looks easy and fun for the little ones.
Thanks!!
These are so cute! I know what I’m doing when I am baby-sitting 😉
Thank you!
This is just the cutest thing!!! I remember craft time with my children when they were little. I miss those days!!
Thank you! I am definitely trying to soak it all in!
I like your suggestion of contact paper so that you don’t have to use glue! It’s definitely a great option for toddlers to avoid some mess 🙂 These turned out great!
Oh yeah, no glue over here for a while! Way too messy – even the glue sticks for now!
So cute! My little guy is going to love this. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you; let me know if you make it! I can’t wait to see!
Super cute!!!! ❤
Thanks so much; I appreciate you stopping by!
What a great idea for a toddler craft! My son recently got a new teacher in his daycare class and she does crafts with all of the kids, even though they’re infants, and I love it! Especially the ones where she paints their feet and makes pictures out of them. I can’t wait for him to get old enough to really know what’s going on.
Thank you! We had a great time! I loved the little footprint crafts so much!
My son will love this! He has a rotten cold and this is the perfect mellow day activity!
Yes; it is a great indoor activity!
This craft is so cute girl!! Need to try this when I babysit next!!
Thanks!
Love these! They are so pretty and so fun for kids to make. My son made something similar at summer camp last year.
The really are fun to make! We’ve made them a couple of times here!