6 Cool Crafts for Boys Who Like to Invent

Let’s face it, we live in a gendered world and crafting is mostly geared towards girls. We make shiny things to wear, frilly things with which to decorate our homes, and fancy things to give others as gifts. But crafting is a form of invention and between the planning, execution, and all the sensory and motor skills aspects involved, it’s a great hobby for boys too.

Whether the boys in your life have artistic tendencies or are of the rough-and-tumble variety, we’ve found a number of craft ideas that they’re sure to love.

Mini Foosball Table

Remember when arcades were filled with lots of entertaining, non-digital game options? Depending on your demographic, you may have spent countless hours and quarters on games such as air hockey, pinball, and the one featured in this boy-friendly craft project.

Becky from U Create turned simple elements, such as a cardboard shoebox, some dowels and wooden clothespins into a fully functional, highly portable foosball table that kids and adults will love. Boys will love that spray paint is involved...and the end result is a cool, portable toy made for play. Becky shares all of the steps to make this mini foosball table.

Cardboard Parking Garage with Ramps

If you have one (or more) of those little guys whose world revolves around anything with wheels, this craft is ideal for him. Sarah at Frugal Fun 4 Boys saved some unassuming cardboard boxes from the recycle bin and upcycled them into a multi-level parking garage.

By cutting and folding some boxes (she utilized three whole ones plus a bit of extra cardboard from some others), she was able to construct a building that sports almost as many ramps as it does parking spaces. Construction paper and packing tape gave it the perfect finishing touches. Follow her instructions to make your own parking garage

Tiny Bow and Arrow

Some little boys are all about weapons. Give them foam swords or wooden rifles and they are in heaven. Of course, you don’t want to hand them something they might use to hurt themselves or others (no Red Rider BB guns; “You’ll shoot your eye out!”), but replicas that spark imaginative play can be great fun and harmless, to boot.

Maiz at The Brooding Hen crafted a miniature yet fully functional mini bow and arrow out of nothing more than a popsicle stick, a Q-tip and some dental floss. Since the cotton swabs act as the arrows, there is little danger of injury or destruction. In addition, they help kids increase their fine motor skills.

Monster Jaws

Hand any kid one of those extension grabber tools and almost undoubtedly they will immediately look for things they can reach out and clutch. Similarly, give a child a toothy toy with a mouth that opens and closes and you can bet they will chomp down on the nearest small objects.

This boy-friendly craft idea combines these concepts into an enjoyable and easy project. Mom-blogger Autumn shares the materials you will need – just a cereal box, glue and some metal brads!—and steps to take to whip up a fun and ferocious chomping, stretching creature on her blog, It’s Always Autumn.

Cardboard Ships

Some craft projects are the perfect accompaniment to a recent book, favorite movie or even a school subject. A ship fashioned from corrugated cardboard may fit this bill: think class lessons on Vikings, pirate movies or The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which inspired the original creator of this cool craft project.

Lorraine Teigland shares the ships she and her three daughters constructed on her blog Ikatbag, where she explains how they made the basic hulls and embellished them with figureheads, tails, masts and more.

Newspaper Fort

What kid, male or female, doesn’t love a living room fort? The best forts are made using simple materials around the house that you don’t have to worry about messing up.

Allison at Modern Parents Messy Kids shares her brilliant idea for indoor forts made from rolled up newspapers, tape and possibly some staples. By connecting three paper rolls into triangle shapes, kids can build any structure they can conceive and when they are finished playing, the fort can land in the recycle bin.

Paper Climbers

Some of the best kids’ crafts result in toys that they can play with on their own or enjoy in a group. These clever paper climbers will entertain even your littlest for hours but also offer the opportunity for a bit of friendly competition (if such a thing exists between siblings).

Deanna shared her DIY lizard climber on her blog, Just Deanna. Although her steps use a reptile drawn by her little boy, your kiddo (or you) could really draw and cut out any climber; think astronaut, robot, monkey or great big bug, for example. Two pieces cut from drinking straws taped to the back to hold a climbing cord made from yarn, a shoelace or twine are all you need to start racing up to doorknobs, hooks or other nails on the wall.

Getting your little boy to participate in making any of these awesome craft ideas is only half the fun. When the project is complete, he’s sure to spend hours enjoying the plaything he helped create.

What are some of your favorite cool crafts? Share your DIYs with us!

Tags : arts and crafts   upcycling   



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