Wooden Stick Crafts and Decor Projects
One easy craft for kids, that turns out looking quite elegant, is a lantern. Lay four popsicle sticks on wax paper to form a square. Glue them in place. Make four of the wax paper squares and allow to dry well. Trim the excess wax paper from the square. Now add woodsies (small, thin wooden shapes from a craft store) in any pattern you wish. One nice pattern consists of a round woodsie in the center with an oval woodsie on each corner, positioned with one end of the oval towards the corner and the opposite end towards the center circle. Glue the four squares together by using an additional craft stick in each inside corner. Place a votive in a glass holder and set inside the box. The light shines through the wax paper, but not the woodsies, making a unique pattern that’s warm and glowing.
Make a quick and easy picture frame or other memento by gluing six popsicle sticks together, side by side, to form a flat piece of wood. Glue a picture on the sticks, off to one side, to leave room for adding a novelty to the arrangement. The novelty can be a woodsie shaped like a baseball or an apple. Or, the novelty can be a dolphin or other ceramic piece. There’s also room on the plaque to use paint pens to write a message or remembrance. Glue a hanger onto the back or cut a wedge of cardboard to make the plaque stand on a shelf.
A different photo frame you can quickly make from popsicle sticks requires only eight sticks and a couple of minutes. Lay two sticks side-by-side, leave a gap and lay two more down, side-by-side. Glue the two sticks together on each side. Now glue two sticks together then glue them across the bottom of the first sets of sticks. Glue two more sticks together then glue them to the across the top. Turn the frame over and glue one craft stick across the bottom of the frame. This makes a nice picture frame that’s easy to make magnetic. Use a button magnet on the backside of each corner and place on the fridge or elsewhere. Enhance the frame by painting and adding a ceramic or wooden novelty.
Align 8 craft sticks, side-by-side and glue together. Screw “C” hooks in, across the center, to hold keys. Paint the “picket fence”, use rub-on appliques, or embellish with stickers. Staple or use glue to affix a hanger on the backside.
Lay one popsicle stick horizontally on a table. At each end glue a piece of twine onto the stick. Turn the stick over. Now align popsicle sticks across the top stick, from one end to the other. This quick and easy door hanger can be decorated with stickers that say “Keep Out” or flowers and a “Welcome” sign. Add wooden shapes, foam ladybugs or frogs, or other embellishments.
Purchase a flat wooden piece in the shape of a lion’s head, kitten head, or another four-legged animal. Lay one craft stick horizontally on a table. Glue the head to one end of the stick. Now glue four sticks vertically, on the backside of the horizontal stick, to form the legs. Add a rope tail and a couple of button magnets so it’ll hang on something metal. The little animal is cute and whimsical.
There are many other things you can make with popsicle or craft sticks, including baskets, doll house furniture and pencil holders. You’ll have fun making these crafts, which are easy enough for children to do too, and the cost to make them is so cheap you’ll want to make dozens.
