9 Easy and Creative Newspaper Craft Ideas for Kids

Origami or paper crafts can be one of the most fun things to teach your child. Rather than using spanking new paper, however, old newspapers might serve as better craft material so that you can keep your children entertained. Not only does this provide entertainment but also helps in developing fine motor skills and creativity.

Video: Easy and Creative Newspaper Craft Ideas for Kids

9 Amazing Newspaper Crafts for Children

Here are some arts and crafts for kids with newspaper with step by step instructions:

1. Newspaper Tree

This little tree can be left as it is, or painted to look more realistic. Either way, it is a great way to show off your little one’s talent, especially around the holidays.

What You Need

• Newspaper
• Rubber bands
• Scissors

How To Make

• Roll the newspaper and tie the bands around it, one at the bottom, and the other at the middle.
• Make four cuts around the roll from the top and all the way to the middle band.
• Put your finger into the centre of the roll and pull out the inner pages to make layers.
• You now have a newspaper tree.

2. Rolled Newspaper Roses

Learn how to make decorative newspaper roses! Stick them on whatever you like as decorations, be it on your books, picture frames, or you can even help the kids stick them artfully onto a wooden stick or plank, spray paint it and use it as a more elegant piece of décor.

What You Need

• Square pieces of paper
• Scissors
• Pencil/pen
• Glue

How To Make

• Take the circular piece of paper and draw a spiral shape on it. You needn’t be too precise as this will give your rose a more random look.
• Starting at the outer edge, start cutting the spiral, till you reach the centre of the paper and are left with one small round bit in the middle. You should now have one long spiral strip.
• Start at the outer edge and start rolling the entire length of the spiral. Make sure that you roll it tightly.
• When you have rolled it all up, paste the last circular bit at the base of your roll. Make sure to adjust the tightness of the rolls before you do this.  glue the bottom of the roll together.
• When you let go of the rose, the petals will open out, the glued part being the bottom of the flower. Stick it to whatever you like – an ice-cream stick, a dried twig, wooden skewers, etc. – to add some floral flavour to it.

3. Newspaper Sailors Hat

Teach your kids how to make a very easy newspaper hat.

What You Need

• Newspaper sheet
• Scotch tape (optional)

How To Make

• Fold the newspaper in half.
• Keep the side that opens facing you. Now pull the top corners of the paper towards the centre. You will now have a triangle, with a thin strip beneath it.
• Fold one of the bottom flaps upwards, to tuck the triangle in.
• Flip the hat onto the other side. Fold the other flap up.
• If you want, use scotch tape to secure the folds. Your hat is ready.

4. Newspaper Sword

Children love to act out scenes from movies or even play pretend games. If your kids are fascinated by pirates or musketeers, why not indulge them in a couple of rapier-style newspaper swords?

Source: en.origami-club.com

What You Need

• Newspapers
• Tape
• Cardboard
• Markers

How To Make

• Lay two newspaper sheets one on top of the other.
• Fold the top right corner in to form a little triangle on the top right corner of the paper.
• Begin to roll the paper tightly from the folded part. This will make the sword sturdier.
• Once you have rolled it completely, tape down the loose corner.
• To make the handle, take the bottom third of the sword and fold it over to make a ‘D’-shape, bringing the end over to join the length of the sword. There should be a wide enough gap in the ‘D’-shape so that your child can grip the sword handle easily. Tape it into place.
• Take the cardboard piece and cut it into an oval shape of about 12 cm in diameter. Cut a hole in the middle of the oval that is big enough for the “blade” of the sword to go through. This will be the guard just above the D-shaped handle.
• Use the markers to decorate the guard before you slide it into place.
• Cut out a small rectangle from the cardboard and decorate it. Once done, wrap this into a cylindrical shape around the blade of the sword, just above the oval-shaped guard and tape this securely. The cylindrical piece of cardboard should go around the newspaper blade and rest on top of the oval-shaped guard  This will make the sword guard remain in place. Your sword is ready!

5. Newspaper Picture Frame

This one is so easy that is will be the perfect handmade gift from your child.

Source: www.instructables.com

What You Need

• Newspaper
• Cereal box
• Scissors
• Tape

How To Make

• Cut out a frame from the cereal box.
• Cut out a matching frame-back to go with it and tape it together on three sides. Make sure to leave one side open so that the picture can slide in.
• Your child can now use the newspaper to decorate the frame. You can shred the pieces of newspaper and simply stick them onto the frame; or if your child is really creative, you can cut out some shapes to stick onto the frame as well.
• Slide a picture into the frame and your baby’s DIY gift is complete.

6. Newspaper Autumn Leaves

There is something so magical about the autumn season. All the leaves turn to shades of red, brown and gold as winter approaches. Get your little autumn fairies to help you make some of these lovely decorations.

What You Need

• Newspaper
• Freshly fallen leaves
• Autumn coloured crayons
• Scissors
• Twine/Ribbon/Tape

How To Make

• Lay the leaves on the floor and place a newspaper over it. The idea is to trace the shape of the leaf and its veins onto the paper.
• With one of the crayons, begin to lightly colour the paper until the shape of the leaf begins to form.
• Your kids can use the different autumn coloured crayons to define the veins and give the shading more life.
• When satisfied with the colours and shades, cut out the leaf.
• You can use the strings or ribbons to string them together, or you can use tape if you want to stick it to the children’s bedroom window. The light will filter through beautifully.

7. Newspaper Heart Streamer

Make this easy DIY heart streamer for Valentine’s Day, or just for decoration.

What You Need

• Newspaper
• Heart Stencil
• Scissors

How To Make

• Take a sheet of newspaper and stencil in the hearts so that they are in a row and touching one another
• Cut out the shape of these hearts, not cutting in between them. This way they will remain together without having to use a string or any other material.
• Your heart streamer is ready.

8. Newspaper Lamp Shade

If you have an old paper lampshade lying around that you haven’t used in a while, try redecorating it with your kids. It will be a fun project that you can all have fun doing together. Not only that but looking at it will bring back fond memories of your children.

Source: stowandtellu.com

What You Need

• Water
• Glue
• Newspaper
• Paint of different colours and brushes
• Old Paper lampshade

How To Make

• Shred the newspaper into pieces.  You will be sticking these onto the old lampshade.
• For sticking, use a glue mix which has equal parts water and equal parts glue to make the sealant.
• Take the old paper lampshade and use the glue mixture to stick the pieces of newspaper. The old paper of the lampshade should be completely covered with the newspaper pieces without any gaps. Now leave this to dry.
• When it is completely dry, laminate it with another coating of the glue mixture. Once it is completely dry, you can either draw and paint some colourful designs over this or leave the newspaper covering as it is to give an artsy and rustic look to the lampshade.

9. Xs and Os

Forget about playing this with paper and pen, try playing it like a board game instead. Follow these steps with your kids to make yourselves a fun and giant size game of Xs and Os.

What You Need

• Six to seven sheets of newspaper
• Cereal/cardboard boxes
• Tape
• Acrylic paints

How To Make

• Roll one of the newspaper sheets along the length and stick tape on it to form a pipe. Flatten this pipe to form a flat stick. Make four such ‘sticks’. Paste them together like a hashtag (‘#’) sign to form the grid for Xs and Os.
• Use the cereal/cardboard box to cut out Xs and Os (5 each) of the desired size. Cover them with newspaper. Allow your kids to colour code them if they want! Your family-size Xs and Os is ready!

Keep an eye on your children if they are going to be using scissors and ensure to do the cutting for them if they are too young to do it themselves. Other than that, your children should have a marvellous time getting creative with something so easily available, cheap and versatile. There are many more recycled newspaper crafts for kids once you are done trying these simple ones out. You kids will love this new pass time and so will you.

Also Read: Paper Craft Ideas for Children