75 Craft Ideas for 2 Year-Olds

Is your little explorer constantly on the hunt for new adventures? We’ve curated 75 fun and creative craft ideas that will ignite their creativity. Our youngest is now nearly 4 and have tried most of these at some point since our eldest was born.

Crafting with your children is so much more than just a fun activity – it’s a love language that nurtures their development, fosters precious connections, and creates lasting memories.

When you craft together, you’re not just making um… masterpieces; you’re cultivating essential skills that will serve your little ones into adulthood. From fine motor dexterity and problem-solving to self-expression and confidence, each project is a lesson in disguise, cleverly wrapped in giggles and glue sticks (Top tip – if you buy glue sticks the cheap ones are ok for tissue paper and paper but useless for cardboard and will lead to frustration).

But the true benefit of crafting lies in the moments shared – the shared focused attention, the laughter, and the pride that beams from their faces as they showcase their creations.

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The Best Scissors for Toddlers

Choosing the right scissors for young children to use for crafts is important for several reasons:

Safety – Kids’ scissors are designed with blunt, rounded tips to prevent injuries if accidentally poked or mishandled. Standard adult scissors have dangerously sharp points.

Proper Grip – Children’s scissors often have shorter blades and larger, chunky handles that are sized for little hands to grasp correctly and develop proper scissor skills. You can see in the picture below that my son’s grip on these scissors is wrong and will be uncomfortable. This is because the scissors are too big for him.

Ease of Use – The blades on kid-safe scissors require less force to cut through paper and lightweight materials that young kids are working with for crafts.

Motivation – Child-friendly scissors with fun colors or character designs engage kids and make cutting practice more enjoyable.

Developing Skills – Using age-appropriate scissors from an early age helps kids build hand strength, dexterity, and coordination needed for this pre-writing skill.

By providing safe, easy-to-manipulate scissors made for their smaller hands and abilities, kids can practice cutting skills without frustration while avoiding potential injuries from grown-up scissors.

75 Simple and Easy Craft Ideas for 2 Year Olds

Here are 75 tried and tested craft activities for 2-year-olds.

Recycled craft ideas for 2-year-olds

Sure, here are longer how-to guides for those 25 craft ideas:

1. Egg Carton Stamps: Collect empty egg cartons and cut out the individual egg cup sections. Let your child dip the open end into washable paint and stamp onto paper to create fun prints and patterns. You can even paint the inside of the egg cups in different colours first.
2. Cardboard Tube Kazoos: Take a cardboard tube from a toilet paper or paper towel roll. Stretch a square of wax paper or plastic wrap over one end and secure it tightly with a rubber band. Hum or sing into the open end to create fun kazoo sounds!
3. Plastic Bottle Shakers: Recycle plastic bottles by filling them partway with dry rice, beans, beads, etc. Make sure to secure the lids tightly. Decorate the outside with stickers or paint, then shake to make a fun noise maker!
4. Newspaper Hats: Take a few sheets of newspaper and roll them into a cone shape. Secure the overlapping edges with tape or a stapler. Trim off excess paper at the bottom and decorate the hat with markers, stickers, etc.
5. Cereal Box Guitars: Use an empty cereal box as the base. Cut a hole towards one end and cover it with sturdy paper or plastic wrap secured with a rubber band to make the “soundboard”. Attach a paper towel or toilet paper tube to act as the guitar neck.
6. Toilet Paper Roll Butterflies: Decorate toilet paper rolls with paint, markers, glue and tissue paper, etc. Once dry, pinch the roll inward about 1/3 from each end to make the wing shape. Attach a pom-pom or bead for the body and pipe cleaner antennae.
7. Milk Carton Planters: Thoroughly clean and dry out a plastic milk carton. Use scissors or a utility knife to cut off the top portion, creating a planter box shape. Make drainage holes in the bottom, then fill with potting soil and seeds/seedlings.
8. Cardboard Box Cars/Trains: Save up rectangular cardboard boxes like cereal or cracker boxes. Your child can decorate them with paint, stickers, attached paper plates for wheels, etc. Boxes can be connected into a train or use straws/rolls for a trailer hitch.
9. Paper Bag Vests: Take a regular paper grocery bag and cut out arm holes on each side towards the bottom. Allow your child to colour, paint, glue on decorations to make their very own wearable paper bag vest!
10. Paper Towel Roll Stamping: Collect paper towel roll tubes and pour washable paint into shallow trays. Show your toddler how to dip the end of the tubes into the paint and stamp circles and patterns onto their paper.
11. Aluminium Foil Sculptures: Give your child a few sheets of aluminium foil and let their imagination run wild sculpting and shaping the foil into animals, objects, abstract shapes, etc. Add on googly eyes or other decorations.
12. Plastic Bottle Stamps: Recycle plastic bottles by cutting off the bottom portion to create a stamping surface. Pour paint into shallow trays and dip the bottle bottom into the paint, then stamp onto paper.
13. Egg Carton Caterpillars: Paint the individual cups of an egg carton different bright colours and let dry. Glue on googly eyes, pipe cleaner antennae and pom-pom noses/mouths to turn them into caterpillar segments. Link together with a pipe cleaner body.
14. Cardboard Tube Binoculars: Decorate two toilet paper or paper towel rolls with paint, stickers, crayons to make them look like binoculars. Attach the two tubes together side-by-side using tape or glue, and run a long piece of string or yarn through for a strap.
15. Milk Carton Bird Feeders: Thoroughly wash out a plastic milk or juice carton. Use a utility knife to cut out entry holes on opposite sides. Fill with bird seed and secure a string or pipe cleaner at the top so it can be hung outside.
16. Cereal Box Weaving: Cut off the front panel of a cereal box and make evenly spaced horizontal slits, leaving 1″ uncut at each side. Weave strips of coloured paper, fabric or yarn through the slits to create a woven pattern.
17. Toilet Paper Roll Snakes: Decorate toilet paper rolls with paint, markers and googly eyes to look like snake heads. Once dry, link multiple rolls together into a long snake body. Attach a red paper tongue if desired!
18. Newspaper Baskets: Take sheets of newspaper and tightly roll them into long tubes. Weave and shape the tubes together into a basket shape using tape or glue to secure the intersections. Trim any excess paper.
19. Plastic Bottle Maracas: Remove the caps from plastic bottles and partially fill with dry rice, beans, beads, etc. Replace lids tightly. Decorate the outside with stickers, washi tape or paint, then shake to enjoy the fun maraca sounds!
20. Cardboard Tube Monsters: Let your child decorate cardboard tubes (toilet paper, paper towel, wrapping paper) with paint, markers, glue on googly eyes, pipe cleaner horns/hair, etc. to make silly-looking monster creations.
21. Egg Carton Flowers: Paint the individual egg cup sections of an egg carton in different colours for the flower petals. Glue a yellow pom-pom in the centre and attach a green pipe cleaner stem.
22. Paper Bag Puppets: Decorate the bottom portion of a paper bag with markers, googly eyes, yarn for hair, etc. to turn it into a fun puppet face. Put your hand inside the bag and bring the puppet to life!
23. Plastic Bottle Bowling: Remove labels from several plastic bottles. Set them up in a triangle shape like bowling pins. Use a ball or another plastic bottle as the “bowling ball” to try and knock them down.
24. Cardboard Box Houses: Let your child decorate the inside and outside of a large cardboard box using crayons, paint, stickers, etc. to turn it into a playhouse! Cut out windows, doors, etc.
25. Toilet Paper Roll Stamps: Collect toilet paper rolls and use them as basic cylinder stamps. Pour washable paint into shallow trays and let your toddler dip the roll ends into the paint, then stamp onto paper.

WANT TO TRY ONE OF THESE CRAFTS FOR 1 YEAR OLDS LATER? PIN IT NOW, SO YOU CAN FIND IT EASILY WHEN YOU NEED IT!

Play2Learn Toddler & Preschool Programs for Curious Toddlers

There is no limit to your toddler’s energy and curiosity. That energy and curiosity although a joy can be challenging at times. Their interest in just about everything around them is what makes them great learners. One and two year olds can soak up so much just from their senses!

But as a teacher or parent that thirst for learning can be exhausting. That is why I created this toddler and preschooler program. To help you get the most out of this time with your curious toddler without having to come up with creative ways to play and interact with them.

Play2Learn for Toddlers includes 20 Units for toddlers. Each 2-week toddler unit has 20 super easy to set up and engaging activities for toddlers 18 months to 3 years.

Play2Learn Preschool which includes 20 Units for preschoolers. Each 2-week preschoolers unit has 20 unique and easy to set up and engaging activities for preschoolers 3 years to 5 years. That’s over 800 learning activities for your toddler and preschooler at your fingertips! So many ideas you and your child will never be bored again!

Click here for more information: Play2Learn

Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.

Book: Exciting Sensory Bins for Curious Kids

Did you know I wrote a book of sensory bins? Click here for more information Exciting Sensory Bin for Curious Kids. Or grab your copy at Amazon.

Boring afternoons are made exciting with awesome animal-based bins, like Salty Shark Bay or Yarn Farm. Pretend play bins like Birthday Cake Sensory Play or Bubble Tea Party encourage creativity and imagination. And your kids will have so much fun they won’t even know they’re getting smarter with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities like Sink or Float Soup, Magnetic Letter Hunt or Ice Cream Scoop and Count.

Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.