Amazon
When the weather outside turns inhospitable and ushers playtime indoors, boredom can begin to set in. During my brief tenure as a neighborhood babysitter, I always found arts and crafts projects to be the ultimate distraction for ansty kids desperate for the rain to stop and the weather to warm up.
TikTok, the app that never fails to surface the next best thing, also offers crowd-pleasing expertise when it comes to at-home craft projects that are perfect for children of all ages who want to flex their creative muscles or who simply enjoy sensory play.
Peruse crafting kits, hands-on projects and art sets that are popular on TikTok and beyond for their ability to make indoor time a little more bearable.
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1
Amazon
Shrinky Dinks charms
Children of the '90s might already be well aware of the shrinking magic of Shrinky Dinks, and now they seem to be enjoying a resurgence on TikTok. Once baked, these clear, plastic-like sheets shrink your hand-drawn art or image into a rigid three-dimensional charm. Simply sketch your design using permanent markers or even paint, cut out the image then place it in the oven to create everything from keychains to earrings to plant ornaments.
Recommended for ages five and up with adult supervision.
Recommended for ages five and up with adult supervision.
2
Amazon
A friendship bracelet activity book
Another dose of nostalgia is this friendship bracelet activity book by Klutz, which contains detailed guides on how to weave 10 different bracelet designs and enough embroidery floss to craft 12 different projects.
Recommended for ages eight and up.
Recommended for ages eight and up.
3
Target
A light-up tracing pad
With the Crayola light-up and portable tracing pad, kids can easily trace hundreds of free downloadable Crayola templates, practice writing skills or even trace their own found designs. The powerful LED tablet evenly illuminates images to make them easy to see and the paper-locking frame holds sheets in place to keep crisp tracing lines. This kit comes with a graphite pencil, a pack of colored pencils and tracing pages and blank sheets of paper.
Recommended for ages six and up.
Recommended for ages six and up.
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4
Amazon
A kit that transform colorful gel into 3-D squishies
Part sensory activity, part arts and crafts, this AquaGelz play set contains template molds to be filled with colorful gels that can be layered to make a pattern of your choice. The magic happens once the gel-filled mold gets submerged under water and the gel floats away from the template to transform into a delightfully squidgy 3-D squish toy.
Recommended for ages five and up with adult supervision.
Recommended for ages five and up with adult supervision.
5
Amazon
A water-activated bead fusion set
Users on TikTok have become fast fans of the limitless creative possibilities afforded by Aquabeads, which are colorful beads that fuse together whenever they are spritzed with water. Using the included template guides and bead dispenser, kids can design charms and figurines or even three-dimensional creations that can be stacked or built on top of each other.
Recommended for ages four and up with adult supervision.
Recommended for ages four and up with adult supervision.
6
Amazon
A gem-painting kit
Diamond or gem-painting is a satisfying arts and crafts activity seen all over TikTok and enjoyed by people of all ages. Following the color-by-numbers template and adhering the corresponding size and color gems to the adhesive paper, crafters can make sparkly and displayable pieces of art, stickers and suncatchers. These options are popular among kids aged six and up, however if you or child wants more of a challenge, you can also find larger and more intricate versions great for older kids and adults.
Recommended for ages six and up with adult supervision.
Recommended for ages six and up with adult supervision.
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7
Walmart
A one-step tie-dye kit
Tie-dying is a timeless activity that allows kids to customize and create their favorite pieces of clothing from socks to sweatshirts. This highly rated and complete kit comes with 18 powder-to-liquid colors already in squeeze bottles, step-by-step guides for eight different tie-dye patterns and enough materials to complete up to 36 projects.
Recommended for ages eight and up with adult supervision.
Recommended for ages eight and up with adult supervision.
8
Uncommon Goods
A beginner-friendly felting kit
Reviewers are also calling this animal needle felting set the "perfect winter activity" and a great kit for anyone just starting out in the art of felting. It comes with step-by-step instructions, felting needles and enough wool to create three charming animal figurines.
Recommended for ages 10 and up.
Recommended for ages 10 and up.
9
Amazon
A National Geographic pottery wheel
Budding ceramists will love this motorized pottery wheel by National Geographic that features three different arm attachments to make sculpting designs easier for small hands and beginners. The kit also comes with two packs of air-dry clay, detailed instructions, a moistening sponge, four sculpting tools and six paints so kids can customize their finished products.
Recommended for ages eight and up with adult supervision.
Recommended for ages eight and up with adult supervision.
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10
Etsy/StudiostoneCreative
A kid-safe soapstone carving kit
With this carving kit, users can whittle and shape two hand-cut Brazilian soapstone pieces into shiny statuettes using a kid-safe file and sanding paper. This craft kit is designed by two local soapstone artists in British Columbia, Canada.
Recommended for ages eight and up with adult supervision.
Recommended for ages eight and up with adult supervision.
11
Amazon
A versatile bucket of air-dry clay
For an art project that's a step up from Play-Doh and also gives kids the option to preserve their hand-sculpted creations, this versatile air-dry clay by Crayola is sure to please. Packaged in a stay-fresh resealable bucket, this cloud-like clay can be squished, molded and reused, or left out to harden. Once dry, sculptors can further decorate their designs using paint or markers.
Recommended for ages four and up with adult supervision.
Recommended for ages four and up with adult supervision.
12
Amazon
Incredibly detailed build-your-own miniatures
Kids who are fans of building detailed replicas and dollhouses will love these miniatures kits by Rolife that, once complete, reveal an interactive scene just begging to be displayed on a shelf or dresser top. Each kit features tiny wooden furniture pieces, mini ornaments, LED lights and all the necessary tools needed to assemble it all. There are over eight kits to choose from such as a colorful study brimming with books, the inside of a detective agency and a sweets shop featuring a cute front porch.
Recommended for ages 14 and up.
Recommended for ages 14 and up.
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13
Amazon
A custom candle-making set
Recommended by @collectandcraft, a TikTok creator whose content focuses on arts and crafts projects for kids, this custom candle-making kit has everything your child needs to make two soy wax candles inside colorful tins. There are three fragrance oils like sweet orange and rose that can be mixed and matched to create their own signature scents as well as two liquid dyes.
Recommended for ages eight and up with adult supervision.
Recommended for ages eight and up with adult supervision.
14
Etsy/TheCherryBlossomUS
A beginner-friendly punch needle set
Punch needling is a mesmerizing craft that transforms embroidery thread and canvas into a beautifully textured piece of fabric perfect for a rug, purse or pillow. In this beginner's set, kids can follow along with a template that was hand-designed by a small business in North Carolina. The kit comes with colored embroidery thread, an embroidery loop and an adjustable needling tool that doesn't require as much dexterity as a crochet needle, which means it can be easier for little hands to use.
Recommended for ages eight and up with adult supervision.
Recommended for ages eight and up with adult supervision.
Before You Go
