14 Wonderful Summer Solstice Crafts to Make This Year

Here’s a quick list of sunny projects to celebrate the longest day of the year. If you’re trying to keep kids busy, plan a classroom activity, or just want a simple afternoon craft, these ideas make it easy.

You’ll find bright, nature-friendly projects that highlight sunlight, shadows, flowers, and the sky.

Use them to spark conversations about the seasons and daylight, and to make keepsakes you’ll enjoy all summer. Let’s get into the crafts.

1. Sunburst Paper Plate Suncatcher

This bright suncatcher looks like a glowing sun with warm colors shining through a cut-out paper plate frame. Kids love choosing tissue paper colors and watching the light glow through their design on a sunny window. It’s simple and perfect for younger crafters.

Materials Needed:

1. Paper plate (sturdy)
2. Colored tissue paper (warm tones)
3. Clear contact paper or packing tape
4. Scissors
5. Hole punch and ribbon

How to make it:

1. Cut a large circle out of the center of the paper plate to make a ring.
2. Stick clear contact paper to the back of the ring, sticky side up.
3. Layer torn tissue paper pieces onto the sticky window to form a sunburst.
4. Seal with another contact paper layer, punch a hole, add ribbon, and hang in a sunny spot.

2. Nature Sun Crown

A leafy, floral crown with golden sun rays made from paper strips celebrates the height of summer growth. Kids enjoy choosing leaves and petals, and it feels magical to wear during a solstice picnic or evening walk.

Materials Needed:

1. Cardstock strip (headband base)
2. Yellow and gold paper (for sun rays)
3. Fresh leaves and small flowers
4. Glue or tape
5. Stapler

How to make it:

1. Fit a cardstock strip around the head and staple to size.
2. Cut sunray triangles from yellow paper and glue them around the outer edge.
3. Decorate the front with leaves and flowers along the band.
4. Let dry, then wear for photos or a sunset parade.

3. Shadow Tracing Sun Art

This artwork shows bold outlines of summer objects traced from their real shadows in the sun. Kids love watching shadows move and racing to trace them before they shift, turning science into art.

Materials Needed:

1. Large white paper
2. Pencils or black markers
3. Small summer objects (toy animals, shells, leaves)
4. Painter’s tape
5. Colored pencils or crayons

How to make it:

1. Tape paper to a sunny sidewalk, patio, or table.
2. Place objects so they cast clear shadows onto the paper.
3. Trace the shadows, then color or pattern inside the shapes.
4. Date it “Summer Solstice,” then display on a wall or fridge.

4. Sun Ray Handprint Collage

This collage forms a smiling sun center with handprint “rays” fanning out in warm colors. Kids enjoy messy stamping and seeing all the different hand sizes create a big, happy sun.

Materials Needed:

1. Yellow paper circle (sun center)
2. Construction paper in oranges and yellows
3. Washable paint (optional) or trace-and-cut method
4. Glue stick
5. Black marker (face details)

How to make it:

1. Cut a large yellow circle and draw a simple sun face.
2. Paint hands and stamp on paper, or trace hands on warm-colored paper and cut out.
3. Glue handprints around the circle to make sun rays.
4. Let dry and hang as a cheerful solstice banner.

5. Mason Jar Glow Lanterns

These jars glow like tiny sunsets when lit with LED tealights, using tissue and glitter for a soft shimmer. Kids love turning off the lights and seeing their lanterns sparkle during a solstice evening.

Materials Needed:

1. Clean mason jars
2. Tissue paper (reds, oranges, yellows)
3. Mod Podge or white glue thinned with water
4. LED tealights
5. Optional: glitter

How to make it:

1. Brush glue on the outside of the jar.
2. Layer tissue pieces around the jar, smoothing as you go.
3. Add a thin top coat of glue and a sprinkle of glitter.
4. Let dry, place an LED tealight inside, and enjoy the glow.

6. Sun Dial Paper Plate Clock

This simple sundial uses a pencil gnomon and marked hours to show how shadows tell time on the longest day. Kids enjoy testing it outside and noticing the shadow move across the numbers.

Materials Needed:

1. Paper plate
2. Pencil or straw (gnomon)
3. Ruler
4. Markers
5. Modeling clay or tape (to secure pencil)

How to make it:

1. Poke a hole in the center of the plate and insert the pencil upright.
2. Use a ruler and markers to draw hour marks around the edge.
3. Take it outside at noon and mark the shadow line; add more marks each hour.
4. Place in a sunny spot and check the shadow through the day.

7. Pressed Flower Sunshine Bookmarks

Clear bookmarks show tiny pressed blooms arranged in a sunray pattern, perfect for summer reading. Kids enjoy hunting for small flowers and seeing them preserved like little treasures.

Materials Needed:

1. Small flowers and leaves
2. Clear packing tape or laminating sheets
3. Scissors
4. Hole punch
5. Ribbon or yarn

How to make it:

1. Press flowers for a day or two inside heavy books, or use already dried petals.
2. Lay one tape strip sticky side up, arrange flowers in a sunray design.
3. Seal with another tape strip and trim edges.
4. Punch a hole and add a ribbon tassel.

8. Watercolor Sunrise Skyline

A soft watercolor painting fades from pink to gold with a simple black paper skyline at the bottom. Kids love blending colors and seeing the sunrise effect appear as the paint dries.

Materials Needed:

1. Watercolor paper
2. Watercolor paints (warm tones)
3. Brush and water cup
4. Black construction paper
5. Glue stick

How to make it:

1. Paint the paper from pink at the bottom to yellow at the top, blending gently.
2. Let dry completely.
3. Cut a simple skyline or tree line from black paper.
4. Glue the silhouette along the bottom edge and display.

9. Sunbeam Weaving Plate

Yarn is woven through slits on a yellow plate to form bright, radiating sunbeams. Kids enjoy the calming rhythm of weaving and choosing happy color combos.

Materials Needed:

1. Yellow paper plate
2. Yarn in warm colors
3. Scissors
4. Tape
5. Marker (optional for face)

How to make it:

1. Cut even slits around the plate edge to create notches.
2. Tape one end of yarn to the back and weave in and out of notches to make rays.
3. Add more yarn colors as desired; draw a cute sun face in the center.
4. Trim and tape ends to the back, then hang.

10. Solstice Sunprint Banner

Using cyanotype paper or sunprint paper, this banner shows white silhouettes of leaves and flowers against a deep blue sky. Kids love the “magic” reveal when rinsing the paper and seeing the sun’s power.

Materials Needed:

1. Sunprint/cyanotype paper
2. Leaves, ferns, small flowers
3. Tray of water
4. String and mini clothespins
5. Cardboard backing (to carry prints)

How to make it:

1. Arrange leaves on sunprint paper in full sun for the recommended time.
2. Rinse in water to develop and let the blue deepen as it dries.
3. Repeat for several sheets to make a set.
4. Clip prints to a string to form a summer banner.

11. Sunshine Bead Suncatcher Ring

A hoop wrapped in yarn with dangling yellow and clear beads makes a sparkly window charm. Kids enjoy threading beads and watching little rainbows and glints dance in the light.

Materials Needed:

1. Small embroidery hoop or metal ring
2. Yarn or ribbon
3. Beads (yellow, orange, clear)
4. Fishing line or thread
5. Scissors

How to make it:

1. Wrap the hoop with yarn, tying off the ends neatly.
2. Cut lengths of fishing line and thread beads in warm, sunny patterns.
3. Tie bead strands around the bottom of the hoop.
4. Add a hanging loop at the top and display in a sunny window.

12. Popsicle Stick Sunburst Frame

This frame fans out like sun rays around a small photo, painted in cheerful yellows and golds. Kids love giving it as a gift or using a favorite summer picture.

Materials Needed:

1. Popsicle sticks
2. Cardboard square (photo backing)
3. Acrylic paint (yellows, oranges)
4. Glue
5. Small photo

How to make it:

1. Paint popsicle sticks in warm tones and let dry.
2. Glue sticks around the cardboard backing in a sunburst pattern.
3. Add a photo in the center and secure edges with glue.
4. Prop on a shelf or add a magnet for the fridge.

13. Citrus Slice Sun Garland

Paper citrus slices in lemon, lime, and orange link together to look like a string of sunny rays. Kids love the bold colors and simple shapes that feel fresh and summery.

Materials Needed:

1. Colored cardstock (yellow, orange, green, white)
2. Circle tracers or lids
3. Scissors
4. Glue stick
5. String or ribbon

How to make it:

1. Cut large colored circles and smaller white circles for the pulp.
2. Snip white “segments” and glue onto the colored circles.
3. Punch two holes at the top of each slice and thread onto string.
4. Hang across a window or mantel for a bright solstice look.

14. Sun and Moon Friendship Rocks

Painted rocks show a golden sun on one side and a silver crescent moon on another, perfect for solstice balance themes. Kids enjoy swapping rocks with friends or placing them in a garden path.

Materials Needed:

1. Smooth flat rocks
2. Acrylic paint (yellow, gold, white, silver, navy)
3. Fine paintbrushes
4. Paint pens (optional)
5. Clear sealer

How to make it:

1. Wash and dry rocks, then paint one half in sunny tones and the other in night-sky colors.
2. Add a smiling sun face and a gentle crescent moon with stars.
3. Outline details with paint pens if desired.
4. Seal, let dry, and display indoors or in a protected garden spot.