Tweens & Teens Crafty Gift Ideas (Series)
The next guide in our Complete Crafty Gift Ideas, A Series of Gift Guides by Age is for the Tweens and Teens. Around 7 years old or so, the heavenly gates of crafting start to open up with endless possibilities to master more in-depth, complex skill sets and longer term projects. I LOVE this age range because there is such a huge potential for cute, creative gifts as both individual crafts and collaborative projects to bond over. I still have vivid memories of sitting in the floor at my mom’s feet, practicing my hand stitching, pulling sewing tools out of an old metal tin that was probably older than both of us combined. I have a LOT of crafty gift ideas to suggest for this age range especially, and there is no way I can cover them all here, so be sure to check out the full list on Amazon too!
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Sewing
There are lots of sewing kits available for beginners in this age range, and one of my favorites is made by American Girl. The kids have loved making the matching baby animal sets.
I don’t know why plush food is so cute, y’all. It. Just. Is. This Sew Mini Treats Kit is straight up adorable and sure to be loved. Also check out The Little Monsters Kit by Craftster’s and this huge Sewing Kit by Artika packed with everything you need to make animals, and decor with felt, thread, needles, buttons, and more. It’s a fantastic crafty gift to welcome anyone into the world of sewing. It’s also a great way to ease into working with patterns, which is something I still get anxious about every time.
Embroidery
While we’ve got the needle and thread out, this needlepoint flower is another great starter project, and this Pusheen Cross Stitch is just delightful. For those wanting a little more challenge, I have four words for you: Star Wars Cross Stitch. Have lots of fun and learn much with this crafty gift idea, you will.
Sewing Equipment
When they are ready to put down the needle and pick up their very own machine, may I suggest the Brother XM2701? It’s a great little starter machine (and also fantastic for small spaces and travel)! If you want a standard size machine with more stitches and an optional extension for quilting, the Brother CS6000i is a great investment. Yes, you can find cheap machines at your big box store, but just know that some of those machines are manufactured in a way to lower the price point, and yeah… you’re going to see that yourself sooner than later.
Wood crafts
Though many wood craft kits will require a fair dose of adult supervision or assistance, there is a lot of fun to be had with a variety of projects at this age. Beginners projects will include larger pieces, simpler construction, and lots of fun decorating–just like this Paint Your Own Wooden Wind Chime Set by Masterpieces or these Wooden Race Cars by Made by Me. There are many craft kits that focus a little more on construction and tool practice like DIY bird houses or open ended construction kits. The Kraftic Woodworking Kit comes packed full of all the supplies and tools you need to start woodworking right away.
Peg People
Honestly, making peg people is still one of my favorite crafts to do. These neat little Peg People Craft Kits by Wildflower have everything you need to unleash your imagination, or you can create your own peg people party with a nice set of blanks and whatever crafting supplies you want to bring to the table. Much like the rest of us, peg people come in different shapes and sizes, and as an added bonus, I think they are super fun to sew tiny clothes for. This crafting kit has the added bonus of resulting in fun toys for lots of future creative play.
Wood Craft Level Up
When you are looking for a more complicated construction for your creative crafty gift ideas, Robotime offers an endless supply of impressive wood crafting projects that are sure to impress, like this draw dropping Robot Music Box / Wooden Puzzle.
Papercrafting
From scrapbooking to origami, quilling, paper beading, and more, there is a lot of ground to cover in paper town. Let’s just dive right in, shall we? First up, this Ultimate Scrapbook Craft Kit is a great all-in-one starter kit with everything you need to create a 40 page, hardback scrapbook.
Flip and fold
If you are more into folding paper than you are decorating it, then Papertoy Glowbots may be perfect for you. Make over 46 glowing robots from die-cut, cardstock templates, each with their own little backstory and bold graphics. For a more aerial perspective, check out The Star Wars Folded Flyers book. It comes with 40 sheets of custom designed paper, folding instructions, tape, and stands to make and display your very own Star Wars fleet. Come to the flip side and fold, Luke!
Ready to roll
The World of Paper Quilling offers tons of supplies to get you started. It is amazing the kinds of things that you can make with just a tiny roll of paper. Save all your scraps to create custom recycled paper beads for your next project. It’s the ciirrrcclllleee of crrrraaafffttt. (My daughter received this crafty gift for Christmas, and you can check out our full review of the Recycled Paper Beads Kit by 4M here.)
Pro Tip: Creating your own quilling strips can be a fun activity for the littles! Make them together with a hand crank paper shredder! We love ours.
Illustration
For the young artist in your life, I present to you the The Super Hero Comic Kit. It’s the perfect canvas for that budding illustrator/writer. Also available, the Create Your Own Comic Book has 100+ templates to get those creative juices flowing. And for the artist who needs no templates or guidance to constrain them? You can never go wrong with a moleskin sketchbook.
Clay
We are way beyond your little sister/brother’s play-doh, folks. Tweens and teens are at the perfect age range for their very own pottery wheel and first experiences throwing clay. This Pottery Studio by Faber-Castell is the art kit that keeps on giving. It has everything they need to get started–it even includes an apron and a table cover (parents everywhere rejoice!).
Sculpting
Circuit Clay by Klutz is a full kit complete with circuits, LEDs, and battery packs to make your creations light up. Art and science, for the win! The Clay Charms Kit teaches you how to make a number of clay minis including my favorite… (drum roll) tiny adorable food! And lastly, this Clay Dinosaurs Kit allows you to bring dinosaur fossils to life by covering them with your own creativity (and clay).
Mixed Media
Admittedly, I have never seen someone Do Art Coloring with Clay, but this art kit makes it look like so much fun! It includes 4 design boards, soft clay that won’t dry out, and easel backs to display your hand work.
More Crafty Gift ideas on amazon
Ugh, y’all, there is just SO many crafty gift ideas that I want to talk about for this age group, but I’m running out of space and time! We haven’t even touched on the other fiber arts, slime making, string art, general arts and craft kits and supplies, sand art, jewelry… the list goes on and on, but I have included ALL my creative & crafty gift ideas on the FULL Tweens and Teens List on Amazon, so please check it out! I’ll be updating it with even more ideas as we go!
The Series Continues
I tried to cover a full range of more involved crafting here, but be sure to check out the Kids and/or Young Adult + guides if you feel like your skill sets didn’t quite match up. There are a lot of similar projects sorted per skill level in both guides so you can keep encouraging creativity and healthy challenge! There’s also a great Books for Crafting and Creativity List to supplement your crafty gift with.
Originally posted on November 23, 2018.
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Hi, I'm Tania!
Thanks for stopping by DFW Craft Shows! Our blog is home to tons of creative inspiration, gift guides, tutorials, featured artists, and tips for small businesses trying to make their mark in the arts & crafts world.
