The humble paddle pop stick may appear unbendable and plain but looks can be deceiving. With a little imagination, they can be turned into crazy-cool art and DIY projects. These five fun paddle pop stick craft ideas for kids are guaranteed to engage them in calm and relaxed play. The end result won’t just look awesome – the making will flex their fine motor skills, too.

Craft a Paddle Pop Stick Bird Feeder

Four craft bird feeders in various stages of development on a blue background to show story on paddle pop stick art. . 

We don’t know who will love this craft idea more: the kids or the birds! With just a packet of sticks and a low-temperature glue gun, children can become architects, constructing a masterpiece that any feathered friend would be thrilled to perch on. 

A brilliant exercise in dexterity, kids will need to measure, stack and balance their paddle pop sticks as they create their feeder. It may take a bit of experimenting but that’s all part of the fun. If they use regular craft glue, kids will have to practise patience as it dries. Or, if they are able to use a low-temperature glue gun, they can (and will have to) work quickly as they place the sticks in shape.

A gif series showing how to make a craft bird feeder with paddle pop sticks and glue gun.

Step 1: Create your bird feeder base by laying nine jumbo paddle pop sticks together, side by side, to create a square. Take two more sticks and glue them perpendicular to the others to hold the square together.

Step 2: Arrange regular paddle pop sticks in a square grid, stacking them until they have made a well to fill with bird seed. Glue them together at the corners as you go.

Step 3: Make the sloping roof panels sides in the same way as Step 1, but using eight jumbo paddle pop sticks instead.

Step 4: Attach the roof panels to the well using your low temperature glue gun and lean them together to create a pointing roof. Seal the tip of the roof with more glue. 

Step 5: Add one last jumbo paddle pop stick flat against the base, slipping it through your bird seed well. This gives bigger birds somewhere to perch. Just add string to hang the bird feeder in a tree. 

Paddle pop stick craft ideas for kids: tools needed to make a DIY bird feeder, including craft sticks and glue gun. 

What You’ll Need‍

‍‍Create a Labyrinth Ball Maze‍

A craft project of ball maze in a cardboard box divided by paddle pop sticks shown on a blue background. ‍

A small cardboard box is the perfect size to make a cool balancing and logic game. This is a great lesson in problem-solving as kids plan the construction of a DIY maze and workshop the direction paddle pop sticks need to face to make a maze with plenty of tricky spots. Added bonus: the game will challenge their hand-eye coordination as they play.

Step 1: Cut down the edges of an old cardboard box to make it easy for kids’ hands to hold on either side.

‍Step 2: Get them to plan their maze out first, marking where the paddle pop sticks will go. Aim to give the maze lots of twists, turns and some dead ends too – this will ensure no errors in the gluing phase. 

‍Step 3: Using a low temperature glue gun, glue the thin edge of each popsicle stick in place, according to the maze plans. You may need to cut some paddle pop sticks down to different lengths. 

‍Step 4: Cut a circle in the box at the end of the maze to give it a finishing point. Kids may need an adult to help with a box cutter for this step. 

‍Step 5: Roll a small piece of playdough or air dry clay into a ball. Leave to dry and harden. Then place it into the maze and, holding onto either side of the box, start manoeuvring the ball through the maze.

Fun and easy kids craft ideas made using a cardboard box and paddle pop sticks.

‍What You'll Need‍

SEE ALSO: 9 Amazing and Educational Virtual Excursions for Kids

DIY Paddle Pop Stick Superheroes and Fairies‍

Paddle pop sticks make a surprisingly simple base for creating fairies and superheroes. Jumbo sticks have a nice wide paddle, perfect for fashioning cute outfits and faces, while pre-coloured sticks are a great base for well-known hero characters. Help them work those fine motor skills as they fold paper into capes and twist tissue paper into hair. A pair of googly eyes are the finishing touch.

Keep kids busy: make these DIY superheroes and fairies at home with paddle pop sticks.

‍Step 1: Align three coloured paddle pop sticks in a row and fasten together with sticky tape (or use one jumbo stick).

Step 2: Cut a square from a piece of paper, then round off the two bottom edges. This is the start of the superhero cape. 

Step 3: Glue the paddle pop sticks on top, folding down the corners and gluing in place to make the shoulders inside the cape.

Step 4: Time to add hair, shoes, a belt and even superhero special features, such as a Superman crest. Use coloured and tissue paper and markers to create their features and accessories. 

Step 5: Don’t forget the googly eyes, so your heroes can see where they are flying. 

Easy kids craft idea for making superheroes and fairies out of paddle pop sticks.

‍What You’ll Need‍

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Make a Paddle Pop Stick Puzzle‍

Two colourful craft paddle pop stick puzzles, with one in blue and the other yellow shown on a pale blue background. 

This is a travel-friendly craft idea for a game that kids of any age can enjoy. Pre-primary school kids could choose something as simple as a circle or square for their puzzle, while older children can create a larger, more complicated work of art for their popsicle stick base. Then comes the other cool bit: pulling it apart and putting it back together again. Make it even more challenging by cutting up the popsicle sticks into smaller pieces for them to puzzle back into shape. Plus, this nifty DIY project fits in a pencil case or little paper bag for fun-on-the-go.

Bored kids will love this puzzle game which doubles as DIY project made using paddle pop sticks.

‍Step 1: Lay 11 paddle pop sticks flat to create the foundation of the puzzle. (For more advanced puzzles, you can double or even triple the amount of sticks you use, and vary the direction they are arranged.)

Step 2: Use strips of sticky tape to hold the paddle pop sticks in place. Then flip the square over to start working on your design.

Step 3: Choose something to draw onto your puzzle, tracing the outline in a thick paint pen. Aim for an image that touches all of the sticks in some way.

Step 4: Start colouring in your design. The more colours you use, the more fun it will be to play with. But know this: if you use all one colour, the puzzle becomes more difficult to complete. Perfect for kids who like a challenge.

Step 5: Remove the sticky tape and scatter the paddle pop sticks. Now it’s time to put all the puzzle pieces back together.

Kids' craft ideas using paddle pop sticks: A DIY puzzle game to draw and play with.

What You'll Need

Design Stick Spider Webs and Snowflakes ‍

Craft project of five stick spider webs and snowflakes shown on a blue background. 

This easy DIY craft project is perfect for a rainy day but also comes in handy for seasonal events, like Halloween and Christmas. Gluing the sticks together exercises fine motor skills, while painting and sticking on sparkly gems allows them plenty of creativity. With spider webs, there’s another layer of learning and development as they weave the thread over and under the sticks – fine motor skills, concentration and spatial awareness all come into play. And like most craft projects, patience is required: an important skill to practise!   

This easy kids craft idea is perfect for Halloween spiders or Christmas snowflakes.

‍Step 1: Glue four paddle pop sticks into a star shape, intersecting at the middle. Using a low temperature glue gun will hold the sticks immediately. If you’re using craft glue, it will take around 20 minutes to dry. 

Step 2: For snowflakes, now is the time to decorate. Use paint to create the white effect and add sparkly twist ties, sticky gems and sequins. 

‍Step 3: For spider webs, take a long piece of string and tie it around the intersection of the paddle pop sticks, adding a knot to hold.

‍Step 4: Use the length of the string to weave over and under each of the sticks, creating a web, moving around the shape until it’s completely covered.

Step 5: Tie a knot to secure the string to whichever stick you land on last and let the rest of the string dangle so you can tie it up .

Bonus: What is a web without its spider!? Make a fuzzy spider out of pipe cleaners (don't forget to add googly eyes) to perch on top of the web.

Kids will love these easy craft ideas for Christmas and Halloween made using paddle pop sticks.

What You'll Need‍

‍For Spider Webs:

‍For Snowflakes:

‍SEE ALSO: 5 Fun DIY Craft Projects With Blackboard Paint

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This article was originally published in 2020 and has been updated.