35 Creative Back-to-School Craft Ideas for DIY-Inclined Kids
Make the 2024-2025 school year even more fun with these easy projects.
We've been independently researching and testing products for over 120 years. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more about our review process.
When I think back on my own back-to-school days, my favorite part was always the fresh batch of school supplies. Not only picking up new backpacks, new lunch bags and filling them with pens, pencils and notebooks, but finding ways of stamping my personality onto all those blank slates. I mostly did this through the addition of stickers and poorly scrawled song lyrics, but I probably could have done better if I'd had the proper inspiration.
CHECK OUT ALL OF OUR BACK-TO-SCHOOL IDEAS
Now that the 2024-2025 school year is upon is, iff there are students in your life who want similar one-of-a-kind school supplies, these are the best back-to-school craft ideas. Some of them are meant to keep everything neat and organized, so there's no wasted minutes looking for loose pencils when it's time to buckle down and do work. Others are ingenious ways to dress up notebooks, lockers and backpacks so they exude creativity. Others are meant to look pretty on a desk, some are fall crafts that just work well for the season and there are even a few that could be given as DIY, homemade gifts, either for teachers or otherwise. Break out those crafting materials, get the inventive juices flowing and set them off on an art project that will get their year started off right.
Lunch Money Pouch
You can always use a little extra cash for lunch money, after-school snacks and other purchases. These not only look cute, they'll keep the bills and coins from getting lost.
Beaded Doll Pencil Toppers
These dolls are so simple, yet they have so much personality! They can dress up pencils, backpacks, phone cases, school supply pouches or wherever else they can be tied.
Reusable Snack Bag
It's always useful to have an extra snack pouch lying around for when that afternoon hunger strikes. The best part is that if you're not into dinosaurs, you can choose whatever paint stencil you like.
Get the tutorial at Sarah Hearts »
RELATED: Best Reusable Lunch Bags
Button Bookmarks
Not only are these button bookmarks cute, they're small and easy to make in batches, so you can always have a few on-hand to mark your place in textbooks at a moment's notice.
Rainbow Pencil Holder
This craft is especially good for those who like to keep their supplies organized by color, but no matter how they're sorted, this one holds a lot.
Bloom Pencil Bouquet
It's back-to-school season, but it'll feel like spring with these bountiful pencils blooming from a flower pot. These were envisioned as teacher gifts, but you can always just use them to make any desk a little sunnier.
Get the tutorial at Ameroonie Designs »
RELATED: The Best Teacher Gifts
Beaded Backpack Tags
Backpack charms have never been hotter, and this one allows crafters to add just the right amount of personal touch. Almost any small, plastic toy can be converted to a backpack charm.
French Fry Pencil Holder
Pencils look a lot less humdrum when they're housed in a container that looks like a French fry box. It's enough to make anyone say Fry-YAY.
Patterned Storage Pots
Patterned stickers make it easy to old cosmetics containers or small jam jars into cool storage pots. You can easily match colors or swap out the stickers seasonally.
Washi Tape Organizer
Save those oatmeal, nut and potato-chip tubes! With some washi tape, they can become pencil cups and desk organizers. (Recycling!)
Magnetic Pencil Holder
Since locker space is always at a premium, use this magnetic pencil holder to make the most of every inch of storage. It looks nice, too.
Monster Pencil Case
They call this "The Gobbler" for a reason — it eats up school supplies. (And it keeps them neatly organized.)
Cotton Lanyard
Whether you need to stash your keys or hold an ID badge, do it in style with a DIY lanyard. This also makes great birthday presents for friends.
Mini Button Chalkboard
If you need a place for little notes, reminders and words of encouragement, this DIY chalkboard is it. Plus, you get to use up all the extra buttons you have lying around the house.
Apple Tag
This tissue-paper apple tag adds a note of seasonality to a desk or locker. Note to all the teachers out there: This also makes a good first-day-of-school activity, so every student can hang one on their desk.
DIY Homework Caddy
If you have all the supplies you need ready to go in one place — a cute place, to boot — you'll have one less reason to procrastinate doing your homework.
Apple Mason Jar
Use it as a pencil holder, or a catch-all for things like paper clips and thumb tacks. These also make great teacher gifts.
Rainbow Desk Organizer
Not only does this desk organizer keep papers sorted, it reminds you of the ROYGBIV if you make it large enough. (You can use one for your office desk, too.)
Rainbow Watercolor Backpack
A backpack should match its owner's personality. So, that means it should be covered in bold and cheery colors!
Splattered Watercolor Notebook
You can never have too many notebooks, especially when they have your name written across the front.
Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; previously, she wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her toy-collecting husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found helping out her team at bar trivia or posting about movies on Twitter and Bluesky.
The Only Back-to-School Shopping Lists You Need
Amazon's Back-to-School Deals Are Underway!
40 Fun First-Day-of-School Activities
35 Back-to-School Organization Ideas
