Crafts for 1 Year Olds

Last Updated on February 4, 2026 by Jordyn Koveleski Gorman

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Your baby isn’t so little anymore, and they’re transitioning into toddlerhood right before your eyes. Arts and crafts can seem daunting, but they don’t have to be. With the right resources, craft time with your 1 year old can be a fun and engaging activity that also supports their development!

At Eat Play Say, we specialize in crafts that fit the bill…and the best part? No fancy supplies or equipment, and they don’t take all day. Our crafts can be completed start to finish in 10 minutes or less!

Break out the craft bin (you can find our favorite craft supplies here, if you need some help) and get ready for some of the cutest crafts that you actually want to do!

3 Easy toddler crafts

When it comes to arts and crafts for 1 year olds, one thing is true: it doesn’t need to be complex. The simpler, the better! Our favorite crafts for early toddlerhood focus on fine motor skills (like pincer grasp and writing utensil grasp) and sensory input.

Check out our top three easy crafts for your 1 year old below!

Looking for crafts for a specific holiday or time of year? Check out our collection of craft freebies, from Valentine’s Day to Winter crafts, and for every season and holiday in between!

Paper plate sun

Supplies needed: paper plate, paint/crayons/markers, paper, glue

Time to complete: 10 minutes

Ages appropriate: 12+ months

Fine motor skills it supports: bilateral coordination, cutting, fine motor manipulation and coordination, pincer grasp, writing utensil grasp, & hand strengthening

1. To set up this craft, cut out 3 small, black triangles to use for your sun’s eyes and nose, and 10 larger yellow triangles for the rays. Older toddlers (2.5+) can help cut the pieces.
2. Next, let your little one either color or paint the bottom of the paper plate bright yellow.
3. Glue on your eyes, nose, and rays.
4. Draw the mouth and enjoy your homemade sunshine!

This is a great craft for a rainy day or in the middle of summer. And in the coldest months of the year, it can be a reminder that the sun is coming back soon! 

One of our best toddler craft tips: pair craft time with reading time! Check out our favorite books and toys about weather here!

Tissue paper tree

Supplies needed: paper towel tube, tissue paper, scissors

Time to complete: 5 minutes

Ages appropriate: 9+ months

Fine motor skills it supports: cutting (older toddlers), pincer grasp, fine motor coordination, bilateral coordination

1. Cut a paper towel tube in half, then cut 3-4 slits into the sides to make holes. Older toddlers can help you with the cutting. 
2. Next, take colored tissue paper and stuff it into the tube. Pull it through the holes to give your “tree” some leaves. You can use different colors of paper for different seasons, like pink for spring trees, green for summer, and red or orange for fall!

This craft is as simple and easy as it gets! It can be adapted for new one year olds and those who are nearing their second birthday. 

Want to connect the craft to another activity? Check out our garden play theme for books and toys that pair well with this craft!

Fingerprint bugs

Supplies needed: construction paper, paint, crayons/markers

Time to complete: 10 minutes

Ages appropriate: 9+ months

Fine motor skills it supports: sensory exploration, fine motor strength and coordination, writing utensil strengthening, fine motor manipulation; isolating pointer finger

1. To prep this craft, pour different colors of washable paint on a paper plate.
2. Help your little one isolate their pointer finger, then dip their finger into different color paints and make fingerprints on the paper. Fill up the paper with different color finger prints. Some may turn into a rainbow mix of colors!
3. After the paint dries, go back with a dark colored marker and make dots on the finger prints for eyes, give some bugs legs and others wings! Let your little one help you make a page full of colorful, swarming bugs!

This craft is a perfect pair with our bugs play theme! Not a fan of bugs? You can make so many things out of those little fingerprints! Try rain drops falling from a big, fluffy cotton ball cloud or snow flakes falling down, down, down. This craft helps develop so many fine motor skills, it should be put on rotation!

Easy art projects for kids

Art projects for kids are essentially crafts with a purpose! They can be gifts for family members, or our favorite, serve a great purpose in play after craft time ends. These kinds of art project crafts can be adapted easily for kids of all ages, and are perfect for exploring art with your one year old.

Here are our favorite art projects for kids that don’t just hang up on the wall:

Popsicle stick picture frame

Supplies needed: popsicle sticks, glue, pom poms, markers, stickers

Time to complete: 10 minutes

Ages appropriate: 12+ months

Fine motor skills it supports: bilateral coordination (using 2 hands together), fine motor coordination, pincer grasp, writing utensil grasp

1. Grab 4 popsicle sticks (they make rainbow ones—I used these!)
2. Glue the four corners together and let it dry.
3. Decorate the popsicle sticks using pom poms, crayons, markers, or even stickers.
4. Grab a picture and cut it to fit the dimensions of the popsicle stick.
5. Glue the popsicle stick frame to the picture.

Optional: Glue a magnet to the back and hang on the fridge!

Puppet pal

Supplies needed: popsicle sticks, construction paper or paper plate, glue, googly eyes, scissors

Time to complete: 10 minutes

Ages appropriate: 12+ months

Fine motor skills it supports: bilateral coordination (using 2 hands together), fine motor coordination, pincer grasp, writing utensil grasp, hand strengthening, and scissor skills

1. To set this craft up, draw a popsicle shape on construction paper or a paper plate (a paper plate makes a sturdier puppet).
2. Cut out the popsicle shape. Toddlers 2.5+ can help with this.
3. Decorate the popsicle using crayons, markers, or even stickers.
4. After decorating, glue googly eyes onto the popsicle. Then, glue the body to a popsicle stick.
5. Take turns creating puppet shows with your new popsicle puppets!

Although you can enjoy a popsicle year-round, we think these fun friends pair especially well with our summer book favorites!

Toilet paper roll penguin

Supplies needed: toilet paper roll, construction paper, scissors, glue, crayons/markers, googly eyes

Time to complete: 10 minutes

Ages appropriate: 18+ months

Fine motor skills it supports: holding writing utensil, bilateral coordination (using two hands together), and scissor skills

1. Glue black construction paper around the entire toilet paper roll.
2. Cut out two circles with white paper- one small for the penguin’s head, and one larger for the belly (little ones 2.5+ can help with cutting if supervised).
3. Use crayons or markers to draw a face on the smaller white circle for the penguin’s face, or use googly eyes and construction paper.
4. Glue the white circles onto the toilet paper roll to create your penguin.
5. Optional: Cut some orange or yellow feet for your little one to glue on the bottom of the toilet paper roll. Then, make him “waddle!”

Pair your penguin with play by making a winter sensory bin as his “tundra” or read a winter-themed book together!

Need more arts and crafts for 1 year olds?

Honorable mention goes to the sensory bin, which we dedicated a whole post to! Sensory activities are the kind of arts and crafts that don’t get hung on the fridge, but do tend to be a bit messier. For one year olds, it’s usually best to make sensory bins with taste-safe bases.

If you love pairing crafts with other play activities, you’ll also love our 52 Play Themes freebie. This printable (or mobile-friendly) resource helps you keep play exciting and fresh all year long! We even have a theme dedicated to arts and crafts!

Remember that kids’ crafts don’t have to be messy, complicated, or time-consuming, which is why we focus on crafts that use 10 supplies or less and can generally be completed in about 10 minutes.

Looking for more crafts to do with your little one? We’ve got you covered! Check out our craft freebies for every season and nearly every holiday!