7 Beach-Themed Craft Ideas for Rainy Days That Kids Love Most

Why it matters: Rainy days don’t have to derail your beach vacation vibes or leave you scrambling for indoor activities.

The big picture: Beach-themed crafts transform gloomy weather into creative opportunities that capture summer’s essence while keeping hands busy and minds engaged.

What’s next: These seven DIY projects use common household items to bring coastal charm indoors—perfect for families, kids’ activities, or anyone craving that sandy beach atmosphere from the comfort of home.

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Create Seashell Picture Frames Using Cardboard and Found Materials

Transform cardboard into stunning coastal keepsakes with shells you’ve collected during sunnier beach days. You’ll create personalized frames that capture vacation memories while keeping hands busy during indoor weather.

Gather Seashells, Sand, and Small Beach Treasures

Collect various sized shells from previous beach visits or your existing collection. Add small pieces of driftwood, sea glass, and pebbles for texture variety. Include fine sand in a small container to create natural-looking bases between decorative elements.

Design and Decorate Your Frame with Ocean-Inspired Elements

Arrange shells around your cardboard frame‘s border before gluing to test different patterns. Layer larger shells as focal points with smaller ones filling gaps naturally. Sprinkle sand over wet glue sections to create realistic beach textures between your treasures.

Make Paper Plate Jellyfish with Streamers and Paint

Paper plate jellyfish bring the graceful movement of ocean creatures right into your living room. This simple craft captures the mesmerizing flow you’d see while snorkeling in calm coastal waters.

Cut and Shape the Jellyfish Body

Start by cutting your paper plate in half to create the jellyfish’s bell-shaped dome. Paint the curved side with watercolors in ocean blues, purples, or translucent pinks that mimic real jellyfish. Let the paint blend naturally for that authentic underwater shimmer you’d witness during a seaside dive.

Add Colorful Streamers for Tentacles

Attach 6-8 crepe paper streamers or ribbon strips to the straight edge of your painted plate half. Cut streamers in varying lengths from 12-24 inches to replicate the flowing tentacles that drift with ocean currents. Secure each streamer with glue dots, then gently twist them for realistic underwater movement.

Build Sand Castle Models Using Kinetic Sand or Play Dough

You’ll discover that kinetic sand and play dough create the perfect beach-building experience without the mess of real sand. These materials hold their shape beautifully and let you construct detailed castles that capture the magic of coastal architecture.

Construct Castle Towers and Walls

Start by rolling kinetic sand into thick logs for your castle’s main walls. Pack the material firmly into small containers or molds to create uniform tower shapes. Connect multiple towers with rolled walls, pressing edges together to form a solid foundation that mimics real sandcastle construction techniques.

Add Miniature Beach Accessories and Decorations

Press small shells, pebbles, and tiny figurines into your castle walls for authentic coastal details. Create miniature flags using toothpicks and colorful paper scraps. Add toy beach chairs, umbrellas, and even tiny starfish around the base to transform your model into a complete seaside scene.

Design Ocean Wave Art with Blue and White Watercolors

You’ll capture the mesmerizing movement of ocean waves using simple watercolor techniques that bring beach memories to life on paper.

Layer Different Shades of Blue Paint

Start with light cerulean blue as your base layer, painting horizontal waves across your paper. Add deeper navy blue beneath each wave crest to create natural depth and shadow. Blend prussian blue into the darker areas while the paint’s still wet, mimicking how ocean water appears darker in deeper sections.

Create Foam Effects with White Paint Techniques

Dab white gouache or thick watercolor along wave crests using a dry brush technique for realistic sea foam texture. Splatter diluted white paint across your waves by flicking a loaded brush to replicate ocean spray. Mix white with a tiny amount of pale blue to paint softer foam areas where waves meet calmer water.

Craft Tissue Paper Tropical Fish Collages

Transform your rainy day into an underwater adventure by creating vibrant tropical fish collages that’ll bring the ocean’s most colorful creatures to life. These delicate tissue paper masterpieces capture the flowing beauty of reef fish swimming through crystal-clear waters.

Choose Bright Colors for Different Fish Species

Select brilliant oranges and whites for clownfish, deep blues and yellows for angelfish, and neon greens for parrotfish. You’ll want to gather at least five different tissue paper colors to create realistic tropical species. Choose transparent tissue papers that layer beautifully, allowing underlying colors to show through for authentic fish patterns and gradients.

Assemble and Layer Tissue Paper Pieces

Start by cutting basic fish shapes from cardstock as your foundation, then tear tissue paper into small irregular pieces for natural scaling effects. Layer the tissue pieces using diluted white glue, overlapping each piece slightly to create depth and texture. Work from light colors to dark, building up layers until your fish shimmer with realistic tropical hues.

Construct Lighthouse Decorations from Toilet Paper Rolls

Transform empty toilet paper rolls into charming lighthouse decorations that’ll bring coastal vibes to your rainy day crafting session. These miniature beacons capture the essence of seaside adventures while keeping little hands busy with creative construction.

Paint Stripes and Add Windows

Paint alternating red and white stripes around your toilet paper roll using acrylic paints for authentic lighthouse appeal. Start with a white base coat and add horizontal red bands once dry. Cut small rectangular windows from yellow construction paper and glue them strategically around the lighthouse body to create realistic illuminated openings.

Create the Light Source with LED Tea Lights

Drop battery-operated LED tea lights inside your completed lighthouse structure to create a magical glowing effect. These flameless lights provide safe illumination that mimics real lighthouse beacons. Secure the light at the top opening and watch your miniature lighthouse cast enchanting shadows around your indoor beach scene.

Assemble Beach Memory Jars with Sand and Miniature Objects

You’ll create lasting keepsakes that capture your favorite beach moments in beautiful glass containers. These memory jars preserve special vacation memories while adding coastal charm to any room.

Layer Colored Sand for Visual Appeal

Start with natural tan sand as your base layer to mimic real beach sediment. Add colored craft sand in blues and whites above this foundation, creating ocean-inspired stripes that remind you of tide pools and shoreline gradients. Pour each layer slowly through a funnel to maintain distinct color boundaries and achieve that perfect beachy stratification effect.

Fill with Tiny Shells, Starfish, and Beach-Themed Items

Press small shells, sea glass pieces, and miniature starfish into your sand layers for authentic ocean texture. Add tiny driftwood pieces, smooth pebbles, and coral fragments you’ve collected during beach walks to personalize each jar. Include small plastic beach toys like miniature umbrellas or surfboards to capture playful summer memories in your coastal display.

Conclusion

These seven beach-themed craft projects prove that rainy days don’t have to dampen your coastal vacation spirit. You’ve got everything you need to transform ordinary household items into treasured beach memories that’ll last long after your trip ends.

From glowing lighthouse decorations to colorful tropical fish collages each project offers a unique way to keep the ocean’s magic alive indoors. Your family will love creating these keepsakes together while building new memories on those unexpected indoor days.

The best part? You can recreate these crafts year-round whenever you’re missing the beach. Pack a few basic supplies on your next coastal getaway and you’ll be ready to turn any rainy afternoon into a creative adventure that captures the essence of summer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some good rainy day beach crafts for kids?

Great rainy day beach crafts include making seashell picture frames, paper plate jellyfish, sandcastle models with kinetic sand, ocean wave watercolor art, tissue paper tropical fish collages, toilet paper roll lighthouses, and beach memory jars. These projects use common household items and help bring coastal vibes indoors during gloomy weather.

How do you make seashell picture frames?

Start with cardboard as your base and cut it into your desired frame shape. Decorate with shells collected from previous beach visits, along with driftwood and sea glass. Arrange these beach treasures around the frame and secure with glue for a personalized coastal decoration.

What materials do I need for paper plate jellyfish?

You’ll need paper plates, scissors, paint in ocean-inspired colors, and colorful streamers or ribbons. Cut a paper plate in half to create the jellyfish dome, paint it with blues and purples, then attach streamers underneath to mimic the graceful tentacles.

Can you build sandcastles indoors?

Yes! Use kinetic sand or play dough for mess-free indoor sandcastle building. Roll the material into logs for walls, use molds for towers, and enhance your creation with miniature beach accessories like shells, pebbles, and tiny figurines to create a realistic seaside scene.

How do you create ocean wave watercolor art?

Start with light cerulean blue as your base layer on watercolor paper. Add deeper blue shades for depth and shadow, then use white paint techniques to create realistic foam effects. This simple approach captures the mesmerizing movement of ocean waves.

What’s the best way to make tissue paper tropical fish?

Select bright colored tissue paper for different fish species. Cut cardstock into fish shapes, then layer tissue paper pieces using diluted white glue. This technique creates depth and texture, resulting in shimmering, realistic tropical fish that capture reef life beauty.

How do you make lighthouse decorations from toilet paper rolls?

Paint empty toilet paper rolls with alternating red and white stripes for authenticity. Add yellow construction paper windows and place battery-operated LED tea lights inside for a glowing effect. These miniature lighthouses perfectly enhance your indoor beach atmosphere.

What goes in beach memory jars?

Layer natural tan sand with colored craft sand to create ocean-inspired stripes. Fill jars with tiny shells, starfish, and beach-themed miniature objects for authentic ocean texture. These keepsakes capture favorite beach moments and add lasting coastal charm to any room.