Last week, I shared tips for using bamboo skewers for food, but you had to know that wouldn't be the end of the skewer story. They're really handy for crafts, too.
10 Crafts to Make with Bamboo Skewers
- Hold stuff. Bamboo skewers are cheap, and they work very nicely for holding things when you're painting or covering them with frosting. When we made Grace's princess cake, I used skewers to hold the peaks after I frosted them, but before they dried.
- Poke a hole. If you're making beads out of clay or paper, or making ornaments out of dough, use a skewer to poke a hole in it for stringing. Skewers were designed to poke holes in things, so they are perfect!
- Make a bouquet. Whether you're using edibles (think flowers cut out of fruit or cake balls) or non-edibles (paper, felt, ribbon flowers or buttons), you can use skewers as stems. Press the other end into a block of styrofoam or place them in a tall glass or vase to hold them in a pretty bouquet shape.
- Make a trash can. I'm not kidding. Dollar Store Crafts featured a trash can woven from twine and skewers.
- Make snowflakes or stars. You know the old method where you fold a piece of paper into a small square or rectangle, and then cut pieces out of it to make a pretty snowflake? When you're finished, you can make it sturdier by attaching skewers to the back. Use tape or glue to make an X out of two skewers, and affix that X to the back. If you attach another snowflake on the other side of the X, you can hang a bunch from the ceiling like a mobile or garland.
If you don't stop at the X, you can make stars. Glue a bunch (like 5 or 6) of skewers together to make a star. Paint it and cover it with glitter. As with the snowflakes, you can hang these for a pretty mobile or garland. - Make a spiderweb. This pretty, beaded spiderweb from Family Fun takes the star idea a step further by adding jewelry wire and pretty beads between the skewers.
- Make a kite. This tutorial is the ultimate in recycled crafts. It uses a sheet of newspaper and a couple of skewers to make a kite that actually flies. Another one from the same website makes a butterfly.
- Make paper trees. These trees, from Martha Stewart, really are beautiful. I think kids especially would love to make them for Christmas decorations.
- Make chimes. You can tie spoons, sea shells, or any other clangy bangy object on fishing line and hang it from a skewer that you've painted. Tie a few of them onto the skewer and you've made a wind chime.
- Make a mirror. This project, from Dollar Store crafts, turns a few skewers into a fabulous mirror. It's absolutely gorgeous!
How do you use bamboo skewers?
Have you seen the rest of the series?
- 10 Things to Make with a Bundt Pan
- 10 Things to Make with a Muffin Pan
- 10 Foods and 10 Crafts to Make with Cookie Cutters
- 10 Things to Make with a Scoop
- 10 Things to Make with a Mandoline
- 10 Things to Make in a Springform Pan
- 10 Uses for an Icing Decorator
- 10 Foods to Make with Bamboo Skewers
Happily submitted to Top Ten Tuesday, Kitchen Tip Tuesday, and Works for Me Wednesday
Marbel says
I'm going to show this to my crafty daughter - she will love it!
Heather says
Love the paper trees! I just got a package of 100 bamboo skewers for $2.50 at the grocery store -- who knew they were so cheap?!
Anonymous says
I hope you found some useful projects!
LindaKyle says
I have been using wooden skewers as Stakes on small or starter Plants 🌿 successfully for years! The natural wood blends into a pot beautifully and because of their size they're barely noticeable.