25 Pipe Cleaner Crafts for Kids and Adults

Put your pipe cleaners to good use with these creative pipe cleaner crafts! You won’t believe all the different things you can make with such a simple craft supply.

Pipe cleaners are one of the first craft supplies a lot of kids get to experiment with, and for good reason! They can be bent into almost any shape so they’re super versatile, and they almost never break so you can use them over and over again.

You also wouldn’t believe all of the different things you can make with pipe cleaners. It’s crazy! There are animal crafts, flowers, decor pieces, art projects, and just so many different, creative ways to use such an inexpensive and simple object.

To show you just what’s possible, we put together this list of pipe cleaner crafts for kids and adults (yes, you can get involved too!). I guarantee you’ll have a ton of fun with these.

Where to Buy Pipe Cleaners

Any craft store will have a good supply of different colored pipe cleaners but if you want the most frugal option, I’d shop on Amazon.

They’ve got big boxes of different colored pipe cleaners, including extra-fancy glittery ones all at affordable prices. If you have Amazon Prime it makes even more sense for that quick shipping!

The Best Pipe Cleaner Craft Ideas

1. Superheroes

If your kids love superheroes they’re going to have a blast making their very own pipe cleaner hero! There’s even a cape! Question: What superpower would your own handmade superhero have?

As I’m looking at these, I can’t help but imagine what other characters you could make with some pipe cleaner, beads, and straws. The only limit is your imagination!

Get the full tutorial from Frugal Fun 4 Boys.

2. Dancing Princess

Similar to the superheroes, you can also make dancing characters with your pipe cleaners. All you need are some fun colored paper napkins to make those beautiful dresses!

Get the full tutorial from Blue Bear Wood.

3. Dragons

Dragons are easily one of the coolest mythical creatures around. To make your own pipe cleaner version (in any color), all you need besides the pipe cleaners are some craft foam, craft sticks, googly eyes, scissors, and a hot glue gun. Pretty awesome!

Get the full tutorial from Frugal Fun 4 Boys.

4. Spiders

I absolutely love almost every Halloween craft and DIY Halloween decoration I come across, and these spiders are no exception. They’re not too creepy, they just look friendly and fuzzy!

Get the full tutorial from Blissful Domestication.

5. Beaded Flowers

There are plenty of different pipe cleaner flower crafts but this is by far one of my favorites. The beads add such a nice range of colors!

Get the full tutorial from One Little Project.

6. Bracelets

Did you ever make pipe cleaner bracelets as a kid? Such a classic craft! These are super quick and easy to make and there are so many different color variations you can do. Make a friendship bracelet, a bracelet with your favorite colors, or something else.

Get the full tutorial from Thrifty Fun.

7. Finger Puppets

These have got to be some of the most adorable finger puppets I’ve ever seen. So cute! Definitely one of the funniest pipe cleaner crafts on this list.

Get the full tutorial from The Soccer Mom Blog.

8. Flower Crowns

These flower crowns are really neat, and the crafting process to make them is just as cool. You can have a learning session teaching the kids how to make the colorful yarn flowers, and then they can wear their own homemade crown around the house!

Get the full tutorial from Bren Did.

9. Pipe Cleaner Glasses

Here’s a super simple pipe cleaner craft that any kid will love. These glasses are a bit silly, sure, but that’s what makes them so fun! Try to make different styles of glasses if you want to really challenge your crafting skills 😉

Get the full tutorial from 123 Homeschool 4 Me.

10. Bird Pencil Toppers

I know there are a ton of pencil toppers you can buy directly on Amazon, but these homemade ones are so much more unique!

Get the full tutorial from Artsy Craftsy Mom.

11. Rainbow Magnet

For a bright and fun fridge decoration, this pipe cleaner rainbow magnet craft is perfect. You can also just skip the magnets entirely if you’d like and just do a rainbow craft!

Get the full tutorial from One Little Project.

12. Shamrock

This is one of the easiest pipe cleaner crafts on this list! All you need here is one green pipe cleaner and you’re ready to craft! (You could make different colored shamrocks too of course.)

Get the full tutorial from Catholic Icing.

Related: 17 Easy St. Patrick’s Day Crafts for Kids and Adults

13. Mini Pumpkin

Here’s another Halloween craft for you to try out with your pipe cleaners. I think these would look great next to these pumpkin cuties appetizers!

Get the full tutorial from Think Crafts.

14. Fishing Game

This is such a fantastic idea. Craft a ton of different pipe cleaner fish (all shown in the tutorial below), and then a magnet fishing rod for an at-home fishing game! The kids will have a blast with this.

Get the full tutorial from Artsy Craftsy Mom.

15. Bubble Wands

If you make your own DIY bubble solution and need a wand to blow bubbles with, making your own is definitely the most stylish way to do it. The kids will love customizing their own wand too!

Get the full tutorial from My Home Based Life.

16. Butterfly Rings

These butterfly rings are surprisingly easy to make and they look fabulous. You can make them in any colors you like too, and there’s no gluing required. All you’ll need are 3 pipe cleaners and some scissors.

Get the full tutorial from One Little Project.

17. Santa

I love these cute little popsicle stick Santas. The swirly pipe cleaner hat, the cotton ball beard, the googly eyes, it all goes together perfectly! I think you could turn these into DIY ornaments too if you wanted.

Get the full tutorial from The Resourceful Mama.

Related: 38 DIY Winter Crafts for Kids

18. Love Bug

For a DIY Valentine’s Day craft, these love bugs are pretty cute and they’re really easy to make! You could probably come up with a fun card to go along with them too.

Get the full tutorial from Inspiring Savings.

19. Alphabet

If your child is still learning their ABCs, this craft might help them learn even faster! The letters have a really cool 3D look to them as well which will be a fun challenge for them, and it’s a bit like pipe cleaner art. You could even hang these on your walls as a decoration if you wanted.

Get the full tutorial from Handmade Charlotte.

20. Magnet Experiment

Here’s a really simple experiment you can do at home with a magnet, a bottle, and some pipe cleaners. Just put everything together and let your child have fun with it!

Get the full tutorial from Frugal Fun 4 Boys.

21. Custom Crowns

These are a tiny bit similar to the flower crowns we shared above, but a lot easier and a lot faster to make. All you need are pipe cleaners and some scissors, and you can make various crown styles!

Get the full tutorial from Val Event Gal.

22. Forky

For all of you who have seen Toy Story 4, I hope you fell in love with Forky just as much as I did. What a hilarious character. Crafting him would be awesome to do with the kids, and those pipe cleaner arms are so silly and fun!

Get the full tutorial from Kathy Angelnik.

23. Ring Toss

This is such an easy game to put together but it’s one that can provide hours of fun. Maybe you could make a horseshoe toss game as well?

Get the full tutorial from Moms Collab.

24. Halloween Finger Puppets

Can you tell I like Halloween crafts? These are so perfect looking I just had to include them in this list of pipe cleaner crafts! I could see these being used in a really fun Halloween puppet show.

Get the full tutorial from One Little Project.

25. Doll Furniture

These custom DIY pipe cleaner furniture pieces could be used with dolls, legos, you name it! Super easy, versatile, and fun to make.

Get the full tutorial from Kit Kraft.

Final Thoughts

If you were wondering what to make with pipe cleaners before reading this, hopefully you found some good ideas in this list! Most of these pipe cleaner crafts are really quite easy and inexpensive to make, so you can go to town with the kids!

Remember if you need different colored pipe cleaners or a cheap supply, head over to Amazon! They have tons of inexpensive options.

Crafts to try next:

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