DIY Nature Crafts for Kids: Creative Outdoor Activities for Camping & Overlanding
Discover easy DIY nature crafts for kids – perfect for camping, overlanding, and outdoor adventures. Simple projects, minimal supplies, creative fun all year round.
Camping with kids isn’t just about tents, trails, and dusty shoes — it’s also the perfect setting for creativity. In this article, I’ll share simple, screen-free nature craft ideas for kids while camping, overlanding, and exploring outdoors – using a minimalist travel craft kit and natural materials you can find all year round. These are some of our favorite camping activities for kids!
It quickly became a kind of ritual: every time we arrived at a new camping spot, one of the first camping with kids activities we did was explore. Whether we stayed on a goat farm, beside a gently flowing river, perched on a rocky hill scented with wild Mediterranean herbs, or simply in the middle of nowhere — there were always tiny treasures to discover. Insects to observe, textures to touch, and natural materials just waiting to be gathered and turned into something new.
Back at our campsite, we laid everything out and got to work. The kids transformed their finds into personal works of art — each creation shaped by little hands and big imaginations.
Crafting while overlanding isn’t just a way to pass time. It blends creativity, family connection, and a deep bond with nature. Watching our children lose themselves in the process — no screens, no toys, just pure imagination and the natural ground — felt both grounding and magical. And yes, it also gave us grown-ups a precious moment to pause and breathe. 😉
Minimalist Craft Kit for Your Backpack
After those first creative moments, the next question was simple: what do we really need for crafting outdoor activities for kids?
At home, our older child can spend hours drawing, painting, and cutting paper into all sorts of shapes. Our craft stash could stock a small art shop. Narrowing it down for camping and outdoor trips was a challenge — but over several adventures, we gradually refined a compact craft kit, adding supplies based on what worked outside and the children’s needs and ideas.
The result? A flexible, travel-friendly kit that works for camping, exploring, outdoor creativity, and even long car rides.
A selection of photos showing our creative travel essentials for kids: a simple notebook, a cute unicorn-shaped pencil case, and colorful pens, paintbrushes etc.
What’s in our backpack craft kit (for camping & outdoors)
This tiny kit turned out to be surprisingly powerful for camping, exploring, and even long car rides. With just a few essentials, kids can draw, paint, and experiment with nature-inspired creativity anywhere.
Here’s what we usually bring:
- A small A5 spiral-bound sketchpad 📝 — perfect for sketches, doodles, or watercolor experiments.
- A pencil case containing:
- About 6–10 thick, water-soluble, multi-use colored pencils ✏️ — they work on paper, glass, stones, and more (temporarily, as they aren’t waterproof).
- A few small paintbrushes 🖌️ and a small water-filled dropper bottle 💧 (an empty nasal drop bottle works brilliantly!).
- A small cloth 🧽 to clean brushes or water brush pens.
- 1–2 waterproof black fineliners ✏️.
- 1–2 erasable colored fineliners (like Legami) ✏️ — perfect for drawing, writing, and even practicing math.
With this basic set, children can create on the sketchpad or directly on natural materials they collect outdoors — a perfect example of screen-free activities for kids. Often, our older child starts with a simple outline drawn in waterproof fineliner — say, a dragon — and then colors it in with the multi-use pencils. For watercolor techniques, they drip a few drops of water from the pipette bottle, blend with a small brush, and watch the colors come alive.
☝️ After our first long overlanding trip, our older child discovered water brush pens, which — quick tip! — can replace both paintbrushes and the dropper bottle. Our younger child still prefers traditional brushes (probably also because water brush pens require a little more fine motor skills). Water brush pens are fantastic, though sometimes a single squeeze leads to a mini flood — that’s where the little cloth comes in handy to soak up extra water. Try it out for yourself to see what works best for you and your children.
☝️ Pro tip: change the water in pipette bottles and brush pens regularly, especially when little hands are involved, to keep everything clean and hygienic.
Why less materials spark more creativity
With fewer materials, kids stop searching for the “right” supply and start creating with what’s there. We see this especially with our older child, who tends to be a little perfectionist. At home, with endless options, starting a project can sometimes feel overwhelming — the paper isn’t quite right, the colour not perfect enough.
Outdoors, with just a small craft kit and natural materials, that pressure seems to disappear. There’s no “wrong” stick or imperfect stone. Nature invites experimentation, problem‑solving, and imagination — and suddenly the focus shifts from getting it right to simply trying things out.
We’ve found that a minimalist craft kit often leads to deeper focus, longer creative play, and growing confidence — because the process matters more than the outcome.
Finding Natural Materials in Every Season
Once the kit is ready, the next adventure is exploring for natural treasures. No matter the season, nature offers endless materials for outdoor crafts with kids. Every outdoor space offers something unique: forests, riverbanks, meadows, fields — there’s always something to collect. And the best part? You can find interesting natural materials like spring flowers, summer grasses, autumn leaves, winter pinecones and frosty twigs, and many more.
Here are some of our favourite natural materials to gather outside:
Spring & Summer ideas
- Flowers 🌸
- Sand and soil 🏖️
- Snail shells 🐌
- Sea shells 🐚
- Grasses and reeds 🌱
- Feathers 🪶
- Sheep or goat wool remnants 🐑🐐
- Leaves of all shapes and colors 🍃🍂
Autumn & Winter ideas
- Seeds, nuts, and cones (chestnuts, acorn caps) 🥜🌰
- Sticks, twigs, and bark 🪵
- Moss and lichens
- Stones and pebbles 🪨
☝️ A gentle reminder: always respect nature! Prefer materials that have already fallen naturally or are abandoned — like feathers, shells, or empty snail shells. No need to disturb living plants or animals. 🙏
Collecting these treasures isn’t just practical — it turns a simple hike or wander into a mini treasure hunt, and the kids are often so absorbed that we grown-ups get to enjoy a little quiet moment too.
Easy Nature Craft Projects for Kids
Once all the treasures were collected, it was time to turn them into tiny masterpieces. Crafting with kids on the road quickly became one of our favorite parts of overlanding. In this section, I’ll share some simple nature-based projects for little explorers and budding artists alike, plus a few stories from the road.
Painted Works of Art done with the “All-in-One” Kit - on Paper and natural Materials
But outdoor creativity doesn’t always start with sticks and stones. Sometimes, it begins wherever we happen to be — even on the move.
Some truly lovely pieces of art came to life during our trip — like a pirate drawing on paper, created while we were riding the ferry from Spain back to Italy. Only a few essentials from our craft kit were needed to make it happen, proving that less really can be more when it comes to creativity.
One of our highlights was a first-time experiment during our outdoor crafts with kids: painting on a piece of tree bark. Our child carefully applied colors using watercolor pencils and, surprisingly, it worked beautifully!
Next came a touch of nature — they collected flowers, taped them to the back of the bark with thin strips of duct tape (a permanent part of our overlanding craft gear), and even added a long blade of grass as a makeshift string. Before long, the bark artwork was hanging proudly on a nearby tree, a perfect blend of nature, imagination, and hands-on fun.
The easiest way to get creative? Collect some pebbles or stones and let the kids go wild — either at home or right there in nature. But honestly, being spontaneous and crafting on the spot makes it even more fun!
Little ones can stick to simple, bright designs, splashing color wherever they like, while older kids can get more artistic — painting animals, patterns, or tiny scenes. Later, these masterpieces can even be sealed with a weatherproof coat at home, turning temporary fun into long-lasting outdoor art.
It’s a simple project that combines nature, creativity, and hands-on learning, and it’s amazing how something as ordinary as a stone can spark so much imagination.
Grey? Brown? Who Cares – It’s Mud Art!
Mud sculptures drying on sun-warmed stones by a creek, part of playful outdoor creativity.
Little hands, big muddy fun — the very essence of creative outdoor play! By the creek, our kids had an absolute blast scooping mud from the stream bed and turning it into pure creativity. Our little one happily painted their body with it, while the older child experimented with different consistencies, using the mud like modelling clay to shape all kinds of funny figures — including, of course, dinosaur poop and other wildly imaginative “toys”...
The tiny sculptures were carefully placed on a big rock to dry, slowly hardening in the sunshine. Next time, we’re curious whether these muddy masterpieces might even end up decorating the trees! And hey — isn’t a mud pack supposed to be good for the skin anyway? 😉By the way, can you spot the little mud man in the photo on the left...?
☝️ Spending time by creeks and rivers is one of the most magical parts of outdoor travel, but it’s also important to understand why clear water isn’t always safe water when overlanding — especially when kids are involved.
Art with leaves, flowers etc.
Sticky fingers, happy flowers! On a simple red sheet of paper, the kids arranged flowers and grasses with double-sided tape, punched a couple of holes, added some string, and voilà — a mini nature masterpiece ready to hang anywhere.
Even the tiniest hands can join in, and it’s amazing how something so simple can spark so much creativity. Little ones get the joy of arranging and sticking, while older kids can experiment with patterns, colours, and compositions. Best of all, it’s quick, mess-friendly, and perfect for outdoor crafting with kids.
Cardboard pieces with shapes drawn and holes punched, threaded with flowers and leaves for a playful nature craft.
Another fun idea: little cardboard adventures! We traced simple shapes onto pieces of cardboard, punched holes along the lines, and then let the kids thread flowers, leaves, and other natural treasures through their creations.
It’s a bit like connect-the-dots… but way prettier, way more nature-y, and much more fun for little hands. Kids get to experiment with colours, textures, and patterns while practising coordination — all without screens, and all while turning ordinary cardboard into tiny works of art inspired by nature.
Maple Fox, Chestnut Hedgehogs, and Leaf Monster.
Sometimes, the simplest things spark the biggest smiles. A single maple leaf transformed into a clever little Maple Fox with just a splash of paint. A handful of chestnuts magically became tiny, spiky hedgehogs, ready to explore the windowsill.
And to top it all off, a cheerful Leaf Monster came to life, complete with a cardboard head, a bendy pipe cleaner body, and a colourful coat of autumn leaves. It’s amazing how a few natural treasures and a little imagination can turn a quiet afternoon into a gallery of playful creations.
In this photo, autumn moved right onto our windowsill. Colorful leaves pressed and arranged on the window pane made the light feel warmer, and suddenly the days seemed a little cozier. Around them, the kids collected small seasonal treasures — stones, nuts, chestnuts — and turned the windowsill into a tiny autumn exhibition.
From egg cartons, twigs, and a splash of paint, bright red toadstools appeared. Walnut shells and felt magically became little mice, and cardboard cones covered in pinecones transformed into charming autumn decorations. No complicated materials, no grand plans — just nature, curiosity, and the joy of creating something beautiful together.
Corn cobs, chestnuts, Chinese lantern flowers, and rose hips — all strung together on craft wire and finished with a touch of raffia — make for striking autumn wreaths that bring seasonal charm straight to your windows.
It’s a simple way to celebrate the colors and textures of fall, and the kids love helping string, arrange, and add their little creative touches. No fancy tools, no complicated instructions.
Ice Art with Kids: When Nature Does the Freezing
Frozen nature art made from pinecones, fir branches, and paper snowflakes, captured as a temporary ice picture hanging outdoors.
One crisp winter night, we tried something a little different: ice art made from nature. Using pinecones, fir branches, and paper snowflakes we had punched out at home, we created a temporary frozen masterpiece — all thanks to a sharp −15°C.
We arranged everything on a round piece of paper placed on a plate, added a wool string for hanging, poured water over it, and let nature do the rest overnight. The next morning, a little warm water helped release the frozen artwork from the plate, and it was ready to hang outside.
Ephemeral, magical, and wonderfully simple — it’s the perfect reminder that outdoor creativity with kids can happen in every season, even when the ground is frozen and the air is crisp.
If you’re traveling with kids and looking for screen‑free activities, save this article for your next adventure.
What about you?
Do you craft outdoors with your kids? Share your favorite nature projects in the comments — we’d love to see what you create out there.
Curious now? Check out our other articles and get inspired:
Kathrin Weiss
Sebastian Weiss
Photo credits: The photos used in this article were taken by me.