Minecraft was released in 2011 and quickly became one of the best selling video games of all time. The cube shaped voxels of the Minecraft universe are immediately recognizable and allow for easy crafting adaptations for fans of all skill levels. Parents and crafty kiddos can use common household items and easily accessible supplies to take their favorite game off the screen and into the real world. Join us as we explore family friendly crafting outlets as well as some of our own.
Pixel Printables
A simple start for a family with a printer are free color pages starring your kids’ favorite Minecraft characters and situations. 80 Minecraft Color Pages has a wide variety of options for fans of every sword swinging Minecrafter. If you are looking for printable party ideas Printable Minecraft Crafts has a variety of cards, labels, banners and more. A quick scroll down this site and you’ll find a fun collection of Minecraft themed Dot to Dot and Color by Letters all perfect for younger crafters. If your kiddo is a Steve fan like we are at EFG then Steve Printables is up your alley.
Are you looking for oodles of free printable pixel pages with a functional crafting spin? Minecraft Worksheets, Planners, Chores and More has dozens of options for your Minecraft fan. Kids can enjoy mazes, math, handwriting worksheets, bingo and more all with their favorite gaming theme.
You Will Need: A printer, Crayons, Markers, or Colored Pencils.
Simple Starters
You can start with a plain sheet of paper, a ruler or straight edge and make 64 identical cubes, lined up in rows and columns of 8×8. These grids will accommodate most of the basic Minecraft characters including two of the most iconic characters the Creeper and Steve or choose an option from above. If creating your own grid is too much, starting with graph paper is an easy accommodation. Our tinier crafters can get frustrated with creating identical squares. We suggest Double Sided Graph Paper or Large Grid Paper. Square size can be tweaked for your child’s skill level. Larger squares make project completion easier, while smaller pixel projects can be used for your craftier kiddos and more complex images. If tidier crafts are your preference a handy Graph Paper Notebook can be used to house these projects and provide a space to see their talents progress.
Before you start your new grid gallery choose your coloring media. These projects can be done with a wide range of mediums: crayons, markers, or paints are easy to match up to your inspiration pics.
Other popular pixel creations include Minecraft Items, Armor, the Bee, the Chicken and other Tools and Weapons.
Potential Accommodations and Options: Changing these projects over to mosaics are easy ways to work around kiddos with less fine motor or crafting skills. We tried Square Stickers, 1×1 Mosaic Squares, and 2×2 Sticky Notes as an easier work around for mobile crafting and/or for shorter crafting sessions.
Another fun twist are Square Magnets colored squares can be made with your kiddos or purchases ahead of time and stuck on with the adhesive backing. These can stick to the kitchen fridge, a dollar store cookie sheet or fancy Metal Sheet and taken on car rides. This site is a great place to start with Mosaic Magnets.
Self Portraits
Once your artist has mastered their favorite characters it’s time to move on to a more fun subject; themselves! Self Portraits has an outstanding video breaking down the easy steps transport your kids into the Minecraft universe. An added bonus for this project is the combination of math and art, if you’re looking for a step into STEM this is it. If your little crafter needs some more direction How to draw Minecraft people has some similar fun how to’s for Minecraft characters.
Characters on Canvas
Minecraft Canvas Painting is the next step for kids who like to paint and can (mostly) stay in the lines, this is a great painting activity. These could become decorations for a Minecraft fan’s bedroom or workspace. For younger kids an adult would need to paint or draw the grid and indicate the color to use. An easy way is to assign numbers to the different colors, and match them up together before starting. Older kids may need assistance with the grid creation too; an 8×8 grid is easier to break down into even squares for most Minecraft patterns as with our simple starters.
What you might need:
This project can be done with graph paper or a homemade grid as easily as a set of 6×6 Canvas or Painting Canvas to get started. Paint choice would depend on what you have handy or what your kids can safely use, we like Washable Paints for our younger artists or a Acrylic Paint Set for the more skilled Minecrafters.
Steve and Creeper Heads
Ready to take your Minecrafting to the next level? Do you have some extra Amazon boxes lying around? Then Steve & Creeper Heads has your next project waiting for you. This fun one has the extra bonus of turning into a fun costume for Halloween or just because. If you have a clever crafter on your hands these patterns can be easily adapted to any of the other pixel projects we’ve shared above.
What the Grown Ups are going to need: Kids will likely need help transferring the grid to the box. It can be easier to draw these grids (or using graph paper) on separate sheets before attaching them to your box. Adults will also need to help with cutting the eye or mouth holes.
DIY Minecraft Shrinky Dinks
Shrinky Dinks are a fun way to turn favorite drawings into tiny trinkets, charms, key chains, and more. Follow this link Minecraft Shrinky Dinks for easy instructions to take what you’ve learned so far and expand your child’s crafting repertoire.
You Will Need: Plastic Shrink Sheets or a Shrinky Dink Kit, black permanent markers, Colored Pencils, scissors, a baking sheet, tinfoil, and your favorite Minecraft picture to trace.
8 Bit/Perler Bead Patterns
These patterns are perfect to use with perler beads. Younger crafters can follow these designs and create their favorite characters. These designs are not limited to beads, and can be used for a range of crafts for more experienced crafters. Some additional crafts include: Friendship bracelets, quilt squares, knitting or crocheting.
Steve
Torch
Skeleton
Zombie
Diamond
Stone Weapons
Diamond Sword
Diamond Ax
Ender Dragon
Assorted characters
Armor and swords
Friendship Bracelet
This design is longer and thin which is intended as a friendship bracelet, but could easily be used for other crafts.
DIY Shrinky Dinks
Shrinky Dinks are a classic craft that you can create using any theme. By tracing Minecraft pictures you can make you can have Minecraft Shrinky Dinks!
Creeper Magnets
This craft uses glass gems (found in most craft sections of stores) creeper face printouts and adhesive magnets. The blog link also has directions for Minecraft Sticker Block art and Construction Paper Pixel Art
Creeper Made with Toilet Paper Rolls and a Small Box
Creeper Construction Paper Art
Torch
This blog details a Minecraft Themed birthday party. The paper torch was one activity for the kids to enjoy. Directions for the torch are about near the bottom of the page.
Tin Can Containers
Creating a pencil tin using paper and an old tin can is a classic craft. This simple activity takes a Minecraft print out and attaches it to a tin can to decorate. For the younger crafter this is nice and simple. For a more skilled older child, they could use grip paper to design their own image.
http://www.redtedart.com/minecraft-desk-tidy-diy-printables/
No Sew Pillows
This blog details how to make Minecraft pillows without sewing at all! The pillows are held together with fusible bonding, which you iron to bond it, or fabric glue. The Minecraft characters are painted or glued on with felt. This is a more involved craft, but being no sew it is safer for crafters of all ages.
Minecraft is wildly popular and in the game Creative Mode allows the players to use their imaginations. The crafts listed above allow them to tap into their interest of Minecraft and be creative in the real world. There are crafts that have a wide range of skills, depending on the child and the level of support desired by the adult. Crafts are a fun ways to connect the love of creation in Minecraft to making real objects.
Steve and Creeper Heads
These cross over into costume/dress-up too. The link provides directions for making Steve and Creeper heads out of cardboard boxes. The labor intensive part for the adult is going to be making the grid lines.
8 Bit/Perler Bead Patterns
These patterns are perfect to use with perler beads. Younger crafters can follow these designs and create their favorite characters. These designs are not limited to beads, and can be used for a range of crafts for more experienced crafters. Some additional crafts include: Friendship bracelets, quilt squares, knitting or crocheting.
Steve
Torch
Skeleton
Zombie
Diamond
Stone Weapons
Diamond Sword
Diamond Ax
Ender Dragon
Assorted characters
Armor and swords
Friendship Bracelet
This design is longer and thin which is intended as a friendship bracelet, but could easily be used for other crafts.
Characters on canvas
For kids that like to paint and (mostly) can stay in the lines, this is a great painting activity. For younger kids an adult would need to paint the grid and indicate the color to use. For older kids, they may still need assistance creating the grid. These could also become bedroom decorations for a Minecraft fan.
DIY Shrinky Dinks
Shrinky Dinks are a classic craft that you can create using any theme. By tracing Minecraft pictures you can make you can have Minecraft Shrinky Dinks!
Creeper Magnets
This craft uses glass gems (found in most craft sections of stores) creeper face printouts and adhesive magnets. The blog link also has directions for Minecraft Sticker Block art and Construction Paper Pixel Art
Creeper Made with Toilet Paper Rolls and a Small Box
Creeper Construction Paper Art
Torch
This blog details a Minecraft Themed birthday party. The paper torch was one activity for the kids to enjoy. Directions for the torch are about near the bottom of the page.
Tin Can Containers
Creating a pencil tin using paper and an old tin can is a classic craft. This simple activity takes a Minecraft print out and attaches it to a tin can to decorate. For the younger crafter this is nice and simple. For a more skilled older child, they could use grip paper to design their own image.
http://www.redtedart.com/minecraft-desk-tidy-diy-printables/
No Sew Pillows
This blog details how to make Minecraft pillows without sewing at all! The pillows are held together with fusible bonding, which you iron to bond it, or fabric glue. The Minecraft characters are painted or glued on with felt. This is a more involved craft, but being no sew it is safer for crafters of all ages.
Minecraft is wildly popular and in the game Creative Mode allows the players to use their imaginations. The crafts listed above allow them to tap into their interest of Minecraft and be creative in the real world. There are crafts that have a wide range of skills, depending on the child and the level of support desired by the adult. Crafts are a fun ways to connect the love of creation in Minecraft to making real objects.
Stephen Duetzmann 
