A popsicle stick is a wooden rounded top long stick made from birchwood, usually topped with your favourite ice lolly or ice cream. The popsicle stick ice lolly was made by pure accident in 1905 and is now over 100 years old.
The reason for ice creams and lollies being put on a wooden popsicle is that wood is not a heat conductor, which ensures your ice cream won't melt as fast.
Our clever artisan adeeba from Pakistan has been making popsicle stick craft videos since 2021.
The types of videos she has made for us include kalimba popsicle stick, popsicle stick knife, fork and spoon, popsicle door wedge, popsicle soap holder and popsicle monkey drum rainstick and business card, holder.
We believe that natural hand-made, sustainable craft is the best for our planet. See the playlist below for inspiration on the great things you can make with popsicle sticks and please take care to use tools with safety in mind. If you have no training in woodcraft, we would not recommend trying this at home.
1. Popsicle Stick Kalimba
The popsicle stick kalimba is our channel's first lolly stick music instrument. Our viewers were curious whether it had any sound to it, so they made the craft themselves and unfortunately, it did not sound like it a kalimba.
It is a great decorative item for inspiration to have around your home. In making this video, adeeba begins by cutting the popsicle sticks with scissors and measuring how much longer she will need. She then uses a glue gun to attach them in the correct position. She then uses smaller popsicle sticks as the 'keys' and writes 'kalimba' on the bottom.
2. Popsicle Stick Door Stop
This simple popsicle stick door stop is easy to make and is perfect for when you need to leave the door open. It's a great way to re-use something that you have.
3. Popsicle Stick Rainstick Shaker
This popsicle stick video uses colourful sticks, paper and ribbon, and some rice. To begin, adeeba uses a piece of colourful paper to decide how large the rainstick will be. She cuts the popsicles to size. She glues the sticks to the paper and continues the process until enough to roll the paper into a rainstick shape.
Once it is the size and shape of a rainstick, she rolls it up and tops with a small piece of paper and secures it with an elastic band to avoid the rice falling out. This is a great video, and the sound of the rainstick is so similar you wouldn't tell the difference between a real one and a popsicle stick one.
4. Popsicle Stick Cutlery Set
We made this video just to see if it was possible and it turns out that it is. This fascinating cutlery set comprised of a wooden knife, fork and spoon is hand crafted from popsicle sticks. This video is for entertainment purposes only as it is unlikely to be food safe because of the glue gun and sharpness of the cutlery.
5. Popsicle Stick Soap Holder
If you want to make your own soap holder, now is the perfect time. With just a pair of scissors, some lolly sticks, sandpaper, a pencil and a glue gun you will be able to make one of these.
The holes are optional and will allow the soap to air dry between use. As shown in the thumbnail, you can paint these with an eco-friendly paint or stain it to make it look lovely.
6. Popsicle Stick Monkey Drum
Another incredible popsicle stick invention, adeeba put so much effort and time into making it, and it pays off. It works just like a typical monkey drum but is handmade from popsicle sticks. She begins by measuring out a circle for the head of the drum, cutting everything to size and glueing them together. She then makes the handle and sands it down to avoid getting splinters.
7. Popsicle Stick Business Card Display
To wrap up our popsicle craft videos in a cute little box we have the perfect business card holder which is very useful for displaying your cards in the office and it is sure to impress a prospective client. We did a basic finish with ours to show you what can be made with lolly sticks but you can make yours better by using sandpaper for longer with a finer grit and by using a beeswax or oil finish. You could even decorate the box with some eco-friendly paint.
Up next: How to make a coconut bowl at home.
