The Smiling or Laughing Buddha is a portly figure with a big smile and large ears. He is associated with happiness, longevity and prosperity. Form a simple Happy Buddha statue with craft clay. Make a small ball for his head and a large ball for his body. For his legs, make a long "sausage" and twist it into a figure eight. Press his body into the center and the head on top. Bake in the oven to dry, paint with gold craft paint, and add features with black paint.
Buddhist shrines are often very colorful and ornate. Make your own from a tissue box that has a perforated oval hole. Glue red wrapping paper around the outside of the box, folding and gluing any edges inside the hole. Paint the inside of the box with gold paint. Decorate the exterior by gluing on plastic or paper flowers and sequins. Stand the box upright. Make a cushion of folded red paper, place in the base of the box and balance a Buddha statue on top.
The Buddha told many stories to his followers and was involved in exciting and interesting events. Look up these stories on Buddhist websites and pick one on which to base your Buddha painting. Take inspiration from old Japanese and Chinese art and use a pointed brush and black ink to draw your design on blotting paper. Use fine washes of colored ink to make a background of highlight details.
Stained glass is more associated with Christianity that Buddhism, but create a stained-glass picture to place in front of a window and reflect a lighted Buddha into the room. Place a square glass tile over an image of the Buddha and trace the image, filling in the colors and shapes with translucent glass paints (available from craft suppliers). Leave to dry and make a frame around your glass pane, by sticking on colored glass pebbles (available from household decor stores) with craft glue.