DIY & Easy Sea Animal Paper Plate Crafts for Kids
Paper plates aren’t just for snacks. They can become amazing sea animals! 🦀🐟🐢🐙 With paints, crayons, and a little imagination, kids can make fish, crabs, turtles, jellyfish, seashells, and even seahorses. This craft is simple, fun, and perfect for classrooms or home projects. It helps children learn creativity, focus, and fine motor skills while building their own underwater world.
What You Need
- Paper plates (or cardboard board)
- Colored sheets for extra parts
- Crayons, markers, or paints
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- Googly eyes or printed eyes
- Yarn or string (optional for mouths or hanging)
Base of Craft
- Use paper plates as the main body.
- You can paint, color with crayons, or cover with colored sheets.
- Or print the given template shapes on colored sheets, paste them on the board, and cut out instead of using plates.
Paper Plate Fish
How to Make:
- Color the paper plate with paint and let it dry.
- Cut a triangle from the side for the mouth.
- Draw curved lines inside for scales.
- Cut and paste a printed tail on the other side.
- Add a googly eye or printed eye.
Templates:
Paper Plate Crab
How to Make:
- Cut the crab body from a plate and paint it red.
- Print claws and body parts on colored sheets, cut, and paste.
- Add chelipeds (claws) on top and sides.
- Paste eyes on strips above the body.
- Add legs with paper strips.
- Draw a mouth and paste pink circles for cheeks.
Templates:
Paper Plate Sea Turtle
How to Make:
- Cut a half circle from a plate for the shell.
- Draw and color shell designs.
- Print legs and head, cut, and paste.
- Add eyes and a mouth.
Templates:
Paper Plate Jellyfish
How to Make:
- Cut a half circle from a plate and paint it.
- Print paper strips, curl them, and paste them under the plate.
- Add eyes and a mouth.
Templates:
Paper Plate Sea Shell
How to Make:
- Cut a shell shape from a plate or board.
- Paint and draw lines inside with a marker.
- Add eyes and a mouth.
Templates:
Paper Plate Sea Horse
How to Make:
- Print the seahorse body on colored paper, paste it on board, and cut it out.
- Use a plate or board for the belly part.
- Color inside with crayons or paste dot stickers.
- Print and paste the coronet (head crown) and fin.
- Add eyes and complete the seahorse.
Templates:
Paper Plate Puffy Fish
How to Make:
- Take a paper plate or cut a circle from cardboard.
- Color it with paints, crayons, or cover it with colored paper.
- Draw small dots inside the circle using markers, crayons, or paste dot stickers to make the fish look puffy.
- Print and cut out the fish’s spines, mouth, and tail from colored sheets.
- Paste these parts neatly onto the body of the fish.
- Add a googly eye or paper eye, and draw an extra fin on the body to make your fish look complete.
Templates:
How to Display Your Craft
- Wall Art: Paste on walls to make an undersea scene.
- Macramé Style: Use a ring or stick as a base, and attach crafts with yarn.
- Hangers: Punch a hole at the top, attach ribbon or string, and hang in classrooms or outside.
Click here to get the FREE PDF template: Download ( Printable )