A paper plate is the most forgiving thing in the craft drawer. It takes paint without buckling; it is already a face or a sun, and if the first one tears, you have 49 more. Here are 24 crafts with paper plates for preschoolers, with pictures, supplies, and steps.
Hand a three-year-old a plate and a sponge brush, and you get a sheep made of cotton balls. A five-year-old wants the rainbow fish with the cut mouth and rows of scales. The filter at the top tells you which is which.
Start here: three paper plate crafts that always work
The child cuts a wedge mouth from a paper plate, reuses it as the tail and glues on overlapping tissue paper scales plus one foil scale.
Collage
You need: 1 white paper plate, tissue paper squares in a few colours, 1 square of foil, 1 self-adhesive googly eye, glue
How to make it
You cut one pie slice wedge from the side of the plate as an open mouth. Keep the wedge.
Glue the wedge on the opposite side by its point as the tail.
Your child glues tissue squares over the plate and tail, overlapping like scales.
Glue the foil square in the middle as a shiny scale and stick the googly eye above the mouth.
8. Paper plate ladybug
The child paints a paper plate red, dots on black spots, and adds a black head, legs and googly eyes.
Paint and glue
You need: 1 white paper plate, red and black poster paint, black paper, 2 googly eyes, glue
How to make it
Your child paints the plate red. Let it dry.
Paint one black line down the middle from top to bottom.
Dot black spots on each side of the line. Let it dry.
You cut a black half circle and glue it at the top edge as the head. Glue the 2 googly eyes on it.
Cut 6 black strips and glue 3 under the rim on each side as legs.
9. Paper plate scarecrow
The child colours a paper plate face, then glues on a paper hat, yarn or paper straw hair and a triangle nose.
Cut and glue
You need: 1 white paper plate, brown paper, green paper, yellow yarn, orange paper, black and pink markers, glue
How to make it
You cut a hat from brown paper and a green strip.
Glue the strip across the bottom of the hat, then glue the hat over the top edge of the plate.
Your child glues pieces of yarn under the hat on each side as straw hair.
Cut an orange triangle and glue it in the middle as the nose.
Draw 2 round eyes and a stitched smile in black, and colour 2 pink cheeks.
10. Paper plate sun
The child paints a paper plate yellow and glues paper strips or triangles around the rim as rays, then adds a face.
Easy for 3sPaint and glue
You need: 1 small white paper plate, yellow poster paint, orange paper, black marker, glue stick
How to make it
Your child paints the plate yellow. Let it dry.
You cut orange triangles.
Rub glue stick on the back of the plate rim and press the triangles on from underneath, with the point sticking out as a ray.
Your child draws 2 dot eyes and a curved smile in the middle.
11. Paper plate watermelon
The child paints the rim green and the middle red, then glues on black beans or punches paper seeds.
Paint and glue
You need: 1 paper plate, red paint, green paint, dried black beans, white glue
How to make it
You cut the plate in half and use one half.
Your child paints the curved rim green as the rind and the flat middle red. Let it dry.
Glue black beans on the red part as seeds, pressing each one for a few seconds.
12. Handprint Earth paper plate
The child paints a paper plate blue and green as the Earth, and a handprint or traced hands 'hold' it.
Handprint
You need: 1 paper plate, blue and green paint, light brown paper, pencil, glue
How to make it
Your child paints the plate blue with a big brush.
While wet, dab and smear green on top in rough patches as land. Let it dry.
Trace your child's two hands on the brown paper. You cut them out.
Glue one hand behind the lower left edge of the plate and one behind the lower right, fingers up, so the hands hold the Earth.
13. Paper plate apple
The child covers a paper plate with torn red paper or scrunched tissue and adds a stem and leaf.
Easy for 3sTear and glue
You need: 1 white paper plate, red construction paper, brown paper, green paper, glue
How to make it
Your child tears the red paper into small pieces.
Glue the pieces all over the front of the plate, overlapping them.
You cut a brown rectangle and glue it at the top, behind the rim, as a stem.
Cut a green leaf and glue it next to the stem.
14. Paper plate chick
The child paints a paper plate yellow and glues on feathers, eyes, a beak and feet.
Paint and glue
You need: 1 small white paper plate, yellow paint, 2 yellow craft feathers, 2 googly eyes, orange construction paper, glue
How to make it
Your child paints the plate yellow. Let it dry.
Glue 2 eyes in the upper middle.
You cut an orange triangle and glue it below the eyes, pointing down, as the beak.
Glue a feather on each side as wings. Cut 2 orange feet and glue them under the bottom rim.
15. Paper plate frog
The child paints a paper plate green and adds big eyes, a curled red paper tongue and handprint feet.
Paint and glue
You need: 1 white paper plate, green paint, green paper, red paper, 2 large googly eyes, black marker, glue
How to make it
Your child paints the plate green. Let it dry.
You cut 2 green circles. Glue them to the top rim, sticking up, with a googly eye on each.
Draw a wide smile with the marker. Cut a red strip, curl the end and glue it below the smile as a tongue.
Cut 2 green feet with 3 rounded toes each and glue them under the bottom rim.
16. Paper plate polar bear
The child covers a paper plate with cotton balls or torn white paper and adds ears, eyes and a black nose.
Collage
You need: 1 white paper plate, about 20 cotton balls, 2 white paper half circles, 2 large googly eyes, 1 black pom pom, glue
How to make it
You cut 2 half circles from white paper. Glue them behind the top rim, one on each side, as ears.
Your child glues about 20 cotton balls all over the front of the plate.
Glue the 2 eyes on the plate in the upper half.
Glue the black pom pom in the middle as a nose.
17. Paper plate jack-o-lantern
The child paints a plate orange, adds a green stem and glues on black shapes for the face.
Paint and glue
You need: 1 white paper plate, orange poster paint, green paper, black paper, glue
How to make it
Your child paints the plate orange. Let it dry.
You cut a small green rectangle. Glue it on the top rim as a stem.
Cut 3 black triangles and a crescent. Glue 2 triangles in the upper half as eyes and 1 in the middle as a nose.
Glue the crescent in the lower half as a smiling mouth.
18. Paper plate leprechaun
The child makes a leprechaun face on a paper plate with an orange beard (paint, tissue or paper strips) and a green hat.
Paint and glue
You need: 1 white paper plate, orange paper, green paper, black paper, yellow paper, 2 googly eyes, black marker, glue
How to make it
You cut orange strips. Your child glues them side by side around the bottom rim so they stick out past the edge as a beard.
Cut a green hat and glue it at the top of the plate.
Glue a black strip across the hat as a band and a yellow square in the middle as a buckle.
Glue the 2 googly eyes in the middle of the plate.
Draw a smile below the eyes with the marker.
19. Paper plate snowman
The child joins two or three paper plates and adds a paper hat, scarf, buttons and a carrot nose.
Cut and glue
You need: 2 white paper plates, black paper, orange paper, 1 piece of red ribbon, 3 large black buttons, black marker, glue
How to make it
You cut the ridged rim off one plate, leaving the flat middle as a smaller head.
Glue the head so it overlaps the top edge of the whole plate.
Cut a black hat and glue it on the head. Glue the red ribbon across the join as a scarf.
Cut an orange triangle and glue it on the head as a nose. Draw 2 dot eyes and a dotted smile.
Glue the 3 buttons in a column on the body.
20. Paper plate lion
The child paints a paper plate yellow and fringes, curls or glues paper strips around the rim for the mane.
Paint and glue
You need: 1 white paper plate, yellow poster paint, orange paper, 2 googly eyes, black marker, glue
How to make it
Your child paints the plate yellow. Let it dry.
You cut short orange strips. Glue them all the way around the rim so they stick out past the edge as a mane.
Glue the 2 googly eyes in the middle of the plate.
Draw a triangle nose and a curved mouth below the eyes with the marker.
21. Paper plate sea turtle
The child paints or tissue-covers a paper plate shell and glues on a paper head, flippers and tail.
Paint and glue
You need: 1 small paper plate, green paint, light green and yellow tissue paper, green construction paper, 2 googly eyes, glue
How to make it
Your child paints the plate green. Let it dry.
Tear small tissue squares and glue them over the middle as the shell pattern.
Cut from green paper 1 head, 2 long flippers, 2 short flippers and 1 pointed tail.
Turn the plate over. Glue the head under the top rim, the long flippers under the upper sides, the short flippers lower down and the tail under the bottom rim.
Glue 2 googly eyes on the head.
22. Farm animal paper plate mask
The child decorates a paper plate with eye holes as a cow, sheep or pig and wears it for pretend play.
Wearable
You need: 1 white paper plate, pink paint, pink construction paper, darker pink paper, black marker, 1 craft stick, glue
How to make it
You cut 2 round eye holes in the upper half of the plate.
Your child paints the plate pink. Let it dry.
Cut 2 pink triangle ears and glue them to the top rim, one on each side.
Cut a darker pink oval and glue it below the eye holes as the snout. Draw 2 nostril dots on it.
Glue the craft stick to the back at the bottom as a handle.
23. Paper plate Christmas tree
The child paints a plate green, it is cut into wedges and stacked into a tree, then decorated with pom poms and a star.
Paint and glue
You need: 1 paper plate, green paint, small pom poms, brown paper, yellow paper, white paper, white glue
How to make it
Your child paints the plate green with streaky strokes. Let it dry.
You cut the plate into 3 wedges: one large, one medium, one small.
Glue the wedges on the white sheet, points up and overlapping, largest at the bottom and smallest on top.
Your child glues pom poms on the wedges.
Cut a brown rectangle and a yellow star. Glue the rectangle under the bottom wedge and the star at the top.
24. Paper plate butterfly
The child paints or tissue-covers two paper plate halves as wings and joins them to a craft stick body.
Paint and glue
You need: 1 paper plate, watercolor, 1 craft stick, brown paint, 1 brown pipe cleaner, 2 googly eyes, glue
How to make it
Your child paints the plate with watercolor. Let it dry, then you cut it in half.
Your child paints the craft stick brown. Let it dry.
Glue the two plate halves flat on either side of the stick, curved edges outward, as wings.
Bend the pipe cleaner into a V and glue it behind the top of the stick as antennae.
Stick the 2 googly eyes on the top of the stick.
Nothing matches that filter. Clear it and try again.
Painting a whole plate takes a lot of paint and time to dry, so paint the plates in the morning and glue the faces on after lunch. A sponge brush covers a plate faster than a thin brush, and a tray under the plate catches the drips.
A three year old can paint, dot with markers, tear paper and press on cotton balls, so the sheep, sun, apple and jellyfish are the ones to try first. Cutting the plate in half for the rainbow or the wedge for the rainbow fish is an adult job; hand the child the pieces to glue.
Cheap, uncoated white plates take paint and glue better than the shiny coated ones. Buy the thin kind in a big pack and keep a few spare for the moment the first one tears.
Finished plates hang well from a string on a pushpin, so the rainbow, sun and jack-o-lantern can go on a door or a window. The farm animal mask and the frog are the ones that get played with after.
What you need for paper plate crafts
Most of these use the same handful of supplies: glue, white paper plate, googly eye, paper plate, black marker, black paper, green paper, orange paper. Everything else is named on the craft it belongs to.
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