Including the ice cream, watermelon, fish, octopus, rainbow, and much more, these are the ONLY paper plate crafts your kids need this SUMMER. With a FREE printable template for most of them, these are the easiest 30-minute craft activities for preschoolers.
While I wanted to talk only about summer-themed paper crafts, as those I mentioned, you will still find a few other ones, such as the horse, llama, and Mickey Mouse. And I highly recommend giving them a shot, too!
These crafts mainly include the “paint, cut, and assemble” crafts using paper plates and cardstock. A few other materials, such as the pom pom, glitter, and strings, will also be used. With full paper plates, you can make animal faces and masks, and with cut ones, full animals. With that recipe in mind, let’s get started!
Suggestion #1: Summer Paper Plate Crafts
This set of 3 REALLY FUN paper plate summer crafts includes a Hawaiian swimmer mask and two food purses.
The mask has a painted face with construction paper flowers, and a popsicle-stick handle.
You will also learn how to make an eaten doughnut and a watermelon slice purse with a handle. Thick black marker strokes make the drawing prominent and kawaiier.
Suggestion #2: Paper Plate Horse Craft For Kids
A CUTE and EASY animal craft? Let’s paint and assemble this KAWAII paper plate BABY horse face in 10 minutes with a FREE printable template. To make it, kids will first paint a paper plate brown and let it dry.
Then, guide them to glue on the template pieces for the eyes, ears, and mane cut from construction paper. Easy! Be sure to draw the nose and smile with a brown crayon!
Suggestion #3: Paper Plate Lion Craft
This oh-so cute googly-eyed lion face is SO FUN to craft with, also cutting involved, and no need for a template! Just paint the rim of the plate in brown and the middle disk in yellow.
After the paint is dry, snip the stripes all around the rim and bend the pieces upward to make a fluffy mane. Then, glue on googly eyes and a paper heart nose. You can also turn it into a FACE MASK, and be sure to lightly paint the mane in yellow, too.
Suggestion #4: Minnie & Mickey Mouse Paper Plate Craft
With a FREE printable template and painting, let’s DIY this Minnie and Mickey Mouse paper plate craft. Start by painting a paper plate black. Then just glue on the face template pieces once they are printed and cut.
Kids can color the mouth and tongue, add eye strokes, and cut and glue circles for the ears and attach in the back of the plate. Just skip the bow, and you will have Mickey Mouse.
Suggestion #5: Paper Plate Ice Cream Craft
I scream, you scream, we all scream for this colorful paper plate ice cream! To make it, kids can also draw just a round scoop instead of scoop with scalloped bottom and a slightly bigger than the top circle. Cut one from a paper plate color like pink or mint.
Then a triangular cone, paint it and draw the waffle lines. They can top with pom pom cherry and sprinkles or draw dotted chocolate chips.
Suggestion #6: Paper Plate Dinosaur Craft For Kids
Whether for Dinosaur Day or just because, don’t miss these paper plate baby dinosaurs. Looks like a mix of Triceratops and Bromtosaurus! Notice the painted paper plate body with cardstock spikes, spots over it, and long, kawaii-eyed neck.
Be sure to cut the plate in half to make an arching back and glue on a paper head, tail, and legs in the back.
Suggestion #7: Paper Plate Llama Craft
Pom pom, cardstock paper, and paper plate, this multi-material and multi-colored llama craft is A FUN HIT! Luckily comes with a FREE printable template for all the Llama pieces, including the COLORFUL saddle. It will make the CUTEST decoration!
Suggestion #8: Paper Plate Fish Craft
Assemble this glittery rainbow fish using a simple paper plate base and multiple colors of cardstock circles. Kids can apply glitter to the folded “scales” and glue them in overlapping rows to make such a beautiful, 3D scale pattern. To make it cuter, attach one googly eye and try to have a bigger one.
Suggestion #9: Paper Plate Octopus Craft
Crafting is the only way to “multi-arm” your creativity without getting tangled up! This kawaii octopus is crafted from a painted paper plate head with curled paper legs. Definitely, there is a FREE printable template to save the day for the kids to tackle this summer activity.
Be sure to turn eight paper strips around a marker to make bouncy curls before gluing them to the base.
Suggestion #10: Paper Plate Rainbow Craft
Rainy season and summer go hand-in-hand, and seeing a rainbow is the most special element of this time. So let’s craft this paper plate rainbow from construction paper and half paper plate.
The standout feature is the zigzag accordion folding the stripes of paper in many colors to make rainbow stripes.
Suggestion #11: Paper Plate Shark Craft
Suggestion #12: Paper Plate Tropical Fish Craft
Suggestion #13: Paper Chain Octopus Craft
Suggestion #14: Shark Paper Plate Puppet Craft
Suggestion #15: Paper Plate Crab Craft
Suggestion #16: Paper Plate Crab Craft
Suggestion #17: Paper Plate and Tissue Paper Rainbow Craft
Suggestion #18: Watermelon Paper Plate Craft For Kids
