Easy Paper plate turtle craft with free printable

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Here is an adorable paper plate turtle craft to have fun with your kids this summer. We are sure you will find all the supplies right at your home to make this cute sea animal.

This paper plate turtle is perfect to do with kids of all ages, especially preschoolers, kindergarteners, and elementary school kids.

Our turtle’s shell is slightly raised in the middle which gives it a 3d look. We decided to reuse a toilet paper roll to make the sea turtle shell design.

To make the turtle’s head, we have a free printable turtle craft template that you can download and use.

This sea turtle craft is such a fun idea to add to your ocean theme. If you love ocean crafts, you may also want to check out our paper chain jellyfish craft, crab puppet craft, rainbow fish craft, and egg carton shark craft.

Fun Summer crafts for kids

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Supplies you need to make a paper plate turtle craft

2 paper plates
Scissors
Free turtle head template (You can download the printable by signing up to our newsletter below)
A4 white Cardstock
Glue stick/PVA Glue
Black marker
Paint
Toilet paper roll

How do you make a turtle craft out of paper plates?

Step 1

Get a clean paper plate and paint the outside. We used green acrylic paint for this. Wait for it to dry. This will be the turtle’s shell.

Step 2

Fold the paper plate in half. This way we will get the turtle’s shell slightly raised in the middle and get a 3d look. Let’s keep it aside for now.

Fold the paper plate in half for a 3d look

Step 3

Get another clean paper plate.

Cut out two pieces for the legs, two for the arms, and one for the tail as shown in the picture. Cut the edges of these paper plate pieces to get a curved look at the ends. Kids can be creative here by making the ends spiky or any shape they want.

Paint all these pieces and wait for them to dry.

Cut the legs, tails and arms from the paper plate and paint them

Step 4

Apply glue at the top half of each of these paper plate pieces and stick them onto the underside of the turtle’s shell from step 2 with the curved edges showing outside. Stick two of them on one side and two of them on the other side.

We just made the legs and arms of the turtle.

Now, get the tail part, fold it in half lengthwise and apply glue on both sides. Stick it under the turtle shell along the crease on the paper plate.

add legs and tail for the paper plate turtle

Step 5

Let’s decorate the turtle shell. Get a toilet paper roll, paint it inside and outside with any color you like. Once the paint is dry, cut it into thin pieces.

Make these pieces into several shapes. We made some rectangles, trapezoids, and pentagons. What a fun way to learn shapes!

Apply glue at the corners of these shapes and stick them on top of the turtle shell.

Make the turtle shell design using a painted paper roll.

Step 6

Download and print the free turtle head template on an A4 white cardstock by signing up for our newsletters below. Paint the head and cut it out once dry.

Also, cut out two eyes for the turtle from the template.

Fold the head in half lengthwise and stick it under the front part of the turtle shell. You can choose to slightly show the turtle’s neck outside if you like or hide it completely under the shell.

Lastly, stick two eyes and draw a mouth!