If you like paper plate crafts as well as ocean animals, we have a paper plate ocean craft for kids that you will love to make this summer. It is easy to make (like our entire craft collection), it comes with a printable template and it’s an interactive craft that little ones can play with.

We are big fans of paper plate crafts and have used them to create anything from Valentine hearts to Christmas trees. Paper plates are a cheap craft supply that is sturdy and can be easily painted, cut and turned into practically anything you can imagine. They are great to be used by toddlers, preschoolers and older kids.

I always make sure to have paper plates in our house and whenever my boys want to make a craft but don’t have a clear idea what to create, they will grab a paper plate and some paint and go from there.

I like to combine paper plates with yarn for an easy sewing project for kids. Check our collection of yarn crafts for more ideas to help your kid get familiar with handling a plastic yarn needle and practice their fine motor skills. There are some great ideas in there for both girls and boys. Our craft today, uses blue yarn for the ocean.

We haven’t limited our paper plate ocean craft to just one ocean animal. Instead our printable includes a fish, a whale, a seahorse and a star fish.

You can print them directly on colored paper of your choice or on white paper and let your kids paint or color them. Print, cut, add googly eyes and your ocean animals are ready to swim and have fun in the water.

We used bubble wrap to paint the star fish but if don’t have any handy, go for a fingerprint design or leave it as is.

More ocean or sea crafts:

Paper plate ocean craft

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Supplies:

Ocean animal template
Paper plate
Craft paint – light blue, dark blue and white
Blue yarn
Cardstock paper of your color choice
Google eyes
Bubble wrap
Glue
Paint brush or sponge paint brush
Hole punch
Plastic yarn needle
Scissors
Black marker
Tape

How to make a paper plate ocean craft

Start by tracing a line in the middle of your paper plate and paint half of it light blue.

Paint the other half of the paper plate dark blue. Set the paper plate aside for the paint to dry completely.

In the meantime, download the ocean animal template and print it on cardstock paper. Use any color of your choice or print it on white cardstock paper and let your kids color or paint the whale, fish, star fish and seahorse. Cut them out.

Glue googly eyes on the whale, fish and seahorse.

Cut a piece of bubble wrap and apply white paint on it. Take the star fish and press it gently on top of the bubble wrap. Peel it off and let it dry.

When the paint has dried completely, add two google eyes and use a black marker to draw a smile.

You can add water on top of the whale head if you like but this is an optional step. Use a pencil to draw three tear shapes on blue paper, cut them out and glue them onto the whale’s head.

Use a hole punch to make holes along the half paper plate that is painted dark blue.

Cut a strand of blue yarn, thread it through a plastic yarn needle and tie one end to the needle. Tape the other end of the yarn at the back of the paper plate. You can now start threading the yarn through the holes in the paper plate.

You can go through the holes one or several times. Keep on threading until you reach the end of your yarn. Secure the end of the yarn to the back of the paper plate with tape.

If you ran out of yarn before you could cover all the holes in your paper plate, cut another strand of yarn and repeat this step.

Now you are ready to play with your ocean animals in the water. Make them swim and enjoy the waves. Isn’t this craft just perfect for play pretend?

Paper plate ocean craft

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Active Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

An easy yarn and paper plate ocean craft for kids to make this summer. Printable template available for the ocean / sea animals: whale, fish, seahorse and star fish. A fun interactive craft to pair with an ocean book or for an ocean unit study.

Materials

Ocean animal template
Paper plate
Craft paint - light blue, dark blue and white
Blue yarn
Cardstock paper of your color choice
Google eyes
Bubble wrap
Glue

Tools

Paint brush or sponge paint brush
Hole punch
Plastic yarn needle
Scissors
Black marker
Tape

Instructions

Start by tracing a line in the middle of your paper plate and paint half of it light blue.
Paint the other half of the paper plate dark blue. Set the paper plate aside for the paint to dry completely.
In the meantime, download the ocean animal template and print it on cardstock paper. Use any color of your choice or print it on white cardstock paper and let your kids color or paint the whale, fish, star fish and seahorse. Cut them out.
Glue googly eyes on the whale, fish and seahorse.
Cut a piece of bubble wrap and apply white paint on it. Take the star fish and press it gently on top of the bubble wrap. Peel it off and let it dry. When the paint has dried completely, add two google eyes and use a black marker to draw a smile.
You can add water on top of the whale head if you like but this is an optional step. Use a pencil to draw three tear shapes on blue paper, cut them out and glue them onto the whale's head.
Use a hole punch to make holes along the half paper plate that is painted dark blue.
Cut a strand of blue yarn, thread it through a plastic yarn needle and tie one end to the needle. Tape the other end of the yarn at the back of the paper plate. You can now start threading the yarn through the holes in the paper plate. You can go through the holes one or several times. Keep on threading until you reach the end of your yarn. Secure the end of the yarn to the back of the paper plate with tape. If you ran out of yarn before you could cover all the holes in your paper plate, cut another strand of yarn and repeat this step.