Make a splash with this cute and colorful paper plate fish craft. Kids will love stamping scales on their fish with a cardboard tube and paint!

Paper Plate Fish Kids Craft

My kids LOVE to craft so I’m always looking for ideas that don’t involve a lot of prep or supplies. That’s why I love paper plate crafts – they’re easy to make with simple supplies that we already have on hand at home!

These paper plate fish are absolutely adorable and all you need to make them are paper plates, craft paint, cardstock, a cardboard tube, and googly eyes. And even though the girls and I all used the same supplies, our fish all turned out completely different! This is such a fun rainy day art activity that kids can customize and really let their imaginations run…or swim…wild!

Supply List

For your convenience in creating this craft, we’ve included shop-able ad links to some of the products used; disclosure policy available here.

Tail fin template – use our printable template here, or you can freehand cut your own
Paper Plate
Craft Paint
Cardstock (in assorted colors)
Large Googly Eyes
Cardboard tube (such as a toilet paper roll)
Scissors & glue

Instructions

Coat the entire top surface of the paper plate with your favorite color of craft paint. Allow to dry.
Dip the end of a cardboard tube in a different color of craft paint and stamp circles on half of the paper plate, to be the fish scales. Repeat with a few different colors and allow to dry.
Use the printable pattern to trace and cut the tail fin pattern out of colorful cardstock. Glue to the back of your paper plate, so the larger end of the tail fin is visible from the front.
Glue on a googly eye and draw a mouth on your fish.

Prep Tips

Plates – Be sure to use plain paper plates for this craft. Styrofoam or coated plates may not take paint as well as plain paper.
Cardboard Tubes – We always save empty toilet paper rolls for crafting. You could alternatively use a paper towel roll and cut in half so it is easier to work with for stamping.
Painting – As with any painting project with kids, things can get messy! Be sure to work on a space that’s easy to clean up – we love these silicone craft mats because they wipe clean and can be reused over and over. We also wear old t-shirts to protect our clothing.

More Paper Crafts for Kids

Printable Directions

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