Festive Pumpkin Paper Plate Craft
A simple paper plate craft made to look like a pumpkin. Perfect for fall, Thanksgiving, or Halloween!
Made with a paper plate, orange paint, and colorful paper, this fall craft is a simple and exciting way to celebrate the holiday season. It is a straightforward activity that kids of all ages can enjoy doing. (Don’t worry, teens and adults can enjoy it too!!)
Regardless of age or skill level, this blog post includes everything you need to successfully create your very own pumpkin paper plate craft! In fact, this article offers a step-by-step tutorial with pictures, tips, and even ideas for different “Jack-o-lantern” facial expressions that way every creative can add a little pumpkin flare to their celebrations!
Materials For This Paper Plate Craft
While there are many reasons to LOVE this stinkin cute pumpkin craft, one of my personal favorites is the fact that you don’t really need any specialty materials to make it! I’ll admit, I hate going to make a craft and then realizing that I need to go to the store before I can make it. So, hopefully you appreciate the simplicity of this craft as much as I do!
All you need for this craft is:
- Paint – To get a vibrant painted look, use a bright orange paint (preferably washable). I used a shade called “Pumpkin Orange” from the brand Apple Barrel for this craft.
- Paper Plate – This item serves as your canvas for the craft and needs to be paper – not plastic – in order for the paint to stick and dry properly. Additionally, it is best to use a plain white plate if possible. The paint can be used to cover designs on the plate, but it may require additional coats.
- Colored Paper – For this pumpkin craft, you will need few sheets of colored paper including green, black, and brown! I used sheets from a Crayola brand paper pack, but any brand should work.
- Scissors – These will be used to cut out the facial features, leaves, and stem of the pumpkin.
- Paint Brush – Either a wide brush or sponge will work. The larger the paint brush, the fewer the paint strokes needed to coat the paper plate in a layer of paint.
Halloween Paper Plate Craft Instructions
This pumpkin craft comes together in 5 simple steps:
Step 1: Gather together all of your craft materials.
Step 2: Lay down a craft mat/parchment paper. This will help protect your crafting surface.
Step 3: Use orange paint and a paint brush to coat the bottom side of a paper plate. Make sure to let it fully dry before adding the facial features.
Step 4: Cut out facial features, leaves, and a stem for the pumpkin. For a traditional look, cut out 2 equilateral triangles and a semicircle (then cut 3-4 squares from the semicircle to look like teeth). For other looks, see the facial expression ideas at the bottom! You can add texture to the stem by cutting a large rectangle and then folding it accordion style.
Step 5: Use hot glue or regular glue to stick the facial features to the paper plate.
Tips for This Holiday Craft
- Use Washable Paint – Try as you might to keep the paint contained, it will likely end up in places you didn’t want (ie. your kids clothes, the countertop, furniture, etc!). All the parents out there know this too well haha. So, definitely opt for washable paint.
- Put a Craft Mat or Parchment Paper Down – This can simply make clean up faster and easier. It can also protect your table or other craft surface from being stained or damaged during the crafting process.
- Consider Using Hot Glue – I know I have liquid and stick glue in the images for the materials; however, I recommend using hot glue if you can. Why? Hot glue dries faster and works as a stronger adhesive. Although the other forms of glue may be safer for little kids to use (avoid burns). As a result, parents can choose which form of adhesive to provide their kids with for this craft.
Pumpkin Craft Facial Feature Ideas
There are INFINITE possibilities for creating facial expressions on this pumpkin paper plate craft!
Here are 4 different variations that I came up with. There’s a happy pumpkin, afraid pumpkin, scary pumpkin, and the classic “jack-o-lantern” pumpkin. In order to create these looks, I recommend keeping the triangle nose the same but then switching it up for the eyes and mouth!
Pumpkin Paper Plate Craft
Equipment
- 1 paper plate
- 1 bottle orange paint
- 1 paint brush
- 1 set of scissors
- colored paper green, black, and brown
- glue hot glue/glue stick/liquid glue
Materials
- 1 piece parchment paper/craft mat
- 1 hot glue gun
Instructions
- Step 1: Gather together all of your craft materials.
- Step 2: Lay down a craft mat/parchment paper.
- Step 3: Use orange paint and a paint brush to coat the bottom side of a paper plate.
- Step 4: Cut out facial features, leaves, and a stem for the pumpkin. For a traditional look, cut out 2 equilateral triangles and a semicircle (then cut 3-4 squares from the semicircle to look like teeth). For other looks, see the facial expression ideas at the bottom! You can add texture to the stem by cutting a large rectangle and then folding it accordion style.
- Step 5: Use hot glue or regular glue to stick the facial features to the paper plate.
Other Halloween/Fall Crafts and Activities
Fall is a season that is jam packed with reasons to celebrate! Here are some fun ideas to keep your holiday season festive and memorable!!
- Halloween Bingo
- Halloween Mystery Box Activity
- 9 Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids
- Memorable Thanksgiving Family Games
- Easy Trunk or Treat Monster Tutorial
- Halloween Ghost Craft: Toilet Paper Roll Ghost
Halloween Costume Inspiration
And if you’re looking for reasonable DIY Halloween costumes, check out our collections below!
- DIY Halloween Costumes
- Family Halloween Costumes
- Group and Couples Costumes
- DIY Bride of Frankenstein Wig
Don’t Leave Just Yet
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