Ocean Paper Plate Craft For Kids

ByLisa O'Driscoll
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45 minutes

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This Ocean Paper Plate Craft is the perfect activitiy to squeeze in before the back to school chaos kicks in! Kids will love making the adorable seashell fish and it’s a great way to use up those shells from your last beach vacation.

Originally published August 2018 – Updated July 2026

A blue paper plate decorated with colorful fish and seaweed made from clay, surrounded by seashells and a fishing net on a wooden surface.
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Paper Plate Ocean Craft

If your kids are starting to hit that end-of-summer wall, this Ocean Paper Plate Craft is exactly what you need! It’s creative, easy to put together, and keeps little hands busy for a good chunk of the afternoon.

What I love most about this craft is how little you need to make it. A paper plate, some paint, a few seashells and you’re good to go. It’s the kind of activity that feels special without requiring a trip to the craft store, and the finished product is so cute that the kids will want to display it all summer long!

Why We Love This Craft

  • It’s A Great Boredom Buster – When the end of summer hits and the kids are restless, this craft keeps little hands busy and their creativity flowing. It’s the perfect afternoon activity!
  • Uses Shells From Your Beach Trip – Instead of letting those vacation shells sit in a jar on a shelf, I like to put them to good use! This is such a fun way to turn a summer memory into a keepsake.
  • Easy Enough For All Ages – Whether you have toddlers or older kids, everyone can get involved. Little ones can paint and stick while older kids can get more creative with the details!
Assorted seashells scattered on a white wooden surface with tubes of paint and a blue papier-mâché bowl visible in the background.

What You’ll Need

  • Paper plates
  • Blue tissue paper (1 sheet covers two plates)
  • White craft glue (you can also use a glue stick or a glue gun for older kids)*
  • Sand
  • Seashells
  • Brightly colored acrylic paints
  • Small wiggly eyes
  • Colorful sponges

*We used all three types of glue: a glue stick for the tissue paper, white craft glue for the sand and a glue gun for assembling the fish. You can do everything you need with white craft glue though.

Four colorful fish with seashell bodies and a small fifth fish swim in a vibrant coral reef scene with blue water, rocks, and various types of sea plants.

Tips & Tricks

  • If you have a glue gun, that works great for assembling your fish. That way you don’t have to wait for the white craft glue to dry in order to finish your craft.
  • Don’t have shells? You can purchase seashells at craft stores and even on Amazon.
  • If you don’t have blue tissue paper, you can paint your paper plate instead.

More Fun Craft Ideas

A paper plate decorated to resemble an underwater scene with three colorful fish, coral, and shells made from craft materials, set against a net-like background.
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Ocean Paper Plate Craft


Author Lisa O’Driscoll
Additional Time 45 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Equipment

Materials
 

  • Paper plates
  • Blue tissue paper 1 sheet covers two plates
  • White craft glue
  • Sand
  • Seashells
  • Brightly colored acrylic paints
  • Small wiggly eyes
  • Colorful sponges

Instructions

  • Cover the front side of your plate with glue.
    A paper plate with a floral design, partially painted with purple paint, sits on a light wooden surface.
  • Crumble, then uncrumple the blue tissue paper (it adds texture). Lay the tissue paper over the top of the plate, then push down gently starting from the middle so that it sticks.
    A round plate is covered with a wrinkled sheet of blue tissue paper, set on a light wooden surface.
  • Flip the plate over, and cut the tissue paper, leaving about 1/2" extending out from the plate.
    A hand uses blue-handled scissors to cut slits around the edge of an upside-down white paper plate on a crumpled blue tissue paper background.
  • Fold the extra tissue paper around the bottom of the plate, pushing it into the glue.
    A white paper plate is placed upside down on a wooden surface, with its edges outlined in blue and purple tissue paper.
  • Flip the plate back over to the "ocean" side. Spread white glue over the bottom section where you'd like the sand to go. Sprinkle sand over the glue, press down so that it sticks, then shake off the excess.
    A blue paper plate with a small amount of white sand sits on a white wooden surface.
  • Cut sponges into short, curved shapes (little crafters may need some help with this part). Glue to the plate so that they are half in the sand and half in the water.
    A blue paper bowl with sand and pieces of orange and green sponges cut to resemble coral, with whole sponges and scraps nearby on a wooden surface.
  • Add some small seashells around the sponges.
    A paper plate with blue tissue, orange and green sponge coral, sand, and assorted small seashells arranged to resemble an underwater scene.
  • For each fish you make, you'll need one big shell and three smaller ones. Paint the shells whatever colors you like best.
    Assorted seashells painted in bright colors—blue, pink, yellow, and green—are scattered on a weathered white wooden surface.
  • Glue one of the small shells to the top of the large shell, then add two underneath, making a top fin and a tail. Add a wiggly eye. Repeat to make several more fish.
    Four colorful fish crafts made from painted seashells with googly eyes arranged on a white wooden surface.
  • Once the glue is dry on your fish, glue them to the paper plate. Dip the eraser end of a pencil into light blue paint to make bubbles.
    Three painted seashells arranged as fish on a blue textured surface, with a pencil eraser creating bubble shapes near the fish.
  • Let the glue and paint dry, then your artwork is ready to show off to the world!
    A blue paper plate features painted seashell fish, colored pasta seaweed, small shells, and "bubbles," arranged to resemble an underwater ocean scene.

Notes

  • We used three kinds of glue to make these: glue sticks for gluing the tissue paper to the plate, white craft glue to add the sand and hot glue for making the fish and attaching them to the plate. You can complete the whole craft with just white craft glue though.
  • If you’d like to display your child’s artwork, you can punch two holes in the top and add a ribbon. Now the craft is ready to hang.
  • If you don’t have shells already, they are easy to find at most craft stores.
  • Don’t have blue tissue paper on hand? You can paint the paper plate with blue paint instead.
  • I used plates with a print because I thought it would look a little like seaweed under the tissue paper. You can also use plain white paper plates.

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Lisa, author of Fun Money Mom, standing in front of a kitchen counter with a cupcake.

About Lisa O’Driscoll

Lisa O’Driscoll is a lifestyle and parenting expert, cookbook author, and the creative force behind Fun Money Mom, a popular blog she’s run since 2014. She’s the author of the children’s cookbook Roll It, Slice It, Mash It, Dice It, designed to get kids excited about cooking. With multiple TV appearances under her belt, she loves sharing her expertise on family-friendly recipes, creative DIYs, and party planning and is always on a mission to inspire and entertain!

Meet Lisa

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7 Comments

  2. What a cute idea! Now I know what we can do with all the shells we find at the beach. I love your tiny sand dollar. We can never find any intact.

    Reply

    1. We usually have a hard time finding them too…we just got lucky this time 🙂

  4. victoria young says:

    I run a special ed day program classroom, and we are getting a fish… this is a great way to introduce the unit on fish and the sea.

    Reply

    1. That is awesome! I hope the kids have fun with it!!!

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