Paper Plate Pumpkin Craft for Kids

This pumpkin paper plate craft is a fun way to bring a little fall color to your craft table! With bright orange paint, big googly eyes, curly vines, and rosy cheeks, kids can turn a simple paper plate into the cutest little pumpkin friend. It’s an easy fall craft for preschool, kindergarten, or a cozy afternoon at home.

Pinterest-style graphic featuring the finished pumpkin craft on a pink background with the text “pumpkin paper plate craft.”

Materials for This Paper Plate Pumpkin Craft

Nothing on this list should send you further than your own craft supplies.

Supplies

How to Make a Paper Plate Pumpkin Craft

Time to get hands-on, here's how it all goes together.

Step 1: Gather Your Supplies

Get your supplies together first, especially anything that needs to dry, so you're not waiting around later.

Paper plate craft supplies arranged on a white wood surface, including paper plates, orange and pink paint, googly eyes, cardstock, markers, scissors, paintbrushes, and a hot glue gun.

Step 2: Paint the Plate

Paint the outside of the plate light orange and let it dry, adding a second coat if needed.

Paper plate painted bright orange with an orange paintbrush and bottle of orange acrylic paint beside it.

Step 3: Cut the Pumpkin Shape

Print the pumpkin pattern, trace it onto the plate, and cut it out.

White paper pumpkin-shaped template beside an orange painted paper plate with a pencil resting across the plate.

Orange painted paper plate with orange scissors resting over a curved pencil line.

Step 4: Add Pumpkin Ridges

Draw curved vertical lines across the pumpkin with an orange marker to add dimension.

Orange paper plate pumpkin with darker orange curved lines drawn from top to bottom and an orange marker beside it.

Step 5: Cut the Stem, Leaves, and Vine

Trace and cut a stem from dark brown cardstock, a large leaf from medium green cardstock, and a small leaf from light green cardstock, then cut a half-inch-wide strip of light green cardstock for the vine.

Green and brown paper pieces being traced from white templates, including two leaf shapes, a stem, and long green paper strips.

Cut green paper leaves, a brown paper stem, long green strips, and orange scissors arranged on a white wood surface.

Step 6: Outline the Stem and Leaves

Outline the stem with a brown marker and the leaves with a green marker.

Two green paper leaves and a brown paper stem outlined with markers.

Step 7: Curl the Vine

Roll the green strip tightly around a pencil, then slide it off and gently stretch the ends to curl it into a vine shape.

Long green paper strip wrapped around a pencil to form curled paper tendrils.

Step 8: Attach the Stem and Leaves

Glue the stem to the top center of the pumpkin and both leaves to the top right.

Orange paper plate pumpkin with a brown stem, green leaves, curled green paper tendrils, and a hot glue gun nearby.

Step 9: Attach the Vine

Attach the curled vine to the top left, a green chenille stem works too, if you'd rather.

Step 10: Add the Eyes

Add the wiggle eyes to the pumpkin's face.

Orange paper plate pumpkin with stem, leaves, and curled paper vine, shown while large googly eyes are being added.

Step 11: Stamp On Cheeks

Dab pink paint onto the sponge and stamp cheeks on either side of the face, then let dry.

Orange paper plate pumpkin with large googly eyes and two round pink painted cheeks, with pink paint and a sponge applicator beside it.

Step 12: Draw the Smile

Finish with a black marker smile from cheek to cheek.

Paper plate pumpkin with googly eyes, pink cheeks, green leaves, curled vine, and a curved smile being drawn with a black marker.

Then hang your finished pumpkin up on display!

Finished smiling orange paper plate pumpkin craft held upright, with large googly eyes, pink cheeks, green leaves, a brown stem, and curled green vine.

Grab the Paper Plate Pumpkin Craftivity

Want to make this pumpkin craft even easier? Grab the Pumpkin Paper Plate Craftivity printable packet for ready-to-use templates that take the guesswork out of cutting and assembling all those little pumpkin pieces. Perfect for preschool, kindergarten, classrooms, or an easy fall craft at home.

More Fall Crafts Your Kids Will Love

A fall classic worth building a whole lineup around, here are more crafts to pair with it.

Pinterest graphic featuring the finished pumpkin pie paper plate craft with the text “Pumpkin Pie Paper Plate Craft.”

Please Share This Paper Plate Pumpkin Craft

If this pumpkin paper plate craft made its way into your fall plans, save it for later or share it with a teacher, parent, or crafty friend who could use an easy pumpkin activity too.