Paper Plate Horse Craft for Kids

This paper plate horse craft is packed with the little details that make a simple kids’ project feel extra fun. The paper-strip mane gives it loads of texture, while the oversized googly eyes, pink cheeks, and big rounded muzzle give each horse its own wonderfully goofy expression.

Finished paper plate horse craft on a light green background with the text “horse paper plate craft” across the image.

Materials for This Paper Plate Horse Craft

A simple stack of supplies is really all it takes here.

Supplies

How to Make a Paper Plate Horse Craft

Now for the fun part, let's get building.

Step 1: Gather Your Supplies

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

White paper plate with pink and brown acrylic paint, foam dauber, paintbrush, googly eyes, hot glue gun, orange scissors, black marker, and sheets of brown, tan, and pink paper.

Step 2: Paint the Plate

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

Paintbrush applying brown acrylic paint to the back of a paper plate, with a brown paint bottle beside it.

Step 3: Cut the Face and Mane Pieces

Print the horse patterns, then trace and cut a muzzle from tan cardstock, two outer ears and several mane pieces from brown cardstock, and two inner ears from pink cardstock.

White paper templates arranged on brown, tan, and pink paper with traced outlines and a black pencil.

Cut paper pieces arranged on a white wood surface, including two brown ears with pink centers, a large tan oval, and several brown rectangular strips, with orange scissors nearby.

Step 4: Attach the Ears and Muzzle

Glue the inner ears onto the outer ears, then attach the ears to the top corners of the plate and the muzzle to the bottom center.

Brown painted paper plate with a large tan oval attached near the bottom and two brown ears with pink centers positioned at the top, beside a hot glue gun.

Step 5: Build the Forelock

Glue three mane pieces together in a “Y” shape to form the horse's forelock, and set it aside.

Four short brown paper strips arranged in a fan shape beneath a hot glue gun on a white wood surface.

Step 6: Attach the Eyes and Forelock

Add the wiggle eyes above the muzzle, then glue the forelock to the top center of the plate, right between the ears.

Partially assembled paper plate horse face with brown ears, brown paper strips at the top, large googly eyes, and a tan oval muzzle.

Step 7: Attach the Mane

Starting under one ear, glue the remaining mane pieces in a loose row down the back of the head.

Paper plate horse face with brown paper strips extending along one side, googly eyes, brown ears with pink centers, and a tan oval muzzle, with a hot glue gun nearby.

Step 8: Fringe the Mane

Snip horizontal cuts into each mane piece to fringe it, so it reads as shaggy hair rather than flat rectangles. This is the step worth doing slowly, that's what gives it the windblown look.

Paper plate horse face with many brown paper strips around one side, googly eyes, pink-centered ears, and a tan muzzle, with orange scissors above.

Step 9: Stamp On Cheeks

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

Paper plate horse face with pink circles painted on the tan muzzle, beside a pink acrylic paint bottle and foam dauber.

Step 10: Add the Final Details

Finish with a black marker mouth and two nostrils on the muzzle.

Paper plate horse face with googly eyes, brown paper mane, pink cheeks, black nostrils, and a curved black smile, with a black marker across the face.

Then hang your horse up for display!

Finished paper plate horse face with brown and tan coloring, pink-centered ears, googly eyes, pink cheeks, black nostrils, a smiling mouth, and brown paper strips forming the mane.

Grab the Paper Plate Horse Craftivity

The mane fringing is the fun part, but the muzzle and ears still need a real shape underneath it, so the Paper Plate Horse Craftivity comes with both pre-drawn plus a mini guide for layering the fringed mane on top.