Paper Plate Squirrel in a Pumpkin Craft for Kids
This paper plate squirrel in a pumpkin craft is packed with fall cuteness! A painted paper plate becomes a pumpkin with a lid, curly green vines, and a little squirrel peeking out of the top. It's the perfect autumn craft for kids.
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Materials for This Paper Plate Squirrel in a Pumpkin Craft
Print-ready templates and step-by-step instructions.
Less prep, more crafting.
How to Make a Paper Plate Squirrel in a Pumpkin Craft
Step 1: Gather Your Supplies
Gather your supplies and clear a workspace, this is a good one to do over a wipeable table or some newspaper.
Step 2: Paint the Plate
Paint the outside of the plate light orange and let it dry, adding a second coat if needed.
Step 3: Trace and Cut the Pumpkin
Print the pumpkin pattern, trace it onto the plate, and cut it out.
Step 4: Add Pumpkin Ridges
Draw curved vertical lines across the pumpkin with an orange marker to give it some dimension.
Step 5: Cut the Pumpkin Into Base and Lid
Cut the pumpkin shape along its horizontal line, then trace the bottom section's shape once more onto the leftover plate scraps to create a lid piece, and cut both the base and the lid out.
Step 6: Cut the Stem and Vine
Trace and cut a stem from dark brown cardstock and a leaf from light green cardstock, then cut a thin strip of light green cardstock for a curling vine.
Step 7: Outline the Stem and Leaf
Outline the stem with a brown marker and the leaf with a green marker.
Step 8: 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.
Step 9: Attach the Stem, Leaf, and Vine
Glue the stem to the top center of the pumpkin, the leaf to the top right, and the curled vine to the top left.
Step 10: Color and Cut the Squirrel
Color in the printed squirrel-with-acorn artwork using crayons or colored pencils, markers can bleed through on an inkjet printout, then cut it out, separating the squirrel's arm from its tail.
Let this part happen at whatever pace your kid wants, coloring alone can eat up half the project time in the best way.
Step 11: Attach the Squirrel
Glue the colored squirrel to the bottom of the pumpkin base so its arms holding the acorn show on the front.
Step 12: Add the Lid
Finish by gluing the pumpkin lid at a jaunty angle on top of the squirrel's head.
Then hang your finished squirrel in a pumpkin craft up on display!
All done!
Your squirrel has found the coziest pumpkin hideout!
We'd love to see yours! Snap a photo and share it in the comments.
Grab the Printable
Skip the prep and grab the print-ready templates for this craft from my shop.
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