This paper plate fish craft is the perfect under the sea activity for kids who love the ocean!
Are you ready for a fun and cheap craft that your kids will love! Paper plate fish are simple to make with craft supplies you already have at home. Perfect for all ages and skill levels, this paper craft if so fun to decorate and hang around your house. Whether you’re doing an ocean study or just looking for an easy way to entertain your kids, this budget friendly activity is sure to delight!
I love this fish craft because it’s so darn cute and all you need is a paper plate, cupcake liners, googly eyes and a little paint. I bet you already have most of the supplies at home. Don’t wait to make this quick and easy indoor art project that’s sure to keep your kids entertained.
Check out these other ocean crafts for kids!
Gather Your Supplies!
- Paper plate
- 10 mini cupcake liners
- 1 regular sized cupcake liner
- 1 googly eye
- paint
- glue and scissors

How To Make Paper Plate Fish
Step 1 You’re going to need 4-5 different colors of mini cupcake liners for this craft. I like to use 2 of each color so you end up with 8-10 mini cupcake liners. Flatten each liner and then cut it in half like the picture below. These will be your fish scales. It’s fun to add some shiny “scales” by using metallic cupcake liners. Think The Rainbow Fish book!
Step 2 Ok, here’s the part my kids really liked – painting the paper plate. Choose any color you like and paint the entire front side of the paper plate. Allow to dry before moving to the next step.

Step 3 Cut a small triangle out of one side of your paper plate for the fish mouth. Hang on to the piece you cut because we will use it in the next step to make the tail!
Step 4 Grab a regular sized cupcake liner and flatten and cut it in half. Glue the halves to the triangle piece we cut out of the paper plate. Attach this tail to the paper plate using a bit of glue. I used hot glue on this part so it dried quick and stayed in place when my kids began adding the scales.
Step 5 Begin adding the scales to your paper plate fish by gluing a line of cupcake liners in a row. Overlap each row until you’ve made 4-5 lines of scales.
Step 6 Glue on 1 googly eye and let the glue dry completely. You now have the cutest paper plate fish ever!
My kids absolutely love this easy to make paper plate fish craft! It’s so cute to hang on a window or use during imaginary play. This cheap craft will take about 20 minutes and is perfect for a group activity or rainy day fun. Be sure to grab a copy of The Rainbow Fish book and read it to your little ones while they decorate their paper plate fish!
Find more fun craft ideas on our Pinterest and Facebook pages.