DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Easy Lion Paper Plate Craft

Contributed by Leanne Guenther

I've had a lot of requests for more paper plate crafts.  This king of the jungle is made with a paper plate.  I've provided templates for dinner sized and snack sized plates.  If you don't have paper plates, don't fret!  Just take a regular plate and trace it onto a piece of cardboard (old cereal boxes work great!) or use a margarine/ice cream container lid.

You can easily make a mask, by leaving off the eyes and cutting holes.  Attach (glue and tape) a popsicle stick or unsharpened pencil to the bottom for the child to hold it to their face.

Older children may prefer the toilet paper roll version (Age 3+) or the paper folding version (Age 6+) as they are each more challenging (although some days it's nice to have an easy craft on hand when supper's running a bit late!)

 

Materials:

it all depends on what option you use...  You'll will need

either

• paper plate (whatever size)
• cardboard cut into a circle OR
• margarine or ice cream container lid

either

• yellow paint, yellow construction paper OR
• yellow tissue paper

either

• brown and/or orange paint,
• brown and/or orange construction paper,
• brown and/or orange tissue paper, OR
• brown and/or orange wool

either

• black paint, OR
• black marker, OR
• black wool

Instructions:

• Paint your paper plate yellow
   
  or
• glue yellow construction/tissue paper onto it (rip 1 inch (ish) squares of construction/tissue paper and glue them on with a mixture of 1/2 water and 1/2 regular children's white glue.  This is sort of like mod podging)
  

OPTIONS FOR THE MANE:

• Swirl yellow, brown and/or orange paint in a plate (don't mix it totally).  With a a toothbrush, dip into the paint and brush on a mane (this is how we did ours).
• Swirl yellow, brown and/or orange paint in a plate (don't mix it totally.  With a sponge, dip into the paint and sponge on a mane.
• Cut 1/2 inch wide x 2 inch (ish) long strips of brown, yellow and or orange construction or tissue paper and glue them around the outside edge of the plate to make your mane.  You can curl all/some of them around a pencil to make some curly parts.
• Cut 1/2 inch wide x 2 inch (ish) long strips into the paper plate itself.  Roll them around a pencil to make curly  parts.  You can paint/color with marker the tips brown if you like.
• Cut 2 inch (ish) long strips of orange/brown/yellow wool and glue onto the paper plate to make the mane

MAKE THE FACE

• Print out the template of choice.  Colour (where appropriate) and cut out the template pieces.  (Younger children may require assistance with the cutting.)
• Or skip the template and cut/draw your own pieces on construction paper and glue them on.
• Draw a mouth with black marker or paint (see photo) or glue bits of black wool in a mouth shape

Templates:

• Close the template window after printing to return to this screen.
      
• Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).

Small plate template (color)  or  (B&W)

Large plate template (color)  or  (B&W)