DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Paper Plate Porthole or Aquarium Window Craft

Contributed by Leanne Guenther

This paper plate porthole provides the perfect opportunity for kids to "see what's under the sea".

You can use the templates I've designed as a coloring page behind your porthole or decorate your own with markers, stickers, goldfish crackers and tissue paper.

Materials:

• paper plate,
• silver, white, gold or grey paint and paint brush
• cheerios -- you need about a dozen for the craft and, if your kids are anything like mine, half a box for nibbling on while making the craft!
• a drinking straw or a pretzel
• scissors,
• glue,
• one piece of blue construction paper or cardstock
• clear plastic (we used the clear half of a large ziploc bag)
• Optional - if using template:
  • paper,
  • printer,
  • something to color with
•  Optional - if not using template:
  • gold fish crackers
  • green tissue paper (for kelp)
  • markers or pencil crayons
  • ocean stickers

Instructions:

• Cut a circle from the center of a paper plate.
• If making a porthole:  For the handle:
  • Glue cheerios to each end of a 2 inch length of a straw or a pretzel and then glue to the paper plate
     
    or
  • glue a milk carton cap and then glue to the paper plate.
• Glue cheerios around the outside of the plate as decorative “bolts”
• Paint the whole plate, including the cheerios silver, grey, white or gold.
• Let dry.
• Optional:  Glue a piece of clear plastic inside the paper plate to cover your porthole  (the clear half of large freezer Ziploc bags work well for this… I find saran wrap a bit too clingy and difficult to work with)

Option 1:  Decorate Your Own Background

• Cut out the circle of construction paper or cardstock but don’t glue it onto the paper plate yet.
• Leaving space for glue, decorate your blue construction paper with images from the ocean or an aquarium:
  • You can glue crumpled green tissue paper strips as kelp.
  • You can make fingerprint fish or glue goldfish crackers onto your plate.
  • You can even hot glue real seashells toward the bottom of the paper.
  • use markers or stickers to add details.
• Glue the paper plate over the decorated construction paper or cardstock so you can see your
  decorations through the hole.

Option 2:  Print out Template

• Print out the template of choice.
• Color the template pieces if using the B&W version.
• Cut out the template.
• Glue the paper plate over the template so you can see it through the hole

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).

Template (ocean scene):    (color)   or   (B&W)

Template (octopus):         (color)   or   (B&W)

Template (shark):             (color)   or   (B&W)