Kids will love this Cute Crab and Turtle Summer Craft made with a paper plate and regular craft supplies like colored paper, googly eyes & markers!

Summer is officially here, and we sure are enjoying it! Summer dresses, open sandals, lots of ice cream – what’s not to like?

Well, actually there is one thing I don’t like – the extreme heat! With temperatures rising around the world, some days can be so hot that kids just have to stay indoors to be safe. But that doesn’t have to mean more screen time – there are lots of fun things to do indoors during summer!

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Fun Ways to Spend Summer Indoors:

Read an exciting book with cute ice cream bookmarks
Throw a beach-themed party for your friends
Do puzzles with summer printables
Enjoy a refreshing summer salad
Create art projects with a summer theme
Make loads of summer crafts

While we love doing all these activities, my personal favorite is certainly that last one! That’s why we’ve got a brand new craft today that’s perfect for the season – a crab and turtle summer craft! The best part about this project is that it has multiple parts, so you can choose to make just the crab or the turtle, or go the whole way and make the complete project!

Paper Plate Crab and Turtle Summer Craft

Supplies required:

Plain paper plate, regular-sized
Craft paper in different colors
Googly eyes
Sharpies or markers
Scissors
Glue

How to make the Crab and Turtle Summer Craft:

1. Download and print the crab and turtle summer craft template. The template includes parts of the crab – body, mouth, claws, and parts of the turtle – body, head, shell, legs and tail. It also includes palm trees and a sun.

2. Let’s start by assembling our summer creatures one by one, beginning with the turtle. Trace the parts of the turtle template on colored craft paper and cut them out. Go with different shades of green so each part stands out separately.

3. Stick the body piece on the lower edge of the shell and attach the head – making sure to apply glue on the backside. Fix the legs to the base of the body with glue.

4. Attach the tail to the shell opposite the head. Stick the little squares on the shell to make it look like it has some texture.

5. Lets work on our turtle’s face – stick a little googly eye and see how much of a difference it makes!

6. Nearly there! Take out your markers and sketch in a smile and cheek – the first part of your crab and turtle summer craft is ready!

7. Put the turtle aside for now – we’re moving on to the crab. Trace the parts of the crab template on colored paper and cut them out. We’ve gone with a combination of pink and red, so it’s a nice contrast to the green of the turtle.

8. Stick the two claws on either side of the crab’s body, applying glue on the backside. Attach the mouth to the bottom of the body.

9. For the final touch, stick two googly eyes in the right position. Draw a smile and some spots with your marker and the second part of your crab and turtle summer craft is done!

10. Put the crab aside – we’re going to make our background next. Take your paper plate – the circle that forms the inside of the plate is going to be our base. Cut two circles of this size out of yellow and blue craft paper.

11. Now, cut the yellow circle into half, and cut the blue circle so that you get a portion that is a little more than a semi-circle. Mark a wavy line along the cut edge of the blue part and cut along this wavy line as shown in the picture below.

12. Stick the yellow semi-circle inside the paper plate, so it aligns with the upper portion. Stick the blue part on the lower, overlapping the yellow part, as shown below. The third part of your crab and turtle summer craft is ready!

13. Trace the tree parts on brown and green craft paper and cut them out. Do the same for the sun, using yellow and orange craft paper.

14. Assemble the trees by sticking the green parts on the brown trunks. Assemble the sun too, by sticking the yellow circle inside the orange part.

15. Time for the final part of our crab and turtle summer craft – the assembly! Take the paper plate base and stick the trees and sun in the appropriate positions.

16. The only thing left to do is to bring our little summer friends into the picture! Stick the crab and the turtle on the yellow portion of the paper plate, and your crab and turtle summer craft is complete!

This craft would go very well with our Summer Themed Play Dough Mats or our Summer Themed Coloring Pages, which feature more cute creatures! If you’d like more paper plate summer crafts, don’t forget to check out our Paper Plate Sea Shell Craft and our Paper Plate Aquarium Diorama!