The ocean is brimming with incredible creatures like the octopus! With its eight wiggly arms, this undersea wonder is a favorite of little ones and grown-ups alike. Kids can bring this wonder to life with a fun and engaging paper cup octopus craft!
Continue the adventure under the sea with more octopus activities they’ll will love. This recycled cup activity is entertaining and educational for your growing children.
This and other ocean crafts for kids are an easy addition to all your sea life lesson plans!

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Cute Octopus Craft
With a splash of creativity, your kiddos can transform a simple paper cup into a cool DIY octopus with tentacles that elegantly curl like they’re in a graceful underwater dance.
They can customize their new aquatic friend with their favorite colors to make it their own.
Get them ready for an ocean of fun and dive into making this fun craft with a few basic supplies and our free template.
Read below for our step-by-step instructions to see how easily this cute craft comes together.
Supplies
- Colored paper cup
- Colored cardstock or construction paper
- Scissors
- Glue
- Markers
- Octopus template (click the “click here to get your freebies” image at the end of the post)
Directions
Start by downloading and printing the template. Once the template is printed, gather the materials for this fun activity. Get those scissors ready, and let’s help the kids bring this octopus to life!

First, guide your child to glue the inner half of the octopus’s eyes in the middle of the paper cup.

Glue the tongue to the bottom of the mouth.

Next, help your child to glue the completed mouth in the middle and just below the eyes.

Use a marker to draw some spots above the octopus’s eyes.

Take the tentacles and wrap each one around your finger in order to curl them.
Finally, encourage your child to glue the tentacles on the bottom and inside of the cup, all along the

Be sure to check out our other paper cup crafts while you’re here. Your littles will be glad you did!

Easy Jellyfish Craft
Books About Ocean Animals
The Snail and the Whale– Julia Donaldson, author of the famous book The Gruffalo, brings kids another fun book about an unlikely set of friends. Snail and Whale have lots of fun together in this colorful book!
Shark Lady– This children’s book is based upon the true story of Eugenie Clark, aka, The Shark Lady. Learn about her love of sharks, her discoveries, and the inspiring message of going after what you want in life.
The Rainbow Fish -This is a classic children’s book with a wonderful message for children. In it, a fish learns to share his favorite possession, his glittery scales, with his friends!

O Is For Ocean Crafts
Crafting is a beneficial activity that ignites children’s imaginations and gets them learning at the same time. With every stroke of a paintbrush or glue of a glittery sequin, kiddos are developing their fine motor skills.
Try out these ocean craft ideas as you plan your next trip to the beach or aquarium!
Related: Shark Worksheets
Shark Name Craft – Make waves with this fun and educational shark craft! This jaw-some activity will have little ones learning to spell their names and create a friendly shark with just a few supplies and our free editable template.
Paper Chain Octopus Craft – Get linked up with this super cute octopus craft. Children will work on their bilateral hand coordination when they thread strips of paper to make a paper chain. The best part of these paper chains? They become the wiggly arms of an octopus!

Paper Plate Fish Craft – Did you know that paper plates are the perfect canvas for so many crafting projects? This colorful fish is easy to make and fun to customize, and it all starts with a plain paper plate!

Crab Puppet Craft – Scuttle into some crafting fun with this fun puppet craft! Kids will create their own crab puppet with a few materials and a “pinch” of imagination. This crabby craft will make your children feel claw-some as they develop new undersea adventures.
Ocean Theme Activities For Kids
These octopus connect the dots are a fantastic way for your little artists to bring some captivating sea creatures to life! As they connect the dots, they’ll reveal the different octopuses and work on counting, sequencing, fine motor skills, and spatial awareness.
Try this Jellyfish Name Craft
This activity will make a splash as kiddos create some undersea scenes with our ocean play dough mats. They can use play dough to sculpt their own sea creatures or print out the corresponding ocean animals sheet to create their own scenes. These activities are a great way for children to use their imaginations and learn more about ocean animals!

Let’s go for a swim with the dolphins and discover more ocean animals with these ocean preschool worksheets. They’re a fun and colorful way for littles to practice handwriting and letter recognition, build vocabulary, learn colors, and so much more!

Using scissors is a great skills activity and also improves the muscles in a kid’s hand, too! Use these ocean day cutting practice sheets for a fun way for them to discover more sea animals as they cut different lines and angles to improve their scissor skills.
These skills will also help them grasp a pencil and gain the control to write.
Share With Us
Did you make this activity with your kids or students? We’d love to feature them on our social media!
For a chance to have your child’s project featured, simply snap a picture of the completed project and post it to our Facebook page, email it to us directly by clicking here, or use #simpleeverydaymom on your social media!

Paper Cup Octopus Craft For Kids
Materials
- Colored paper cup
- Colored cardstock or construction paper
- Scissors
- Glue
- Markers
- Octopus template
Instructions
- Download the octopus template, print, and cut out the pieces you need. Position the cup with the rim side down.
- Begin by gluing the inner half of the octopus's eyes in the middle of the paper cup.
- Glue the tongue to the bottom of the mouth.
- Next, glue the completed mouth in the middle and just below the eyes.
- Use a marker to draw some spots above the octopus’s eyes.
- Take the tentacles and wrap each one around your finger in order to curl them.
- Finish off by gluing the tentacles on the bottom and inside of the cup, all around it.
Paper Cup Octopus Craft Template

Sam is the crafter and founder of Simple Everyday Mom. She has been featured in Oprah Mag, Good Housekeeping, The Spruce Crafts, Country Living, The Bump and more. Read more.
Joy
Monday 1st of July 2024
Thank you for sharing this!
Sam
Tuesday 2nd of July 2024
No problem! Thanks for being a reader ◡̈
Mina
Tuesday 1st of August 2023
This is awesome and so much fun to do with kids!
Sam
Wednesday 2nd of August 2023
Thanks, Mina!
Sue
Tuesday 1st of August 2023
Great idea. Will be using this.
Sam
Wednesday 2nd of August 2023
Thanks! I hope everyone has fun!