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Paper Plate Pirate Craft For Kids [Free Template]

Summer is the perfect time to spend some quality time crafting! And if you’re searching for a more boyish craft, this paper plate pirate craft is perfect.

We make lots of paper plate crafts around here, so when we started a pirate theme, we knew we needed to add this easy pirate craft to the list.

It’s a fun way to combine both arts and crafts since kids get to paint their pirate’s skin color.

Like usual, we’ve added a free pirate template for you to download so it’s easy to recreate this craft at home (or at school) with your kids.

Read our simple directions or watch our quick video tutorial to see this craft in action.

Pirate Craft For Kids

closeup of paper plate pirate boy with brown hair on marble background

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Supplies

  • White paper plate
  • Skin colored paint
  • Colored cardstock (in black, red/pink, hair color)
  • White cardstock
  • Markers (black and pink)
  • Glue stick
  • Tape
  • Scissors
  • Pirate template (download form located at the end of this post, just above the comments)

Related: Handprint Pirate Craft

Directions

Download the paper plate pirate template, print and cut out the pieces.

hands holding paper plate pirate template

Begin by painting the paper plate in your choice of skin-colored shades. Let it dry completely. If you’re short on time, you can use a hairdryer to speed up the process.

hands painting paper plate peach

Once the paper plate is completely dry, glue the eyes to each side of the plate, like in the pictures. You’ll want to glue it down a few inches from the top so you have room to put on the hair and pirate hat.

hands gluing the eyes onto peach paper plate

We used a black marker to outline the eyes because we think it gives it a more finished look, but you can skip this if you don’t want to trace it.

hands tracing black marker over top of paper plate eyes

Use a pale pink marker to draw on a small, oval-shaped nose just below the eyes.

hands drawing nose on paper plate pirate with dark peach marker

Place the mouth piece just below the nose and glue down. You can see from the pictures we did one pirate mouth red and one pirate mouth black. We’re not sure which one we like better! Choose whichever you prefer.

hands gluing on red mouth to paper plate pirate

Next, glue the pink tongue to the bottom of the mouth.

hands gluing on pink tongue on paper plate pirate

Take the pirate boy’s hair and glue it just above his eyes. Make sure if you’re using a glue stick you have enough glue on it to securely glue it to the paper plate. If you use the normal amount you would for a flat surface, it won’t stick on the plate very well.

hands gluing on yellow hair on paper plate pirate

Position the skull and crossbones in the middle of the pirate hat and glue in place. Next, take the completed pirate hat and tape to the top of the pirate boy’s hair.

hands gluing on skull and crossbones to pirate hat

We looped a piece of tape on itself (basically creating double-sided tape) and placed it in the middle, bottom of the hat so it stayed in place. Then, we flipped the paper plate over and added one piece of tape to each side of the hat to secure it.

hands gluing on pirate hat to paper plate pirate

Now you have a fun pirate boy!

paper plate pirate craft on marble background with red and white striped fabric
brown haired paper plate pirate craft on marble background with red and white striped fabric

Share With Us

Did you make this paper plate pirate with your kids or students? We want to see how they turned out!

Take a quick picture of your completed project and post it to our Facebook page or join our private Facebook group and share it there.

More Summer Ideas For Kids

Pirate Activities For Kids

Paper Plate Pirate Craft

Paper Plate Pirate Craft

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Active Time: 10 minutes
Drying Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

See how simple it is to make this cool paper plate pirate craft! It's an easy activity for summertime!

Materials

  • White paper plate
  • Skin colored paint
  • Colored cardstock (in black, red/pink, hair color)
  • White cardstock
  • Markers (black and pink)
  • Glue stick
  • Tape
  • Pirate template (download form located at the end of this post, just above the comments)

Tools

  • Scissors

Instructions

  1. Download the pirate template, print and cut out the pieces.
  2. Paint the paper plate in your choice of skin colored paint and let dry completely before moving on.
  3. Glue the eyes a few inches from the top of the paper plate.
  4. Optional: Use a black marker to draw the top half of the eyes to define them.
  5. Use a pink marker to draw on a small oval nose just underneath the eyes.
  6. Glue the mouth just under the nose, then glue the tongue to the bottom of the mouth.
  7. Glue the pirate's hair just above the eyes.
  8. Glue the skull and crossbones to the middle of the pirate's hat, then tape the completed hat to the top of the paper plate.

Did you make this craft?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

Free Pirate Template

Free Pirate Template

Enter your email address below to download your free pirate template and join the weekly email list. 

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vivian

Sunday 7th of May 2023

I also do not see the form to get the free template

Sam

Monday 8th of May 2023

It's above the comments section, under the heading titled "Free Pirate Template". If you're not able to see it, it most likely means you have a firewall or adblocker blocking it from appearing. If you can allow the page or try from a personal device, you should be able to see it. Also, some readers say they're not able to see it on Chrome, but they can on other browsers. You may be able to try that as well ◡̈ Please let me know if you have any questions!

Allison Vos

Monday 24th of April 2023

The form is to enter my email for the free download is missing. Is there another way to get the template?

Sam

Monday 24th of April 2023

I just checked and it is still there. It's at the end of the post under the heading "Free Pirate Template". If you're not able to see it, it most likely means you have a firewall or adblocker blocking it from appearing. If you can allow the page or try from a personal device, you should be able to see it. Also, some readers say they're not able to see it on Chrome, but they can on other browsers. You may be able to try that as well

Ruby

Thursday 15th of September 2022

There is no template download

Sam

Friday 16th of September 2022

All you need to do is enter your email in the form at the end of the post and the link will be sent to you ?

Leslie Osborne

Wednesday 25th of August 2021

please send paper plate pirate template please

Sam

Thursday 26th of August 2021

Of course! All you need to do is enter your email in the form at the end of the post to have the link sent to you ?

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