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This paper plate parrot is such a fun and colorful tropical craft that will bring a splash of vibrant creativity to any day. Not only is it easy to make, but it also helps kids develop fine motor skills and learn about tropical birds in a hands-on way!
Paper Plate Parrot
Whether you are getting ready for a trip to a tropical island or a quick trip to your backyard pool this tropical bird comes together in just a few simple steps with basic materials.
These paper plate parrots are perfect for a tropical birthday party, summer crafting session, VBS activity (Vacation Bible School), or even a fun, educational project about exotic animals. Kids will love making and playing with these bright and cheerful parrots, sparking their creativity and imagination!
The best part about these parrots it we added a jumbo popsicle stick to the back for easy holding, making these parrots soar during playtime.
HOW TO VIDEO:
Materials Needed To Make A Paper Plate Parrot
- Paper Plates – we used these paper plates – perfect for other crafts or classroom setting with other children.) * see notes below for another crafty tip!
- Streamers – we used these streamers but you can also find steamers at local Dollar Stores.
- Googly Eyes – or you can use our free eye template!
- Pink cardstock – just a small amount is needed for the rosy cheeks
- Black Sharpie (Sharpie is best as washable markers smear on the coated paper plates)
- Glue or Tape – we preferred to use double sided tape for this craft as it holds it in place better.
- Jumbo popsicle stick, optional but so fun to make this parrot into a puppet!
How To Make a Paper Plate Parrot
Step 1: Preparing the Paper Plates
Begin by cutting your paper plates in the necessary sizes. If you want to make your parrot look like mine you will need 5 plates total. (you will not use all pieces of the plates)
Here are the pieces you will need:
- Body (one half of a paper plate)
- Head (one half of a paper plate)
- Beak (one 1/4 of a paper plate)
- Wings ( 1/8 of two paper plates) – can also just do 1/4 of a plate if desired
- You will be left with extra pieces that you can mix and match to make a second parrot!
Step 2: Build your Parrot
Adhere your belly piece and head piece together. We used double sided tape. Place your beak piece on top of your head piece. You will now have three sections of color – beak, head and body.
Step 3: Add Wings and Face
Glue or Tape two wing pieces to the middle of the parrots belly, slightly overlapping each other. Add a googly eye, or one of our free eyeball templates to the face. Add a circle pink cheek and a smiley face with your black sharpie.
Step 4: Add Streamers and Popsicle Stick
Tape a few strips of streamers to the bottom of your parrot for it’s tail feathers. Tape or glue a popsicle stick to the back.
Crafty Tips & Classroom Use:
- Pre-Cut Pieces: For younger children, pre-cut the paper plate pieces ahead of time to make the assembly process smoother and quicker. We just did this craft during our VBS/Day Camp week and pre-cutting the plates was a BIG help!
- Larger Classroom: The plates linked above are dessert sized plates. Those size plates makes a great size paper plate for younger kids and smaller parties! If you would like to make your parrot a bit larger and have a large classroom or Vacation Bible School we LOVE these colorful plates! By mixing and matching, one order of these plates made over 70 parrots for our Bible school.
- Glue Alternatives: Use double-sided tape or glue dots for attaching the paper plates together. Pieces like the googly eye and cheek work well with a glue stick or liquid glue.
- Plain Paper Plates: don’t want to buy colored plates? No problem! Grab some dessert or regular size paper plates and have your children paint or color them instead! Once they decorate their plates to their hearts content they can assemble as shown above!
