Paper Plate Camper Craft
Hit the road with this adorable paper plate camper craft for kids.
Get ready for creative adventures with this adorable Paper Plate Camper Craft that’s perfect for kids who love camping, road trips, and summertime fun!
Nothing says camping adventure quite like a cute little camper, and this easy paper plate camper craft captures all the excitement of heading out on the open road.
Made with a paper plate, paint or markers, simple craft supplies, and our free printable template, this fun project is easy enough for young crafters while still giving older kids plenty of opportunities to add their own creative touches.
This paper plate camper craft is a great project for preschoolers and kindergarteners who enjoy painting, coloring, cutting, and gluing. The simple shapes and easy assembly make it an enjoyable craft for young children while helping build fine motor skills.
Elementary-aged kids will have fun personalizing their campers with colorful decorations, festive banners, and creative designs. They’ll love imagining all the camping trips, road trips, and outdoor adventures their finished camper might take.
One of the things that makes this craft especially fun is how easy it is to personalize. Every camper can look completely different! Children can choose their favorite colors, decorate with fun patterns, and create a camper that reflects their own personality. Whether they dream of camping in the mountains, relaxing beside a lake, or exploring a national park, this camper becomes part of their imaginative adventure.
Finished campers make adorable summer classroom decorations, camping bulletin boards, homeschool displays, or keepsakes to remember family camping trips.
They also pair perfectly with camping-themed books, outdoor learning units, or pretend play activities. Since this tutorial includes a free printable template, creating your own camper is simple and stress-free.
When to Make This Paper Plate Camper Craft
Before a Family Camping Trip
Build excitement before heading out on your next camping adventure by letting kids create their own miniature camper. It’s a fun way to count down the days until the trip while talking about everything they’ll pack and explore.
Summer Camp Activities
This paper plate camper fits perfectly into camping-themed weeks at summer camp, vacation Bible school, scout meetings, recreation programs, and daycare centers. It’s easy to prepare for groups and creates a cheerful keepsake children can take home.
Road Trip Fun
Planning a family road trip? Make this camper before your vacation to get everyone excited about traveling together. Kids can even decorate their camper to resemble the one they’ll be traveling in or dream up their perfect vacation camper.
Camping-Themed Classroom Lessons
Teachers can use this craft during camping units, outdoor education lessons, or summer-themed classroom activities. The finished campers also make colorful hallway or bulletin board displays.
Rainy Day Craft Time
When outdoor adventures have to wait, bring the camping fun inside. This easy craft keeps little hands busy while encouraging creativity and imaginative play.
Camping Birthday Parties
Hosting a camping-themed birthday party? These paper plate campers make adorable party activities and fun decorations. Each child can design their own camper to take home as a party favor.
Why You’ll Love This Paper Plate Camper Craft
This cheerful paper plate camper is easy to make, full of creative possibilities, and perfect for kids who love camping and outdoor adventures. The simple supplies make it budget-friendly, while the free printable template helps the project come together quickly. Best of all, every camper becomes completely unique as children choose their own colors, decorations, and finishing touches. It’s a fun craft that inspires creativity long after the glue has dried as kids imagine exciting camping trips and outdoor adventures.
Variations and Tips for Your Camper Craft
There are endless ways to customize your paper plate camper and make it one of a kind.
- Instead of making the colorful banner from cardstock or construction paper, use craft felt for a soft look or craft foam for extra dimension and durability.
- Patterned scrapbook paper is a fun way to create colorful pennant flags with stripes, polka dots, florals, plaids, or other playful designs.
- Use fabric scraps to make a unique bunting that adds texture and a cozy camping feel.
- Encourage kids to personalize their camper with their favorite colors. Campers don’t have to be white—they can be pink, blue, green, yellow, purple, or covered with fun patterns.
- Add fun embellishments like glitter glue, sequins, rhinestones, mini pom-poms, buttons, stickers, washi tape, or metallic markers for extra sparkle and personality.
- Paint the camper using washable tempera paint, acrylic paint, or watercolor paints, or skip the paint altogether and color it with crayons, colored pencils, markers, or paint pens. Kids can use whatever coloring supplies they already have at home or in the classroom.
- Swap the adhesive depending on your supplies. Glue sticks work well for paper pieces, while tacky craft glue, glue dots, or a low-temperature hot glue gun work well for heavier embellishments.
- Make several campers in different colors to create a fun camping village display for the classroom or playroom.
Paper Plate Camper Craft Tutorial
Gather your paper plates, coloring supplies, construction paper, and our free printable template to begin creating your own adorable camper. The step-by-step instructions below make this project easy to follow, so kids of all ages can enjoy designing a colorful camper that’s ready for endless pretend camping adventures.
Materials:
- Paper Plate
- Natural Jute Twine
- White Button
- Cardstock or Construction Paper in a Variety of Colors
- Craft Paint – We used bright blue
- Craft Glue or a Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
- Paintbrush
- Scissors
- Black Marker
- Pencil
- Printed Pattern
Instructions:
Gather all supplies. Fold the edge to the inner circle of the paper plate and crease the fold sharply.
Cut the paper plate in two pieces with scissors using the fold line as a guide.
Download, print, and cut out the camper patterns.
Trace the camper pattern onto the larger half of the paper plate with a pencil. Cut out the camper shape with scissors. Trace the zig zag line onto the paper plate.
Paint the bottom of the camper with bright blue craft paint. Let dry and apply a second coat, if necessary.
Trace the rectangle window and the circle window once onto light blue cardstock, trace the door, camper trailer, and hitch arm once onto gray cardstock, trace the wheel once onto black cardstock with a pencil.
Cut a small triangle from pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple cardstock. Cut out all camper patterns with scissors.
Using the photo as your guide, outline and draw the details onto the camper and camper parts with a black marker.
Attach the circle window to the door and the button to the wheel using craft glue.
TIP: We used a glue gun and glue sticks for this craft tutorial.
You can use liquid craft glue for this project, but you will have to wait for it to dry.
Alternately, for less mess you can use glue dots or double sided tape.
Glue the hitch arm to the trailer, and the trailer to the base of the camper, then secure the door and window. Attach the wheel to the camper using glue.
Attach the triangular flags to a 6” section of natural jute twine using glue.
To finish, glue the flag garland to the top of the camper, securing the ends of twine to the back of the paper plate.
This Paper Plate Camper Craft is a fun and creative way to celebrate summer, camping, and family adventures. With simple supplies, plenty of opportunities for personalization, and a free printable template to make crafting easy, it’s an activity kids will love from start to finish. Whether you’re making it at home, in the classroom, at camp, or before your next family road trip, this charming camper is sure to inspire smiles, imagination, and dreams of unforgettable outdoor adventures.
