Paper Plate Spiders

I’ve had a swarm of paper plate spiders take over my house the last couple days! Luckily they are the cute kind that I don’t mind having around! These colorful spiders are so simple for kids to make and they make spooktacular Halloween decorations!

We used small, dessert sized paper plates for this Halloween craft. I found they were the perfect size when coupled with the pipe cleaner spider legs. I’m a big believer in using whatever you have on hand though, so any size you have will do.

Read our easy step-by-step instructions below for how to make your own paper plate spider craft. Make sure to watch our video tutorial inside this post before get started too.

Before you know it, you’ll have some spooky spiders to hang from the ceiling for Halloween decorations too!

Supplies needed for this paper plate Halloween craft:

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small paper plates (2 per spider)
acrylic paint (any color you choose)
googly eyes (we used varying sizes, 8 per spider)
chenille stems (4 per spider)
paint brush
scissors
stapler
glue

Instructions for making your colorful spider craft

1. Paint two paper plates

Paint the underside of two small paper plates with acrylic paint and set them aside to let them dry completely.

2. Make eight spider legs

When the paint has finished drying, cut four chenille stems in half to make eight spider legs.

3. Connect two paper plates together using stapler

Line up your two painted paper plates with the paint facing out on both sides and then place a staple at the top to connect them together.

4. Insert spider legs between paper plates and staple them down

Insert a spider leg in between the two plates about one-inch and then staple it down between the two plates. Do this with all eight legs, with four on each side of the paper plates. Then place additional staples around the paper plates to close them shut.

What if you can’t use a stapler in the classroom with children? I have had a few people comment that they are not allowed to use staplers inside the classroom. An alternative would be to tape each pipe cleaner spider leg onto one of the unpainted sides of the paper plates. Then add a line of glue around the edge of the paper plate, on top of the taped down legs. Finally, place the second paper plate onto the glue with the painted side facing out.

One reason I used a stapler with my preschooler when making these is because the gripping and stapling is such a great fine motor activity. It is completely optional though.

5. Bend spider legs

Create a bend in each of the chenille stems to make them look like spider legs.

6. Add eyes

Glue on eight wiggly eyes of different sizes on the top of your spider. You could also use self-adhesive googly eyes so you won’t have to wait for drying time.

As a side note, my kids are way smarter than me because I didn’t even know that most spiders have eight eyes. After they insisted on gluing on 8 eyes, I googled it and sure enough, they were right!

7. Punch a hole and tie a white string through it

Use a hole punch to punch a hole in the top of the paper plate spider and tie a white string through it so you can hang it up as if it’s coming down it’s spider web.