Paper Plate Sailboat
Craft an easy mini sailboat using some basic materials— a paper plate, a craft stick, a toilet paper roll and some paper. Paint and decorate it into an awesome-looking sailboat. Make some paper people to ride in it too!
Featured Crafts
Supplies Needed
- Paper plate
- Craft stick or wooden dowel
- Toilet paper roll
- Paper
- Poster paint, tempera, or acrylic paint
- Paint brush
- White glue
- Scissors
- Box cutter
- Crayons or colored markers
- Stickers, buttons, etc. (optional)
STEPS
1Cut a paper plate in half.
Fold a paper plate in half. Cut along the crease.
2Trim off the plate's curved bottom.
Stack the two halves together. While keeping them aligned, cut a straight line 2½ to 3 inches from the plate's straight edge.
3Assemble the boat.
Position the two halves facing each other so that they form a boat-like shape. Make sure that the edges are aligned, then staple or glue all four corners together.
4Paint the boat.
Paint the boat with a water-based paint like poster paint, tempera, or acrylic.
5Make a sail.
To make a triangular sail, you can start off with a square or a rectangular piece of paper.
a.) Square - prepare a square sheet such as origami paper. Fold it diagonally in half to come up with a triangular sail.
b.) Rectangle - begin with a rectangular sheet like A4 or Letter-size paper. If you used a small paper plate to make your boat, you may need to cut the paper in half for a smaller sail.
Fold one top corner of the paper down to meet the opposite edge, forming a triangle. Cut and discard the excess paper below the triangle.
6Decorate the sail.
Use crayons, colored pencils or markers to decorate both sides of the sail. You can also put stickers or glue some paper cut-outs.
7Glue a craft stick.
Unfold the sail and apply glue on all four sides of the square. Position a large craft stick or a wooden dowel along one side.
Fold the square again along the diagonal crease. Press on the edges to glue them in place.
8Cut a slit on a TP roll.
About ¾" to 1" from one end of a TP roll, cut a slit just wide enough for your craft stick.
If you used a wooden dowel instead of a craft stick, make a small hole on the TP roll using the tip of a pencil. Make the hole just wide enough for the dowel to get through.
9Position the craft stick.
Insert the bottom end of the craft stick or dowel into the slit or hole. Push until it touches the bottom of the TP roll.
The stick should fit snugly inside the TP roll's slit. If the slit is too wide, put tape around the craft stick to keep the sail steady and upright.
10Put the TP roll in the boat.
Place the TP roll inside the boat. The roll should fit snugly. If it does not, glue the sides of the TP roll to the inside of the paper plate boat.
11Add more detail.
You can further decorate your boat, if you like. Glue some buttons or foam shapes. To get your sailing theme going, make paper cut-outs of anchors, life savers, or flags. You can also draw and cut out paper people to ride on your awesome sailboat.
Though your boat looks all set for sailing, it is not made to float on water. Take it for a fun pretend sailing adventure instead!
More Ideas
Create a fabric sail.
Instead of a paper sail, create one from fabric. Choose a plain piece of fabric or a colorful patterned one. Cut it into a triangle and glue it onto a craft stick or wooden dowel.
Check out these crafts for ideas on for fabric decorating ideas:
Paint a wooden boat effect.
For a wooden-looking boat, first paint the boat a light brown or beige color.
Once the paint is almost dry, use a dry brush to paint horizontal stripes in a darker shade of brown. Add very little or no water to the dark brown paint. Spread the paint a bit below each stripe so that it blends lightly with the background.
