Panda, Monkey, and Snow Leopard Paper Plate Crafts

Disneynature films are always spectacular and the new BORN IN CHINA film is simply stunning! If you’ve been following the blog lately, you know we are enchanted with this movie and very excited to see one my all-time favorite animals, the Giant Panda featured.  To help celebrate the release of the film on April 21, I’ve put together this fun BORN IN CHINA Paper Plate Craft for kids.

Hope you enjoy this cute craft idea with your children (or students.)  Be sure to check out our Disneynature BORN IN CHINA Activity Packet and Educator’s Guide feature too, for more inspiration and ideas!

BORN IN CHINA Paper Plate Craft

How to get started with your BORN IN CHINA Paper Plate Craft

My ideas for paper plate crafts stem from my work as a substitute teacher where I’ve had to master the ability to be creative on-the-spot.  When you have a room full of restless children and time on your hands, you really need to keep those little hands busy and minds engaged quick!  One of my go-to crafts is paper plate masks.  I always keep a stash of plates handy in my day bag along with construction paper and glue sticks.  Often you can find these items in the classroom, but it’s always best to be prepared.

At home, I use the same concept sometimes for family movie night.  My children have always loved crafting and it’s fun to use the masks before and after the film to mimic favorite character or to hang on the fridge or wall as a great reminder of our special family time.

BORN IN CHINA Paper Plate Craft

The limits of this craft are simply your imagination.  When I’m in the school setting, I draw a concept on the board for the children to base their crafts on.  This is as easy as simply deciding what image you want to make and converting it into easy basic shapes and colors.  If visualizing crafts doesn’t come easy and you have a tough time doing this, look to the pages of a book or the poster of a film like BORN IN CHINA for inspiration.

At home, I use pen and paper to quickly sketch out my ideas.  As you can see, my art skills are pretty basic, so you do not have to be a master artist to come up with a cute paper plate idea.

BORN IN CHINA Paper Plate Craft

Building your BORN IN CHINA Paper Plate Craft

The next step, of course, is to select your color pallet for the plate… and be sure to keep things simple.  Two to five colors is generally ideal, especially if you are teaching children to create the images.  If you have a group of teens, you can leave the color selection up to their imaginations and let them use as many as they feel are needed to create their masterpiece.  With that age group, you will definitely be surprised by the exceptional creativity they produce on their own without much structure.

BORN IN CHINA Paper Plate Craft

Once you have your basic design, cut out the shapes desired from your color palette and begin to layer them on the plate.  Don’t glue anything down until you are satisfied with the results.  Many times, we find ourselves trimming shapes to fit better, revising colors or changing direction on how to best represent the character.

Once you have a pattern you are comfortable with, it’s simply a matter of gluing all the pieces in place and viola!  A fun character mask to celebrate the film BORN IN CHINA or any other interest.

BORN IN CHINA Paper Plate Craft - Giant Panda BORN IN CHINA Paper Plate Craft - Golden Monkey BORN IN CHINA Paper Plate Craft - Snow Leopard

Additional tips for building your BORN IN CHINA Paper Plate Craft:

Add special details to bring the character to life.  For example, if you are creating a Golden Monkey from BORN IN CHINA, create a few rounded shapes for the hair and cut in angles and strips to mimic hair strands (as illustrated below.)

BORN IN CHINA Paper Plate Craft

I also cut out a small rectangular shape that I made strip cuts into for “bangs.” and used a light blue pencil to add some color to the eye and mouth areas to resemble the blue hue that the Golden Monkeys have. 

Above all, have fun creating your paper plate masks and enjoy your special BORN IN CHINA celebration!

BORN IN CHINA Paper Plate Craft - Giant Panda, Golden Monkey, Snow Leopard

 

Tags: Animals, Crafts, Disney, Disneynature, nature
by
Barb Webb. Founder and Editor of Rural Mom, is an the author of "Getting Laid" and "Getting Baked". A sustainable living expert nesting in Appalachian Kentucky, when she’s not chasing chickens around the farm or engaging in mock Jedi battles, she’s making tea and writing about country living and artisan culture.
Rural Mom Farm Fresh Picks for April Disneynature BORN IN CHINA | Fun Giant Panda, Snow Leopard and Golden Monkey Facts

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