Time for an exciting new summer craft tutorial! Today we’ll make a paper plate submarine window, complete with printable fish and corals to color. This submarine window craft is not only a fun summer activity for kids, but also a DIY nautical themed wall décor. Grab the materials from the list below and let’s get started!

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Submarine Window Craft & wall décor

You will need*:

• This printable page with fishes to color
• Two 10” paper plates (I used eco-friendly plates similar to these ones)
• Transparency film (Acetate Sheets)
• Cushioning foam sheets for packing
  (Alternatives: Thin sponge sheets / craft foam sheets / double sided adhesive tape / cardboard).
• Craft foam sheet (brown)
• Paint (I used blue, white and gold).
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• All purpose glue (I recommend Aleene’s Tacky Glue)
• Plasticine (I used yellow)
• Silver round stickers (or silver / grey paper cut into small circles)
• Strong paper punch (like this one)
• Thin rope / yarn
• Large plastic safety needle (optional)

* (Amazon Affiliate links)

Steps:

1. Cut a circle in one of the plates. You can use the circle stencil from the printable page.
The plate with the hole is the submarine’s window frame. The other plate is the ocean’s background.

2. Paint the plates. I painted the background plate light blue and added gold in the margins, where I considered it to be part of the window frame.

3. Color the fish and corals from the printable template.

4. With the glue stick, glue a piece of transparency film to the back of the colored items. This will give them firmness. Cut out each item with its transparency film.

5. I used plasticine to create the ocean’s bottom. You cam also use other kinds of modelling clays (if you are using air dry one, complete the next step before it dries out).

Play around with the thickness of the plasticine to create a 3D effect. Don’t use too much plasticine, though, because it is heavy. 
I placed a few yellow rolls on top of each other and then smudged them to blend together. Then I realized it looked like a banana 😀

6. Stick the seaweed and a few other items in the plasticine. Place some of the items closer to the front of the window and some further back, for a feeling of depth. Place the window frame on top to check that all the items are visible through the window hole.

7. To make the fish pop out of the background, I glued them on pieces of foam sheet for packing. If you don’t have such sheets, you can use alternatives such as double sided adhesive tape, pieces of cardboard or any other material you find fit.

Cut out small pieces of foam sheet and glue them to the back of each fish, using all purpose glue. Glue two layers of foam sheets to some fishes, to to make them pop up more than others

My Aleene’s Tacky Glue worked perfectly here. It glues all kinds of surfaces and dries out quickly, clear and flexible. Great for felt, too!

8. Arrange the fish with their foam sheets in the ocean. Before you glue them, put the window frame on top and see how it looks. If you are happy with it, glue the fish to the ocean with all purpose glue.

9. Glue a piece of transparency film to the back side of the window hole (I used my glue stick for that).

10. Glue the window hole to the background plate (I used Aleene’s Tacky Glue).

11. Make bolts out of craft foam sheets. Each bolt is a circle of brown EVA craft foam sheet with a silver round sticker inside.
Glue the bolts to the window frame.

12. Punch holes around the plates margins with a paper punch.

13. Thread a rope / yarn. I used brown yarn and a large plastic pin to make threading easier. I circled the plates with the yarn twice.

14. Tie the edges of the thread at the back of the paper plates.

15. Tie another piece of rope to the back of the plates, for hanging your submarine window craft on the whole.

16. Done! Here is a lovely submarine window and a DIY wall décor!

If you want to print colored fish for this craft, or if you want them for other creative projects, you can purchase the Sea Life Clipart Set from my Etsy shop.

It’s a set with lots of illustrations in PNG, SBG and EPS files. Take a look:

So, whether you’re looking for an engaging summer craft idea or searching for handmade room décor projects, this DIY paper plate submarine window craft is for you. With its adorable porthole design and printable fish to color, it will provide lots of fun time to kids and parents. Once completed, proudly display your creation as a unique piece of DIY wall art. Feel free to share this post with family and friends who would love this submarine craft!

* All the free printables in my website are for personal, non-commercial use only. Kindly refrain from sending them directly to others. Instead, feel free to share the link to the relevant post. Thanks!