Easy Ocean Crafts for Kids Using Supplies You Already Have

Last Updated on 07/16/2026 by Nell Marie

If your kids are fascinated by waves, seashells, colorful fish, and all the amazing creatures that live under the sea, you’re going to have so much fun with these easy ocean crafts!

The best part?

You don’t need to make a special trip to the craft store. Most of these ideas use simple supplies you probably already have tucked away at home, like paper plates, construction paper, paint, googly eyes, and a little imagination.

Whether you’re looking for a rainy-day activity, a summer boredom buster, or a fun way to learn about ocean animals, these crafts are an easy way to spend quality time together while creating something adorable.

More crafts:

• Paper Plate Dinosaur Craft for Preschoolers
• How to Paint Ladybug Designs on Rocks for Kids
• Easy, Simple, & Fun Preschool Snake Craft
• Easy & Fun Popsicle Stick Crafts for Kids

Ocean Crafts for Kids

Now it’s time for the fun part! From adorable sea turtles and smiling jellyfish to colorful fish, playful octopuses, and friendly sharks, you’ll find plenty of easy ocean-themed crafts to keep little hands busy. Grab your favorite craft supplies, pick an idea that catches your eye, and get ready to create an underwater adventure right from your kitchen table.

Paper Plate Jellyfish

Paper plate jellyfish are a colorful ocean craft that’s easy enough for preschoolers but still fun for older kids to decorate. With flowing ribbon tentacles and bright paint, each jellyfish turns out a little different. They’re perfect for an ocean unit study, summer camp, or an afternoon of creative fun.

Supplies:

• Paper plate
• Acrylic or washable paint
• Paintbrush
• Ribbon, curling ribbon, or crepe paper streamers
• Googly eyes
• Glue
• Hole punch (optional)
• Scissors

Overview:

1. Paint the back of a paper plate in your favorite ocean colors and let it dry.
2. Glue on two googly eyes and draw a smiling face if desired.
3. Punch holes or glue ribbon and streamers around the curved edge to create the jellyfish tentacles.
4. Add glitter, sequins, or stickers for extra sparkle before displaying your finished craft.

Coffee Filter Sea Turtles

Coffee filter sea turtles are a simple craft that creates beautiful watercolor-style shells. Kids love watching the colors blend together, making every turtle unique. This is a great craft for learning about sea life while exploring basic art techniques.

Supplies:

• Coffee filters
• Washable markers
• Spray bottle with water
• Green construction paper
• Glue
• Scissors
• Googly eyes (optional)
• Black marker

Overview:

1. Color a coffee filter with washable markers.
2. Lightly mist it with water and allow the colors to blend and dry.
3. Cut turtle legs, a head, and a tail from green construction paper.
4. Glue the colorful coffee filter on top as the shell.
5. Add eyes and draw a smile to finish your adorable sea turtle.

Handprint Crabs

Handprint crabs make adorable keepsakes that kids and parents will treasure for years. This craft is quick, easy, and works well for toddlers, preschoolers, and elementary-aged children. Every little handprint becomes a cheerful crab.

Supplies:

• Red or orange washable paint
• White cardstock or construction paper
• Paintbrush or sponge
• Googly eyes
• Black marker
• Glue

Overview:

1. Paint your child’s hand with red or orange paint.
2. Press the hand onto paper with the fingers pointing downward to create crab legs.
3. Let the paint dry completely.
4. Glue on googly eyes above the thumb area.
5. Draw a smiling face and add claws or beach details around the crab.

Egg Carton Sea Creatures

Don’t throw away those empty egg cartons! The individual cups make the perfect base for creating colorful fish, octopuses, turtles, or other ocean animals. Kids can use their imagination to create an entire underwater world.

Supplies:

• Empty egg carton
• Acrylic or washable paint
• Paintbrushes
• Googly eyes
• Pipe cleaners
• Construction paper or craft foam
• Glue
• Scissors

Overview:

1. Cut apart individual egg carton cups.
2. Paint each section to resemble your favorite sea creature.
3. Glue on googly eyes once the paint is dry.
4. Add fins, tentacles, tails, or flippers using construction paper, pipe cleaners, or foam pieces.
5. Arrange several creatures together for a fun ocean display.

Ocean Slime with Glitter and Shells

Ocean slime combines sensory play with ocean-themed fun. The sparkly blue slime looks just like the sea, and adding shells and ocean treasures makes it even more exciting. Kids can stretch, squish, and explore while pretending they’re diving under the waves.

Supplies:

• Clear or white school glue
• Baking soda
• Contact lens solution (containing boric acid)
• Blue food coloring
• Fine glitter
• Small seashells
• Ocean-themed beads or plastic sea animals (optional)
• Mixing bowl and spoon

Overview:

1. Mix glue with a small amount of baking soda in a bowl.
2. Add blue food coloring and glitter until you achieve an ocean-inspired color.
3. Stir in contact lens solution a little at a time until the slime forms.
4. Knead the slime until it’s smooth and stretchy.
5. Mix in small seashells or ocean-themed charms, then enjoy hours of sensory play.

Bubble Wrap Painted Fish

Bubble wrap painted fish are a fun way to create colorful fish with realistic-looking scales. Kids love pressing the bubble wrap onto paper to reveal the textured pattern, making this an easy craft that combines painting and printmaking.

Supplies:

• Bubble wrap
• Washable or acrylic paint
• Construction paper or cardstock
• Paintbrush or foam brush
• Googly eyes
• Black marker
• Scissors
• Glue

Overview:

1. Cut a fish shape from construction paper or draw one on cardstock.
2. Paint a piece of bubble wrap with colorful paint.
3. Press the bubble wrap onto the fish to create a scale pattern.
4. Let the paint dry completely.
5. Add a googly eye and draw a smile, fins, or bubbles to finish your fish.

Popsicle Stick Sailboats

Popsicle stick sailboats are a simple craft that’s perfect for summertime or an ocean-themed lesson. Kids can decorate each boat with colorful sails and even race them across a tub of water once they’re finished.

Supplies:

• Popsicle sticks
• Craft glue or hot glue (adult supervision)
• Cardstock or construction paper
• Wooden skewer or straw
• Markers or crayons
• Scissors
• Stickers (optional)

Overview:

1. Glue several popsicle sticks side by side to form the base of the boat.
2. Attach a skewer or straw upright in the center to create the mast.
3. Cut a triangle sail from cardstock and decorate it.
4. Glue or tape the sail onto the mast.
5. Add fun details like flags, waves, or tiny passengers before displaying or floating your sailboat.

Cardboard Tube Octopus

Cardboard tube octopuses are an excellent way to recycle paper towel or toilet paper rolls while making an adorable ocean animal. Kids can paint them in bright colors and curl the tentacles for extra personality.

Supplies:

• Cardboard tube
• Acrylic or washable paint
• Paintbrush
• Googly eyes
• Scissors
• Black marker
• Glue
• Optional stickers or glitter

Overview:

1. Paint the cardboard tube and allow it to dry.
2. Cut several slits around one end to create tentacles.
3. Curl each tentacle slightly with a pencil or by hand.
4. Glue on googly eyes and draw a smiling face.
5. Decorate with dots, glitter, or stickers to make your octopus unique.

Seashell Picture Frames

Seashell picture frames make wonderful keepsakes from a beach vacation or ocean-themed craft day. Kids can personalize each frame with shells they collected or decorative craft shells, creating a special place to display a favorite photo.

Supplies:

• Plain wooden or cardboard picture frame
• Assorted seashells
• Craft glue
• Sand (optional)
• Small pearls or beads (optional)
• Acrylic paint (optional)
• Paintbrush

Overview:

1. Paint the frame if you’d like a colorful background and let it dry.
2. Arrange seashells around the edges before gluing them down.
3. Add sand, pearls, or tiny beads to fill empty spaces.
4. Allow everything to dry completely.
5. Insert a favorite beach or family photo into the finished frame.

Paper Plate Aquarium Scene

A paper plate aquarium lets kids create their own underwater world filled with colorful fish, seaweed, coral, and bubbles. This craft encourages creativity because every aquarium can be completely different.

Supplies:

• Paper plate
• Blue paint or blue construction paper
• Construction paper in assorted colors
• Glue
• Scissors
• Googly eyes
• Markers
• Sequins or stickers (optional)

Overview:

1. Paint the inside of the paper plate blue or cover it with blue paper.
2. Cut out fish, seaweed, coral, starfish, and other ocean creatures.
3. Glue the pieces inside the plate to create an underwater scene.
4. Add googly eyes and draw details with markers.
5. Finish with sequins or stickers to create bubbles and sparkling water.

Sponge-Painted Coral Reef Art

Sponge-painted coral reef art is an easy painting project that gives kids beautiful texture without requiring detailed painting skills. Using different sponge shapes creates colorful coral that looks like it’s growing beneath the ocean.

Supplies:

• Kitchen sponges
• Washable or acrylic paint
• Blue cardstock or canvas paper
• Paint palette
• Paintbrush
• Construction paper fish (optional)
• Glue
• Markers

Overview:

1. Start with blue paper to represent the ocean.
2. Dip sponge pieces into different paint colors.
3. Stamp the sponge onto the paper to create coral, sea plants, and underwater textures.
4. Let the paint dry completely.
5. Add paper fish, sea turtles, or other ocean animals to complete your coral reef masterpiece.

Tissue Paper Sea Horse Craft

A tissue paper sea horse is a colorful craft that lets kids practice tearing, crumpling, and gluing while creating a beautiful ocean animal. The layered tissue paper gives the sea horse plenty of texture, making it a fun art project for preschoolers and elementary-aged kids alike.

Supplies:

• Sea horse template or construction paper
• Colored tissue paper
• Glue
• Scissors
• Googly eye
• Black marker
• Cardstock or construction paper for the background

Overview:

1. Draw or print a sea horse template and cut it out.
2. Tear tissue paper into small pieces and crumple them into loose balls.
3. Glue the tissue paper onto the sea horse until it’s completely covered.
4. Add a googly eye and draw a smiling face or decorative details.
5. Glue the finished sea horse onto blue cardstock and add seaweed or bubbles around it.

Shark Puppet Made from a Paper Bag

Paper bag shark puppets are perfect for imaginative play after craft time is over. Kids can decorate their shark with sharp teeth, fins, and big eyes, then use it to act out fun underwater adventures or tell ocean-themed stories.

Supplies:

• Brown or white paper lunch bag
• Gray, white, and black construction paper
• Glue
• Scissors
• Googly eyes
• Black marker
• Crayons or colored pencils (optional)

Overview:

1. Cover the paper bag with gray paper or color it gray.
2. Cut out shark fins, a tail, and a white belly from construction paper.
3. Glue the pieces onto the paper bag.
4. Add googly eyes and cut small white triangles for the shark’s teeth.
5. Once dry, slip your hand inside the bag and use your shark puppet for pretend play.

Rock Painting with Ocean Animals

Rock painting is an easy outdoor craft that transforms ordinary stones into adorable ocean creatures. Kids can create fish, turtles, whales, crabs, octopuses, or any sea animal they can imagine, making every rock one-of-a-kind.

Supplies:

• Smooth rocks
• Acrylic paint
• Paintbrushes
• Paint pens or permanent markers
• Clear sealer (optional)
• Water cup
• Paper towels

Overview:

1. Wash and dry the rocks before painting.
2. Paint each rock a solid base color and allow it to dry.
3. Add ocean animal features like fins, shells, eyes, or tentacles using smaller brushes.
4. Use paint pens or markers to add outlines and fine details.
5. Seal the finished rocks with a clear sealer if they’ll be displayed outdoors.

Cupcake Liner Fish Craft

Cupcake liner fish are bright, cheerful, and incredibly simple to make. The folded cupcake liners naturally create the shape of a fish, making this an excellent craft for younger children while still allowing plenty of room for creativity.

Supplies:

• Colorful cupcake liners
• Construction paper
• Glue
• Googly eyes
• Scissors
• Markers
• Sequins, glitter, or stickers (optional)

Overview:

1. Flatten a cupcake liner and fold it slightly to create the fish’s body.
2. Glue it onto a sheet of blue construction paper.
3. Cut a triangle tail and small fins from construction paper and glue them in place.
4. Add a googly eye and draw a smiling mouth.
5. Decorate the background with seaweed, bubbles, shells, or additional fish to complete your underwater scene.

Ocean Crafts Are Fun

Ocean crafts are a wonderful way to keep kids entertained while encouraging creativity, imagination, and hands-on learning. Whether you’re making colorful jellyfish, silly sharks, friendly sea turtles, or sparkling fish, each project is an opportunity to create special memories together. The best part is that many of these crafts can be made with simple supplies you already have around the house, making them perfect for rainy days, summer afternoons, homeschool activities, or classroom fun.

I hope these ocean craft ideas inspire you to gather your paints, paper, glue, and googly eyes and dive into your next creative adventure. Have fun trying a few favorites—or make them all and turn your home into an underwater world full of colorful sea creatures! Happy crafting!