DIY Turtle Crafts for Kids

We love themed crafts! And love exploring different animals. One animal that we particularly adore as is the turtle or tortoise. Obviously.. they are two different animals – one being your ocean turtle, the other the land tortoise. But when it comes to DIY Turtle Crafts/ Tortoise crafts, they are very similar! The main difference being the turtle flippers vs the tortoise legs! So today, we bring you a mixture of the two and you can adapt the craft depending on which species you want to make.

I think Turtle crafts especially make great summer crafts for kids. Or if you are exploring ocean themes crafts or seaside crafts!

Gorgeous Turtle Crafts for Kids

Let’s take a look at our turtle crafts for you today! I confess, this time, they are no particular order.. so I hope you simply enjoy browsing this collection!

Sea Turtle Bookmark Corner

Calling all turtle fans (and tortoise fans.. you could QUICKLY adapt this craft, by changing the legs).. how fun are these LOVELY little sea turtle bookmarks? One of my all time favourite corner bookmark designs! I think I would probably make this bookmark slightly different if we had another go – either cutting away the “blue ocean” bit under the turtle.. or adding some cute paper or handdrawn fishies to it… Though this is a sea turtle craft, you could easily change the flippers and turn them into “feet” for the landloving tortoise!

TMNT Bookmark

Whilst on the topic of bookmarks, I am going to quickly sneak in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Bookmark too. Though this will be only TMNT craft! Hope that is ok. As you can see they are super easy to make and you will have lots of fun with these I am sure!

Sea Glass Turtles with Salt Dough

Next we have the sea glass turtles. I really LOVE making these, as they make for a great Eco project too – collecting sea glass is technically litter picking and salt dough is an eco friendly craft material as it only uses flour and salt. So this would be a lovely activity for any ocean protection schemes. You can turn your salt dough turtle into pendants, decorative items/ paper weights or fridge magnets!

Sea shell Salt Dough Turtles

Similarly you can make a seashell turtle craft. But I confess.. though we loved making these at the time. I have now “changed my mind” about how I feel about working with sea shells. I am not sure if we should be collecting and crafting with them. The jury is out! And sorry about bring up this “awkward” topic! That said, I did make some plain salt dough turtles ones, and they were super fun too!

TOP TIP: what about using some fun pasta shells instead? That would work really well!

Turtle Shell Fridge Magents

The same conundrum applies to these Turtle Shell Fridge Magnets. Maybe the discussion should be around moderation – e.g. like when you forage.. yes, enjoy crafting with nature finds, but don’t take excessive amounts and only take what you know you will craft with! Cherish and respect your craft supplies!

Handprint Turtle Greeting Card

Here is another super cute paper turtle craft – make wonderful Handprint Cards for Dad or Mom – you are Turtley Awesome Dad! How cute are these? They would make a great keepsake too. A great turtle craft for preschoolers and toddlers amongst us!

Handprint Turtle (Handprint ABC)

Similarly, many moons ago, the kids and I made some adorable Handprint turtles. They loved grabing the marker pen hand having a go at the turtle’s shell.

Free Turtle Crochet Pattern

Those of you who follow my blog closely will know that my teenage daughter LOVES to crochet! She has started teaching the local teens and tweens how to crochet too and writes her own crochet patterns! Woohoo for us.. as that means, I am able to share her crochet patterns with you too. Like this Free Turtle Crochet Pattern! Isn’t it adorable? You can make it in regular turtle colors or make this fun Strawberry Turtle Plush too!

Recycled Tortoise DIY Stool

Ok, here was a bit of an ambitious recycled tortoise craft. We made a Turtle Stool from plastic bottles and paper mache. It was a fun project for summer for sure! But confess – that I probably wouldn’t make it again! Ha. We did love finding the green plastic bottles to match the green paint of the stool.. so it was a good project for the long holidays.

Plastic Bottle Turtle Shell Craft

Another fun recycled turtle craft with plastic bottles are these fun little sea turtles from Krokotak. I love that she made this one craft but in different ways – one she filled with beans, as a cute turtle maracas toy, and another she cut a slit to turn it into a turtle piggy bank! So fun!

Egg Carton Turtle Shell Craft

Grab your green paints, egg cartons and get ready for another super cute recycled project, this time using Egg Cartons.. are is this little Egg Carton Turtle Craft by Emma Owl. I think this is one that you could possible turn into a tortoise DIY too. I so need to make some of these cute little turtles. You could porbably use k-cups to make these too. Great recycling for sure!

Paper Plate Turtle craft (with Template)

Here is a handy and easy peasy craft by Fireflies and Mudpies – complete with free turtle Template. Turn your paper plate into a wonderful and colorful paper plate tortoise craft (you could also try making these with a paper bowl)! Love the colorful tissue paper used to decorate the shell. A great opportunity for little ones to practice their cutton skills. Of course, you can use other items to decorate the turtle’s shell – e.g. torn paper, buttons, nature finds (leaves would be lovely) etc.

I hope you have enjoyed these Turtle Craft Ideas as much as we have! So fun!

Now you have made your sea turtles.. maybe you fancy some easy Paper Fish Crafts?