This paper plate acorn craft is an easy, low-mess activity that’s perfect for cozy fall afternoons. It’s simple to set up, quick to clean up, and makes an adorable harvest decoration.

Perfect for toddlers (with a bit of help), preschoolers, kindergarteners, and early elementary kids — easy to cut, easy to paint, and lots of fun.

Collage and featured image for paper plate acorn craft for kids

The free template comes with plenty of elements so kids can personalize their acorn. You’ll find both a ready-to-color version and a pre-colored version. No subscribing needed — just download and start crafting.

Paper plate acorn craft Pinterest image 2

Page Contents

Tools & Materials

Printer
Template (download at the end of the article – no subscription required)
9-inch paper plate
Scissors
White cardstock
Brown cardstock (optional)
Light brown paint (or mix white, brown, and yellow)
Glue
Colors or markers (optional)

materials needed for making acorns with paper plates

Super tip: If you don’t have paper plates, you can use white cardstock cut into 9-inch circles.

Step 1 – Print the Paper Plate Acorn Template

Look through the template and only print the pages you need. For a longer activity, you can also print the coloring version.

printed paper plate acorn template in color

For this tutorial, I printed the color version. For the acorn top, stem, and bottom tip, I used the special page designed for printing on brown paper to save ink — and it worked perfectly.

different ways you can print template to save money

Important: Print at actual size or 100%. There’s a 1-inch square on the template so you can check the sizing.

Step 2 – Paint Paper Plate

Paint the plate before cutting the template, so it’s dry and ready to use when assembling.

If you don’t have light brown paint, you can mix:

2 teaspoons white paint
1 teaspoon brown paint
½ teaspoon yellow paint

I like adding the yellow for a warmer tone, but mixing white and brown works fine too.

Step 3 – Cut Paper Plate Acorn Template

Cut out the template pieces. You’ll find different sets of eyes and mouths. The eyebrows can be a little tricky — you can leave them out (like I did), but I included them in the template because why not?

Step 4 – Trace the Acorn Shape

Use the curved line on the first page of the template as a tracing guide. Place it on the left edge of the paper plate and trace the curve. Then flip the guide and trace the right side.

Cut along both traced lines to form your acorn shape. I recommend tracing after painting — the plate is flatter and easier to work with that way.

Step 5 – Glue and Assemble the Acorn

Check the “assemble ideas” page in the template for inspiration.

Glue the top, stem, and bottom tip.

Add the nose, mouth, and cheeks.

Personalize your acorn with extra decorations — leaves on the stem, a bow, a bow tie, or even a scarf! Which one did your child choose?

Mini Paper Plate Acorn

Want to make a baby acorn too? I made a mini version using a 6-inch paper plate, and it turned out adorable. (It’s a little harder to cut, but older kids may prefer this option!)

acorns made out of paper plates including small (baby) acorn.

Just print the template at 70% scale and follow the same steps.

Printing Settings for making a baby acorn with 6 inch plates

Download the Free Template

Just as I mentioned, here’s the acorn template for your craft! Click the image to open it in a new tab or use the yellow buttons to trigger a download.

Paper plate acorn craft template in full color — Download PDF

Paper plate acorn craft template for coloring — Download PDF

Happy Crafting!