A Simple Halloween Spider Craft

Loving holiday and seasonal crafts as much as we do, Isla and I are often dreaming up artsy ventures and scouring Pinterest for creative ideas. One October afternoon we wanted to create a simple and quick Halloween craft. Inspired by a similar painted paper plate spider project, Isla and I decided to make a spider for her room using collage. We thought the tissue paper would add interesting texture, and the process of gluing each tiny piece on provided Isla with some great fine motor practice.

Supplies needed:

paper plate
black tissue paper, cut into squares (approximately 1″)
black pipe cleaners (we used black glittery pipe cleaners)
8 googly eyes
Elmer’s glue
a few tablespoons of water
small container and a popsicle stick for mixing
small sponge brush
hot glue
string or yarn to hang the spider (we used an extra strand of tiny seed pearls that we had)

Start by mixing equal parts Elmer’s glue and warm water. Stir until they are completely blended.

Using the sponge brush, paint the glue/water mixture on to one edge of the back side of the paper plate.Start sticking individual squares of tissue paper onto the glued section of the plate. Make sure they overlap so that you don’t see any of the plate. We started by covering the edges of the plate and then worked our way inwards. For younger kiddos, or those with shorter attention spans, you could cut the tissue paper into larger squares.Once the plate is covered in tissue paper, use the Elmer’s glue to add 8 googly eyes. We chose different sized eyes, since real spiders often have different sized eyes (authentic learning opportunity- we were inspired to do a little research on spiders!). Wait for the glue on the plate to dry, then flip the spider over and add legs and the thread to hang it from using the hot glue gun. We cut our pipe cleaners in half and used one half for each leg.Our little craft inspector had a good time watching us work while he ate his lunch.

Last but not least, find a great spot to hang your spider!