If you have paper cups left over after a party, or hanging around in the cupboard, they are great to use for simple children’s crafts and activities. My boys are really into a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles phase right now, so a TMNT craft was the ideal use for our green paper cups. If you have other colours, I’ll show a quick way to adapt those for this craft too.
For this Ninja Turtles craft you will need:
- Paper cups
- Green tissue paper (optional – for the non green cups)
- Plain Paper
- Felt tips
- Googly Eyes
- Glue stick
- Double sided tape or glue dots
This craft was ideal for my boys aged 3, 5 and 7 to do themselves independently without needing much help or guidance from me. They enjoyed making their turtles and thought up extra details to add themselves – I hadn’t thought as far as adding the shell or the turtles weapons, but they were keen to add everything that their turtles would need.
First, colour the bandana and then stick on the eyes using the double sided tape or glue dots. (Glue sticks probably won’t be strong enough to hold them). Then glue the bandana around the cup with the glue stick.
If you’re using a non green cup, then cover the entire cup in green tissue before starting.
Next, draw on a mouth and any features the turtle needs and draw a paper shell to glue onto the back of the turtle.
Z drew paper nunchucks for his turtle, Michaelangelo / Mikey and stuck those on too.
I love how cute their turtles came out, and once they’re finished you can play with them – making up small stories about the turtles.
Here are our Leo, Raf, Donnie and Mikey!
I’m sure your little TMNT fans would enjoy this craft activity too!
More paper cup crafts
Paper Cup and Paper Plate Cake Stand
Paper Cup pom pom / sweetcorn / marshmallow shooter
More TMNT
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Activity Sheets
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
These are so cute Anna, we love TMNT!!