Make a Paper Plate Rainbow Garden Collage – Fun Craft for Kids

This bright and cheerful Paper Plate Rainbow Garden collage is a perfect example of why I love using paper plates for craft projects. Their sturdy shape means you can pile on lots of different materials without the base collapsing, and the round edges frame your finished design beautifully.

One of my daughters made this years ago, and it’s still proudly displayed on our wall – right next to a Paper Plate Mermaid Collage her sister created!

Materials Needed To Make A Paper Plate Rainbow Garden

We used the following materials.

• 2 paper plates
• PVA (white) glue
• Blue and green paint
• Leaf ribbon or green trim
• Pre-cut flower shapes (or make your own)
• Glitter glue
• PomPoms
• Sequins
• Coloured sand in rainbow colours
• A bee stamp (small stickers work just as well)
• Sticky pads or strong glue

The wonderful thing about collage crafts is that you can use whatever materials you have around the house! Think outside the box – green wool makes great flower stems, while dried pasta, orange lentils, coloured rice, and fabric scraps add brilliant texture.

I like to set out a selection of small pots or takeaway containers filled with different materials. Kids have incredible imaginations and will create the most amazing pictures when given the freedom to explore!

How to Make a Paper Plate Rainbow Garden

1. Prepare Your Garden Base

Start by painting one of your paper plates half blue (sky) and half green (grass). Leave it to dry fully.

Once dry, decorate your garden scene with flower shapes, glitter glue, sequins, and leaf ribbon. We also added a tiny stamped bee for extra detail – can you spot it?

2. Create Your Paper Plate Rainbow

Take the second paper plate and cut it in half. Set one half aside for another craft project.

Using the remaining half, cut along the moulded ridges of the plate to create a curved rainbow shape. You’ll see a natural line to follow around the plate moulding to follow.

3. Add the Coloured Sand

Working one colour at a time:

• Brush a thin line of glue along the outer edge of your rainbow. You are going to have to do this seven times so don’t paint it too thick

• Sprinkle on your first colour of sand and gently pat it down using the back of a spoon.

• Shake off the excess onto a piece of paper and funnel it back into your container.

Repeat for all seven rainbow colours. This takes patience, but the finished result is worth it!

4. Attach Your Rainbow to the Garden

Once the sand has dried, use sticky pads or glue to attach your rainbow arch to the top of your garden plate.

Spotted Our Mistake?

We made a small colour order error on our rainbow – can you spot which colours are out of place? Let us know in the comments!

Finally, add a few butterfly stickers to your rainbow.

Why We Love Paper Plate Crafts

Paper plate crafts are budget-friendly, mess-friendly, and ideal for kids of all ages. Their versatility makes them brilliant for rainy day projects, school activities, or just a bit of creative fun at home. And an upside down paper plate rainbow look just as cool!

More Rainbow Crafts to Try:

If your kids loved making this Paper Plate Rainbow Garden, they’ll enjoy these colourful and creative rainbow crafts too:

• Needle Felt Rainbow – BlueBearWood
• Rainbow Paint Bleed Art – BlueBearWood
• Rainbow Science Sugar Density Experiment – Teach Beside Me
• Rainbow Rice Sensory Bin – Beth Ann Averill
• Torn Paper Rainbow – Rock Your Homeschool