Squirrel crafts are a playful way to bring a bit of woodland whimsy into your home and keep kids busy, especially when the weather turns crisp and squirrels seem to be everywhere. Honestly, these projects are fun any time of year, great for animal units, rainy days, or just because.
All the crafts here use common household materials like paper bags, Dixie cups, toilet paper rolls, and natural items such as leaves and pine cones. There’s a mix: super easy coloring pages for the little ones, and a few trickier projects that might challenge older kids a bit. Whether it’s painting, snipping, gluing, or piecing things together, these activities sneak in a lot of fine motor practice while letting kids get curious about wildlife.
1) Paper Bag Squirrel Puppet
Paper bag squirrel puppets are a classic for little hands – simple, but surprisingly cute. All you need is a regular brown lunch bag for the base.
You can print a template if you want to keep it easy, or just sketch out some squirrel features yourself. Cut out the face, tail, and paws, then glue them to the bag (the folded bottom makes a good face). Let the kids color their squirrels before sticking everything together, and then, well, you’ll probably have a puppet show on your hands.
2) Dixie Cup Squirrel Craft
Here’s one for the squirrel fans: turn a plain Dixie cup into a squirrel with a little paint and some paper. You’ll need construction paper for the ears, feet, and tail, plus some googly eyes and maybe a pom pom for the nose.
It’s a good project for fall, but honestly, who’s stopping you from making winter or spring squirrels? Kids ages four and up can handle the steps, and there’s a nice mix of painting, cutting, and gluing.
3) DIY Acorn Squirrel
Turn a simple acorn into the cutest little squirrel with a bit of mixed media fun. Add tiny paper or felt ears, draw on a sweet face, and attach a fluffy tail made from yarn or fabric scraps.
Kids can mix and match textures and colors to give their squirrel its own personality. Simple, hands‑on, and perfect for fall, it’s a charming nature‑inspired craft that sparks creativity and imagination.
4) Felt Squirrel Soft Toy
A felt squirrel soft toy is a sweet beginner sewing project for crafty kids (or patient grown-ups). Grab some felt in gray or brown, cotton stuffing, embroidery thread, and a needle, nothing fancy.
Cut out the body, head, tail, and ears. Stitch them together with a simple blanket stitch. If you’re nervous about safety for little ones, skip the plastic eyes and use embroidered French knots instead. It’s a cozy little project, and the finished squirrel is kind of adorable.
5) Toilet Paper Roll Squirrel
Empty toilet paper rolls – who doesn’t have a few? Wrap one in colored paper, glue it down, and then add a tail, ears, and a face with markers. Suddenly, you’ve got a squirrel that stands up on its own.
You’ll just need basic supplies: construction paper, scissors, glue, markers. If you want to make life easier, printable templates for the tail and ears are all over the internet.
6) Squirrel Made from Play-Dough
Making a squirrel out of play-dough is a hands-on way for kids to practice fine motor skills. Use brown, gray, and white dough for a more realistic look, or go wild with colors, no rules here.
Roll up a ball for the body, a smaller one for the head, and then shape a big, bushy tail. Add four legs, tiny ears, and eyes. It’s squishy, it’s silly, and it’s a good excuse to get a little messy.
7) Paper Plate Squirrel Face
If you’ve got a paper plate and some construction paper, you’re halfway there. Cut out ears, glue them to the top, add googly eyes, a little triangle nose, and sketch on some whiskers.
Kids can paint the plate orange or brown first if they like. This one is perfect for preschoolers as very little cutting, mostly gluing and decorating.
8) Autumn Squirrel Art
Place a squirrel cutout on top of a canvas to create a fun resist effect. Once it’s positioned, let kids spray or splatter fall‑colored paints like orange, red, and yellow across the surface.
When you peel the cutout away, a bright squirrel silhouette appears, framed by all those fiery autumn shades. It’s one of those crafts where the big reveal gets the biggest “whoa.”
9) Foam Sheet Squirrel
Foam sheets are a solid pick if you want your squirrel to last longer than a day. Cut out the body, head, tail, and paws in autumn colors. Use brads or brass fasteners to attach the tail and head so they move, as kids love making the tail swish around.
Add googly eyes, a foam acorn, and maybe a few marker squiggles for details. It’s a little more involved, but the result is pretty satisfying.
10) Leaf and Pine Cone Squirrel Collage
Here’s a craft that’s a bit of a treasure hunt and an art project rolled into one. Grab a squirrel template and head outside to gather leaves, pine cones, acorns, and maybe a few twigs, whatever catches your eye, really. Once you’re back, kids can get to work gluing their finds onto the template, shaping the squirrel’s body and that iconic fluffy tail.
Pine cone scales seem almost made for adding texture to the tail, while the leaves bring in some color (and, honestly, a little chaos in the best way). It’s a fun excuse to explore outside, and, sure, it’s also great for working on those fine motor skills as everyone arranges and glues down their woodland loot.