Learn how to make an easy paper turtle with a removable shell for safekeeping treasures!
My daughter loves to design 3D shapes using a program called Blender. She’s made many wonderful things you’d have no idea a teenager created (like this pie box). When she heard about our daily craftalong project, she offered to design us some super cute 3D paper animals, including a 3D paper turtle, a 3D paper manatee, a 3D paper crocodile, and a 3D paper flamingo.
The paper turtle is the easiest to make, and I show you how to assemble her in this tutorial! Once you make the turtle, you can add in her other aquatic papecraft friends which are a bit more challenging! These 3d papercraft animals are part of our MAKE IT EASY Craftalong Challenge, filled with fun and EASY daily themed projects! 
Here is the adorable and easy paper turtle!
And her manatee mate:
Plus a crocodile buddy:
And, last but not least, a flamingo friend:
Want to make your own easy paper turtle and other paper animals? Let’s show you how! This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more)! Read my full disclosure policy.
Materials to Make an Easy 3D Paper Turtle and other Paper Animals
View my Amazon shopping list with the exact items we used to make this project!
- 12″ x 12″ 65 lb. or 80 lb. Cardstock
- Glue or a tape runner
- LightGrip cutting mat
- Straws (for the flamingos legs)
- A way to cut your paper animals (I used the Cricut Explore cutting machine, but you can also use a Cricut Maker cutting machine, scissors, or a craft knife)
- Design #200 – The free SVG paper animals design files (available in my free resource library—get the password by filling out the form at the bottom of this page)
Need more projects for today’s craft challenge theme?
Today’s MAKE IT EASY Craftalong Challenge is to “Hug a Pet” by making something something with or for your pet, easy paper animals, or something with an animal pattern! If you are looking for other ideas, we have you covered!
- Paper Dog & Puppy Boxes!
- Paper Lantern with Cute Paper Animals to Light Your Winter Night
- Easy Butterfly Card
- Hair Bows with Mermaid Tails, Butterfly WIngs , And Hearts!
- Owl Shadow Box Card
- Personalized Elves & Stuffed Animals with Iron On Vinyl
- Easy Layers Greeting Card Set
- Paper Butterfly Canvas Wall Art Heart
- Paper Butterflies!
We’d love to see YOUR 3D paper animals! Please share a photo in our Facebook group or tag me on social media with #jennifermaker.
This project is a part of our MAKE IT EASY Craftalong Challenge with fun and EASY projects you can do to learn how to use your Cricut! You can share your photos in our daily challenge theme thread here!
Love,
Want to remember this? Save this Easy Paper Animals tutorial to your favorite Pinterest Board
