Make a 3D Hermit crab living in a doodle art shell with this printable craft. This is a fun Summer project and a perfect way to support kids learning about ocean animals.
The doodle art pattern element means every finished Hermit crab will look unique and the crab has a fun 3D effect to make it pop out from the page.
Hermit crabs are so cute! They’re also fascinating crustaceans to learn about.
Did you know some hermit crabs can live up to 70 years? During that time, they’re fabulous upcyclers, making use of the discarded shells of other marine life and repurposing them into new homes for themselves.
Like a snail (or a sea snail, whose shells they love), they carry this home everywhere they go to protect their soft abdomens. When they grow too big for a shell, they find a new one.
With this Hermit Crab craft, kids can decorate a home for their hermit crab to live in. Colour and pattern it any way you like!
The paper craft is easy but a little fiddly when it comes to the folding of the crab element. Age recommendation is 8+, although younger kids could make it with some adult help.
It involves basic colouring and patterning skills, plus cutting, folding and gluing.
Card stock is recommended to print on.
How to make a 3D Hermit Crab Craft
You will need
- Card stock in white for the shell and orange for the crab
- Backing paper in two shades of yellow, or yellow and a sky blue
- Markers – either permanent Sharpie markers or regular kids washable markers
- Scissors
- Glue stick – I always use UHU brand (affiliate link) because it sticks the best
- The printable template, available from our Printables Store and TPT store
How To
Print the shell and eyes to white card stock and the crab parts to orange card stock (or whatever colour you want your crab to be).
Colour and decorate the shell with pattern art. Decorate the crab’s body with crab-like markings.
The crab template in the download has some helpful instructions on the page that aren’t in the photograph because I added them afterward.
Cut the shapes out.
Fold the tab on the claws and glue this part to the legs.
Fold the claws down so they hang over the top of the legs.
Fold the head along the fold line, then glue the back of the tab to the back of the body so it pops forward.
Glue the eyes and antennae into place. The antennae hang off the bottom of the head like whiskers.
Fold the tabs on the support strip and glue into a curved shape with a flat base. Glue the crab to this.
Make the background. Tear a sheet of pale yellow paper in a curved shape to look like a sandy hill. Glue this to your sheet of dark yellow paper (or sky blue if preferred).
Use black marker to trace the outline of the tear and add some dotted sand detail. Glue the shell to the background and the completed hermit crab to the shell opening.
Aren’t they cute?
Also in this series:
- 3D Doodle Art Turtle
- 3D pattern art shells
- Open-ended Shell templates for your own creative projects
