Paper Plate Cheshire Cat

To me, there is only one acceptable movie version of Alice in Wonderland, and that is the 1951 Disney cartoon. I'm sure there's merit to the versions that have come after it, but this will forever be the Cheshire Cat to me.

I remember seeing Disney's Alice in Wonderland as a kid, and I remember enjoying the Alice in Wonderland ride at Disneyland. I also read Lewis Carroll's books. (Side note: Did you know that Lewis Carroll is a pen name? I had no idea until just now when I was hunting for a link.) I think I saw the movie before reading the books, and I'm almost certain I rode the ride before either seeing the movie or reading the books, so it's no surprise that my mental images of the characters are the ones that Disney introduced in 1951. 

--------- 

Paper Plate Cheshire Cat

Materials:

• paper plate
• scissors
• paint (light and dark pink, yellow, black)
• black Sharpie
• craft glue

Steps:

Cut the paper plate into this basic shape. 

Use the scraps to cut out six whiskers, two circles, and an oval. If your scraps aren't large enough for all of that, use cardstock or construction paper. Either is fine. Paint the ears and the area around the smile with light pink. Let it dry. 

Paint the two circles yellow. Then paint the oval, the main part of the face, and the outer portions of the ears dark pink. 

Trim the fluffs around the ears to look, well, fluffy. Paint pupils in the center of each eye, then glue them in place. Paint black eyebrows above the eyes, then add nostrils to the nose. Paint the whiskers black. 

Glue the whiskers behind the nose, then glue the nose in place. When the paint is dry, outline the mouth with a black sharpie, then add smile lines. 

It's hard not to smile looking at this guy.