Make Floating Faux Fish

Our Faux Fish are from Playing by the Book (playingbythebook.net), a blog about children's books and related crafts and activities. This project was inspired by One Smart Fish, by Chris Wormell.

You Will Need:

Paper and pencil
Thin plastic (we used clamshell- type food containers)
Permanent markers
Needle and thread
Glass beads (ours are about 1/3 inch wide)
Bubble wrap
Fishbowl or tank
Stones and shells

Sketch a few fish shapes on paper, then lay the thin plastic on top. Trace the drawings with black permanent marker.

When the ink is dry, cut out the fish. The plastic is prone to splitting during cutting, so keep the shapes simple.

Color in the other side of the plastic fish with permanent markers. (Coloring on the side with the black outline will smear the ink.) Let the ink dry.

Pull the needle and thread through a bead, then through a fish's mouth. Remove the needle and tie the thread ends together in a loop that's 1 1/2 to 5 inches from bead to fish. Repeat for the other fish.

Cut strips of bubbles from the bubble wrap, taking care to keep the bubbles intact. Sew a strip to the top of each fish's mouth. Fill the fishbowl with water, then add your fish. Cover the bottom of the bowl with more beads, and stones and shells.

Originally published in the August 2012 issue of FamilyFun magazine.