Courtney McGrailSummer trips to the seaside and the aquarium are great inspiration for under-the-sea crafts. With all of the fascinating crabs and fish you can find under the sea, you would wish that you could keep them as pets. Sadly, keeping star fish and sea horses is not the same as a pet goldfish. But you can create your own fish bowl and your own marine life with a few materials. You can use real sea shells to complete the decoration. Just remember not to fill the jar with water!
You will need:
One large clear jam jar, tissue paper, card, felt, kapok, string, scissors, glue, needle, thread and one twig. Extras (optional): pebbles, sand, tiny sea shells and pipe cleaners.
Decide which sea animal you want to make; this can be anything from a sea horse to an octopus, a jelly fish to a lobster or even a shark! If you prefer, start off with making a simple gold fish or lots of tiny minnows made out of silver card.
Draw the shape of a fish on some card and cut out the fish. Trace around this on some orange felt and cut out twice. On one of the felt pieces, make a French knot or sew on a tiny bead for the eye.
Sew the fish up or dab a little glue around the edges. Stuff with kapok and finish sewing or gluing together.
If you like, glue some multi-coloured sequins onto the fish for its scales.
Glue a piece of string to the back of the fish – or sew it through– and tie the other end around a twig. Balance the twig over the rim of the jar to allow your fish to ‘swim’ around the aquarium.
Make an even bigger aquarium with a larger jar. Line the jar with the pebbles, shells and sand. You can add a bit of dried out seaweed as long as it has been cleaned! Fill it with lots of fish or a mixture of your favourite sea animals.
Other ideas: Make eels out of pipe cleaners by cutting a long black or brown pipe cleaner into several pieces. Twist each piece into a wavy shape and suspend them the same way as you did with the fish.
For a ‘deep blue sea’ theme, take a piece of transparent blue plastic. Cut it to size and wrap it inside the interior of the jam jar.