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Kids Get Crafty: Fairy Fish Magic

April 20, 2011

This week we decided to have a go at recycled materials again… it was prompted by the fact that we received some “Fairy Liquid Washing Gel” and I thought that the bottle looked a bit like a fish… so I looked at the other Fairy bottles and thought… we can make our own recycled fish school here! We love fun Crafts for Kids.

The Book

Hooray for Fish!

Hooray for Fish!By Lucy Cousins.

We have been here before and we are here again.. First it was Red Ted’s “first” favourite read – I picked up a hardback copy at Tate Modern Bookshop. And now Pip Squeak adores it! A while back we did a hand and feet craft to go with it and today we make more fish!

Red Ted really enjoyed it the most 9 months – 12 months, though he does still enjoy it now, especially since I have brought it back out for Pip Squeak. We love all the different, bright and colour fish! Our favourite bit is probably the very rhythmic  ”Eye Fish, Shy Fish, Sky fish, Fly Fish” page, but that is just us. It is all lovely! I now know all the words practically off by heart!

From a parental perspective, it is great, as it has lots counting going on, lots of colours to identify, stripes, spots etc etc so they are definitely learning too!

One of my (!) favourite Lucy Cousins books.

The Craft

As mentioned above, it all started with some plastic fabric conditioner bottles.

But I reckon you can make fish out of any bottle really – just grab a bottle – look at it and see where it takes you…

Materials for making your recycled fish

  • empty bottles,
  • acrylic paint (or poster paint with PVA glue),
  • brushes,
  • googly eyes (optional)

Blue fish

1) Peal off the labels, paint on eyes. Done. I really don’t think the photo does it justice, in some way I think it is the best fish of all:

Stripy Fish:

1) Peel off the labels & inspired by the “stripes on the bottle”, we made this one stripey… it helped Red Ted that we had two brushes… he did one colour and I did the other, “evening out” any “mistakes” he made… Another way, is to paint on a base colour first and let dry, then add the stripes – this would be easier for a young child to manage on their own.

Red & Green Fish

1) To be honest, I made this one evening.. as I wanted to finish this post… but that’s ok… crafts are with and for children! I looked at the shape of the bottle and let the lines guide where I put the red and the green:

They LOVED playing in the bath with this! However the paint does come off!

Just look at that little face!! 🙂

For more Kid’s Craft ideas, click here for a full list.

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Filed Under: Kids Craft, Recycling 34 Comments

Comments

  1. Anne@LittleSproutBooks says

    April 20, 2011 at 5:30 am

    What fun bathtub additions! And a perfect recycling craft for earth day! B has an assignment for preschool to take note of some earth-friendly action he takes part in this week – I think it may be recycled crafting!

    Reply
  2. Liz Burton says

    April 20, 2011 at 7:25 am

    Oh how fabulous! I love the stripy one – he looks like Nemo!

    Great that you can use them after too for bathtime fun. x

    Reply
  3. Erica Louise says

    April 20, 2011 at 7:53 am

    Aw this is really cute, love the idea

    Reply
  4. Red Ted Art says

    April 20, 2011 at 8:24 am

    Ah! The paint did come off a little in the bath – so this is a “play and eventually throw away” toy!!!!!

    Reply
  5. camille says

    April 20, 2011 at 11:59 am

    wow, your fish look lovely, we have linked something we did last week hope that is ok 🙂

    Reply
  6. Rachel says

    April 20, 2011 at 12:05 pm

    Wish I had something to share this week. 🙁 Perhaps before you close this party I will. Thanks so much for hosting!

    Reply
  7. maryanne says

    April 20, 2011 at 12:14 pm

    Looks like a great way to make hair washing more fun =)

    Reply
  8. Cid says

    April 20, 2011 at 12:28 pm

    Coolio!

    Reply
  9. Red Ted Art says

    April 20, 2011 at 12:30 pm

    Rachel – Aaaah there is always next week! Of course love seeing you every week… but as and when is nice 🙂 linky is open until Monday!

    MaryAnne – DEFINITELY helps with hairwashing!!!

    Reply
  10. Red Ted Art says

    April 20, 2011 at 12:30 pm

    Cid – recognise your bottle????

    Reply
  11. Roopa(Putti Amma) says

    April 20, 2011 at 1:42 pm

    Thats a great idea!! Love the stripey fish, so colorful:))

    Reply
  12. artsy_momma says

    April 20, 2011 at 5:19 pm

    SO colorful! I haven’t had any luck with acrylic paint and bottles in the past.

    Reply
  13. Red Ted Art says

    April 20, 2011 at 6:23 pm

    Artsy_momma:

    Really? What happened?

    It does come off after while, but we usually get to have plenty of playtime first…

    Reply
  14. Last Minute Mel says

    April 20, 2011 at 9:25 pm

    How super fun! Love the happy faces 🙂

    Reply
  15. Melissa @ The Chocolate Muffin Tree says

    April 21, 2011 at 2:14 am

    So cute! We Love that book! (We own it!) Great idea and for bath time or the swimming pool (outdoor play)!

    Reply
  16. Wonder Mom says

    April 21, 2011 at 3:24 am

    Ahhh- what a cute baby face! You couldn’t ASK for more fun in the tub…

    Reply
  17. Krissy @ B.Inspired says

    April 21, 2011 at 11:53 am

    Whether we paint them or not, I love the idea of using them in the bath like that. So fun!

    Reply
  18. B Fryman says

    April 21, 2011 at 1:31 pm

    Those are perfect bottles to make fish with! Love it!

    Reply
  19. Natalie says

    April 21, 2011 at 6:22 pm

    You have great imagination to look at the bottle and to see a fish! My daughter is 4.5 and still loves Lucy Cousins books very much – they are so colorful.

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      April 21, 2011 at 6:24 pm

      Aaah thanks Natalie!! And yes, the Hooray For Fish is particulary wonderful to look at!

      Reply
  20. The Iowa Farmer's Wife says

    April 21, 2011 at 6:49 pm

    I looooove the fish idea! I’ll have start looking at my bottles to keep an eye out for one that’ll make a good one!

    Reply
  21. Amy @ Hope Is the Word says

    April 21, 2011 at 8:16 pm

    What fun! Love the picture of your dd! Thanks for linking up to RAT!

    Reply
  22. Rashi says

    April 21, 2011 at 9:05 pm

    What a fabulous idea, we also want to look for these bottles. Thanks for sharing this cute idea!!!

    Reply
  23. Becky says

    April 21, 2011 at 9:12 pm

    Fubnky fish maggy We might give this a go xxxx

    Reply
  24. JDaniel4's Mom says

    April 22, 2011 at 11:24 am

    The fish is perfect for tub play. I haven’t heard of the book you mentioned. I will have to add it to my book list.

    Reply
  25. Kerri says

    April 22, 2011 at 11:43 am

    Another fabulous idea! Great job!

    Kerri

    Reply
  26. Anne@LittleSproutBooks says

    April 23, 2011 at 5:17 am

    Thanks for linking up at Feed Me Books Friday! Happy Earth Day and Happy Easter!

    Reply
  27. Alethea says

    April 24, 2011 at 8:02 pm

    Those are absolutely gorgeous! I love the first fishy, he has a delightfully ‘whatever’ expression :-)!

    Reply
  28. nicolette @ momnivores dilemma says

    April 27, 2011 at 8:27 pm

    I love Lucy Cousins…these are some sweet lil crafts…

    Reply

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  4. Hope Is the Word » Blog Archive » RAT Links 4.21.11 says:
    April 22, 2011 at 10:05 am

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