Summer break was looong. I quickly ran out of fun activities and creative ideas for things to do to keep my girls – of two very different ages and sets of interests – entertained and occupied. What’s a tired mom to do?
Pinterest.
I searched every idea for crafts for both girls ages and while 99% of the ideas were either great for my 9 year old but way out of my 2 year old’s league (or vice versa), there were a few crafts that I knew both girls could do together, and enjoy.
One idea was making animals out of paper plates. I decided the fish would be a fun one and took my own creative liberties with deciding what we would use to decorate the fish. I went with sequins, but other ideas I had were to use an assortment of beads, buttons, puff balls, gum drops (or other colored candies), torn tissue paper, or glitter – if you dare. For the fins, I eyeballed it as I cut using the image on Pinterest as a loose guide.
Supplies
Here’s what you’ll need:
– Cheap paper plates
– Washable paint (blue, white, pink)
– Paint brushes
– Colored construction paper
– Googly eyes
– Sequins, multicolored (or whatever you use to decorate your fish!)
– Glue
I got our supplies at Target and Michael’s crafts (most of which I already had around the house).
Make it!
Prepare a plate or palette with your paint colors and provide water to wash brushes, and smocks if needed.
Instruct kids to paint the BACK of the plate (the matte side, not the glossy side) using any assortment of colors.
Use a contrasting color to paint lips on one side of the plate.
While paint is still wet and gloopy, add sequins (heavy items like buttons or beads will need to be glued on once paint dries), saving a space for the googly eye near the lips.
Once paint is dry, glue on the googly eye and fins. *Glue the large fin on the front of the fish and smaller fin on the back side – see my blue fin example for how to*. The rest of the fins get glued to the back side of the plate, as close to the rim as possible.
Layla’s is on the left and Lilly’s is on the right – I love how different their finished fish look!!
This craft took probably 2 hours from start to finish, including dry time. Perfect for a rainy day, or any day! Let me know if you try this craft!
xo, Mia
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