15 Fish Themed Crafts
Updated on August 26, 2016
Have you visited an aquarium with your kids recently and now they’re obsessed with all things under the sea? Did they just see the movie Finding Nemo for the first time and now fish are all they can talk about? Any time a child takes a particular interest in something, it’s always a great opportunity for creativity and DIY activities!
Check out these 15 awesome fish themed craft ideas that will keep your little aquatic enthusiast occupied for hours.
1. Felt and button fish
For slightly older kids, markers and glue sticks can get tiring sometimes and they might want a little more of a DIY challenge. Why not help them start practicing hand sewing? Help them cut out and sew together pieces of felt to make a fish, then let them get creative with sewing on differently coloured and sized “scales” made of buttons. Check the idea out in more detail on Krokotak.
2. Flying carp toilet rolls
Toilet rolls are probably one of the cheapest and easiest crafting supplies you’ll get your hands on when it comes to crafting with your kids because, as long as you remember to save them at the end of each toilet paper roll, you’ll basically never run out of them! Use those, colourful tissue paper, string, and a wooden dowel to create these gorgeous “flying” carp, just like Squirrelly Minds did.
3. Felt and magnet fishing game
Sometimes the best crafts are the ones that kids can play with again and again as toys when they’re finished! This little felt fishing game is the perfect example. Check out how Real Purdy created an actual activity using cut outs shaped like sea creatures, a wooden dowel, magnets, and paper clips!
4. Flannel fishies
Did you really like the idea of sewing with your kids, but you think they can handle a project that’s a bit more challenging than the button fish? Try creating these adorable stuffed flannel fish by This Heart of Mine together instead! If your child really enjoys making them, try doing a few different looking fishes to make a whole school!
5. DIY cardboard aquarium
Were dioramas your absolute favourite crafting project when you were a kid in school? Pass that love on your own kids now by helping them make an awesome cardboard “aquarium” with a whole underwater scene inside! Molly Moo Crafts has some awesome suggestions for filling the inside with colourful sea creatures and aquatic plant life.
6. Plastic canvas fishing pond
Do you love the idea of helping your kids make their very own fishing game, but you’d rather a version where the fish are all contained just to make it easier on the littlest ones? Crafts Unleashed has you covered with this plastic pond alternative!
7. Rhinestoned felt fish plushie
Do Small Things With Love has another sewing project idea for moms and kids who just can’t get enough of the aquatic sewing projects! This little plushie is made of felt but it also features some fancy looking rhinestones that your kids will love helping you glue on, even if you do the bulk of the sewing for them.
8. Rainbow fishie photo frame
Krokotak suggests working with air dry clay for some extra fun hands-on fishy crafts! Mould the clay into the shape of whatever fish you like best, making sure to leave a hole in the centre for the photo. Think about imprinting parts of the fish with little circles to look like scales too! Paint it up, pop in the picture, and voila!
9. DIY fish print pillow
Have you stumbled across some fish themed print fabric at your local craft store that you just can’t resist? Sew (or help your kids sew) this basic throw pillow that will look adorable in a playroom, nursery, or kids’ bedroom. Get the simple pattern on Leah Laurel Studios.
10. Goldfish paper plate
Craft Project Ideas suggests making a rounded fish from a paper plate with an angular mouth piece cut out, using the piece you cut from the mouth to make the tail. Your kids can decorate the fish however they want, but this gold glitter glue method sure looks like a lot of fun, if you ask us!
11. Celery stamped rainbow fish
Are you looking for a way to help your youngest kids create an accurate fish scale shape very easily? Crafty Morning suggests cutting up pieces of celery and show them how to use those as a paint stamp! The flat surface where you cut each piece is the perfect shape for printing fish scales all over a pre-printed or sketched out fishy.
12. Bubble wrap printed fish
Have your kids ever tried bubble wrap imprint painting? If not, they’re in for a real treat. The Classroom Creative suggests using bubble wrap as a quick way to cover a whole fish drawing in lots of little dots to make it look like the fish has scales, just like in real life!
13. Paper baggy fish
Do your kids love making 3D crafts using unconventional things? Then they’ll probably be pretty excited about this puffy fish on a canvas “sea”. Crayola shows you how to make one by stuffing a paper bag and tying it off with a few spare inches of paper to spare for a tail.
14. Upcycled CD fish
Do you have some old or damaged CDs and DVDs you’ve been meaning to get rid of? Instead of throwing them away, why not let your kids upcycle them by turning them into fun, reflective little fish? Naturally Nourishing suggests paper for the lips, fins, and tail, a sharpie for drawing scales, and googly eyes as a finishing touch!
15. Paper plate and goldfish cracker fish bowl
You’ve already seen one fish themed craft that used a paper plate as a crafting tool, but here’s another one for you since making things with them is so much fun! Cut a section from one edge to look like the opening of the bowl, flip to spare piece, and glue it on across from the opening to make the bowl’s base. Have your kids paint all over it to look like a fish bowl, then glue Goldfish crackers all over the surface of the bowl so they look like they’re swimming around inside! If your kids are feeling very creative, they might paint the cracker fish different colours first (as long as no one eats them all first). Mrs. Thompson’s Treasures is to thank for this crafty idea!
Have you made other awesome fish art before that your kids loved doing, but that you don’t see on our list? Tell us all about how you did it in the comments section!