Foamy Fish

What better way to celebrate summer crafting with the kids than this adorable Foamy Fish?

Difficulty Level: Easy (perfect for kids 6 and up with adult supervision, especially around that hot glue gun)

What you will need:

• two sheets of craft foam in contrasting colors
• acrylic paint in various colors
• paint brushes, from medium to small
• styrofoam egg shapes (for the fish body)
• scissors or craft knife
• pattern for fins
• hot glue gun and hot glue (low- or high-temp)

1. Start by painting a primer coat of acrylic paint on the egg; you can simply use white acrylic paint for this. Allow this to dry.
2. Make fin patterns and cut them out to form paper templates. Use these to draw the fin shapes on the foam sheets. Place them on the sheet and use a pen to draw around them. Be sure to cut out the correct number of fins for your fish.
3. After checking to see if your primer coat is dry on your fish body, give your fish a coat of colored paint.
4. While the coat of colored paint is drying, cut out all your fins and set them aside.
5. After allowing the fish body to dry, mark on your fish where the fins will go and use your craft knife to cut a channel into the Styrofoam for the fins. Styrofoam is very soft and cuts very easily, watch out!
6. Lay a line of hot glue into the channels and gently press the fins, one by one, into the fish body. It's best to do one channel at a time so that the glue does not harden before the fin is inserted.
7. Use a knife or other handy edge to gently carve in the fish gills.
8. Hot glue google eyes onto your fish.
9. Cut a hole in the top fin of your fish and add string. You're done!

The Paper Fin Patterns	Patterns Transfered to Foam	Fins All Cut Out!

Make three or four foamy fish and place them on crossed dowels to create a foamy fish mobile. You can also create a wood stand for your fish by drilling a hole in a piece of craft wood, inserting a dowel, and gluing your fish on top of the dowel.

Get creative with the foamy fish body paint! Stripes, spots, and all sorts of other painted shapes are possible. Glue sequins on your foamy fish for sparkle!