Here is another great craft for kids, and like many others that I have found and shared with you, it uses recycled materials and allows for plenty of creativity on the part of the child! Inspired by ceramic fish decorations/chimes like the one pictured here from Anthropologie, this craft is much more child-friendly, and uses materials that you probably already have lying around (or stuffed in the recycling container).

I love the gentle tones in this original version, but there is no limit to the colors, stickers, and other decorations your little one can add to their own creation. The materials are:

cardboard egg carton

paint

scissors

thread, string, or embroidery floss

sturdy needle

Simple, right? Here’s a picture of what the finished craft will look like, but feel free to change, embellish, or alter your own creation however you want!

credit: www.brainybeginnings network.com

The instructions are very straightforward:

1. Cut apart the cardboard carton – you want 5 or 6 of the egg-holding pieces for the head and body segments, and another piece for the tail, which you need to cut in a jagged pattern to simulate fins.

2. Paint and decorate the pieces, including the head, on which you can paint a face or even add googly eyes.

3. String the pieces together. Thread the needle with about 8 inches of floss or string, tie a knot at one end, and start at the tail – push the needle through, and tie another knot about half an inch up. Then, sew through the first body piece, tie another knot half an inch up, and so on, ending with the head. Tie a knot on the other side of the head piece to keep everything from falling apart, then tie a nice-sized loop to hang your creation!

credit: www.brainybeginningsnetwork.com

Super cute, right? I could also see changing the shape of the tail and adding a bunch of segments to make a snake or eel, which would be just as easy to do.

Special thanks to Mary Alice Baldwin at https://www.brainybeginningsnetwork.com/ for letting me use her wonderfully illustrative photos. Check out her site for even more great projects!