Craft blog by: Emilee Peterman (@emilee.mitchel)
Looking to make a splash and show your favorite teacher some love? Well, look no further than this fin-tastic craft idea for kids! With OOLY’s Creatibles DIY Air Dry Clay Kit, Chroma Blends Watercolor Paint Set, and Smooth Stix Watercolor Gel Crayons, you can create a mini aquarium that will have your teacher swimming with joy. Not only is it a unique classroom decoration, but it’s also a great way to show your teacher some appreciation.
Time Duration: 1 hour + time for the clay to dry
Skill Level: Intermediate
OOLY Products Needed:
- Creatibles DIY Air Dry Clay Kit – set of 24
- Creatibles DIY Window Cling Art Kit
- Chroma Blends Watercolor Paint Set – pearlescent
- Smooth Stix Watercolor Gel Crayons
- Lil’ Watercolor Paint Pad
- Stickiville Stickers:
Other Items Needed:
- Floral Wire or Pipe Cleaners (adult supervision required)
- Mini Fish Bowl
- Small empty box
- Glue Stick
- Tape
- Scissors (adult supervision required)
Directions:
Step 1: To get started, use the Creatibles Window Cling Art Kit to write your teacher’s name on the fish bowl. You can either write directly onto the fish bowl or use the transparent film that comes with the kit. Hint: I used the transparent film, and tweezers made it easier to transfer the letters over to the fish bowl. I printed out our teacher’s name to use as a stencil.
Step 2: Still using Creatibles Window Cling Art Kit, draw seaweed to the outside of the bowl.
Step 3: Now it’s time to sculpt your class pet using Creatibles DIY Air Dry Clay Kit. Use any color you want. I started with the basic fish shape. Keep it simple and we’ll add the details in a few moments.
Step 4: Insert floral wire at the bottom of the fish. You can also use pipe cleaners.
Step 5: Now create a base for the fish using clay shaped into two quarter sized pebbles. Push the other end of the floral wire into the base. This will help keep the fish upright in the bowl.
Step 6: Once the clay is dry, it’s time to add the details. I used Chroma Blends Watercolor Paint to add shimmer and then black marker to add some scales.
Step 7: A fish bowl isn’t complete without some other fun fixtures. I drew, colored, and cut out seaweed and coral using Lil’ Watercolor Paint Pad, Smooth Stix Watercolor Gel Crayons and Chroma Blends Watercolor Paint Set.
Step 8: Now you simply tape small pieces of floral wire to the back of the seaweed and coral pieces, and attach them to small pieces of clay.
Step 9: Now we are going to make a bunch of pebbles for the bottom of the fish bowl. Just color an entire White DIY Cover Sketchbook page in various shades of blue using Smooth Stix Watercolor Gel Crayons.
Step 10: Rip off the colored strips of the paper and crumple it into tiny balls. (Your fingers may get a little discolored from the watercolor gel crayons but it washes off easily). I made enough pebbles to at least cover the clay, which was about 1.5 pages of Sketchbook paper.
Step 11: Now let’s assemble the fish tank! First put in the fish and other fixtures. Then add the pebbles until the clay is covered. I also made a starfish out of the Creatibles DIY Air Dry Clay Kit, so I set this on top of the pebbles. Now your class pet is done!
BONUS: Decorate a small empty box using Chroma Blends Watercolor Paint Set, Chroma Blends Travel Watercolor Set, Smooth Stix Watercolor Gel Crayons and Stickiville stickers, and turn it into a “Fish Food” box filled with affirmations for your teacher to read.
Crafting is not only a fun way to show off your creativity, but it’s also a great way to express your appreciation for the people in your life. So go ahead and make a splash with this easy DIY project classroom and show your teacher just how much you care!
We would love to see photos of your craft projects! Tag us on Instagram at @WeAreOOLY using #OOLYcreateyourhappy.
