Foil Fish

Self-adhesive mounting board made this project a snap to prep and clean up!

Special thanks to Mabel Gidcumb for sharing this fun lesson plan, which she adapted from a project in the Usborne Book of Art Projects. She made these colorful fish with her Vacation Bible School kids and reports that it was a huge success! They used self-adhesive mounting board, but you could also coat any stiff mounting board with a thick layer of glue stick instead.

Materials:

Self-adhesive mounting board, cut to 6.5″ x 5″
Heavy duty aluminum foil, cut to 7.5″ x 6″
Yarn, cut to 24″ (or less, as needed)
Plastic netting (from vegetable bags or purchased at a craft store)
Adhesive backed wiggly eyes
Permanent markers – light, bright colors
Tape, 3/4″wide

Directions:
1. Cut “fish-shaped ovals” from netting.
2. Next, peel the adhesive cover from the boards and (sticky side up!) position the fish-shaped netting where you want your fish to be.
3. Lay yarn around the edges of the netting to “draw” the outline of your fish.
4. Add a top fin, if desired, and any other details.
5. Press yarn firmly onto adhesive.
6. Center aluminum foil over picture, leaving an equal margin on each side.
7. Press firmly and rub well with fingers to pick up the texture of the fish.
8. Fold edges of foil over the back of the board and fasten with tape.
9. Color with permanent markers, beginning with the water first and then coloring the fish with contrasting colors. Use a black marker to create a “frame” around the outside edge. Add a wiggly eye!
10. Tape a loop of yarn to the back for hanging, if desired.