Tutorial: there’s something fishy in that soap
Corney-but a nice and easy craft for the kids to make. It’s about as simple as it looks-melt and pour soap in a little plastic baggie with a plastic fish in it. Tie the bag while it’s still liquid and voila! The hardest part is keeping the fishie upright while it solidifies.
Collect your items:
a double boiler if you are going to use a stove top, or a pyrex measuring jug for the microwave | a block of clear melt n’ pour soap | Lollipop bags (I actually found ones already in the shape of a fish bowl!) | plastic fish-smaller than 2 inches
Cut up the soap into one inch blocks and melt about 4-5 ounces per fish soap, following the directions on the soap for the microwave or over medium heat in the double boiler. As it melts set up your bag(s) so that you’ve rolled the top edges back out of the way and they are sitting upright. I use small desert dishes to hold each one.
Once the soap is liquid, pour it in the bag and drop in your fish. If the fish ends up sideways or (gasp!) upside down, use a plastic fork to poke it upright and then try to avoid moving it around. Very carefully use a twist tie (they should have come with the lollipop bags) and tie the top of the bag closed, which will push the soap up and create the look of a bag of water. Let it sit in the dish until hard.
If you have a really skinny fish that doesn’t want to stay upright, cut a couple of small blocks of soap and rather than melt it, put them into the bag with the fish sandwiched between them, then pour the melted soap over it very carefully.
About the maker: Angarad blogs at sweetWhen she is not making things, she is with her kids thinking about making things. She followed a dream she had been thinking about for years, and opened a craft center. Now she spends her time crafting and calling it work! Her passion is book binding, but she also has a weakness for all things made from fabric, wool and paper, she also knits like crazy.
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:15 am
I did this as an activity at my daughters birthday party a few years back and the kids LOVED it! The parents thought it was pretty impressive too! I even put some plastic plant fronds in there to make it look like an aquarium environment. We did one with a frog, too. This tutorial is spot on!
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:45 am
Ohmygosh that is absolutely hysterical. Must try it with my girls, they’ll love it! So funny and cute, I’m grinning from ear to ear!
January 22nd, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Those are soooooooooooo cute! I think I’ll make some as gifts for my nephews.
January 23rd, 2008 at 4:14 am
That looks like so much fun! I’ll have to give this a whirl with my kids’ help.