Give the Gift of Fish!

My sister found this post showing the fishing game Christine @ From An Igloo made her children. My sister - being my sister - immediately posted it on my Facebook page. I believe her exact words were "My boys would LOVE to get something like this from their Aunt!" I - being the awesome sister and Aunt that I am - happily obliged.

Being a follower of blog etiquette, I won't recreate Christine's tutorial for you, but here are some ways I made the project extra-special (and in some ways easier):

1. Use coordinating fabrics. I'm the queen of buying the supplies for a sewing project and then never actually sewing the project. This has given me a large collection of coordinating materials, including the selection of 5 green and blue fabrics that looked adorable as fishies. I used each fabric twice to create 10 fish total.

2. Use two fish templates. I created two fish from each fabric, one in each template. I used Christine's template and then google-imaged "fish template" to find another with a smaller tail. With two fish sizes, the kids have more options for playing matching games.

3. Get thee to a hardware store. Other than the fabric and buttons, everything else you need will be at a hardware store: dowels, twine, washers, magnets, glue. I bought one long dowel and had my hubby cut it in half and drill holes through the ends for the twine. If you don't want to drill, you can carve a notch on the end and tie the twine tightly in the groove. Make sure you make at least two fishing rods!

4. Glue the magnet. I'll admit it: I have a fear of power tools. There was no way I was going to drill through a magnet or ask my husband to do so (especially late at night when I was finishing this up). If you have the same irrational fears (or don't own a drill) just glue it. I traced the magnet on some scrap fabric and glued the end of the twine between the magnet and fabric. Worked great.

5. Personalize your bucket. You can find buckets at the dollar store, including some good quality ones with rope handles. I got this tin bucket in Target's dollar spot. To make it extra-special, mod podge the child's initial on the front. I printed out an A in a font I liked, cut it out and traced it onto some scrapbook paper I already had on hand. A little mod-podge magic and we were good to go!

The gift, it seems, was a hit! You've got to feel good about giving simple, homemade gifts kids love.

And if you need a book to give along with the game...

Not Norman: A Goldfish Story by Kelly Bennett

Any book subtitled "A Goldfish Story" has got to be good! There are so many things I love about this little story: I love the flat and vibrant illustrations; I love that the protagonist is African American; I love the straightforward sentences; and I love the message of true friendship.

A little boy wants a pet for his birthday and is bitterly disappointed when he gets a goldfish. But as the two develop a sweet friendship, he realizes he wouldn't want any other pet. Be forewarned: by the end of the story, your child might not want any other pet, either!


I'm linking up to:
- SOYS @ Fireflies & Jellybeans