Decorative Puffer Fish

We had so much fun making this. I found something similar to this on Pinterest and thought to myself `There are so many different types of fish I could do with this and the first one is going to be a puffer fish.' We started out by studying the different defense mechanisms of different types of marine life. Then we went ahead and made a really cool puffer fish to display on our fireplace mantle. This is what we came up. Check it out and try it out on your own. It was a blast.

 Materials Needed: Yellow tissue paper, yellow tissue paper strips, toothpicks, white and hot glue, yellow paint, paint brush, a wooden dowel, pedestal shaped styrofoam and an egg shaped styrofoam ball.

 Place one strip of yellow tissue paper around the egg from end to end making sure you wrap around the entire egg. Repeat the step on the other side of the egg.

 Take a few strips of yellow tissue paper and cut them into fringe. Crinkle the paper and carefully unfold. This will make the scales of the fish.

 Starting at the small end of the egg wrap the strips around the egg, using the white glue to hold it down. Continue to wrap strips around the egg making sure to overlap the strips (fringe over glued down side) until the egg is covered.

 While the glue on the egg dries paint the styrofoam pedestal yellow and then insert a wooden dowel into the center. Make sure you use a good size dab of hot glue on the end of the dowel before you insert it. It will help to hold the dowel in place.

 Cut a bunch of toothpicks in half. Cut four triangles out of a sheet of tissue paper and cut lines in it creating a bigger fringe than on the scales. Take two of the triangles and fold them in on themselves in thirds to create two fins.

While the paint is drying on the pedestal, glue googly eyes onto the fish and insert toothpicks into the fish's top. Glue on the tail and fins and then continue to insert toothpicks throughout the fish until it is covered to your liking. Drive the dowel into the belly of the fish (again putting hot glue on the tip of the dowel first).