Crafty Kids: CD Fish Mobile

For February's Crafty Kids program I decided to make fish mobiles out of old cds.  I don't know where I originally saw the craft but I thought it was adorable and couldn't wait to do it.  We have tons of cds and dvds at the library that get so scratched that they can no longer be played, as they get taken out of circulation we save them in the back for arts and craft.  

I made 4 sets of cardboard fin and mouth templates from a cardboard box using the templates from a similar craft on DTLK Crafts for Kids site.

CD Fish Mobile

Materials:

2 old cds or dvds

construction paper

fish fin templates

googly eyes

permanent markers

glue sticks

hot glue gun

yarn

1.  With a permanent marker draw on the shiny side of the cds to decorate your fish.  *see note*

2.  Select up to 5 colors of construction paper.  Use the fish fin and mouth  templates to trace and cut out a set of lips, a fishtail, two large fins and a small fin.  Cut a rectangle out of the construction paper as well using the white sheet provided as a template (should be a quarter of the size of an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper).  You may also cut small round circles to mount your googly eyes on (Make sure you cut them out bigger than your googly eyes so they can be seen.  *see note*

3.  Fold the rectangle sheet of paper the same way you would fold a piece of paper if you were making a fan.  Make sure you fold it small enough that it will fit through the holes in your cd.

4.  Using your glue stick glue all the fins (except for one large fin) to the undecorated side of one of the cds.

5.  Using your glue stick glue your second large fin in the same place you glued your first large fin on the second cd.  

6.  Get a piece of yarn and knot together the two ends.

7.  Bring your cd fish up to the front.  The librarian will glue help you thread your yarn and glue the two cd’s together with a hot glue gun.  

8.  Glue your googly eyes and construction paper circles onto the cd fish.  One on each side more or less in the same place.  

9. Thread your folded up sheet of paper through the hole in one of the cds.

*Note*:  Steps 1 and steps 2 & 3 are interchangeable.  While some kids are tracing their fins you can have others begin decorate their cds.