Yesterday on Twitter I saw a tweet from the lovely Amy of The B-Line Blog about how she used leftover paint chips from the hardware store to make these adorable paper fish. I was just smitten with the little fellas, that I actually totally stopped production on the 10,000 things I had been working on this week just to make a few.
Amy posts a detailed tutorial on her blog, so go there for instructions.
I have two boxes that I keep under my work tables full of paper scraps--and already conveniently cut into the required narrow strips. I started with some boring old ivory, and once I got the hang of it made a whole school of shimmery, jewel-tone ones.
It took me some time to get the hang of the weaving on the back side of the fish--but that is because I'm impatient and if I don't get it right away i get frustrated! Once I finally got the knack I took to slicing all the fins and then sort of quilling or curling them for a lacy effect. I gave each of my fish a Swarovski crystal pair of eyes and strung them on clear string with three blue beads to simulate bubbles. I actually did make a mobile, as Amy suggests, and I love how it came out--but the photos (as usual with me) are not worthy of posting just yet, so perhaps another time.
For the mobile, I didn't have the round bangle that Amy used, so I cut a disk of cardboard about 6" (I would recommend going a little bigger next time so that the fish have room to float on their strings) and covered it with decorative paper top and bottom. Than, I strung my fish at varying heights and used the same blue glass beads as stoppers at the top of the disk so they would stay put.
Believe it or not, I'm not really the crafty type--sure, I make handmade stationery, but it's rare for me to stop everything and take on a totally unrelated project. Thanks for the great idea Amy!
