Recycled Plastic Bottle Fish Hanger
Bust those summer blues by reusing items around your house for a family crafting session. You can easily make this quirky mobile using recycled plastic bottles and Apple Barrel Multi-Surface acrylic paint!

Other Things You'll Need

  • ¼" Flat paint brush
  • ½" dowel rod, cut to 20"
  • Four 8 oz. plastic bottles
  • One 16 oz. plastic bottle
  • Scissors or craft knife
  • Adhesive wiggly eyes
  • Styrofoam cup
  • Power drill

Instructions

  1. Rinse the used plastic bottles and let them dry.
  2. Smash the bottle bottoms so that they almost become flat. Pour a small amount of paint into the bottle using paint listed above and one color per bottle, and replace the cap. Shake the bottle around so that the paint covers the inside of the bottle entirely, adding paint as needed to achieve total coverage.
  3. Remove cap and turn bottle upside down in a Styrofoam cup to allow excess paint to drain off.
  4. Using scissors or craft knife, cut a wedge shape on smashed end of bottle to create the dorsal fin and tail as shown. Allow time for the paint to dry.
  5. Paint stripes in alternating colors on the outside of the fish.
  6. Press on adhesive wiggly eyes.
  7. Cut a ½” slit in the center back of the fish. Cut a length of string and tie a knot on one end. Pass the knot through the slit and pull back on the string until the knot catches.
  8. Mark off five  4” sections on the dowel rod and paint each section with the colors listed above. Drill a hole in the center of each of the painted sections. Hang the fish on to the painted dowel rod by passing the other end of the string through the hole and tie a knot.
  9. Tie a length of string to each end of the dowel rod to create the hanger.