Fishy Arts and Crafts!

I saw this post on the Aquarium Co-Op facebook page, and thought I'd give it a try.
It...turned out somewhat better than I had initially expected. Still has room for improvement, but I'd say it was pretty good for my first try. I definitely need sharper scissors though. That would've made things a whole lot easier!

Anyone else have any artsy fartsy stuffs they'd like to share?

PokeSephiroth wrote:
It...turned out somewhat better than I had initially expected. Still has room for improvement, but I'd say it was pretty good for my first try.

  Turned out super neat for a 1st try! NeatO!!

Very cool results!

I keep this drawing from Ian Fuller in the office. I also have some of his cory pins at home.

Not much else in the way of home made DIY fish stuff yet, but that shrimp is inspiring me

Wow that's a neat drawing! It almost looks like a real picture from afar!

Here's my 2nd and 3rd attempt at making the straw shrimp. I think I might add googly eyes on em!

Nice shrimplets Angelo...I like them

so cute!!

I think the store should do a Christmas tree decorated with shrimps and other small freshwater aquatic items...maybe spawning mops...hmmm...ideas ideas

Thanks MorganEA!
Donna, that would be awesome!! . . . well, I have made 4 so far! LOL.

you should see if you can sell them at aquarium coop

8 dollars! Lololol.... Buy a shrimp that will never die! Kidding.... Ahem... orami...

 .oOneatO!

PokeSephiroth wrote:8 dollars! Lololol.... Buy a shrimp that will never die! Kidding.... Ahem... orami...

Plastie origami

Those are so bad butt I would pay a couple bucks for one!

Very creative and cute!   

Kept going crazy with the shrimp straw things, so I went ahead and did a framed aquatic scene. Found one of these Shadow Boxes at goodwill for like $6.99 so I figured, why not? It was a PAIIIIIIIIN to make though (not the shrimp making...that part is easy now. lol)

I'm still not happy with the substrate. I need to figure out a way how to make it look more believable... I used that floral foam stuff and added glue over it, and just sprinkled substrate over it, and that turned out to be a huge MESS.

I tried making everything else out of straw (manzanita wood, etc etc...) that looked UGLY AND GHETTO, so I ended up just using real manzanita wood.

Eventually, I would like to add some really dim lights in the frame, so that it can be seen at night as well (just like an aquarium!) . . . I'll have to talk to Cory about that.

Anywho...here it is:

Awesome!!!

MorganEA wrote:Awesome!!!

w/ sauce!!!

Hahaha thanks!!

Hmmm, How could I make that better? Um, NO! Your always your own worst critic. I think it loOks great! It's your 1st one, I am sure you'll figure out a way to make the substrate seamless. I covered a home made tunnel once using silicone ,(4" PVC cut in half).  It was super messy! The way I did it though was a thin layer of silicone all over , a box with a bunch of substrate and rolled the object around, handfuls of substrate and squished it into the object I was covering. Then I would check out the decor I was making, if any silicone was showing I would pour some more substrate over it and pat it into the silicone. Worked great!
You may even be able to get those 2 pieces to look seamless using silicone?

Buy the way. Loved the Blue Straw Shrimpy @ the Co-Op! Was super cool chilling in the tank, ha!

fishNAbowl: That's kinda what I did with the substrate, I sprinkled it over the foam block that was drenched in glue, but I think silicone would've been better... I just didn't have any on hand. LOL.

I'm thinking of other ways to make the substrate though. And maybe I will do a smaller shadow box, so that it's not as intricate. Although, a nice big one does look pretty neat in its own right. I want to make it so that the substrate has different levels, so that it's not just flat.

thanks for the extra motivation!

Love your idea and end result Angelo. It's already unique and new. Work on your refinements until you feel you have what you are looking for. Keep at it. Those will be a sellable piece of art I'm sure.

The quilt I'm making has fish on it, the fabric is from my trip to Hawaii.

Thanks Donna! I'm still wondering how I'm going to do the substrate in a more practical manner. I will definitely keep working on it!

MorganEA: Wow! That is so amazing! So beautiful, and very unique! I love how they're all different! I bet it feels super comfy too!

Bamboo Shrimp!!!


I tried making shrimp out of non-bendy straws, and tried using the straws that are bigger and thicker... they turned out pretty well...I think I could make them as crayfish, than shrimp. I just need to figure out how to make the pinchers without having to use another straw, or having to tape or glue the pinchers onto the main body. Still a challenge I'm working on.

I can't believe I'm still addicted at making these... I went and put googly eyes on this one. I was hesitant at first, because it kinda makes them look more cartoony, but I think they look cuter with the eyes!

Anyone that goes to the GSAS meetings has probably seen my latest 'arts and crafts' projects:

Sunshine aka Goldie Pleco:


Albino Sterbai Cory:


Gold Nugget Pleco:


Sterbai Cory:


PS, I take commissions.  Name your fish and I'll tell you if I can make it.  /shamelessplug

Those are wonderful Kat. My vision of a fishy Christmas tree continues.

Too cute!

In my pursuit of creating different types of Straw Shrimp . . . I tried to make a Crystal Red Shrimp, and thought that I could use Liquid White Out to "paint" the shrimp... but it turned out a bit chunky, as the white out started to dry up. Maybe next time I will try colored nail polish.

Now... to try and make Tiger Shrimp... If only, I could get access to CLEAR bendy straws... Then I could also make Ghost Shrimp

My 2nd attempt at making more realistic looking straw shrimp. The Cardinal Shrimp is one of my favorite freshwater shrimp. That gave me enough inspiration to see if I could paint how it looks, onto my straw shrimp. I'm rather pleased with the outcome!

I tried doing a King Kong Shrimp, and that did NOT turn out well. So..... yeah. I need more practice, but I'm slowly getting there! Practice makes "almost perfect!" hahaha   

That is an awesome straw cardinal shrimp! I love it

Thank you, Donna! I tried making a Tiger Shrimp, but.....it... doesn't...look like one... for some reason.
It may be, because I was using a yellow straw, but it's the closest thing I have at my disposal that's closest to being "clear" . . . hahaha... Now I just have to find clear bendy straws, and I'll be set!

With all this shrimp making... I will strive to become as awesome as these two ladies! LOL

.........I can't stop!!

They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning, No one you see, is smarter than he... ♫♪

I don't even know what this thing is... but it's gotta be aquatic, right? I mean, it looks like an Octopus.... Alien..... thing!

Here's a couple of my fishy arts and crafts

First photoshopped t-shirt with our lovely Chadette on it (she was just a baby here)



And here are some jewelry pieces...my 1st fishy pieces (they are larger than I would like but I didn't have the right shaped small cabachons)

Mystery Jasper Fish



Petrified wood from Lake Tahoe Whale???  well kinda...LOL

those are beautiful!

Thanks Angelo

+ 1 for all the awesome fishy art

Poke, your a NUT! I wanna FLIPPER TOOOOOOOO!!!

Donna, WOW!

Swamp-rat, those fishes are right-on!

I have to say though, she who quilts or knits is a keEper!! +1




I ran out of votes...lol

Got clear plastic straws. That means I can make Ghost Shrimp and Tiger Shrimp now!
I have access to black bendy straws now. That means I can possibly make king kong shrimp, that don't look ugly!

Thank you FishNAbowl lol most people think quilting is for old people so I don't usually share my hobby with people

PokeSephiroth wrote:

Love this one Angelo....saweeet!!!

cichlid-gal wrote:

Love this one Angelo....saweeet!!!

  Thanks! Been trying to think of other shrimp to do, and I'm running out of ideas... which is odd, considering that there are so many shrimp types out there. Any ideas?

MorganEA wrote:Thank you FishNAbowl lol most people think quilting is for old people so I don't usually share my hobby with people

Having a sister who quilts has its advantages... I get quilts out of the deal   I pick the fabric and pattern and she cranks it out in a couple of days 

PokeSephiroth you should do a mantis shrimp :3 they are cool.. and deadly

LOL!!Mantis Shrimp are awesome. I don't think my skills are good enough to make one of those out of straw. Hahaha

Missgrumpygills wrote:

MorganEA wrote:Thank you FishNAbowl lol most people think quilting is for old people so I don't usually share my hobby with people

Having a sister who quilts has its advantages... I get quilts out of the deal   I pick the fabric and pattern and she cranks it out in a couple of days 

Lol. A pampered life it must be  

Welps... I finally found more shadow boxes, ones that are smaller, and are far more manageable to create scapes with. I decided to ditch the "substrate" idea, because I hated dealing with the mess... I find that it works pretty well, even without the substrate. But who knows...maybe somewhere down the road, I'll eventually find a way to add substrate without making such a huge mess

Anywho... enjoy! I'd love to eventually make more of these to sell! That would be awesome if it were a big hit!