Easy Clay Fish Craft

Learn how to create these fun and easy clay fish that can be used in a variety of ways, including a wall hanging or a decorative wind chime.

This was a fun craft I made with my sister on vacation. We made a wall hanging and two wind chimes. We cut out fish and round clay discs a couple of days ahead of time, then enjoyed an afternoon painting the fish and putting the pieces together.

More Air Dry Clay Crafts: Pressed Flower Tray.....Wall Pocket Vase.....DIY Flower Frogs

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Making Clay Fish

Step 1. Roll out air-dry clay about 1/4 inch thick. If you don't have a clay rolling pin, you can use a smooth bottle or jar. Flip the clay a few times between rolling so it doesn't stick. Cut out the fish using cookie cutters. You could also make a template with thin cardboard and cut around it. If you want to make a wind chime, also cut out a round disc about 3-4 inches in diameter. You can do this with a lid, old jar, or freehand.

Note: For safety reasons, keep rolling pins, cookie cutters, or any materials separate from those you'd use for cooking.

Step 2. Use the flat end of a skewer to make a hole in the eye area. For the wind chimes, make a center hole and a few holes around the edges of your disc.

Smooth the edges of the fish with your fingers. You can also use a skewer or plasticware to add texture to the tail fins or fish body at this point.

Step 3. Let the fish dry completely, turning them over a few times while drying. This took over 2 days for me and will vary depending on the temperature and humidity.

Step 4. Make a plan. I was making a wall hanging, so I laid out my fish below a branch to see how I wanted the final look. Then I took a pic with my phone for future reference.

Step 4. Once the clay is dry, use basic acrylic paints to decorate them. You'll want to paint both sides. However, acrylic paint dries pretty fast. We used brushes to paint larger areas, then added designs with paint pens on top.

Note: You can find all kinds of inspiration for painting ideas from ours, places like Pinterest, so simply Google clay fish.

Step 5. Once they were finished and dry, we sprayed them outside on some cardboard with a fast-drying polyurethane, using two applications on each side.

Note: The poly spray will protect the clay, but I would caution hanging them outdoors. A covered porch may be fine.

Making a Clay Fish Wall Hanging

Gather a branch from outside and clean it well. You can put it in the oven at 170 degrees for 30 minutes to kill any critters. Use some sandpaper or a rag to smooth any rough spots.

Refer to your picture and use twine or cording to tie a double knot through each eye. Then tie them to your branch with another double knot. Tie a long piece of twine to each end of the branch to act as a hanger.

Making a Clay Fish Wind Chime

Cut a long piece of cord the length you want to hang plus a little extra. Tie one end to a ring for hanging. I had some D-rings in my craft stash, so that's what we used.

Then slide on your disc, making a double knot on the underside of the disc several inches below the ring.

Then tie your largest fish to the end through the eye hole.

Finish by tying the smaller fish around the center fish through the holes you made in the disc. They can be longer, shorter, or about the same length. Though it is meant to look like chimes, the clay will not actually make much noise.

Aren't they cute! It's another fun activity to create with others, and you really can't go wrong.

So gather your friends and get the kids involved for a fun summer or anytime craft day.