Cool off this summer and explore the ocean in your own backyard! Paper jellyfish make a great decoration for an underwater theme! Our jellyfish make wonderful windsocks for outside. Hang them up on a windy day and watch their tentacles flutter as if they’re underwater!

Age: 4-10

Duration: 30-40 minutes

You’ll need:

• R15213 Color Diffusing Paper 9 x 12″

• R5449 Paint Pipettes

• Royal Chinet® extra strong paper bowls

• Tape

• Googly eyes

• Scissors (scalloped or patterned for scrapbook use)

• Paint

• Tray

• Water-filled spray bottle

For this activity, I found the Royal Chinet® extra strong paper bowls were the best brand to use. Their paper plates are sturdy and won’t over-saturate or warp their shape when painted. I used the small extra-strong bowls, but you can use any kind that you find, as long as the brand paper plate is tough enough to keep its shape after being painted.

It looks like a lot of material, but trust me, you’ll be putting together paper jellyfish in no time with this technique!

Lay one sheet of Color Diffusing Paper onto the paint tray. Mist the paper sheets with warm water from a spray bottle.

Next, pipette watercolor paint onto the Color Diffusing Paper. Use about 2-3 colors to keep the colors from mixing too much. Within minutes the paper will saturate into a beautiful mesh of colors! I recommend that you do this part with children outside, as it will dry way faster in the sun than inside.

Meanwhile, place the bowl upside down onto the paint tray and spray with warm water from the spray bottle.

With the pipettes, drop paint onto the moist plate and let it soak up all the colors. See how the blue and yellow combine to make green? You can talk to children about color mixing properties while working on this activity! It’s really interesting to watch the colors blend on our special paper and I’m sure children will be fascinated by it.

Set the bowl outside with the sheet of paper to dry.

Once the paper is dry, you can cut it lengthwise into 1.5″ (4 cm) wide strips. Use scalloped scrapbook scissors to add fringed edges.

To curl the strips into ringlets, place one end of the strip onto the outside edge of a pair of scissors. Gently draw the scissors out along the length of the strip as if you are curling ribbons!

Once the bowl is dry, tape one end of the ringlets to the unpainted underside of the paper plate.

To vary the length of the jellyfish tentacles, tape some of the strips further into the center of the bowl and others towards the edge.

You’ll need to hang the jellyfish up by the top of its head! To do this, turn the bowl over and poke a hole through the center.

Thread a length of string through the opening. Flip the jellyfish over. Tie a double knot at the end or attach a paperclip to secure the string.

Now you can personalize your jellyfish’s appearance! Use googly eyes or funny face stickers to add personality to your jellyfish!

Perfect for a brilliant underwater-themed display!

Explore the beauty of the aquatic world! Learn more about jellyfish online or check out your local library for more information on these fascinating creatures. Make your own jellyfish and send us photos of your work! Contact us through the contact form. We’ll feature your project in an upcoming blog post!