Catch OF THE DAY

Bring buckets of seaside style into your home with these easy makes inspired by the simple shapes of fish

BEACONS OF LIGHT

With a splash of paint (suitable for metal) and simple punched patterns, food cans make effective lanterns. Wash and remove labels and glue from the cans before carefully piercing holes over a drawn-out design with a nail and hammer. Paint (you may need a primer first depending on the paint you use) and, once dry, tie on a vintage metal fish mould (or cookie cutter) with twine. Place a battery-operated tealight inside to finish.

FISH HOOKS

Mount beachcombed driftwood placed in the shape of a fish skeleton on a piece of wood with a row of pinhead nails along the bottom for keys. Add interesting stones* for a head and tail, using a strong all-purpose or wood glue to fix in place. Alternatively, make these out of air-dry clay and paint.

STRINGS ATTACHED

Hang a shoal of wooden fish painted in sea shades as decoration in a bathroom or kitchen. Cut out several from wood (drilling a hole to hang from, too) and sand, or search on Etsy (etsy.com/uk) for ready-made ones. Paint with eggshell (priming first if advised by the paint company) or use Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint (anniesloan.com) and hang from knotted rope or cord.

PAGE MARKERS

Marble pieces of lightweight card in sea greens and blues and turn them into simple bookmarks. Mix together a marbling bath thickener solution with water in a tray, add droplets of your marbling ink and swirl the colours together before placing the card on top. Rinse the marbled card in another tray of clean water before leaving it to dry. Draw and cut out the shape of a fish, score and fold it in half over the edge of the page (two are shown here).

PLAYING SARDINES

This tea towel has been printed using stamps made from sweet potatoes. Cut one in half lengthways and draw on your design with a black pastel pencil following the gentle natural curve of the sweet potato. Carve out the design (where you don’t want the ink to print) with lino tools and cut out the whole fish shape. Also cut out part of your border (row of three scallops, for example) from another piece of sweet potato. Print onto a cotton tea towel with printing ink mixed with textile printing medium. This design is by Elizabeth Harbour (elizabethharbour.co.uk).

WAX WORKS

Reminiscent of the old striped buoys strung along the side of a boat, creatively painted wooden fish decorations turn everyday glassware into jolly votives. Tie one to a tall glass, carafe or bottle using raffia or rustic string. Place a dining candle inside*. Use a little melted wax underneath to stand the candle upright, with the glass on a sturdy surface.

SEA VIEWS

Bring offshore style to a painted wall using loose pages from identification books or similar individual prints. Mix together designs from a coastal theme, such as shells, fish, shellfish, seaweed and coastal plants, in a variety of sizes. Attach to the wall using Blu Tack for a quick impromptu display.

PISCINE PINCUSHION

A striped piece of fabric, cut into two pieces in the shape of a fish, sewn together with stuffing in between makes a fun pincushion. Sew on a button for an eye. You could also make a whale, crab or shell. (This one is made by Ginny Morgan in Guernsey.)

CAPTURED IN CLAY

Create sea creatures in air-dry clay – it’s a great one for children to try. Make interesting marks using stamps and cutters for gills and scales or even plunge the end of a pen, straws and cocktail sticks into balls of clay to create the effect of coral.

SHADES OF THE SEASIDE

There are plenty of fabrics on marine themes to be found, too – see Emily Sutton’s Deep Sea design for St Jude’s (stjudesfabrics.co.uk), Herring from New House Textiles (newhousetextiles.co.uk) or this River Fish design by Voyage (voyagemaison.com). Use to make characterful cushions or to create a drum lampshade. For lampshade-making kits, try Cloth Kits (clothkits.co.uk) and there’s also a handy step-by-step guide online by Hobbycraft (hobbycraft.co.uk).

FIN ART

Give pieces of painted furniture a unique style. If you’re handy with a brush, paint a realistic motif to the back of a chair, door or sideboard using eggshell paints. Alternatively, use a stencil, decoupage paper or wall stickers (with a layer of varnish over the top) for a simpler approach.