HOW TO MAKE A MERMAZING MERMAID

ONE of my favourite mythical creatures is the mermaid.

Tales of these half-woman, half-fish phenomena have been told all around the world by seafaring folk. Just as in the captivating story of Disney’s Ariel, based on The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen, mermaids are dazzling creatures that would use their beautiful singing voices to make sailors fall in love with them.

Why not make your own enchanting mermaid? We used a wooden fork but a dolly peg would work just as well. If you don’t have either of these, cut out a mermaid shape from some cardboard.

YOU WILL NEED

A wooden fork

Yarn

Scraps of material Small shells

Thin card

Paint

Glue or double-sided tape Glitter, foil or metallic nail polish

A drawing pencil Coloured pencils and pens Scissors

METHOD

1. Use a pencil to draw the shapes needed for your mermaid onto a wooden fork (see picture, above right).

2. Decide on a colour scheme for your mermaid and start by painting her tail in your chosen colour.

3. When this is dry, add details such as scales in a different colour with a finer brush. Paint the top half of the mermaid in your chosen skin colour. Leave to dry.

4. Add some extra sparkle to her tail with some metallic nail polish (ask an adult first!), glitter or foil. Leave to dry.

5. When the mermaid’s body is dry, paint in her face using a fine brush. Leave a little room at the top so you can attach her hair.

6. To make the mermaid’s long, flowing hair, cut some strips of fabric and lengths of yarn. Fasten these in the middle with another length of yarn.

7. Stick the hair onto the top of your mermaid’s head and smooth it down. Give the ends a trim to make a nice shape, if necessary. Add small shells or paper flowers as accessories if you wish.

8. Use glue or doublesided tape to fix on your mermaid’s shells (paint them first if you wish) and she’s ready to go to the underwater ball. Beautiful!