Magical rainbow mermaid craft with FREE craft printable

Try out this Magical mermaid craft with a Free craft printable. As the summer season approaches, it´s time for a mermaid craft with a FREE craft printable, the perfect craft for at home during summer break, on vacation, at daycare, or in summer camp. These vibrant rainbow mermaids, crafted from a paper roll, are a product of pure imagination, inspired by the book Rainbow Mermaids of Hawaii by Gill McBarnet. Gill McBarnet is one of Hawaii’s top children’s book authors, and for many years, her stories and illustrations have captivated island youngsters and young visitors to Hawai’i. The beautiful Hawaiian nature, animals,  lifestyle, and people inspire all stories.

Let’s bring the magic of the book to life with this easy and fun mermaid craft, complete with a FREE craft printable. In the following steps, we’ll share a clever trick to create these stunning rainbow tails with a tie-dye effect. All you need are colored markers, tin foil, and a water spray bottle. To make things even easier, we’ve prepared a free printable of the mermaid tail. We recommend using heavy printing paper with a satin finish for the best results to ensure the rainbow colors blend beautifully. So, gather your supplies and embark on this exciting summer craft adventure!

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Supplies to create this magical mermaid craft

As mentioned, you only need a few basic craft supplies to create these gorgeous mermaids. Most of these supplies are likely to be found in your home. If not, don’t worry; they’re easy to find at your local craft store. Or be creative and find an alternative.

• Mermaid tail FREE printable, get it right HERE
• Tin foil
• Colored markers
• Water spray bottle (for hair or plants)
• Paper roll
• Colored yarn, any hair color you like
• Buttons, shells, or paper (for the mermaid bra)
• Scissor
• Glue (glue stick and hot glue)
• Black Sharpie or fine liner

If you don´t have time to prep, we’ve got you covered. This beautiful mermaid printable package includes everything. You only need scissors and a glue stick. Find our favorite mermaid craft bundle right here.

How to craft a magical mermaid?

Step 1: Gather the craft supplies above and print the printable. You can download the Free printable right here. If you print the printable, we highly recommend using heavy printing paper with a satin finish for the best results.

Step 2: Decide which mermaid tail you would like to create. The tail with scales or without. Think of the colors you would like to use, all rainbow colors or just a few shades. 

Step 3: Take a piece of tin foil about twice the size of your mermaid tail. And start coloring the foil with colored markers. Ensure you cover the entire page; see the picture. Use bright colors for the best result.

Step 4: When your tin foil is fully covered with colorful markers, you´re going to spray your tin foil with water. Don´t use too much water, just enough for the colors to blend nicely.

Step 5: Lay the printable of your mermaid tail on top of the tin foil and pad the backside to ensure you have a lovely print.

Step 6: Lift your print so your colorful tail will be revealed. When you’re happy with your print, let your mermaid tail dry. You can try different mermaid tails now that you know how it works.

Step 7: Take your paper roll; if you like, you can give the paper roll any skin color you want with paint or paper, but you can also leave it as it is.

Step 8: When your mermaid tail is dry, you can cut the tail out on the black outlines.

Step 9: Glue the mermaid tail around the bottom of your paper roll. Leave the top of your paper roll (1,75 inch or 4 CM) free.

Step 10: We will make the mermaid’s hair with yarn. You can use any color you like. To make the hair, wrap the yarn around a book about 10 inches (25 CM) high. We used The Rainbow Mermaids of Hawaii. Wrap your yarn 30 times around the book; see the picture. 

Step 11: Take the yarn off the book, fold it in half, and knot your thread in the middle. Make sure you cut the ends so your hair is nice and even; see the picture. 

 Step 12: Glue the yarn on your mermaid’s head. We used hot glue to ensure the thread stuck well to the paper roll. Make sure to supervise or help your child when using hot glue.

Step 13: Give your mermaid a shell bra with two shells, buttons, or sequins. If you don´t have anything at home, you can use colored paper.

Step 14: Last but not least, give your mermaid a cute face.

Well, we are done creating this magical mermaid craft. We hope you enjoyed this activity. Don´t forget to check out the  Hawaiian Children´s Books website and give them a follow on Instagram.

If you can´t get enough of mermaid crafts, you can get our BIG mermaid printable package right here. It includes 14 mermaid tails, different faces, and skin tones; you´ll receive the printable color and black and white (coloring page).

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