How to make rainbow fish sun catchers using old CDs

We all have old CDs laying around that, for some odd reason, we haven’t gotten rid of.  If not, go through your kids’ CDs, I’m sure you’ll find some scratched, unusable ones in their collection!  What do you do with those CDs (besides throw them away)?  You make stuff out of them!

I’m not a fan of cutting up CDs because they are full of heavy metals and once cut, the metals can leech out of them.  I prefer to do crafts that do not require cutting them up and risking heavy metal exposure for me and my kids.  Rainbow fish sun catchers are perfect!

You’ll need:

• Old CDs–2 per child
• Water soluble markers
• Coffee filters
• Super glue
• A spray bottle of water
• Scissors
• Small piece of paper
• Wiggly eyes
• String/yarn/fishing line
• Cookie sheet

Step 1)  Have your kids color all over the coffee filters with the markers.

Step 2)  Put the colored filters on the cookie sheet and spray them with the water so that the colors bleed.  (The cookie sheet keeps the water and bleeding markers off the table and contained)  Make sure not to dilute your colors too much.  A small amount of water is all you need.  If you don’t have a spray bottle, you can dribble water onto the filters with your fingers.

Step 3)  Let the filters dry for a while or use a hair dryer to speed up the process.

Step 4)  Once the filters are dry fold them in half.  Save one for the tail, cut the other one down the center for the fins.

Step 5)  Take one of the half coffee filters and fold it in half.  Then fold it back and forth like a fan.  To the same to the other half filter.  Take the full filter, fold that in half (if you haven’t already) and fold that back and forth like a fan also.

Step 6)  Glue the fins to the printed side of the CD.  Cut a mouth out of a small amount of paper and glue that to the printed side of the CD as well.  Loop your string and glue that to the printed side if you want as well (I forgot to do that so I had to do it later–see below).

Step 7)  Glue the other CD printed side to printed side on top of the first CD.  Make sure to press hard as the fins will be thick.  Add the wiggley eyes (one on each side).

Step 8)  Add your string through the center hole (if you didn’t add it before you glued the CDs together) and hang!  If you hang it in the window and the sun hits it just right, it becomes a sun catcher and casts rainbows on your wall!

What crafts have you made out of old CDs?