If you flip through my family’s photo albums, in nearly every one of my father’s boyhood pictures, someone is holding a string of fish.

 They spent many weekends and holidays outdoors - mostly by the lakes and rivers of the Midwest- and fishing was an activity loved by all members of the family. They were proud of the fish they caught, enjoyed the time they spent together as a family, and it showed in these photographs.
So, when I think of my father and Father’s Day, fish naturally come to mind.

I don’t think I’m alone. I think in the lives of many children, bonds were built with their dads while baiting hooks or casting lines. I suppose this is why it’s such a popular theme in Father’s Day cards.

I created these fish projects for the family to make together. Each member can make a fish or two and add it to the string for the garland, on a line for the fishing pole centerpiece, or on a gift or card.

To begin, gather a selection of coordinating decorative papers and card stock in colors and patterns that Dad may enjoy. This is a great project to use up those little scraps.

Now, gather the family around, and start making your fish.

To make the garland, start by printing out your FISH TEMPLATE. You can reduce and enlarge your template to create different sized fish. Cut out the fish template, trace around it using a marker or pencil on your cardstock or decorative paper, and cut out your fish.

Break out all your favorite Fiskars squeeze punches, border punches and paper Edgers to decorate your fish.

Grab a few stickers, a couple rolls of Washi tape, some embellishments too.

Be creative and have fun with your fish! Border punches work great to create rows of scales on your fish. Bands of washi tape make great stripes. Use your paper shapers to cut out some fish fins.

When you’re all done with the front of the fish, flip it over and decorate the backside too. They’ll spin when they hang, so it’s important to decorate both sides.

Once you’re done decorating the bodies of your fish, add an eyelet for the eye. There’s a great tutorial on attaching eyelets HERE.

Punch a small hole in the nose of the fish, and run a fishing swivel or a lanyard hook through the hole.

Cut a length of string or bakery twine - you’ll need 7 inches for each fish you’ve made. Every five inches or so, make a loop and tie a knot.

String your fish by hanging one from each loop on the line.

Fishing Pole Centerpiece

To make this simple fishing pole centerpiece, begin using the first steps of the instructions above to create one fish for each pole in the arrangement. Cut a length of baker’s twine roughly twelve inches long. Run one end of the twin through the nose of the fish and knot. Tie the other end of the twine to the end of the fishing pole. Punch a few circles of varied sizes and colors out and glue them back-to-back on the fishing line.

Create bands along the end of the pole using coordinating Washi tapes. Use the same colors of tape to make bands along the top of the vase. Arrange your poles in the vase and display.

Fish Gift Wrap

You can continue the fish theme by wrapping Dad’s Father’s Day gift with more strings and fish!
Wrap your gift using a solid-colored wrapping paper. Take a spool of baker’s twine or string and wrap around your package several times. Create a few tiny fish and string them to your twine. Punch out several circles and glue them to the string and add a “Dad” to the package using adhesive letters.

Fishy Father's Day Card
Of course you’ll need a card to accompany your gift. This is an easy one to make – just punch a couple of holes in a card and string a string through. Add a few fish, and a little text. A bubbly border makes a nice detail on the card.

Creating all these details in honor of Dad will surely make him feel special. They’ll add color to the celebration, and surely brighten his day! And working on these projects as a family, can bring everyone together. I think Dad will like that too!