School of Cardboard Tube Fish: An Easy and Fun Craft Idea

Make these adorable cardboard tube fish with your children for an easy way to recycle materials and create something memorable at the same time! Plus it makes recycling fun!

Cardboard Tube School of Fish
My house has an abundance of cardboard tubes. In fact, no one is allowed to throw out toilet paper or paper towel tubes because I need them for craft projects! Otherwise I wouldn’t be sharing these adorable cardboard tube fish you can make with your kids!

This fun activity is great for groups of children such as summer camp or classroom settings, requiring only minimal materials and cleanup afterwards. Make sure to provide smocks and have baby wipes handy as soon as the task is finished!

Flatten each cardboard tube. Spread some glue inside, press them together tightly with your hands, and secure with heavy objects so the glue sets securely.

Color each flattened tube blue, green, and purple.

Cut on both diagonals (see photo) to form the head and save any pieces cut off for use as tail pieces.

Carefully open the back end of the fish and insert two cut pieces for its tail. Press together.

Use scissors to trim out a mouth. Adhere eyes using glue, and decorate with self-stick gems for added flair.

P.S. I use Craft Smart paint for most of my kids’ crafts, which you can find at Micheals or here on Amazon and is very cost-effective compared to traditional paint brands.

Are You Searching for More Cardboard Tube Crafts Looking for even more cardboard tube crafts? I have included some of my favorites below, or alternatively click here to browse all my cardboard tube crafts!