Paper plates and yarn transform into these denizens of the deep. If you use glow-in-the-dark acrylic paint, you can even see their “bioluminescence” in action when you turn out the lights.

Materials

Heavy-weight paper bowls
White yarn
Glow-in-the-dark acrylic paint
Paint brushes and painting supplies
Scissors
Zipper sandwich bags
Skewer or sharp pencil

Directions

• Paint the bowl inside and out. Use two or more coats of paint for a brighter “glow”.
• For the tentacles, cut 10 – 12 pieces of yarn approximately 36 inches in length. Place them in a zipper sandwich bag with several squirts of glow paint and seal the bag.
• Squish! Squish! Squish! until the yarn is completely covered, adding more paint if necessary. If the paint is too thick, add a little water to the bag.
• Hang the yarn to dry.
• At the center of the bowl, punch two holes about 0.5 inch apart using a skewer or sharp pencil.
• Cut a piece of yarn approximately 40 inches long. Thread it through the two holes so that both ends come out the bottom of the bowl.
• From the inside of the bowl, pull the yarn up to form a small loop. Thread the tentacles through and roughly center them under the loop.
• Flip the bowl, pull the yarn taut and tie a double knot.
• Back on the inside, grasp the tentacles as one bunch and tie a single knot.
• The frilly appendages flanking the mouths of some types of jellyfish are called oral arms. To recreate these, unravel a few pieces of yarn that hang close to the center of the bunch.
• Charge your jellyfish creation in bright light for at least 30 minutes. Turn out the lights and enjoy its luminous glow!