Easy mermaid craft using wooden clothes pegs

Fancy a dip? Go under the sea in this easy mermaid craft tutorial and join us in celebrating the remake of Disney's The Little Mermaid, hitting the big screens.

By upcycling wooden clothes pegs, you can quickly transform this everyday household item into a magical sea creature. Make your DIY mermaids swim in a sea of blue paper and add shells and sea jewels to really set the scene.

Plus, our crafts using wooden clothes pegs are super simple for all the family to enjoy. So, grab your glue and get 'swimming'!

What you will need

PVA white Glu
OPTIONAL: Blu Tack®
Wooden clothes pegs
Paint and paintbrushes
Felt pens
Coloured wool or string
Scissors
Craft embellishments

Difficulty

Average time

10-30 mins

Cost

Print version!

Instructions

Step 1: Gather your craft supplies

Before starting this easy mermaid craft, lay the old newspaper on the work surface to protect it from any spillages.

Ensure the rest of your craft supplies are set up so you're ready to go. For example, squeeze your chosen paints into your paint palette.

Step 2: Draw the body of your mermaid

Draw a line across your wooden craft peg, three quarters of the way up. Paint, colour and decorate below the line on the longer side and leave to dry if required. You are creating the body of your DIY mermaid.

Tacky's tip:

Position your wooden clothes peg in a blob of Blu Tack® to hold it steady as you decorate.

Important:

Step 3 requires scissors. Please ensure children are supervised when using scissors. If necessary, an adult should complete the cutting on behalf of a child.

Step 3: Cut out the mermaid's tail

On a piece of coloured card, draw and cut out your mermaid's tail. This can be any shape and size that you like.

Step 4: Stick your mermaid's tail onto the body

Take your PVA white Glu and carefully unscrew the cap. Gently squeeze the PVA glue from the bottle and apply a blob onto the end of your mermaid's tail where it will meet the body.

Press the tail into place on the wooden clothes peg and leave to dry.

Step 5: Once dry, create your DIY mermaid's face

Draw your mermaid's face using pens and pencils.

Step 6: Create your mermaid's hair

Cut equal lengths of wool in your colour of choice - this will be your mermaid's hair.

Tacky's tip:

If you require a specific length of hair for your DIY mermaid, measure up the wooden peg to where you want the hair to go to. Then, double this measurement for the perfect length hair either side.

Step 7: Apply PVA to the mermaid's head

Apply a blob of PVA white Glu to the head of your mermaid.

Step 8: Stick your mermaid's hair in place

Place the wool onto the blob of PVA white Glu, ensuring that you have equal length of wool either side of the mermaid's head.

Finally, add any finishing touches to the body - we went for the traditional seashell top.

Step 9: You've completed our easy mermaid craft

Ta-da - your DIY mermaid craft is finished, and your new, aquatic friends are ready for a dip!

Have you tried this tutorial? Don't forget to share your creations with us on Facebook and Instagram, using the hashtag #CraftWithBostik

Tacky's tip:

Want more things to make with wooden clothes pegs? You can easily create different peg characters using similar steps. We recommend creating wooden peg superheroes by swapping the mermaid tails for a paper cape!