Stuck on You Bubble Wrap Pufferfish Card - Ocean Valentine's Day Craft for Kids

Create a spiky-sweet pufferfish card that's perfect for telling someone special how much you care! This unique ocean craft uses bubble wrap stamps to create the perfect puffy texture that makes each card totally one-of-a-kind. The bubble wrap printing technique is easy for kids to master while creating beautiful, textured artwork that friends and family will treasure!

30-45 minutes Ages 5-10 4 steps may need help

About This Project

A 30–45 minutes craft for ages 5–10, using supplies you likely already have — Bubble Wrap, Scissors, and White Glue.

GlueStick supports kids from setup to cleanup. After they choose a project, we guide them through gathering the supplies, making it, and cleaning up when they're done. We'll even help them share it safely with trusted family and friends.

Ad-free and kid-safe library — designed by a mom who wants kids to explore and create independently.

This project is perfect for:

Valentine's Day Cards
Ocean Themed Crafts
Bubble Wrap Art Projects
Friendship Card Making
Unique Printing Techniques

Step 1: Make a cardboard circle

Trace your drinking glass or other round thing on a piece of sturdy cardboard. Cut it out.

Step 2: Make your bubble wrap stamp

Use your cardboard circle as a template to cut out a circle of bubble wrap. Then, glue the bubble wrap to the cardboard and let it dry while you find your other supplies. Make sure the bubbles are facing up when you glue!

Step 3: Print your bubble wrap body

May need grown-up help

To make the puffer fish's body, use two colors of paint. We like to use a lighter color like white for the belly and a darker color for it's back and fins. Blend the colors together with your foam brush. When colors blend together like this, it's called ombre. Make sure you cover every bubble with paint to get a nice, even print. When you're ready to print, place your painted stamp face-down on your paper, press firmly, then pick it straight up again. You don't want the stamp to move side to side or it will smudge your puffy bubble-wrap texture.

Step 4: Add the face

May need grown-up help

To make the face, we used the back of our foam brush as a stamp. It was the perfect size to make two round black eyes and one red, kissy-faced mouth. If you don't have a foam brush handle to stamp with, you could also use the back of a pencil, a wooden down, or anything else small and round. Alternatively, let your paint dry and glue on googly or paper eyes!

Step 5: Give your puffer some spikes

Use a marker that matches your pufferfish's body color to make small dashes all around your puffer's body. These are it's pointy spikes.

Step 6: Add some background

May need grown-up help

We really wanted to give our puffer fish some personality, so we made some bubbles by stamping white paint circles with the back of our foam brush. Then, we used a regular paint brush to make some green seaweed for it to swim in.

Step 7: Make the fins

May need grown-up help

To make the pufferfish's fins, use a plastic spoon as a stamp. Dip the back of the spoon in the same paint as your puffer's body color, then press the spoon against the fish's sides. The spoon gives it a nice oval shape, but you can also just paint the fins with a paintbrush if you'd prefer.

Step 8: Add the finishing touches

Once our pufferfish was dry, we added the words "I'm stuck on you." Our puffer still looked a little lonely, so we used markers to add some sand and a few friends. Get creative! What kind of ocean scene will you create? We made this project for Father's Day, but it would also make a great Valentine or card for mom or grandparents.

Stuck on You Bubble Wrap Pufferfish Card - Ocean Valentine's Day Craft for Kids

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