Gel Bag Aquarium

Oh Pinterest, how I love thee. It's a long and boring story of what took me so long to get on there, but I finally did. I love how it inspires, and therefore, motivates me to do more. I love the fact that I can find so many ideas to fit my budget and my interests. Many of these things I'm already doing, but now I can do them better. And, I love it. Completed projects (some of them) will likely be included in some posts.

Anyway, I pinned a gel bag idea for writing, squishing, and playing. Stevie isn't quite ready to doodle with it yet, but I thought it would be fun to make a blue bag and toss some little fish (toys) in there. He is so into fish...mostly, Nemo, and turtles these days. It's also a good thing to squish for my sensory boy. I bought the hair gel at the dollar store (used half of it...so I can do this again after the bag gets nasty), used a quart sized freezer bag, squirted in a couple drops of gel food coloring I had, tossed in a few random beads I had around the house, and picked up some sea animals from the Dollar Tree. (I seriously could spend hours in that store. Almost anything I need for Table Time comes from there or dollar bins at Target and Walmart.) Oh, I also added duct tape for some reinforcement. Stevie has to open everything...and of course, he kept telling me it was stuck. :)





Stevie really liked the bag. I tried to get more pictures of him, but he's not so into the camera these days...and he ended up running around the house with his new toy. See?



Lydia thought it was cool too...but she thought it was a teething toy. After playing with it for awhile, Stevie asked to put on Nemo, and he sat with his fish on his lap, while he watched some of the movie. That boy is the cutest ever.



I'm not sure how long it will last, but it's been enjoyed. I'm hoping I can wash off the fish and turtle after it's well-loved to re-use for another one down the road. If that doesn't work out, I still have several sea animals left.