Things You'll Need
Empty fish bowl
Plastic fish
Aquarium gravel
Aquarium plants
Casting resin with catalyst
Plastic cups
Wooden craft sticks
Newspaper
Gloves
Fish have a reputation for being temporary pets. If your young child wants some fish, but you're not ready to explain to them what inevitably happens to many aquarium fish, casting fish in craft resin is an afternoon activity that yields a more permanent result. Your new fishbowl looks similar to one filled with water, down to aquarium gravel and plants, but won't smell or spill, and its contents won't die. This project needs to be done with adult supervision, as craft resin can be difficult to work with.
Step 1
Pick out aquarium accessories. Choose enough brightly colored aquarium gravel to cover the bottom of the fish bowl. Choose plastic, rubber or resin aquarium plants or accessories to decorate the bottom of the bowl. Check the toy section for plastic fish or purchase glass fish from an aquarium supply store.
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Step 2
Put on gloves and lay down newspaper to protect your hands and surfaces from spilled resin.
Step 3
Mix resin and resin catalyst together in a plastic cup using the ratio indicated on the resin package. Stir with a wooden craft stick and set aside. Mix another plastic cup of resin. Work with only two plastic cups of resin at a time because it's hard to work with large amounts of resin.
Step 4
Pour aquarium gravel onto the bottom inch of your fish bowl. Place in your aquarium plants or decorations. Slowly pour the resin into the bowl, over the gravel and plants. Let the resin naturally seep into the gravel, don't worry about mixing it in. Once the resin settles, pour the second cup of resin into the fish bowl.
Step 5
Set your fish bowl aside for about 20 minutes, or until the resin sets into a soft gel. Mix two more plastic cups of resin and set aside.
Step 6
Press your first plastic fish into the gel-like resin in the fish bowl, until it's half-submerged. If you don't allow the resin to gel first, your fish will sink to the bottom of the liquid resin.
Step 7
Pour in the next two cups of resin and allow to set to a gel-like consistency. Press in another fish. Repeat building layers of resin and fish until you've placed each fish where you want it.
Step 8
Fill the fish bowl to the top with resin. Allow the entire bowl to harden overnight.
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