Who said Easter baskets have to be an actual basket? Check out my Easter Fish Tank made using a variety of fun Easter treats.
Disclaimer: This post contains content sponsored by Nestlé. All opinions and ideas are my own. This post may also contain affiliate links. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Easter baskets are a lot of fun but this year I was looking to make something a little more creative, a little more unique. We’ve had a fish tank in our closet for a few years and it got me thinking. What if I made an Easter Fish Tank!? I could craft some fish and other sea creatures out of Easter eggs. It would be so cute!
I went to Walmart to pick up some Easter Candy and noticed I had some great rebates available for some Nestlé Easter candy products in my ibotta app. (These rebates are valid through the month and can be used to buy multiples on a variety of items!) I was able to save $8.50 on SweeTARTS Jellybeans, SweeTARTS Egg Fillers, Nestlé Spring Mix-ups Egg Fillers and Nestlè Golden Egg Hunt.
Sidenote: Are you an ibotta user? I’ve had the app for over a year and hadn’t started using it until recently when I left my full-time job to stay home with my son. Losing over half of our income meant that following a budget was going to be more important than ever. My rule is that I only use it to buy products we already use. I will switch brands if the rebate gives me a better deal on things like canned goods, baking needs, etc but I don’t buy something just because I can get a rebate. You can pair ibotta with coupons and use Walmart’s savings catcher to get the best deals all around. If you are not an ibotta user you can join my team using my referral link. Teams work together to meet “challenges” in the Ibotta app and everyone on the team benefits when the challenge is completed. I’ve earned over $60 in the last few months about $10 of which has come from team bonuses. You can sign up for ibotta here and get a $10 bonus when you redeem your first offer: https://ibotta.com/r/puiwhxa.
It’s rare that I go to Walmart and don’t go to the craft department. At least this time I had a reason! I picked up the following:
Glittery Sticky-backed Foam Sheets
Foam Sheet
Pipe Cleaners
Wiggle Eyes
Fishing Line
Clear Tape
Hot glue Sticks
Plastic Easter Eggs
I also picked up:
SweeTARTS Jellybeans (3 bags)
SweeTARTS Egg Fillers
Nestlé Spring Mix-ups Egg Fillers
Nestlè Golden Egg Hunt
I decided to make several fish, an octopus, a crab and a turtle out of the plastic Easter eggs. Since the fish would be suspended from the top of the tank I used empty eggs so there wouldn’t be too much weight. I didn’t use a pattern, I just started cutting out fins and tails and claws from the various colors of craft foam. Since most of my craft foam was sticky backed I just had to stick it to the surface of the eggs. I did attach the dorsal fins using a little hot glue for added support. I attached a piece of clear fishing line to each fish so it could be suspended from the lid of the tank.
For the octopus, I glued on chenille pipe cleaners and gave each one a little twist so it resembled long, flowing legs.
The turtle got a design for his back, four legs and a tail.
Everybody got a variety of wiggle eyes. I LOVE wiggle eyes!
To assemble the tank I covered the bottom with SweeTARTS Jellybeans instead of traditional tank rocks. The crab was placed on the bottom and the fish and the octopus were suspended from the lid with clear fishing line. I even used some chenille pipe cleaners to make some colorful seaweed. The turtle found his home just in front of the finished tank. I love how it turned out!
I really liked the Nestlé Golden Egg Hunt because the package of pre-filled eggs comes with one golden egg. On Easter when we host an egg hunt the golden egg will be hidden amongst all of the others. The child who finds the golden egg will claim the Easter Fish Tank as their grand prize! Inside of the golden egg is a gift certificate to our local pet store so the winner can purchase a fish of their own once they finish all of the candy.
What creative Easter basket ideas do you have?
