Happy Spring! I'm Lisa Ruble from Love to Color My World and I'm happy to be here sharing a fun tutorial to keep kids busy while traveling.

Go Fish! Fabric Travel Game with HeatnBond Interfacing

I have 3 boys and am always looking for ways to keep them entertained in the car - particularly alternatives to playing on a tablet! Matching games are a favorite at our house, so I created a Go Fish! travel game. I can't wait to take it on our upcoming road trip! I had fun picking through my fabric scraps to find different colors for the fish. I used Non-Woven Craft Sew-In Interfacing for the fish so they wouldn't be floppy. A simple piece of felt - blue of course, to be a pond! - makes a playing mat. Scroll down to the bottom a link to a drawstring bag tutorial to keep all the pieces together. Let's get started! You'll Need:

• 1/2 yard gray fabric for fish
• 5" x 6" piece of 12 different colors
• 1/2 yard Thermoweb StitchNSew Non-Woven Craft Sew-In Firm Interfacing
• 1/4 yard Thermoweb HeatnBond Lite Fusible Adhesive
• Fabric marking pen
• 24" square light blue felt

Cutting: From the gray fabric: (12) 3" x 12" pieces From the Interfacing: (12) 3" x 6" pieces Download the template here. Make the Fish: Step 1: Print out the template page and cut out both the fish and inner fish template. Step 2: Fold (1) 3" x 12" gray piece in half right sides together to create a 3" x 6" piece. Trace the fish template onto the doubled fabric using the fabric marking pen. Layer on top one piece of 3" x 6" Interfacing. Step 3: Stitch on the fish outline. Step 4: Cut a slit through the top layer of fabric. The slit should be about 4” long, extending into the tail section, and should be at least 1/2” away from the stitched lines at both ends of the fish. Note: Be very careful to only cut through the top fabric layer! Step 5: Turn fish right side out. Use a fabric turner to push out to the seams. Press the fish to flatten. Step 6: Topstitch around the fish 1/4” from the outer edge. Repeat steps 2-6 to make a second fish. Step 7: Trace the inner fish shape two times onto the paper side of the fusible web. Fuse to the wrong side of one color 5” x 6” piece. Step 8: Cut out the inner fish shapes (I used pinking shears to create a textured edge) and fuse to the fish, covering the slit. Your first two matching fish are complete! Step 9: Repeat steps 2-8 to make a total of 12 pairs of matching fish (or more!) Step 10: Fold the 24” square of light blue felt in half in both directions. Cut a wavy line along the non-folded lines to create a “pond.” To Play:

• Try a basic memory game (set out all the fish, gray side up, and then pick two, trying to find matches).

Play Go Fish - each player holds 3-4 fish in their hand, and the remainder lay face down in the pond. Each turn, ask the other to play for a specific color fish or pick from the pond. (Tip: More fish pairs make for a better game) Head over to my blog to find the tutorial to make a drawstring bag to hold your Go Fish! travel game.