I love coffee filters. Especially for coffee, of course, but they are also great for folding, and dipping into diluted food color. They provide such a wow event for kids and those of us unwilling to grow up. What do you do with them once we made a room full? Well, it is endless. My favorite is tropical fish. Here's what you need: coffee filters, yellow, red and, blue food coloring, 3 containers, newspaper for covering table, white paper for blotting (card stock is nice), plastic gloves, scissors, glue stick, and tissue paper (optional).
Here's the process: Take 3 coffee filters together and fold in half again and again to get dipping corners. With gloved hands carefully, beginning in the yellow food coloring, which is diluted just enough to still be a bright color, dip a corner. Proceed to dip in the red, and finally another corner into the blue. Now unfold it on top of a white piece of paper, totally unfolding it and then placing another piece of paper on top to blot it . Two beautiful prints of the round filter gem are produced for more artistic inspiration. So keep making more until your art fix is exhausted. Let them dry while you clean up or get the iron out and speed up the process.
Now let's make fish with these beautiful orbs. Take 2 of the coffee filters, fold each in half like tacos, and then push them together with the curved edge going into the fold. Now, glue stick on both sides to stay together. One end of this creation is the mouth of the fish. To make it more convincing fold it back a bit. At this time you can stuff the cavity with tissue paper, or paper toweling . Fold another coffee filter in half and then cut a slice getting 2 identical pieces which will become fins, one to glue on each side. You can add more fins as desired. It is fun to add tissue paper streamers to the tail so that when you add a string to the top you can figure 8 your fish through the air. Add a fishline to the midpoint of the top of the fish and take it for a swim. It would be exciting to see what you do with the rest of your dippings.