Fish printing -- taxidermy alternative?

This past winter my husband caught a monster perch through the ice (well, it was big for our standards!) :) He was so proud of it, but we just cannot afford to have a fish taxidermy mounted -- well -- I'd rather say that we don't choose to spend our money on that (groceries, you know!)

So -- to commemorate his big catch I made a fish print for him! I gave it to him for his birthday and he's definitely pleased! I had seen a fish print before in a large aquarium and decided to give it a try -- it was not difficult at all!

Here's the fish that he caught:


and here's how the print turned out!







So-- how did I do it? It was so easy!

First of all, the gross part was you have to take out the eyeball on one side. Next, dry the fish off (get all the fish slime dried off the skin).

Then I laid the fish on a towel so it wouldn't slip and painted the skin and fins with paint. I just used regular cheap-o craft paint. I took a piece of muslin and laid it over the top of the fish and pushed down all along the surface of the fish, with even pressure. Then I peeled off the muslin, and VOILA!! :)

I got a little brass plate engraved with the info (really inexpensive, less than $10), found a frame it'd fit into, painted the frame and sanded it a little to give it some character, and . . . YAY! It was done!

Give it a try!!